29th Hadith - What admits one into Paradise (Tirmidhi: 2616)
الحديث التاسع و العشرون
[رواه الترمذي وقال : حديث حسن صحيح]
29th Hadith - Translation
On the authority of
Muadh-Bin-Jabal (R.A.) who said:
I said, “O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an act which will take me into Paradise and will keep me away from the Hellfire.” He (S.A.W.) said, “You have asked me about a great matter, yet it is easy for him for whom Allah makes it easy: worship Allah, without associating any partners with Him; establish the prayer; pay the zakat; fast in Ramadhan; and make the pilgrimage to the House.” Then He (S.A.W.) said, “Shall I not guide you towards the means of goodness? Fasting is a shield; charity wipes away sin as water extinguishes fire; and the praying of a man in the depths of the night.” Then He (S.A.W.) recited: “[Those] who forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend (charity in Allah’s cause) out of what We have bestowed on them. No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do.” [Surah As-Sajdah: 32, Aya:16-17]. Then He (S.A.W.) said, “Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter, its pillar and its peak?” I said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” He (S.A.W.) said, “The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is the prayer and its peak is jihad.” Then He (S.A.W.) said, “Shall I not tell you of the foundation of all of that?” I said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” So He (S.A.W.) took hold of his tongue and said, “Restrain this.” I said, “O Prophet of Allah, will we be taken to account for what we say with it?” He (S.A.W.) said, “May your mother be bereaved of you, O Muadh! Is there anything that throws people into the Hellfire upon their faces — or: on their noses — except the harvests of their tongues?” (Tirmidhi: 2616)
Brief Narration
This hadith is evidence that doing good deeds
facilitates and leads to entering Paradise as it has been mentioned in the
Quran: "This is the Paradise that you have made to inherit because of
your good deeds which you used to do" (Surah Al-Zuhkruf 42: Ayah 72).
However, a person's good deeds are part of Allah's mercy and grace. Allah says:
"But Allah who caused faith to be dear to you and have given it beauty in
your heart, and has made hateful to you denial of the truth and all inequity
and all rebellion against what is good" (Surah Al-Hujarat 49: Ayah 7).
So the meaning of this verse has been emphasized by this hadith. The performing
of good deeds is a cause of entering paradise but they are themselves a gift
from Allah.
The deeds that have been mentioned in this hadith have been emphasized in previous hadiths collected by Imam An-Nawawi, mainly Hadith 2, 3, 15 and 23. However, there are two additional good deeds mentioned in this hadith: A man's prayer in the middle of the night and Jihad.
In this hadith, we see the emphasis is on the negative side of the tongue, whereas in the previous hadiths, the emphasis is on the positive side of the tongue. This means that the tongue can be used in two ways: to say good things or to say bad things. Most people have the tendency to be lenient about this issue. Though Muslims know that saying bad things is prohibited, they still do so, saying things that displease Allah such as backbiting, slandering and spreading rumours. We will be held accountable for what we say. We will be rewarded for saying good things and we may be punished for saying bad things. Even if a Muslim says things in the form of a cynical Dua (e.g. "May Allah guide him") or a joke to make fun of other Muslims and put him down, he will be held against this action. Even using gestures or attributes in a cynical way that can be interpreted that he is belittling a Muslim is considered a sinful act that displeases Allah. So, the Muslim should have control over his tongue; otherwise his tongue can create a lot of problems for the community.
The central idea in Islam is ‘Tawhid’ and ‘Taqwa’ (submission to Allah). All other deeds can be looked at as part of ‘Taqwa’ and ‘Tawhid’. Without proper ‘Tawhid’ there would be no fear of Allah. If we fear Allah, and love Him the most, this should lead us to be closer to Him. Otherwise, our claim is not valid or incomplete. Our ‘Taqwa’ and fear should be up to the level. So ‘Tawhid’ is the essence of the message of Allah. He sent the Prophet (S.A.W.) with this message and made him an example for us to emulate and follow. Consequently, ‘Tawhid’, by following the Prophet (S.A.W.), is part of submission to Allah.
(Reference: Commentary of Forty Hadiths of An-Nawawi by Dr. Jamal Ahmed
Badi)
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