by Mahfuz Ahmad
Thousands of words, preserved by thousands of scholars, containing countless gems is the ahadeeth of our beloved Nabi ﷺ. Each Hadith takes its seeker on a spiritual journey, hoping to guide the soul to its rightful place. The words so delicately spoken by nabi ﷺ all have lessons that span beyond the levels of classification and chains of narration that make up the books of hadeeth.
While each hadeeth is beautiful in its own right, the following eleven are ones which scholars believe form the fabric of all Ahadeeth when woven together. They teach us the principles of our deen, the foundations of our belief, and the essence of a believers character. Therefore the many beautiful hadeeth that are not mentioned can serve as an an extension and explanation of these eleven.
(Mentioned in Jaam’i al uloom wal Hikam by ibn Rajab Hambal)
Ahmad ibn Hambal says: The sources of Hadith are upon 3 Hadith.
- عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ إِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّةِ وَإِنَّمَا لاِمْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ لِدُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوِ امْرَأَةٍ يَتَزَوَّجُهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِ ” .
It has been narrated on the authority of Umar b. al-Khattab that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: (The value of) an action depends on the intention behind it. A man will be rewarded only for what he intended. The emigration of one who emigrated for the sake of Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) is for the sake of Allah and His Messenger (ﷺ) ; and the emigration of one who emigrated for gaining a worldly advantage or for marrying a woman is for what he has emigrated.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
This hadith emphasises ikhlas (sincerity – to perform an act solely for Allah’s sake) and only through Ikhlas will one’s good deeds be accepted.
- عن عائشة، رضي الله عنها، قالت: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: ”من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ما ليس منه فهو رد” (( متفق عليه)). –
‘Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “If anyone introduces in our matter something which does not belong to it, will be rejected”.
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
This hadith discusses how violating the sunnah will lead to bida’ah and so every Muslim must ensure they assess and evaluate their actions to ensure they are within the guidelines of Shar’iyyah.
- عَنِ النُّعْمَانِ بْنِ بَشِيرٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهُ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ “ الْحَلاَلُ بَيِّنٌ وَالْحَرَامُ بَيِّنٌ وَبَيْنَ ذَلِكَ أُمُورٌ مُشْتَبِهَاتٌ لاَ يَدْرِي كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ أَمِنَ الْحَلاَلِ هِيَ أَمْ مِنَ الْحَرَامِ فَمَنْ تَرَكَهَا اسْتِبْرَاءً لِدِينِهِ وَعِرْضِهِ فَقَدْ سَلِمَ وَمَنْ وَاقَعَ شَيْئًا مِنْهَا يُوشِكُ أَنْ يُوَاقِعَ الْحَرَامَ كَمَا أَنَّهُ مَنْ يَرْعَى حَوْلَ الْحِمَى يُوشِكُ أَنْ يُوَاقِعَهُ أَلاَ وَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ مَلِكٍ حِمًى أَلاَ وَإِنَّ حِمَى اللَّهِ مَحَارِمُهُ ” . . –
An-Numan bin Bashir narrated that the Messenger of Allah (S) said: “The lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear, and between that are matters that are doubtful (not clear); many of the people do not know whether it is lawful or unlawful. So whoever leaves it to protect his religion and his honor, then he will be safe, and whoever falls into something from them, then he soon will have fallen into the unlawful. Just like if someone grazes (his animals) around a sanctuary, he would soon wind up in it. Indeed for every king is a sanctuary (pasture), and indeed Allah’s sanctuary is what He made unlawful.”
(Tirmidhi)
This hadith emphasizes the importance of glorifying Allah ﷻ. If we want to glorify Allah, we have to glorify His injunctions, commandments, whether they are obligations (so we perform them), or whether they are prohibitions (so we don’t perform them). A Salaf once narrated: “Don’t look at how minor the sin is that you committed, but look at the glory of the One you disobeyed, i.e. Allah ﷻ.” A sin, even if it is a minor one, means disobedience to Allah, hence defying the Glorification of Allah. And the glorification of Allah is actually one of the principles of Tawhid.
in another narration of Ahmad, he mentioned hadeeth of ibn Mas’ud instead of the above:
- وعن ابن مسعود، رضي الله عنه ، قال: حدثنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وهو الصادق المصدوق: “إن أحدكم يجمع خلقه في بطن أمه أربعين يوماً نطفةً، ثم يكون علقة مثل ذلك، ثم يكون مضغةً مثل ذلك، ثم يرسل الملك، فينفخ فيه الروح، ويؤمر بأربع كلمات: يكتب رزقه، وأجله، وعمله، وشقى أم سعيد. فوالذي لا إله غيره إن أحدكم ليعمل بعمل أهل الجنة حتى ما يكون بينه وبينها إلى ذراع، فيسبق عليه الكتاب ، فيعمل بعمل أهل النار فيدخلها، وإن أحدكم ليعمل بعلم أهل النار حتى ما يكون بينه وبينها إلا ذراع، فيسبق عليه الكتاب فيعمل بعمل أهل الجنة فيدخلها” ((متفق عليه))
Abdullah bin Mas’ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), the truthful and the receiver of the truth informed us, saying, “The creation of you (humans) is gathered in the form of semen in the womb of your mother for forty days, then it becomes a clinging thing in similar (period), then it becomes a lump of flesh like that, then Allah sends an angel who breathes the life into it; and (the angel) is commanded to record four things about it: Its provision, its term of life (in this world), its conduct; and whether it will be happy or miserable. By the One besides Whom there is no true god! Verily, one of you would perform the actions of the dwellers of Jannah until there is only one cubit between him and it (Jannah), when what is foreordained would come to pass and he would perform the actions of the inmates of Hell until he enter it. And one of you would perform the actions of the inmates of Hell, until there is only one cubit between him and Hell. Then he would perform the acts of the dwellers of Jannah until he would enter it.”
[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].
Ishaaq ibn Raahooyah also mentioned the above 4 ahadeeth as the 4 sources of Deen.
Imam Abu Dawud looked at the Musnad Ahadeeth (ahadeeth directly linked to nabi ﷺ that have no break in between) and found out that they are 4,000 in number. Then he looked at these 4,000 ahadeeth and also came to a conclusion came to know that the basis of these 4,000 of these hadeeth are 4 and they are a ¼ of knowledge. He likewise mentions hadith 1 (hdeethun Niyyah) and hadeeth 4 (Hadeeth of Abdullah ibn Mas’ud). Thereafter mentions 2 ahadeeth narrated from Abu Hurayrah.
- عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم “إنَّ اللَّهَ طَيِّبٌ لَا يَقْبَلُ إلَّا طَيِّبًا، وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِمَا أَمَرَ بِهِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: “يَا أَيُّهَا الرُّسُلُ كُلُوا مِنْ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَاعْمَلُوا صَالِحًا”، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: “يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُلُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ” ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ الرَّجُلَ يُطِيلُ السَّفَرَ أَشْعَثَ أَغْبَرَ يَمُدُّ يَدَيْهِ إلَى السَّمَاءِ: يَا رَبِّ! يَا رَبِّ! وَمَطْعَمُهُ حَرَامٌ، وَمَشْرَبُهُ حَرَامٌ، وَمَلْبَسُهُ حَرَامٌ، وَغُذِّيَ بِالْحَرَامِ، فَأَنَّى يُسْتَجَابُ لَهُ
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (ra):
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “Allah the Almighty is Good and accepts only that which is good. And verily Allah has commanded the believers to do that which He has commanded the Messengers. So the Almighty has said: “O (you) Messengers! Eat of the tayyibat [all kinds of halal (legal) foods], and perform righteous deeds.” [23:51] and the Almighty has said: “O you who believe! Eat of the lawful things that We have provided you.” [2:172]” Then he (ﷺ) mentioned [the case] of a man who, having journeyed far, is disheveled and dusty, and who spreads out his hands to the sky saying “O Lord! O Lord!,” while his food is haram (unlawful), his drink is haram, his clothing is haram, and he has been nourished with haram, so how can [his supplication] be answered?
[Muslim]
Through this Hadeeth we are given the injunction of eating and earning from that which is Halal and abstaining from that which is Haram. This in effect, will make everything we do, from our Ibadah to our daily actions, ‘Tayyib’
- عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : “ من حسن إسلام المرء تركه ما لا يعنيه”
Abu Hurairah (RAA) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “A sign of man’s good observance of Islam (his piety) is to keep away from that which does not concern him.”
(At-Tirmidhi)
Abu Dawud also mentions that out of the 4800 ahadeeth compiled in his book, it is sufficient for an individual to know 4 hadeeth from these. He mentions Hadeeth numbers: 1, 6, and 3 and thereafter mentions:
- عن أنس بن مالك رضي الله عنه أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: “لا يؤمن أحدكم حتى يحب لأخيه ما يحب لنفسه”. رواه البخاري ومسلم
On the authority of Abu Hamzah Anas bin Malik (RA) — the Prophet ﷺ said:
None of you [truly] believes until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself. [Al-Bukhari] [Muslim]
In another Riwayah of abu dawud he mentions 5 ahadeeth. Hadeeth numbers: 1 and 3 and:
- عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ لاَ ضَرَرَ وَلاَ ضِرَارَ
Ibn ‘Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.”
(Ibn Majah)
9. عَنْ تَمِيمٍ الدَّارِيِّ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ” الدِّينُ النَّصِيحَةُ ” قُلْنَا لِمَنْ قَالَ ” لِلَّهِ وَلِكِتَابِهِ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلأَئِمَّةِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَعَامَّتِهِمْ ”
It is narrated on the authority of Tamim ad-Dari that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “The Religion is sincerity.” We said, “To whom?” He said “To Allah, to His Book, To His Messenger, and to the leaders of the Muslims and their masses.”
(Muslim)
10. عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ صَخْرٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: سَمِعْت رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم يَقُولُ: “مَا نَهَيْتُكُمْ عَن فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ، وَمَا أَمَرْتُكُمْ بِهِ فَأْتُوا مِنْهُ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ، فَإِنَّمَا أَهْلَكَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ كَثْرَةُ مَسَائِلِهِمْ وَاخْتِلَافُهُمْ عَلَى أَنْبِيَائِهِمْ.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (ra): I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say, “What I have forbidden for you, avoid. What I have ordered you [to do], do as much of it as you can. For verily, it was only the excessive questioning and their disagreeing with their Prophets that destroyed [the nations] who were before you.”
[Bukhari & Muslim]
And In one last narration of Abu Dawud he mentions hadeeth numbers 1, 3, and 6 and thereafter mentions:
11. وعن أبي العباس سهل بن سعد الساعدى، رضي الله عنه، قال: جاء رجل إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال: يا رسول الله دلني على عمل إذا عملته أحبني الله، واحبني الناس، فقال: “ازهد في الدنيا يحبك الله، وازهد فيما عند الناس يحبك الناس” حديث حسن رواه ابن ماجه
Sahl bin Sa’d As-Sa’idi (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, guide me to such an action which, if I do Allah will love me and the people will also love me.” He (ﷺ) said, “Have no desire for this world, Allah will love you; and have no desire for what people possess, and the people will love you.”
[Ibn Majah, Hadith Hasan].
(Noted by S M K)
