الزُّهْدُ

Hadith 29: the deed that brings one into Paradise From Mu'aadh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him): I said: "O Messenger of Allah, tell me of a deed that will bring me into Paradise and keep me away from the Fire." He said: "You have asked about something immense, yet it is easy for whoever Allah makes it easy for: worship Allah without associating anything with Him, establish prayer, give zakaat, fast Ramadan and make the pilgrimage to the House." Then he said: "Shall I show you the doors of good? Fasting is a shield; charity extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire; and a man's prayer in the middle of the night," then he recited verses 32:16-17 (below). Then: "The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is prayer, and the peak of its hump is jihad." Then: "Shall I tell you what holds all of that?" He took hold of his tongue and said: "Restrain this." I said: "Will we be held accountable for what we say?" He said: "Are people thrown into the Fire on their faces for anything other than the harvest of their tongues?" وَهَلْ يَكُبُّ النَّاسَ فِي النَّارِ عَلَى وُجُوهِهِمْ إِلَّا حَصَائِدُ أَلْسِنَتِهِمْ Source: At-Tirmidhi 2616, who grades it "ḥasan ṣaḥiiḥ"; Ibn Rajab discusses its chain [À VÉRIFIER : degré].

The commentary • Three levels: the pillars (salvation), the doors of good (voluntary deeds: fasting, charity, night prayer), then what holds everything (the tongue). • "The peak of its hump is jihad": the word means striving in the way of Allah. Scholars include striving against oneself, the word of truth and, in its sense of combat, what belongs to a legitimate authority and strict rules, never to individuals [À VÉRIFIER : présentation pour l'imam]. • The tongue: Ibn Rajab recalls that most faults pass through it: backbiting, lying, false testimony, mockery, hurtful words. Whoever restrains it guards the rest.

Hadith 30: obligations, limits and the silence of the law From Abu Tha'laba al-Khushani Jurthuum ibn Naashir (may Allah be pleased with him): the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فَرَضَ فَرَائِضَ فَلَا تُضَيِّعُوهَا، وَحَدَّ حُدُودًا فَلَا تَعْتَدُوهَا، وَحَرَّمَ أَشْيَاءَ فَلَا تَنْتَهِكُوهَا، وَسَكَتَ عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ رَحْمَةً لَكُمْ غَيْرَ نِسْيَانٍ فَلَا تَبْحَثُوا عَنْهَا "Allah has imposed obligations: do not neglect them; He has set limits: do not overstep them; He has forbidden things: do not violate them; and He has been silent about things, out of mercy for you and not out of forgetfulness: do not seek to find them out." [À VÉRIFIER : texte arabe] Source: Ad-Daaraquṭni and others [À VÉRIFIER : numéro]. An-Nawawi grades it "ḥasan"; Ibn Rajab points out a break in the chain and differences over its grade [À VÉRIFIER : degré].

The commentary • Four categories, which cover the whole law according to Ibn Rajab: obligations to fulfil, limits (what is permitted, not to be overstepped), prohibitions, and the domain left free. • "He has been silent… out of mercy": what the law says nothing about remains permitted. This is the origin of the jurists' rule: "the default in things is permission" (al-aṣl fil-ashyaa' al-ibaaḥa), for worldly matters. • "Do not seek": as in hadith 9, this means not trying to make obligatory or forbidden what Allah has left free.

Hadith 31: be detached from the world, Allah will love you From Abu l-'Abbaas Sahl ibn Sa'd as-Saa'idi (may Allah be pleased with him): a man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: "O Messenger of Allah, show me a deed which, if I do it, will earn me the love of Allah and the love of people." He said: ازْهَدْ فِي الدُّنْيَا يُحِبَّكَ اللَّهُ، وَازْهَدْ فِيمَا عِنْدَ النَّاسِ يُحِبُّوكَ "Be detached from the world, Allah will love you; be detached from what people possess, people will love you." Source: Ibn Maaja 4102 [À VÉRIFIER : numéro]. An-Nawawi grades it "ḥasan"; Ibn Rajab discusses its chain [À VÉRIFIER : degré].

The commentary • Zuhd is not poverty, nor refusing the lawful, nor wastefulness. Ibn Rajab reports definitions from the early generations: not attaching one's heart to this world, being more confident in what is with Allah than in what is in one's hand, and remaining the same before praise and blame [À VÉRIFIER : attributions]. • The world in the hand, not in the heart: wealthy companions, such as 'Uthmaan or 'Abd ar-Raḥmaan ibn 'Awf, are cited as examples of detachment, because they gave without holding back. • The love of people: we love those who do not covet what we have. Not asking, not envying, not comparing oneself keeps dignity and ties.

The text: Surah As-Sajda (32), verses 16 to 17 تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ ﴿١٦﴾ فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَا أُخْفِيَ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿١٧﴾

Meaning: "Their sides forsake their beds; they call upon their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend of what We have provided for them. No soul knows what joy for the eyes is kept hidden for them, as a reward for what they used to do." These are the verses the Prophet ﷺ recited to Mu'aadh in hadith 29, about the night prayer.

Arabic text: Tanzil Quran Text (Simple, version 1.0.2), © 2008-2010 Tanzil.net, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence, reproduced without any change (http://tanzil.net). Each verse is on its own line, followed by its number; the basmala, which the Tanzil file places at the start of the first verse, is written on its own line.

Understanding the lesson

Explanation Hadith 29 is a true plan for life: the pillars for salvation, the doors of good to rise, and the tongue to restrain so as not to lose everything. Hadith 30 gives the map of the law: obligations, limits, prohibitions, and a vast space left free out of mercy. Hadith 31 regulates one's relationship with the world: possessing it without being possessed by it. These three hadiths answer three dangers for the adult: settling for the minimum or exhausting oneself without order (29), complicating the religion or loosening it (30), and attachment to money, status and comparison (31). Two of them have a disputed grade (30 and 31); their meaning is confirmed by other texts, as the commentators recall.

Lessons to draw from it • Build one's practice in order: pillars, then voluntary deeds. • Choose one "door of good": a voluntary fast, a regular charity, a few units of night prayer. • Watch one's tongue: backbiting, lying, mockery, posts. • Do not make obligatory what Allah has left free, nor free what He has forbidden. • Use money without attaching one's heart to it; do not covet what others have.

Key points to remember • Hadith 29 (At-Tirmidhi 2616): the doors of good; "restrain this"; حَصَائِدُ أَلْسِنَتِهِمْ. • The head of the matter: Islam; its pillar: prayer. • Hadith 30: obligations, limits, prohibitions, and the merciful silence; rule: permission by default. • Hadith 31: ازْهَدْ فِي الدُّنْيَا يُحِبَّكَ اللَّهُ.

The main message Hold the pillars, open the doors of good, guard your tongue and keep the world in your hand, not in your heart: this is the way to the love of Allah.