Home > The 40 Hadith of Nawawi > Hadith 10 of Nawawi
Hadith number 10 of the collection of the 40 hadiths of Imam an-Nawawi, in a faithful English translation.
Updated on 10 September 2026 at 2:45 AM
📖 16 min readThis hadith belongs to the collection of the 40 hadiths of Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him), the most studied hadith compilation in the world: foundations of faith, worship and character, all authentic narrations.
His saying (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Allah is pure": come too from Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas's hadith, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said: "Allah is pure: loving the pure; clean: loving cleanliness; generous: loving generosity." At-Tirmidhi reports it: criticized in its isnad. Pure here means purified.
The meaning: Allah, glorified and exalted, sanctified, sanctified from all deficiencies and imperfections. Like His word:
"The good things are for the good ones, and the good ones for the good things: those are innocent of what they say."
An-Nur, 26
Intended: the sanctified from indecencies' baseness and misdeeds.
His saying: "accepts only pure": its meaning came in charity's hadith, wording: "none gives charity but from pure earning: Allah accepts only pure." Intended: the Most High accepts of charities only pure lawful.
Said: intended in this hadith we speak now, by his word "accepts only pure": broader: accepts of deeds only pure purified of all corrupters: display and self-sufficiency; of wealths only pure lawful: pure describes deeds, speech and beliefs: all divide pure and impure.
Generalizing in impure and pure
Said: enters His word:
"Say: the impure and pure are not equal, though the impure's multitude amaze you."
Al-Ma'ida, 100
All that.
Allah, the Most High, divided speech into pure and impure, saying:
"Allah gave as example a pure word: like a pure tree."
Ibrahim, 24
"And an impure word's example: like an impure tree."
Ibrahim, 25
"To Him ascend the pure words: righteous deed raises them."
Fatir, 10
The Messenger licenses pure, prohibits impure
The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) described licensing pure things, prohibiting impure. Said: entering: deeds, speech and beliefs too.
Believers' description
Allah, the Most High, described believers pure, saying: "those whom the angels take in purity": angels at death saying: "exit, O pure soul, in pure body": angels greeting them at Paradise-entry, saying: "pure you are." Hadith: "the believer visiting his brother for Allah: angels telling him: pure you are: pure your walking: Paradise abode taken."
The believer pure wholly
The believer pure wholly: heart, tongue and body: faith settling his heart, remembrance appearing tongue, righteous deeds limbs: faith's fruits: entering his name. All these pure things: Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, accepts.
Of what believers' deeds' purity obtains: pure food: lawful: thereby deed flourishes. This hadith: allusion deed accepted nor flourishes: without lawful eating: unlawful eating corrupts deed, preventing acceptance: he said after establishing: "Allah accepts only pure: Allah commanded the believers what He commanded the sent ones: He says: O messengers! Eat pure things, work righteousness"; He says: "O you who believe! Eat pure things of what We provided you."
The intended
Intended: messengers and nations commanded eating pure things: the lawful: righteous working: eating lawful: deed righteous, accepted: eating unlawful: how deed accepted?
What he mentioned after of invocation, how accepted with unlawful: example of excluding deeds' acceptance with unlawful feeding.
At-Tabarani reports, by a chain with observation, from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both, who said: "I recited this verse before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): O people! Eat of what is on earth, lawful and pure. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas rose saying: O Messenger of Allah! Pray Allah making me answered invoker. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told him: O Sa'd! Purify your food: answered invoker: by Him holding Muhammad's soul: the servant casts the unlawful morsel in his belly: Allah accepts no deed forty days. Any servant whose flesh grew of unlawful: Fire worthier." Ahmad's Musnad, may Allah have mercy on him, by a chain with observation too, from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with both, who said: "Whoever buys a garment of ten dirhams whose price an unlawful dirham: Allah accepts not his prayer while upon." Then inserted his two fingers in his ears saying: "deaf they be: heard it not from Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." Its meaning reported from Ali's hadith, may Allah be pleased with him, raised: al-Bazzar and others report by very weak chain. At-Tabarani reports, by a weak chain, from Abu Hurayra's hadith, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said: "When man goes pilgrim with pure provision, placing his foot in sand, calling: labbayk, O Allah, labbayk: a heaven-caller calls: labbayk and sa'dayk: provision lawful: travel lawful: pilgrimage accepted unpunished. When going with impure provision, placing foot in sand, calling: labbayk, O Allah, labbayk: heaven-caller calling: neither labbayk nor sa'dayk: provision unlawful, spending unlawful, pilgrimage unaccepted." Like from Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, weak chain too. Abu Yahya al-Qattat reports, from Mujahid, from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both, who said: "Allah accepts no prayer of a man having unlawful in his belly."
Scholars diverged on pilgrimaging with unlawful wealth, praying in unlawful garment: prayer's and pilgrimage's obligation lapsing? Two Ahmad narrations. These mentioned hadiths indicate deed accepted not with unlawful consuming.
Acceptance may mean deed's pleasure, doer's praise, angel-commending and glorification: or reward and grace obtaining: or obligation's responsibility-falling: were intended first or second: obligation's responsibility-falling prevented not. Like come: fugitive's prayer accepted not, angry-married wife's, sorcerer-visitor's, wine-drinker's forty days. Intended, Allah knows best: first or second acceptance's negation: intended, Allah knows best, of Allah's word, the Mighty and Majestic:
"Allah accepts only of the mindful."
Al-Ma'ida, 27
Hence predecessors feared this verse intensely upon souls: fearing of the mindful Allah-accepting not. Ahmad asked the mindful's meaning therein: he said: "fearing things: falling not in unlawful."
Abu Abd Allah an-Nibaji the ascetic, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "five traits deed completing: faith by knowing Allah, the Mighty and Majestic; Truth's knowledge; deed's Allah-sincerity; deed upon Sunna; lawful eating. One missing: deed rises not. Knowing Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, Truth knowing not: profiting not. Truth knowing, Allah knowing not: profiting not. Knowing Allah, Truth, deed sincere not: profiting not. Knowing Allah, Truth, sincere, Sunna-upon not: profiting not. All doing, lawful eating not: profiting not."
Abu Hurayra's hadith, may Allah be pleased with him: "Allah accepts the cheat's charity not, his repentance: till returning." Like: "usurper's charity": Abu Dawud reports. Ibn Umar's: like usurper charity-giving his usurped. Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib asked: found a lost thing: charity? He said: "you and its holder rewarded not." Perhaps intent: charity before required identification. Sultan or deputies taking treasury what due not: charity, freeing, mosque-building, or people-benefiting: Ibn Umar's reported: like usurper charity-giving his usurped. Hence told Abd Allah ibn Amir, Basra's amir, people gathered at death, praising kindness: Ibn Omar silent: asked speaking: reported hadith: "Allah accepts the cheat's charity not": then said: "you were on Basra." Asad ibn Musa said in scrupulousness book: al-Fudayl ibn Iyad reports, from Mansur, from Tamim ibn Salama, who said: Ibn Amir told Abd Allah ibn Omar: "see these ewers easing, wells digging: no reward?" Ibn Omar said: "know you not the impure expiates never the impure?" Abd ar-Rahman ibn Ziyad reports, from Abu Maliha, from Maymun ibn Mihran, who said: Ibn Omar told Ibn Amir, asking manumission: "your example like one stealing pilgrims' camels: striving Allah's path: see accepted from him not."
Some intense-scrupulousness folk, like Tawus and Wahb ibn al-Ward: guarded benefiting such kings' building. Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him: permitted their public-benefit doing: mosques, bridges, factories: spent of conquest-wealth: unless certain haram-money things: taxes, usurpation, such: then haram-deed benefiting guarded. Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with both, perhaps denied their treasury-taking for themselves, claiming later charity: resembling usurpation: such carried scholars' kings-mosque-building denial.
Abu al-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: saw some predecessors asked of one earning lawful-unlawful of sultans and emirs: building hermitages mosques: reward? Fatwa pleasing spender's heart: unowned-wealth spending brokerage-kind: usurped items unknown, returning them. I said: wonder at fatwa-claimants knowing not Sharia's roots! Spender's state examined first: sultan: treasury-outgoing: destinations known: entitled-preventing how: useless madrasa, hermitage-building busy? Emir or sultan-deputy: returning-due treasury-return obligatory. Unlawful or usurped: all disposition unlawful: returning taker or heirs obligatory: unknown: treasury: interest or charity-spending: taker gaining naught but sin.
His speech rather his-time sultans: entitled-conquest-rights preventing: owner-like disposing: schools, hermitages unneeded attributing, folk-privileging. Just imam granting people conquest-rights: building needed mosque, school, hospital: permitted. Some treasury-taker building needed permissible-time building, self-attributing: usurper-diversity arguable: money returning charity-gift: freed or not: all need-measure building, no waste ornament. Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz ordered Basra mosque treasury-repair: exceeding-cracks prohibiting: "construction's right in Allah's wealth found I not." Reported: "Muslims no need in what harms their treasury."
Know, of scholars: some made usurper's and such other-wealth disposition: owner-authorization-standing: agreeing disposition: permitted. Our companions report Ahmad: zakat-outgoing usurped-wealth, owner-agreeing: permitted: zakat lapses. Ibn Abi Musa reports Ahmad likewise: freeing other's slave self-binding, wealth-guaranteeing: owner-agreeing: valid, freedom executing: Ahmad's text-contrary. Hanafis reported: sheep-usurper slaughtering enjoyment-guests: owner-agreeing: sufficing.
Usurper's usurped-wealth disposition's second aspect: owner-behalf charity: owner or heirs-returning unable: most scholars permitted: Malik, Abu Hanifa, Ahmad, others.
Ibn Abd al-Barr said: az-Zuhri, ath-Thawri, al-Awza'i, al-Layth held: wrongfully-taking plunderer: army-folk dispersing, unreached: imam-fifth giving: rest charity. Reported Ubada ibn as-Samit, Mu'awiya, al-Hasan al-Basri: resembling Ibn Mas'oud's and Ibn Abbas's view, may Allah be pleased with both: unknown-owner wealth-charity. Said: luqta consensus: identification and holder-absence charity-permission: coming: reward-guarantee choice: usurped likewise. Malik ibn Dinar said: asked Ata ibn Abi Rabbah of unlawful-wealth holder, owners-unknown, exiting-willing: he said: charity: saying not sufficing. Malik said: Ata's saying dearer than gold-weighing?! Sufyan said, of usurped-buyer: returning them: unreachable: charity-wholly: capital-taking not. Disliked-transaction-folk selling: said: price-charity. Ibn al-Mubarak contradicted: profit-only charity. Ahmad said: profit-charity. Likewise father-inherited wealth seller, father disliked-transaction-selling: profit-measure charity: rest taking. Like reported some Companions: Umar ibn al-Khattab, Abd Allah ibn Yazid al-Ansari, may Allah please them. Famous al-Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him: unlawful wealths preserved: charity till entitled appearing. Al-Fudayl ibn Iyad held: unlawful-wealth holder, owners-unknown: destroying, sea-casting: no charity: saying: "Allah approached not but by pure." Correct: charity: wealth-destroying, wasting prohibited: ever-exposing destruction, tyrant-seizing: charity not his earning: impure-nearness: owner-behalf charity: Hereafter-benefit, world-benefit impossible.
His word: "then mentions the man travel-lengthening, disheveled, dusty, hands sky-extending: O Lord! O Lord!: food unlawful, drink unlawful, garment unlawful, unlawfully fed: how answered for that?!"
This speech, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) alluded dua's etiquettes, answering-causes, answer-preventers: four answer-causes mentioned. First: travel-lengthening: travel alone answer-requiring: Abu Hurayra's hadith, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Three invocations answered doubtless: the oppressed's, the traveler's, the parent's child-invocation." Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, at-Tirmidhi report: latter: "parent's against-child invocation." Like Ibn Mas'oud's, may Allah be pleased with him. Travel-lengthening: invocation answer-nearer: soul-breaking homeland-exile-length probable-place: hardship-bearing and breaking greatest answer-causes.
Second: garment-appearance abandoning: disheveled, dusty. Answer-requiring: famous hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "How many disheveled, dusty, two-worn-sandaled, door-repelled: Allah-swearing: fulfilled!" Prophet rain-requesting: went abandoned, humble, supplicating. Mutarrif ibn Abd Allah: nephew detained: wool-wearing, staff-taking: told: what this? Said: "calming my Lord: perhaps interceding my nephew."
Third: hands sky-extending: dua etiquette, answer-hoped. Salman's hadith, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Allah, the Most High, is shy, generous: ashamed man's hands-raising: returning them empty, disappointed." Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah report. Like from Anas, Jabir, others. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) raised rain-requesting hands till armpit-whiteness seen: Badr-day hands-raising polytheist-aid-seeking: cloak shoulders-falling. Hand-raising types multiple reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in dua: forefinger-pointing; minbar-doing; mount-mounting.
Scholar-group held prayer-qunut-invocation forefinger-pointing: al-Awza'i, Sa'id ibn Abd al-Aziz, Ishaq ibn Rahuwayh. Ibn Abbas and others said: "this is dua's sincerity." Ibn Sirin said: "Allah-praising: one-finger pointing."
Of it: hands-raising, backs qibla-facing, palms face-ward: reported of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rain-request invocation: some liking rain-request raising: al-Jawzajani of them. Predecessors: "this-face raising supplicating." Of it: hands-raising backs-opposite: reported Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rain-request too: some predecessors praying so: saying: "this-face raising Allah-asylum-seeking, refuge-seeking": Ibn Umar, Ibn Abbas, Abu Hurayra, may Allah please them: Prophet reported refuge-seeking hands-raising so. Of it: hands-raising palms sky-ward: backs earth-ward: Allah-asking commanded besides hadith: Ibn Umar, Abu Hurayra, Ibn Sirin: this dua, Allah-asking, the Mighty and Majestic. Of it: opposite: palms-flipping: backs sky-ward: bellies earth-ward: Muslim's Sahih, from Anas: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rain-requested: palms' backs sky-pointing. Imam Ahmad reports it, wording: hands-extending, backs sky-facing. Abu Dawud reports, wording: rain-requested thus: meaning the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) hands-extending: palms earth-facing. Imam Ahmad reports from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri's hadith, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: "the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stood Arafat invoking thus: hands collarbone-height raising: palms' bellies earth-facing." Hammad ibn Salama described likewise the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) Arafah hands-raising: Ibn Sirin reported: this asylum-seeking: al-Humaydi said: this imploring.
Fourth: insistence on Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, Lordship-remembrance repeating: greatest answer-seeking. Al-Bazzar reports from Aisha the believers' mother's hadith, raised: "servant saying: O Lord! Four times: Allah says: at your service, My servant: ask: given." At-Tabarani and others report from Sa'd ibn Kharja's hadith: people Prophet-complained (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rain-withholding: he said: "kneel on knees, saying: O Lord! O Lord!" Index sky-raising: rain till uncovered-wishing. Musnad and others, from al-Fadl ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said: "Prayer two-by-two: testimony each two-rak'a: supplicating, humbling: hands-holding, facing: raised to your Lord face-facing: saying: O Lord! O Lord! Non-doer: incomplete." Yazid ar-Raqashi reports Anas: no servant saying: O Lord! O Lord! O Lord! but his Lord saying: at your service, at your service. Abu al-Darda and Ibn Abbas reported, may Allah please them: saying: "Allah's greatest name: O Lord! O Lord!" Ata saying: "no servant saying: O Lord! Thrice: Allah regarding not." Al-Hasan told: saying: "Qur'an reading not?" Then reciting His word:
"Those remembering Allah standing, sitting, sides-lying: reflecting heavens' and earth's creation: Lord! Created You this not vainly: glory Yours: preserve us Fire-punishment. Lord! Whomever You enter Fire: shamed: unjust no helpers. Lord! Heard we a caller faith-calling: believing your Lord: believing: Lord! Forgive our sins: efface our evils: take us with the righteous. Lord! Grant us what You promised Your messengers: shame us not Resurrection-Day: promise-breaking never." Their Lord answered: no worker's deed among you lost.
Al Imran, 190-194
Qur'an-mentioning invocations contemplating: mostly Lord-name opening: His word: "Lord! Grant us world-good, Hereafter-good: preserve us Fire-punishment"; "Lord! Punish us not forgetting-erring: Lord! Burden us not like prior-folk burden: Lord! Load us not what we cannot bear"; His word: "Lord! Deviate not our hearts after guiding: grant us from Yourself mercy: You the Giver." Like in Qur'an: abundant. Malik and Sufyan asked of dua-saying: O my master! Said: says: O Lord! Increase your master: as prophets' invocations said.
Answer-preventing: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) alluded unlawful-expansion: eating, drinking, wearing, feeding. Ibn Abbas's hadith in this meaning preceded: Prophet telling Sa'd (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "purify your food: answered invoker." Lawful eating, drinking, wearing, feeding: invocation-answering cause. Ikrima ibn Ammar reports: al-Asfar informed us: Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas told: Allah's Messenger companions' (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) invocation how answered? Said: "mouth-morsel raising never but knowing whence coming, whence exiting?!" Wahb ibn Munabbih said: "delighting Allah-answering: food purifying." Sahl ibn Abd Allah said: "lawful-eating forty mornings: invocation answered." Yusuf ibn Asbat said: "reached us servant's invocation heavens-held by food-badness." His word: "how answered for that?!" Meaning: how answered?! Wonder-exclusion interrogation: answer-impossibility, absolute-preventing explicit not. Taken: unlawful-expansion, unlawful-feeding: answer-obstacles' ensemble: obstacle's obstacle removable: actual prohibitions committing answer-obstacle too: obligations-abandoning likewise: hadith: right-enjoining, wrong-forbidding abandoning: bests' dua-answering preventing: obedience-deeds answering-causing. Cave-entering folk, rock-closing: sincere Allah-deeds recommending: Allah-invoking: answered. Wahb ibn Munabbih said: "non-deed invoker like non-cord archer." Said: "righteous deed reaches dua": reciting His word: "pure words ascend: righteous deed raising." Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "Allah-forbidden scrupulousness: Allah accepting invocation, glorification." Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "piety-with sufficing: salt-food-sufficing dua." Muhammad ibn Wasi' said: "dua-sufficing: little scrupulousness." Sufyan told: Allah-invoking? Said: "sins-leaving is dua." Al-Layth said: Musa, upon him peace, saw a man hands-raising: Allah-asking striving: Musa said: "O my Lord! Your servant invoked till pitying: You most merciful of merciful: what of his need?" Said: "O Musa! Hands-raising till severing: need-regarding not: My right-regarding till." At-Tabarani reports, weak chain, Ibn Abbas, raised, meaning: Malik ibn Dinar said: "Israel's children calamity-struck: desert-exiting: Allah, the Most High, prophet-revealing: telling: desert-exiting impure-bodies, blood-shedding palms-raising, houses unlawful-filling: now My anger intensified: growing but farther." Predecessors: "answer-delaying not: paths sins-barring." Poets this meaning taking: "Allah-invoking each distress... distress-lifting forgetting! Answer-hoping how... sins-path-barring?"