Home > The 40 Hadith of Nawawi > Hadith 21 of Nawawi
Hadith number 21 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
📖 10 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.
At-Tirmidhi said: hasan sahih. Imam Ahmad and an-Nasai authenticated it from Abdallah ibn Soufyan al-Thaqafi, from his father: that a man said: "O Messenger of Allah, command me to an affair of Islam and let me ask no one after you." He said: "Say: I believe in Allah, then stand firm." I said: "And what about the reverential fear (taqwa)?" He gestured toward his tongue.
Soufyan ibn Abdallah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Tell me about Islam a word to which none would ask after you", he asked him to teach him a word comprehending the affair of Islam, sufficient, so that he would need, after it, no one else. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him: "Say: I believe in Allah, then stand firm." In another narration: "Say: my Lord is Allah, then stand firm."
This is drawn from the word of the Mighty and Majestic:
"Those who said: Our Lord is Allah, and then stood firm: upon them the angels descend. Fear not, nor grieve; rejoice in the Paradise you were promised."
Fussilat, 30
And the word of the Mighty and Majestic:
"Those who said: Our Lord is Allah, and then stood firm: no fear upon them, nor shall they grieve. Those are the companions of Paradise, abiding therein eternally, as reward for what they used to do."
Al-Ahqaf, 13-14
An-Nasai reported it in his Tafsir, from Souhayl ibn Abi Hazm: Thabit narrated to us, from Anas, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited: "Those who said: Our Lord is Allah, and then stood firm" and said: "The people said it, then disbelieved; whoever dies upon it is among the people of uprightness." At-Tirmidhi reported it with this wording: he said: "The people said it, then most of them disbelieved; whoever dies upon it is among those who were upright." And he said: hasan gharib. Souhayl was criticized concerning his memory. Abu Bakr as-Siddiq said, interpreting "then stood firm": they associated nothing with Allah. And he said again: they turned not to a deity other than Him; and again: then they stood firm in affirming that Allah is their Lord. From Ibn Abbas, with a weak chain: "This is the lightest verse in the Book of Allah, Those who said: Our Lord is Allah, and then stood firm, compared to the testimony that there is no deity but Allah." A similar report is narrated from Anas, Mujahid, al-Aswad ibn Hilal, Zayd ibn Aslam, as-Suddi, Ikrima and others. It is reported from Umar ibn al-Khattab that he recited this verse upon the pulpit, "Those who said: Our Lord is Allah, and then stood firm", and said: "they did not trick like the fox's trickery." Ali ibn Abi Talha narrates from Ibn Abbas, concerning the word of the Most High: "Those who said: Our Lord is Allah, and then stood firm": they stood firm in fulfilling His obligations. From Abu al-Aliya: they made religion and action sincere for Him. Qatada said: they stood firm in obedience to Allah. Al-Hasan, whenever he recited this verse, would say: "O Allah, You are our Lord: provide us with uprightness."
Perhaps he who said that what is meant is uprightness upon tawhid intended the complete tawhid whose possessor is forbidden the Fire: it is the realization of the meaning of "there is no deity but Allah", for the divinity (ila) is the worshipped one who is obeyed and not disobeyed, out of fear, reverence, majesty, love, hope, trust and supplication. All disobediences cut into this tawhid, for they are the answer to the caller of desire, who is the devil. Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: "Have you seen the one who takes his desire as his deity?" Al-Hasan and others said: "He is the one who does not desire a thing but commits it." That negates uprightness upon tawhid.
As for the narration: "Say: I believe in Allah", the meaning is clearer therein; for faith encompasses, according to the Salaf and their followers among the people of hadith, the righteous deeds. Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: "Stand firm as you were commanded, along with those who repent with you, and do not transgress: indeed He sees what you do." He commanded him uprightness, and those who repent with him, and not to exceed what they were commanded, and that excess is transgression (tughyan), and He informed that He is clear-sighted of their deeds. The Most High said: "So to that call, and stand firm as you were commanded, and follow not their desires." Qatada said: Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was commanded to stand firm upon Allah's command. Ath-Thawri said: upon the Quran. From al-Hasan: when this verse descended, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) rolled up his sleeves, and he was never seen laughing after it. Reported by Ibn Abi Hatim. Al-Kushayri and others mention that some said: he saw the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in a dream and said: "O Messenger of Allah, you said: Houd turned my hair gray, and its sisters. What of them turned it gray?" He said: the word of the Most High: "Stand firm as you were commanded." And the Mighty and Majestic said: "Say: I am only a human like you; it is revealed to me that your deity is one deity. So stand firm toward Him and seek His forgiveness." Allah the Most High also commanded establishing the religion in general, as He said: "He has legislated for you of the religion what He enjoined upon Nouh, and what We revealed to you, and what We enjoined upon Ibrahim, Moussa and Issa: establish the religion and do not divide therein. Heavy upon the polytheists is that to which you call them. Allah chooses for Himself whom He wills and guides to Himself whoever turns back." And He commanded establishing the prayer in more than one place of His Book, as He commanded uprightness upon tawhid in those two verses.
Uprightness (istiqama): it is walking the straight path, the upright religion, without swerving from it right or left, this encompasses performing all obediences, apparent and inward, and abandoning all prohibitions likewise. This counsel therefore gathers all the traits of religion.
In the word of the Most High: "So stand firm toward Him and seek His forgiveness" there is an indication that there will inevitably be shortcoming in the commanded uprightness, and that it is repaired by the seeking of forgiveness which entails repentance and return to uprightness. It is like the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) word to Muadh: "Fear Allah wherever you are, and follow the bad deed with a good deed that erases it."
And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) informed that the people would not be able to achieve uprightness to its perfection, as reported by Imam Ahmad and Ibn Majah, from Thawban, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Stand firm and you will not be counted; know that the best of your deeds is the prayer, and none preserves his ablution except a believer." In a narration of Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him): "Aim rightly and draw near; and none preserves the prayer except a believer." In the two Sahihs, from Abu Hourayra (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Aim rightly and draw near." The right aiming (sidad) is the reality of uprightness: hitting rightly in all sayings, deeds and aims, like one who shoots at a target and hits it. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to ask Allah the Mighty and Majestic for right aiming and guidance, and said to him: "By right aiming, your arrow will hit; and by guidance, your road will be guided." And drawing near (mouqaraba): to hit what is near the aim when one does not hit the aim itself, provided one is resolved upon right aiming and hitting the aim: his drawing near would then be unintentional. It is indicated by the word of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the hadith of Hakam ibn Hazn al-Kulafi: "O people, you will never do, or never manage, all that I commanded you; but aim rightly and rejoice." The meaning: intend right aiming, hitting and uprightness; for were they to aim rightly in all deed, they would have done all they were commanded.
The root of uprightness is the heart's uprightness upon tawhid, as Abu Bakr as-Siddiq and others explained the word: "Those who said: Our Lord is Allah, and then stood firm": they turned not to another.
When the heart is upright in the knowledge of Allah, His fear, reverence, majesty, love, His will, hope in Him, supplication of Him, trust in Him, and turning away from all besides: all the limbs are upright in His obedience. For the heart is the king of the organs, and they are its soldiers: when the king is upright, his soldiers and subjects are upright.
Likewise the word of the Most High was interpreted: "So direct your face toward the religion, in true uprightness (hanif)": the sincerity of intent for Allah and will for Him alone, no partner with Him.
The greatest of limbs whose uprightness is watched after the heart: the tongue; for it is the heart's interpreter and its spokesman. That is why, when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) commanded Soufyan ibn Abdallah al-Thaqafi uprightness, he followed it with guarding the tongue. And in the Mousnad of Imam Ahmad, from Anas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "The faith of a servant stands not upright until his heart stands upright; and his heart stands not upright until his tongue stands upright." In at-Tirmidhi's narration, from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, in both mawquf and marfou form: "When the son of Adam rises in the morning, all the members ask forgiveness of the tongue and say: fear Allah regarding us: we are but by you. If you are upright, we are upright; if you are crooked, we are crooked."