Home > The 40 Hadith of Nawawi > Hadith 23 of Nawawi
Hadith number 23 of the collection of the 40 hadiths of Imam an-Nawawi, in faithful English translation.
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Updated on 07 October 2026 at 4:51 AM
📖 35 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.
From Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, and confirmed by it being reported also from 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Ghannam, from Abu Malik, by another channel; the hadith of Mouslim would then be severed. In the hadith of Mou'awiya, a divergence from that of Yahya ibn Abi Kathir, for the wording of his hadith with Ibn Majah is, "Complete ablution is half of faith; praise of Allah fills the balance; glorification and magnification fill the sky and the earth; the prayer is a light; alms is a proof; patience is a radiance; and the Quran is a proof for you or against you. All the people go out at morning, one selling his soul and freeing it, another driving it to ruin." And at-Tirmidhi reports the hadith of Yahya ibn Abi Kathir that Mouslim reports, and the wording of his hadith, "ablution is half of faith," the rest of the hadith being in the context of Mouslim.
And Imam Ahmad and at-Tirmidhi report from the hadith of a man of the tribe of Banou Soulaym that he said, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) enumerated them with his fingers, "Glorification is half the balance; praise of Allah fills it; magnification fills what is between the sky and the earth; the fast is half of patience; and purity is half of faith."
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "purity is half of faith": certain interpreted purity here as abandoning sins, as in the words of the Most High,
"They are a people who purify themselves."
Al-Baqara, 222
and the words,
"And your garments, purify them."
Al-Mouddaththir, 4
and His words,
"Allah loves those who repent, and loves those who purify themselves."
Al-Baqara, 222
And he said, "Faith is of two sorts, deed and abandonment: its half is performing the commands, its half abandoning the prohibitions, which is the purification of the soul by leaving disobediences." This opinion is receivable, were the version, "ablution is half of faith," and likewise the version, "complete ablution," not to refute it. And there is besides an observation from the side of sense: many deeds purify the soul of prior sins, like the prayer; why should they not enter the name of purity? And when deeds, or part of them, enter the name of purity, it is no longer established that abandoning sins is half of faith.
The correct, upon which the majority agrees, is that intended here by purity is purification with water of the legal impurities. That is why Mouslim begins his report in the chapters of ablution, and an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah and others report it likewise.
Upon this basis the people diverged over the sense of purification with water being half of faith:
First, certain say, by half is meant the part, not the strict half: purification would be a part of faith. That is weak, for the linguistic usage of half is known for the half, and because the hadith of the man of Banou Soulaym says, "purity is half of faith," as preceded.
Second, certain say, the sense is that the reward of ablution is raised to half the reward of faith, without multiplication. That is disputable, weak and remote.
Third, certain say, faith effaces all the great sins, and ablution effaces the small ones, it being half of faith thereby. That is refuted by the hadith, "whoever did evil in Islam is reproached for what he did in ignorance," already mentioned.
Fourth, certain say, ablution effaces sins together with faith, it becoming half of faith thereby; and that is weak.
Fifth, certain say, intended here by faith is the prayer, as in the words of the Mighty and Majestic,
"Allah would not have made your faith be lost."
Al-Baqara, 143
wherein is meant your prayers towards Bayt al-Maqdis. If faith then means the prayer, the prayer is accepted only with purity, purity becoming half of faith thereby. Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi reports this interpretation in his book of the prayer, from Ishaq ibn Rahouwayh, from Yahya ibn Adam; and he would have said, in the sense of their saying, "half of knowledge" is, I know and I know not, each of the two being the half of the other.
I say: everything has two species under it, one being its half, whether the two species be equal in number or one exceed the other. It is indicated by the hadith, "I divided the prayer between Me and My servant into two halves," and intended is the recitation of the prayer, wherefore he explains it by the Fatiha; and the sense is that it is divided between worship and request, worship being the right of the Lord, request the right of the servant, not that its words be divided in equal parts. Al-Khattabi mentioned it, citing the saying of the Arabs, half the year is travel, the other half settlement, and there is no equality of the two times, but division of the two times between them, even were their durations to differ. And Chourayh said, when asked, "How did you wake?" He said, "I woke and half the people are angry with me!"
He means the people are between one judged in his favour and one judged against him, the one judged against him angry, the one judged in his favour content, those being two different parties. And the poet says, "When I die, the people will be two halves, one rejoicing at my death, and one praising what I did." And its sense is, they divide into two parts.
I say, of this sense is the hadith of Abu Hourayra, in raised form, upon the inheritance shares, they are half of knowledge; Ibn Majah reports it. The rules of the obligated are of two sorts, one sort relating to life, one sort relating to after death, and that is the inheritance shares. Ibn Mas'oud said, the inheritance shares are a third of knowledge; and it rests upon the hadith reported by Abu Dawoud and Ibn Majah from the hadith of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr, in raised form, "Knowledge is of three things, and all the rest is surplus: a clear verse, an established Sunna, or a just inheritance share." And it is reported from Moujahid that he said, "the rinsing of the mouth and the sniffing of the nose are half of ablution"; he may have meant that ablution is of two parts, one mentioned in the Quran, the other drawn from the Sunna, which is the rinsing and the sniffing; or he meant that the rinsing and the sniffing purify the interior of the body, and the washing of the other limbs purifies its exterior, the two being halves thereby. From there is the saying of Ibn Mas'oud, "Patience is half of faith, and certainty is faith entire." And from the narration of Yazid ar-Raqachi, from Anas, in raised form, "Faith is two halves, one half in patience, one half in gratitude."
Faith including therefore the performance of the obligations and the abandonment of the prohibitions, and all of that being obtained only by patience, patience was said half of faith. Likewise one says of ablution, it is half of the prayer. And moreover, the prayer effaces sins and offences on condition of complete and well-made ablution, it becoming half of the prayer thereby also. As in the Sahih of Mouslim, from 'Outhman, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "No Muslim who purifies himself, performing the purification prescribed him, then prays these five prayers, but that it is an expiation for what is between them." And in a version of him, "Whoever performs the ablution as Allah commanded him, the prescribed prayers are expiations for what is between them."
And moreover, the prayer is the key of Paradise, and ablution the key of the prayer, as Imam Ahmad and at-Tirmidhi report from the hadith of Jabir, in raised form; and each of ablution and prayer makes obligatory the opening of the gates of Paradise, as in the Sahih of Mouslim, from 'Oqba ibn 'Amir, who heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say, "No Muslim who performs his ablution well, then rises and prays two rak'a, turning to them his heart and his face, but that Paradise becomes obligatory for him." And from 'Oqba, from 'Omar, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "None of you who performs ablution and completes it, then says, I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Mouhammad is His servant and His messenger, but that the eight gates of Paradise are opened for him: he enters by whichever he wills."
And in the two authentic collections, from 'Obada, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "Whoever says, I testify that there is no god but Allah, alone, without associate, and that Mouhammad is His servant and His messenger, and that 'Issa is the servant of Allah, the son of His servant, His word He cast into Maryam, and a spirit from Him, and that Paradise is true, and that the Fire is true, Allah brings him into whichever of the eight gates of Paradise he wills."
If ablution therefore, with the two testimonies, makes obligatory the opening of the gates of Paradise, ablution becomes half of faith in Allah and His messenger thereby.
And moreover, ablution is of the hidden traits of faith that only a believer keeps, as in the hadith of Thawban and others, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "None keeps ablution but a believer." And the great ablution after marital relation is called, in the texts, fulfilling the deposit, as al-'Aqili reports from the hadith of Abu ad-Darda, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "Five, whoever comes with them with faith enters Paradise: whoever keeps the five prayers, with their ablution, their bowing, their prostration and their hours; gives the zakat of his wealth, the soul content of giving." He said, "By Allah, none does that but a believer, the fast of Ramadan, the pilgrimage of the House for whoever finds the means, and fulfilling the deposit."
They said, "O Abu ad-Darda! And what is fulfilling the deposit?" He said, "The great ablution; Allah entrusts to the son of Adam no part of his religion but that." And Ibn Majah reports from the hadith of Abu 'Ayyoub, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "The five prayers, and Friday to Friday, and fulfilling the deposit, are expiations for what is between them." It was said, "and what is fulfilling the deposit?" He said, "The great ablution, for under every hair there is a stain of janaba." And the preceding hadith of Abu ad-Darda makes ablution part of the prayer.
And in a hadith reported by al-Bazzar, from the narration of Chababa ibn Sawwar, Moughira ibn Mouslim informed us, from al-'A'mach, from Abu Salih, from Abu Hourayra, in raised form, "The prayer is of three thirds: purity a third, bowing a third, prostration a third; whoever performs it according to its right, it is accepted him, and all his deed is accepted; and whoever's prayer is rejected, all his deed is rejected him." And it is said, Moughira alone reports it, the preserved version of Abu Salih being from Ka'b. Upon this division, ablution is the third of the prayer, unless one hold bowing and prostration one thing, by their nearness of form, ablution being then half of the prayer also.
One may also say, the traits of faith, of all deeds and words, purify the heart and beautify it, while purification with water is specific to purifying the body and cleansing it, the traits of faith becoming two halves, the one purifying the exterior, the other the interior, two halves thereby. And Allah knows better His intent, and the intent of His messenger in all of that.
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "and praise of Allah fills the balance, and Glory to Allah, and praise of Allah fill, or fills, what is between the heavens and the earth," there being an hesitation of the reporter over his wording. And in the narration of an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah, "glorification and magnification fill the sky and the earth." And in the hadith of the man of Banou Soulaym, "glorification is half the balance, praise of Allah fills it, and magnification fills what is between the sky and the earth." And at-Tirmidhi reports from the hadith of al-'Afriqi, from 'Abd Allah ibn Yazid, from 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Glorification is half the balance, and praise of Allah fills it, and there is no veil to, there is no god but Allah, before Allah: it reaches Him." And he says, its isnad is not strong.
I say, the isnad towards al-'Afriqi was a matter of divergence, it being reported from him, from Abu al-Qama, from Abu Hourayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), with the addition, "and Allah is greater, the filling of the heavens and the earth." And Ja'far al-Faryabi reports in his book of remembrance and elsewhere, from the hadith of 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Praise of Allah fills the balance; Glory to Allah is half the balance; and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is greater, fill the heavens and the earth and what is between them." And al-Faryabi reports also from the hadith of Mou'adh, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Two words: whoever says one knows not of end beneath the Throne, and the other fills what is between the sky and the earth: there is no god but Allah, and Allah is greater."
These hadiths contained the merit of these four words, which are the best of words: Glory to Allah, praise of Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is greater.
As for praise, all the hadiths agree that it fills the balance. It has been said, that is an image, and the sense is, were praise a body, it would fill the balance. And it has been said, rather Allah, the Mighty and the Majestic, gives to the deeds of the sons of Adam and their words visible forms on the day of Resurrection, which are weighed, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) says, "The Quran shall come on the day of Resurrection, preceded by al-Baqara and Al 'Imran, like two clouds, or two shades spread, or two flocks of birds with spread wings." And he said, "Two words beloved to the All-Merciful, heavy in the balance, light upon the tongue: Glory to Allah and His praise; Glory to Allah the Immense." And he said, "What weighs heaviest in the balance is beautiful character." Likewise, the righteous deed of the believer comes to him in his tomb in the most beautiful form, and the deed of the disbeliever comes to him in the ugliest form. And it is reported that the prayer, the zakat, the fast and the deeds of kindness surround the dead in his tomb and defend him, and that the Quran rises and intercedes for him.
As for glorification, in the narration of Mouslim, "Glory to Allah, and praise of Allah fill, or fills, what is between the sky and the earth": the reporter doubted what fills the space between the heavens and the earth, the two words or one of them? And in the narration of an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah, "glorification and magnification fill the sky and the earth"; this narration is the nearest. And is it meant that they fill together what is between the heavens and the earth, or that each fills that? It is receivable. And in the hadith of Abu Hourayra, may Allah be pleased with him, and of the other man, magnification alone fills what is between the sky and the earth.
In every state, glorification is below praise in merit, as the hadith of 'Ali, of Abu Hourayra, of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr and of the man of Banou Soulaym, may Allah be pleased with them, states explicitly, "glorification is half the balance, and praise of Allah fills it." And the reason: praise is the affirmation of all eulogies for Allah, entering therein the affirmation of the attributes of perfection and the qualities of majesty all, while glorification is the sanctification of Allah of defects, imperfections and evils; and affirmation is more complete than negation. That is why glorification never comes alone, but joined to what indicates the affirmation of perfection, at times coupled to praise, as "Glory to Allah and His praise, Glory to Allah and praise of Allah," at times to a name of the names indicating greatness and majesty, as "Glory to Allah the Immense."
If the hadith of Abu Malik indicates that what fills the space between the heavens and the earth is the sum of glorification and magnification, the affair is clear. And if it is meant that each fills that, the balance is vaster than the space between the heavens and the earth, and what fills the balance more than what fills the space between the heavens and the earth. It is indicated by the authentic hadith of Salman, may Allah be pleased with him, the balance shall be raised on the day of Resurrection, were the heavens and the earth weighed in it, they would enter; the angels would say, "Lord! For whom is this weighed?" Allah the Most High says, "For whom I will of My creation." The angels say, "Glory to You! We worshipped Thee not as it should be!" Al-Hakim reports it in raised form and authenticated it, but the version stopped at the Companion is the most famous.
As for magnification, in the hadith of Abu Hourayra and the man of Banou Soulaym, it alone fills what is between the sky and the earth. And in the hadith of 'Ali, magnification with the formula of oneness fills the heavens and the earth and what is between them.
As for the formula of oneness alone, it reaches Allah without veil between it and Him. At-Tirmidhi reports from the hadith of Abu Hourayra, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "No servant who says, there is no god but Allah, with sincerity, but that the gates of the sky open for it until it reaches the Throne, on condition of avoiding the great sins." And Abu 'Oumama said, "No servant pronounces the formula of oneness but that something withholds it beneath the Throne." And it is said of it, "it has no equal in the balance," in the famous hadith of the card; Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi and an-Nasa'i report it; and at its end, with Imam Ahmad, "nothing weighs heavier than, In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful."
And in the Mousnad, from 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr, may Allah be pleased with both of them, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "Nouh, upon him peace, when death was near, said to his son, I commend you, there is no god but Allah, for were the seven skies laid in one pan, and there is no god but Allah in the other pan, this would outweigh them." And in the same collection, from 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr, may Allah be pleased with both of them, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "Moussa, upon him peace and salvation, said, Lord! Teach me something by which I remember Thee and supplicate Thee. He said, O Moussa, say, there is no god but Allah. He said, all Thy servants say that; I want rather something proper to me. He said, O Moussa! Were the seven skies and their inhabitants, besides Me, and the seven earths in one pan, and there is no god but Allah in a pan, this would outweigh them."
They diverged, which of the two words is better, the word of praise or the word of oneness? Ibn 'Abd al-Barr and others reported this divergence. An-Nakha'i said, "They held praise the most multiplied of words." And ath-Thawri said, "Nothing of speech is multiplied like praise of Allah." And praise contains the affirmation of all the species of perfection for Allah, oneness entering into it.
And in the Mousnad of Imam Ahmad, from Abu Sa'id and Abu Hourayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Allah chose of speech four things: Glory to Allah, and praise of Allah, and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is greater. Whoever says, Glory to Allah, twenty good deeds are written him, or twenty evil deeds removed from him; whoever says, Allah is greater, likewise; whoever says, there is no god but Allah, likewise; and whoever says, praise of Allah, Lord of the worlds, were he to slaughter his soul, thirty good deeds are written him, or thirty evil deeds removed from him." And it is reported from Ka'b as his own words; and it is said it is more correct than the raised version.
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "and the prayer is a light, and alms is a proof, and patience is a radiance"; and in certain copies of the Sahih of Mouslim, "and the fast is a radiance."
These three species of deeds are all lights, but each has what is proper to it of a species of light. The prayer is light in the absolute. It is reported, by two disputed chains, from Anas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "The prayer is the light of the believer." It is for the believers, in this low world, a light in their hearts and their sights, their hearts illuminating by it and their sights brightening; that is why it is the coolness of the eye of the righteous, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying, "The coolness of my eye was placed in the prayer." Ahmad and an-Nasa'i report it. And in a version, "The hungry is sated, the thirsty is quenched, and I sate not of the love of the prayer." And in the Mousnad, from Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, Jibril said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Allah made the prayer beloved: take of it what you will." And Abu Dawoud reports from the hadith of a man of Khouza'a that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "O Bilal! Call to the prayer, and give us rest by it."
Malik ibn Dinar said, "I read in the Torah, O son of Adam! Be not impotent to stand before Me in your prayer weeping, I am He who brought near your heart, and in the invisible you saw My light." What is meant is what opens to the praying one in the prayer of tenderness and tears. And at-Tabarani reports from the hadith of 'Obada ibn as-Samit, in raised form, when the servant keeps his prayer, performing its ablution, its bowing, its prostration and its recitation, it says, "may Allah preserve you as you preserved me," and it is raised to the sky with a light until it reaches Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and it intercedes for its holder. And it is light for the believers in their tombs, especially the night prayer, Abu ad-Darda saying, "Pray two rak'a in the darknesses of the night, for the darknesses of the tomb."
And Rabia had neglected her night prayer for a time; someone came to her in her dream reciting to her, "Your prayer is light, and the servants sleep, and your sleep is a stubborn obstacle against the prayer?" And it is, in the Hereafter, light for the believers in the darknesses of the Resurrection and upon the Bridge, for the lights are shared according to the deeds. And in the Mousnad and the Sahih of Ibn Hibban, from 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who mentioned the prayer and said, "Whoever keeps it, it is for him light, proof and salvation on the day of Resurrection; and whoever keeps it not shall have neither light, nor proof, nor salvation."
And at-Tabarani reports, by a disputed chain, from the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas and Abu Hourayra, may Allah be pleased with both of them, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Whoever prays the five prayers in assembly crosses the Bridge like the brilliant lightning, in the first troop of the forerunners, and comes on the day of Resurrection, his face like the moon of the night of the full moon."
As for alms, it is a proof, and the proof is the ray extending along the face of the sun; from there the hadith of Abu Moussa, "The spirit of the believer comes out of his body with a proof like the proof of the sun." From there was named the decisive proof bourhane, for the clarity of its demonstration of what it proves. Likewise, alms is a proof of the truthfulness of faith, and the soul content of giving is sign of the existence of the sweetness of faith and its taste, as in the hadith of 'Abd Allah ibn Mou'awiya al-Ghadiri, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Three, whoever does them has tasted the taste of faith, whoever worships Allah, alone, and testifies there is no god but Allah, and whoever gives the zakat of his wealth, the soul content, every year." He mentions the hadith; Abu Dawoud reports it. We already cited the hadith of Abu ad-Darda of whoever gives the zakat of his wealth, the soul content, and he said, "none does that but a believer."
And the reason is that souls love wealth and are miserly of it; when they open wide to give it for Allah, the Mighty and the Majestic, that indicates the truthfulness of their faith in Allah, in His promise and His threat. That is why the Arabs refused the zakat after the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and the Truthful fought those refusing it. And the prayer is also a proof of the truthfulness of Islam, Imam Ahmad and at-Tirmidhi reporting from the hadith of Ka'b ibn 'Oujra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "The prayer is a proof." We already mentioned, in the commentary of the hadith, "I was commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no god but Allah, that Mouhammad is the messenger of Allah, that they establish the prayer and give the zakat," that the prayer is the discriminant between disbelief and Islam. And it is also the first thing for which man shall be questioned on the day of Resurrection, were his prayer complete, he succeeded and was saved. And the hadith of 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr preceded, for whoever keeps it, it is for him light, proof and salvation on the day of Resurrection.
As for patience, it is a radiance, and the radiance is the light from which issues a species of heat and burning, like the radiance of the sun, unlike the moon, which is pure light, brilliance without burning. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says,
"It is He who made the sun a radiance, and the moon a light."
Younous, 5
From there Allah described the Law of Moses as a radiance, as He says,
"We gave to Moses and Aaron the discriminant, a radiance and a remembrance for the God-fearing."
Al-'Anbiya, 48
though He mentioned that in the Torah there is a light, as He says,
"We sent down the Torah, wherein is guidance and light."
Al-Ma'ida, 44
but what dominates their Law is radiance, by what it contains of burdens, impediments and charges.
And He described the Law of Mouhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as a light, by what it contains of tolerant and upright religion. Allah the Most High says,
"A light and an explicit book have come to you from Allah."
Al-Ma'ida, 15
And He says,
"Those who follow the messenger, the illiterate prophet, whom they find written with them in the Torah and the Gospel: he commands them the good and forbids them the blameworthy, makes lawful to them the good things and forbids them the evil, and lifts their burdens and the impediments that were upon them. Those who believe in him, support him, aid him and follow the light sent down with him, those are the successful."
Al-'A'raf, 157
Patience being hard for souls, requiring the struggle against oneself, its holding and restraint of what it desires, it was called radiance, for the sense of patience in the language is holding, from there "to kill the patience": to hold the man until he be killed.
Praised patience is of several sorts: patience in obedience to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic; patience abstaining from Allah's disobediences; and patience over the decrees of Allah. And patience in deeds of obedience and abstention from prohibitions is better than patience over painful decrees, the righteous Ancients stating it, among them Sa'id ibn Joubayr and Maymoun ibn Mihran. It is reported, by a weak chain, from the hadith of 'Ali, in raised form, that patience over trial makes written for the servant three hundred degrees, patience in obedience six hundred degrees, and patience abstaining from disobediences nine hundred degrees. Ibn Abi ad-Dunya and Ibn Jarir at-Tabari report it.
And the best species of patience is the fast, for it gathers patience of the three sorts: it is patience in obedience to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, and patience abstaining from Allah's disobediences, for the servant leaves his desires for Allah, and his soul may contest them of him; that is why the authentic hadith says Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says, "Every deed of the son of Adam is for him, save the fast, it is for Me and I reward it: he leaves his desire, his food and his drink for Me." And there is also patience over painful decrees, by what may befall the fasting man of hunger and thirst. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) named the month of the fast the month of patience. And the hadith of the man of Banou Soulaym says of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the fast is half of patience. And perhaps grasping the secret of its being half of patience is harder than grasping the secret of purity being half of faith. And Allah knows best.
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "and the Quran is a proof for you or against you": Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says,
"And We send down of the Quran what is remedy and mercy for the believers, and it adds to the wrongdoers nothing but loss."
Al-Isra, 82
Certain righteous Ancients used to say, "None frequents the Quran but that he rises from it either gaining or losing." Then he recited this verse. And 'Amr ibn Chou'ayb reports, from his father, from his grandfather, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "The Quran shall come on the day of Resurrection as a man: the man who bore it and contradicted its command shall be brought; it shall appear to him as an adversary and say, Lord! Thou chargest him with me, what an evil bearer! He exceeded my limits, lost my obligations, climbed into my disobedience and left my obedience." And it ceases not casting at him the proofs, until it be said, "attend to him"; it takes his hand without releasing it until it casts him upon his face into the Fire. And the good man who bore it and kept its command shall be brought: it appears to him as a defender and says, Lord! Thou chargest him with me, what a good bearer!
He kept my limits, acted by my obligations, avoided my disobedience and followed my obedience. And it ceases not casting for him the proofs, until it be said, "attend to him": it takes his hand without releasing it, until it clothe him in a robe of brocade and place upon him the crown of sovereignty, and make him drink the cup of wine."
Ibn Mas'oud, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Quran is an intercessor whose intercession is granted, and a pleader believed: whoever puts it before him, it guides him to Paradise; whoever puts it behind him, it drives him to the Fire." And from him, "The Quran shall come on the day of Resurrection and intercede for its holder, becoming guide to Paradise; or it shall rush upon him, becoming driver to the Fire." And Abu Moussa al-'Ach'ari said, "This Quran shall be for you reward, or against you burden: follow the Quran, and let not the Quran follow you; whoever follows the Quran is laid in the gardens of Paradise, and whoever the Quran follows collapses upon his neck, and he is cast into the Fire."
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "All the people go out at morning, one selling his soul and freeing it, another driving it to ruin." Imam Ahmad and Ibn Hibban report from the hadith of Ka'b ibn 'Oujra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "The people are two sorts of goers-out, one selling his soul and freeing it, another driving it to ruin." And in another version, reported by at-Tabarani, "The people are two sorts of goers-out, one selling his soul and driving it to ruin, another giving it as offering and freeing it." And Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says,
"By the soul and He who harmonised it, then inspired it its wickedness and its piety: successful is whoever embellishes it, and failed whoever buries it."
Ach-Chams, 7-10
The sense: successful is whoever beautifies his soul by obedience to Allah, and failed whoever buries it by disobediences. Obedience beautifies the soul and purifies it, and it rises by it; and disobediences bury the soul and crush it, it abasing itself, becoming like the one crushed in the dust.
The hadith indicates that every man is either working at the loss of his soul or at its deliverance: whoever works in obedience to Allah has sold his soul to Allah and freed it from His punishment; and whoever works in disobedience to Allah has sold his soul at the price of abasement and lost it by the sins drawing the anger and punishment of Allah. Allah, the Most High, says,
"Allah bought of the believers their persons and their wealth against Paradise: they fight in the path of Allah, kill and are killed, a true promise from Him in the Torah, the Gospel and the Quran; and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? Rejoice then in your bargain you concluded, and that is the immense success."
At-Tawba, 111
And the Most High says,
"And among the people is he who sells his soul, seeking the satisfaction of Allah, and Allah is full of kindness to the servants."
Al-Baqara, 207
And the Most High says,
"Say: the losers are those who lose on the day of Resurrection, themselves and their families; that is indeed the manifest loss."
Az-Zoumar, 15
In the two authentic collections, from Abu Hourayra, may Allah be pleased with him, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), when Allah sent down upon him,
"And warn your kin, the nearest."
Ach-Chou'ara, 214
said, "O people of Qouraych! Buy your souls from Allah, I avail you nothing with Allah. O sons of 'Abd al-Mouttalib! I avail you nothing with Allah." And in the version of al-Boukhari, "O sons of 'Abd Manaf! Buy your souls from Allah. O sons of 'Abd al-Mouttalib! Buy your souls from Allah, I avail you nothing with Allah. O aunt of the Messenger of Allah! O Fatima, daughter of Mouhammad! Buy your two souls from Allah, I can do nothing for you with Allah." And in a version of Mouslim, he called Qouraych, they gathered, and he spoke in general and particular, and said, "O sons of Ka'b ibn Lou'ayy! Save your souls from the Fire. O sons of Mourra ibn Ka'b! Save your souls from the Fire. O sons of 'Abd Chams! Save your souls from the Fire. O sons of 'Abd Manaf! Save your souls from the Fire. O sons of Hachim! Save your souls from the Fire. O sons of 'Abd al-Mouttalib! Save your souls from the Fire. O Fatima! Save your soul from the Fire, I can do nothing for you with Allah."
At-Tabarani and al-Khara'iti report from the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, in raised form, "Whoever says on waking in the morning, Glory to Allah and His praise, a thousand times, has bought his soul from Allah the Most High, and shall be, at the end of his day, freed from the Fire." Part of the righteous Ancients bought their soul from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, by their wealth: one gave all his wealth as alms, like Habib ibn Abi Mouhammad; another gave its weight in silver three or four times, like Khalid ibn at-Tahhane; another strove in righteous deeds and said, "I am a prisoner striving to free my neck," among them 'Amr ibn 'Otba; another glorified each day twelve thousand times, to the measure of its blood-price, as though he had killed his soul and sought to ransom it by its price. Al-Hasan said, "The believer in this low world is like the prisoner striving to free his neck: he counts himself safe from nothing until he meets Allah the Most High."
And he says, "O son of Adam! You go out in the morning and return in the evening in quest of profits, let your concern be your soul, for you shall never gain its like." And Abu Bakr ibn 'Ayyach said, "A man said to me once, while I was young, free your neck, as much as you can in this low world, of the servitude of the Hereafter, for the prisoner of the Hereafter is never freed." He says, "By Allah, I never forgot it!" And certain righteous Ancients wept and said, "I have not two souls, I have but one; when it departs, I shall find no other." And Mouhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya said, "Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, set Paradise as the price of your souls, sell them not then for other." And he says also, "Whoever honours his soul, the low world has no price in his eyes." And it was said to him, "Who is greatest of the people in price?" He said, "Whoever sees in the whole low world no profit for his soul." And certain Ancients recited, "I swear by the precious soul, its Lord, that has no price among all the creation... Were I to seize it, and I seize it... And were I to sell it for something of the low world, there indeed is the loss: should my soul depart, and I gain a low world... my soul is gone, and the price gone with it."