Home > The 40 Hadith of Nawawi > Hadith 26 of Nawawi
Hadith number 26 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
📖 19 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.
The two shaykhs extracted it through the channel of Hammam ibn Munabbih, from Abu Hurayra. Al-Bazzar extracted it through the channel of Abu Salih, from Abu Hurayra: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Man has three hundred and sixty bones, or thirty-six joints: each of them owes a charity every day. They said: who cannot? He said: Let him enjoin good and forbid evil. They said: who cannot? He said: Let him remove a bone from the road. They said: who cannot? He said: Let him help a weak one. They said: who cannot do that? He said: Let him spare people his harm." Muslim extracted 'A'isha's hadith: "Allah created the son of Adam upon three hundred and sixty joints: whoever magnifies Allah, praises Him, proclaims His greatness, sanctifies Him, seeks His forgiveness, removes a stone from the Muslims' road, or a thorn, or a bone, or enjoins good or forbids evil, to the number of those three hundred and sixty: he ends his day having distanced his soul from the Fire."
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Every joint of man owes a charity." Abu 'Ubayd said: "The sulama, in origin, is a bone in the camel's hoof; the hadith means: every bone of the bones of the son of Adam owes a charity." Abu 'Ubayd indicates that sulama names certain small bones of camels, then came to designate bones in general for man and others. Another said: "The sulama is a bone at the end of the hand and the foot, by which all the bones of the body are meant."
The word is a plural, or a singular according to some. The physicians said all the bones of the body are two hundred and forty-eight, not counting the sesamoids; some say three hundred and sixty, of which two hundred and sixty-five are perceptible to touch, the rest small hidden bones called sesamoids. These hadiths confirm this view; the sulama perhaps designates these small bones, as in origin the smallest of the camel's bones; the version of al-Bazzar of Abu Hurayra's hadith witnesses it: "or thirty-six joints." Another extracted it with: "The son of Adam has six hundred and sixty bones": this version is mistaken. In the hadiths of 'A'isha and Burayda three hundred and sixty joints are mentioned.
The hadith's meaning: the constitution of these bones and their soundness are among Allah's greatest favours upon His servant; each bone owes a charity by which the son of Adam gives thanks for this favour. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said: "O man, what deceived you concerning your Lord, the Generous, who created you, fashioned you and proportioned you, composed you in the form He willed?" And: "Say: it is He who produced you and gave you hearing and eyes and hearts: how little you give thanks!" And: "Allah brought you forth from the bellies of your mothers knowing nothing, and gave you hearing and eyes and hearts, that you may give thanks." And: "Did We not give him two eyes, a tongue and two lips?"
Mujahid said: these are favours of Allah upon you, that you may give thanks. Al-Fudayl recited this verse one night and wept; asked why he wept, he said: "Have you passed a night thanking Allah for making you two eyes to see? Have you passed a night thanking Him for making you a tongue to speak?" and he enumerated things of this kind. Ibn Abi ad-Dunya related, through his chain, from Salmane al-Farisi: a man whom this world was enlarged for, then all withdrawn, kept praising Allah and extolling Him until he had no bed but mats, and still praised Allah. To another whom the world was enlarged for, he said: you there on the mats, for what do you praise Allah? He said: "I praise Allah for that which, were I offered all that men possess in exchange, I would not give it. What then? Do you see your sight? Your tongue? Your hands? Your feet?" He related also, through his chain, that Abu ad-Darda would say: health is the body's wealth. And from Yunus ibn 'Ubayd: a man complained to him of his narrowness; Yunus said: "Would you like a hundred thousand dirhams for your eye with which you see? No, said the man. And for your hand? No. And for your feet? No..." and he made him count his favours.
Of these favours man will be questioned and held to account on the Day of Resurrection, as Allah said: "Then you shall be questioned that day about the bliss." At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibban extracted, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) words: "The first thing the servant will be questioned about among the bliss on the Day of Resurrection: did We not make your body sound, and give you cool water to drink?" Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: the bliss is security and health; this is related as raised.
'Ali ibn Abi Talha relates from Ibn 'Abbas on "you shall be questioned about the bliss": the bliss is the health of bodies, hearings and sights: Allah will question the servants on their use of them, though He knows better than they; it is His word: "The hearing, the sight and the heart: of all that one will be questioned." At-Tabarani extracted, through a weak chain, from 'Ata, from Ibn 'Umar, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Whoever says 'there is no deity except Allah' has a covenant with Allah; whoever says 'glory to Allah and praise' has a hundred thousand good deeds written for him..."
Ibn Abi ad-Dunya related, through a likewise weak chain, from Anas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "The bliss will be brought on the Day of Resurrection, and the good and evil deeds; Allah will say to one of His favours: take your due of his good deeds; and it will leave him no good deed without carrying it off." Through his chain, from Wahb ibn Munabbih: "A servant worshipped Allah fifty years; Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, revealed to him: I have forgiven you. He said: O Lord, what do You forgive me? I have not sinned!
Allah permitted a vein-pain in his neck to strike him: he slept not and prayed not; then it subsided; he rose; an angel came and he complained to him of the vein's blows; the angel said: your Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, says: your fifty years of worship equal the rest of that vein." Al-Hakim extracted this meaning, raised, through the channel of Sulayman ibn Harm al-Qurashi, from Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir, from Jabir, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): Jibril informed him "that a worshipper worshipped Allah at the top of a mountain in the sea five hundred years, then asked his Lord to take him while prostrating. We pass by him when we descend and ascend, and it is known in the knowledge that he will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection and set before Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, who will say: Enter My servant into Paradise..." and the hadith continues: by My mercy, not by your deed.
Allah, the Most High, has favoured His servants beyond counting, as He said: "If you counted Allah's favours, you would never number them", and asked them for gratitude, accepting it from them. Sulayman at-Taymi said: "Allah favoured the servants according to His measure, and charged them with gratitude according to their measure, until He accepted of them, as gratitude, the recognition in their hearts of His favours and praise upon their tongues." Abu Dawoud and an-Nasa'i extracted, from 'Abdallah ibn Ghannm (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) words: "Whoever says in the morning: O Allah, whatever blessing reaches me this day or any of Your creatures, it is from You alone, without associate: to You praise and thanks, has discharged the thanks of that day; and whoever says it in the evening has discharged the thanks of his night." Al-Hakim extracted from 'A'isha's (may Allah be pleased with her) hadith, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "There is no blessing Allah grants a servant who knows it is from Allah, but its reward is written for him..."
Abu 'Amr ash-Shaybani relates: Musa (upon him be peace) said on the day of the Tur: "O Lord, if I pray, it is from You; if I give alms, it is from You; if I transmit Your messages, it is from You: how shall I thank You? He said: Now you have thanked Me." Al-Hasan relates: Musa (upon him be peace) said: "O Lord, how can Adam discharge the thanks of what You did for him? You created him with Your hand, breathed into him of Your spirit, lodged him in Your Paradise, ordered the angels to prostrate to him. He said: O Musa, he knew it was from Me and praised Me for it: that was his thanks." Abu al-Djald relates: I read in Dawoud's (upon him be peace) supplication: "O Lord, how shall I thank You, when I attain not Your thanks but by Your favour? The revelation came to him: O Dawoud, do you not know that what you have of favours is from Me? Yes, O Lord. I accept that as thanks."
Ibn Majah extracted from Anas's (may Allah be pleased with him) hadith, raised to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "There is no blessing Allah grants a servant who says 'praise be to Allah', but what He gave him is greater than what He took." The like was transmitted from the hadith of Shahr ibn Hawshab, from Asma' bint Yazid, likewise raised, and this is related as al-Hasan al-Basri's own saying. A steward of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz wrote to him: "I am in a land where blessings abound, until I feared for its people the weakness of gratitude." 'Umar replied: "I thought you more knowing of Allah than you are: there is no blessing Allah grants a servant who praises Him, but his praise is greater than His blessings; know it only from the sent-down Book: Allah said: 'We gave Dawoud and Sulayman knowledge; they said: praise be to Allah who preferred us above many of His believing servants'", and: "And those who feared their Lord will be driven..."
The correct view is that of him who approved it: the blessings meant are worldly blessings, like health, provision, the body, the averting of harm; praise is of the religious blessings; both are blessings of Allah, but Allah's blessing upon His servant in guiding him to gratitude for His blessings through praise is greater than His worldly blessings: without gratitude, worldly blessings are an affliction, as Abu Hazim said: "Every blessing that draws not near to Allah is an affliction."
When Allah grants His servant gratitude for worldly blessings through praise or otherwise, that blessing is better than those blessings and more beloved to Allah: Allah loves those who praise Him and approves of His servant eating a morsel and praising Him, drinking a draught and praising Him; the celebration of blessings and their praise are, among people of generosity and nobility, more beloved than their wealth, which they spend in quest of celebration; and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is the most noble of the noble and the most generous of the generous: He dispenses His blessings out of love of praise.
Let us return to the explanation of the hadith "every joint of man owes a charity every day the sun rises": the charity is owed of the son of Adam for these limbs every day of the days of this world; a day may designate a longer span, as one says "the day of Siffin", which lasted days, or time in general, as His word: "Ah, the day it comes upon them, none to turn it away." It may be night or day: when it is said "every day the sun rises", one knows this charity is owed of the son of Adam every day he lives.
The hadith's apparent sense indicates this gratitude through charity is obligatory upon the Muslim every day; but gratitude has two degrees.
The first is obligatory: fulfilling the obligations and avoiding the forbidden; this is indispensable and suffices for gratitude for these blessings; attesting it is what Abu Dawoud extracted from Abu al-Aswad ad-Dayli's hadith: we were with Abu Dharr; he said: "Every morning, every joint of each of you owes a charity: every prayer is a charity, a fast is a charity, a pilgrimage is a charity, a glorification is a charity, a takbir a charity, a praise a charity", and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) enumerated these righteous deeds, then said: "Of all that, the two rak'as of duha suffice you." We have seen in Abu Musa's hadith extracted in the two Sahihs: "If he does not, let him withhold his evil: that is a charity for him": it suffices him to commit no evil, and he withholds evil only by fulfilling the obligations and avoiding the forbidden, for the greatest evil is neglecting the obligations. Hence one of the early generation said: "Gratitude is leaving disobediences"; another: "Gratitude is to use nothing of Allah's blessings in His disobedience."
The second degree of gratitude, the recommended: that the servant work, after the obligations and avoiding the forbidden, with supererogatory acts. This is the degree of the foremost brought near, to which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) guided in the hadiths cited; the Prophet persisted in prayer until his feet cracked; when told: why do this, when what preceded and followed has been forgiven you? he said: "Should I not be a grateful servant?" One of the early generation said: when Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, said: "Work, house of Dawoud, in gratitude", no hour passed of night or day but one of them was praying. Some of these acts the Prophet mentioned are obligatory: either individually, like walking to prayer according to him who holds congregational prayer in mosques obligatory, or collectively, like enjoining good, forbidding evil, relieving the desperate and justice between people.
Among the kinds of charity the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) indicated, some have extended benefit: reconciling, helping a man upon his mount by lifting his load upon it, the goodly word, including salam and blessing the sneezer, removing harm from the road, enjoining good and forbidding evil, burying one's spittle in the mosque, helping the afflicted in need, making the deaf hear, showing the short-sighted, guiding the blind or another upon the way. In certain versions of Abu Dharr: "And your speaking for the stammerer is a charity": one unable to speak, through a defect of tongue or a difficulty of language: you explain for him what needs explaining. Others have restricted benefit: glorification, takbir, praise, proclamation of unity, walking to prayer, the two rak'as of duha; they suffice for all that because prayer employs all the limbs in obedience and worship: it suffices for gratitude for the blessing of these limbs' soundness.
In the Sahih of Muslim, from Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The right of camels: milking them at water, lending their bucket, lending their stud, their temporary loan, and carrying upon them in Allah's path." Imam Ahmad extracted from Jabir's hadith: "Every kindness is a charity, and of kindness: to meet your brother with an open face, and to empty your bucket into his vessel."
Al-Hakim and others extracted it with the addition: "What a man spends upon himself and his family is written for him as charity; that wherewith he protects his honour is written for him as charity; and every expense the believer makes, Allah guarantees its replacement, save an expense in disobedience or building." In the Musnad, from Abu Jurayy al-Hudjaymi: "I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about kindness; he said: Despise no kindness, were it giving the rope's tie, the sandal's strap, emptying your bucket into the vessel of him who asks to drink, removing from people's road what harms them, meeting your brother with open face, meeting your brother and greeting him, keeping company upon the loner in the land."
Among the kinds of charity: withholding harm from people, of hand and tongue; in the two Sahihs, from Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him): "I said: O Messenger of Allah, which deed is best? He said: Faith in Allah and jihad in His path. I said: if I do not? He said: Help a craftsman or work for the unskilled. I said: if I am too weak for part of the work? He said: Withhold your harm from people: it is a charity."
In the Sahih of Ibn Hibban, from Abu Dharr: "I said: O Messenger of Allah, point me to a deed by which the servant enters Paradise. He said: Let him believe in Allah. I said: with faith, a deed? He said: Let him give of what Allah gave him. I said: if he is destitute, with nothing? He said: Let his tongue speak good. I said: if he stammers, his tongue suffices not? He said: Let him help an overcome one. I said: if he is weak, without capacity? He said: Let him work for the unskilled. I said: if he is himself unskilled? He turned to me and said: What good does he wish to leave to his companion? Let him spare people his harm. I said: O Messenger of Allah, all this is slight! He said: By Him who holds my soul: no servant works by one of these things in faith but I take him by the hand into Paradise."
It is related from al-Hasan and Ibn Sirin that doing kindness is rewarded even without intention. Al-Hasan was asked of the man whom another, whom he dislikes, asks for something, and who gives it out of bashfulness: has he a reward? He said: "That is of kindness, and in kindness is reward", extracted by Humayd ibn Zandjouwayh. Ibn Sirin was asked of the man who follows the funeral not out of devotion but out of bashfulness before its family: has he a reward? He said: a reward? He has two: one for his prayer over his brother, one for his tie with the living, extracted by Abu Nu'aym in the Hilya.
Among the kinds of charity: fulfilling the Muslim's rights over the Muslim, part of which figures in the past hadiths. In the two Sahihs, from Abu Hurayra (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The Muslim's right over the Muslim is five: returning the salam, visiting the sick, following funerals, answering the invitation, blessing the sneezer." In a version of Muslim: "The Muslim has six rights over the Muslim: when you meet him, greet him; when he invites you, answer; when he seeks your counsel, counsel him; when he sneezes and praises Allah, bless him; when he falls ill, visit him; when he dies, follow him." And in the two Sahihs, from al-Bara' ibn 'Azib (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Messenger of Allah commanded us seven things..." visiting the sick, following funerals, blessing the sneezer, returning the salam, supporting the wronged, fulfilling the sworn vow, and spreading salam.
Among the kinds of charity: walking toward the obligatory rights of humankind. Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) said: "Whoever walks toward his brother's right to render it to him: every step is a charity for him."
Among them: granting delay to the strained debtor. In the Musnad and Ibn Majah's Sunans, from Burayda, raised: "Whoever grants delay to a strained debtor: every day before the term is a charity for him; when the term falls due and he still grants him delay: every day is the like of it in charity."
Among them: beneficence toward beasts, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), asked about watering them, said: "In every moist liver, a reward." And he announced that a prostitute watered a dog panting with thirst and was forgiven.
As for the charity restricted to the doer himself, they are the kinds of remembrance: glorification, takbir, praise, proclamation of unity, seeking forgiveness, prayer upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), recitation of the Quran, walking to the mosques, sitting in them awaiting prayer or listening to remembrance. Of this: humility in dress, gait and conduct, lowliness in service, lawful earning and scrupulous seeking. Of this too: calling one's soul to account for past deeds, regret, repentance from past sins, sorrow over them, despising one's soul and detesting it for Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, weeping from fear of Allah, the Most High, meditating the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and the affairs of the hereafter, its promise and its threat, and what increases the doer's faith.