Hadith 29 · 16 fragments
The gates of good
The Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi, hadith No.29
The fragments are a technical division for precise citation, not a canonical numbering of parts of the hadith. The wording inside each fragment is unchanged.
Arabic edition text
عَنْ مُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ:
Narrator
On the authority of Muadh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I said, “O Messenger of Allah, tell me of an act which will take me into Paradise and will keep me away from the Hellfire.
Word by word
قُلْت يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ!
Matn
” He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “You have asked me about a great matter, yet it is easy for him for whom Allah makes it easy: worship Allah, without associating any partners with Him; establish the prayer; pay the zakat; fast in Ramadhan; and make the pilgrimage to the House.
Word by word
أَخْبِرْنِي بِعَمَلٍ يُدْخِلُنِي الْجَنَّةَ وَيُبَاعِدْنِي مِنْ النَّارِ، قَالَ: "لَقَدْ سَأَلْت عَنْ عَظِيمٍ، وَإِنَّهُ لَيَسِيرٌ عَلَى مَنْ يَسَّرَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ: تَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ لَا تُشْرِكْ بِهِ شَيْئًا، وَتُقِيمُ الصَّلَاةَ، وَتُؤْتِي الزَّكَاةَ، وَتَصُومُ رَمَضَانَ، وَتَحُجُّ الْبَيْتَ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَلَا أَدُلُّك عَلَى أَبْوَابِ الْخَيْرِ؟
Matn
” Then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Shall I not guide you towards the means of goodness?
Word by word
الصَّوْمُ جُنَّةٌ، وَالصَّدَقَةُ تُطْفِئُ الْخَطِيئَةَ كَمَا يُطْفِئُ الْمَاءُ النَّارَ، وَصَلَاةُ الرَّجُلِ فِي جَوْفِ اللَّيْلِ، ثُمَّ تَلَا: " تَتَجَافَى جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ " حَتَّى بَلَغَ "يَعْمَلُونَ"،[ 32 سورة السجدة / الأيتان : 16 و 17 ] ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَلَا أُخْبِرُك بِرَأْسِ الْأَمْرِ وَعَمُودِهِ وَذُرْوَةِ سَنَامِهِ؟
Matn
Fasting is a shield; charity wipes away sin as water extinguishes fire; and the praying of a man in the depths of the night.
Word by word
قُلْت: بَلَى يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ.
Matn
” Then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) recited: “[Those] who forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend (charity in Allah’s cause) out of what We have bestowed on them.
Word by word
قَالَ: رَأْسُ الْأَمْرِ الْإِسْلَامُ، وَعَمُودُهُ الصَّلَاةُ، وَذُرْوَةُ سَنَامِهِ الْجِهَادُ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَلَا أُخْبِرُك بِمَلَاكِ ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ؟
Matn
No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do.
Word by word
فقُلْت: بَلَى يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ !
Matn
” [as-Sajdah, 16-17] Then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter, its pillar and its peak?
Word by word
فَأَخَذَ بِلِسَانِهِ وَقَالَ: كُفَّ عَلَيْك هَذَا.
Matn
” I said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.
Word by word
قُلْت: يَا نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ وَإِنَّا لَمُؤَاخَذُونَ بِمَا نَتَكَلَّمُ بِهِ؟
Matn
” He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is the prayer and its peak is jihad.
Word by word
فَقَالَ: ثَكِلَتْك أُمُّك وَهَلْ يَكُبُّ النَّاسَ عَلَى وُجُوهِهِمْ -أَوْ قَالَ عَلَى مَنَاخِرِهِمْ- إلَّا حَصَائِدُ أَلْسِنَتِهِمْ؟!" .
Matn
” Then he (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Shall I not tell you of the foundation of all of that?
Word by word
رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ [رقم:2616] وَقَالَ: حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ
Matn
” I said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.
Word by word
Matn
” So he took hold of his tongue and said, “Restrain this.
Matn
” I said, “O Prophet (ﷺ) of Allah, will we be taken to account for what we say with it?
Matn
” He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “May your mother be bereaved of you, O Muadh!
Matn
Is there anything that throws people into the Hellfire upon their faces — or: on their noses — except the harvests of their tongues?
Matn
” It was related by at-Tirmidhi, who said it was a good and sound hadeeth
Lesson
Fasting, charity, and the night prayer open the gates of good; but the foundation of all is to restrain the tongue, for it is what ruins the most.
Text within an-Nawawi's collection: the Arabic source edition and the Ukrainian translation by the “Nur” project (by meaning).