Hadith 6 · 6 fragments
The lawful is clear and the forbidden is clear
The Forty Hadith of an-Nawawi, hadith No.6
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 أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ النُّعْمَانِ بْنِ بَشِيرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا، قَالَ:
Narrator
On the authority of an-Nu’man ibn Basheer (ra), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say, “That which is lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear, and between the two of them are doubtful matters about which many people do not know.
Word by word
سَمِعْت رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم يَقُولُ: إنَّ الْحَلَالَ بَيِّنٌ، وَإِنَّ الْحَرَامَ بَيِّنٌ، وَبَيْنَهُمَا أُمُورٌ مُشْتَبِهَاتٌ لَا يَعْلَمُهُنَّ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ النَّاسِ، فَمَنْ اتَّقَى الشُّبُهَاتِ فَقْد اسْتَبْرَأَ لِدِينِهِ وَعِرْضِهِ، وَمَنْ وَقَعَ فِي الشُّبُهَاتِ وَقَعَ فِي الْحَرَامِ، كَالرَّاعِي يَرْعَى حَوْلَ الْحِمَى يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَرْتَعَ فِيهِ، أَلَا وَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ مَلِكٍ حِمًى، أَلَا وَإِنَّ حِمَى اللَّهِ مَحَارِمُهُ، أَلَا وَإِنَّ فِي الْجَسَدِ مُضْغَةً إذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، وَإذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، أَلَا وَهِيَ الْقَلْبُ .<br>
Matn
Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor, but he who falls into doubtful matters [eventually] falls into that which is unlawful, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein.
Word by word
[رَوَاهُ الْبُخَارِيُّ]، [وَمُسْلِمٌ]
Matn
Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly Allah’s sanctuary is His prohibitions.
Word by word
Matn
Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh, which, if it be whole, all the body is whole, and which, if it is diseased, all of [the body] is diseased.
Matn
Truly, it is the heart.
Matn
” [Bukhari & Muslim]
Lesson
Between the clearly lawful and the clearly forbidden lies a zone of the doubtful; the cautious person avoids it to protect faith and honour. And the root of all deeds is the heart.
Text within an-Nawawi's collection: the Arabic source edition and the Ukrainian translation by the “Nur” project (by meaning).