A man from the people of Najd came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). His hair was disheveled, his voice was loud, and his words could not be understood until he approached the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and asked him about the obligations of Islam. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) started with the prayer and informed him that Allah has enjoined upon him five obligatory prayers to be performed every day and night. He said: Do I have to perform any other prayer besides these five prayers? The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) replied: No, unless you choose to perform something of the voluntary prayers. Then, he (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: Among what has been enjoined upon you by Allah is fasting the month of Ramadan. The man said: Do I have to fast any other day besides fasting Ramadan? He said: No, unless you choose to fast voluntarily. Afterward, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned Zakah to him. The man said: Do I have to give any charity besides the obligatory Zakah? He said: No, unless you do so voluntarily. After listening to the Prophet's words about such obligations, the man turned away and swore by Allah that he would adhere to them without any addition or omission. Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: If this man is truthful regarding his oath, he will be among the successful.
- Tolerance of the Islamic Shariah and how it makes things easy for those who are religiously accountable.
- The Prophet's good treatment of this man, as he allowed him to get close to him and ask him.
- When calling others to Allah Almighty, one should start with the most important thing, followed by the next in importance.
- Islam is both a creed and a code of conduct; hence, deeds without faith are of no avail, and likewise, faith without deeds is of no avail.
- The importance of these deeds and the fact that they are from the pillars of Islam.
- The Friday prayer is included in the five obligatory prayers because it replaces the Zhuhr prayer on Friday for whomever the Friday prayer is obligatory.
- The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) started his instruction with the most crucial obligations of Islam, namely its pillars that follow the two testimonies of faith, as the man was a Muslim. He did not mention Hajj either because this occurred before it was enjoined or because its time had not yet come.
- If one performs only what is obligatory according to the Shariah, he will indeed be successful. However, this does not mean that performing voluntary acts of worship is not Sunnah, as such voluntary acts will make up for the shortcomings in the obligations on the Day of Judgment.
صحيح البخاري (1/ 18) (46). صحيح مسلم (1/ 40) (11). كنوز رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين. بهجة الناظرين، لسليم الهلالي (2/ 346). نزهة المتقين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (2/ 857). شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين (5/ 242).