Branches of Faith

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) is urging the believer to hasten to good deeds and perform them frequently before they become difficult and he gets preoccupied with tribulations and suspicious matters that would prevent him and turn him away from offering good deeds. During such tribulations, which are as dark as the night, the truth and falsehood are mixed up, and it becomes hard for people to distinguish between them. Their severity causes one to wander blindly to the extent that he would be a believer in the morning and become a disbeliever in the evening, or he would be a believer in the evening and become a disbeliever in the morning, abandoning his religion for the sake of a transient worldly gain.

1. It is obligatory to hold fast to the religion and hasten to good deeds before being hindered by impediments.
2. Referring to the succession of misleading trials at the end of time and the fact that when one trial ends another begins.
3. If one's religion is weak and he gives it up in return for worldly affairs like wealth and others, this will cause him to deviate, abandon the religion, and get carried away by trials.
4. The Hadīth bears evidence that good deeds are a means of salvation from trials.
5. Trials are of two types: trials related to suspicious matters and their treatment lies in knowledge, and trials related to desires and their treatment lies in faith and patience.
6. The Hadīth points out that those with few good deeds are more vulnerable to tribulations, whereas those with plenty of good deeds should not be deceived by what they have done; rather, they should strive for more.

صحيح مسلم (1/ 110) (118). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي (1/ 169). شرح رياض الصالحين، لابن عثيمين (2/ 16). نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (1/ 122).

Faith is not one aspect or one part. Rather, it consists of many branches, more than sixty or seventy. The best of these, however, is one single statement: "There is no god but Allah." And the simplest of them is removing anything harmful to passersby, be it a stone, a thorn, or anything else. And modesty is a branch of faith. So righteous deeds are part of faith, as held by Ahl As-Sunnah Wa al-Jamā‘ah and proven true by the Shar‘i proofs, including this Hadīth.

- صحيح البخاري، للإمام أبي عبد الله محمد بن إسماعيل البخاري، عناية محمد زهير الناصر، دار طوق النجاة، الطبعة الأولى، 1422هـ. - صحيح مسلم، للإمام مسلم بن الحجاج، حققه ورقمه محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، دار عالم الكتب، الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1417هـ. - شرح رياض الصالحين، للشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين، مدار الوطن، الرياض، 1426هـ. - نزهة المتقين بشرح رياض الصالحين، تأليف مصطفى سعيد الخن، مصطفى البغا، محي الدين مستو، علي الشربجي، محمد أمين لطفي، مؤسسة الرسالة، بيروت، لبنان، الطبعة الرابعة عشر، 1407ه. - بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم بن عيد الهلالي، دار ابن الجوزي، الطبعة الأولى، 1418ه. - دليل الفالحين لطرق رياض الصالحين، المؤلف: محمد علي بن محمد بن علان الصديقي، اعتنى بها: خليل مأمون شيحا، دار المعرفة للطباعة والنشر والتوزيع، بيروت، لبنان، الطبعة: الرابعة، 1425هـ - 2004م. - تطريز رياض الصالحين، تأليف فيصل آل مبارك، تحقيق د. عبد العزيز آل حمد، دار العاصمة، الرياض، الطبعة الأولى، 1423هـ.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that having love for the Ansār from among the people of Madīnah is a sign of perfect faith given their precedence in supporting Islam and the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), their keenness on sheltering Muslims, and their sacrifice of their properties and lives in the cause of Allah; and hating them is a sign of hypocrisy. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then clarified that Allah loves whoever loves the Ansār and hates whoever hates them.

1. The Hadīth reveals the remarkable excellence of the Ansār since loving them is taken as a sign of faith and freedom from hypocrisy.
2. Loving the allies of Allah and supporting them is a cause for attaining the love of Allah.
3. The merit of the first forerunners in Islam.

صحيح البخاري (5/ 32) (3783). صحيح مسلم (1/ 85) (75). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي (1/ 447). تطريز رياض الصالحين، لفيصل آل مبارك (ص257). كنوز رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (6/ 258). شرح النووي على مسلم (2/ 63). نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين، مجموعة من الباحثين (1/ 350).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) points out that if a person performs the five obligatory prayers and does not offer supererogatory ones, fasts Ramadan and does not observe voluntary fasting, and regards the lawful as lawful and acts upon it and regards the unlawful as unlawful and avoids it, he will enter Paradise.

1. A Muslim should be keen on performing obligations and avoiding prohibited things, and his goal should be entering Paradise.
2. The Hadīth highlights the significance of doing what is lawful and regarding it as lawful and avoiding what is unlawful and regarding it as unlawful.
3. Fulfilling obligations and avoiding the prohibitions is a means leading to Paradise.

صحيح مسلم (1/ 44) (15). جامع العلوم والحكم (1/513). شرح الأربعين النووية للعثيمين (ص: 215). فتح القوي المتين في شرح الأربعين للعباد (ص 77).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) says that outward purification is attained by ablution and washing up, and it is required for prayer. And saying "al-hamdulillāh" fills the Scale. This is to praise Allah and ascribe the attributes of perfection to Him. This will be weighed on the Day of Judgment and fill the Scale of deeds. Saying "subhān Allah wa al-hamdulillāh" - which exalts Allah far above all deficiencies and ascribes to Him the complete perfection that befits His majesty, along with loving and extolling Him - fills what is between the heavens and the earth. "Prayer is light" for a person within his heart, on his face, in his grave, and on the Day of Judgment. "Charity is proof" and evidence for the sincerity of a believer's faith and it sets him apart from the hypocrite, who refrains from giving charity because he does not believe in the reward promised in return for it. "Patience is radiance," by refraining from exasperation and indignation, is radiance, which is light that comes with heat and burning, like the light of the sun. This is because patience is difficult and requires self-struggle and restraining oneself from one's desires. So, a patient person continues to have light and adhere to guidance and the right path. Patience is shown in observing Allah's commands, avoiding His prohibitions, and enduring afflictions and different forms of hardships in this world. And "the Qur’an is proof either for you," by reciting and acting upon it, or "against you," for abandoning it, without application or recitation. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned that all people work and go about, and they get up from their sleep and go out for their different activities. Some of them hold onto obedience to Allah and thus save themselves from Hellfire. And some others deviate from that and commit sins, which ruin them by leading them to Hellfire.

1. Purity is of two kinds: outward purity, which is attained by ablution and washing up, and inward purity, which is attained by Tawhīd (monotheism), faith, and righteous deeds.
2. It points out the significance of observing the prayer, as it is light for people in this world and on the Day of Judgment.
3. Charity is evidence of the sincerity of faith.
4. It is important for a person to act upon the Qur’an and believe in it, so that it will be proof for him, not against him.
5. If a person does not preoccupy himself with worship, he will preoccupy it with sin.
6. Everyone must work, and one either saves his soul with obedience to Allah or destroys it with sins.
7. Patience needs endurance and the pursuit of Allah's reward, and it involves hardship.

صحيح مسلم (1/ 203) (223)، شرح الأربعين لابن دقيق العيد (ص 84)، شرح الأربعين النووية للعثيمين (ص: 231)، الرياض الزكية شرح الأربعين النووية للخضير (ص 293)، فتح القوي المتين في شرح الأربعين للعباد (ص 79)

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) offered the Fajr prayer in Al-Hudaybiyah, a village close to Makkah, after rainfall at night. After he made taslīm and finished the prayer, he turned towards the people and asked them: Do you know what your Almighty Lord has said? They replied: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: Allah Almighty clarified that people fall under two categories upon rainfall: believers in Allah Almighty and disbelievers in Him. Those who say, "We have had rainfall out of Allah's bounty and mercy," ascribing the rainfall to Allah, are believers in Allah, the Creator, and the Disposer of the affairs of the universe, and they disbelieve in the stars. And those who say, "We have had rainfall due to such and such star," are disbelievers in Allah and believers in the stars. But this is minor disbelief, as they attribute rainfall to a star, while Allah did not make it a cause of rainfall, neither in terms of the Shariah nor in terms of destiny. But as for those who ascribe rainfall and other earthly occurrences to the rise and decline of the stars, believing that they are the actual doer, they have fallen into major disbelief.

1. It is recommended to say after rainfall: We have had rainfall out of the grace and mercy of Allah.
2. Those who attribute the blessing of rainfall and other things to the stars, believing that they create and bring them into existence, fall into major disbelief. But as for those who attribute rainfall to the stars in believing that they are a mere cause, they fall into minor disbelief, because the stars are not a Shar‘i or material cause for rainfall.
3. A blessing can be a cause of disbelief if it is denied or a cause of belief if recognized.
4. We are forbidden from saying "We have had rainfall due to such and such star," even if it refers to time, to block the means to polytheism.
5. Our hearts should be attached to Allah Almighty regarding bringing blessings and warding off afflictions.

صحيح البخاري (1/ 169) (846)، صحيح مسلم (1/ 83) (71)، البحر المحيط الثجاج في شرح صحيح الإمام مسلم بن الحجاج (2/ 484)، المفهم لما أشكل من تلخيص كتاب مسلم (1/ 260).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) points out that he will be at his Cistern on the Day of Judgment to see those among his Ummah who will come to it. Some people will be held back close to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), who will say: My Lord, they belong to me and my Ummah. It will be said: Do you know what they did after you left them? By Allah, they quickly turned back upon their heels and abandoned their religion. So, they do not belong to you or to your Ummah.

1. The Hadīth shows the Prophet's mercy toward his Ummah and his care for them.
2. It points out the danger of departing from the Prophet's course.
3. It urges us to hold onto the Sunnah of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).

صحيح البخاري (8/ 121) (6593)، صحيح مسلم (4/ 1793) (2292)، عمدة القاري (23/144)، البحر المحيط الثجاج (37/322).