Learn the ahadith to better understand Islam

[hamba2han]

In honour of the blessed month of Ramadan which begins in a matter of days now, this thread is meant to present a brief but yet fairly comprehensive collection of the ahadith (plural of hadith) which should provide the reader with a very much better understanding of Islam.

It is taken from the book of the Islamic scholar Yahta bin Sharaful-Deen An-Nawawi (rahimhuAllaah) and this book is now known as "An-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths".

It is a popular small book in which the author gathered forty-two of the sayings of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) and it is widely considered to be essential reading for anyone who earnestly wants to study the fundamental teachings of Islam.

Throughout this coming blessed month of Ramadan, I shall be posting at least one hadith every day, God-willing, from this very well-known collection of ahadith of Imam An-Nawawi in the hope that the reader will greatly enhance his or her knowledge and understanding of Islam.

Just like eating an apple a day keeps the doctor away, learning one hadith a day throughout this blessed month of Ramadan should, God-willing, significantly improve one's spiritual health and wellbeing.

Hadith # 1

On the authority of Omar bin Al-Khattab, who said : I heard the messenger of Allah say :

"Actions are but by intention and every man shall have but that which he intended. Thus he whose migration was for Allah and His messenger, his migration was for Allah and His messenger, and he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, his migration was for that for which he migrated."

Bukhari and Muslim​

 

[Luzeiro]

In honour of the blessed month of Ramadan which begins in a matter of days now, this thread is meant to present a brief but yet fairly comprehensive collection of the ahadith (plural of hadith) which should provide the reader with a very much better understanding of Islam.

It is taken from the book of the Islamic scholar Yahta bin Sharaful-Deen An-Nawawi (rahimhuAllaah) and this book is now known as "An-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths".

It is a popular small book in which the author gathered forty-two of the sayings of Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) and it is widely considered to be essential reading for anyone who earnestly wants to study the fundamental teachings of Islam.

Throughout this coming blessed month of Ramadan, I shall be posting at least one hadith every day, God-willing, from this very well-known collection of ahadith of Imam An-Nawawi in the hope that the reader will greatly enhance his or her knowledge and understanding of Islam.

Just like eating an apple a day keeps the doctor away, learning one hadith a day throughout this blessed month of Ramadan should, God-willing, significantly improve one's spiritual health and wellbeing.

Hadith # 1​

On the authority of Omar bin Al-Khattab, who said : I heard the messenger of Allah say :​

"Actions are but by intention and every man shall have but that which he intended. Thus he whose migration was for Allah and His messenger, his migration was for Allah and His messenger, and he whose migration was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, his migration was for that for which he migrated."​

Bukhari and Muslim​

Depending on what muslim one engages in conversation, the ahadith mean nothing. However, it is the muslim that shows the world what islam is and that includes those I have known personally.

 

[hamba2han]

Hadith #2

On the authority of Omar bin Al-Khattab, who said :

One day while we were sitting with the messenger of Allah there appeared before us a man whose clothes were exceedingly white and whose hair was exceedingly black; no signs of journeying were to be seen on him and none of us knew him. He walked up and sat down by the prophet. Resting his knees against his and placing the palms of his hands on his thighs, he said:"O Muhammed, tell me about Islam". The messenger of Allah said: "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammed is the messenger of Allah, to perform the prayers, to pay the zakat, to fast in Ramadhan, and to make the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to do so." He said:"You have spoken rightly", and we were amazed at him asking him and saying that he had spoken rightly. He said: "Then tell me about eman."He said:"It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day, and to believe in divine destiny, both the good and the evil thereof." He said:"You have spoken rightly". He said: " Then tell me about ehsan." He said: "It is to worship Allah as though you are seeing Him, and while you see Him not yet truly He sees you". He said: "Then tell me about the Hour". He said: "The one questioned about it knows no better than the questioner." He said: "Then tell me about its signs." He said: "That the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress and that you will see the barefooted, naked, destitute herdsman competing in constructing lofty buildings." Then he took himself off and I stayed for a time. Then he said: "O Omar, do you know who the questioner was?" I said: "Allah and His messenger know best". He said: "He was Jebreel (Gabriel), who came to you to teach you your religion."

Muslim​

 

[hamba2han]

Depending on what muslim one engages in conversation, the ahadith mean nothing. However, it is the muslim that shows the world what islam is and that includes those I have known personally.

Islam is beautiful.. unfortunately many Muslims are not at all beautiful in their character and behaviour.

And so, just like a fair evaluation of a motorcar's performance can only be done by examining it's specifications and handling in the hands of an expert driver, it would not be fair at all that Islam be evaluated by observing the behaviour of bad and errant Muslims.

If one wishes to fairly judge Islam, then one needs to look at how the really "expert drivers" i.e. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his companions (may Allah be pleased with them all), behaved and conducted themselves during the early years of Islam.

Another "expert driver" of Islam would be Imam An-Nawawi and his selection of 42 ahadith provides a very good basis for understanding Islam as it is fairly comprehesive and encompasses just about every aspect of the faith.

 

[elwill]

Depending on what muslim one engages in conversation, the ahadith mean nothing. However, it is the muslim that shows the world what islam is and that includes those I have known personally.

is that applicable for christians also
can we know christianity from what christians do

 

[BruceDLimber]

Hi!

Hadith may be interesting as cultural touchstones, but unfortunately most aren't reliable guides to Islam because they simply represent various individuals' opinions and interpretations of Islam, not official doctrine like the Qur'an.

Indeed, Muslims themselves can't agree on which ones are valid, and therefore different groups recognize different subsets of the Hadith!

So please feel free to enjoy them, but I'd recommend avoiding taking many of them as reliable guidance as to what Islam teaches.

Peace,

Bruce

 

[Luzeiro]

Islam is beautiful.. unfortunately many Muslims are not at all beautiful in their character and behaviour.

And so, just like a fair evaluation of a motorcar's performance can only be done by examining it's specifications and handling in the hands of an expert driver, it would not be fair at all that Islam be evaluated by observing the behaviour of bad and errant Muslims.

If one wishes to fairly judge Islam, then one needs to look at how the really "expert drivers" i.e. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and his companions (may Allah be pleased with them all), behaved and conducted themselves during the early years of Islam.

Another "expert driver" of Islam would be Imam An-Nawawi and his selection of 42 ahadith provides a very good basis for understanding Islam as it is fairly comprehesive and encompasses just about every aspect of the faith.

Dear Hamba, to judge islam by its prophet is a good idea. Thankfully, enough evidence is left behind to do that accurately. I appreciate the reminder.

 

[Luzeiro]

is that applicable for christians also
can we know christianity from what christians do

Let's narrow it down; we can know Christianity by what Christ did; we can know islam by what mahomet did.

Does that make you feel better?

 

[Luzeiro]

Hi!

Hadith may be interesting as cultural touchstones, but unfortunately most aren't reliable guides to Islam because they simply represent various individuals' opinions and interpretations of Islam, not official doctrine like the Qur'an.

Indeed, Muslims themselves can't agree on which ones are valid, and therefore different groups recognize different subsets of the Hadith!

So please feel free to enjoy them, but I'd recommend avoiding taking many of them as reliable guidance as to what Islam teaches.

Peace,

Bruce

That has been my experience vis a vis muslims and their take on hadith.

 

[Touma]

Like the hadith about how Mohammad had a poet killed, while she was feeding her child? I think I understand Islam now.

 

[hamba2han]

Hadith # 3

On the authority of Ibn Omar, the son of Omar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with both, who said : I heard the messenger of Allah say :

"Islam has been built on five [pillars]: testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammed is the messenger of Allah, performing the prayers, paying the zakat, making the pilgrimage to the House, and fasting in Ramadan."

Bukhari and Muslim​

 

[hamba2han]

Hi!

Hadith may be interesting as cultural touchstones, but unfortunately most aren't reliable guides to Islam because they simply represent various individuals' opinions and interpretations of Islam, not official doctrine like the Qur'an.

Indeed, Muslims themselves can't agree on which ones are valid, and therefore different groups recognize different subsets of the Hadith!

So please feel free to enjoy them, but I'd recommend avoiding taking many of them as reliable guidance as to what Islam teaches.

Peace,

Bruce

On the contrary, the ahadith, being an integral part of the Sunnah, is considered an indispensable source of religious knowledge in mainstream Islam and the ahadith collection of Imam Bukhari is universally acknowledged as being the second most authoritative book in Islam after the Qur'an.

In fact, there is even a 'Science of Hadith' which is used to authenticate and classify the countless number of ahadith and if anyone wishes to read more about this, then they can refer to this webpage.

 

[elwill]

Let's narrow it down; we can know Christianity by what Christ did; we can know islam by what mahomet did.

Does that make you feel better?

sure

 

[Erfan777]

On the contrary, the ahadith, being an integral part of the Sunnah, is considered an indispensable source of religious knowledge in mainstream Islam and the ahadith collection of Imam Bukhari is universally acknowledged as being the second most authoritative book in Islam after the Qur'an.

In fact, there is even a 'Science of Hadith' which is used to authenticate and classify the countless number of ahadith and if anyone wishes to read more about this, then they can refer to this webpage.

Your hadith seems to contain medical and scientifical errors. The question is have you read all of the Hadith and thought open mindedly, or did you just blindly accept wotever is written in there? Afterall blind belief is also required in your religion.

 

[hamba2han]

Hadith # 4

On the authority of Abdullah bin Masud, who said : the messenger of Allah, and he is the truthful, the believed narrated to us :

"Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother's belly for forty days in the form of seed, then he is a clot of blood for a like period, then a morsel of flesh for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows the breath of life into him and who is commanded about four matters: to write down his means of livelihood, his life span, his actions, and whether happy or unhappy. By Allah, other than Whom there is no god, verily one of you behaves like the people of Paradise until there is but an arm's length between him and it, and that which has been written over takes him and so he behaves like the people of Hell-fire and thus he enters it; and one of you behaves like the people of Hell-fire until there is but an arm's length between him and it, and that which has been written over takes him and so he behaves like the people of Paradise and thus he enters it."

Bukhari and Muslim​

This hadith is really about one of the most important but yet probably the most confusing and misunderstood teaching of Islam, even among Muslims i.e. that of divine decree & preordainment.

A Muslim believes in Allah's predestination of all things and events (Qadhaa), His decree (Qadar), His wisdom in His actions, and His will. Nothing in the universe can occur, even the voluntary actions of His slaves, except after Allah's knowledge, and His decree of that event. A Muslim further believes that Allah is Just in His predestination and His decree, Wise in all of His actions. His wisdom follows His will: Whatever He wills is, and whatever He does not will is not. There is no power nor any movement except by Allah.

You can refer to this webpage for a more elaborate explanation of this subject.

 

[Nooj]

There is no free will in Islam?

 

[hamba2han]

Your hadith seems to contain medical and scientifical errors. The question is have you read all of the Hadith and thought open mindedly, or did you just blindly accept wotever is written in there? Afterall blind belief is also required in your religion.

On this thread, I shall be presenting and discussing only the 42 ahadith selection of Imam An-Nawawi since it is designed to be comprehensive enough to encompass virtually all facets of the teachings of Islam.

Discussion of other unrelated ahadith would be beyond the aim of this thread which is to enhance one's knowledge and understanding of the fundamental teachings of Islam.

 

[hamba2han]

There is no free will in Islam?

There is indeed free will in Islam and every one of us can in fact CHOOSE to end up either in Paradise or in the Hell-fire.

The Creator however already knows the choices that His creations will make and the actions and deeds that they will do in their lives because He is Omniscient.

Furthermore, our fate and destiny while in this world has already been decreed and it is entirely up to us how we cope and deal with the "cards" that has been dealt to us.

It certainly does not mean that people who are dealt a better "hand" in life would be better placed to enter Paradise because it might well turn out that their reluctance to behave accordingly would result in them suffering punishment in the Hereafter, only God alone would know this.

Again, if anyone wishes a more elaborate explanation on this subject, kindly click on the link which I had posted earlier.

 

[Secundulus]

There is indeed free will in Islam and every one of us can in fact CHOOSE to end up either in Paradise or in the Hell-fire.

The Creator however already knows the choices that His creations will make and the actions and deeds that they will do in their lives because He is Omniscient.

Furthermore, our fate and destiny while in this world has already been decreed and it is entirely up to us how we cope and deal with the "cards" that has been dealt to us.

It certainly does not mean that people who are dealt a better "hand" in life would be better placed to enter Paradise because it might well turn out that their reluctance to behave accordingly would result in them suffering punishment in the Hereafter, only God alone would know this.

Interesting. St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and John Calvin all said exactly the same thing.

 

[Arthra]

Here's an interesting Hadith I ran across...

Volume 5, Book 59, Number 354:
Narrated 'Ubaidullah bin 'Adi bin Al-Khiyar:
That Al-Miqdad bin 'Amr Al-Kindi, who was an
ally of Bani Zuhra and one of those who fought
the battle of Badr together with Allah's Apostle
told him that he said to Allah's Apostle,

"Suppose I met one of the infidels and we fought,
and he struck one of my hands with his sword
and cut it off and then took refuge in a tree and
said, "I surrender to Allah (i.e. I have become a
Muslim),' could I kill him, O Allah's Apostle,
after he had said this?"

Allah's Apostle said,
"You should not kill him." Al-Miqdad said, "O
Allah's Apostle! But he had cut off one of my
two hands, and then he had uttered those
words?"

Allah's Apostle replied, "You should not
kill him, for if you kill him, he would be in your
position where you had been before killing him,
and you would be in his position where he had
been before uttering those words."