Commentary on Hadith 29: The Gates of Goodness and Guarding the Tongue

He said (RH):

The twenty-ninth hadith —

narrated by Mu'adh ibn Jabal (RA),

that he said:

"I said: O Messenger of Allah,

tell me of a deed that will admit me to Paradise

and keep me far from the Fire."

He said: "You have asked about something great,

yet it is easy for the one whom Allah ﷻ makes it easy for."

"Worship Allah ﷻ and associate nothing with Him,

establish the prayer,

give the zakah,

fast Ramadan,

and perform Hajj to the House."

Then he said: "Shall I not guide you to the gates of goodness?"

"Fasting is a shield,

and charity extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire,

and a man's prayer in the depths of the night."

Then he recited:

"Their sides forsake their beds" — until he reached "what they used to do."

Then he said: "Shall I not tell you of the head of the matter, its pillar, and the peak of its hump? — Jihad."

Then he said: "Shall I not tell you of what holds all of that together?"

I said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah."

So he took hold of his tongue and said, "Restrain this."

I said, "O Prophet of Allah ﷺ, will we be held accountable for what we speak?"

He said, "May your mother be bereaved of you!

Does anything cast people into the Fire on their faces...

"...or he said: 'on their noses, except the harvests of their tongues?'"

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said it is a Hasan Sahih Hadith.

Yes, this is the Hadith of Mu'adh (RA) — a long Hadith.

It seems that in the copy in the reader's hand, there is an omission in this Hadith,

that when Mu'adh asked the Prophet ﷺ,

"Inform me of a deed that will admit me into Paradise and keep me far from the Fire,"

the Prophet ﷺ said: "You have asked about a great matter,"

This shows that what the Prophet ﷺ informed of in this Hadith is a great matter.

So whoever adheres to it has held fast to something great,

and whoever neglects it has lost a great good.

And this great matter is easy, and indeed it is easy for those whom Allah ﷻ makes it easy for.

Worship Allah ﷻ and associate nothing with Him.

This sentence shows us that the first thing a person should care about and learn is Tawhid.

Therefore, people must care about teaching Tawhid.

Worship Allah ﷻ and associate nothing with Him.

Caring about Tawhid is important, reminding people of this matter,

and the Prophet ﷺ said it to Mu'adh (RA), one of the senior Companions.

Therefore, caring for the aspect of Tawhid and protecting it is very important.

He said, "Establish prayer, pay Zakat, fast Ramadan, and perform Hajj."

This was mentioned in the Hadith of Ibn Umar (RA) and others

when we spoke about the pillars of Islam.

Then the Prophet ﷺ said:

"Shall I not guide you to the gates of goodness?"

"Fasting is a shield," meaning a shield that protects him from the Fire,

and a shield between him and the causes of the Fire.

Therefore, whoever fears falling into zina should fast, for it is a shield for him.

And likewise for other matters; it is a shield from the Fire and the causes of entering it.

He ﷺ said: "And charity extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire."

Among the secrets explained by the Prophet ﷺ and discovered by righteous servants from this Hadith

is that if you commit any sin, give charity immediately after it.

Give charity after the sin, even if it is a small amount,

for this is a means to remove the ill effect of the sin from you.

For when you commit a sin, a black spot is cast upon your heart.

And among the effects of this sin, which casts a black spot on the heart, is that it sometimes makes you turn away from some acts of obedience,

and diverted from some good deeds.

But if you give charity after committing a sin, charity erases its ill effects.

And the Prophet ﷺ said: "Charity extinguishes sin..."

...meaning its ill effects and impact, just as water extinguishes fire.

And repentance wipes out the sin entirely.

He said: "And a man's prayer in the middle of the night"—this relates to Qiyam al-Layl, a great matter.

I advise you to read the book "Qiyam al-Layl"—the abridged version of which was published—by Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi; it is a great book.

A student of knowledge should always be keen on reading it.

It mentions the narrations of the Companions (RA) and the Tabi'un, and how they used to pray and care for the night prayer.

Then he recited the verse, saying: "Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter, its pillar, and its peak?"

I said, "Yes." He said: "The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is prayer, and its peak is Jihad."

These are among the foundations. Islam relates to the core command,

its pillar—meaning the actions—is prayer, and its peak—which are the actions related to non-Muslims—is Jihad.

Then he said, "Shall I not tell you what governs all of that?" I said, "Yes."

So he ﷺ took hold of his tongue and said, "Restrain this."

Then, until he said, "And are people thrown into the Fire on their faces"—or "on their noses"—"except because of the harvests of their tongues?"

This relates to guarding the tongue,

and that one of the greatest things that enters a servant, male or female, into the Fire is the tongue.

Indeed, the tongue can even be a cause for leaving Islam.

We ask Allah 'Azza wa Jall for safety.

For a person might say a word, to which he pays no attention, that plunges him into the Fire of Hell for seventy autumns.

So one must be careful to guard his tongue when angry,

and when not angry, when cautious and when not cautious—meaning inside his home and outside it,

for the tongue is a serious matter.

A Muslim should strive, even starting today,

to guard his tongue, even if gradually,

until his tongue is protected from what Allah ﷻ has forbidden,

especially regarding speaking ill of matters of religion and of Muslims.

So beware of speaking about the Sharia of Allah ﷻ without knowledge,

for this is an utterance whose sin remains upon you until the Day of Resurrection.

How many innovations, had they remained in people's hearts,

would not have spread, appeared, or been attributed to them.

The same applies to speaking ill of Muslims.

So beware of slandering their honor, or saying about them what harms them,

in any forbidden manner.

Assalamu alaykum.