Commentary on Hadith 22: Entering Paradise through Obligatory Acts
This lecture explains Hadith 22 of the Forty Hadith, focusing on how performing obligatory acts and avoiding the forbidden is sufficient to enter Paradise. The speaker discusses the priority of obligatory deeds over supererogatory ones and how restricting oneself to the basics is acceptable. Additionally, he highlights how consistency in obligatory worship naturally inclines a believer toward voluntary deeds.
“In the name of Allāh, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.”
“[All] praise is [due] to Allāh, Lord of the worlds -” (Quran 1:1-2)
...of the worlds. And may Allah ﷻ send blessings and peace
upon Muhammad ﷺ, his family, and all his companions.
The author (RH) said:
The twenty-second Hadith: On the authority of Jabir bin 'Abdullah al-Ansari (RA),
that a man asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, saying:
"Do you think that if I perform the obligatory prayers and fast Ramadan,
and treat the lawful as lawful and the unlawful as unlawful,
and do not add anything to that, will I enter Paradise?"
He replied, "Yes." Narrated by Muslim.
The meaning of "treating the unlawful as unlawful" is avoiding it.
And the meaning of "treating the lawful as lawful" is doing it, believing it to be lawful.
“In the name of Allāh, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.”
“[All] praise is [due] to Allāh, Lord of the worlds -” (Quran 1:1-2)
...of the worlds. I bear witness there is no deity except Allah, alone, without partner,
and I bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ is Allah's servant and Messenger,
may Allah ﷻ send abundant peace and blessings upon him, his family, and companions until the Day of Judgment.
To proceed: This is the Hadith of Jabir (RA),
that a man asked the Prophet ﷺ, saying: "What do you think,
if I pray the obligatory prayers, fast Ramadan, make lawful what is halal, make unlawful what is haram, and do not add anything to that, will I enter Paradise?" He said, "Yes."
This Hadith points us to a number of universal principles.
Among these universal principles in the Sharia is that
obligatory acts are more emphasized than supererogatory ones.
Accordingly, if a person restricts himself to the obligatory acts without performing supererogatory ones, it would suffice him.
And the obligatory acts include both performing what is commanded and avoiding what is forbidden,
For neglecting what is commanded is forbidden,
and therefore they say that prohibiting something is commanding its opposite.
The point of all this is that we know that
obligatory acts are more emphasized than recommended ones,
and based on their being more emphasized than recommended ones,
restricting oneself to them is not generally blameworthy.
Secondly, if time is too short for both the recommended and the obligatory,
then one must perform the obligatory act and omit the recommended one.
A third matter that also branches off from this is
that for many acts of worship,
it is invalid to perform the recommended act before the obligatory one,
if they are of the same type.
An example they give of this is when they say
that if a person has an obligatory fast to perform,
and performs a voluntary fast before it,
it is not sufficient for him and is invalid, according to their well-known view.
And like their saying that whoever enters into Hajj or 'Umrah
without having performed the obligatory Hajj or 'Umrah of Islam,
but entered with a voluntary intention,
his intention changes into an obligatory one.
This is based on the rule I mentioned a short while ago.
I said "in general" because it has exceptions,
such as the rawatib Sunnah prayers before the obligatory ones,
especially if the prayer has an extended time, not a restricted one.
As for making up missed prayers, it is based on immediacy,
and immediacy mirrors performance,
so one prays the Sunnah prayers along with making them up, with the obligatory ones in order.
Among what this Hadith also indicates is that acts of obedience attract one another,
for whoever persists in the obligatory deeds cannot limit himself to them,
Rather, his soul will inevitably incline and his spirit will yearn to perform nawafil.
A believer cannot limit himself to obligatory deeds alone,
rather, when a person loves something, he does more of it.
Conversely, he who limits himself to the bare minimum and does not add to it,
it is feared that he might fall short.
This is what some scholars (RH) meant: he who does not
pray the rawatib Sunnah prayers is a bad man,
for fear that he might fall short of them, delaying performing them or missing their time.
The point of all this is that we know that acts of obedience bring about one another,
and that obligatory deeds bring about nawafil.
I ask Allah...