Commentary on the Introduction to Imam al-Nawawi's Forty Hadith

“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 and all his family and companions.

O Allah ﷻ, forgive us, our Sheikh, his parents, his teachers, and all the Muslims.

The great scholar Al-Nawawi (RH) said:

“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)

[Lord of] the worlds, Sustainer of the heavens and the earths, Disposer of all creation,

Sender of the Messengers, may His blessings and peace be upon them,

to those accountable, to guide them and clarify the laws of the religion,

to direct them with definitive proofs and clear arguments.

I praise Him for all His blessings, and I ask Him for more of His grace and generosity.

And I bear witness that there is no deity except Allah ﷻ alone, without partner,

the One, the All-Dominant, the Generous, the All-Forgiving.

And I bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ is His servant, Messenger, beloved, and close friend,

the best of creation, honored with the Glorious Quran,

the miracle that remains continuous over the passing of years,

and with the Sunnahs that illuminate the way for those seeking guidance,

distinguished by concise speech and the tolerance of the religion,

may the blessings and peace of Allah ﷻ be upon him and all other Prophets and Messengers,

and the family of each, and all the righteous. To proceed:

We have narrated from Ali bin Abi Talib (RA),

Abdullah bin Mas'ud (RA), Mu'adh bin Jabal (RA), and Abu...

al-Darda', Ibn Umar, Ibn Abbas, and Anas bin Malik,

Abu Hurayrah, and Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (RA),

through many chains with various narrations,

that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

"Whoever preserves for my Ummah forty Hadiths concerning its religion,

Allah ﷻ will resurrect him on the Day of Resurrection among the jurists and scholars,

and in another narration: 'Allah ﷻ will resurrect him as a jurist and scholar,'

and in the narration of Abu al-Darda' (RA): 'on the Day of Resurrection I will intercede and bear witness for him.'

and in the narration of Ibn Mas'ud (RA): 'it will be said: Enter whichever gate of Paradise you wish.'

and in the narration of Ibn Umar (RA): 'he will be recorded among the scholars and raised among the martyrs.'

The Hadith masters agree it is a weak Hadith, even though its chains are numerous.

And the scholars (RA) have compiled in this chapter countless works.

The first whom I know to have authored on this is 'Abdullah bin al-Mubarak,

then Muhammad bin Aslam al-Tusi, the godly scholar,

then al-Hasan bin Sufyan al-Nasawi, and Abu Bakr al-Ajurri,

and Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Ibrahim al-Isfahani,

al-Daraqutni, al-Hakim, Abu Nu'aym,

Abu 'Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, Abu Sa'd al-Malini,

Abu 'Uthman al-Sabuni, 'Abdullah bin Muhammad al-Ansari,

Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi,

and a multitude of early and later scholars who cannot be detailed. Yes.

“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 that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah alone, without partner,

and I bear witness that Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and Messenger. May Allah ﷻ bless him

and grant him peace, and his family and companions, abundantly until the Day of Judgment. To proceed:

Indeed, if Allah ﷻ wills, today, during Maghrib and after 'Isha,

we will speak, by the will of Allah ﷻ, about reading this book: the book of Al-Arba'in al-Nawawiyyah,

named after its author, Abu Zakariyya Muhyi al-Din Yahya al-Nawawi (RH),

We have already read some of its introduction, and I will point out some matters related to it.

Among the matters related to what we read in the author's introduction

is that the author hinted at his purpose in compiling these forty, which are two things.

The first is that he intended, by compiling these forty hadiths, for them to be from the jawami' al-kalim,

And therefore he said: "the one distinguished with comprehensive speech."

And when Al-Hafiz Ibn Rajab commented on these forty, he named his book "Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam"

...in explanation of forty hadiths of comprehensive speech.

So the purpose for which the author compiled them was to gather jawami' al-kalim.

The second matter is the basis he relied upon to compile these forty,

which is the hadith we narrated.

The scholars said: When this term "ruwina" is mentioned in the passive voice,

it is an indication of the weakness of the hadith,

meaning that this hadith is weak and not established.

The author mentioned multiple wordings for this hadith and pointed to its weakness,

and that all hadith masters unanimously agreed on its weakness and that it is not established.

And what relates to acting upon this hadith will come, if Allah ﷻ wills.

However, among the most important virtues reported for memorizing forty hadiths from the Prophet ﷺ

is that whoever memorizes them will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection among the scholars,

and in another wording, "the jurists,"

and in another wording, 'he will be raised as a jurist and scholar.'

This Hadith indicates the virtues,

and we will talk about the ruling on virtues in a short while when the author refers to it.

The author (RH) hinted that this Hadith,

even if it is not established, yet the scholars (RH)

took to compiling forty hadiths.

The first person known to have authored a volume compiling forty Hadiths from the Chosen One ﷺ

was the Imam and Hafiz, Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak al-Khurasani, who passed away in the year 181 of the Hijrah of the Prophet ﷺ,

then after him, Muhammad ibn Aslam al-Tusi.

The forty Hadiths by Muhammad ibn Aslam al-Tusi are in print.

Al-Tusi passed away around the year 272 AH.

and it concerns hadith related to legal rulings.

Then after him: al-Hasan ibn Muhammad — al-Hasan ibn Sufyan al-Nasawi, or al-Fasawi,

depending on how non-Arabs pronounce this letter,

as they pronounce it somewhere between the 'B' and the 'Th'.

His collection of forty hadith is likewise published and well known.

At its beginning, he traced the chains of the hadith about whoever preserves forty hadith for the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ,

Then came great scholars like Abu Bakr al-Ajurri (RH) — whose book is published — and al-Asfahani and others.

Yes. May Allah ﷻ reward you well.

He said: "I sought Allah's ﷻ guidance in compiling forty hadith, following the example of these great imams and guardians of Islam."

He clarifies that his purpose is to follow the scholars' way, even if the hadith is not firmly established.

Yes. May Allah ﷻ send blessings. Scholars agreed on the permissibility of acting on weak hadith in virtuous deeds.

His saying, "The scholars have agreed on the permissibility of acting upon weak hadith in virtuous deeds," is generally agreed upon,

but it has conditions. The first condition is that the hadith must not be extremely weak, such as being munkar or fabricated,

The second condition is that the basis of the action must be legislated.

for memorizing the hadiths of the Prophet ﷺ is legislated,

therefore, the major scholars acted upon it, such as Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak and others. Yes.

May Allah ﷻ reward you well.

And despite this, my reliance is not on this hadith, but on his saying ﷺ

in the authentic hadiths: "Let the one who is present convey to the one who is absent,"

and his saying ﷺ: "May Allah ﷻ brighten a man who hears my words, retains them, and conveys them as heard."

Yes, the author says in this sentence that his purpose is to convey and spread the Hadiths of the Prophet ﷺ.

And perhaps due to the sincerity of his intention, may Allah have mercy on him,

this Forty became famous, memorized, and widely explained.

And for many people, their first exposure to these forty Hadiths was through this book compiled by its author,

may Allah have mercy on him.

So when a believer performs an act of obedience, they should be keen to follow the Prophet ﷺ and to have a good intention. Yes.

May Allah reward you. Some scholars compiled forty Hadiths on the fundamentals of religion.

These are a group, including Abu Ismail al-Harawi al-Ansari,

who compiled forty Hadiths, which are printed, on the proofs of Tawheed.

And some on the branches (furu').

Yes, this is common — we have already mentioned the likes of al-Basawi.

And among them is Al-Mundhiri in his book 'Al-Arba'in fil-Ahkam'.

And some on Jihad. "Yes, like Ibn Asakir in his printed book 'Al-Arba'un fil-Jihad'."

And some on asceticism.

Yes, like Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami and Abu Nu'aym, who compiled forty Hadiths on it.

Yes, and some of them on manners, including al-Bayhaqi and others.

And some on sermons.

This is one person, and he is Ibn Wad'an,

Abu Nasr ibn Wad'an, the Sheikh of Abu Tahir al-Silafi.

For he compiled forty Hadiths from the Prophet ﷺ

regarding his sermons, peace be upon him.

However, all the Hadiths compiled by this Ibn Wad'an are fabricated.

Therefore, this narrated manuscript of forty Hadiths from the sermons of the Prophet ﷺ is referred to by scholars as

the fabricated manuscript of Ibn Wad'an, or the fabricated forty of Ibn Wad'an.

Because most of the Hadiths he cited, if not all of them, are fabricated.

And all of these are righteous goals, may Allah be pleased with those who pursued them.

I have deemed collecting forty more important than all of this — forty Hadiths containing all of that,

and each Hadith among them is a great foundation of the religion, which the scholars have described as the axis of Islam,

or half of Islam, or a third, or the like.

Here, the author explained that he wanted to collect forty Hadiths,

and these forty combine rulings, manners, and what relates to the fundamentals of religion, which is belief,

as well as what relates to asceticism, piety, and other matters.

The author explained that he wanted to mention the Hadiths which scholars stated are the axis of the religion,

And he mentioned that among the first to trace the axis of religion to a number of Hadiths was Imam Ahmad (RH),

Abdullah and others of his companions narrated from him that he said:

“The pivot of religion rests on three Hadiths:

the Hadith: ‘Actions are but by intentions,’

and Ibn Mas'ud's (RA) Hadith: 'Each of you is gathered in his mother's womb for forty days as a drop,'

and Aisha's (RA) Hadith: 'Whoever does a deed not in accordance with our matter, it is rejected.'

Then, his student Abu Dawud (RH) said:

‘I have compiled this book of over four thousand Hadiths, and upon them the pivot of religion rests,’

‘then, the pivot of religion returns to four or five Hadiths.’

The narrations from him differed in specifying the four or five,

and multiple chains narrated from Abu Dawud were reported in clarifying the Hadiths upon which the pivot of religion rests.

Abu Tahir al-Silafi, in the introduction of Ma'alim...

...al-Sunan by al-Khattabi (RH).

Indeed, he dictated an introduction when he wanted to dictate Ma'alim al-Sunan,

then mentioned with his chain from Abu Dawud (RH)

the Hadiths upon which the religion revolves.

Then, after these, came Abu Amr ibn al-Salah (RH),

the Imam, the Hafidh, than whom no one more knowledgeable in Hadith entered Damascus in his time.

He compiled a book in which he gathered around twenty-six Hadiths

of jawami' al-kalim upon which the religion revolves.

He took these Hadiths from Abu Dawud, Ahmad, and others.

Then, Al-Nawawi (RH) took these twenty-six Hadiths

and added to them around fifteen Hadiths,

so the total became forty-two Hadiths, which are the Forty of Al-Nawawi (RH),

their origin was what Ibn al-Salah had in his well-known collection.

Then, after that, Ibn Rajab added to them about tens of Hadiths,

so the total became approximately fifty Hadiths.

In fact, the Hadiths of comprehensive speech are very numerous and not limited, as Abu Dawud (RH) said.

Abu al-Faraj ibn Rajab (RH) pointed out that some scholars dedicated themselves to collecting Hadiths of comprehensive speech,

such as Ibn al-Sunni and Abu Bakr,

and al-Shihab al-Quda'i, the author of Musnad al-Shihab.

Musnad al-Shihab is very famous, with multiple commentaries by al-Rafi'i and others. Yes.

Peace be upon you.

"Then, I commit in these forty that they be authentic, and most of them are in the Sahihs of al-Bukhari and Muslim,"

"and I mention them without chains of transmission for ease of memorization and widespread benefit, if Allah ﷻ wills."

Then I will follow it with a chapter on clarifying its obscure words.

Every person who desires the Hereafter should know these Hadiths,

because of the important matters they contain and the reminders they include regarding all acts of obedience.

And this is obvious to whoever contemplates it.

And upon Allah ﷻ the Generous is my reliance, and to Him is my delegation and support,

and to Him belong praise and grace, and from Him is success and protection.

Yes, the author (RH) will now begin mentioning the Hadiths.

And since time is limited, we will not discuss everything in the Hadiths

regarding fiqh, knowledge, and language,

for lifetimes would be spent in pursuing the words of the Prophet ﷺ,

especially since this is from the concise speech,

Rather, I will focus on the author's purpose, as the author (RH) pointed out

that these Hadiths are the foundation of the religion,

We will examine each of these hadiths.

to clarify the general, universal principles they indicate,

This is because the scholars mentioned—and these are the words of Sheikh Taqi ad-Din in *al-Istiqaamah*—

that the Prophet ﷺ was sent with jawami' al-kalim.

What is meant by jawami' al-kalim...

...is that the expression encompasses a universal principle and a general rule.

So if it encompasses a universal principle and a general rule, then it is considered among jawami' al-kalim.

Then the Sheikh (RH) mentioned that whoever understands the jawami' al-kalim of the Prophet ﷺ...

...will have encompassed all the subsidiary issues that people need.

For in his ﷺ jawami' al-kalim is the encompassing of all the subsidiary issues that people need.

Therefore, we will point to some of the principles derived from these hadiths,

not a discussion of all their details and what they indicate.

Yes. Peace be upon you.