The Meaning of Istiqamah: Hadith 21 of Al-Nawawi’s Forty Hadith
An explanation of the twenty-first Hadith of Imam al-Nawawi, where the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ commands a companion to believe in Allah ﷻ and remain steadfast. The commentary highlights how this Hadith encompasses the entire religion, linking it to Quranic verses on Istiqamah and Ibn al-Qayyim's categorization of people into the steadfast, those aiming near it, and the negligent.
Nothing. Okay, give us a Hadith.
He (RH) said: The twenty-first Hadith:
On the authority of Abu 'Amir—or 'Amr— bin Sufyan bin 'Abdullah (RA),
that he said: "I said: O Messenger of Allah,
tell me about Islam what I need not ask anyone else about."
He said: "Say: 'I believe in Allah,' then stand firm."
Narrated by Muslim.
This Hadith is of Sufyan bin 'Abdullah al-Thaqafi in Sahih [Muslim],
that the Prophet ﷺ, when a man said to him:
"Tell me about Islam what I need not ask anyone else about,"
meaning it encompasses the entire religion,
so it is among the Hadiths that encompass the whole religion.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
"Say: 'I believe in Allah,' then stand firm."
"I believe in Allah"—meaning Tawhid, worship, and faith.
And his saying, "then stand firm," means: stand firm in acting in obedience to Allah ﷻ.
And this is in the Book of Allah ﷻ, for indeed, Allah ﷻ says:
“Indeed, those who have said, "Our Lord is Allāh" and then remained on a right course - the angels will descend upon them, [saying], "Do not fear and do not grieve but receive good tidings of Paradise, which you were promised.” (Quran 41:30)
This Hadith is derived from the verse, and it encompasses all goodness,
and it includes steadfastness in intention, action, and speech altogether.
Therefore, Ibn al-Qayyim (RH) said:
“This Hadith has combined all the stations of religion,”
“it combined all the stations of religion,”
for the servant is commanded to be steadfast.
This is the meaning of Ibn al-Qayyim's words:
that the servant is commanded to be steadfast,
For steadfastness is correctness,
and if he is unable to achieve steadfastness, then he is commanded to aim near it,
If he falls short of aiming near it, then he is negligent and wasteful of the Sharia of Allah.
So people are always of three types: the steadfast, the one aiming near it, and the negligent.
The steadfast are the most perfect, and they too have degrees.
The one aiming near it is whom the Prophet ﷺ meant: "Adhere to the right course and aim near it."
The negligent—we ask Allah ﷻ for safety and not to be that man.
So the point is that this hadith encompasses all goodness and all rulings,
and through it, the conditions of all people become clear. Yes.