Understanding Hadith 27: Righteousness, Sin, and Consulting the Heart
An explanation of the twenty-seventh Hadith of the Forty Nawawi, focusing on the definitions of righteousness and sin. The speaker explains how the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ taught believers to consult their hearts when faced with doubt. This Hadith serves as a major Sharia principle, even guiding laypeople when they feel uneasy about a fatwa.
Peace be upon you.
He (RH) said:
The twenty-seventh Hadith:
On the authority of An-Nawwas bin Sam'an (RA),
from the Prophet ﷺ,
that he said: "Righteousness is good character,
Narrated by Muslim.
And from Wabisah ibn Ma'bad (RA), that he said:
"I came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ,
and he said: 'Have you come to ask about righteousness?'
I said: 'Yes.'
He said: 'Consult your heart — righteousness is what the soul
and the heart feels at peace with,
and sin is what gnaws in the soul and wavers in the chest, even if people give you a ruling.'
A hasan hadith, narrated in the Musnads of the two Imams: Ahmad ibn Hanbal and al-Darimi, with a hasan chain.
Yes. That is all.
Before we begin explaining the Hadith, in the last sentence,
it could be in the active voice, *rawaynahu*, or in the passive voice, *ruwwinahu*,
as the reciter read just now.
And it appears to be in the active voice because its chain of narration is good.
For when the chain is good, one says *rawaynahu* and not *ruwwinahu*.
This Hadith is among the concise speech (Jawami' al-Kalim),
as it is a principle regarding good character — what is it?
For character is not limited to just one or two traits,
rather, what is mentioned in books of manners and noble character
are only the foundations of character.
As for character traits, they are endless.
So there can be many actions and behaviors that fall under it.
And the Prophet ﷺ mentioned in this Hadith
that the basis of good character is what is within the servant.
So whatever beautifies him and he likes people to see,
and people praise whoever possesses it, then it is part of good character.
And whatever a person dislikes in himself,
or dislikes that people should find out about—
and by "people" it means the wise, the scholars, the prominent, and those of sound nature among them—
then that is considered a bad character trait,
and so on, depending on the circumstances.
This Hadith is a major principle of Sharia, used by scholars as evidence for
even issues of fatwa, such as when a layperson seeks a fatwa but his heart does not feel at ease with it.
So what does that mean?
Scholars such as Ibn Hamdan and others have spoken about this.
and their discussion can be referred to in its proper place.
Yes. Peace be upon you.