On the authority of Abu Abdullah Jaabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with both of them) who said: A man asked the Messenger of Allah (blessings of Allah and peace be upon him), “Tell me if I were to perform the obligatory [prayers], fast Ramadhaan, treat the lawful as permissible and treat the forbidden as prohibited, and I do not add anything to that, would I enter Paradise?” He [the Prophet (peace be upon him)] answered, “Yes.” (Recorded by Muslim.)
The meaning of “treat the forbidden as prohibited,” is to stay away from it. And the meaning of “treat the lawful as permissible” is to perform them believing that they are permissible.
- “Tell me if I were to perform..
- “treat the lawful as permissible and..
- “And I do not add anything to that”
- “Would I enter Paradise?” He answered, “Yes.”
- Other Points Related to This Hadith
General Comments About This Hadith: One very important aspect of this hadith is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) is answering a question about whether some deeds will lead a person to Paradise. This, in itself, gives this hadith great weight. Furthermore, the question encompasses virtually all of Islam since the questioner stated the proper attitude toward the permissible and the forbidden.
1. “Tell me if I were to perform the obligatory [prayers], fast Ramadhaan … “
The questioner explicitly mentioned the prayers and the fast. This is a sign of the emphasis that the believers gave these two acts. According to some, that is why he did not mention any other obligatory deeds but specifically mentioned these two acts. However, these question of why only those two were mentioned deserves more inspection.
Why Weren’t the Pilgrimage and Zakat Also Mentioned? In this hadith, the questioner only mentioned the prayers and fasting the month of Ramadhaan. He did not mention the pilgrimage and zakat. This could have been for one of two reasons. First, these two acts may not have been obligatory at the time that the person asked this question to the Prophet (peace be upon him). Second, it could have been the case that these two acts were not relevant to the questioner. In other words, these two both require wealth and the questioner may not have been a person of wealth and, hence, these were not obligatory upon him.
The correct interpretation may be a combination of those two. It is established that the questioner died as a martyr in the Battle of Uhud. By that time, the obligation to perform the pilgrimage had not yet been revealed. Thus, there was an obvious reason why he did not ask about the pilgrimage. On the other hand, it is possible that the obligation of zakat or some form of it had already been established. If he were not a person of wealth, again, that obligation would not have been relevant to him and that is why he did not mention it in his question. Allah knows best.
2. “treat the lawful as permissible and treat the forbidden as prohibited”
In the text of the Forty Hadith, al-Nawawi included his own comment as to the meaning of this passage, as reproduced above. He stated, “The meaning of ‘treat the forbidden as prohibited, ‘ is to stay away from it. And the meaning of ‘treat the lawful as permissible’ is to perform them believing that they are permissible.” The latter portion of this statement implies that a person does the permissible deeds only. In this sense, the “permissible deeds” are inclusive of what is obligatory, recommended and permitted. Hence, one performs these deeds and does not go beyond them to what is forbidden.
Ibn Ra jab points out that some of the other commentators state that the meaning of this phrase is to treat the lawful as permissible by simply believing that it is permissible and to treat the forbidden as prohibited by believing it is forbidden and staying away from it. The difference between this and the previous interpretation is that here there is no mention of performing the lawful since oft-times the lawful is simply permitted or recommended, and it is not essential that a person actually perform them. Thus, it is sufficient that one believes in their permissibility with no need to perform them. At the same time, though, one must actually perform the obligatory deeds as is clearly proven in many other hadith and Quranic
verses.
The difference between the two interpretations is not of great significance. However, the latter interpretation is more exacting and proper since it is definitely not necessary that one perform all the permissible deeds. One must, however, believe in their permissibility. Indeed, it is a great sin to “forbid” something that Allah has made permissible. Allah says in the Quran,
“O believers! Make not unlawful the good and pure things which Allah has made lawful to you, and transgress not. Verily, Allah does not like the transgressors” (al-Maaidah 87). Both forbidding what Allah has allowed and allowing what Allah has forbidden are great sins and go against the steps that lead one to Paradise, as implied in this hadith. Treating as permissible what Allah allows and treating as prohibited what Allah has forbidden is considered the correct way of “reading the Quran”. Allah says in the Quran,
“Those to whom We have given the Book ‘recite it as it should be recited’.
They are the ones that believe in it. As for those who disbelieve in it, they are the losers” (al-Baqara 121). The phrase, “recite it as it should be recited,” has been interpreted by ibn Masood, ibn Abbaas and others to mean that they permit what it permits, forbid what it forbids and do not distort its meanings from their proper implications.
A Muslim must believe in the permissibility of whatever Allah has allowed. He must also believe in the prohibition of whatever Allah has forbidden. These are essential aspects of the religion of Islam. If a person knowingly does not meet these conditions, he falls outside of the fold of Islam. If Allah has forbidden an act and the person believes it is permissible or should be considered permissible, he becomes a unbeliever even if he does not perform that act. On the other hand, if a person recognizes that the act is forbidden but he performs it anyway he is a sinner but, in general, he does not fall outside of the fold of Islam because he is not negating a basic principle of the faith.
3.”And I do not add anything to that”
This portion of the hadith has been interpreted in different ways. AlUbayy mentions that the reason the man said, “And I do not add anything to that,” was because he was new to Islam and, therefore, he did not have the love and desire to perform additional, voluntary acts. Therefore, the Prophet (peace be upon him) answered him in such a way that he would know that he should perform the obligatory acts. After he becomes accustomed to Islam and loves it, he would then perform the voluntary deeds on his own. However, there does not seem to be any strong evidence for this view.
Al-Ubayy offers a second explanation also. He said that it implies that the man was not going to perform voluntary acts of prayer or fasting. He said the reason was that the man was too busy in performing acts like jihad and other praiseworthy deeds. It is established that the questioner was one who participated in jihad; indeed, he even died as a martyr. Once again, though, there is nothing that lends itself to this interpretation.
3.1 The Status of Voluntary and Recommended Deeds
This hadith clearly implies that performing voluntary or recommended deeds is not necessary for entering Paradise. Indeed, by definition, such deeds are not obligatory and, therefore, a person is not sinful if he does not perform them. A person does not have to perform the voluntary or recommended deeds. As long as he is performing the obligatory deeds and remaining away from the forbidden acts, he is fulfilling the necessary requirements of his religion.
However, if a person truly wishes to get closer to Allah and earn Allah’s pleasure, he will not neglect the voluntary and recommended deeds. There is a great reward for their performance but a more important aspect is that they complete the performance and reward of the obligatory deeds. Most people will have some sort of shortcoming in their obligatory deeds. The voluntary deeds will make up for any deficiencies in the obligatory deeds. Hence, in general, it is discouraged for one not to do the voluntary deeds unless the quality of one’s obligatory deeds is excellent.
Furthermore, if a person does not perform the sunnah acts out of disdain or dislike for the sunnah, then he is no longer one who simply does not perform such deeds. In this case, he will be considered an unbeliever because of his attitude toward the deeds recommended by the shareeah.
In addition, when a person continually avoids the recommended deeds in a general sense, it demonstrates his lack of concern for the religion. He will be losing a great deal of reward and a great opportunity to get even closer to Allah. For this reason, some scholars would not accept the testimony of a person who is known not to perform the sunnah or recommended acts. Although they are not doing something considered strictly forbidden, they are demonstrating a lack of religiousness.
Al-Bugha and Mistu further point out that the Companions were very anxious to get as close as possible to Allah and to please Him in every way. In general, they used to perform all of the acts that they witnessed their example, the Prophet (peace be upon him), performing. They did not really distinguish between obligatory and voluntary acts. They would perform them all as part of the overall behavior of the Muslims. It was only among the later generations that the jurists concentrated on distinguishing what was obligatory from what was voluntary. lbn Daqeeq al-Eid points out that this differentiation was needed because people were not performing all of the acts as the early generations did. Hence, the general people had to know what acts they could not neglect and what acts they could neglect without sin.
Al-Bugha and Mistu state that if a community as a whole agrees upon abandoning a sunnah or recommended act, then they should be fought until they perform that act. This is because their behavior shows that they are willing to tum away from the way of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
But, based on this hadith, al-Haitami argues against that opinion. He says that those who claimed that such people must be fought must provide evidence for their opinion. Among the evidence they provide is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would wait to hear the call to prayer in the morning before he would attack a city. If he heard the call to prayer, he would not attack the city. If he did not hear it, he would attack the city. The argument here is that the call to prayer is a sunnah act, they claim, and is not obligatory. Al-Haitami answers this claim by saying that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not refrain from attacking them simply because they performed a sunnah act but because that was a clear sign that they were Muslims.
4.”Would I enter Paradise?” He [the Prophet (peace be upon him)] answered, “Yes.”
Ibn Rajah states that this hadith indicates that if a person performs the obligatory deeds and remains away from the forbidden ones, he will enter Paradise. He states that there are numerous hadith that indicate this; indeed, they are mutawaatir. Here are a couple of the numerous hadith he presents:
On the authority of Abu Huraira: A bedouin came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, “Point me to deeds that if I were to perform them, I would enter Paradise.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him, establish the obligatory prayer, give the zakat and fast Ramadhaan.” The man said, “By the One in whose hand is my soul, I will not add anything to this.” When he had turned away, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “If it pleases someone to see a person from Paradise, he should look at that man.” (Recorded by al Bukhari and Muslim.) In another hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) explicitly mentioned that only if the person were true to his words of fulfilling these conditions would he then enter Paradise. Al-Bukhari records a similar hadith with another bedouin, who also said he would do what is required and not add anything to it, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said at the end, “He will enter Paradise if he is truthful to his word.”
Ibn Rajah points out that although those deeds lead one to enter Paradise, at the same time, one may be performing deeds that are preventive factors and will keep one from entering Paradise. lbn Rajah then quotes the following hadith: A man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I bore witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that you are the Messenger of Allah, I prayed the five [daily] prayers, I paid the zakat on my wealth and I fasted the month of Ramadhaan.” The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “The one who dies upon those [acts] shall be with the prophets, sincere and martyrs like this on the Day of Resurrection- and he raised his fingers together- as long as he did not disobey his parents.”
lbn Rajab then points out that all of the hadith of the nature, “Whoever does such and such will enter Paradise,” are to be understood in this nature. In other words, the person who does those acts will enter Paradise as long as he does not also perform some other acts that prevent his entrance into Paradise. All of the necessary conditions must be met for entrance into Paradise and all of the preventive factors must be removed. He points out that there are many hadith that indicate that particular acts may keep one from entering Paradise. For example, he quoted the following hadith, “The one who has even the slightest amount of arrogance in his heart will not enter Paradise.” (Recorded by Muslim.)
As was discussed in the commentary to Hadith Number 3, even the testimony of faith has certain conditions that must be met. If a person makes the testimony of faith but then follows it up with deeds that reduce its effect, he may not enter Paradise without first being punished in the Hell-fire. The Follower al-Hasan al-Basri once said, “[The statement that] there is none worthy of worship except Allah has conditions to it. Therefore, beware of slandering innocent, believing women.”
4.1 A Weaker Interpretation:
This hadith explicitly mentions only praying and fasting. Other hadith of this nature also concentrate on those two acts and may also mention zakat and some other deeds. Al-Dhuhaak, al-Zuhri and others understand that hadith of this nature were statements made by the Prophet (peace be upon him) before the other obligatory acts were revealed from Allah. Hence, they consider this type of hadith to be abrogated or they say that later conditions must be added to what the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated in hadith of this nature. However, there is no need to resort to such claims. The hadith implies that the person recognizes what is permissible and what is forbidden and abides by them. The other hadith that are similar to this explicitly mention worshipping Allah alone and other essential characteristics that encompass obeying Allah in all matters. Thus, there is nothing missing from these hadith that need them to be abrogated or adjusted by later statements of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
4.2 The Desire to Know the Path to Paradise
One can note from numerous hadith that the Companions were very anxious to know the path to Paradise. Numerous Companions came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) to ask him to show them a deed or deeds that will lead them to Paradise. They realized that this was the most important information that they could obtain for their own welfare. After receiving the answer from the Prophet (peace be upon him), many of them swore that they would perform exactly what the Prophet (peace be upon him) had told them.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) would then state that they will be in Paradise if they are truthful to those conditions or acts. This question should always be foremost in the mind of every believer. He should seek the answer to this question in the Quran and sunnah. After reading the clear answers by the Prophet (peace be upon him) to this question, the person should set himself on the path to follow the deeds that will lead one to Paradise. He should concentrate on them and excel in them. In this way, Allah willing, he will be from among the prosperous and blessed on the Day of Judgment.
4.3 Is This an Easy Path to Paradise?
The questioner mentioned fasting, praying, permitting the legal and prohibiting the forbidden. Simply based on those acts, the Prophet (peace be upon him) stated that the questioner would enter Paradise. Does this imply that Paradise is very easy to enter?
In reality, these aspects that the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned are not easy unless the person has a firm faith. The Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned some very important matters. They were aspects that the polytheistic Arabs refused to submit to and they are aspects that the secularists and non-religious people of today cannot adhere to. In other words, they are not as simple and light as they may seem at first glance.
Attending to the prayers in the proper manner and on a daily basis is not an easy matter unless one truly believes in them. Abstaining from food and drink during the daytime of Ramadhan is also not easy unless the resolve to please Allah by fasting is present. The willingness to submit to Allah with respect to what He permits and forbids is a very great matter indeed. Those who want and believe in freedom– that is, free to follow their passions and desires-cannot submit to this condition. In fact, they will fight this condition with all of their might.
One can now see that these acts that will lead a person to Paradise are not as simple as they might seem. They require true commitment and belief in Allah. If that true faith is present, they do become easy on the person. However, if that faith or commitment is lacking or completely missing, these deeds become a burden and a hardship. This will be the perception of those lacking in faith. In the end, they will be the losers because they were not willing to adhere to these basic acts and principles.
5. Other Points Related to This Hadith
• The key to prosperity and entering Paradise is the performance of the obligatory deeds. The voluntary deeds may make up for some shortcomings in the performance of the obligatory deeds and may also raise a person’s rank in Paradise, but the essential deeds are the obligatory deeds.
• It is a fundamental aspect of the religion to accept as permissible what Allah has permitted and to treat as forbidden what Allah has forbidden. No one has the right to challenge Allah with respect to this authority. Anyone who knowingly does so falls outside of the fold oflslam. Similarly, anyone who desires a law other than the Law of Allah also falls outside of the fold of islam.
• If the assumption that the questioner was new to Islam and that is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not encourage him to do voluntary deeds is correct, this is a sign that the teacher or scholar should take into consideration the situation of the questioner before replying to any question. Here, the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not want to overburden the questioner who first had to adjust to performing the five daily prayers and fasting Ramadhan. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not mention a long list of non-obligatory deeds that would be good for the person to perform. When dealing with new Muslims today, the same type of approach should be taken. The obligatory deeds should be dealt with first. As the person becomes accustomed to them and begins to love them, he then can be taught the voluntary deeds. At that time, he will be emotionally and mentally ready to perform them and the religion will not be a burden upon him. Allah knows best.
Summary of the Hadith:
• The prayers and the fast are two of the essential or most important acts of this religion.
• Doing what is permissible and avoiding what is forbidden is also an essential aspect of the religion.
• If the person truly fulfills the above stated essential aspects of the religion, he will enter Paradise by the grace and mercy of Allah.
Books of Muslims 