Abû Mâlik al-Hârith b. Asim al-Asharî relates that Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
الطُّهُورُ شَطْرُ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ تَمْلَأُ الْمِيزَانَ وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ تَمْلَآَنِ أَوْ تَمْلَأُ مَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالصَّلَاةُ نُورٌ وَالصَّدَقَةُ بُرْهَانٌ وَالصَّبْرُ ضِيَاءٌ وَالْقُرْآنُ حُجَّةٌ لَكَ أَوْ عَلَيْكَ كُلُّ النَّاسِ يَغْدُو فَبَايِعٌ نَفْسَهُ فَمُعْتِقُهَا أَوْ مُوبِقُهَا
Purification is half of faith. The praise of Allah fills the balance. Saying ‘Glorified be Allah and praise be to Allah’ fills what is between the heavens and the Earth. Prayer is light. Charity is proof of faith. Patience is illumination. The Qur’ân is a proof both for you and against you. Each one of us goes forth in the morning as a vendor for his soul. He either achieves its emancipation or brings it to perdition.
[Sahîh Muslim, Book 002, Number 0432]
The Importance of this Hadîth
This Hadîth deals with our conduct in many areas and how our conduct effects us in our faith. Al-Nawawî says:
هذا حديث عظيم أصل من أصول الإسلام ، قد اشتمل على مهمات من قواعد الإسلام
This is a mighty Hadîth and an important as a source for Islamic teachings. It comprises within it many important Islamic principles.
[Al-Nawawî, Sharh Sahîh Muslim]
Indeed it discusses purification, the remembrance of Allah, prayer, and patience. It discusses the Qur’ân and how its teachings relate to us. Ultimately, it turns to the effects of our conduct in general.
Purification is Half of Faith
This statement is rich in meaning and in its implications.
Al-Nawawî points out in his commentary of this Hadîth that the word purification here relates to human action and goes on to discuss various meanings that this implies.
The word “faith” can be understood in this Hadîth to mean prayer. It is used this way in the Qur’ân. Allah says about the prayers that the Muslims had offered while facing Jerusalem:
وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَانَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
And never would Allah make your faith of no effect. Indeed, Allah is kind and merciful to the people.
[Sûrah al-Baqarah 2:143]
Prayer cannot be accomplished except in a state of ritual purity. Since purification is a condition of prayer, in this way it is like half of faith.
This is the interpretation favored by al-Nawawî who points out that the word used for “half” in the Hadîth – shatr – does not have to be understood as a half in the literal, mathematical sense.
Al-Uthaymin favors looking upon purification in a far broader sense. He writes:
Purification is half of faith in that faith is either to act upon something or to abandon something. To abandon something is to purify oneself of it and to act upon something is to bring it about. Purification is half of faith in that it means the abandonment of polytheism, since polytheism is an impurity. Allah says: “The polytheists are impure.” [Sûrah al-Tawbah 9:28] In this way, purification is half of faith.It has been said that the Hadîth means that purification for prayer is half of faith, since prayer is faith and it cannot be accomplished without purification. However, the first meaning is better and more universal.
[al-Uthaymîn, Sharh al-Arba’în al-Nawawiyyah]
In this way, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم encouraged us to purify ourselves both physically and spiritually.
The Praise and Remembrance of Allah
When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “The praise of Allah fills the balance,” he was describing to us the immensity of the blessings that we receive when we praise Allah.
The balance is the balance that weighs our deeds. Allah Almighty says:
وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَازِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ فَلَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا وَإِن كَانَ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِّنْ خَرْدَلٍ أَتَيْنَا بِهَا وَكَفَىٰ بِنَا حَاسِبِينَ
We shall set up the scales of justice for the Day of Judgment. Not a soul will be dealt with unjustly in the least. And if there be no more than the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it forth. And sufficient are We to take account.
[Sûrah al-Anbiyâ 21:47]
When we say ‘Glorified be Allah and praise be to Allah’ (subhan Allah wa al-hamdulillah) we are both negating certain meanings and asserting others. First, we are glorifying Allah above everything that is not appropriate for Him. We are negating the attribution of all deficiencies and shortcomings to Allah and we are negating His resembling any created being. When we praise Allah, we are asserting and extolling his perfection.
As for filling the distance between the heavens and the Earth, this is in truth a measure that no one knows the dimensions of besides Allah. We cannot even fathom its immensity. This should emphasize to us the value of the remembrance of Allah. It seems like such a little, effortless thing on our parts. However, it is of great value.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
كَلِمَتَانِ حَبِيبَتَانِ إِلَى الرَّحْمَنِ، خَفِيفَتَانِ عَلَى اللِّسَانِ، ثَقِيلَتَانِ فِي الْمِيزَانِ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ، سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ
There are two phrases that are light on the tongue but heavy in the balance. They are: “Glorified be Allah and with His praise. Glorified be Allah the Almighty.”
[Sahîh al-Bukhârî, Volume 9, Book 93, Number 652]
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم also said in Sahîh al-Bukhârî that saying ‘Glorified be Allah and with His praise,’ one hundred times a day earns forgiveness for a person’s sins, though they be as plentiful as the foam on the sea.
The Light that emanates from Prayer, Fasting, and Patience
Prayer is light in that it prevents the person who engages in it from sin and transgression and guides to what is right. Allah Almighty says:
إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَىٰ عَنِ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ
Indeed, prayer restrains from shameful and wrong deeds.
[Sûrah al-Ankabût 29:45]
It is light in our hearts. It illuminates our faces. When we are buried, it will illuminate our graves. It will remain an illumination for us when we are resurrected.
When a person prays with full sincerity and devotion, he feels the warmth and illumination in his heart. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
قُرَّةُ عَيْنِي فِي الصَّلاَةِ
The coolness of my eyes has been made for me in prayer.
[Sunan al-Nasâ’î, Book 27, Number 3391, also reported in Sunan al-Bayhaqî and others]
Fasting, in turn, is a testimony to the genuine nature of a person’s faith. Wealth is something dear to people, and people only part willingly with what is dear to them for the sake of something dearer.
Patience is to exercise self-restraint. We must be patient in keeping away from what Allah has forbidden us and restrain ourselves from temptation. We must show patience in carrying out our duties to Allah. We must not allow ourselves to be tempted to neglect them. Finally, we must be patient in what Allah decrees for us. When misfortune befalls us, we must restrain our hearts, our words, and our limbs from anger and from sin.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم described prayer as light and patience as illumination. Sheikh al-Uthaymîn points out that the difference between “light” and “illumination” is associated with the intensity of heat. A person who is patient has to face the heat. Patience comes with discomfort. By describing patience as illumination, it is simultaneously being praised and recognized as the difficult thing that it is.
The Qur’ân is a Proof both for you and against you
When a person acts upon the Qur’ân’s teachings, it becomes an argument on his behalf. If he neglects it and acts contrary to it, then it becomes a proof against him.
Allah Almighty says:
وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَا يَزِيدُ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا خَسَارًا
And We reveal of the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy to the believers, and it adds only to the perdition of the unjust.
[Sûrah al-Isrâ’ 17:82]
Ibn Rajab relates that one of the pious predecessors said:
قال بعض السلف ما جالس أحد القرآن فقام عنه سعالمًا بل إما أن يربح أو أن يخسر ثم تلا هذه الآية
Some of the Salaf said: No one sits with the Qur’ân and then rises from it unaffected. He either profits from it or suffers a loss. Then they recited the above verse.
[Jâmi al-Ulûm wa al-Hikam]
A Vendor of His Soul
The Hadîth turns its attention to this profit and loss. Each one of us strives for his own behalf. Some people spend of themselves for the sake of Allah by obeying Him and this liberates them from Allah’s punishment. Others sell themselves short and succumb to their vain desires and sinful urges. In this way, they bring their souls to ruin.
Allah Almighty says:
وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا
فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَهَا وَتَقْوَاهَا
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا
وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّاهَا
By the soul, and Him Who perfected it; And inspired it to understand what is right and wrong for it; He will indeed be successful who purifies it, and he will indeed fail who corrupts it.
[Sûrah al-Shams 91:7-10]
In the Qur’ân, Allah speaks about our obedience and disobedience to Him in terms of trade. He says:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَشْرِي نَفْسَهُ ابْتِغَاءَ مَرْضَاتِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ رَءُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ
And among men is he who sells himself seeking the pleasure of Allah; and Allah is full of kindness for His servants.
[Sûrah al-Baqarah 2:207]
إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَىٰ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنجِيلِ وَالْقُرْآنِ وَمَنْ أَوْفَىٰ بِعَهْدِهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ فَاسْتَبْشِرُوا بِبَيْعِكُمُ الَّذِي بَايَعْتُم بِهِ وَذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
Lo! Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth that Paradise will be theirs: they fight in the way of Allah and shall slay and be slain. It is a promise which is binding on Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’ân. Who fulfills His covenant better than Allah? Rejoice then in your bargain that you have made, for that is the supreme triumph.
[Sûrah al-Tawbah 9:111]
وَإِذَا لَقُوا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قَالُوا آمَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوْا إِلَىٰ شَيَاطِينِهِمْ قَالُوا إِنَّا مَعَكُمْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُسْتَهْزِئُونَ
اللَّهُ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْ وَيَمُدُّهُمْ فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ
أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُا الضَّلَالَةَ بِالْهُدَىٰ فَمَا رَبِحَت تِّجَارَتُهُمْ وَمَا كَانُوا مُهْتَدِينَ
When they meet those who believe, they say: “We believe;” but when they are alone with their evil ones, they say: ‘We are really with you: We were only jesting.’ Allah will throw back their mockery on them, and give them rope in their trespasses; so they will wander like blind ones to and fro. These are they who purchase error at the price of guidance, so their commerce does not profit them, neither are they guided.
[Sûrah al-Baqarah 2:14-16]
