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| 2 Bukhari hadiths

44
It was narrated from Anas, that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There will be brought forth from the Fire everyone who says La ilaha illa Allah (none has the right to be worshipped except Allah) in whose heart there is goodness the weight of a grain of barley; and there will be brought forth from the Fire everyone who says La ilaha illa Allah (none has the right to be worshipped except Allah) in whose heart there is goodness the weight of a grain of wheat; and there will be brought forth from the Fire everyone who says La ilaha illa Allah (none has the right to be worshipped except Allah) in whose heart there is goodness the weight of an atom.” He [the narrator] said: Aban said: Qatadah told us: Anas told us, from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) “of faith,” instead of “goodness.”.

Commentary : Allah’s mercy towards His slaves is immense and without limit, and it cannot be fully described. On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will show great generosity to many of His slaves, and he will bring forth from the Fire anyone in whose heart is the smallest amount of goodness and faith.
In this hadith, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) tells us that no one will remain forever in Hell who has in his heart an atom’s weight of faith. If the Muslim who sinned dies without having repented from his sin, it is up to Allah: if He wills, He will pardon him for it, and if He wills, He will punish him, but he will not remain forever in the Fire under any circumstances. Allah will bring forth from the Fire anyone who said La ilaha illa Allah and has in his heart as much as a grain of barley, or a grain of wheat, or even an atom’s weight of goodness, which means faith, as is explained in other reports. That is because goodness, in reality, is that which brings a person closer to Allah (may He be exalted), and that can be nothing other than faith. The word dharrah (translated here as atom) may refer to a small ant, or a speck of dust that may be seen floating in rays of sunlight, like the heads of needles. Barley is mentioned before wheat, because its grains are bigger in size, although they are very similar to one another, and the dharrah is mentioned last because it is so small. This is by way of explaining the issue by using the analogy of increasingly smaller likenesses.
This hadith indicates that merely saying La ilaha illa Allah, without there being any faith in the heart, will not benefit a person or bring him forth from the Fire.
It also clearly indicates how people may have different levels of faith, and that some of those believers who commit major sins may enter the Fire, but they will not abide therein forever..

45
It was narrated from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab that a Jewish man said to him: O Amir al-Mu’minin, there is a verse in your Book that you recite; if it had been revealed to us Jews, we would have taken that day as a festival. He said: Which verse is it? He said: {This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion} [al-Ma’idah 5:3]. ‘Umar said: We know that day, and the place in which it was revealed to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). [It was] when he was standing in ‘Arafah, on a Friday. .

Commentary : The Holy Qur’an is held sacred by all Muslims. The noble Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them) were keen to learn everything having to do with it, such as the reasons for revelation, the story behind the revelation of verses, and when they were revealed, as well as learning all the rulings and meanings of the verses.
In this report, the Tabi‘i Tariq ibn Shihab narrates that a Jewish man – namely Ka‘b al-Ahbar, before he became Muslim, as is narrated in Tafsir al-Tabari and al-Awsat by al-Tabarani – came to the caliph ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and said to ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): There is a verse in your Book that you recite; if it had been revealed to us Jews, we would have taken that day as a festival – that is, we would have made it a festival to celebrate, out of respect and honour for that day, and highlighting its virtue. ‘Umar said: Which verse is it? He said: {This day I have perfected for you your religion} [al-Ma’idah 5:3], that is, by causing it to be victorious and prevail over all other religions, {and completed My favor upon you} that is, by guiding you, helping you and perfecting the religion, and with the conquest of Makkah and the destruction of the beacons of jahiliyyah. This is a great verse, and the day when it was revealed is deserving of celebration.
‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: We know that day, and the place in which this verse was revealed, so you are not telling us of something of which we are unaware. It was revealed to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) when he was standing in ‘Arafah on a Friday, so it was a day on which two “festivals” were combined: the day of ‘Arafah, and Friday.
The words of Ka‘b al-Ahbar, “we would have taken that day as a festival” imply: and you have not taken it as a festival, as if he was trying to suggest that the verse was not true, because the Muslims had neglected the day on which it was revealed. So ‘Umar explained to him that they did indeed celebrate it on two counts, and they regarded it as a twofold festival.
This hadith indicates that festivals and days to be commemorated cannot be based on personal opinion and ideas, as the People of the Book (Jews and Christians) did before us. Rather they are to be based on religious texts and following the practice of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
It also indicates that faith may increase and decrease, as religious commitment may be perfected by perfecting and completing the deeds that it prescribes..

46
It was narrated that Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydillah said: A man from Najd came to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) with dishevelled hair. The rise and fall of his voice could be heard, but his words could not be understood until he came close, and it turned out that he was asking about Islam. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Five prayers every day and night.” The man said: Is anything else required of me? He said: “No, unless you do it voluntarily.” The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “And fasting Ramadan.” He said: Is anything else required of me? He said: “No, unless you do it voluntarily.” Then the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) mentioned zakah, and the man said: If anything else required of me? He said: “No, unless you do it voluntarily.” Then the man turned away, saying: By Allah, I shall do no more than that and no less. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “He will succeed if he is telling the truth.”.

Commentary : Being assiduous in doing everything prescribed in Islam and carrying out its pillars in the proper manner, with sincerity, is the path to success and prosperity, and a means of salvation from the terrors of the Day of Resurrection.
In this hadith, Talhah ibn ‘Ubaydullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man from Najd – which is a region of Arabia between the Hejaz and Iraq – came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). That man was Dimam ibn Tha‘labah; his hair was unkempt because of the rigours of travel, and he had a loud voice, but nothing he said could be understood until he drew close to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). It turned out that he was asking about the teachings of Islam, so the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) responded by explaining that the first duty of Islam that was required of him was the five prayers, which are to be offered every day and night. He said: Do I have to offer any prayers other than these five prayers? The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) replied: You do not have to offer any other prayers, unless you voluntarily do some of the regular Sunnah and other Sunnah prayers, which are encouraged (mustahabb) and you will be rewarded for doing them, but you will not be punished for not doing them.
Then the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) told him that he had to fast Ramadan. Fasting means refraining, with the intention of worship, from food, drink, sexual activity and other things that break the fast, from the break of dawn until the sun sets. He said: Do I have to do anything else? He said: You do not have to do anything else, unless you do it voluntarily, fasting some days other than Ramadan, for they are encouraged and you will be rewarded for doing that. Then the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) told him about zakah, which is an obligatory, financial act of worship, to be given on every type of wealth that meets the minimum threshold, as defined in Islamic teachings, when one full lunar (or Hijri) year has passed since acquiring that wealth, giving one quarter of one tenth. One should also give zakah on an‘am animals [camels, cattle and sheep] and other livestock; zakah on crops, fruits, and trade goods; and zakah on rikaz, which is buried treasure that is brought out of the earth and, it was said, minerals and metals, on the basis of their nisab (minimum threshold), to be given at the time at which their zakah becomes due. Giving zakah in the proper manner to those who are entitled to it brings increased blessing (barakah) to wealth, and brings great reward in the hereafter, whereas being stingy and withholding it from those who are entitled to it brings bad consequences in this world and the hereafter, as has been explained in many texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Zakah is to be given to those who are entitled to it, who are mentioned in the verse: {Zakah expenditures are only for the poor and for the needy and for those employed to collect [zakah] and for bringing hearts together [for Islam] and for freeing captives [or slaves] and for those in debt and for the cause of Allah and for the [stranded] traveler - an obligation [imposed] by Allah. And Allah is Knowing and Wise} [al-Tawbah 9:60].
The man asked: Do I have to do anything other than that? He said: No, unless you give something else in charity voluntarily, and you will be rewarded for that, but it is not obligatory and you will not be sinning if you do not do it. Then the man turned and left, swearing by Allah that he would not do any supererogatory (nafil) deeds in addition to these obligatory duties, and he would not omit any of them. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “He will succeed if he is speaking the truth.” In other words, if he means what he says, and he does these pillars [of Islam] sincerely for the sake of Allah (may He be exalted), then he will attain Paradise and be saved from the Fire, even if he does not do any supererogatory actions.
This hadith indicates that if a person limits himself to the obligatory religious duties, as prescribed in the religious texts, then he will succeed, but this does not mean that it is not prescribed for him to do some voluntary acts of worship, because the voluntary actions will complete the obligatory actions (and make up for any shortcomings in them) on the Day of Resurrection..

47
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever follows the bier of a Muslim, out of faith and in the hope of reward, and remains with it until the funeral prayer is offered and the burial is complete, will go back with two qirats of reward, each qirat like Uhud. Whoever offers the funeral prayer then goes back before the burial is done will go back with one qirat.”.

Commentary : Part of honouring a fellow Muslim and showing kindness to him is attending his funeral when he dies, following the bier and offering the funeral prayer for him. This brings an immense reward for the one who does that out of faith and seeking reward.
In this hadith, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) mentions the immense reward to be attained by following the bier, and tells us that the one who follows the bier of a Muslim, out of faith and in the hope of reward – that is, believing in the promise of Allah and seeking reward from Him, doing that sincerely for the sake of Allah (may He be exalted) alone, and not seeking to be seen by people or doing it for any other purpose that is contrary to sincerity – and offers the funeral prayer for the deceased, and follows the bier until the burial is completed, will attain two qirats of reward, each qirat like Mount Uhud, which is the well-known mountain on the northern outskirts of Madinah, 4 or 5 km from the Prophet’s Mosque. It is 7 km long, 2 to 3 km wide, and 350 metres high. Attaining these two qirats is subject to three conditions: firstly, following the bier; secondly, offering the funeral prayer; thirdly, attending the burial. As for the one who only offers the funeral prayer and then goes back before the burial is done, he will attain only one qirat of reward.
This hadith encourages us to offer the funeral prayer for the deceased, follow his bier and attend his burial. It also highlights the immense grace and generosity of Allah, and how great is the reward that He grants for small deeds..

48
It was narrated that Zubayd said: I asked Abu Wa’il about the Murji’ah, and he said: ‘Abdullah told me that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Insulting a Muslim is an evil action and fighting him is disbelief (kufr).”.

Commentary : Islam urges us to respect people’s honour and lives, and it calls the Muslims to be brothers and have compassion for one another, and not to transgress against one another.
In this hadith, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) forbids the Muslim to insult and revile his fellow Muslim, and explains that impugning his honour and shaming him is regarded as evildoing, and it is going against the command of Allah and His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) by doing what they have forbidden; according to Islamic teachings, it is worse than merely committing a sin. “And fighting him is disbelief (kufr)” – what is meant here is not disbelief in the sense that it puts one beyond the bounds of faith. Rather it is called disbelief (kufr) in order to emphasize the warning and deter the listener from doing that. Or it may be that it is likened to disbelief because this is the action of one who disbelieves. It may be understood as meaning disbelief in a real sense if the doer believes that it is permissible to do that.
In the original report narrated by al-Bukhari, the Tabi‘i Abu Wa’il Shaqiq ibn Salamah asked ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) about the Murji’ah – who were a group who said that if a person believed, it did not matter if he sinned, and they claimed that the one who committed major sin was not an evil doer. So Ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this hadith, which affirms that sin is indeed harmful and affects the faith of the one who does it.
This hadith also indicates that some deeds may be described as disbelief (kufr), which implies that other deeds may be called faith (iman)..