This week, let's review the 41sh hadith of the forty hadith of An-nawawih. For the past review, see here

On the authority of Abu Muhammad Abdullah bin ’Amr bin al-’Aas (RadhiyAllahu ‘anhu) who said: The Messenger of Allah (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said,

“None of you [truly] believes until his desires are subservient to that which I have brought.”

[Imam Al-Nawawi says: We have related it in Kitab al-Hujjah with a sahih chain of narrators]

Brief Commentary from Hadith Commentary

Many scholars have declared this hadith as weak, so we don’t attribute it to the prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) but we study the content of this hadith as the meaning is sound

Imam Al-Nawawi didn’t compile the collection randomly, but followed a wise and set sequence. It is as if he is saying that in order for us to believe, we need to follow all the previous ahadith and make that our desire, therefore we need to be inclined to acting upon them

We should not just accept what we are told to do, but must accept it with our heart, with contentment and willingness, hence we say every morning and every evening “I am content with Allah as my Lord, with Islam as my religion, and with Muhammad SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam as a prophet and a messenger” [Reported by Ahmad and others]. These words shouldn’t be just uttered with our mouths, but should also stem from our hearts

The negation used in this hadith is that of completeness i.e. you don’t have complete Iman if your desires aren’t in conjunction with what the prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) has brought

We also learn from this hadith that Iman increases and decreases based upon the agreement of your desires with the teachings of the prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam)

Ibn Al-Jawzi said, “Desires are an inclination of the soul to that which fits it”
Desires are not necessarily a bad thing. The bad desires mentioned in the Qur’an in Surah Sad[38:26] and Surah Al-Nazi’aat [79:40-41] are the fulfilment of the desires in a limitless manner

The desire mentioned in the hadith really means love i.e. you should love what the prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) has brought down

We shouldn’t look at the obligations as something we must do, but look at them with love, which is achieved by loving Allah

Allah didn’t legislate the Shari’ah for His benefit, but for our benefit
We need to know the lofty purposes of the Shari’ah, and its benefits so we can appreciate it and love it

The hadith puts making our desires conform to the teachings of Islam to be a condition for the completeness of Iman. This is because if our desires do not conform to the Shari’ah, we would find it difficult to adhere to, and hence we wouldn’t be able to adhere to it fully, thus have an incomplete Iman

If we really know the reality of sins, we would not sin

Allah dispraises those who dislike what He loves, and like what He hates in many places in the Qur’an such as in Surah Muhammad [47:9, 26, & 28]

Some of the salaf used to say: “Whoever claims to love Allah and he does not follow Allah’s commands in his actions, then his claim is false. And every lover who does not fear Allah is deceived”

Yahya bin Muadh said, “Whoever claims to love Allah, but does not keep within His limits is not truthful (in his love)”

A believer is complete in that there is no difference in what he professes and what his heart feels

The people of innovation are also called the people of desire in that they put what they prefer over what Allah loves and this is how sins come about

When they sin, many people say, “Only Allah can judge me”. This is incorrect as people can judge the actions of others, hence we have punishments in Islam. Only Allah can judge what is in the heart, but the actions of a person are a reflection of what their heart contains


Benefits and Action points from Hadith commentary

- Ensure you conform your heart to the commandments found in all of the previously studied 40 ahadith
- Have love for the teachings of the prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam)
- Look at the obligations with love, rather than something that must be done
- How to make our desires conform to what Allah loves:
--Have a deeper knowledge of the lofty purposes of the Shari’ah
--Increase in the knowledge of rewards and punishments
--Avoid idle speech and actions which only serve to waste your time, and distance you away from Allah

May Allah ease our affairs.

Which kain write up be this

Jazakum Llahu khairan

Profamir:
May Allah ease our affairs.

Profamir:
May Allah ease our affairs.

Rubbish

Jazakallah khairan

Profamir:
May Allah ease our affairs.

Amin amin.