Hadith 16-25: Worship and Daily Life

The middle section of Al-Nawawi's collection contains some of the most practically oriented hadiths in the entire work — statements that address the daily texture of a Muslim's life, the management of anger, the importance of moderation, and the relationship between religious practice and good character in concrete situations.

Hadith 16, from Abu Hurairah in al-Bukhari, records an exchange in which a man asked the Prophet to advise him and was told repeatedly 'Do not be angry.' This one-phrase repetition has become one of the most quoted pieces of prophetic guidance in the Islamic tradition, generating extensive commentary on the psychology of anger, the techniques for controlling it, and its centrality among the character flaws that a Muslim must work to overcome. The Prophet's repetition of the same phrase in response to the man's repeated request makes it impossible to treat anger management as a peripheral concern — it is positioned here as perhaps the single most important practical advice the Prophet could give.

Hadiths 17 and 18 contain comprehensive prophetic wisdom. Hadith 17, from Mu'adh ibn Jabal in Al-Tirmidhi and Ahmad, records one of the Prophet's most extensive recorded pieces of advice: to fear Allah wherever you are, to follow a bad deed with a good one, and to treat people with good character. Hadith 18, from Abu Dharr al-Ghifari in Muslim, transmits a divine hadith (hadith qudsi) in which Allah declares that He has forbidden wrongdoing upon Himself and made it forbidden among His servants, and instructs them not to wrong one another — a statement that grounds the prohibition of injustice not in human social contract but in the very character of Allah's own conduct.

Hadiths 19 and 20 address the balance between this world and the next. Hadith 19, from Ibn Abbas in al-Bukhari, records the Prophet's instruction to a young man, including the famous lines: 'Be mindful of Allah and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah and you will find Him in front of you.' This hadith is among the most complete statements of the tawakkul (reliance on Allah) ethic in the entire prophetic tradition. Hadith 20, from Abu Mas'ud al-Badri in the Sahihayn, records the Prophet's statement that one of the things that has reached the Muslim community from the earlier prophets is: 'If you feel no shame, then do as you wish' — making hayaa (modesty, shame, and decency) a marker of prophetic tradition across all religions.

Hadiths 21 through 25 round out this section with statements on standing firm in Islam, avoiding extremes, and performing good deeds. Hadith 21, from Abu Amr Sufyan ibn Abdullah ath-Thaqafi in Muslim, records the Prophet's response to a man who asked him for a comprehensive description of Islam: 'Say: I believe in Allah — then be upright.' Hadith 22, from Jabir ibn Abdullah in al-Bukhari and Muslim, records the Prophet's instruction to observe proper conduct in slaughter — a specific example of how Islamic ethics extends even to interactions with animals. Hadiths 23 through 25 address the importance of purification, the virtue of prayer at the prescribed times, and the significance of sincerity in all acts. Together this section reveals a prophetic vision of daily life in which every interaction, from managing one's own anger to how one treats animals, is an opportunity for the expression of faith.