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๴ ,. .,,. J ,,,. .. ೎ , jj i8(j JPjଇ(J 9lj:I ଃ l.O fl jf OP , ,,,. ,,,. ,,,. "" J J 0 ... ... J ,,,. ா:JS. ji ± ଄ 4T:,Allj s.ଅ ;lj 4\A:,; ai ' JS' ? 01jj On the authority of Abu Maalik al-Haarith ibn Aasim al­ Ashari, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, "Purification is half of the faith. The phrase al-hamdulillah ('All praise be to Allah') fills the scale. The phrases sub-haanallaah1 ('High is Allah above every imperfection and need; He is pure and perfect') and al-hamdulillah ('All praise be to Allah') together fill-- or each fill-- what is between the heavens and earth. Prayer is a light. Charity is a proof. Patience is a brightness. The Quran is either an argument for or against you. And everyone goes out in the morning and sells himself, either freeing or destroying himself." (Recorded by Muslim.) 1 This phrase is usually translated as, "Glory be to Allah." "Glory'' is defined as "adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving" (see Webster's, p. 602). It does not, then, properly capture the meaning ofsubhaanallaah. Ibrahim and Johnson-Davies (p. 78) translate it as, "How far is Allah from every imperfection." Khan has translated it as, "To honor Allah and make Him free from all that (unsuitable evil things) that are ascribed to Him (or Glorified be Allah)." See Muhammad Muhsin Khan, Summarized Sahih al-Bukhari (Riyadh: Maktaba Dar al-Salaam, 1994), p. 1059. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi Selected Vocabulary .J.,.WI - "the act of purification," it can refer to either physical or spiritual purity. When the word is .JಘI (al-tahoor instead of al-tuhoor), it refers to the water or matter that is being used as a cleansing agent. The commentators seem to agree that the word here is al-tuhoor and not al-tahoor . ..)...!. - literally this means, "half'; however, it does not necessarily mean half as in two equal halves, but it may mean one of two parts to something; furthermore, it could also be used to mean a part of something, and not just one of two parts . .di .i-11 - al-hamdulillah, "all praises be to Allah" ๳ - "fills" wU;.JI - "the scale" ..Iii wƔ - subhaanallaah, "High is Allah above every imperfection and need; He is pure and perfect" 0:!i - "between" wl_,IA...!1- "the heavens" I.fa> }II - "the earth" .JY - "light" wlA Y. - "proof' 4.:.. - "argument," here, it could be understood to mean "witness" ୌ - "for you" ๲ - "against you" J.li: - "he goes out in the early morning" e;ji._. - one who exchanges something for something else; it applies equally well to the buyer and the seller ๱ - "then sets it free" Takhreej This hadith is authentic. It was recorded by Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, Ahmad, al-Daarimi, al-Baihaqi, al-Tabaraani, ibn Mandah, Abu Awaana and a number of others. Some of the narrations have slight differences in their wordings but they are, for the most part, very consistent with one another. Muslim recorded this hadith with the chain: Ishaaq ibn Mansoor said: Hibbaan ibn Hilaal narrated to us, saying: Abban narrated to us, saying: Yahya said that Zaid narrated to him, saying: Abu Salaam narrated to him from Abu Maalik al-Ashari. This is one of the chains that Muslim has been criticized by al-Daaraqutni and others for using. It is possible that there is a missing narrator in this chain because al-Nasaai records this same hadith with the narrator Abdul Rahmaan ibn Ghanam between Abu Salaam and Abu Maalik. However, it is very possible and not an uncommon type of occurrence that Abu Salaam may have heard this hadith from both Abu Maalik and Abdul Rahmaan. Hence, there is no problem with the chain in Sahih Muslim. Furthermore, even if such Hadith #23: "Purification is Half of Faith . . . " was a mistake, the hadith is still definitely sahih due to the known chain in al­ Nasaai .1 There are some differences in the way that this hadith is recorded in different books. For example, the narration in Sunan al-Nasaai and Sunan ibn Maajah states, "Completing the ablution is half of the faith. . . The tasbeeh (statement, 'How far is Allah from every imperfection') and the takbeer (statement, 'Allah is greatest') filled the heavens and earth2• • • zakah is a proof. . . " A narration recorded by al-Tirmidhi states, "Ablution is one half of the faith." Another narration recorded by al-Tirmidhi and Ahmad states, "The tasbeeh is half of the scale and al-hamdulillah fills it. The takbeer fills what is between the heavens and earth. Fasting is half of patience. And purity is half of faith."3 The text that will be followed and commented upon here is the authentic text from Sahih Muslim that al-Nawawi has reproduced as stated above. General Comments About This Hadith This hadith touches upon some of the most important deeds.