. Instead, it must also be shown in acts of charity toward others. These acts

of charity do not require wealth and are available to almost everyone. • Bringing about justice between two, helping a man get on his mount or placing his belongings on his conveyance, a good word and every step one takes to the mosque are just some of the acts of charity that a Muslim should seek to perform. 1 Al-Baitaar, p. 160. Similarly, many scholars say that there is zakah on one's knowledge, which is the teaching of it to others. 2 Cf., Taataay, p. 206. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi Hadith #27: "Righteousness is Good Character.." Hadith #27 "Righteousness is Good Character . . . " ,,,. fP 0 ,,, .... E>I F G IJi C.Afj ώ ? 01jj ,, ,, ...

J\i  4»1 ÇJ : A a' a:lj ::f-j J. ,,,. .... ,,, ,,, ' ' ,,, ,, Jw ;Ơ,.; J\M J ૒ 4»1 H II J.j 0f ஸ 11 ୖjj L. ૗::· .• 1 J' Å ° " ( ਵ Y : ( ೃ I\ · ,, .r.: . ,, ૓ r: J _r.; ਴ :!JJ ' : r :._iiJ1 d1 ਺f,, L • ' ·· !11 d1 :.:.f\,J,1 ૔: J . ,,,. .. ȇ "J # ,, .. ȇ :!J}Jfj E>I ;!JKf L!J 1$1 J MN}J 9'1 J ,, .,,. ,,,Ȼಡ . ·૑ ૖i . ..:. 1 \SJ૘ •.. ૕. J oGJ';' .,,. . ..::..;. c.;Ǟ ෿ v· ...,-..- ஹ .. ฀ .. ஷ-- .. ,,.. ,,,. ,, ,,,. ,,,. ,,, ਸ਼ ਷ਸਹ %.)1:U1J ɇ ,,,.,,,. ,,,. On the authority of al-Nawwaas ibn Samaan (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who said, "Righteousness is good character. And sin is that which wavers in your soul and which you dislike the people finding out about." Recorded by Muslim. On the authority of Waabisah ibn Mabad (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and he said, "You have come to ask about righteousness and sinfulness?" I said, "Yes." He said, "Consult your heart.

Righteousness is that which makes the soul feel tranquil and the heart feel tranquil. And sin is that which makes the soul waver and the breast uneasy, even if the people have ෽I ·)11 வ. ஶ Gl..fi ึI WA:i..I ..::.,;l...l. I _;෾I Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi given you (their] verdict on it and [continue] to give you [their] verdict." This is a hasan hadith. We have transmitted it in the two Musnads of the two Imams Ahmad ibn Hanbal and al­ Daarimi with a good chain. Selected Vocabulary - "righteousness, piety," its meaning is discussed in more detail below. - "sin, sinfulness" - "your self, your soul" - "you disliked" - "I came" - "consult" - "your heart" - "made tranquil" - "the chest" Takhreej These are obviously two distinct hadith that al-Nawawi has put together under the title, "Hadith Number 27".

Probably, it is the closeness of their subject matters that led him to do this. The first hadith from al-Nawwaas ibn Samaan is authentic. It was recorded by Muslim, al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad, al-Tirmidhi, al-Daarimi, ibn Abu Shaibah, al-Haakim, ibn Hibbaan, al-Baihaqi and Ahmad with the chain of Muawiyah ibn Saalih from Abdul Rahmaan ibn Jubair ibn Nufair from his father from al-Nawwaas. Ahmad, al-Daarimi and others also recorded it from Safwan from Yahya ibn Jaabir al-Qaasi from al-Nawwaas. As for the second hadith from Waabisah, it seems that al-Nawawi combined together Ahmad's narration with al-Daarirni's narration.

As noted in the text, al-Nawawi has called the second narration hasan and he stated that its chain is also hasan.1 The statement that the chain of the hadith is hasan seems questionable. Ahmad, al-Daarimi, Abu Yala, al-Tabaraani and others have all recorded something very close to the second narration mentioned by al­ Nawawi. Their chain is Hammaad ibn Salamah from al-Zubair ibn Abdul Salaam from Ayyoob ibn Abdullah ibn Mikraz from Waabisah. As ibn Rajah pointed out, this chain has two problems with it that makes it a weak narration. The first problem is that the chain is broken between Ayyoob and al-Zubair.

The second problem is that al-Zubair himself is a weak 1 Al-Haitami (Fath, p. 217) points out that some of the manuscripts say that al-Nawawi declared this hadith sahih and stated at the end of the sentence that is chain is jayyid ( ෼ ), meaning good or excellent. Hadith #27: "Righteousness is Good Character.." narrator. Al-Daaraqutni stated that al-Zubair narrated hadith which are rejected. 1 In Majma al-'Z.awaaid, al-Haithami recorded this hadith and stated afterwards, "Recorded by Ahmad and Abu Yala. Its chain contains Ayyoob ibn Abdullah ibn Mikraz. Ibn Adi said about him, 'His hadith are not corroborated.' Ibn Hibbaan [though] considered him trustworthy (thiqah)."2 Ahmad has also recorded it through the chain of Affaan from Hammaad ibn Salamah from al-Zubair ibn Abdul Salaam from Ayyoob; but al­ Zubair did not hear it from Ayyoob.

Al-Tabaraani and al-Bazzaar also record it from Muawiyah ibn Saalih from Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Asadi from Waabisah. The problem with this chain is that Abu Abdullah is an unknown narrator. The hadith has supporting evidence in a narration found in Ahmad, al­ Tabaraani and al-Baghdaadi's Tareekh Baghdaad with the chain Zaid ibn Yahya al-Dirnishqi from Abdullah ibn al-Ala from Muslim ibn Mishkam from Abu Thalaba. Abu Thalaba said he came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and asked him, "Inform me what is permissible for me and what is forbidden for me." The Prophet (peace be upon him) then told him, "Righteousness is what makes the soul feel calm and the heart feels tranquillity with it. Sin is that for which the soul does not feel tranquil and the heart does not find tranquillity, even if the people who give religious verdicts had given you a religious verdict." All the narrators in that chain are well-known and trustworthy, and the chain is considered sahih, as stated by Khaldoon al-Ahdab.3 Al-Tabaraani has yet another chain from Baqiyyah ibn al-Waleed from Ismaaeel ibn Abdullah al-Kindi from Taawus from Wathilah.

However, Ismaaeel is weak. The conclusion, therefore, based on the numerous different chains and corroborating evidence, is that the hadith of Waabisah is hasan lighairihi.4 This was the conclusion of al-Suyooti, al-Albaani5 and ibn Muhammad.6 Al­ Hilaali concludes that the hadith is sahih 7 although this seems a bit much. Allah knows best. 1 lbn Rajab, Jaami, vol. 2, p. 94. 2 Ali ibn Abu Bakr al-Haithami, Majma al-Zawaaid (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr, 1992), vol. I , p. 424. It is not unusual to find ibn Hibbaan considering a narrator trustworthy while others consider him weak. 3 Khaldoon al-Ahdab, Zawaaid Tareekh Baghdaad ala al-Kutub al-Sittah (Damascus: Dar al­ Qalam, 1996), vol. 6, pp. 481-482.

This authentic chain confirms the meaning of the hadith of Waabisah to be correct or sahih. However, that in itself does not make the hadith of Waabisah authentic. This is a point that many authors seem to neglect. There are weak and even fabricated hadith whose meanings are sahih because they can be proven by the Quran or authentic hadith. That by itself, though, definitely does not make those weak or fabricated hadith authentic. 4 Hasan lighairihi ("hasan due to others") means that the hadith by itself is weak but due to supporting evidence it is raised to the level of hasan. ' Al-Suyooti is quoted in al-Munaawi, vol. 1, p. 495; Al-Albaani, sahih al-Jaami, vol. l , p.