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. . the House." In this hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) told Muaadh that the key to entering Paradise and escaping the Hell-fire is the five pillars of lslam.2 These acts are the foundation of Islam. If one performs them properly and well, one is bound to enter Paradise. "Shall I not inform you of the gateȈ to goodness?" According to al-Haitami, the words, "Shall I not inform you" are of way of attracting the listener's attention. It shows that something of importance is about to follow.3 Indeed, the following instruction is of great importance. Beyond the entry into Paradise, there is a great deal of good that one can receive inside of Paradise. The Prophet (peace be upon him) did not stop at what Muaadh asked. Instead, he showed him the gates or doors to good beyond what Muaadh had asked him. The pillars of Islam are the obligatory acts that one must fulfill to have a hope of entering Paradise. Now, the Prophet (peace be upon him) is pointing Muaadh to voluntary acts that open the door to greater rewards in Paradise. As shall be discussed under Hadith Number 38, the most beloved servants to Allah are those who get close to Him by performing voluntary acts of worship after completing the acts that are obligatory upon them. The fasting and charity referred to below are, then, the voluntary fasts and charity and not the obligatory fasting ofRamadhan and the zakah.4 1 Cf., Sultaan, p. 256. 2 These five pillars were explained in some detail in the commentaries to Hadith Number 2 and Hadith Number 3. 3 Al-Haitami, Fath, p. 224. 4 Cf., ibn Rajab, Jaami, vol. 2, p. 138. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi "fasting [which] is a shield" Since the obligatory fast of Ramadhan has already been mentioned in this hadith, this is an encouragement to increase one's voluntary fasting. The act of fasting is itself a shield. Allah describes obligatory fasting in the following manner, 5,.,,, ,.. ,.. J ,,.. J ,.. ,.. J .z __, ,.. ½ JfJ I W-- r1:η1 ѕ_b;Jθ \®\; (r-fJ I \:!:.; ;:;;; J :;:; ,,.. ; J_ ;- " ! "O believers, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain taqwa" (al-Baqara 183). The result of fasting, whether obligatory or voluntary, should be taqwa. The word taqwa comes from wiqaayah, which implies a protection. Taqwa means to protect oneself from the Hell-fire by putting a barrier between oneself and the Hell-fire. In this hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) has given a different but similar description for fasting. He has called it a shield, like the shield that one uses in the battlefield. The shield protects a person from the enemy and fasting protects a person from committing sins and from entering the Hell-fire. Ibn Rajah points out that fasting is a shield only if the act of fasting is not harmed by foul or improper speech. He quotes the hadith from al-Bukhari and Muslim which states, """ 0 J 0/ " •C:.,, "•, • I Ȃ\ I ౱;I;. r-:. )f 1.$ǖ છ "Fasting is a shield. If it is a day in which one of you is fasting, he should avoid sexual contact and quarreling. If somebody should abuse him or fight him, he should say, 'I am a man who is fasting."' (Recorded by al-Bukhari.) Then ibn Rajah makes the point that if fasting is not a shield from committing sins in this world, it will not be a shield from the Hell-fire in the next. 1 Al-Baitaar points out that the word for shield is in the indefinite. This implies that it can be every type of shield. It is a shield from the Hell-fire, from Allah's anger, from disease in this world, from straying from the Straight Path, from becoming arrogant and so forth. 2 If fasting can be such a shield, the person who fasts properly will receive a great deal ofreward in Paradise. There are specific days that a Muslim is recommended but not obliged to fast. These include: the Day of Ashoorah (the 10th of Muharram) along with the 9th or 1 1th in addition, the Day of Arafah (the 9th of Dhul-Hijjah) for those 1 lbn Rajah, Jaami, vol. 2, p. 139. 2 Al-Baitaar, p. 1 77. Hadith #29: 'Tell me an act which . . . " who are not making the pilgrimage, Monday and Thursday of every week, any three days of every month, the three days of the full moon in the middle of every lunar Islamic month, any days of the first nine days of Dhul-Hijjah and six days in the month of Shawaal. 1 "charity [which] extinguishes the sins like water extinguishes a fire" Again, the reference here is to voluntary charity and not the obligatory zakah. Furthermore, the sins referred to here are the minor sins that are between a human and Allah. The major sins are not included here nor are the acts of wrong done toward others.