40 Hadeeth of Al-Imam An-Nawawi Class

With Dr. Yahya AlBaheth

Saturday, 11:00 – 12NN (KSA TIME) via ZOOM
HANDOUT #25
Lectured on February 26, 2022

The Thirty-first & Fortieth Hadeeth

Hadeeth #31
‫ي صلى هللا عليه وسلم‬ ِّ ‫ َجا َء َر ُج ٌل إ َلى ال َّن ِب‬:َ‫ع ْنهُ َقال‬ َ ُ‫ي هللا‬ َ ‫ض‬ ِ ‫ي َر‬ ّ ‫س ْع ٍد السَّا ِع ِد‬
َ ‫س ْه ِل ب ِْن‬
َ ‫َّاس‬ ِ ‫ع ْن أ َ ِبي ْال َعب‬
َ
،ُ‫"از َهدْ فِي الدُّ ْنيَا ي ُِحبَّك هللا‬
ْ :َ‫اس؛ فَقَال‬ َ َ ْ َ ‫ع َم ٍل إذَا‬
ُ َّ‫ع ِملتُهُ أ َحبَّنِي هللاُ َوأ َحبَّنِي الن‬ َ ‫على‬ َ َّ
َ ‫ يَا َرسُو َل هللاِ! دُلنِي‬:َ‫فَقَال‬
.‫سنَ ٍة‬
َ ‫سانِيدَ َح‬َ َ ‫غي ُْرهُ بِأ‬
َ ‫ َو‬،]4102:‫ َر َواهُ ا ْب ُن َما َج ْه [رقم‬،‫ حديث حسن‬."‫اس‬ ُ َّ‫اس ي ُِحبَّك الن‬ ِ َّ‫از َهدْ فِي َما ِع ْندَ الن‬
ْ ‫َو‬
ُْ ُ َ َ
On the authority of Abu al-’Abbas Sahl bin Sa’ad as-Sa’idee ‫هللا َعنه‬ ‫ض‬
‫ ر ِ ي‬who said: A man
came to the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬and said, “O Messenger of Allah, direct me to an act which, if I do
it, [will cause] Allah to love me and the people to love me.” So he ‫ ﷺ‬said, “Renounce the
world and Allah will love you, and renounce what the people possess and the people will
love you.” A hasan hadeeth related by Ibn Majah and others with good chains of
authorities.

Hadeeth #40
‫ "كُ ْن فِي الدُّ ْنيَا‬:َ‫ َوقَال‬،‫َّللا صلى هللا عليه وسلم بِ َم ْن ِكبِي‬ ِ َّ ‫ أ َ َخذَ َرسُو ُل‬:َ‫ع ْن ُه َما قَال‬ َّ ‫ي‬
َ ُ‫َّللا‬ َ ‫ض‬ ِ ‫ع ْن ابْن عُ َم َر َر‬ َ
‫ َو ِإذَا‬،‫ص َبا َح‬ َ ‫ إذَا أ َ ْم‬:ُ‫ع ْن ُه َما َيقُول‬
َّ ‫سيْتَ فَ ََل ت َ ْنت َِظ ْر ال‬ َّ ‫ي‬
َ ُ‫َّللا‬ َ ‫ض‬ ِ ‫ َو َكانَ ا ْب ُن عُ َم َر َر‬."‫س ِبي ٍل‬ َ ‫عا ِب ُر‬َ ‫َكأَنَّك غ َِريبٌ أ َ ْو‬
.]‫ي‬ ِ ‫[ر َواهُ ْالبُخ‬
ُّ ‫َار‬ َ .‫ َو ِم ْن َحيَاتِك ِل َم ْوتِك‬،‫ضك‬ ِ ‫ َو ُخذْ ِم ْن‬،‫سا َء‬
ِ ‫ص َّحتِك ِل َم َر‬ َ ‫صبَحْ تَ فَ ََل ت َ ْنت َِظ ْر ْال َم‬
ْ َ‫أ‬
ْ ُ‫َ َ ه‬
On the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar ‫اَّلل َعن ُه َما‬ ‫ض‬
‫ر ِ ي‬, who said: The Messenger of Allah
‫ ﷺ‬took me by the shoulder and said, “Be in this world as though you were a stranger or
ْ ُ‫َ َ ه‬
a wayfarer.” And Ibn ‘Umar ‫اَّلل َعن ُه َما‬ ‫ض‬
‫ ر ِ ي‬used to say, “In the evening do not expect [to
live until] the morning, and in the morning do not expect [to live until] the evening. Take
[advantage of] your health before times of sickness, and [take advantage of] your life
before your death.” [Al-Bukhari]
 Status of Hadeeth #31
• This is one of the ahadeeth which Islam revolves around, as renouncing the pleasure of
this life for the sake of Allah is the right way to gain the love of Allah.
• Ibn Rajab –may Allah have mercy on him- said: “This hadeeth included two advice; one
is that the love of Allah is achieved by renouncing the pleasure of this life, and
renouncing what the people possess gains the love of people.

Status of Hadeeth #40

• AlJirdani said “This hadeeth is a great foundation for the principle of caring about the
hereafter instead of being busy all the time with the affair of this limited life.”
• Ibn Daqeeq al-Eid said “This hadeeth covers all types and meaning of goodness.”
• Alfishni said “This hadeeth shows the importance of giving advice to the one who needs
it, and this advice is beneficial for every Muslim and not only for Ibn ‘Umar ‫رض هللا‬ ‫ي‬
‫عنهما‬.”

Narrator of the Hadeeth #31

Abu al-‘Abbas Sahl bin Sa’ad bin Malik as-Sa’idee
‫رض هللا عنه‬
‫ي‬
• He is from the Khazraj tribe, from Al-Ansaar of Madinah
• His name was Hazan and the prophet ‫ ﷺ‬changed it to Sahl.
• He started narrating hadeeth when he was 15 years old and died at the age of 96 at
the year 88 after Hijrah (or at the year 91 at the age of 100).
• It was said that he was last of the Companions to die in Madinah.

Narrator of the Hadeeth #40

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar
َُْ ُ‫َ َ ه‬
‫اَّلل عنه َما‬ ‫ض‬
‫رِ ي‬
We already studied his biography when we explained Hadeeth #3
 Some Vocabularies of Hadeeth #31

‫جاء‬ “he came”, masculine form

‫دلن‬
‫ي‬ “guide me, direct me,” the ‫ ين‬at the end indicated, “me”
ّ
‫أحب ين‬ “loves me,” again the ‫ ين‬at the end indicates, “me”
‫ازهد‬ “be aloof”

Some Vocabularies of Hadeeth #40

“you expect, wait for” ‫تنتظر‬ “took” ‫أخذ‬

“the morning” ‫الصباح‬ “my shoulder” ‫منكن‬
‫ي‬
“being at or catching the
‫أصبحت‬ “[You should] be” ‫كن‬
morning time”
“late afternoon, from
‫المساء‬ “the life of this world” ‫الدنيا‬
afternoon until sunset”
ّ
“[you] take” ‫خذ‬ “as if you were” ‫كأنك‬
“your heath” ّ
‫صحتك‬ “a stranger” ‫غريب‬
“for your sickness” ‫لمرضك‬ “a traveler, someone
‫عابر سبيل‬
“your life” ‫حياتك‬ passing along a way”
“being at or catching the
“your death” ‫لموتك‬ ‫أمسيت‬
late-afternoon time”

Explanation of the Hadeeth #31

A man came to the Prophet ‫ﷺ‬
▪ This man is unknown, and his name was not mentioned because it might not be
important, just like in the same hadeeth or stories, and even in the Qur’an.
As Allah mentioned in the Qur’an:
And there came a man running, from the farthest end of the city. He said: "O
Mûsâ (Moses)! Verily, the chiefs are taking counsel together about you, to kill
you, so escape. Truly, I am one of the good advisers to you."
[Surah Al-Qasas 28:20]
 ▪ The Sahaaba (Companions) did not investigate and tried to know who this man is
because it is not important. And this a lesson for us because some people ask things
even if it will not benefit them or it will not increase their knowledge.

and said, “O Messenger of Allah,

▪ As mentioned in the previous classes, the sahaaba call the prophet ‫ ﷺ‬in this way
(by his title) and not by his first name as a sign of respect, and we should do too.

direct me to an act which, if I do it, [will cause] Allah to love me

▪ It was discussed before about the type of guidance - Hidayatul Dalaala (to show
the way or direction) and Hidayatu-Tawfeeq. (Please see Handout #22, page 7-8)
▪ This man asks the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬about an act that he can do to please Allah
‫ سبحانه وتعاىل‬so that Allah will love him. We can attain the love of Allah ‫سبحانه وتعاىل‬,
as it was mentioned in the hadeeth Qudsi:
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the
Messenger of Allah (‫ )ﷺ‬said: Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said: Whosoever shows
enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not
near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have
enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with
supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing
with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and
his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to
him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate
about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he
hates death and I hate hurting him. It was related by al-Bukhari.
and the people to love me.
▪ If Allah ‫ سبحانه وتعاىل‬loves you, He will control the hearts of the people to love you
or respect you.

“So he ‫ ﷺ‬said,
“Renounce the world and Allah will love you,
▪ The answer of the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬means to give up the love of this life to
achieve the love of Allah ‫سبحانه وتعاىل‬. This goes along with what the Hadeeth Qudsi
stated, turn to what is the success in the Hereafter by doing good deeds. As Allah
‫ سبحانه وتعاىل‬stated in the Qur’an:
 ‫ت‬
ِ ‫ص ٰـ ِل َح ٰـ‬ ۟ ُ‫ع ِمل‬
َّ ‫وا ٱل‬ ۟ ُ‫ِإ ََّّل ٱلَّذِينَ َءا َمن‬
َ ‫وا َو‬
Except those who believe (in Islâmic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds,
[Surah Al-‘Asr 103, Part of Ayah 3]

▪ Believing and doing righteous goods deeds are always together. The more you do
the acts that lead to success in the Hereafter, Allah ‫ سبحانه وتعاىل‬will love you more,
because when you care about the Hereafter, you will not be occupied and get
attached to the love of the worldly life. And this also is mentioned in another
hadeeth:
َّ ‫اآلخ َرة ُ َه َّمهُ َج َع َل‬
ُ‫َّللاُ ِغنَاه‬ ِ ‫ت‬ ِ َ‫َّللاِ صلى هللا عليه وسلم " َم ْن كَان‬ َّ ‫ قَا َل قَا َل َرسُو ُل‬، ٍ‫ع ْن أَن َِس ب ِْن َمالِك‬ َ
َ َ‫َّللاُ فَ ْق َرهُ بَيْن‬
َ‫ع ْينَ ْي ِه َوفَ َّرق‬ ِ َ‫ِي َرا ِغ َمةٌ َو َم ْن كَان‬
َّ ‫ت الدُّ ْنيَا َه َّمهُ َجعَ َل‬ َ ُ‫فِي قَ ْلبِ ِه َو َج َم َع لَه‬
َ ‫ش ْملَهُ َوأَتَتْهُ الدُّ ْنيَا َوه‬
. " ُ‫ش ْملَهَ َولَ ْم َيأْتِ ِه ِمنَ الدُّ ْن َيا ِإَّلَّ َما قُدّ َِر لَه‬
َ ‫علَ ْي ِه‬
َ
Anas bin Malik narrated that the Messenger of Allah (‫ )ﷺ‬said: "Whoever makes the
Hereafter his goal, Allah makes his heart rich, and organizes his affairs, and the world
comes to him whether it wants to or not. And whoever makes the world his goal,
Allah puts his poverty right before his eyes, and disorganizes his affairs, and the
world does not come to him, except what has been decreed for him." [Tirmidhi]

Meaning, that whoever makes the Hereafter his main concern, then Allah ‫سبحانه وتعاىل‬
will make his goal and direction towards to only one – which is the success in the
Hereafter. And to achieve this success, one should do good deeds, stay away from
what Allah forbids, and apply the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah in life. Don’t
worry about this life because everything is in the Hands of Allah ‫عز وجل‬. Many people
are busy with their life in this world with things that already guaranteed for them and
yet they forget to take care for their success in the Hereafter. A Muslim should work
hard for his harvest in the Hereafter, which is Jannah, as Allah stated in the Qur’an:

ْ‫ار َوأُد ِْخ َل ْٱل َجنَّةَ فَقَد‬ َ ‫وركُ ْم يَ ْو َم ْٱل ِقيَ ٰـ َم ِة ۖ فَ َمن ُزحْ ِز َح‬
ِ َّ‫ع ِن ٱلن‬ َ ‫ت ۗ َوإِنَّ َما ت ُ َوفَّ ْونَ أ ُ ُج‬
ِ ‫كُ ُّل نَ ْف ٍس ذَآئِقَةُ ْٱل َم ْو‬
ِ ‫فَازَ ۗ َو َما ْٱل َح َي ٰوة ُ ٱلدُّ ْن َيا ٓ ِإ ََّّل َمت َ ٰـ ُع ْٱلغُ ُر‬
‫ور‬
Everyone shall taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection shall you be paid
your wages in full. And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to
Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of
deception (a deceiving thing).
[Surah Ali-‘Imran 3:185]
and renounce what the people possess and the people will love you.”
▪ People don’t like the one who compete with them with whatever they like in this
world. Everybody looks at others how they did they get such thing, how did they
accomplish something, etc., and these become the seed of differences and fighting
among people. Thus, when you look at something that others have and you want
to get the same thing, they will not like you and they will think that you are
competing with them. This is because they dislike it and do not desire to give what
they have. If you see something in their hand, say “Ma shaa Allah” and you don’t
mean harm to them, they will like you.
▪ There is nothing wrong in pleasing people, but it is important to remember that we
should not put the pleasure of people ahead of the pleasure of Allah ‫سبحانه وتعاىل‬.
Some people don’t like others to be disappointed on them to the point that they
will avoid doing even the things that are obligatory. For example, some people
don’t like to pray in public to avoid people looking at them; and this is wrong
because they care more of what others might think, more than doing their
obligation to Allah ‫سبحانه وتعاىل‬. Thus, if you are in a situation that you should
choose between what pleases people and what pleases Allah, it is always the latter.
Why? Because if you please Allah ‫سبحانه وتعاىل‬, He will make people to be pleased
with you. On the other hand, if you choose to please people, it will displease Allah
‫ سبحانه وتعاىل‬and He will make people to turn their heart against you even if you try
hard to satisfy them. It was mentioned in one of the hadeeth that:
Aisha reported: The Messenger of Allah ‫ﷺ‬, said, “Whoever seeks the pleasure of Allah
by the displeasure of people, Allah will suffice him against the people. Whoever seeks
the pleasure of people by the displeasure of Allah, Allah will leave him to the
patronage of people.” [Sunan al-Tirmidhi]

Explanation of the Hadeeth #40

The Messenger of Allah‫ ﷺ‬took me by the shoulder and said,
▪ This is one of the ways how the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬gets the attention of the
sahaaba whenever he wants to say something important so they will be paying
more attention. And this a lesson for those who wants to teach and give dawah or
even advise to people, to obtain the listener’s complete attention first
“Be in this world as though you were a stranger or a wayfarer.
▪ A stranger is someone who is in a place that is new to him, or other than his and he
will stay only for a certain time and go back to his home. Similar to the people who
are living in other countries far away from their homeland, their plan is when to go
back home. So this advice of Prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬is not for ibn ‘Umar ‫اَّلل‬ ُ‫ض ه‬
َ ِ ‫َر‬
ْ ‫ي‬
‫ َعن ُه َما‬only, but also for us. We should not live in this world as if this is our homeland,
our permanent life. We should live like a stranger and think that we will return to
our homeland any time or a wayfarer (traveler), who is always thinking when he
will arrive to his destination. For example, those people who go to other countries
for income, they will not spend their money there. They collect it so that they will
use it to buy land or properties and give support for their family when they return
back home. Therefore, the believers should consider this worldly life as temporary,
and we should prepare for the real life – which is the Hereafter.
َْ ُ‫َ َ ه‬
“And Ibn ‘Umar ‫اَّلل عن ُه َما‬ ‫ض‬
‫ ر ِ ي‬used to say,
“In the evening do not expect [to live until] the morning,
and in the morning do not expect [to live until] the evening.
▪ This shows the effect of the advice of the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬to ‘Abdullah ibn
ْ ُ‫َ َ ه‬
‘Umar ‫اَّلل َعن ُه َما‬ ‫ض‬
‫ ر ِ ي‬so he is giving advice to the people and to everyone. When one
wakes up in the morning, he should not expect that he will reach until the evening,
and vice versa. So if one wants to do good deeds or repent, he should hasten and
do it before death overtakes him and he does not have the ability to do it anymore.
Everybody has their confirmed flight, like the people in the airport, they are waiting
for the announcement of their boarding. All of us are like this, and in any second,
without expectation or any warning, a person will leave.
Take [advantage of] your health before times of sickness,
and [take advantage of] your life before your death.”
▪ This is why a believer should always be ready and he must always take advantage
of his time, his health, his wealth, and whatever strength he has, as mentioned in
the following hadeeth:

Ibn Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon
him, said, “Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old
age, your health before your illness, your riches before your poverty, your
free time before your work, and your life before your death.”
 ▪ If a person who is used to do certain acts of worship, such as fasting every Monday
and Thursday, doing extra prayers at night, etc., gets sick or is travelling and is
unable to perform these deeds, all will still be counted for him, out of Mercy from
Allah ‫ سبحانه وتعاىل‬or as the hadeeth says:
Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah
(may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If a person falls ill or travels, he
shall be credited with whatever good deeds he used to perform while at home and in
good health." [Sahih/Authentic] - [Al-Bukhari]

▪ In the Hereafter, everyone will regret including the believers. For the one who
didn’t do good things, he will regret for not obeying Allah ‫ سبحانه وتعاىل‬and for the
believer, he will feel sorry and regret that he didn’t do more than what he did.

Lessons Learned from Hadeeth #31

1. The high enthusiasm of the noble Companions as they care more about what will
benefit them in the next life.
2. The virtue of not attaching the heart to the love of this worldly life.
3. Preferring the life of the hereafter over this life is one of the reasons of getting
the love of Allah, but one should not neglect this life completely as well.
4. Muslim should balance his care of this life and the next one as Allah said: (“Our
Lord! Grant us the good of this world and the Hereafter and protect us from the
torment of the Fire) [Surah Al-Baqarah 2:202] And said: (Rather, seek the
˹reward˺ of the Hereafter by means of what Allah has granted you, without
forgetting your share of this world.) [Surah Al-Qasas 28:77]

Lessons Learned from Hadeeth #40

1. Muslim shouldn’t be taken by the love of this life over preparing for the coming
last life.
2. One should invest the time of his life to plant for the harvest of the next life
before he dies.
3. One should take advantage of the time of his strength and health before the time
of his weakness and illness.
References:
1. The 40 Hadith of Al- Imam An-Nawawi; by Umm Muhammad.
2. Commentary on The Forty Hadith of Al- Nawawi; by Jamaal al-Din M. Zaraboza
3. Explanation of the 40 Nawawi Hadith, Sh. Muhamad bin Uthaymeen. (Arabic)