Hadeeth #2.

:: Al Arba'oon An Nawawiyah- A Collection of 40 Ahadeeth by Imam An Nawawi Reh.a.. ::

Hadeeth #2.

Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab.
While we were sitting with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ there appeared before us a man dressed in extremely white clothes and with very black hair. No traces of journeying were visible on him, and none of us knew him. He sat down close by the Prophet ﷺ, rested his knee against his thighs, and said, “O Muhammad! Inform me about Islam.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “Islam is that you should testify that there is no deity except Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, that you should perform salah (ritual prayer), pay the zakah, fast during Ramadan, and perform Hajj (pilgrimage) to the House (the Ka’bah at Makkah), if you can find a way to it (or find the means for making the journey to it).” The man said, “You have spoken truly.”

We were astonished at his thus questioning him and telling him that he was right, but he went on to say, “Inform me about iman (faith).” The Prophet ﷺ replied, “It is that you believe in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers and in the Last Day, and in qadr (fate), both in its good and in its evil aspects.” He said, “You have spoken truly.”

Then he (the man) said, “Inform me about Ihsan.” The Prophet ﷺ replied, ” It is that you should serve Allah as though you could see Him, for though you cannot see Him yet He sees you.”

He said, “Inform me about the Hour.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “About that the one questioned knows no more than the questioner.” So he said, “Well, inform me about the signs thereof (i.e. of its coming).” He ﷺ said, “They are that the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress, that you will see the barefooted ones, the naked, the destitute, the herdsmen of the sheep (competing with each other) in raising lofty buildings.”

Thereupon the man went off. I waited a while, and then the Prophet ﷺ said, “O ‘Umar, do you know who that questioner was?” I replied, “Allah and His Messenger know better.” He said, “That was Jibril. He came to teach you your religion.”

Commentary.

This hadith contains everything about the basics of Islam. The five pillars of Islam, the six articles of Iman, the attainment of the highest level of Iman which is Ihsan, and the adab of seeking knowledge and of teaching.

It is important to note the importance and priority of the question and the answer. “What is Islam?” and the answer summarized Islam with it’s most important aspects and obligations.
These obligations are not something arbitrary but something that is the essence of Islam itself, which is from Allah. In a hadith qudsi Allah says, “My slave draws near to me with nothing, more than what is obligatory on him.” May Allah help us to hold fast to our obligations until we meet Him, ameen.

Secondly look at what makes up Iman in the six articles listed. These are the bare minimum to be considered as having Iman, as Ihsan is the perfection of that. When a sect deviated from Islam called the Qadariyah (who denied Qadr) this hadith was one evidence used by ibn Umar against them to show that their beliefs we opposite of Islam. To have the bare minimum of faith we should memorize these 6 articles and read further reading to understand them, especially the concept of Qadr which is often misunderstood.

A brief note on Qadr is that we must believe that Allah’s knowledge is perfect and complete, it encompasses everything that has happened, is happening and will ever happen. With that Allah created us with free will and we are responsible for our actions. The fact that Allah has perfect knowledge does not contradict our responsibility for the actions we do.

Thirdly, and important aspect brought up is Ihsan. It is important that for any good deed to be accepted it must be done purely for Allah and we must strive to do it perfectly. When you do something for yourself or others you might cut corners and rush (though you shouldn’t) but we must remember who we are living life for [see: Quran 51:56].. the Creator of all that exists, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. This is why the Prophet ﷺ said to worship him as though you see him and while you can’t know that He sees you.