The 40 Hadith of Imam an-Nawawi
“Those that collate 40 Hadith and memorise them will be counted amongst the Fuqaha (Jurists).”
Although this is weak in validity, many scholars have done such collections on various topics such as Fiqh (Jurisprudence), Adab (Literature, Tradition, Manners), etc.
Imam an-Nawawi (رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ) chose these hadiths because he felt like they provided a good coverage of the various aspects of the Deen (i.e. Islam).
A Brief Introduction to Imam an-Nawawi & the 40 Hadith Collection
Imam an-Nawawi was a very famous Muhaddith (scholar of Hadith) and is accepted by all the various denominations as a scholar of reputable standing. He was a Shafi’i in fiqh. He had his own commentary on this collection. There are many other commentaries on it as well.
Hadith 1 – Actions are by judged by intentions…
عَنْ أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَبِي حَفْصٍ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ: ” إنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ فَهِجْرَتُهُ إلَى اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ، وَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ لِدُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوْ امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُهَا فَهِجْرَتُهُ إلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إلَيْهِ”. رَوَاهُ إِمَامَا الْمُحَدِّثِينَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللهِ مُحَمَّدُ بنُ إِسْمَاعِيل بن إِبْرَاهِيم بن الْمُغِيرَة بن بَرْدِزبَه الْبُخَارِيُّ الْجُعْفِيُّ، وَأَبُو الْحُسَيْنِ مُسْلِمٌ بنُ الْحَجَّاج بن مُسْلِم الْقُشَيْرِيُّ النَّيْسَابُورِيُّ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا فِي “صَحِيحَيْهِمَا” اللذَينِ هُمَا أَصَحُّ الْكُتُبِ الْمُصَنَّفَةِ
It is narrated on the authority of Amirul Mu’minin, Abu Hafs ‘Umar bin al-Khattab (رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: “Actions are (judged) by intentions (niyyah), so each man will have what he intended. Thus, he whose migration (hijrah) was to Allah and His Messenger, his migration is to Allah and His Messenger; but he whose migration was for some worldly thing he might gain, or for a wife he might marry, his migration is to that for which he migrated.” [Bukhari & Muslim]
The إنَّمَا here is restrictive and essentially makes the meaning of “all deeds are by their intentions”. This could refer to correctness, acceptance, or the completeness of deeds. Whilst what you do may or may not have an intention behind it, acts of worship in particular must be with an intention which can either be passive or active, but regardless, it must be there. Imam al-Shafi’i (رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ) and Imam Ahmad (رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ) said this hadith was a third of knowledge. Thus, in order to do any act of worship, you must have an intention, which can be made out of anything.
Intending Good
It is said that Imam Ahmad once said to his son when he asked for advice that, “you should intend good and you’ll always be in goodness if you intend good”. It is said that Ibrahim al-Nakhai (رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ) would have an intention even when he would drink water. Therefore, you want to be in a state wherein you live every day (and subsequently your whole life) in a form of worshipping and pleasing Allah ﷻ. That is where the blessing is; but it requires training.
For example, you could say “I’m going to work in order to please Allah ﷻ” or “I’m going to be patient for the sake of Allah ﷻ” – there’s a reward in all of this. You’ll also get rewarded for intending something you never actually end up doing. This is evidenced by the Hadith below:
حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو الطَّاهِرِ، وَحَرْمَلَةُ بْنُ يَحْيَى، – وَاللَّفْظُ لِحَرْمَلَةَ – قَالَ أَبُو الطَّاهِرِ أَخْبَرَنَا وَقَالَ، حَرْمَلَةُ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ وَهْبٍ، حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو شُرَيْحٍ، أَنَّ سَهْلَ بْنَ أَبِي أُمَامَةَ بْنِ سَهْلِ، بْنِ حُنَيْفٍ حَدَّثَهُ عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَدِّهِ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ” مَنْ سَأَلَ اللَّهَ الشَّهَادَةَ بِصِدْقٍ بَلَّغَهُ اللَّهُ مَنَازِلَ الشُّهَدَاءِ وَإِنْ مَاتَ عَلَى فِرَاشِهِ ”
It has been reported on the authority of Sahl b. Aba Umama b. Sahl b. Hunaif who learned the tradition from his father who (in turn) learned it from his grandfather – that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Who sought martyrdom with sincerity will be ranked by Allah among the martyrs even if he died on his bed. [Muslim]
Another version of this hadith is with truthfulness instead of martyrdom.
Allah ﷻ knows if you really want to do something for His sake, and rest assured He can raise your rank because of it.
So What is Sincerity?
Ikhlas (sincerity) is that your actions match your feelings inside. It is also that you do things solely for the sake of Allah ﷻ. It comes from the root word khalasa on the grammatical form of akhlasa which means to separate two joined things. It is related to intention in the sense that you separate all motivations for doing something from your motivation of doing things for the sake of Allah ﷻ alone. It is that you see everything apart from Allah ﷻ as dead. The Mukhlis (sincere person) enters the mosque and prays, not paying attention to anyone in particular or to those around him.
Note: Some scholars say combining actions with two intentions, i.e. one for Allah ﷻ and one for people, means it will be rejected. Others say only the intention for whatever is for other than Allah ﷻ is rejected. Generally, it is what you consider as the primary, overarching intention that matters. This does not mean you can’t do things openly either. Yes it may be a risk in terms of developing a prideful attitude, but it is not the correct way to go about it. It was reported from Fudayl ibn Iyad (رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ):
ترك العمل من أجل الناس رياء، والعمل من أجل الناس شرك، والإخلاص أن يعافيك الله منهما
Leaving an action for the sake of people is Riya (showing off), doing actions for the sake of people is (minor) Shirk, and Ikhlas is what saves you from both.
Therefore, if you intend to do something, you simply ignore the noise. The exception to all this are the obligatory actions, they can be done openly regardless of the level of sincerity or not.
And Allah ﷻ knows best.