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Sunan Ibn Mājah: Introduction – Concerning Faith

The explanation of Ibn Mājah’s Aḥādīth on īmān (faith), using Ṣaḥīḥ Sunan Ibn Mājah of Shaykh Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī (raḥimahullāh)

Indeed Allāh does no injustice, not even an atoms weight. If there is any good [performed], He doubles it and gives from Himself a great reward.

Sūrah al-Nisāʾ, 4:40 

*All aḥādīth are ṣaḥīḥ unless otherwise stated as per ‘Ṣaḥīḥ Sunan ibn Mājah’ and ‘Da`eef Sunan ibn Mājah’ of Shaykh al-Albānī, may Allāh have mercy upon him.

56. Abū Hurayrah (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) reports that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ)  said, “faith has sixty or seventy odd branches. The least of them is to remove something harmful from the road and the loftiest of them is the saying, ‘none has the right to be worshipped save Allāh,’ and modesty is a branch of faith.”

57. Sālim reports from his father [ibn ʿUmar (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhumā) that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ)  heard a person censuring his brother due to his being modest whereupon he said, “indeed modesty is a branch of faith.”

58. ʿAbdullāh (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) reports that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ)  said, “no one who has an atom’s weight of arrogance shall enter Paradise, similarly no one who has a mustard seeds weight of faith shall enter Hell [such that he remains there for eternity].”

59. Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) reports that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ)  said, “after Allāh has rescued the believers from the Fire and they become secure, the argument that one of you falls into with another person over a right that is due to him in this world will not be greater or more intense than the argument that the believers will have with their Lord concerning their brothers who have entered the Fire. They will say, ‘Our Lord! Our brothers – they used to pray with us, fast with us, and perform Ḥajj with us yet You have caused them to enter the Fire!’ He will then say, ‘go and take out [of the Fire] those whom you know.’ They will then go to them and recognize them by the forms [of their faces] for the fire will not be able to consume their forms. The Fire will have burnt some halfway up their shins and others up to their ankles and they will remove them. Then they will say, ‘Our Lord! We have removed those whom you ordered us to remove.’ He will say, ‘remove [from the Fire] whoever’s heart contains the weight of a dīnār in faith. Then whoever’s heart contains the weight of half a dīnār in faith. Then whoever’s heart contains a mustard seeds weight of faith.’”

Abū Saʿīd said, ‘whosoever does not believe this then let him recite,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ ۖ وَإِن تَكُ حَسَنَةً يُضَاعِفْهَا وَيُؤْتِ مِن لَّدُنْهُ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا ‎﴿٤٠﴾‏

“Indeed Allāh does no injustice, not even an atom’s weight. If there is any good [performed], He doubles it and gives from Himself a great reward.”
[Al-Nisāʾ, 4:40]

60. Jundub ibn ʿAbdullāh (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) reports that,

We were with the Prophet (ﷺ) while we were young men, close to the age of maturity and he taught us faith before he taught us the Qurʾān. Then he taught us the Qurʾān and by it we increased in faith.

61. Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhumā) reports that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said, “there are two groups of this nation who have no portion of Islām. They are the Murjīʿahh and the Qadariyyah.”

Ḍaʿīf [Weak]

62. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) said,

One day, while we were in the presence of the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ), there arrived a man having extremely white clothes and extremely black hair. No traces of a journey were seen upon him yet none amongst us knew him. He came and sat [in front of] the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) placing his knees such that they touched his knees and his hands on [the Prophet’s] thighs. Then he said, ‘O Muḥammad, what is Islām?’

He said, “the testimony that none has the right to be worshipped save Allāh and that I am the Messenger of Allāh, that you establish the prayer, give the Zakāh, fast the month of Ramaḍān, and that you perform the Ḥajj to the House.”

He said, ‘you have spoken truthfully.’ We were astonished that he had asked the question and then testified to its truth.

Then he asked, ‘O Muḥammad, what is faith?’

He replied, “that you believe in Allāh, the Angels, the Books, the Messengers, the Last Day, and the Divine Decree – its good and bad.”

He said, ‘you have spoken truthfully.’ We were [again] astonished that he had asked the question and then testified to its truth. He then asked, ‘O Muḥammad, what is al-Iḥsān?’

He replied, “that you worship Allāh as if you see him, and though you cannot see Him then indeed He sees you.”

He asked, ‘when is the [Last] Hour?’

He replied, “the questioned knows no more about it than the questioner.”

He asked, ‘then what are its signs?’

He replied, “that the slave-girl will give birth to her master* and that you will see the barefooted, destitute, poor desert cattle herders competing with each other in constructing tall buildings.”

ʿUmar said, ‘then the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) met me after three [nights] and asked me, “O ʿUmar, do you know who that person was?” I replied, “Allāh and His Messenger know best.” He said, “indeed that was Jibrīl who came to teach you the principle matters of your religion.”’

* Wakīʿ said: meaning that the non-Arab will give birth to the Arab.

63. Abū Hurayrah (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) reports that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) was one day sitting, clearly recognizable to the people [so that they could ask him questions]. There arrived a man and asked, ‘O Messenger of Allāh, what is faith?’

He replied, “to have faith in Allāh, His Angels, the Book and the Prophets, His meeting and that you have faith in the final Resurrection.”

He asked, ‘O Messenger of Allāh, what is Islām?’

He replied, “that you worship Allāh without associating any partners with him, that you establish the obligatory prayer, give the obligatory Zakāh, and fast the month of Ramaḍān.”

Then he asked, ‘O Messenger of Allāh, what is al-Iḥsān?’

He replied, “that you worship Allāh as if you see him, and though you cannot see Him then indeed He sees you.”

Then he asked, ‘when is the [Last] Hour?’

He replied, “the questioned knows no more about it than the questioner but I will inform you of its signs: when you see a slave-girl giving birth to her master then that is one of its signs; when you see the cattle herders competing in constructing tall buildings then that is one of its signs. There are five [matters] that none knows save Allāh,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِندَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ وَيُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْأَرْحَامِ ۖ وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَّاذَا تَكْسِبُ غَدًا ۖ وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضٍ تَمُوتُ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ ‎﴿٣٤﴾‏

‘Indeed with Allāh [Alone] is the knowledge of the Hour and sends down the rain and knows what is in the wombs. No soul knows what it will earn tomorrow and no soul knows in what land it will die. Indeed Allāh is All-Knowing, All-Aware.’
[Luqmān, 31:34]”

64. ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) reports that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ)  said, “faith is cognizance of the heart, statement upon the tongue and action upon the limbs.”

Mawḍūʿ [Fabricated]

65. Anas (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) reports that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said, “none of you can [truly] believe until he loves for his brother – or he said neighbour – what he loves for himself.”

66. Anas (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) reports that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said, “none of you can [truly] believe until I am more beloved to him than his children, parents and the whole of mankind.”

67. Abū Hurayrah (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) reports that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said, “by the One in Whose Hand is my soul, you will not enter Paradise until you believe and you will not believe until you love one another. Should I not direct you to something which, if you do, you will love one another? Give currency to the salām amongst yourselves.”

68 .ʿAbdullāh (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) reports that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said, “abusing a Muslim is a severe transgression and killing him is disbelief.”

69. Anas ibn Mālik (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) reports that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said, “whosoever parts this world upon sincerity to Allāh Alone, worshipping Him without associating any partners with Him, establishing the prayer and giving the Zakāh, he will have died while Allāh is Pleased with him.”

Anas said: This is the religion of Allāh that His Messengers came with and conveyed from their Lord before the proliferation of useless talk, differences and vain desires. This [ḥadīth] is testified to in the Book of Allāh, amongst the last [verses] to be revealed,

فَإِن تَابُوا وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ فَخَلُّوا سَبِيلَهُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ‎﴿٥﴾‏

“So if they repent,” meaning that they eraḍīcate the idols and their worship, “and establish the prayer and give the Zakāh.”
[Al-Tawbah, 9:5]

And He said in another verse,

فَإِن تَابُوا وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ ۗ وَنُفَصِّلُ الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ ‎﴿١١﴾‏

“so if they repent and establish the prayer and give the Zakāh then they are your brothers in the religion.”
[al-Tawbah 9:11]

Ḍaʿīf [Weak]

70. Abū Hurayrah (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) reports that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said, “I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped save Allāh and that I am the Messenger of Allāh, and they establish the prayer and give the Zakāh.”

71. Muʿādh ibn Jabal (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) reports that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said, “I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped save Allāh and that I am the Messenger of Allāh, and they establish the prayer, and give the Zakāh.”

72. Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhumā) and Jābir ibn ʿAbdullāh (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) report that,

The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said, “there are two groups of this nation who have no portion of Islām. They are the Murjīʿahh and the Qadariyyah.”

Ḍaʿīf [Weak]

73. Mujāhid reports from ibn ʿAbbās (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhumā) and Abū Hurayrah (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) that, ‘faith increases and decreases.’

ḌaʿĪf Jiddan [Very Weak]

74. Mujāhid also reports from Abū al-Dardāʾ (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhu) that, ‘faith increases and decreases.’

Published: June 8, 2007
Edited: January 16, 2023

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