Introduction
Praise is [due] to Allāh, Lord of the worlds, Sustainer of the heavens and the earths, director of all created beings, sender of messengers, may Allāh's praises and peace be upon them all, to responsible beings in order to guide them and clarify the ways of religion by means of decisive evidences and clear proofs. I praise Him for all His favors and ask Him for an excess of His bounty and generosity. I testify that there is no deity but Allāh alone, there being no associate with Him – the One, the Prevailing, the Generous, the Perpetual Forgiver. And I testify that our master Muḥammad is His servant and messenger; His beloved and His pure friend; the best of creatures; the one honored through the mighty Qur’ān, the continuing miracle over the succession of years; and through sunnahs that enlighten those seeking right guidance; distinguished for comprehensive speech and ease in religion. May the blessings and peace of Allāh be upon him and upon all the prophets and messengers, their families and all righteous people. To proceed – it has been related to us from 'Ali bin Abī Ṭālib, 'Abdullāh bin Mas‘ūd, Mu‘ādh bin Jabal, Abūd-Dardā’, Ibn 'Umar, Ibn ʽAbbās, Anas bin Mālik, Abū Hurayrah and Abū Sa'eed al-Khudri (may Allāh be pleased with them) through numerous chains with varied narrations that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said, "Whoever preserves for my nation forty ḥadīths concerning its religion – Allāh will resurrect him on the Day of Resurrection among the jurists and scholars." In one narration it says, "...Allāh will resurrect him as a jurist and scholar," and in that of Abūd-Dardā’, "...I will be for him, on the Day of Resurrection, an intercessor and a witness." In the narration of Ibn Mas‘ūd it says, "...he will be told, 'Enter by any of the doors of Paradise you wish,'" and in that of Ibn 'Umar, "...he will be registered among the scholars and resurrected among the martyrs." But ḥadīth scholars have agreed that it is a weak ḥadīth despite its many narrations. The scholars have compiled within this context countless collections. The first one I have known to do so was 'Abdullāh bin al-Mubārak and then Ibn Aslam at-Tūsi, the nurturing scholar; then al-Ḥasan bin Sufyān an-Nasā’i, Abū Bakr al-Ajurri, Abū Bakr Muḥammad bin Ibrāheem al-Asfahāni, ad-Daraqutni, al-Ḥākim, Abū Nu'aym, Abū 'Abdur-Raḥmān as-Sulami, Abū Sa‘eed al-Malīni, Abū ‘Uthmān as-Sabūni, 'Abdullāh bin Muḥammad al-Anṣāri, Abū Bakr al-Bayhaqi and innumerable others from among both previous and later ones. And I have made istikhārah to Allāh the exalted concerning the collecting of forty ḥadīthsfollowing the example of those well-known imams and preservers of Islam. For the scholars have agreed upon the permissibility of acting on a weak ḥadīth in regard to virtuous deeds. But in spite of this, my reliance is not upon that ḥadīth but rather on his ﷺ statement among the authentic ḥadīths: "Let the one present among you convey to the absent" and his saying: "May Allāh make radiant [the face of] a person who heard my statement and grasped it and passed it on as he heard it." Then there were some scholars who collected forty [ḥadīths] on the fundamentals of the religion, while others [did so] on the derived matters, others on jihād, others on asceticism, others on conduct, others on speeches. And all of them are sound objectives, may Allāh be pleased with those who intended them. But I have considered collecting forty more important than all of those, and they would be forty ḥadīths inclusive of all that, and each ḥadīth would be a great precept from those of the religion – one that scholars had described as having Islam revolve around it or half of Islam or a third of it and the like. Furthermore, I would commit myself, regarding these forty, to their being authentic, and most of them are [found] within the two Ṣaḥeeḥs of al-Bukhāri and Muslim. I cite them with the chains of narration removed in order to make their memorization easy and their benefit widespread, in-sha-Allāh ta'ālā. I then them up with a section defining their more obscure wordings. Everyone desiring the Hereafter ought to know these ḥadīths for what they contain of important information and because they alert one to all acts of obedience [to Allāh], which is clear to whoever reflects upon it. Upon Allāh is my dependence, and upon Him is my relegation and support. To Him belongs [all] praise and favor, and from Him is [all] success and protection.The original text
الحمد لله رب العالمين قيوم السموات والأرضين. مدبر الخلائق أجمعين. باعث الرسل - صلواته وسلامه عليهم- إلى المكلفين لهدايتهم وبيان شرائع الدين بالدلائل القطعية، وواضحات البراهين. أحمده على جميع نعمه. وأسأله المزيد من فضله وكرمه. وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله الواحد القهار. الكريم الغفار وأشهد أن سيدنا محمداً عبده ورسوله وحبيبه وخليله أفضل المخلوقين، المكرم بالقرآن العزيز المعجزة المستمرة على تعاقب السنين، وبالسنن المستنيرة للمسترشدين المخصوص بجوامع الكلم وسماحة الدين صلوات الله وسلامه عليه وعلى سائر النبيين والمرسلين وآل كل وسائر الصالحين. أما بعد: فقد روينا عن علي بن أبي طالب، وعبد الله بن مسعود، ومعاذ بن جبل، وأبي الدرداء، وابن عمر، وابن عباس، وأنس بن مالك، وأبي هريرة، وأبي سعيد الخدري رضي الله تعالى عنهم من طرق كثيرات بروايات متنوعات: أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: "من حفظ على أمتي أربعين حديثاً من أمر دينها بعثه الله يوم القيامة في زمرة الفقهاء والعلماء" وفي رواية: "بعثه الله فقيها عالما". وفي رواية أبي الدرداء: "وكنت له يوم القيامة شافعا وشهيدا". وفي رواية ابن مسعود: قيل له: "ادخل من أي أبوب الجنة شئت" وفي رواية ابن عمر "كُتِب في زمرة العلماء وحشر في زمرة الشهداء". واتفق الحفاظ على أنه حديث ضعيف وإن كثرت طرقه. وقد صنّف العلماء رضي الله تعالى عنهم في هذا الباب ما لا يُحصى من المصنّفات. فأول من علمته صنف فيه: عبد الله بن المبارك، ثم محمد بن أسلم الطوسي العالم الرباني، ثم الحسن بن سفيان النسائي، وأبو بكر الآجري، وأبو بكر بن إبراهيم الأصفهاني، والدارقطني، والحاكم،وأبو نعيم، وأبو عبد الرحمن السلميّ، وأبو سعيد الماليني، وأبو عثمان الصابوني، وعبد الله بن محمد الأنصاري. وأبو بكر البيهقي، وخلائق لا يحصون من المتقدمين والمتأخرين، وقد استخرت الله تعالى في جمع أربعين حديثاً اقتداء بهؤلاء الأئمة الأعلام وحفاظ الإسلام. وقد اتفق العلماء على جواز العمل بالحديث الضعيف في فضائل الأعمال. ومع هذا فليس اعتمادي على هذا الحديث، بل على قوله صلى الله عليه وسلم في الأحاديث الصحيحة: "ليبلغ الشاهد منكم الغائب" وقوله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "نضر الله امرأً سمع مقالتي فوعاها فأدّاها كما سمعها". ثم من العلماء من جمع الأربعين في أصول الدين، وبعضهم في الفروع، وبعضهم في الجهاد، وبعضهم في الزهد، وبعضهم في الآداب، وبعضهم في الخطب، وكلها مقاصة صالحة رضي الله تعالى عن قاصديها. قد رأيت جمع أربعين أهم من هذا كله، وهي أربعون حديثاً مشتملة على جميع ذلك، وكل حديث منها قاعدة عظيمة من قواعد الدين قد وصفه العلماء بأن مدار الإسلام عليه، أو هو نصف الإسلام أو ثلثه أو نحو ذلك. ثم ألتزم في هذه الأربعين أن تكون صحيحة، ومعظمها في صحيحي البخاري ومسلم، وأذكرها محذوفة الأسانيد، ليسهل حفظها، ويعم الانتفاع بها إن شاء الله تعالى، ثم أُتبعها بباب في ضبط خفي ألفاظها. وينبغي لكل راغب في الآخرة أن يعرف هذه الأحاديث، لما اشتملت عليه من المهمات، واحتوت عليه من التنبيه على جميع الطاعات وذلك ظاهر لمن تدبّره، وعلى الله اعتمادي، وإليه تفويضي واستنادي وله الحمد والنعمة، وبه التوفيق والعصمة.
Author
Abu Zakariyya Muḥyi al-Dīn Yaḥya Ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi was born at Nawā, a place near Damascus, in the suburb of the city of Howran, in 631 AH (1234 CE), and died forty-four years later in 676 AH (1278 CE). From a young age he showed signs of great intelligence, so his father resolved to arrange for his education. He studied in Damascus from the age of 18 and after making the pilgrimage in 1253 he settled there as a private scholar.His Studies
At a young age, Imam Nawawi learnt to read the Noble Qur’an and by that time he nearly had attained puberty. Nawā, at the time, had no academic or scholarly atmosphere and there were religious academies or institutions where one could earn excellence in religious learning, so his father took him to Damascus, which was considered the center of learning and scholarship, and the students from across the Ummah gathered there for Islamic learning. During that period, there were more than three hundred institutes, colleges, and universities in Damascus.
During his stay in Damascus, he studied from more than twenty renowned teachers. These teachers were regarded as masters of authority in their fields of specialty and disciplines they taught. Imam Nawawi studied Ḥadīth, Islamic Jurisprudence, its principles, syntax and etymology from some of the greatest scholars of his time.
His Academic Interests
Imam Nawawi had an endless thirst for knowledge, which can be deduced from his daily practice of studies. He used to read twelve lessons daily and write explanations and commentaries of every lesson, all the while making important additions. Whatever book he read, he put down the marginal notes and explanations on that book. His intelligence, hard work, love, devotion, and absorption in his studies amazed his teachers and they became fond of him and began to praise and admire him.
Other than his reading and writing, he spent his time contemplating upon the complex issues of his time and in finding their solutions. Allāh had conferred upon him the gift of a quick and strong memory along with depth of thought. Imam Nawawi made full benefit of his God-given qualities and earned the highest degree of honor among his peers and future generations.
His Character
The scholars, elite of his society, and the public greatly respected Imam Nawawi on account of his piety, learning, and excellent character. He dressed and ate simply and humbly. Devout scholars do not care about attaining worldly possessions, they give preference to religious and academic pursuits, and the dissemination and propagation of faith. They experience more heavenly delight and joy in such activities than those who seek satisfaction in luxurious life styles. He was God-fearing who had high ambitions and aims in the dissemination and propagation of faith.His Works and Death
Imam Nawawi had a very short life (44 years) but even during this short period, he wrote a large number of books on various subjects. Nearly every work is a masterpiece and a treasure of knowledge. Hundreds of thousands of people have benefited from these works.
Some of the prestigious works of Imam Nawawi, apart from the compilation of the “40 Ḥadīth” (al-Arbaʿīn) include:
- Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn
- Commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
- Commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (Al-Minhāj fi Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
- Sharḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd
- Mukhtaṣar Al-Tirmidhī
- Kitāb al-Rawḍah
- Kitāb al-Adhkār
- Al-Taqrīb fī ʿIlm al-Ḥadīth wa al-Irshād fīhi
- Al-Tibyān
- Bustān al-ʿĀrifīn