This chapter is about wara', a careful, God-fearing restraint that keeps a believer well back from the edge of the forbidden. The lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear, but between them lies a grey zone of doubtful matters, and the pious soul treats that grey as a fence to be respected rather than a line to be tested. The famous image is the shepherd grazing too close to the king's protected land, almost certain to drift in.
Notice how the standard the Prophet sets is inward as much as outward. Sin is described as what unsettles the heart and what you would not want others to see, and the believer is even told to consult his own heart. The chapter then offers living portraits of this restraint, from the Prophet leaving a stray date untouched, to Abu Bakr forcing himself to vomit doubtful food, to Umar treating even his own son without favour, showing that true taqwa shows up in the smallest choices.
Hadith 587
An-Nu'man bin Bashir (May Allah be pleased with them) reported:
وعن النعمان بن بشير رضي الله عنهما قال: سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: “إن الحلال بين، وإن الحرام بين، وبينهما مشتبهات لا يعلمهن كثير من الناس، فمن اتقى الشبهات، استبرأ لدينه وعرضه، ومن وقع فى الشبهات، وقع فى الحرام، كالراعى يرعى حول الحمى يوشك أن يرتع فيه ألا وإن لكل ملك حمى، ألا وإن حمى الله محارمه، ألا وإن فى الجسد مضغة إذا صلحت صلح الجسد كله، وإذا فسدت فسد الجسد كله: ألا وهى القلب” ((متفق عليه. وروياه من طرق بألفاظ متقاربة))
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "What is lawful is clear and what is unlawful is clear, but between them are certain doubtful things which many people do not know. So he who guards against doubtful things keeps his religion and his honour blameless. But he who falls into doubtful things falls into that which is unlawful, just as a shepherd who grazes his cattle in the vicinity of a pasture declared prohibited (by the king); he is likely to stray into the pasture. Mind you, every king has a protected pasture and Allah's involved limits is that which He has declared unlawful. Verily, there is a piece of flesh in the body, if it is healthy, the whole body is healthy, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Verily, it is the heart." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
In plain words
What is lawful and what is unlawful are clear, but between them lie doubtful matters; whoever keeps away from these protects their faith and honour, while one who toys with them drifts into the forbidden, and the heart is what makes the whole person sound or corrupt.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 587 In-book reference : Introduction, Hadith 587
Hadith 588
Anas bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
عن أنس رضي الله عنه أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، وجد تمرة فىالطريق فقال: “لولا أنى أخاف أن تكون من الصدقة لأكلتها” ((متفق عليه))
The Prophet (ﷺ) found a dry date-fruit lying in the way and said, "Had it not been for fear of being from charity I would have eaten it." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
In plain words
The Prophet left a stray date untouched, fearing it might be from charity that was not his to take, modelling careful restraint with anything uncertain.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 588 In-book reference : Introduction, Hadith 588
Hadith 589
An-Nawwas bin Sam'an (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
وعن النواس بن سمعان رضي الله عنه عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: البر حسن الخلق، والإثم ما حاك فى نفسك، وكرهت أن يطلع عليه الناس” ((رواه مسلم)).
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Piety is good manner, and sin is that which creates doubt and you do not like people to know of it." [Muslim].
In plain words
Goodness is fine character, while sin is what unsettles your conscience and what you would not want others to discover about you.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 589 In-book reference : Introduction, Hadith 589
Hadith 590
Wabisah bin Ma'bad (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
وعن وابصة بن معبد رضي الله عنه قال: أتيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال: “جئت تسأل عن البر؟” قلت نعم، فقال: "استفت قلبك البر ما اطمأنت إليه النفس، واطمأن إليه القلب، والإثم ما حاك فى النفس وتردد فىالصدر، وإن أفتاك الناس وأفتوك” ((حديث حسن، رواه أحمد والدارمي فى مسنديهما)).
I went to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and he asked me, "Have you come to inquire about piety?" I replied in the affirmative. Then he said, "Ask your heart regarding it. Piety is that which contents the soul and comforts the heart, and sin is that which causes doubts and perturbs the heart, even if people pronounce it lawful and give you verdicts on such matters again and again." [Ahmad and Ad- Darmi].
In plain words
Asked about piety, the Prophet pointed the man to his own heart: what brings the soul peace is piety, and what stirs unease and doubt is sin, even if others call it permissible.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 590 In-book reference : Introduction, Hadith 590
Hadith 591
'Uqbah bin Al-Harith (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that he had married a daughter of Abu Ihab bin 'Aziz and a woman came to him and said she had suckled both 'Uqbah and the woman whom he had married, to which he replied:
وعن أبي سروعة -كسر السين المهملة ونصبها- عقبة بن الحارث رضي الله عنه أنه تزوج ابنة لأبي إهاب بن عزيز، فأتته امرأة فقالت: إنى قد أرضعت عقبة والتى قد تزوج بها، فقال لها عقبة: ما أعلم أنك أرضعتني ولا أخبرتني فركب إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالمدينة فسأله فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: “كيف، وقد قيل؟!” ففارقها عقبة ونكحت زوجاً غيره”. ((رواه البخاري)).
"I am not aware that you suckled me, and you did not inform me." So he ('Uqbah) rode to Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in Al-Madinah and put the matter before him. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "How can you continue (to be her husband) after what you have been told?" 'Uqbah (May Allah be pleased with him) therefore divorced her and she married another man. [Al- Bukhari].
In plain words
Told that the woman he had married may have been his foster relative, Uqbah acted on the doubt and parted from her, choosing caution over an uncertain situation.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 591 In-book reference : Introduction, Hadith 591
Hadith 592
Hasan bin 'Ali (May Allah be pleased with them) reported:
وعن الحسن بن على رضي الله عنهما، قال: حفظت من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "دع ما يريبك إلى ما لا يريبك" ((رواه الترمذى وقال: حديث حسن صحيح)).
I have retained these words of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), "Leave what causes you doubt and turn to what does not cause you doubt." [At- Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan Sahih].
In plain words
A simple rule for an uneasy conscience: leave what makes you doubt and hold to what leaves you at peace.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 592 In-book reference : Introduction, Hadith 592
Hadith 593
'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported:
وعن عائشة رضي الله عنها، قالت: كان لأبي بكر الصديق رضي الله عنه غلام يخرج له الخراج وكان أبو بكر يأكل من خراجه فجاء يوماً بشئ، فأكل منه أبو بكر، فقال له الغلام: تدرى ما هذا؟ فقال أبو بكر: ما هو؟ قال: كنت تكهنت لإنسان فى الجاهلية وما أحسن الكهانة إلا أني خدعته فلقيني، فأعطاني بذلك هذا الذى أكلت منه، فأدخل أبو بكر يده فقاء كل شئ فى بطنه” ((رواه البخاري)).
Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) had a slave who brought him his earnings and Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) would eat from it. One day he brought him something and when Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) had eaten some of it, the slave asked him whether he knew where he had got that (food) from, Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) asked what it was, and he replied: I acted as a soothsayer for a man in the pre-Islamic period, and not being good at it, I deceived him; today he met me and he rewarded me for that soothsaying what you have eaten. Abu Bakr (May Allah be pleased with him) put his hand in his mouth and vomited up all that he had eaten. [Al- Bukhari].
In plain words
When Abu Bakr learned that food he had eaten came from a dishonest source, he forced himself to bring it up, showing intense care to keep even his stomach free of the doubtful.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 593 In-book reference : Introduction, Hadith 593
Hadith 594
Nafi' (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
وعن نافع أن عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه كان فرض للمهاجرين الأولين أربعة آلاف وفرض لابنه ثلاثة آلاف وخمسمائة، فقيل له: هو من المهاجرين فلم نقصته؟ فقال: إنما هاجر به أبوه، يقول: ليس هو كمن هاجر بنفسه” ((رواه البخاري))
'Umar bin Al-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) fixed the payment amounting to four thousand dirhams for each of the early Emigrants, but for his son, he fixed only three thousand five hundred. He was asked: "He is also an (early) Emigrant, why have you fixed a lesser sum for him?" He said: "It was his father who took him along with him. He is not like one who emigrated by himself." [Al-Bukhari].
In plain words
Umar gave his own son a smaller allowance than other early emigrants, refusing to show him favour, since the son had migrated with his father rather than on his own.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 594 In-book reference : Introduction, Hadith 594
Hadith 595
'Atiyyah bin 'Urwah As-Sa'di (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
وعن عطية بن عروة السعدى الصحابي رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "لا يبلغ العبد أن يكون من المتقين حتى يدع مالا بأس به حذرا لما به بأس" . ((رواه الترمذى وقال: حديث حسن)).
Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "No one will attain complete righteousness until he abandons (certain) unobjectionable (but doubtful) things so as to remain on his guard against something objectionable." [At-Tirmidhi, who classified it as Hadith Hasan].
In plain words
Full God-consciousness is reached when a person willingly gives up some harmless things in order to stay safely clear of what is actually wrong.
Reference : Riyad as-Salihin 595 In-book reference : Introduction, Hadith 595