Explanation of An-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths

Author: Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen

An-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths is a compilation containing forty noble prophetic hadiths, collected by Imam An-Nawawi, who committed himself to ensuring their authenticity. An-Nawawi explained his reason for compiling the forty hadiths, stating: "Some scholars compiled forty hadiths on the fundamentals of religion, some on branches of jurisprudence, some on jihad, some on asceticism, and some on sermons. All of these are virtuous intentions, may Allah be pleased with those who pursue them. I have seen that compiling forty hadiths more important than all of this, and these forty hadiths encompass all of the aforementioned. Each hadith among them is a great principle of the religion, and scholars have described it as the pivot of Islam, or half of Islam, or a third of it, or similar." He then committed to ensuring the authenticity of these forty hadiths, and removed their chains of narration to make them easier to memorize. He then followed them with a chapter on clarifying their subtle words. The author finished compiling it on the night of Thursday, 29 Jumada al-Ula, 668 AH. An-Nawawi stated in the introduction to his book regarding this hadith and the extent of his reliance on it in compiling An-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths: "Scholars have agreed on the permissibility of acting upon a weak hadith in virtuous deeds, yet my reliance is not on this hadith, but rather on his (peace be upon him) saying in the authentic hadiths: 'Let the present among you convey to the absent,' and his saying: 'May Allah brighten the face of a person who hears my saying, comprehends it, and conveys it as he heard it.'" Professor Maher Al-Hindi commented on An-Nawawi's statement, saying that relying on weak hadiths in virtuous deeds is the opinion of the majority and not a universally agreed-upon matter.