Abu Dawud

Benefits and Issues:
The qualities of a virtuous Muslim have been presented in this hadith in such a concise and comprehensive manner that they are certainly divinely inspired. Every Muslim can examine himself in this mirror and estimate to what degree he is a Muslim.

Explanation:
The leader of the hadith scholars, rahimahullah, has established here that although the foundation of Islam is built upon five things, beyond this there are some virtuous habits and pure characteristics which, if not acquired, a person cannot become a true Muslim, nor can he be a complete believer. And from this detail, it is proven that the increase and decrease of faith (iman), as well as pure deeds and virtuous characteristics, are included within faith. This refutes the Murji’ah and others, who do not accept the increase and decrease of faith, nor do they consider righteous deeds and good morals to be part of faith. It is evident that their statement is absolutely contrary to the explicit texts. The tongue has been given precedence over the hand because it can move like scissors at any time, and its blows come first. The turn of the hand comes later, as it is said:
❀ «جراحات السنان لها التيام ٭ ولايلتام ماجرح اللسان»
“That is, the wounds of spears heal, but the wounds of tongues do not heal for a long time.”

The restriction of «من سلم المسلمون» does not mean that it is permissible to harm non-Muslims with the tongue or hand. To remove this doubt, in another narration the words «من امنه الناس» have been mentioned, where the teaching is to deal well and with good character with every human being, solely on the basis of the human relationship. The very source of Islam is «سلم», which means peacemaking, goodwill, and reconciliation. Causing harm with the tongue includes backbiting, cursing, abusive language, and all such evil habits, and causing harm with the hand includes theft, robbery, beating, murder, and so on. Thus, the perfect person is the one who has complete control over his tongue and his hand, and neither his tongue opens nor his hand is raised to harm any human being. If we search by this standard today, how many Muslims will we find who are truly deserving of being called real Muslims? Backbiting, abusive language, and cursing have become so common among the masses as if these are not even considered faults. Astaghfirullah! According to the Shari‘ah, a muhajir (emigrant) is one who leaves the land of war (dar al-harb) and comes to the land of Islam (dar al-Islam). This is the outward migration. The inward migration is that which is mentioned here in the hadith, and this is the true migration which will continue in every circumstance and in every place until the Day of Judgment.

The noble Imam, quddisa sirruh, has mentioned two annotations here. The purpose of the first is to clarify that both ‘Amir and Sha‘bi refer to the same narrator, whose name is ‘Amir and whose title is Sha‘bi. The second purpose is that from the narration of Ibn Hindah, there was a doubt that Sha‘bi did not hear this narration directly from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As. To remove this doubt, the words of «عن عامر قال سمعت عبدالله بن عمرو» have been quoted, from which it is established that Sha‘bi heard directly from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As.

The purpose of the second annotation is that in the chain of ‘Abd al-A‘la, «عبدالله» is mentioned without attribution, which could cause doubt that perhaps ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud radi Allahu anhu is meant, as this is the convention among the Companions. Therefore, in the second annotation, the clarification of «عن عبدالله بن عمرو» has been made, by which it is understood that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As is intended.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah wishes, through this hadith, to halt the flood of inaction or misconduct that is found among people due to the stance of the Murji’ah, because according to the Murji’ah, faith (iman) is merely the affirmation of the heart.
In their view, the presence of this affirmation renders righteous deeds unnecessary, and a believer becomes entitled to all the glad tidings mentioned for him in the Qur’an and Hadith solely by affirmation.
Furthermore, he also wants to establish that although Islam is founded upon five things, there are other good habits and pure qualities without which a person cannot become a true Muslim.
The meaning of the hadith is that some aspect of Islam should be manifest in a Muslim; at the very least, as a Muslim, he should certainly possess uprightness and a disposition of peace.
If, despite claiming Islam, a person does not possess this quality, then such a claim does not befit him.

➋
In this hadith, there is an instruction not to harm others with the tongue or the hand, because harm is most often caused by these two. Otherwise, it does not mean that causing harm with the feet is permissible; rather, causing harm in any way is a crime.
Then, among these two, the tongue is mentioned before the hand because harm is more often caused by the tongue than by the hand, since it requires less effort—one only needs to move it, and the harm is greater.
Sometimes, a single word can harm an entire nation or all of humanity, whereas with the hand, only someone present can be harmed. Moreover, verbal abuse precedes physical abuse; the use of the hand comes later.

➌
The evils of the tongue refer to verbal abuse, backbiting, slander, etc., and the evils of the hand refer to theft, robbery, looting, beating, etc.

➍
The restriction of "al-muslimun" (the Muslims) does not prove that it is permissible to harm non-Muslims with the tongue or hand; rather, a Muslim is well-wishing towards all people.
He does not look for lineage, color, race, or religion; if there is no religious or racial connection with someone, then the human relationship alone is sufficient for kindness.
In another narration, it is stated that a Muslim is one from whom all people are safe.
(Musnad Ahmad: 379/2)
In short, Islam demands from us that we do not, without reason, lay a hand on any non-Muslim either, but rather, treat him with tolerance on the basis of human relationship.

➎
Hijrah (migration) is not merely the act of leaving one’s homeland, but rather, it is to abandon those things which Allah, the Exalted, has forbidden.
Leaving the homeland is for the reason that, without it, we cannot fulfill the commands of Allah, the Exalted, because it is better to bid farewell to a land where the commands of Allah are not observed.
Thus, there are two types of hijrah:
Outward and inward.
Outward hijrah is leaving the homeland, and inward hijrah is abstaining from prohibitions.
This hadith has two objectives:
(a)
To warn the emigrants (muhajirun) that merely migrating is not sufficient; rather, after migration, abstaining from sins is what brings the pleasure of Allah.
One should not think that after migration, there is no need for any righteous deed.
(Fath al-Bari: 74/1) (b)
To console those who, for some reason, could not migrate, that the real hijrah is not this, but rather, hijrah is that a person refrains from sin and all kinds of prohibitions; this virtue can be attained at all times. Thus, a person asked the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam about hijrah, so he said:
“May you be well; the matter of hijrah is very severe.”
Then he asked him:
“Do you have camels, and do you give their zakat?” (He)
replied:
“Yes.”
He said:
“Continue to do good deeds even while living across the sea. You will receive the same reward. There will be no decrease in it.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Zakat, Hadith: 1452)

➏
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has also mentioned two suspended narrations (ta‘liq) at the end of this hadith. The purpose of the first is to show that Imam al-Sha‘bi rahimahullah, whose name is ‘Amir, heard this narration directly from Abdullah ibn ‘Amr, because in this ta‘liq, direct hearing is explicitly stated, whereas in the aforementioned narration, this was not clarified.
Through the route of Abu Mu‘awiyah, this doubt is removed.
The purpose of the second ta‘liq is to clarify that the narrator named Abdullah refers to Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘As radi Allahu anhu.
This clarification was necessary because, among the Companions, when Abdullah is mentioned without qualification, it refers to Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud radi Allahu anhu, just as among the Followers (Tabi‘in) when Abdullah is mentioned without qualification, it refers to Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak rahimahullah.
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah mentioned the second ta‘liq to draw attention to this point.

➐
If someone is punished in view of the enforcement of a legal penalty (hadd), even though outwardly this is causing harm, it is permissible, because the purpose is not to cause pain, but to prevent corruption, immorality, and evil.
(Fath al-Bari: 75/1)

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
In this hadith, the emigrant (muhajir) is mentioned specifically so that those who were unable to emigrate due to the conquest of Makkah may be encouraged—that the perfect emigrant is the one who refrains from what Allah, the Exalted, has forbidden and abstains from the actions He has prohibited.
It is also possible that this serves as a warning to those who have emigrated, that they should not rely solely on the act of emigration, but must also abstain from sins and remain obedient to Allah, the Exalted, day and night.

(2)
Imam al-Bukhari rahimahullah, through all these ahadith, has admonished the ummah that if they desire salvation on the Day of Resurrection, they must follow the commands of Allah and abstain from what He has prohibited.
And Allah is the One whose help is sought.

Hadith Commentary:
Benefits and Issues:
In the hadith, only harm caused by the tongue and the hand is mentioned, and this is because, generally, most harms are related to these two. However, the real purpose and meaning is that the characteristic of a Muslim is such that people should not suffer any kind of harm or injury from him, whether it pertains to speech or to action.

These are the outward characteristics of a Muslim. After the declaration of the two testimonies (shahadatayn), among the acts of worship, it is only the prayer (salah) that can serve as a distinguishing sign of Islam, because fasting (sawm) is a hidden matter, whereas zakat is not obligatory upon everyone. Moreover, zakat is only due once a year. Hajj, on the other hand, is only obligatory once in a lifetime, and even then, not upon everyone. Furthermore, since prayer exists in all religions, the distinction of the Muslims’ prayer will be through the direction of the qiblah, because every religion has its own qiblah. After acts of worship, the next level is that of transactions and social conduct. Among the disbelievers, there was no concept of lawful (halal) and unlawful (haram); nor did they differentiate between an animal slaughtered (dhabihah) and a dead animal (maytah). Slaughtering in the name of Allah is a particular characteristic of a Muslim; therefore, he is a Muslim who eats the animal slaughtered in the name of Allah, whether he slaughters it himself or someone else does. This is a social sign of Muslims and is apparent. The remaining signs are hidden, and thus they were not mentioned. And Allah knows best.

Hadith Authentication (Takhrij al-Hadith):
[صحيح بخاري 10],
[صحيح مسلم 161]

Jurisprudence of the Hadith (Fiqh al-Hadith)
➊ One sign of a complete Muslim is that other Muslims remain safe from his tongue and hand; he does not harm them. In contrast, other Muslims are not safe from the hand and tongue of a hypocrite; he is constantly engaged in causing harm to Muslims.
➋ In the commands that appear in the Book and the Sunnah, both men and women are included, unless there is a clear evidence of specification. Therefore, in this hadith, in the meaning of «المسلم», «المسلمه» (Muslim woman) is also included.
➌ The meaning of keeping others safe from one’s tongue is that he does not target Muslims with abuse, cursing, backbiting, tale-bearing, slander, mockery, humiliation, or false propaganda, etc. And the meaning of keeping others safe from one’s hand is that he does not target Muslims with beating, murder and bloodshed, pushing, destruction of wealth and property, false writings, or causing harm.
Note: Refuting the people of falsehood with evidence is exempted from this, rather, it is an act of great reward.
◈ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah says:
«فكل من لم يناظر أهل الإلحاد والبدع مناظرة تقطع دابرهم، لم يكن أعطى الإسلام حقه»
“So every person who, according to his ability, does not debate with the atheists and innovators and refute them, then he has not fulfilled the true right of Islam.” [درء تعارض العقل والنقل، ج 1، ص357]
The scholars of truth have, in every era, refuted the people of innovation, and the evidence for this is established from the Book and the Sunnah. «والحمدلله»
➍ The word “muhajir” (emigrant) is derived from “hijrah” (separation). To protect oneself from the evil-commanding soul (nafs al-ammarah) and Satan is an inner migration (batini hijrah), and to protect oneself from tribulations, innovations, misguidance, and sins is an outward migration (zahiri hijrah).
➎ ❀ It is narrated from our master Fadala ibn Ubayd radi Allahu anhu that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:
«والمجاهد من جاهد نفسه فى طاعة الله والمهاجر من هجر الخطايا والذنوب»
“The true fighter (mujahid) is the one who strives hard in obedience to Allah, and the emigrant (muhajir) is the one who keeps away from errors and sins.” [شعب الايمان للبيهقي : 11123، وسنده حسن و اضواء المصابيح : 34، صحيح ابن حبان، موارد الظمآن : 25]
This narration, with variations in wording and additions or omissions, is also found in the following books:
Sunan Ibn Majah [3934], Musnad Ahmad [21/6، 22], al-Mustadrak [10/1، 11], Musnad al-Shihab by al-Quda‘i [109/1 ح 131], Kashf al-Astar [مسند البزار : 1143], and Kitab al-Iman by Ibn Mandah [ح 315]
➑ If in one authentic or sound (hasan) narration some words are not present, and in another authentic or sound narration there is an addition of some words, and this addition is not in complete contradiction to the first narration, then the narration with the additional words does not become weak. Rather, the addition of a trustworthy narrator remains acceptable as long as it does not contradict other trustworthy narrators, as established in the principles of hadith.
In this hadith, two high levels of faith are mentioned.
This is a refutation of the Murji’ah and others, who do not accept the increase and decrease of faith, and according to whom everyone’s faith and Islam are equal. However, it is clearly established from this hadith and other evidences that there are different levels among people in faith and Islam.
Note:
These benefits have been written with reference to Mirqat al-Mafatih and other sources.
➐ Our master Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As radi Allahu anhuma is that famous Companion who used to write down the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
❀ Our master Abu Hurayrah radi Allahu anhu says:
«ما من اصحاب النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم احد اكثر حديثا عنه مني الا ماكان من عبدالله بن عمرو فانه كان يكتب ولا اكتب»
“Among the Companions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, no one narrated more hadiths from him than me except Abdullah ibn Amr, for he used to write (the hadiths) and I did not write.” [صحيح البخاري : 113]
The name of the book written by Abdullah ibn Amr is «الصحيفة الصادقة».

Benefit:
In this hadith, the instruction is given to keep others safe from one's hand and tongue. Countless sins are committed through these two limbs; if control is maintained over these two, the rest of the limbs are automatically kept in check. Most acts of oppression and excess are committed by the hand, and how many sins are committed by the tongue. May Allah Ta'ala grant us the ability to control both of these, ameen.