The traits of faith

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Mukhawwal al-Bahzi (may Allah be pleased with him): I said to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): Give me some comprehensive advice. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Establish the prayer regularly, pay the zakah, fast in the blessed month of Ramadan, perform Hajj to the House of Allah and Umrah, and enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil."
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded it in his Musnad (2902); its chain contains the narrator Muhammad bin Sulayman al-Masmuli, who is da'if (weak).

It is narrated from Sayyidah Umm Ayman (may Allah be pleased with her) that she heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) giving advice to one of his family members. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Do not associate anyone with Allah Almighty, even if you are cut into pieces or burned in fire; and (always) beware of disobeying Allah, for sin indeed brings on the severe displeasure and anger of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic" (to the end of the hadith).
Imam Abu Ya'la narrated it similarly through Abu Bakr bin Zanjawayh, from Abu Mus'hir, from Sa'id bin Abd al-Aziz; and Abd bin Humayd narrated it through Umar bin Sa'id, who narrated from someone other than Sa'id, from Imam al-Zuhri, that the person to whom this advice was given was Sayyiduna Thawban (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Salam (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Modesty and the sense of shame are an essential part of faith."
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded it in his Musnad; although this chain contains Hisham bin Ziyad, a da'if (weak) narrator, this prophetic saying that modesty is part of faith is narrated and established with authentic chains in Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim and other reliable books of hadith.

It is narrated from Amir (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: "Patience is half of faith, gratitude is two-thirds of faith, and certainty is in reality the whole of faith."
Imam Musaddad recorded this report in his Musnad; it is the saying of the eminent Successor Imam Amir bin Sharahil al-Sha'bi (may Allah have mercy on him), and all the narrators of its chain are thiqat (trustworthy).

Ma'bad bin Ka'b narrates a marfu' report from his paternal uncle or his mother that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O people, take heed! Indeed, simplicity and a plain appearance (that is, giving up luxurious dress and living out of abstinence and humility) are part of faith."
Takhrij and grading: Imam al-Humaydi recorded this hadith in his Musnad (2906), and a narration of the same meaning is found in Sunan Abi Dawud (4161) and Sunan Ibn Majah (4118), which Allamah al-Albani and other researchers graded sahih on the basis of supporting evidence.

Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) relates regarding the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say: "Faith has four firm handholds, and all the other rulings and obligations of Islam follow them. Those handholds of faith are: that you believe in Allah alone, and in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and in what (Shari'ah) he brought, and that you have (firm) certainty in Allah, and that you know with certainty that you will be raised again after death; and (along with these basic handholds) establishing the prayer, paying the zakah, fasting in Ramadan, performing Hajj to the House of Allah and striving (jihad) in the path of Allah Almighty (are also fundamental pillars of the religion)."
The narrator Bishr bin Numayr is very weak.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) (the narrator of the hadith, Hammad, says: as far as I know, Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) traced this saying back to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as marfu') that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The firm handholds of Islam and the foundations of the religion are three, upon which Islam has been founded; whoever abandons a single one of them is a disbeliever and his blood is lawful: (first) bearing witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah, (second) establishing the obligatory prayer, and (third) fasting in Ramadan." Then Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said (explaining further): "You will see a person who is wealthy but does not pay zakah; by this deed he remains a disbeliever (that is, he commits lesser disbelief), yet his blood is not lawful. Likewise you will find a very wealthy person who has not performed Hajj; he too is thereby deemed a disbeliever, yet his blood is not lawful."
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded this hadith in his Musnad; its chain contains Mu'ammal bin Isma'il, who is "sayyi' al-hifz" (of poor memory), and Amr bin Malik al-Nukri is also deemed weak when alone in a narration; therefore this chain is da'if (weak), although there is supporting evidence in other sahih hadith regarding the importance of prayer and fasting.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, before the Most Merciful, the Blessed and Exalted, there is a tablet (lawh) in which 315 laws (shari'ahs, ways of faith) are written. The Most Merciful says: 'Wa 'izzati wa jalali' (By My might and My majesty)! Any servant of Mine who comes before Me in the state that he does not associate anyone with Me in the least, and has even one of these (laws) as a trait in him, will certainly enter Paradise."
And Imam Abu Ya'la said: Ahmad bin Ibrahim al-Dawraqi narrated to us; he said: Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Muqri narrated this hadith to us with the same chain.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever departs from this world in the state that he was (firm) upon sincerity to Allah, worshipping Him alone without any partner, establishing the prayer and paying the zakah, departs from it in a state that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, is pleased with him." And Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said (further): "This is the religion of Allah which all the Messengers brought, and which they conveyed from their Lord before the proliferation of talk (trials) and the divergence of desires." Thus Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says: "But if they repent, establish the prayer and give the zakah, then let them go their way" [Surah al-Tawbah: 5]. Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said in explanation of it: "They abandoned the rivals (set up with Allah) and their worship, established the prayer and paid the zakah."
The chain of this hadith is hasan (good); Imam al-Harith bin Abi Usamah recorded it in his Musnad, Imam Ibn Majah also recorded it in abridged form in his Sunan (hadith: 70), and Imam al-Hakim graded it sahih in al-Mustadrak.