Mishkat al-Masabih

Takhrij al-Hadith:
[صحيح بخاري 1397],
[صحيح مسلم ؟]

Fiqh al-Hadith
➊ From this hadith, it is understood that a person who fulfills the pillars of Islam (provided he does not commit the nullifiers of Islam) will certainly enter Paradise. Whether he is admitted to Paradise from the very beginning after all his sins are forgiven, or he is punished for his sins and eventually admitted to Paradise. If a disbeliever or polytheist dies without repentance, he will abide eternally in Hell, as is established by other evidences.
➋ There is a difference of opinion regarding the name of the Bedouin mentioned in the hadith; some say it is Sa'd, and others say it is Abdullah bin Akhram. According to some researchers, it refers to Laqit bin Amir or Ibn al-Munaffiq. See: [التوضيح لمبهمات الجامع التصحيح لابن الجمعي قلمي ص82]
The difference regarding the name of the Bedouin is not particularly harmful, nor is it necessary to know his name with certainty.
➌ Worship of Allah means to have faith in Him, complete obedience, and total avoidance of shirk (associating partners with Allah) and disbelief.
➍ The reason for the absence of mention of Hajj in this hadith could be that Hajj had not yet been made obligatory at that time.
➎ Like the previous ahadith, this hadith is also a strong refutation of the Murji’ah, who consider deeds to be outside of faith.
➏ If one narration mentions something and another does not, then the absence of mention does not constitute evidence for its negation.
➐ Some people deduce from this hadith that Sunnah and supererogatory (nafl) acts are not necessary. Sayyiduna Sa'id bin al-Musayyib (tabi'i) said:
«أوتر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وليس عليك وضحى وليس عليك وصلى الضحى وليس عليك وصلى قبل الظهر وليس عليك»
“The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam performed Witr, and it is not obligatory upon you; he offered sacrifice, and it is not obligatory upon you; he performed the Duha prayer, and it is not necessary for you; he prayed before Zuhr, and it is not obligatory upon you.” [مسند على بن الجعد : 945 وسنده صحيح]
However, it is better and more virtuous to act upon the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and to adopt all established Sunnahs in one’s life. On the Day of Judgment, deficiencies in the obligatory acts will be completed by the Sunnah and supererogatory acts, and there are many authentic ahadith encouraging and highlighting the virtue of performing nafl and Sunnah acts. Therefore, to always abandon them without reason or considering them insignificant is a blameworthy act.
➑ By acting upon the hadith of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, a person can, by the grace of his Lord, become deserving of Paradise.
➒ The number of those given glad tidings of Paradise (mubashsharun bil-jannah) is not limited to ten; rather, whoever is proven to be destined for Paradise by the Qur’an and hadith is among the people of Paradise.
➓ Only after faith in Allah and the doctrine of Tawhid (monotheism) can righteous deeds be of benefit.

Hadith Commentary:
However, the narration of Yahya ibn Sa‘id al-Qattan is mursal (disconnected), because Abu Zur‘ah is a Tabi‘i (Successor). He did not hear from the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), and the narration of Wahib, which has been mentioned above, is connected (mawsul), and Wahib is trustworthy (thiqah). His narration is accepted. Therefore, there is no defect (‘illah) in the hadith (Wahidi).

Under this hadith, Hafiz Ibn Hajar states:
Al-Qurtubi said regarding this hadith, and likewise the hadith of Talhah regarding the story of the Bedouin and others, that there is an indication of the permissibility of leaving voluntary (nafl) acts. However, whoever persists in abandoning the Sunnahs, it will be a deficiency in his religion. And if he abandons them out of indifference and aversion, then that is immorality (fisq), meaning due to the warning that has come regarding it, as the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me.” And the earliest of the Companions (radi Allahu anhum) and those who followed them used to be as constant in performing the Sunnahs as they were with the obligatory acts (fara’id), and they did not differentiate between them in seeking their reward.
(Fath al-Bari)

That is, Qurtubi said that in this hadith, and also in the hadith of Talhah in which a Bedouin is mentioned, there is evidence that leaving voluntary acts is also permissible. However, whoever makes a habit of abandoning the Sunnahs, it will be a deficiency in his religion, and if he abandons them out of indifference and laziness, then this is immorality (fisq).
This is because a warning has come regarding the abandonment of the Sunnahs, as the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said: “Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me.”
And in the earliest times, the noble Companions and the great Tabi‘in used to be as constant in performing the Sunnahs as they were with the obligatory acts, and in their desire to attain reward, they did not differentiate between the two.

In the above hadith, Hajj is not mentioned. Regarding this, Hafiz (Ibn Hajar) states:
He did not mention Hajj because at that time he (the questioner) was a pilgrim, or perhaps he (the Prophet) mentioned it to him but the narrator omitted it for brevity.

Some respected Hanafi individuals have accused the Ahl al-Hadith of not giving importance to the Sunnahs; this accusation is completely false.
Alhamdulillah, the fundamental principle of the Ahl al-Hadith is adherence to Tawhid and Sunnah.
Love for the Sunnah is the hallmark of the Ahl al-Hadith, therefore this accusation is entirely baseless.
Yes, if it is said regarding the opponents of the Ahl al-Hadith that among them the statements of the Imams are often considered superior to the Sunnahs, then this is correct to some extent.
For details on this, the study of “I‘lam al-Muwaqqi‘in” by Allamah Ibn Qayyim will be beneficial.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
This hadith clearly indicates the obligation of zakat.
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) declared this person to be among the people of Paradise during his lifetime.
Perhaps the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was informed about him through revelation, or there is some omitted wording, such as: if he remains steadfast in fulfilling the commanded acts, then he will certainly enter Paradise.
This is supported by another hadith in which the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“If he continues to perform these deeds consistently, he will certainly enter Paradise.” (Sahih Muslim, Al-Iman, Hadith: 106(13))
(2)
Allamah Qurtubi (rahimahullah) has written that from this hadith, the permissibility of leaving voluntary (nafl) acts is understood. However, the person who habitually abandons the Sunnah and voluntary acts will certainly have a deficiency in his religion.
If he leaves them out of laziness or lack of interest, it is a sign of transgression (fisq), because there is a warning regarding the abandonment of the Sunnah. The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
“Whoever turns away from my Sunnah has nothing to do with me.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Al-Nikah, Hadith: 5063)
(3)
In the earliest generations, the noble Companions (radi Allahu anhum) and the great Followers (Tabi‘in) used to observe the Sunnah with the same diligence as the obligatory acts (fard), and in seeking reward, they did not differentiate between the obligatory and the Sunnah acts.
(Fath al-Bari: 3/336)
(4)
Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) has, at the end of the hadith, narrated a chain of transmission from Abu Zur‘ah.
This is a mursal narration, because Abu Zur‘ah is a Tabi‘i and did not hear this narration directly from the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). The preceding narration from Wahb is connected (mawsul), however, in Wahb’s chain, Yahya ibn Sa‘id narrates from Abu Zur‘ah with the word ‘an (from), while in the other chain, it is narrated with “akhbarani” (he informed me).
This is intended to remove the possibility of non-hearing (i.e., to establish direct transmission).
And Allah knows best.

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
(1)
Dullani:
Guide me,
Tell me.

(2)
Al-Maktubah:
Prescribed,
That is, made obligatory and incumbent.

(3)
Al-Mafrudah:
Declared obligatory and necessary.

(4)
Sarra:
Became a cause of happiness and joy.

Benefits and Issues:
(la azid wa la anqusu)
This is an Arabic idiom used within speech to create eloquence, emphasis, and stress, the purpose of which is to express that I will not show any negligence or deficiency in fulfilling the actions. The intent is not that I will not do more than this.

For example, when we are buying goods from a shopkeeper, we say this phrase; there can be a decrease or an increase. The word "increase" is added merely to enhance the eloquence and emphasis of the speech, while our actual intent is only a decrease, not an increase. For an increase, the shopkeeper would immediately be ready. In accordance with this idiom, Allah Ta'ala's statement is: ﴿فَإِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهُمْ لَا يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً ۖ وَلَا يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ﴾ (Al-A'raf: 34)
"When their appointed time comes, they will not be able to delay it for a single moment, nor advance it."
When the appointed time comes, the possibility of delay exists, but advancing it is not rationally possible.

Here, the intent is only delay, but for the sake of eloquence, emphasis, and beautification of speech, the opposite—advancement—is also mentioned alongside delay.

Similarly, in this hadith, the intent is "la anqusu" (I will not decrease), but for the sake of beautification and emphasis in speech, its opposite—"la azid" (I will not increase)—is also mentioned. Otherwise, supererogatory (nafl) acts are indeed intended and desirable.