Nasai

Hadith Commentary:
The involuntary thoughts of the heart that arise spontaneously and are then forgotten on their own—Allah, the Exalted, has forgiven all of these. The occurrence of such thoughts is also included within human nature.

Hadith Commentary:
The existence of something in the mind has no validity.
Validity is only for verbal existence, which pertains to speech, or for practical existence, which pertains to action.
Breaking an oath by mistake or forgetfulness also has no legal standing; therefore, there is neither sin nor expiation (kaffarah) for such an oath.
However, persistence in sin is not merely a whisper or a thought of the heart, but rather an act of the heart; for this persistence, there will certainly be accountability.
And Allah knows best.

Hadith Commentary:
What happened was that a mentally ill woman was brought to Umar radi Allahu anhu, and she had become pregnant due to adultery. Umar radi Allahu anhu intended to stone her. At that moment, Ali radi Allahu anhu said, "Did you not know that the pen has been lifted from three..." etc. According to one narration, upon this Umar radi Allahu anhu said, "If it were not for Ali, Umar would have perished." Allah, Allah! The selflessness and truth-seeking of Umar radi Allahu anhu.

Once, Umar radi Allahu anhu was delivering a sermon from the pulpit and was forbidding the tying of heavy dowries. A woman recited this verse from the Noble Qur’an: (And if you have given one of them a great amount [of gold] as a dowry, do not take [back] anything from it) ( [an-Nisa: 20]). Umar radi Allahu anhu then declared from the pulpit, "Everyone is more knowledgeable than Umar—even women and children possess more knowledge than Umar."

Let one learn truthfulness and justice from Umar radi Allahu anhu: whenever someone said something reasonable, or presented a sound argument from the Qur’an or Hadith, and provided evidence from the Qur’an or Hadith, he immediately accepted it, bowed his head in submission, never insisted on his own opinion, nor was he ever conceited about his own knowledge and virtue. In our times, however, the state of the unjust blind followers (muqallideen) is such that even if you recite hundreds of hadiths and verses to them, they still do not accept, but persist in defending their Imam, and interpret the Qur’an and Hadith.

Say, what need is there for this? Were these noble Imams infallible like the Prophets, that every statement of theirs must be accepted without question? Then why should we not interpret the statement of the Imam, thinking perhaps he meant something else, or perhaps that hadith had not reached him (Wahidi)? Mistakes are possible from the Imams—may Allah forgive their slips. They were not infallible from error. Their respect is in its place.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
If the thought of giving divorce arises in someone's heart, then merely by thought or whisperings, divorce does not take effect.
This type of divorce is called "imaginary divorce" (khayali talaq).
There are two conditions for this type of divorce to take effect:
➊ The thoughts of the heart are written down on paper, that is, the thoughts are put into action.
➋ The whisperings of the heart are uttered by the tongue, that is, they are given the form of speech.
If divorce is written on air or water, it will have no validity, because writing on air or water is also in the category of thoughts and whisperings.

(2)
"Hadith al-nafs" refers to inner whisperings; there is no accountability for this. However, Ibn Sirin was of the opinion that this type of divorce does take effect.
The aforementioned hadith is intended as a refutation of those individuals.
(Fath al-Bari: 9/488)

Hadith Commentary:
The relevance of this hadith to the chapter is derived as follows: when there is no accountability for whispers and thoughts of the heart, then, a fortiori, there will be no accountability for those things which slip from the tongue unintentionally or out of forgetfulness.
Or, there is no accountability for whispers and thoughts of the heart because they merely pass over the heart and do not settle there.
Similarly, any speech that passes from the tongue without deliberate intent will be judged in the same manner as a whisper, because both the heart and the tongue are human faculties, and the ruling for both is the same.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
The thoughts that come to a person's heart—if they incite towards evil, they are called "waswasah" (whisperings), and if they invite towards good deeds, this is "ilham" (inspiration). It is a particularity of this ummah that the dangers (khatarat) that come upon their hearts are forgiven as long as they do not become firm in the heart, meaning as long as they are not acted upon or uttered by the tongue. If they become settled in the heart, as happens in the case of envy and the like, then there will be accountability for it. For this reason, a distinction is made between "ham" (intention) and "azm" (resolve), because "ham" (intention) is that which comes to the heart and passes by, while "azm" (resolve) is that which comes to the heart and settles there.

(2)
The connection of this hadith to the chapter heading is as follows: when there is no accountability for whisperings and thoughts of the heart, then, a fortiori, there will be no accountability for something that slips from the tongue out of forgetfulness or mistake. Or, the reason there is no accountability for whisperings and thoughts of the heart is that they come to the heart and pass by; similarly, any speech that comes to the tongue and passes by, without any intention or resolve, its ruling will be like that of whisperings, because both the heart and the tongue are human faculties and their ruling is the same. Therefore, if the words of divorce (talaq) or emancipation (itaq) come from the tongue out of forgetfulness or without intention, then legally they have no standing.
Wallahu a‘lam (And Allah knows best).

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:

(1)
Tajawaza:
To overlook,
to forgive.
Jawaz:
Derived from (leniency and forbearance).

(2)
Haddathat bihi anfusuha:
Regarding the grammatical case of "nafs" (self/soul), scholars have two opinions:
(1)
"Nafs" is the object (maf’ul bihi) and in the accusative case; in this situation, the meaning will be:
that which a person speaks to himself in his heart.
This is the well-known and more apparent opinion, and Qadi Iyad has supported it with the hadith: "Inna ahadana yuhaddithu nafsahu" (“One of us converses with his own soul”).
And the greater manifestation of Allah’s bounty and grace is also in this.
(2)
"Nafs" is the subject (fa’il) and in the nominative case;
the meaning is: “A thought comes into his heart.”
Imam Tahawi rahimahullah has supported this with the verse: ﴿Na‘lamu ma tuwaswisu bihi nafsuhu﴾ (“We know what his soul whispers to him”), and there is also a hadith in Bukhari rahimahullah.
«مَاوَسْوَسَتْ بِهِ صَدْرُهَا» However, it is clear that there is a difference between “hadith al-nafs” (self-talk) and “waswasah” (whispering).
Allah, the Exalted, has pardoned both.

Benefits and Issues:
Thoughts and imaginations are of two types:
Those that come into the heart but do not settle there and pass by;
a person does not reflect on them, nor does he resolve or intend to act upon them.
These are called “whispers” (wasawis) and “passing thoughts” (khatarat).
The second type of thoughts are those which a person himself brings into his heart,
reflects upon them, and sometimes even resolves and intends to act upon them.
These too are of two types:
One, those related to the tongue or bodily limbs,
such as tale-bearing,
backbiting,
slander, or theft,
adultery, and drinking alcohol.
The other, those related to the heart and soul,
such as envy,
hatred and malice,
arrogance,
pride,
greed and covetousness, etc.
There is no accountability for whispers and passing thoughts.
Similarly, merely intending or resolving in the heart to commit acts related to the bodily limbs is also not accountable.
This is the honor of the Ummah of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam;
the previous nations were held accountable for this.
But for those matters that are purely of the heart, i.e., not bodily actions but actions of the heart,
one will be held accountable for their intention, resolve, and determination,
because they have already become actions.
Therefore, to say absolutely that if a thought settles and becomes firm, or if one resolves and intends to do it, then one will be held accountable for it,
is not correct,
because it is mentioned further on
that if a person intends to do evil but refrains from it out of fear of Allah, then he will be rewarded; if mere intention was accountable, then he should have been sinful for it.

Explanation:
1:
From this hadith, it is understood that thoughts arising in the heart and passing whispers (waswasah) are not subject to accountability or blame.
For example, if someone has the thought in his heart of marrying a certain woman or divorcing his wife, then merely having such thoughts in the heart does not cause these matters to actually occur.

Benefits and Issues:
Merely thinking about divorce or feeling inner turmoil in the heart, without uttering anything verbally, does not constitute a divorce.
However, if these emotions and thoughts are transferred into a clear written form, then divorce will take place, because writing by hand is considered an action.
Whether the writing is given to the wife or discarded without giving it to her, divorce will still occur.

This refers merely to satanic whispers and thoughts of sin, as is clarified in the following hadith.

(1) Those matters which pertain solely to the heart—such as beliefs, faith (iman), and disbelief (kufr), etc.—will be subject to accountability or reward, even if they remain confined to the heart. Here, only those passing thoughts and notions are intended which momentarily enter the heart and then depart, not faith, disbelief, hypocrisy (nifaq), etc., which become firmly established in the heart.

(2) This is a distinctive characteristic of the Ummah of Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). The previous communities were held accountable even for this. From this, the virtue of the Ummah of Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) becomes evident. May blessings and peace be upon its bearer.

Benefits and Issues:

➊
Various thoughts continue to come into a person’s heart, among which there are good thoughts as well as bad ones.
As long as these remain at the level of thoughts, there is no accountability for them.

➋
When a thought reaches the level of resolve (ʿazm), then there is reward for a good resolve.
Similarly, if a person makes a plan to commit an evil act but, for some reason, that plan fails, then he will be sinful to the extent of the effort he made. For example:
If a person makes a murderous attack on someone but the victim survives, the attacker will still be sinful, even though he was unable to kill.
The Prophetic statement is:
“When two Muslims confront each other with swords, both the killer and the one killed will enter the Hellfire.”
It was asked:
“This one is the killer (so he is guilty), but what is the reason for the slain (to be punished)?” He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) replied:
“He too was eager to kill his companion.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Fitan, Chapter: When two Muslims meet with their swords, Hadith: 7083)

➌
Some actions pertain only to the heart, such as love, hatred, fear, etc. Among these, whatever settles in the heart and influences other actions, there is reward or punishment for it. For example:
Love for Allah, love for the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), respect for the Qur’an, or hatred for a good deed, or enmity towards a righteous person, etc.
Iman (faith), kufr (disbelief), ikhlas (sincerity), and nifaq (hypocrisy) also belong to this category.

Commentary:
See the benefits of Hadith: 2040

Takhrij:
[صحيح بخاري 2528],
[صحيح مسلم 331، 332]

Fiqh al-Hadith:
➊ The summary of the words of Tayyibi, the commentator of Mishkat, is that there are two types of waswasah (whisperings):
First:
That which arises in the heart automatically without choice, in which a person’s own will is not involved. This type of waswasah is excused in all the revealed laws (shari‘ahs).
Second:
To intentionally and willfully conceive an evil thought in the heart. This type of waswasah is excused in the Shari‘ah of Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as long as the person does not express it verbally or act upon it physically.
➋ The Ummah of Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has been given superiority over previous communities.

Benefits:
From the mentioned hadith, it is understood that the various thoughts that come to the heart are not subject to accountability. This is because a person has no control over them, as stated in the following verse of Allah the Exalted:
«لاَ يُكَلِّفُ اللهُ نَفسًا» [ البقرة : 286 ]
These thoughts can be both good and bad. If the thoughts invite towards evil deeds, they are called "whispers" (wasawis). And if they invite towards good deeds, they are "inspirations" (ilhamat).

However, it is established from the ahadith that when a person resolves to commit a sin and makes a complete effort towards it but fails in it, then he will be considered a criminal in the sight of Allah. As, for example:
The Noble Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
"When two Muslims confront each other with swords, both the killer and the one killed will enter the Hellfire." It was asked: "This is understandable for the killer (that he is guilty), but what is the reason for the punishment of the one killed?" He (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) replied: "He too was eager to kill his companion." [صحيح بخاري ، رقم : 8083]

Sometimes, a person is compelled to utter certain words with his tongue, but does not affirm them in his heart; such a person is also not held accountable, as:
Allah the Exalted says:
«مَن كَفَرَ بِاللهِ مِن بَعدِ اِيمانِه اِلامَن اُكرِهَ وَ قَلبُه’مُطمَىن بِالاِيمَانِ» [النحل : 106]
"Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief—except for one who is forced while his heart is secure in faith..."

Similarly, there are some things for which, even if they are not expressed verbally, there is reward or punishment. For example:
Loving Allah the Exalted, His Messenger, and the Muslims, and respecting the symbols of Allah the Majestic is a source of reward, and likewise, hating evil deeds is also a source of reward. These matters are related to the heart alone. Even if a person does not express them, he will be rewarded by Allah.

Takhrij:
«أخرجه البخاري، الطلاق، باب الطلاق في الإغلاق...، حديث:5269، ومسلم، الإيمان، باب تجاوز الله عن حديث النفس والخواطر بالقلب إذا لم تستقر، حديث:127.»©Explanation:
From this hadith, it is understood that thoughts and whispers (waswasah) that arise in the heart are not subject to accountability. For example: if a person has the thought of divorcing a woman in his heart, or intends in his heart to marry a girl, then these matters do not actually occur merely by thoughts and intentions. However, if a person practically expresses the whispers that arise in his heart, or acknowledges them verbally, then this becomes subject to accountability.

Benefit:
This hadith proves that evil thoughts (whisperings) of the heart are not subject to accountability, whereas the matter of good deeds is the opposite: if a person merely intends to do a good deed, he will receive reward for the intention itself. Islam calls towards goodness and encourages the Muslim Ummah to engage in good deeds and to have intentions of goodness.

The chest of a believer is filled with goodness and piety (taqwa); if any thought of sin arises, it is quickly repelled. However, the chest of a sinner is filled with immorality and wickedness, which does not allow him the opportunity to perform good deeds. Allah, Lord of all worlds, looks at the heart, so we too should keep our hearts pure and clean. People have kept their faces and clothes clean, but have not been able to purify their hearts.