Tirmidhi

Explanation:
It is clearly evident from this hadith that whoever has even the least amount of faith (iman) in his heart, then, under the Divine Will, after suffering the punishment for his sins, he will eventually be taken out of Hell and admitted into Paradise. From this, it is also understood that salvation is indeed dependent on faith, but with Allah, ranks are attained only through deeds. The better and more righteous the deeds, the greater will be his honor.

It is apparent from this that deeds are included within faith (iman), and that some people are advanced in faith, while others have weak faith. There are even some whose faith in their hearts is only as much as a mustard seed. Even after such clear explanation in the Prophetic hadith, those who consider the faith of all believers to be equal and do not accept increase or decrease in faith, they themselves should reflect on their own statement.

Al-Imam Ibn Hajar rahimahullah says:
«ووجه مطابقة هذاالحديث للترجمة ظاهر وارادبايراده الرد على المرجئة لما فيه من ضرر المعاصي مع الايمان وعلي المعتزلة فى ان المعاصي موجبة للخلود»
That is, the relevance of this hadith to the chapter is clear, and the purpose of the author rahimahullah in bringing this hadith here is to refute the Murji’ah. This is because, in it, the harm and loss of sins is mentioned despite the presence of faith, and it is also a refutation of the Mu’tazilah, who say that sinners will remain in Hell forever.

Hadith Authentication (Takhrij al-Hadith):
[116۔ البخاري فى : 2 كتاب الإيمان : 15 باب تفاصيل أهل الإيمان فى الأعمال، مسلم 184، ابن حبان 182]

Lexical Explanation:
«صَفْرَاء»: Yellowish in color.
«مُلْتَوِيَة»: Twisted and coiled.

Understanding the Hadith:
The aforementioned ahadith are proof that those who commit major sins (kabirah) will not remain in Hellfire (Jahannam) forever; rather, after receiving punishment for as long as Allah wills, they will be taken out of Hell—either through intercession (shafa‘ah) or by Allah’s mercy. It should be remembered here that a polytheist (mushrik) will never be taken out of Hell, nor will any intercession benefit him. Regarding the disbelievers (kuffar) and polytheists, the Noble Qur’an states:
«فَمَا تَنْفَعُهُمْ شَفَاعَةُ الشَّافِعِينَ» [المدثر : 48]
“The intercession of intercessors will not benefit them.”
And the statement of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is: My intercession will only be granted to the one who died in such a state that he did not associate partners with Allah. [مسلم : كتاب الايمان : باب اختباء النبى دعوة الشفاعة لامته 199]

Hadith Commentary:
1.
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah narrated the report of Wahib to remove the doubt that Malik had, namely, that in the narration, “the river of life” is correct.
2.
This hadith is intended as a refutation of the Murji’ah.
They say that after affirmation (tasdiq), deeds have no significance.
If it were truly the case that deeds have no effect, then why are sinners thrown into Hell due to their evil deeds? Similarly, it is a refutation of the Khawarij.
Their belief is that whoever commits a major sin (kabirah) exits from faith (iman) and will remain in Hell forever.
If this position were correct, then according to the content of the hadith, why were the people of Hell taken out from Hell? (Sharh al-Kirmani: 1/117)
3.
From this hadith, it is also understood that among the people of faith (ahl al-iman), there will be differences in ranks both in this world and in the Hereafter.
In this world, we observe that one person is granted the ability to perform righteous deeds, while another is deprived of it. In terms of the Hereafter, those whose deeds were of a high level will be saved from Hell, and those whose deeds were deficient or lacking will be exposed to the air of Hell and then taken out from it.
Then, even in this extraction, there will be levels:
(a)
Due to the deeds of the limbs (a‘mal al-jawarih).
(b)
Due to the deeds of the heart (a‘mal al-qalb).
(c)
Due to the traces of faith (athar al-iman) and the lights of faith (anwar al-iman).
(d)
Due to the essence of faith (nafs al-iman)—this last category will include those who do not possess even the slightest portion of deeds or goodness, and whose faith will be so dim that even the profound gaze of the Leader of the Prophets (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) will not be able to perceive it.
Allah Ta‘ala Himself will take these people out.
(Sahih Muslim, al-Iman, Hadith: 454(183))
4.
Punishment upon the disbelievers (ahl al-kufr) will be as retribution, whereas the people of faith (ahl al-iman) will be cast into Hell so that they may be cleansed from the filth of their sins.
The manner of this is that they are afflicted with calamities and hardships in the world, or the agonies of the throes of death (sakarat al-mawt) become a means of their purification.
If their sins are even greater than this, then the terrors of the Day of Gathering (mahshar) will compensate for them.
If their disobedience is even greater than that, then they will be cast into Hell and purified therein.