Five Takeaways from Hadith 10 & 11

Hadith 10 & 11

Hadith 10

Restricting oneself to the permissible

Abu Hurairah, radiyallahu 'anhu, reported that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam, said:

“Verily Allah the Exalted is pure. He does not accept but that which is pure. Allah commands the believers with what He commanded the Messengers. Allah the Almighty has said: "O you Messengers! Eat of the good things and act righteously" [23:51-53]. And Allah the Almighty also said: "O you who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided you with" [2:167-172]. Then he (the Prophet) mentioned (the case of) the man who, having journeyed far, is dishevelled and dusty and who stretches out his hands to the sky (saying): "O Lord! O Lord!" (while) his food was unlawful, his drink was unlawful, his clothing was unlawful, and he is nourished with unlawful things, so how can he be answered?”

Hadith 11

Being Cautious of The Doubtful

On the authority of Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn Ali ibn Abee Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), the grandson of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and the one much loved by him, who said: I memorized from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):

“Leave what makes you doubtful for what does not.”

Key Takeaways

One: Wholesomeness & Yaqin

Wholesomeness (al tayyib) involves yaqin (immense believe) in Allah's provision for our wordly needs so that we can focus on our pursuits of the Hereafter.

Two: Being More Vigilant With Our Consumption

 It is important therefore that we start looking more discriminately at our consumption: food, drink, clothing and ultimately, our source of income because we cannot afford to have our prayers to be rejected.

Three: Prohibition comes in two forms

a) Prohibition in all things forbidden   by religion eg pork and liquor

b) Prohibition in things that will cause harm to ourselves eg the consumption of excessive sugar for a diabetic person

Four: The Importance of Scrupulousness

This ties in well with the hadith on scrupulousness as scrupulousness will make us more careful in our daily decisions eg performing work with amanah (trustworthiness) out of fear that our source of income becomes divorced from blessings.

Fifth: The importance of husnu-dzon (thinking well of one's ultimate condition)

Ultimately, one's prayers can still be accepted despite his shortcomings because it is possible that Allah accepts out of His generosity, kindness and nobleness.