روي أنه قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: الإيمان بضع وسبعون شعبة، فأفضلها قول لا إله الا الله وأدناها إماطة الأذى عن الطريق. والحياء شعبة من الإيمان.
It is narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘Iman has over seventy sections (or affects)1: The highest in degree among these is to declare that there is no other god besides the one God and the lowest among them is to remove a harmful thing from the road2. Hayaa is also one of the sections (or affects) of Iman‘3.
General Notes:
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i.e., Iman (belief in God) is not a static phenomenon, but has its affects in the behavior of the person.
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True faith (Iman) should be followed by adherence to all of the express as well as inherent directives of the Almighty. Thus, all moral and ethical behavior comes within the affects of Iman.
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i.e., when a person truly believes in God, he should be modest and ashamed of doing any such thing which God does not like.
Notes on the Text of the Narrative:
This narrative or a part of it, with some variations, has been reported in Bukhariy (narrative no. 8), Muslim (narrative no. 50, 51), Abu Dawood (narrative no. 4056) Nasaiy (narrative no. 4918, 4919, 4920), Ibn Maajah (narrative no. 56), Ahmad ibn Hanbal (narrative no. 8570, 8993, 9333, 9371, 9372) Ibn Hibban (narrative no. 166, 167, 181, 190, 191) Nasaiy’s Sunan Al-Kubra (narrative no. 11735, 11736, 11737), Ibn Abi Shaybah (narrative no. 25339, 25341, 26343, 30416), Abdul Razzaq (narrative no. 26343, 30416). The preferred text, except where otherwise mentioned, is the one narrated in Muslim, narrative no. 51.
The narrator of Muslim’s narrative no. 51 is not certain whether the Prophet said “بضع وسبعون“ (i.e., ‘over seventy’) or “بضع وستون“ (i.e., ‘over sixty’). A few other variations of this number have also been reported in other narratives. It is clear, however, that the figures are not implied literally, but are actually implied as ‘many’ or ‘a number of’ etc.
In some narratives, as for instance in Ahmad ibn Hanbal, narrative no. 8993, the word “شعبة“ (section) have been replaced by “بابا“ (chapter).
In some narratives, as for instance in Ahmad ibn Hanbal, narrative no. 8993, the word “الأذى“ (harmful thing) has been replaced by “العظم“ (bone).
A similar implication is also conveyed in the narration of the following incident:
روي أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم مر على رجل وهو يعاتب أخاه في الحياء يقول إنك لتستحيي حتى كأنه يقول قد أضر بك فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم دعه فإن الحياء من الإيمان
It is narrated that once the Prophet (pbuh) passed by a man, who was scolding his younger brother for being overly modest. He was saying: ‘You are so modest that you have even suffered for it’. At this the Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘Let him be, for indeed modesty (Hayaa) is a part of Iman‘.
This narrative or a part of it, with some variations, has been reported in Mu’attaa Maalik ibn Anas (narrative no. 1407), Bukhariy (narrative nos. 23 and 5653), Muslim (narrative no. 52), Tirmidhi (narrative no. 2540) Abu Dawood (narrative no. 4162), Nasaiy (narrative no. 4947), Ibn Maajah (narrative no. 57), Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal (narrative no. 4326, 4936, 6057), Ibn Hibban (narrative no. 610), Nasaiy’s Sunan Al-Kubra (narrative no. 11764), Abdul Razzaq (narrative no. 25340) Abu Ya`laa (narrative no. 5424, 5478, 5536). The preferred text, except where otherwise mentioned, is the one reported in Bukhariy, narrative no. 5653.
In some of the reported narratives, it is also specified that the person admonishing his brother was one from among the Ansar (i.e. a local resident of Medinah). Thus, for instance, in Bukhariy, narrative no. 23, the opening of the narrative has been reported as: “مر على رجل من الأنصار“ (i.e. ‘passed by a man from among the Ansar‘). Furthermore, in some narratives, as in Bukhariy, narrative no. 23, the word “يعاتب“ (i.e. scolding) has been replaced by “يعظ“ (i.e. advising) and the sentence: “إنك لتستحيي حتى كأنه يقول قد أضر بك“ (i.e. ‘You are so modest that you have even suffered for it’) has been omitted.
This write-up is prepared by the Hadith Cell of Javed Ahmad Ghamidi