Resources · Islamic resources · Forty hadith
Forty hadith, one a day
Imam an-Nawawi gathered forty-two hadith that, he said, hold most of the religion. One a day is a six-week course in how to live. Each card gives one line on the hadith and its source, and the full Arabic with a translation is a tap away on Sunnah.com. Tick the ones you have read; this browser remembers.
0 of 42 read
Read one hadith a day at its link, in Arabic and a translation you trust, and tick it here.
- 1
Deeds are by intentions
In shortDeeds are judged by intentions, and each person gets what they intended.
Bukhari and Muslim
- 2
Jibril’s questions
In shortIslam, iman and ihsan: what to do, what to believe, and worshipping Allah as if you see Him.
Muslim
- 3
The five pillars
In shortIslam is built on the testimony of faith, the prayer, zakat, Hajj and the fast of Ramadan.
Bukhari and Muslim
- 4
Creation and destiny
In shortHow a person is formed in the womb, and that the final deeds decide the end.
Bukhari and Muslim
- 5
Innovation is rejected
In shortWhatever is added to this religion that is not from it is rejected.
Bukhari and Muslim
- 6
The doubtful matters
In shortThe lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear; whoever avoids the doubtful keeps their religion and honour safe.
Bukhari and Muslim
- 7
Religion is sincerity
In shortSincerity to Allah, His Book, His Messenger, the leaders of the Muslims and their common people.
Muslim
- 8
The protection of faith
In shortThe declaration of faith, the prayer and the zakat protect a person’s life and property; the reckoning of hearts is with Allah.
Bukhari and Muslim
- 9
Do what you can
In shortAvoid what is forbidden, do what is commanded as much as you can, and do not ask too many questions.
Bukhari and Muslim
- 10
Allah accepts only the pure
In shortHalal food and halal earnings are a condition for du‘a to be answered.
Muslim
- 11
Leave what makes you doubt
In shortLeave what makes you doubt for what does not.
Tirmidhi and Nasa’i
- 12
Leave what does not concern you
In shortA sign of a person’s good Islam is leaving what does not concern them.
Tirmidhi
- 13
Love for your brother
In shortNone of you believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself.
Bukhari and Muslim
- 14
The sanctity of life
In shortA Muslim’s blood is protected except by law in three cases.
Bukhari and Muslim
- 15
Speak good or stay silent
In shortWhoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or keep silent, and honour the neighbour and the guest.
Bukhari and Muslim
- 16
Do not get angry
In shortAsked for advice, the Prophet said: do not get angry, and repeated it.
Bukhari
- 17
Excellence in everything
In shortAllah has prescribed excellence in all things, even in how an animal is slaughtered.
Muslim
- 18
Fear Allah wherever you are
In shortFollow a bad deed with a good one to wipe it out, and treat people with good character.
Tirmidhi
- 19
Allah will protect you
In shortBe mindful of Allah and He will be with you; ask Him alone; what missed you could not have hit you.
Tirmidhi
- 20
Modesty
In shortIf you have no shame, do as you wish: a warning carried down from the earliest prophets.
Bukhari
- 21
Believe, then stand firm
In shortThe whole religion in two words: say “I believe in Allah”, then be steadfast.
Muslim
- 22
The straight path to Paradise
In shortA man asked whether the obligatory prayers, the fast and keeping to the lawful would take him to Paradise; the answer was yes.
Muslim
- 23
Purity is half of faith
In shortWudu, praise, prayer, charity and patience each weigh in the balance; everyone sells their soul, freeing it or ruining it.
Muslim
- 24
Oppression is forbidden
In shortAllah has forbidden oppression upon Himself and made it forbidden among us; all of us need His guidance and forgiveness.
Muslim, a hadith qudsi
- 25
Every good deed is charity
In shortThe poor companions feared the rich had taken all the reward; every tasbih, takbir and good deed is charity.
Muslim
- 26
Charity for every joint
In shortReconciling two people, helping someone onto their mount, a good word, a step to the mosque: each is charity.
Bukhari and Muslim
- 27
Righteousness and sin
In shortRighteousness is good character; sin is what unsettles the heart and you would not want people to see.
Muslim and Ahmad
- 28
Hold to the Sunnah
In shortHear and obey, hold on to my Sunnah and the way of the rightly guided caliphs, and beware of newly invented matters.
Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi
- 29
The gates of goodness
In shortFasting is a shield, charity puts out sin, prayer at night; and above all, guard the tongue.
Tirmidhi
- 30
The limits of Allah
In shortAllah set obligations, limits and prohibitions, and was silent about some things out of mercy; do not go looking for them.
Daraqutni
- 31
Renounce the world
In shortBe detached from the world and Allah will love you; be detached from what people own and people will love you.
Ibn Majah
- 32
No harm
In shortThere should be neither harm nor the returning of harm.
Ibn Majah and Daraqutni
- 33
The burden of proof
In shortThe claimant brings the proof; the one who denies takes the oath.
Bayhaqi, parts in Bukhari and Muslim
- 34
Change what is wrong
In shortWhoever sees a wrong should change it with the hand, else the tongue, else the heart, and that is the weakest faith.
Muslim
- 35
Brothers
In shortDo not envy, cheat or turn away from each other; a Muslim is the brother of a Muslim and does not wrong or belittle him.
Muslim
- 36
Relieving a hardship
In shortWhoever relieves a believer’s hardship, Allah relieves his; Allah helps the servant as long as he helps his brother.
Muslim
- 37
How deeds are written
In shortA good intention is written as a good deed, and one done is written tenfold or more; a bad intention left for Allah is written as a good deed.
Bukhari and Muslim
- 38
Nearness through the voluntary
In shortAllah’s servant draws near through the obligations, then the voluntary deeds, until Allah loves him.
Bukhari, a hadith qudsi
- 39
Mistakes are pardoned
In shortAllah has pardoned my nation for mistakes, forgetfulness and what they are forced into.
Ibn Majah and Bayhaqi
- 40
A stranger in this world
In shortBe in this world as a stranger or a traveller; when evening comes, do not wait for morning.
Bukhari
- 41
Desires follow the revelation
In shortNone of you believes until his desires follow what I have brought.
Kitab al-Hujjah, graded hasan sahih by an-Nawawi
- 42
The vastness of forgiveness
In shortO son of Adam, as long as you call on Me and hope in Me, I forgive you, whatever you have done.
Tirmidhi, a hadith qudsi
The lines are summaries in my own words, not translations. Read each hadith in full at its link, in Arabic and a translation you trust.
How to use the series
- Read one hadith a day at its link, in Arabic and a translation you trust, and tick it here.
- Carry the one line through the day; that is the point of the series.
- After forty-two days, start again. The second reading is where it settles.