Deen Track

Hadith 9

sahih

Ease in Commands

ما نهيتكم عنه فاجتنبوه

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ صَخْرٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: سَمِعْت رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم يَقُولُ: مَا نَهَيْتُكُمْ عَنْهُ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ، وَمَا أَمَرْتُكُمْ بِهِ فَأْتُوا مِنْهُ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ، فَإِنَّمَا أَهْلَكَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ كَثْرَةُ مَسَائِلِهِمْ وَاخْتِلَافُهُمْ عَلَى أَنْبِيَائِهِمْ.،

Translation

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (ra): I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say, “What I have forbidden for you, avoid. What I have ordered you [to do], do as much of it as you can. For verily, it was only the excessive questioning and their disagreeing with their Prophets that destroyed [the nations] who were before you.”

Narrated by

Abu Hurairah

أبو هريرة رضي الله عنه

Source

Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim

صحيح البخاري وصحيح مسلم

Verify on Sunnah.com

Explanation

This hadith demonstrates the mercy in Islamic law. Prohibitions must be completely avoided (as avoiding harm takes precedence), while commands should be followed to the best of one's ability.

Key Lessons

  • 1Prohibitions are absolute - avoid them completely
  • 2Commands consider human capacity
  • 3Islam does not burden beyond ability
  • 4Avoiding harm takes precedence over gaining benefit