Mishkat al-Masabih

Mishkat al-Masabih 43

Arabic hadith text

عَن وهب بن مُنَبّه قِيلَ لَهُ: أَلَيْسَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ مِفْتَاحُ الْجَنَّةِ قَالَ بَلَى وَلَكِنْ لَيْسَ مِفْتَاحٌ إِلَّا لَهُ أَسْنَانٌ فَإِنْ جِئْتَ بِمِفْتَاحٍ لَهُ أَسْنَانٌ فَتَحَ لَكَ وَإِلَّا لَمْ يَفْتَحْ لَكَ. رَوَاهُ الْبُخَارِيُّ فِي تَرْجَمَة بَاب

Translation

Wahb ibn Munabbih was asked, “Is not ‘There is no god but God’ the key to Paradise?” He said, “Yes, but every key has teeth. If you bring a key with teeth, it will open for you; otherwise, it will not open for you.” Al-Bukhari narrated it in a chapter heading.