An-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths
Hadith 25, 40 Hadith an-Nawawi
عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ أَيْضًا، "أَنَّ نَاسًا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم قَالُوا لِلنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه و سلم يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ذَهَبَ أَهْلُ الدُّثُورِ بِالْأُجُورِ؛ يُصَلُّونَ كَمَا نُصَلِّي، وَيَصُومُونَ كَمَا نَصُومُ، وَيَتَصَدَّقُونَ بِفُضُولِ أَمْوَالِهِمْ. قَالَ: أَوَلَيْسَ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ مَا تَصَّدَّقُونَ؟ إنَّ بِكُلِّ تَسْبِيحَةٍ صَدَقَةً، وَكُلِّ تَكْبِيرَةٍ صَدَقَةً، وَكُلِّ تَحْمِيدَةٍ صَدَقَةً، وَكُلِّ تَهْلِيلَةٍ صَدَقَةً، وَأَمْرٌ بِمَعْرُوفٍ صَدَقَةٌ، وَنَهْيٌ عَنْ مُنْكَرٍ صَدَقَةٌ، وَفِي بُضْعِ أَحَدِكُمْ صَدَقَةٌ. قَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَيَأْتِي أَحَدُنَا شَهْوَتَهُ وَيَكُونُ لَهُ فِيهَا أَجْرٌ؟ قَالَ: أَرَأَيْتُمْ لَوْ وَضَعَهَا فِي حَرَامٍ أَكَانَ عَلَيْهِ وِزْرٌ؟ فَكَذَلِكَ إذَا وَضَعَهَا فِي الْحَلَالِ، كَانَ لَهُ أَجْرٌ". [رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ].
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) also related that some of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), ‘O Messenger of Allah, the wealthy have taken all the rewards: they pray as we pray, fast as we fast, and give charity from their surplus wealth.’ He said, ‘Has Allah not given you things with which you may give charity? Every glorification of Allah is charity; every magnification of Allah is charity; every praise of Allah is charity; every declaration of Allah’s oneness is charity; enjoining what is right is charity; forbidding what is wrong is charity; and in the sexual act of each one of you there is charity.’ They said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, does one of us satisfy his desire and have a reward for it?’ He said, ‘Tell me: if he placed it in what is forbidden, would there be a burden upon him? Likewise, if he placed it in what is lawful, he has a reward.’ [Narrated by Muslim].
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
وَفِي بُضْعِ أَحَدِكُمْ صَدَقَةٌ.
The Arabic euphemism بضع denotes sexual intercourse/intimacy; the exact preferred English register is not established by an approved glossary.
Which context-sensitive rendering is preferred for the euphemism in this passage?
كَانَ لَهُ أَجْرٌ".
The English witness expands ‘he has a reward’ to ‘will be deserving of a reward,’ making explicit a qualification absent from this Arabic wording.
Should the witness wording be treated as interpretive? The translation follows the Arabic clause.