Hadith 6, 40 Hadith an-Nawawi

Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.

On the authority of Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Nu‘man ibn Bashir (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: “The lawful is clear, and the unlawful is clear; between them are doubtful matters that many people do not know. Whoever guards against doubtful matters has cleared himself with regard to his religion and his honor; and whoever falls into doubtful matters falls into the unlawful. He is like a shepherd grazing around a protected pasture, soon to graze within it. Indeed, every king has a protected pasture, and indeed Allah’s protected pasture is what He has forbidden. Indeed, in the body is a morsel of flesh: if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Indeed, it is the heart.” [Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim].