An-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths
On the authority of Abu 'Abdullah,
al-Nu'man Ibn Bashir (may Allah be pleased with them both), who said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say:
"Truly, what is lawful is clear,
and what is unlawful is clear,
and between them are ambiguous matters
which many people do not know.
So whoever guards against doubtful matters
clears himself in regard to his religion and his honor,
and whoever falls into doubtful matters
falls into what is unlawful—
like a shepherd grazing his flock around a sanctuary,
all but grazing inside it.
Truly, every king possesses a sanctuary,
and truly, the sanctuary of Allah the Exalted is His prohibitions.
Truly, within the body there is a morsel of flesh:
if it is sound, the entire body is sound,
but if it is corrupt, the entire body is corrupt.
Truly, it is the heart."
Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
This hadith guides the Muslim toward a clear methodology
in dealing with legal rulings:
for the lawful is manifest and the unlawful is evident,
yet between them lie matters whose ruling may remain obscure to some people.
For this reason, it is recommended for a Muslim to leave doubtful matters,
in order to safeguard their religion and their honor.
The hadith also emphasizes that the soundness of the heart is the foundation for the soundness of deeds;
for if the heart is sound, the entire body will be sound.
This demonstrates the critical importance of being conscious of Allah,
purifying one's intention,
and staying far away from anything that leads to what is unlawful.