Righteousness and Sin
Narrated by al-Nawwās bin al-Samʿānعن [النَّوَّاسِ بنِ سِمْعانَ] رَضِي اللهُ عَنْهُ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قالَ: "الْبِرُّ حُسْنُ الْخُلُقِ، وَالإِثْمُ مَا حَاكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ وَكَرِهْتَ أنْ يَطَّلِعَ عليْهِ النَّاسُ".
وعن [وابِصَةَ بنِ مَعْبَدٍ] رَضِي اللهُ عَنْهُ قالَ: (أتيتُ رسولَ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقالَ: "جِئْتَ تَسْأَلُ عَنِ الْبِرِّ" قُلْتُ: نَعَمْ.
قالَ: "اسْتَفْتِ قَلْبَكَ؛ الْبِرُّ مَا اطْمَأنَّتْ إِلَيْهِ النَّفْسُ وَاطْمَأنَّ إِلَيْهِ الْقَلْبُ، وَالإِثْمُ مَا حَاكََ فِي النَّفْسِ وَتَرَدَّدَ فِي الصَّدْرِ وَإِنْ أَفْتَاكَ النَّاسُ وَأَفْتَوْكَ"). حَديثٌ حَسَنٌ رُوِّينَاهُ في مُسْنَدَيِ الإمامَيْنِ أحمدَ بنِ حَنْبَلٍ والدَّارِمِيِّ بإسنادٍ حَسَنٍ.
From al-Nawwās bin al-Samʿān (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu), from the Prophet (ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wasallam) that he said, "Righteousness (birr) is good morality, and wrongdoing is that which wavers in your soul and which you dislike people finding out about."
And on the authority of Wābiṣah bin Maʿbad (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu) that he said: I came to the messenger of Allah and he said, "You have come to ask about righteousness?" I said, " Yes." He said, "Consult your heart. Righteousness is that about which the soul feels tranquil and the heart feels tranquil, and wrongdoing is that which wavers in the soul and moves to and fro in the breast even though people again and again have given you their legal opinion [in its favor]."
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Translation by Abū ʿIyāḍ — Nawawis40Hadith.com, used with permission.