Way to paradise
I said to Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him): Inform me about an act which would entitle me to get into Paradise, and remove me away from Hell-Fire.
He (the Prophet) said: You have asked me about a matter (which ostensibly appears to be) difficult but it is easy to those for whom Allah, the Exalted, has made it easy. Worship Allah and do not associate anything with him, establish prayer, pay the Zakat, observe the fast of Ramadan and perform Hajj to the (sacred) House (Ka’bah).
He again said: Should I not direct you to the gateways of good? Listen to me: The fasting is a shield against evil, the charity extinguishes (the fire of sin) just as water extinguishes fire, the prayer of a person during the middle of the night.
Then he recited: ‘Who forsake their beds…(up to)….they used to do.’ Then he said: Should I not direct you to the highest level of this matter, to the pillar on which (it rests) and its top?
I said: Allah’s Messenger yes, (do tell me).
He said: The uppermost level of the matter is al-Islam. Its pillar is the prayer and its top is Jihad. He then said: Should I not inform you of the sheet anchor of all this?
I said: Allah’s Apostle (of course do it). He took hold of his tongue and said: Exercise restraint on it.
I said: Apostle of Allah, would we be held responsible for what we say with it?
Thereupon he said: Mu’adh, may your mother be bereaved. Will anything else besides (irresponsible) talk cause the people to be thrown into the Hell-Fire upon their faces or on their nostrils?
Transmitted by Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah.
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2
