1332 – Abu Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Among the sayings that people have preserved from the earliest prophetic speech is this: ‘If you feel no shame, then do as you wish.’” Recorded by al-Bukhārī. (1)

Lexical notes:
– “the earliest prophethood”: that is, what all the prophets agreed upon and which has never been abrogated, for it is a principle affirmed by every revealed law and readily embraced by sound reason. Therefore it belongs to the finest traits of character.
– “If you feel no shame, then do as you wish”: One opinion is that the meaning is, “If the matter is such that no modesty is required, then go ahead and do it.” A second view holds that it refers to someone from whom modesty has been stripped away so that he is no longer concerned about whether his actions are ugly or fair; in that case, let him act as he pleases—for a wound cannot hurt the dead.

Lessons derived from the ḥadīth:
1 – Concerning the phrase “Among the sayings that people have preserved from the earliest prophetic speech,” Ibn Rajab said: The Prophet ﷺ indicates that this maxim was handed down from the former prophets, that people continued to circulate it among themselves and inherit it generation after generation, and that, because of the value of this wisdom, it became so well known that it reached the very first generation of this ummah.
2 – Regarding the words “If you feel no shame, then do as you wish,” Ibn Rajab explained that there are two interpretations:
The first: that the imperative is not a literal command to act, but rather a censure and a prohibition. Advocates of this reading present it in two ways:
The first of the two: the imperative carries a sense of threat and warning—the meaning is, if modesty is absent