= The intention here is to express astonishment at the heedlessness regarding this matter. See: Muhammad Fuad Abd al-Baqi’s commentary on Sunan Ibn Majah 2:1315; al-Nihaya by Ibn al-Athir 1:217. (1) This hadith—with only minor variations in wording—was narrated by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and others from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) up to the phrase “or you act upon it.” See: - Sahih al-Bukhari 6:169 (Book of Divorce, chapter on divorce in cases of confinement, coercion, or intoxication) - Sahih Muslim 1:117 (Book of Faith, chapter on God’s overlooking of inner thoughts and whisperings, hadith no. 202) - Sunan al-Nasa’i 6:127–128 (Book of Divorce, chapter on one who divorces himself) - Sunan Ibn Majah 1:658 (Book of Divorce, chapter on one who divorces himself without uttering it, hadith no. 2040) As for the remainder—namely Mu’adh’s words “O Messenger of Allah…” which do not appear in the above collections—it is found in a narration recorded by al-Tirmidhi and others from Mu’adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: “I was traveling with the Prophet (peace be upon him), and one morning as we walked I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, tell me of a deed that will admit me to Paradise and distance me from the Fire.’ He replied, ‘You have asked about something great, yet it is easy for whom Allah makes it easy: worship Allah and associate nothing with Him…’ At the end he said, ‘Shall I tell you the key to all of that?’ I answered, ‘Yes, O Prophet of Allah,’ and he took my tongue between his fingers and said, ‘Restrain this.’ I said, ‘O Prophet of Allah, will we be held accountable for what we say?’ He replied, ‘May your mother be bereaved, O Mu’adh! Do people enter the Fire on their faces or noses except by the harvest of their tongues?’” Al-Tirmidhi graded this hadith hasan sahih. See: - Sunan al-Tirmidhi 5:12 (Book of Faith, chapter on the sanctity of prayer, hadith no. 2616) - Sunan Ibn Majah 2:1314–1315 (Book of Tribulations, chapter on restraining the tongue in fitnah, hadith no. 3973) - Musnad of Imam Ahmad 5:231, 236, 237 - al-Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah 9:65