1832 – It is related from Abū Thaʿlabah al-Khushani, Jurthum ibn Nāshir — may Allah be pleased with him — that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Allah, the Exalted, has laid down obligatory duties, so do not neglect them. He has drawn limits, so do not overstep them. He has forbidden certain matters, so do not violate them. And He has kept silent about other things out of mercy for you, not out of forgetfulness; therefore, do not go in search of them.”
This is a ḥasan (sound) ḥadith recorded by al-Dāraqutnī and others.
[Commentary]
These ḥadiths are among the scattered gems that Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy on him, placed at the end of Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn. In this narration Abū Thaʿlabah al-Khushani reports that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah has prescribed obligatory duties, so do not neglect them; He has set limits, so do not transgress them; and He has remained silent about certain matters as a mercy to you, so do not investigate them.”
The Prophet ﷺ mentions three distinct clauses and indicates the ruling attached to each.
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Allah has enjoined obligations. The greatest of all is tawḥīd: bearing witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. In the first testimony lies the oneness of Allah in worship — that none is worshipped besides Him; in the second lies singling out the Prophet ﷺ for imitation, so that no one else is followed apart from him. This is the most binding of all duties.
After it come the five daily prayers, the payment of zakāt, fasting, pilgrimage, honouring one’s parents, maintaining family ties, good neighbourliness, truthfulness, sincere counsel, and many other obligations Allah Most High has placed upon His servants.
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Some of these duties are individual obligations binding on every single person, while others are collective obligations; if a sufficient number perform them, the rest are absolved of sin. The five daily prayers are an individual obligation that every Muslim must establish, and the funeral prayer is