so that the attendees may benefit and he may serve as a teacher to them.
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This, too, is evidence of the blessing inherent in knowledge: both the questioner and the respondent gain from it, as he said here, “He came to teach you your religion.”
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It also shows that this hadith is momentous, for it encompasses the whole of the religion—hence the Prophet’s words, “He came to teach you your religion.” It contains the fundamentals of belief and the fundamentals of practice, namely the five pillars of Islam. Allah alone grants success.
61_ The second: Narrated by Abū Dharr (Jundub ibn Junādah) and Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Muʿādh ibn Jabal—may Allah be pleased with them both—from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: “Fear Allah wherever you are; follow a bad deed with a good one and it will erase it; and treat people with fine character.” Reported by al-Tirmidhī, who classified it as fair (ḥasan).
Explanation: This narration is one of the Forty Hadith compiled by the author—may Allah have mercy on him—in which the Prophet, peace be upon him, gives three magnificent counsels.