This ḥadith is proof that Allah speaks, and that He does so with speech that is both audible and intelligible, needing no translator; the one addressed understands it directly.

It is also proof that even the smallest charity shields one from the Fire, for he ﷺ said, “Guard yourselves against the Fire, even with half a date.”

He then said, “If he does not find one, then with a good word,” meaning that if a person lacks even half a date, he should protect himself from the Fire with a good word.

A good word covers reciting the Quran—for the finest of all words is the Noble Quran. It includes tasbīḥ (glorifying Allah) and tahlīl (declaring His oneness), enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, teaching knowledge and learning it, indeed every utterance by which a person seeks closeness to his Lord. In other words, if you cannot find half a date, then shield yourself from the Fire with a good word.

This shows the many, easy avenues of goodness. Praise be to Allah that half a date can save one from the Fire, and that a good word can spare one from the Fire. We ask Allah to protect us and you from the Fire.

140 — The twenty-fourth: Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Allah is truly pleased with a servant who, when he eats a morsel of food, praises Him for it, or when he drinks a draught of water, praises Him for it.” Collected by Muslim.