said:
“While a man was walking [along a road] (1), he found a thorny branch lying on the road and moved it aside. Allah appreciated his deed and forgave him.” (2)
It is also narrated from Abū Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with him—that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said:
“A woman entered the Fire because of a cat she had tied up: she neither fed it nor allowed it to eat from the small creatures of the earth, until it died.” (3)
The woman who gave the dog water did so with pure faith in her heart (4), and she was therefore forgiven; otherwise, not every prostitute who gives water to a dog is forgiven. Likewise, the man who moved the thorny branch off the road did so at that moment with pure faith and [sincerity] firmly present in his heart (5), and he was forgiven because of that. Deeds differ in merit according to the faith and sincerity within people’s hearts. Indeed, two men may stand in the same row, yet between
(1) N and M read: “on a road.”
(2) This is the first part of a hadith narrated from Abū Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with him—in al-Bukhārī, 1/128 (Book of the Call to Prayer, Chapter on the Virtue of Going Early to the Zuhr Prayer); Muslim, 3/1521 (Book of Leadership, Chapter Identifying the Martyrs), 4/2021 (Book of Virtue, Maintaining Ties, and Etiquette, Chapter on the Virtue of Removing Harm from the Road); Sunan Abī Dāwūd, 4/490 (Book of Etiquette, Chapter on Removing Harm from the Road); and Sunan al-Tirmidhī, 3/230 (Book of Virtue and Maintaining Ties, Chapter on Reports Concerning the Removal of Harm from the Road). The hadith is also found in al-Muwatta and al-Musnad.
(3) The hadith is narrated from Ibn Umar—may Allah be pleased with them both—in al-Bukhārī, 4/130 (Book of the Beginning of Creation, Chapter on Five Harmful Animals That May Be Killed in the Sacred Precinct). It also appears in two other places in al-Bukhārī; Muslim, 4/2022–2023 (Book of Virtue, Maintaining Ties, and Etiquette, Chapter on the Prohibition of Tormenting Cats and Similar Animals), as well as two other places in Muslim; Sunan al-Nasā’ī; Ibn Mājah; al-Dārimī; and numerous places in al-Musnad.
(4) The phrase “that was in her heart” is omitted in H and B.
(5) N and M read: “through sincere faith that had taken root in his heart.”