Hadith 31 & 32 — Letting Go and Doing No Harm
[Arabic,إِنَّ الْحَمْدَ لِلَّهِ، نَحْمَدُهُ وَنَسْتَعِينُهُ وَنَسْتَغْفِرُهُ، وَنَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شُرُورِ أَنْفُسِنَا وَسَيِّئَاتِ أَعْمَالِنَا، مَنْ يَهْدِهِ اللَّهُ فَلَا مُضِلَّ لَهُ، وَمَنْ يُضْلِلْ فَلَا هَادِيَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، وَأَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ.]
Indeed, all praise is for Allah. We praise Him, seek His help, and His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evil within ourselves and from the consequences of our wrong actions. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can misguide; whomsoever He leaves astray, none can guide. I bear witness there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah alone without partner, and Muhammad ﷺ is His servant and Messenger.
Part One
Brothers, we continue our walk through Imam Nawawi's forty hadiths. Last week we covered Hadith 29 — the staircase up — and Hadith 30 — the shape of the ground. Today's two hadiths answer two of the deepest questions a man can ask: how do I become loved by Allah and by people? — and how do I stop hurting and being hurt?
Hadith 31 is narrated by Sahl ibn Sa'd al-Sa'idi, may Allah be pleased with him. He said:
[Hadith,Sunan Ibn Majah (hasan),"A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: O Messenger of Allah, direct me to an action which, if I do it, Allah will love me and people will love me. He said: Renounce the world and Allah will love you, and renounce what people possess and people will love you."]
Subhan'Allah. Look at the question. A man came asking for ONE act that would earn the love of the Creator AND the love of the creation. He did not ask for a long list. He asked for a single move that would secure both. And the Prophet ﷺ — in one breath — gave it. Two renunciations. One for Allah. One for people.
First: "Renounce the world and Allah will love you."
Izhad fi al-dunya — renounce the world. What does this mean? Not what some imagine. The Prophet ﷺ is not telling you to throw away your possessions, abandon your family, or live in a cave. Zuhd — renunciation — is not poverty. It is the heart that does not love the dunya.
Many of the companions were wealthy. Abu Bakr, Uthman, Abdul-Rahman ibn Awf — they had property, businesses, families. They were not poor. But they were zahid. Their hearts did not belong to their wealth. Their wealth belonged to them, and they directed it toward Allah.
Allah says:
[Quran,57:20,"Know that this worldly life is no more than play, amusement, luxury, mutual boasting, and competition in wealth and children. It is like rain that causes plants to grow, to the delight of the planters. But later the plants dry up and you see them wither, then they are reduced to chaff."]
Look at the progression. Play. Amusement. Luxury. Boasting. Competition. That is the dunya without a frame around it. And then look at the end — dried up, withered, reduced to chaff. Whatever you chase from it, you will leave behind.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
[Hadith,Sahih al-Bukhari,"Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a wayfarer."]
A stranger has no investment in the place he is passing through. A wayfarer is just looking for the next rest stop. Live like that. Use what Allah gave you — but do not love it.
Brothers, listen carefully. Most of the dunya has already been taken from you. Your freedom, your possessions, your daily comforts — the world stripped itself off you the day you walked through that gate. Most men experience that as the worst thing that could happen. But for the man who understands this hadith, it is an opportunity. The fight your free brother has — to detach his heart from things he is still holding — you do not have to fight. The detachment is already done for you. The question is: will you use it? Will you say al-hamdu lillah, my heart is free — and lean into worship and learning? Or will you spend every day longing for what is no longer in your hand?
Allah loves the one who lets go.
Second: "Renounce what people possess and people will love you."
This is the second half — and in this environment, it is the one that lands hardest.
The Prophet ﷺ did not say if you want people to love you, give them gifts. He said: renounce what they have. Stop wanting what is in their hands. Because nothing destroys a relationship faster than the feeling that the other person wants something from you. The man who is always eyeing his cellmate's commissary. The man who watches who gets what mail, whose family visits, who gets called for parole. The man whose eyes are always on what is in someone else's hand. That man cannot be loved. He can only be tolerated, watched, kept at distance.
Allah says:
[Quran,20:131,"Do not let your eyes dwell longingly on the things We have given some of them to enjoy. ˹It is only˺ the temporary splendour of this worldly life, through which We test them. But your Lord's provision ˹for you˺ is far better and more lasting."]
Do not let your eyes dwell longingly. That is the verb — eyes that lock onto what is not yours. Allah is telling you: keep your eyes off it. What He gave that man is the test for that man. What He gave you is the test for you. The two are not in competition.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
[Hadith,Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim,"Richness is not having many possessions. Richness is the contentment of the soul."]
Al-ghina ghina al-nafs. Real wealth is the wealth of the soul. The man who has little but is content is rich. The man who has much but always wants more is poor. In this place, you cannot control what you have. But you can control whether your soul is rich.
And the Prophet's promise is built right into this. The man who does not envy his brother, who does not eye his brother's plate, who does not measure himself against what others have — that man is safe. People feel safe around him. He has no agenda. He is not a competitor. He becomes someone others actually want to be around.
Third: Why these two specifically?
Brothers, ask yourself: why did the Prophet ﷺ pair THESE two renunciations? Why not "pray a lot" + "be generous"? He could have given dozens of answers.
He chose these because the dunya is the chief rival to Allah in the heart, and envy of what people have is the chief poison in human relationships. The man who masters both — Allah loves him because his heart is clear of competitors, and people love him because his heart is clear of envy.
Allah warns us about what consumes the heart of the heedless:
[Quran,102:1-2,"The competition for more ˹of this world˺ diverts you ˹from Allah˺ until you end up in ˹your˺ graves."]
Al-takathur — competition for more. The whole surah is a warning about this single disease. It distracts, occupies, consumes — and the only thing that stops it is the grave. Most men never escape it. The Prophet ﷺ is offering you the escape: renounce both. Not in your hand — in your heart.
And alongside the warning, Allah gives us the balance:
[Quran,28:77,"Rather, seek the ˹reward˺ of the Hereafter by means of what Allah has granted you, without forgetting your share of this world. And be good ˹to others˺ as Allah has been good to you. Do not seek to spread corruption in the land, for Allah certainly does not love the corruptors."]
This is the balanced posture. Use what Allah gave you to chase the Hereafter. Do not forget your share of this life — Islam does not deny it. Do good, as Allah was good to you. And do not spread corruption. That is the believer's walk: feet in this world, eyes on the next, hands open to others, heart free of attachment.
Fourth: Knowing what zuhd actually is.
Brothers, this is where knowledge matters. Zuhd is one of the most misunderstood concepts in the religion. Some think it means walking around in rags pretending to be poor. Others think it means hating the dunya and being miserable. Both are wrong.
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, captured the principle precisely:
[Quote,Madarij al-Salikin (Ibn al-Qayyim),"Zuhd is the heart's emptying itself of attachment to the dunya — not the hand's emptying itself of the dunya. The dunya may be in your hand, but it must not be in your heart."]
The hand can hold wealth, family, work, plans. None of that is zuhd or against zuhd. The heart is the issue. Is the heart attached, or is it free? For the new Muslim — do not let anyone confuse you on this. Islam does not command poverty. It commands a free heart. Learn this, and learn the difference between halal renunciation and the false renunciation that comes from laziness or self-pity.
Part Two
We turn now to Hadith 32. If Hadith 31 was about the inner posture toward the dunya, Hadith 32 is about the outer posture toward other human beings. It is one of the shortest hadiths in Imam Nawawi's collection — and one of the largest in scope.
Narrated by Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
[Hadith,Sunan Ibn Majah and Sunan al-Daraqutni (hasan),"There shall be no harm and no reciprocating harm."]
In Arabic, just five words: la darar wa la dirar.
Subhan'Allah. Look at how compressed this is. Two prohibitions. One sentence. And from this single phrase, the scholars of fiqh have built entire books of rulings.
First: One of the five great maxims.
Brothers, you may not have heard this before, so listen. The scholars have identified five great maxims — al-qawa'id al-fiqhiyya al-kubra — that govern almost everything in Islamic law. These five rules sit under thousands of specific rulings. And one of them comes directly from this hadith: la darar wa la dirar.
That means when a scholar faces a new situation, and no direct verse or hadith addresses it, this is one of the first tools he reaches for. Does this action cause harm? Does it return harm for harm? If yes, it is restricted or forbidden, even without a specific text against it. The Prophet ﷺ gave us, in five words, a principle that protects the entire Umma from countless harms.
Second: "No harm" — la darar — the prohibition of initiating harm.
The first half forbids the believer from causing harm to others in the first place. Not physical harm only. ANY harm. Financial harm. Reputational harm. Emotional harm. Spiritual harm. Harm to a man's family. Harm to his name.
Allah says:
[Quran,33:58,"As for those who abuse believing men and women unjustifiably, they will definitely bear the guilt of slander and blatant sin."]
You cannot spread rumors. You cannot cheat in your dealings. You cannot mislead someone into a bad decision. All of these fall under darar. And the Prophet ﷺ said:
[Hadith,Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim,"The Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand other Muslims are safe."]
A Muslim is, by definition, a man who is safe to be near. If you are not safe to be near — if your tongue cuts, if your hands strike, if your dealings cheat — you have lost the basic definition the Prophet ﷺ gave us. And he made the point even sharper:
[Hadith,Sahih al-Bukhari,"By Allah, he does not believe. By Allah, he does not believe. By Allah, he does not believe. It was said: Who, O Messenger of Allah? He said: The one whose neighbor is not safe from his harm."]
Three times: he does not believe. The man whose neighbor — meaning the closest people around him, the men in the next bunk, the brother across the cell — is not safe from his harm is a man whose iman has gone missing. Test yourself by this. Are the men closest to you safer or less safe because of you?
Third: "No reciprocating harm" — la dirar — the prohibition of retaliating beyond justice.
The second half is the one most people miss. The Prophet ﷺ forbade not only initiating harm — but also returning harm for harm beyond what justice permits.
In Islam, you have the right to seek justice if you are wronged. You can take a man to a qadi. You can demand what is owed to you. You can defend yourself. None of that is forbidden. What is forbidden is going BEYOND what justice allows. He hurt you, so you hurt him worse. He took from you, so you destroy him. He slighted you, so you ruin his name.
Allah says:
[Quran,16:126,"If you retaliate, then let it be equivalent to what you have suffered. But if you patiently endure, it is certainly best for those who patiently endure."]
Two principles in one verse. If you retaliate — equal, not more. And patience is better than retaliation. Equal is the floor of permissibility. Patience is the ceiling of excellence.
The Prophet ﷺ himself was the example. When the people of Ta'if stoned him until his sandals filled with blood, and the angel of the mountains came offering to crush them — he said no. He did not return harm for harm. He said: perhaps from their descendants will come those who worship Allah alone. That is the man we are following. That is the standard.
Fourth: How this lives in this place.
Brothers, you live in an environment where the cycle of harm is the dominant logic. Someone disrespects you, so you disrespect him. Someone shoulder-checks you, so you push back. Someone takes your spot in line, so you take revenge tomorrow. The whole place runs on dirar — reciprocating harm, often escalated.
The Prophet ﷺ told you, in five words, to step out of that cycle.
This does not mean become a doormat. It does not mean accept abuse. It means: do not become an engine of harm. Do not let your hand or your tongue make the situation worse than it needs to be. If you must defend yourself, do it with justice. If you can let it go, let it go. The pause between the offense and your response — that is where your iman lives.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
[Hadith,Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim,"The strong man is not the one who wrestles others to the ground. The strong man is the one who controls himself when he is angry."]
Strong is not loud. Strong is not retaliatory. Strong is controlled. Strong is the man who, when his fists want to swing and his tongue wants to cut, holds them back for Allah's sake. In this place, that kind of strength is rare. The men who have it earn respect that lasts. The men who do not spend their whole sentence reacting and lose themselves in the process.
Fifth: The two hadiths together.
Hadith 31 said: free your heart from the dunya and from what people possess. Hadith 32 said: free your hands and tongue from harming others, even in return.
A man whose heart is free from the dunya has no reason to harm anyone for it. A man who envies what others have is the man most likely to harm them to get it, or out of resentment. So Hadith 31 actually feeds Hadith 32. Letting go is what makes "no harm and no reciprocating harm" possible in practice.
And both hadiths require what we have been saying for weeks: knowledge. Knowledge of what zuhd really is, so you do not confuse it with poverty or self-pity. Knowledge of what counts as harm and what does not, so you can navigate justice correctly. Knowledge that la darar wa la dirar is a foundational principle of the entire Shari'ah, so you treat it with the weight it deserves.
Allah says:
[Quran,1:6,"Guide us along the Straight Path."]
The Straight Path is the heart that lets go and the hand that does no harm. The man with a free heart and safe hands is the one the Prophet ﷺ described — loved by Allah, trusted by people, walking lightly through this world toward the next.
O Allah, free our hearts from the love of the dunya and from envy of what others have.
O Allah, make our hands safe and our tongues safe so that those around us find peace from us.
O Allah, when we are wronged, give us the strength to respond with justice, and the higher strength to forgive.
O Allah, teach us the difference between true renunciation and false renunciation, between rightful defense and forbidden retaliation.
O Allah, let these two hadiths shape our hearts and our hands until the day we meet You.
We ask Allah to make us firm upon His straight path, to guide us and not let us go astray, to have mercy on us and forgive us.
Whatever good was said in this khutbah is from Allah alone, and whatever mistakes or errors are from myself and from Shaytan. I ask Allah to forgive me and you for any shortcomings.
I say these words of mine, and I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and you all. Seek His forgiveness—indeed, He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
[Arabic,أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا، وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ، فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ.]