Nawawi Hadith 25: Every Tasbihah Counts

Part One: A Complaint the Prophet Answered With Mercy

Brothers,

Today’s khutbah is based on the 25th hadith in Imam Nawawi’s 40 Hadith:

On the authority of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), that some of the companions said to the Prophet ﷺ, 'O Messenger of Allah, the wealthy have taken away all the reward. They pray as we pray, they fast as we fast, and they give charity from the surplus of their wealth.' He ﷺ said, 'Has Allah not made things for you to give charity with? Every tasbihah is a charity, every takbirah is a charity, every tahmidah is a charity, every tahlilah is a charity, enjoining good is a charity, forbidding evil is a charity, and in the marital relations of each of you there is a charity.' They said, 'O Messenger of Allah, will one of us have a reward when he satisfies his desire?' He ﷺ said, 'Do you not see that if he satisfied it unlawfully, he would be sinning? Likewise, if he satisfies it lawfully, he will have a reward.' (Muslim)

This hadith opens with an honest complaint. A group of poor companions came to the Prophet ﷺ and said something that most of us have felt at some point: it feels like the people with wealth get all the advantages, even the advantage of racing ahead in reward before Allah. They prayed the same prayers, fasted the same fasts, but the wealthy could also give charity from their surplus, adding to their reward in a way the poor companions could not match.

The Prophet ﷺ’s answer did not dismiss their feeling. He answered it with a reframing so complete that it changed the entire conversation about what charity even is.

Part 1: Charity Was Never Only About Money

The Prophet ﷺ began his answer with a question: has Allah not made things for you to give charity with? Then he listed them: every tasbihah, saying SubhanAllah, is a charity. Every takbirah, saying Allahu Akbar, is a charity. Every tahmidah, saying Alhamdulillah, is a charity. Every tahlilah, saying La ilaha illallah, is a charity.

Those who criticize the contributors among the believers concerning their charities and the ones who find nothing to spend except their effort, so they ridicule them, Allah will ridicule them, and they will have a painful punishment. (At-Tawba, 9:79)

This verse describes exactly the kind of unfair comparison the poor companions were suffering under, being looked down on for having less to give. Allah’s response, both in this verse and through this hadith, is to validate what the poor believer does have: effort, remembrance, and sincerity, none of which require a single coin.

Two words are light on the tongue, heavy on the Scale, and beloved to the Most Merciful: SubhanAllahi wa bihamdihi, SubhanAllahil-Azim. (Muslim)

Think about what this means for anyone who has ever felt behind in the race toward good deeds because of limited resources. The words that are heaviest on the Scale of the Day of Judgment cost nothing at all. A man with nothing in his pocket can outweigh a man with a full bank account, simply by moving his tongue in remembrance of Allah more sincerely and more often.

Part 2: Even the Ordinary Becomes Charity

The Prophet ﷺ then extended this principle even further: enjoining good is a charity, forbidding evil is a charity, and even in the marital relations of each of you there is a charity.

This last example startled the companions enough that they asked directly: will we be rewarded for satisfying our own desire? And the Prophet ﷺ gave one of the most important teaching moments in the entire hadith: do you not see that if he satisfied it unlawfully, he would be sinning? So too, if he satisfies it lawfully, he will have a reward.

And of His signs is that He created for you from yourselves mates that you may find tranquility in them, and He placed between you affection and mercy. (Ar-Room, 30:21)

This teaches something enormous about the Islamic worldview: the same action can be sin or reward, entirely depending on whether it is done within the boundaries Allah set. Nothing in a believer’s ordinary life, even the most private and physical matters, is disconnected from reward and accountability. Everything is charged with meaning, if done with awareness of Allah.

Part 3: The Same Standard Applies to Every Deed

This principle, that Allah measures the effort available to each person rather than only the size of what they can afford, appears throughout the Quran and Sunnah.

Whoever cannot find [the means], then let him fast three days. (Bukhari)

This is drawn from the instructions given to a man who could not afford the expiation for an oath, showing that Allah’s law always accounts for capacity. A man without wealth is never simply excluded from reward. He is given a different path to the same reward, calibrated to what he actually has.

This hadith shows that acts of worship are not limited to spending wealth, for the doors of good are many, and the poor man has as much access to reward through remembrance and righteous conduct as the wealthy man has through his charity. (Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Jami' al-'Ulum wal-Hikam)

Part Two: The Reward Available to the Man With Nothing

Brothers,

Part 4: A Race Nobody Is Locked Out Of

There is something deeply important in the structure of this hadith that we must not miss. The complaint of the poor companions was not corrected by telling them their feelings were wrong. It was corrected by opening a door they had not seen.

Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the men who give charity and the women who give charity, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember Allah often and the women who remember Him, Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward. (Al-Ahzaab, 33:35)

Notice that this verse places “the men who remember Allah often and the women who remember Him” in the same list as those who give charity, fast, and guard their chastity. Remembrance stands shoulder to shoulder with charity in the eyes of Allah. No one is locked out of this race by lack of money. The only thing that could lock a man out is lack of effort.

Part 5: Currency That Cannot Be Taken From You

Brothers, this hadith speaks with unusual directness to men in a place like this one, where most of you have little or no wealth to give, no bank account, no surplus, sometimes barely enough for your own needs.

The poor companions in this hadith felt exactly what many of you may feel: that others out there are racing ahead in good deeds through charity you simply cannot match from where you sit. This hadith is Allah’s mercy reaching directly into that feeling. SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, La ilaha illallah, these cost nothing, and this facility cannot take them from you. No property restriction, no commissary limit, no lockdown can stop your tongue from moving in remembrance of Allah.

Enjoining good and forbidding evil is also charity, and this too is available to you here. When you see a younger brother about to make a mistake and you steer him gently toward something better, that is charity. When you refuse to join in something haram and your refusal quietly influences someone else to also refuse, that is charity. You do not need money to be a source of good in this environment. You need presence, sincerity, and a willingness to speak up when it matters.

Some of you may feel that because you have nothing to give in the traditional sense, your worship here counts for less than it would outside. This hadith corrects that directly. Allah is not measuring your bank balance. He is measuring your tongue, your effort, and your intention. A man in this facility, saying SubhanAllah with a sincere heart fifty times in a day, may be recording more weight on the Scale than a wealthy man outside who gives generously but rarely remembers Allah at all.

Part 6: Practical Ways to Race Without Wealth

Fill your idle time with the words named in this hadith. SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, La ilaha illallah, said with presence and sincerity, count as real charity in the sight of Allah.

Speak up when you see something wrong. Enjoining good and forbidding evil does not require standing or resources, only courage and sincerity, both of which are available to you regardless of your circumstances.

Guide a struggling brother quietly. A word of advice, a moment of encouragement, steering someone away from a bad decision, this is charity that costs nothing but attention and care.

Let go of comparison entirely. The wealthy man’s charity and your remembrance are both counted before Allah. Stop measuring yourself against what you cannot give, and start measuring yourself against what you can.

Guard the lawful boundaries you do have control over. As the hadith shows, staying within what Allah has permitted turns even ordinary matters into reward. The reverse is equally true, so guard those boundaries carefully.

O Allah, You who accept the smallest sincere word of remembrance, fill our tongues with Your praise.

O Allah, do not let us feel excluded from Your reward because of what we lack in wealth.

O Allah, make every SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, and La ilaha illallah we say a real charity recorded in our favor.

O Allah, give us the courage to enjoin what is good and forbid what is evil, even when we have nothing else to give.

O Allah, remove envy from our hearts toward those with more than us, and replace it with gratitude for what You have given us.

O Allah, make our idle hours in this place hours filled with Your remembrance rather than wasted time.

O Allah, count us among the men who remember You often, as You have promised them forgiveness and a great reward.

O Allah, let no man among us feel poor in good deeds when the door of remembrance stands open to him at every moment.