Nawawi Hadith 26: Sadaqah of the Joints

Part One: Sadaqah of the Joints

Brothers,

Today’s khutbah is based on the 26th hadith in Imam Nawawi’s 40 Hadith:

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'Every day, when the sun comes up, doing justice between two people is a charity. Assisting a man with his mount, lifting him onto it or hoisting up his belongings, is a charity. A good word is a charity. Every step that you take towards the prayer is a charity. And removing a harmful thing from the road is a charity.' (Bukhari & Muslim)

Abu Hurayrah narrated more hadith than any other companion, and this one reaches us through the two most authentic collections in Islam. It answers a question every poor man, every prisoner, every person without wealth has quietly asked: if sadaqah requires money, and I have none, am I locked out of this door of reward?

The Prophet ﷺ answers with mercy. No. Sadaqah is not only coins in a hand. It is renewed every single morning, owed by every joint in your body, and it is paid in justice, in kindness, in footsteps, and in small acts that cost nothing but attention.

There is a related hadith, narrated by Buraydah and recorded by Imam Muslim, that gives the full scope of this obligation:

Every person has three hundred and sixty joints, and he must give charity for every one of them. They asked, 'Who is capable of that, O Prophet of Allah?' He said, 'Removing mucus from the mosque and burying it, or removing a thing from the road that is harmful, and if he cannot find that, then two rak'ahs of Duha will suffice him.' (Muslim)

Three hundred and sixty joints. Every one of them a debt of gratitude to Allah for the body He gave you. Let us walk through the five ways the Prophet ﷺ named to pay it.

Part 1: Justice Between Two People

The Prophet ﷺ begins with the highest form of sadaqah: judging justly between two people. Not preaching. Not fasting. Justice.

Indeed, Allah commands you to return trusts to their rightful owners, and when you judge between people, to judge with justice. What a noble commandment from Allah to you! Surely Allah is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. (An-Nisaa, 4:58)

O you who believe! Stand firm for Allah as witnesses to fair play, and let not the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just, that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah. Surely Allah is All-Aware of what you do. (Al-Maaida, 5:8)

This is not restricted to judges and courts. It is between a husband and wife, two brothers arguing over an inheritance, two friends who fell out, two cellmates who cannot agree. Whenever you have the chance to settle a dispute fairly, without favoring the one you like or punishing the one you dislike, you have given charity, and you have given it for free.

The Prophet ﷺ went further, and named reconciliation as something greater than voluntary worship:

Shall I not inform you of something more excellent in degree than fasting, charity, and prayer? Reconciling between people. And corrupting the relations between people is the shaver, it shaves away the religion, not the hair. (Abu Dawud & Tirmidhi)

Think about that. Not the razor that shaves hair, but the razor that shaves away deen itself. Division between believers destroys faith the way a blade removes hair, cleanly and completely. Repairing that division is charity of the highest order.

Part 2: A Helping Hand

The second form: helping a man onto his mount, or lifting his belongings for him. In our time, this is any physical assistance you give another human being who is struggling with a load he cannot carry alone.

Cooperate with one another in righteousness and piety, and do not cooperate in sin and transgression. And fear Allah. Surely Allah is severe in punishment. (Al-Maaida, 5:2)

Carrying a heavy bag for an elderly man. Helping someone move a piece of furniture. Lending your hands, your back, your time to lighten another person’s physical burden. It requires no money and no special skill, only willingness.

Part 3: A Good Word

The third: a good word. This may be the easiest and the most neglected.

A kind word and forgiveness is better than a charity followed by injury. And Allah is Self-Sufficient, Most Forbearing. (Al-Baqara, 2:263)

Notice the comparison. Allah places a kind word above a monetary charity given with a wounding attitude. Money given with contempt is worth less than sincere words given with love. The Prophet ﷺ told us:

Do not belittle any good deed, even meeting your brother with a cheerful face. (Tirmidhi)

A greeting. A word of encouragement to a man who is struggling. A compliment given honestly. A joke that lifts someone’s spirit in a hard place. These cost you nothing, and Allah counts them as sadaqah.

Part 4: Every Step Toward Prayer

The fourth: every step you take toward the prayer.

Indeed, it is We who bring the dead to life and record what they have put forth and their traces. And all things We have enumerated in a clear register. (Yaseen, 36:12)

This ayah was revealed, according to the commentators, when a tribe near the mosque of the Prophet ﷺ wanted to move closer so their steps to prayer would be fewer. He told them to stay where they were, because their footsteps were being written down, and the farther walk meant a greater reward, not a smaller one.

Whoever purifies himself in his house and then walks to one of the houses of Allah to perform one of the obligatory prayers, one of his two steps will erase a sin and the other will raise him a degree. (Muslim)

Every step here in this facility toward jama’ah, toward the musalla, toward the congregation, is counted. Distance is not a burden here. It is an opportunity.

Part 5: Removing Harm from the Road

The fifth and final form named in the hadith: removing something harmful from the road so no one else is hurt by it. This is the sadaqah of the man with nothing.

While a man was walking along a path, he found a thorny branch on the road and removed it. Allah thanked him for this and forgave him. (Bukhari & Muslim)

Iman has over seventy branches, the highest of which is the declaration that there is no god but Allah, and the lowest of which is the removal of a harmful object from the road. And modesty is a branch of iman. (Muslim)

One man, doing one small thing, with no witnesses and no reward expected, entered the mercy of Allah. Not because the deed was large, but because it was sincere and it protected someone else from harm.

Part Two: A Body Grateful in Every Joint

Brothers,

Every joint you have, your fingers, your wrists, your knees, your ankles, your spine, is a gift from Allah that you did not earn and cannot manufacture. This hadith teaches that gratitude for that gift is not a feeling you carry in your heart alone. It is a debt that is paid daily, in deeds, whether or not you have a single dollar to your name.

Part 6: Charity Without a Wallet

This is why this hadith matters so much for men in this situation. You may have no commissary money this week. You may have no family sending funds. You may feel that the door of sadaqah, and the reward that comes with it, is closed to you.

It is not closed. It was never locked by wealth in the first place.

Sadaqah is not restricted to giving money. Every good deed done sincerely for the sake of Allah, and for the benefit of another person, is a form of sadaqah. (Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Jami' al-'Ulum wal-Hikam)

Justice, a helping hand, a kind word, a deliberate step, removing a hazard. None of these require a commissary account. All five are available to you today, in this unit, behind these walls, regardless of your balance.

Part 7: The Prison Context, Small Justice in a Confined Space

Brothers, think about how these five forms apply directly to your daily life here.

Settling a dispute justly between two men on your unit, without taking sides based on who you like more, is charity, and it may prevent something far worse from happening.

Helping a cellmate carry his property box during a move, or lending a hand when someone is struggling with a task, is charity.

A kind, encouraging word to a man who just got bad news from home, or who is struggling with his time, is charity, and may be the reason he does not give up.

Walking to every prayer you are permitted to attend, with the intention of earning that reward step by step, is charity.

And removing a hazard, water on the floor, broken glass, something that could hurt another inmate or an officer, without waiting to be told, is charity.

None of these require permission from the facility that you do not already have. None of them require money you do not have. They require only that you notice the opportunity and act on it before the sun sets.

Part 8: A Daily, Renewable Door

The Prophet ﷺ said “every day, when the sun comes up.” This means the obligation resets every morning. Yesterday’s charity does not cover today’s debt. But this also means today’s failure does not close tomorrow’s door.

Set yourself a simple daily practice: today, resolve to settle one disagreement fairly, say one word of real encouragement, physically help one person, walk deliberately to one prayer, and remove one piece of harm from your path. If you do all five in a single day, you have paid the debt of your 360 joints in full, and you have done it without spending a single cent.

May Allah accept this small effort and multiply it beyond what we can imagine.

O Allah, make every joint in our bodies a source of gratitude and obedience to You.

O Allah, give us the courage to be just even when justice costs us comfort or friendship.

O Allah, place kind words on our tongues and remove harsh ones from our hearts.

O Allah, make our steps toward the prayer heavy with reward and light with ease.

O Allah, let us see the harm in our path and give us the will to remove it for the sake of others.

O Allah, do not let poverty of wallet ever become poverty of good deeds.

O Allah, multiply for us the reward of every small kindness we offer sincerely for Your sake.

O Allah, make us grateful servants who repay the gift of a healthy body with a life of service.