Chapter: Asking about the Pillars of al-Islaam

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It is reported on the authority of Talha b. 'Ubaidullah that a person with dishevelled hair, one of the people of Nejd, came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). We heard the humming of his voice but could not fully discern what he had been saying, till he came nigh to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). It was then (disclosed to us) that he was asking questions pertaining to Islam. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

Five prayers during the day and the night. (Upon this he said: Am I obliged to say any other (prayer) besides these? He (the Holy Prophet, ) said: No, but whatever you observe voluntarily, out of your own free will, and the fasts of Ramadan. The inquirer said: Am I obliged to do anything else besides this? He (the Holy Prophet) said: No, but whatever you do out of your own free will. And the Messenger of Allah told him about the Zakat (poor-rate). The inquirer said: Am I obliged to pay anything else besides this? He (the Holy Prophet) said: No, but whatever you pay voluntarily out of your own free will. The man turned back and was saying: I would neither make any addition to this, nor will decrease anything out of it. The Prophet remarked: He is successful, if he is true to what he affirms.

Hadeeth of the Bedioun

-The first command is to know the Usool ad-Deen, even if the person doesn’t know the Daleel for his Aqeedah, this was stated by Ibn Salaah.

[TN: this is incorrect as the statement of the Prophet to the bedioun is Daleel in itself, but Ahl as-Sunnah are agreed that the Emaan of a Muqallid is valid]

-The Hadeeth shows that each pillar has Faraa’id and everything else is optional.

The word “Illaa” (translated above as "No, but whatever you pay voluntarily out of your own free will") is said to mean "rather". 

So the meaning is “No, rather you should do more optional.” 

Others said the wording means that he won't add to what is obligatory in quantity or amount (thus corresponding with the above translation).

-It is proof that there are only five prayers, al-Witr and al-'Eid not being Waajib and likewise fasting the day of 'Aashooraa' is not Wajib neither.

-It is permissible to mention Ramadhaan without saying the 'month of' Ramadhan.

-One must affirm what is Haraam and stay away from it, but as for Halaal he is only bound to affirm it without needing to indulge in it.

Benefits in Mustalah al-Hadeeth

-The wording of some narrations differ from the companion, but this doesn’t affect the authenticity. Either they add more information, in which case Ziyaadah ath-Thiqah is accepted or at times the narrator withhold information if they are unsure.

 -‘Amash comes with "‘An'Anah'" in Saheeh Muslim, but Muslim only uses these narrations if there are Shawaahid (supporting chains) or Tataabu’ (follow up chains). Therefore, there is no Tadlees in the chains of Imaam Muslim. 

-Ibn ‘Umar heard the Hadeeth of al-Islaam being built in both ways, some proceed with the wording of “Ramadaan” before “Hajj” and some after. All of these are Marfoo’. 

Ibn Salaah stated that Ibn ‘Umar narrated the Hadeeth by meaning, however an-Nawawi stated that the Usl is that he narrated as he heard it, and there is a chain which states that Ibn ‘Umar affirms he heard it with that wording as reported in Muslim.

Ibn Salaah also suggest that the Hadeeth of “Ramadhaan” before Hajj is narrated in chronological order, however an-Nawawi suggests that this is weak also because if we make this a condition to narrate Ahadeeth then the wording of many narrations will become disorganised. 

Furthermore to prove that the point that both wordings are correctly attributed to the Prophet, the majority have stated the acts of worship mentioned in this narration and others like it doesn’t necessitate a particular order.

[Sharh Muslim 1/238-250]

Source of Hadeeth: https://sunnah.com/muslim/1