1/12. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 37b — Modesty Is Good Through and Through
Clarifying the number of branches of faith, the best and the least of them, the virtue of modesty (Al-Haya') and the fact that it is part of faith
Modesty Is All Good: The Hadith of 'Imran bin Husain
Sahih Muslim : 37b
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 37b
حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ حَبِيبٍ الْحَارِثِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، عَنْ إِسْحَاقَ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ سُوَيْدٍ - أَنَّ أَبَا قَتَادَةَ، حَدَّثَ قَالَ كُنَّا عِنْدَ عِمْرَانَ بْنِ حُصَيْنٍ فِي رَهْطٍ مِنَّا وَفِينَا بُشَيْرُ بْنُ كَعْبٍ فَحَدَّثَنَا عِمْرَانُ، يَوْمَئِذٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " الْحَيَاءُ خَيْرٌ كُلُّهُ " . قَالَ أَوْ قَالَ " الْحَيَاءُ كُلُّهُ خَيْرٌ " . فَقَالَ بُشَيْرُ بْنُ كَعْبٍ إِنَّا لَنَجِدُ فِي بَعْضِ الْكُتُبِ أَوِ الْحِكْمَةِ أَنَّ مِنْهُ سَكِينَةً وَوَقَارًا لِلَّهِ وَمِنْهُ ضَعْفٌ . قَالَ فَغَضِبَ عِمْرَانُ حَتَّى احْمَرَّتَا عَيْنَاهُ وَقَالَ أَلاَ أُرَانِي أُحَدِّثُكَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم وَتُعَارِضُ فِيهِ . قَالَ فَأَعَادَ عِمْرَانُ الْحَدِيثَ قَالَ فَأَعَادَ بُشَيْرٌ فَغَضِبَ عِمْرَانُ قَالَ فَمَا زِلْنَا نَقُولُ فِيهِ إِنَّهُ مِنَّا يَا أَبَا نُجَيْدٍ إِنَّهُ لاَ بَأْسَ بِهِ .
Qatada Narrated from:
We were sitting with 'Imran b. Husain in a company and Bushair ibn Ka'b was also amongst us. 'Imran narrated to us that on a certain occasion the Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him) said: Modesty is a virtue through and through, or said: Modesty is a goodness complete. Upon this Bushair ibn Ka'b said: Verily we find in certain books or books of (wisdom) that it is God-inspired peace of mind or sobriety for the sake of Allah and there is also a weakness in it.Imran was so much enraged that his eyes became red and he said: I am narrating to you the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and you are contradicting it. He (the narrator) said: Imran reported the hadith, He (the narrator) said: Bushair repeated, (the same thing). Imran was enraged. He (the narrator) said: We asserted: Verily Bushair is one amongst us. Abu Nujaid! There is nothing wrong, with him (Bushair).
Reference : Sahih Muslim 37bIn-book reference : Book 1, Hadith 64USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 1, Hadith 60
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 37b
This hadith about modesty is all good presents the same message with more detail. 'Imran b. Husain narrated that the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said modesty is virtue through and through, or that modesty is goodness complete. Bushair ibn Ka'b mentioned that some books described modesty as bringing calmness and dignity, but also mentioned weakness. 'Imran became angry because he saw this as opposing the hadith he had just narrated. The people then tried to calm the situation by saying Bushair was one of them and there was nothing wrong with him. The main teaching remains clear: the Prophetic statement praises haya as good, and it should not be contradicted carelessly.
What we learn from this hadith
- The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) described modesty as goodness complete.
- 'Imran strongly defended the wording of the hadith.
- The narration warns against opposing a Prophetic report with another claim.
- The people present tried to ease the tension while respecting the hadith.
