nawawiDay.arabicText

nawawiDay.englishTranslation

— an-Nawwās ibn Sam‘ān (RA) (Muslim)

nawawiDay.commentary

The internal compass: when an act unsettles you and you'd hide it from people — there is something wrong, even if it can't be named.

nawawiDay.extendedExplanation

Two definitions in one breath. Birr (righteousness) = good character. Ithm (sin) = what unsettles you and you would hide from people. The first hands us the standard for action; the second hands us the internal alarm system.

Ibn Rajab notes: the Prophet ﷺ refers the sinner to his own heart — ‘istafti qalbak’ in the related Wābiṣah hadith. The fitrah, when not fully buried, recognises sin even when scholars permit something out of subtle interpretation. This is not license to follow desire over revelation — but a confirmation that, in matters where revelation is silent or ambiguous, the sound believer’s heart leans away from what disturbs it.

nawawiDay.fromScholars

"The unease of the heart is for the believer whose fitrah is alive. For the one whose heart is dead from sin, even great evils no longer unsettle him — so the sign no longer applies to him."

— Ibn Rajab · Jāmi‘ al-‘Ulūm wa al-Ḥikam

"Good character is not just gentleness — it is restraint when angry, generosity when poor, forgiveness when wronged, and patience when tested."

— Ibn ‘Uthaymīn

nawawiDay.fiqhRulings

  • •Birr includes obligatory worship — but here, the Prophet ﷺ singles out character, indicating its weight.
  • •‘What you would hide from people’ is a sign of sin — but does NOT mean ‘what is socially unfashionable.’ Cultural shame is not the criterion; revelation is.
  • •If the heart is unsettled in a clearly halal matter (e.g., a permitted business transaction), it may be wara‘ — leaving for the safer is recommended.

nawawiDay.quranCrossRefs

2:177The classical Qur’ānic definition of birr — extending across belief, worship, and conduct.
68:4‘And indeed you (Muhammad) are upon a great character.’

nawawiDay.keyVocab

البِرُّal-birr

righteousness / goodness

حُسْنُ الخُلُقِḥusnu al-khuluq

good character

حَاكَḥāka

wavered / unsettled

يَطَّلِعَyaṭṭali‘a

to discover / find out

nawawiDay.todaysReflection

Listen to your fitrah today. What unsettles you? Pull away.

nawawiDay.keyBenefits

  • 1Character is a measure of religion.
  • 2The sound heart is its own evidence.

nawawiDay.warnings

  • ⚠Heart-based judgement is not a substitute for sharī‘ah-based ruling — when revelation speaks clearly, the heart submits.
  • ⚠‘I would hide it from people’ can be misused — some good deeds (private worship, secret ṣadaqah) are also hidden out of ikhlāṣ. The criterion is unease, not concealment alone.

nawawiDay.relatedHadiths

Ahmad — Wābiṣah: ‘Consult your heart…’

Tirmidhi — ‘The heaviest thing on the scale is good character’

nawawiDay.memorisation