Goodness of Islam — leaving what does not concern one

حسن الإسلام وترك ما لا يعني

Part of the goodness of a person's Islam is leaving what does not concern him in word and deed and confining himself to what does; Ibn Rajab explains that 'concerns him' means what his purposeful attention attaches to, and that the leaving is governed by the ruling of the sharia and Islam rather than by whim or the soul's desire — which is why the Prophet ﷺ made it a mark of the goodness of one's Islam; when a person's Islam is sound it entails leaving all that does not concern him of the forbidden, the doubtful, the disliked, and the superfluous among the permissible for which he has no need, rising thereby to the station of ihsan, from which, together with watchfulness, is born modesty before God and the abandoning of all that occasions shame; Ibn Rajab calls it a great foundation of the foundations of proper conduct and cites Abu Amr ibn al-Salah reporting from Abu Muhammad ibn Abi Zayd, the Maliki imam of his time, that the conduct of goodness and all its reins branch from four hadiths: 'whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him speak good or keep silent', this hadith, 'do not become angry', and 'the believer loves for his brother what he loves for himself'.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Prophetic Era
Region
Global / Diaspora
Review
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Spirituality and Sufism

Overview

Among the goodness of a person's Islam, as in the twelfth hadith of the Forty, is leaving what does not concern him of speech and deed. Ibn Rajab explains it on pages 268 to 271. 1

The meaning of "concerns him"

Ibn Rajab explains that "concerns him" means what his care is attached to and is among his aims. Leaving it is by the ruling of the Law, not by the ruling of desire and the soul's pursuit. 2

What leaving includes

In Ibn Rajab's view, the goodness of Islam requires leaving forbidden things, doubtful things, reprehensible things, and the excess of permissible things that one does not need. This reaches the level of excellence, and from watchfulness and excellence comes modesty before God. 3

Four hadiths

He calls it a great root of the principles of good manners. He relates from Abu Amr ibn al-Salah, from Abu Muhammad ibn Abi Zayd, that the branches of good manners spring from four hadiths: "Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him say what is good or keep silent"; this hadith; "Do not become angry"; and "the believer loves for his brother what he loves for himself." 4

Connections

Explore the connections

Based on
Arba'un 12 — leaving what does not concern one
Basis for
Prophetic adab (proper conduct)· Ihsan (excellence in worship)

People and things also explored

Iman (faith)· Ghadab (anger)· Guarding the tongue· Husn al-khuluq (good character)· Sabr (patience and steadfast endurance)· Prophetic adab (proper conduct)· Ihsan (excellence in worship)· Arba'un 2 — the hadith of Jibril

Sources

  1. Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam — Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali , p.268-271
  2. Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam — Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali , p.269-270
  3. Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam — Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali , p.270-271
  4. Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam — Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali , p.270
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Goodness of Islam — leaving what does not concern one”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/husn-al-islam/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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Wing

Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words.
Related

Iman (faith)

Belief in the articles of the creed as the Prophet set them out in the hadith of Jibril: belief in God, His angels, His book, meeting Him, His messengers and the resurrection; al-Bukhari's chapter heading on the words "Islam is built on five" states that iman is speech and action, which increases and decreases.