Arba'un 16 — do not become angry

الأربعون 16 — لا تغضب

Abu Hurayra (may God be pleased with him)'s hadith, the sixteenth of al-Nawawi's Forty and of Ibn Rajab's commentary; transmitted by al-Bukhari alone (6116) through Abu Husayn al-Asadi from Abu Salih from Abu Hurayra, Muslim omitting it because al-A'mash's chain from Abu Salih is disputed — variously from Abu Hurayra, from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (correct in Ibn Ma'in's view), from both, from Abu Hurayra or Jabir, or from an unnamed Companion — and transmitted by al-Tirmidhi (2020) as hasan sahih gharib; one route has 'teach me something and do not make it long that I may retain it', another 'point me to a deed that admits me to Paradise', the answer in each 'do not become angry', the asker possibly Abu al-Darda' or Jariya ibn Qudama; Ibn Rajab infers that the man sought a brief comprehensive counsel of good traits and that the repeated answer shows anger is the sum of evil and guarding against it the sum of good, this being one of the four hadiths from which all the conduct of goodness branches in Ibn al-Salah's report from Ibn Abi Zayd (Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam pp. 343–359).

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«أن رجلاً قال للنبي: أوصني، قال: لا تغضب، فردد مراراً قال: لا تغضب»

A verbatim excerpt of the text, forty words at most; the full text is in the edition cited under sources

Summary

Hadith of Abu Hurayra: a man asked for a short counsel, and the Prophet ﷺ said "Do not become angry", repeated. Ibn Rajab takes this as showing that anger is the root of evil and restraint from it the root of good. It is one of the four hadiths on which the rules of good conduct are built. 1

Place in the museum

Source: the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi. Mentions Abu Hurayra. Built on in the chapters on anger.

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Basis for
Ghadab (anger)
Mentions
Abu Hurayra

People and things also explored

Muwatta 2637· Prophetic adab (proper conduct)· The Conquest of Khaybar· The capture of Thumama ibn Uthal al-Hanafi and his acceptance of Islam· The Prophet's dream of the two gold bracelets, interpreted as the two liars· Umar's Trust in the Fay'· The early Muslim community· Arba'un 9 — what I forbid you, avoid

Sources

  1. Jami' al-Ulum wal-Hikam — Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Arba'un 16 — do not become angry”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/passage/arbaun-16/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-16.

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Muwatta 2637