From Mu'adh bin Jabal, 

radiyallahu 'anhu, who said: I said:

"O Messenger of Allah, tell me of a deed which will take me into Paradise and
will keep me away from the Hell-fire." He said: "You have asked me about a
great matter, yet it is, indeed, an easy matter for him to whom Allah Almighty
makes it easy. (It is ) that you worship Allah without associating anything with
Him, that you perform the prayers, that you pay the zakat, that you fast during
Ramadan, and that you make the pilgrimage to the House."
Then he said: "Shall I not guide you to the gates of goodness? Fasting is a
shield; charity extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire; and a man's prayer in
the middle of the night." Then he recited: "Who forsake their beds to cry unto
their Lord in fear and hope, and spend of that We have bestowed on them. No
soul knoweth what is kept hid for them of joy, as a reward for what they used to
do". [Qu'ran, Surah al-Sajdah (32): Ayah 16-17] 
Then he said: "Shall I not also tell you of the peak of the matter, its pillar, and
its topmost part?" I said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." He said: "The peak of
the matter is Islam (submission to Allah), the pillar is prayer; and its topmost
part is jihad." Then he said: "And shall I not tell you of the controlling of all
that ?" I said:" Yes, O Messenger of Allah". So he took hold of his tongue and
said: "Restrain this." I said: "O Prophet of Allah, will we be held accountable
for what we say?" He said: "May your mother be bereft of you! Is there
anything that topples people on their faces (or he said, on their noses) into the
Hell-fire other than the jests of their tongues?"
[Related by Al-Tirmidhi, who said it was a fine and sound hadith]

BACKGROUND
Many other companions have asked similar questions like the ones in this hadith. In general, the Prophet
Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, gave the same answers. Ibn Rajab highlights another narration of
the hadith recorded by Imam Ahmad which states that Mu'adh came to the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi
wasallam, and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I want to ask you about a matter that has made me ill and burning
from inside." The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, said: "Ask whatever you wish." He said: "Inform me
about a deed which will make me enter Paradise."
This shows, as Ibn Rajab continues to say, Mu'adh's eagerness to know about good deeds.

LESSONS
This hadith is evidence that doing good deeds facilitates and leads to entering Paradise as it has been
mentioned in the Qur'an: "This is the Paradise that you have made to inherit because of your good deeds
which you used to do" (Surah al-Zuhkruf: Ayah 72). However, a person's good deeds are part of Allah's mercy
and grace. Allah says: "But Allah who caused faith to be dear to you and have given it beauty in your heart, and
has made hateful to you denial of the truth and all inequity and all rebellion against what is good" (Surah al-
Hujarat (49): Ayah 7). So the meaning of this verse has been emphasized by this hadith. The performing of
good deeds is a cause of entering paradise but they are themselves a gift from Allah.

There are debates among some scholars about the actions and whether we deserve to enter Paradise because
of these actions. They raise the questions: Is it like a contract? Is it a deal? Or is this actually just a cause but
entering Paradise is Allah's Mercy? If we just look at the matter as a deal or a contract, we would not be able
to pay for even one of Allah's mercies.

The deeds that have been mentioned in this hadith have been emphasized in previous hadiths collected by
Imam An-Nawawi, mainly Hadith 2, 3, 15 and 23. However, there are two additional good deeds mentioned in
this hadith:
 1. A man's prayer in the middle of the night. This includes, according to Ibn Rajab, three types of people:

a. Those who wake up during the night for dhikr, du'a, or praying tahajud.

All these three groups have been mentioned in the Qur'an. People who stay awake throughout the
night (busy in entertaining themselves) miss these blessed deeds. The three types of people are
guaranteed and promised with the blessing from Allah in the Hereafter where there are unpredictable
and unimaginable rewards.

2. Jihad where and when it becomes an obligation (this deed is not stated clearly in other hadiths). It is a
great blessing that gets Muslims closer to Allah. Scholars say thatjihad is the greatest act of worship
and the most important deed after the obligatory acts. Through jihad, Islam is protected and
preserved and became dominant, where other nations lived under its rule peacefully with their rights
maintained.

In Hadith 15, the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, quoted the importance of saying good things or keeping
silent. In this hadith the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, says it is because of the tongue saying bad things
that people are thrown into the Hell-fire. Ibn Rajab states that this indicates that restraining and controlling
our speech is the crucial matter of all good things. The one who controls his tongue controls all his affairs.

In this hadith, we see the emphasis is on the negative side of the tongue, whereas in the previous hadiths, the
emphasis is on the positive side of the tongue. This means that the tongue can be used in two ways: to say
good things or to say bad things. Most people have the tendency to be lenient about this issue. Though
Muslims know that saying bad things is prohibited, they still do so, saying things that displease Allah such as
backbiting, slandering and spreading rumours. We will be held accountable for what we say. We will be
rewarded for saying good things and we may be punished for saying bad things. Being cynical to others and
saying things just for fun is something that a person is going to be accountable for. Even if a Muslim says things
in the form of a cynical du'a (e.g. "May Allah guide him") or a joke to make fun of other Muslims and put him
down, he will be held against this action. Even using gestures or attributes in a cynical way that can be
interpreted that he is belittling a Muslim is considered a sinful act that displeases Allah.

The Muslim should have control over his tongue; otherwise his tongue can create a lot of problems for the
community. In the fitnah (troubles) during Caliphate Othman, radiyallahu 'anhu, the Companions said they
were considering saying bad things in that critical situation as a way of helping those who killed him.
Consequently, the Muslim is always a good person who says only good things and for the benefit of his
community. He should not say anything that may lead to any disputes among the Muslim community.

Another thing that is related to this and is mentioned by the scholars is the story of a man (from an Israel tribe)
that the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, narrated: "There were two relatives or brothers. One of them
was pious and righteous and the other one used to commit sins. The pious person always tried to remind the
sinful one, but he did not do so in the appropriate way of making da'wa. One day while he was passing by the
sinner he said: 'I swear by Allah that He will not forgive you!' Upon this Allah said: 'Who is putting himself
higher than My Authority?!" So Allah forgave the sinner and held the pious one accountable for what he said
even though he was righteous."

This teaches us that we have to watch what we say especially when we are angry. That's why the
Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, made the du'a : "I ask Allah to enable me to say the truth whether I am
angry or pleased." Controlling ourselves needs training and effort. That's why we need al-tarbiyyah and al-
tazkiyyah. This will be difficult in the beginning. But when we show Allah that we are serious, Allah will give us
help and al-tawfiq  (guidance) to the right path. Muslims need to make sincere efforts to reach a high degree
oftarbiyyah and tazkiyyah. This will be part of their akhlaq. Muslims need ilm (knowledge) because if they are
not aware of this, they may misinterpret things and get into sinful acts. Ibn Rajab says if the Muslim can
control his tongue, he can control his other affairs. That is the wisdom that Muslims can get from this hadith.

Regarding the methodology of teaching and learning, this hadith sets forth a good example for Muslims to
learn from. Mu'adh starts by asking a question, saying that he wants to ask about a matter that has him
'burning inside'. As a result of his question, he gets the reply. The Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, said:
"Ask whatever you wish." He was open to any kind of questions. If someone has an inquiry regarding any
matter, he should ask, and the person who has been consulted has to be open-hearted. The
Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, later on in this hadith, guides Mu'adh in the form of questions: "Shall I not
tell you...?" Asking questions from both sides (from Mu'adh, as a means to learn, and from the
Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, as a means to teach) is one of the effective ways in the methodology of
teaching and learning. If we want to learn we have to ask questions. If we want to teach, we have to
communicate in this style and also ask questions. Asking questions will attract the attention of the listeners
and will make them think about what is being said.

CONCLUSION
The central idea in Islam is tawhid and taqwa (submission to Allah). All other deeds can be looked at as part
of taqwa and tawhid. Without proper tawhid there would be no fear of Allah. If we fear Allah, and love Him
the most, this should lead us to be closer to Him. Otherwise, our claim is not valid or incomplete.
Our taqwa and fear should be up to the level. So tawhid is the essence of the message of Allah. He sent the
Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, with this message and made him an example for us to emulate and
follow. Consequently, tawhid (almutab'a) by following the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wasallam, is part of
submission to Allah.