Riyad as-Salihin — Hadith #46460

On the authority of Muadh, may God be pleased with him, he said: I said, O Messenger of God: Tell me about a deed that will enter me into Paradise and keep me away from Hell? He said: “I have asked about a great matter, and it is easy for whomever God Almighty makes easy for him: You worship God and do not associate anything with Him, establish prayer, pay zakat, fast Ramadan, and perform the Hajj to the House if you are able to do so. Then he said: Shall I not guide you to the gates of goodness? Fasting is a shield. Charity extinguishes sin just as it extinguishes sin Water is fire, and a man’s prayer is in the middle of the night.” Then he recited: “Their sides shall turn away from their beds” until he reached: “They shall work” ((Al-Sajdah: 16-17)). Then he said: “Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter, its pillar, and the peak of its hump?” I said, “Yes, O Messenger.” God, he said: The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is prayer, and the top of its hump is jihad. Then he said: “Shall I not tell you the meaning of all of that?” I said: Yes, oh Messenger of God, so he took hold of his tongue and said: “Stop this.” I said: O Messenger of God, are we to be held accountable for what we say? He said: May your mother be bereft of you! Is there anything that topples people into Hell on their faces other than the jests of their tongues?