Hadith 27

Narrated by Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him): He said, "I asked, 'O Messenger of Allah, inform me of an action that will admit me into Paradise and distance me from the Fire.' He replied, 'You have asked about a great matter, but it is easy for whom Allah makes it easy: You worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him, establish the prayer, give the zakat, fast the month of Ramadan, and perform Hajj to the House (the Ka'bah).' Then he said, 'Shall I not guide you to the gates of goodness? Fasting is a shield, charity extinguishes sin just as water extinguishes fire, and the prayer of a person in the depths of the night.' Then he recited: "Their sides forsake their beds" (Surah As-Sajda, 32:16) until he reached: "They do (good deeds)." Then he said, 'Shall I not inform you of the head of the matter, its pillar, and the peak of its summit?' I replied, 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah.' He said, 'The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is the prayer, and its peak is jihad.' Then he said, 'Shall I not tell you the key to all of that?' I replied, 'Yes, O Prophet of Allah.' He took his tongue and said, 'Guard this.' I said, 'O Messenger of Allah, will we be accountable for what we speak?' He replied, 'May your mother mourn you, O Mu'adh! Is there anything that throws people into the Fire on their faces or on their noses except the harvest of their tongues?'