Worship
Hadith 29 of 42
Title
The gate of Jannah
Arabic
أَلَا أُخْبِرُكَ بِرَأْسِ الْأَمْرِ وَعَمُودِهِ وَذِرْوَةِ سَنَامِهِ؟ … رَأْسُ الْأَمْرِ الْإِسْلَامُ، وَعَمُودُهُ الصَّلَاةُ، وَذِرْوَةُ سَنَامِهِ الْجِهَادُ. ثُمَّ قَالَ: أَلَا أُخْبِرُكَ بِمِلَاكِ ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ؟ قُلْتُ: بَلَى يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، فَأَخَذَ بِلِسَانِهِ وَقَالَ: كُفَّ عَلَيْكَ هَذَا.
Translation
Shall I tell you of the head, the pillar, and the peak? The head is Islam, the pillar is ṣalāh, the peak is jihād. Then he said: 'Shall I tell you the key to all of that?' I said: 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah.' He took his tongue and said: 'Restrain this.'
Narrator
Muʿādh ibn Jabal
Source
Tirmidhī 2616
Commentary
A hierarchy of the religion — and then, one twist: all of it rests on the tongue. A person who cannot control his speech cannot safeguard his prayer or his struggle. The smallest organ carries the largest fault line.