Mu’adh ibn Jabal reported: I said, “O Messenger of Allah, tell me of a deed that will admit me into Paradise and keep me away from the Hellfire.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
لَقَدْ سَأَلْتَنِي عَنْ عَظِيمٍ وَإِنَّهُ لَيَسِيرٌ عَلَى مَنْ يَسَّرَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ تَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكْ بِهِ شَيْئًا وَتُقِيمُ الصَّلَاةَ وَتُؤْتِي الزَّكَاةَ وَتَصُومُ رَمَضَانَ وَتَحُجُّ الْبَيْتَ
You have asked about an enormous matter, yet it is easy upon those for whom Allah makes it easy. Worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him, establish the prayer, give the charity, fast the month of Ramadan, and perform pilgrimage to the House.
Then, the Prophet said:
أَلَا أَدُلُّكَ عَلَى أَبْوَابِ الْخَيْرِ الصَّوْمُ جُنَّةٌ وَالصَّدَقَةُ تُطْفِئُ الْخَطِيئَةَ كَمَا يُطْفِئُ الْمَاءُ النَّارَ وَصَلَاةُ الرَّجُلِ مِنْ جَوْفِ اللَّيْلِ
Shall I not tell you about the gates of goodness? Fasting is a shield, charity extinguishes sins as water extinguishes fire, and the prayer of a man in the late night.
Then, the Prophet recited the verse:
تَتَجَافَىٰ جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ يَدْعُونَ رَبَّهُمْ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّا أُخْفِيَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاءً بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
They arise from their beds and supplicate to their Lord in fear and hope. They spend from what We have provided them, for no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort as reward for what they used to do. (32:16)
Then, the Prophet said:
أَلَا أُخْبِرُكَ بِرَأْسِ الْأَمْرِ كُلِّهِ وَعَمُودِهِ وَذِرْوَةِ سَنَامِهِ
Shall I not tell you about the head of the matter and its peak?
I said, “Of course, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet said:
رَأْسُ الْأَمْرِ الْإِسْلَامُ وَعَمُودُهُ الصَّلَاةُ وَذِرْوَةُ سَنَامِهِ الْجِهَادُ
The head of the matter is Islam, its pillar is prayer, and jihad is its peak.
Then the Prophet said:
أَلَا أُخْبِرُكَ بِمَلَاكِ ذَلِكَ كُلِّهِ
Shall I not tell you how to achieve all of this?
I said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet pointed to his tongue and he said:
كُفَّ عَلَيْكَ هَذَا
Restrain this.
I said, “O Prophet of Allah, will what we say be held against us?” The Prophet said:
ثَكِلَتْكَ أُمُّكَ يَا مُعَاذُ وَهَلْ يَكُبُّ النَّاسَ فِي النَّارِ عَلَى وُجُوهِهِمْ أَوْ عَلَى مَنَاخِرِهِمْ إِلَّا حَصَائِدُ أَلْسِنَتِهِمْ
May your mother be bereaved of you, O Mu’adh! Is there anything that topples people onto their faces in the Hellfire but the harvest of their tongues?
Sunan al-Tirmidhī 2616, Grade: Sahih