Commentary Summary
In this hadith, the Prophet (sas) did not mention any of the voluntary acts, indicating that it is permissible to leave them. Scholars also state that the Prophet did not mention the voluntary acts to make the religion easy for the man. Especially since he had recently accepted Islam and over time, if he was sincere about his commitment, Allah (swt) would open his heart to perform these voluntary acts. Other scholars say the voluntary acts were not mentioned to prevent the man from wrongly assuming these actions were obligatory. [1,2,3]
A similar hadith states:
A man approached the Prophet and asked: “Tell me about an action that if I do, I will enter paradise?”
The Prophet said, “Worship Allah, do not associate partners, establish prayers, give zakat, and fast during Ramadan”.
The man said, “By Allah, I will not increase anything from this and I will not decrease anything from this”.
When the man left, the Prophet said if anyone is pleased to see a person from paradise then look to that man. Other hadiths include maintaining family ties and staying away from major sins.
The meaning of these hadiths is clear: the minimum requirements for entering paradise are the Five Pillars of Islam, abiding by that which Allah has made permissible, and refraining from that which He has forbidden. An important lesson we can derive is not to overwhelm ourselves or new Muslims with too much information or actions. First gain the Islamic foundation, As we draw closer to Allah, we will then have the desire and ability to perform the voluntary acts alongside the obligatory ones. Also, the purpose of the voluntary acts are to help us become closer to Allah, and to compensate for any shortcomings in performing the obligatory ones.
