Hadithcore
Sahih Muslim, 1015
sahih

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:

O people, Allah is Good and He therefore, accepts only that which is good. And Allah commanded the believers as He commanded the Messengers by saying: "O Messengers, eat of the good things, and do good deeds; verily I am aware of what you do" (xxiii. 51). And He said: "O those who believe, eat of the good things that We gave you" (ii. 172). He then made a mention of a person who travels widely, his hair disheveled and covered with dust. He lifts his hand towards the sky (and thus makes the supplication): "O Lord, O Lord," whereas his diet is unlawful, his drink is unlawful, and his clothes are unlawful and his nourishment is unlawful. How can then his supplication be accepted?

وَحَدَّثَنِي أَبُو كُرَيْبٍ، مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْعَلاَءِ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا فُضَيْلُ بْنُ مَرْزُوقٍ، حَدَّثَنِي عَدِيُّ بْنُ ثَابِتٍ، عَنْ أَبِي حَازِمٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ طَيِّبٌ لاَ يَقْبَلُ إِلاَّ طَيِّبًا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِمَا أَمَرَ بِهِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ فَقَالَ ‏{‏ يَا أَيُّهَا الرُّسُلُ كُلُوا مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَاعْمَلُوا صَالِحًا إِنِّي بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ عَلِيمٌ‏}‏ وَقَالَ ‏{‏ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُلُوا مِنْ طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ‏}‏ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ ذَكَرَ الرَّجُلَ يُطِيلُ السَّفَرَ أَشْعَثَ أَغْبَرَ يَمُدُّ يَدَيْهِ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ يَا رَبِّ يَا رَبِّ وَمَطْعَمُهُ حَرَامٌ وَمَشْرَبُهُ حَرَامٌ وَمَلْبَسُهُ حَرَامٌ وَغُذِيَ بِالْحَرَامِ فَأَنَّى يُسْتَجَابُ لِذَلِكَ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 12, Hadith 83
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Book 5, Hadith 2214 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
This Hadīth is one of the Hadīths that constitute the principles of Islam and the foundations of rulings. In it, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs his Ummah about the reasons for accepting supplications and that Allah is good and exalted above imperfections and He loves what is lawful and good. He (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) tells us that Allah is 'good' and exalted above imperfections and defects, and He possesses the perfect attributes and does not accept charity or other deeds unless they are free from the Shar‘i defects and evil intentions. And he said that Allah commanded the believers with what He commanded His messengers, delivering to them the same speech; He commanded them to eat what is lawful and act righteously. Allah says in His Qur'an: {O messengers, eat from the lawful things and act righteously, for I am All-Knowing of what you do.} [Surat al-Mu’minūn: 51] This call is addressed to all prophets, yet not at the same time, for they were sent at different times; rather, each of them was addressed at his time. This indicates that the legalization of good things is old legislation and that monasticism, and the abandonment of pleasures are objectionable. It also gives an indication that eating good things is conducive to righteous deeds whereby one seeks closeness to Allah Almighty. Allah Almighty commands the believers, saying: {O you who believe, eat of the good things We have provided for you.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 172] Meaning: O you who believe, eat of His lawful and pleasant things. Then, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned a person who travels for so long and frequently embarks on journeys; he travels for acts of worship, such as Hajj, ‘Umrah, Jihad, the pursuit of knowledge, and other areas of goodness. So, his hair becomes disheveled and scattered due to his long travel and fatigue, as he fails to tidy or comb his hair. Moreover, the color of his skin and clothes becomes dusty. In this state of his disheveled hair, dustiness, fatigue, and exhaustion, he raises his hands toward the sky in supplication - and raising one's hands toward the sky is one of the reasons that make a supplication readily answered - and says repeatedly: "O Lord, O Lord." It indicates that supplication with the word 'Lord' influences it being answered. So, it combined four reasons for making a supplication readily answered: Long travel, dull clothes and appearance, raising the hands toward the sky, and importunately asking Allah by repeatedly mentioning His lordship. Yet his food, drink, and clothing are obtained through unlawful earning, and he has been nourished by the unlawful. His words "and he has been nourished by the unlawful" after the words "but his food is unlawful" is either because the fact that his food is unlawful does not necessitate that he has been nourished by it, or this points out that both conditions do equally apply to him; i.e., when he spends as an adult and when he was provided for as a child. In both conditions, the unlawful reaches his abdomen. So, by his words "but his food is unlawful," he pointed to his condition as an adult, and by his words "and he has been nourished by the unlawful," he pointed to his condition as a child. So, the unlawful money was a reason for not answering his supplication. As the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "So, how" i.e., for what reason "could that" i.e., the man or because of his mentioned condition "be answered?!" The question here denotes unlikelihood. The Hadīth urges us to spend money out of lawful money and prohibits otherwise. It indicates that drink, food, clothing, and the like should be lawful, pure, and subject to no suspicion. It also exhorts us to close the door to unlawful earning and block the means to the unlawful, by declaring it as a reason for not answering supplications..
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