عنْ أبي سُفْيانَ صَخْرِ بْنِ حَرب رضيَ اللّهُ عنه، في حديثِه الطَّويلِ في قِصَّةِ هِرَقْل، قَالَ هِرقْلُ: فَماذَا يَأْمُرُكُمْ -يعْني النَّبِيَّ صَلّى اللّهُ عَلَيْهِ وسَلَّم- قَالَ أَبُو سُفْيَانَ: قُلْتُ: يقول «اعْبُدُوا اللّهَ وَحْدَهُ لا تُشرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا، واتْرُكُوا ما يَقُولُ آباؤُكُمْ، ويَأْمُرنَا بالصَّلاةِ، والصِّدقِ، والْعفَافِ، والصِّلَة» متفقٌ عليه.
Abu Sufyan Sakhr ibn Harb (may Allah be pleased with him), in his lengthy hadith about the story of Heraclius, reported: Heraclius asked: 'What does he -- meaning the Prophet (peace be upon him) -- command you to do?' Abu Sufyan said: I said: 'He says: Worship Allah alone, do not associate anything with Him, and abandon what your forefathers used to say. And he commands us to pray, to be truthful, to be chaste, and to maintain ties of kinship.' Agreed upon (narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim).
الشرح · explanation
هرقل: اسم ملك الروم، ولقبه قيصر. العفاف: الكف عن المحارم وخوارم المروءة. الصلة: أي صلة الأرحام وكل ما أمر اللّه به أن يوصل، وذلك بالبرّ والإكرام.
Heraclius: the name of the Roman Emperor, whose title was Caesar. Al-'Afaf: abstaining from forbidden matters and conduct unbecoming of one's dignity. Al-Silah: meaning maintaining ties of kinship and all that Allah has commanded to be joined, through kindness and generosity.
الدروس · lessons
رأس هذا الدين توحيد اللّه عزّ وجلّ وعدم الإشراك به، وهو منبع الفضائل. التنفير من التقليد الأعمى وخاصة في أمور الدين. من صفات الرسل الصدق وهو صفة لازمة لهم وهم معصومون عن ضدها، ليثق الناس بكلامهم فيما يخبرون عن اللّه تعالى. ملازمة الرسول صلّى اللّه عليه وسلم للصدق وشهرته به، وشهادة الأعداء له بذلك.
The foundation of this religion is the Oneness of Allah (Tawhid) and not associating partners with Him, which is the source of all virtues. Discouragement of blind following, especially in matters of religion. Among the attributes of the Messengers is truthfulness, which is an inseparable quality of theirs, and they are protected from its opposite, so that people may trust what they convey from Allah the Exalted. The Prophet's (peace be upon him) constant adherence to truthfulness and his fame for it, and the testimony of even his enemies to that effect.