Is this Hadith authentic?
Sayyiduna Wabisah ibn Ma’bad (radiyallahu ‘anhu) said: “I came close to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) until my knees touched his. He asked: ‘O Wabisah, should I inform you of what you came to ask or will you ask?’ I replied: ‘O Messenger of Allah, inform me.’ He said: ‘You came to ask me about righteousness and sin.’ I replied: ‘Yes.’ He combined three of his fingers and started to poke me with them in my chest and said, ‘O Wabisah, ask your heart, ask yourself.’ [He repeated it three times and then said:] ‘Righteousness is that which the heart feels at ease with and the soul is content with and sin is that which troubles the heart and causes doubts in the chest, even if people pass fatwa (of permissibility) for you and give you verdicts.”
Answer
Imam Ahmad (rahimahullah) and other Muhaddithun have recorded this narration. ‘Allamah Mundhiri (rahimahullah) has declared the chain sound (hasan). ‘Allamah Nawawi (rahimahullah) has also declared the Hadith sound (hasan).
(Musnad Ahmad, vol. 4 pg. 228, Targhib, vol. 2 pg. 557 and Al Adhkar, Hadith: 1229. Also see Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 2553)
In this Hadith, it is the hearts of the pious ones that are being referred to, not those hearts that are soaked in [and naturally inclined to] sin!
Also see here
And Allah Ta’ala Knows best.
Answered by: Moulana Suhail Motala
Approved by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar
Checked by: Moulana Haroon Abasoomar