Bukhari narrates that man from the Naj'd came to the Prophet (pbuh). His hair was tangled and he had a rumbling sound in his voice. We could not understand what he was saying, till he came near us. It was then that we realized that he was asking about [some of the obligatory practices of] Islam. He asked: 'Prophet of God, tell me, what has God prescribed upon me in the case of prayer?' The Prophet (pbuh) replied: 'Five prayers during a day and night [are obligatory upon you]'. He asked: 'Is there any thing else in this regard that is obligatory upon me?' The Prophet replied: 'No, except that you desire to offer additional prayers'. 
He continued: 'Tell me, what has God prescribed upon me in the case of fasting?' The Prophet (pbuh) replied: 'Fasting during the month of Ramadan.' He asked: 'Is there anything else in this regard that is obligatory upon me?' The Prophet replied: 'No, except that you offer additional fasting.' 
Then he asked: 'Tell me, what has God prescribed upon me in the case of Zaka'h?' The Prophet (pbuh) told him about the law relating to Zaka'h. He asked: 'Is there anything else that is obligatory upon me, in this connection?' The Prophet (pbuh) replied: 'No, except that you wish to offer additional charity.'  At this the man turned around to leave, saying: 'By God, I [shall fulfill these obligations, but] shall neither offer anything of my own accord nor reduce anything from these [practices].' The Prophet (pbuh) said: 'He shall be successful [in the hereafter], if he can do as he says'.

This hadith is good news for us, as it indicates that it isn't impossible to attain success in the hereafter; even a simple Bedouin could comprehend the fundamentals of the deen and was promised paradise, without necessarily being an aalim with a PhD or a sheikh, provided that he abided by the rulings of Islam and he did nothing less that what was expected from him. It's also good news for those of us with limited knowledge of the deen, and who may have only recently renewed the bond with Alla (swt) by committing to practice the deen; this hadith encourages us by showing us there is always hope and that Allah (swt) will never forget us.

This hadith also demonstrates the fact that that despite being a simple Bedouin, this man with tangled hair and a rumbling voice was eager to ascertain exactly what was required of him after accepting Islam, so that he would not be sinful by failing to carrying out any of his obligations towards Allah (swt). He realised that Islam meant submission to Allah (swt) the creator, and he wanted to know how this submission manifested itself in his daily life. Imagine someone joining a company to work, the first questions he would ask would be ''What exactly do you expect of me? What are my obligations?''

Some people take this hadith as an excuse for complacency, arguing that this is evidence that the Paradise can be attained by carrying out only the 3 mentioned actions: prayer, fasting and zakah. Those who hold this view hope to be like this Bedouin, they will stick strictly to the bare minimum of obligations, and hope that by sticking to the bare minimum, they will also be successful in the hereafter. This thought is becoming quite widespread these days, particularly amongst the youth, and for this reason it is important that we understand the danger of such an attitude.

With such an attitude a student might ask ''how many questions do I need to answer to pass this exam?'', and as we all know, the answer to such a question is meaningless unless one can guarantee not to make any mistakes. We must remember that we are humans, we live in a non-Islamic environment, we make human mistakes and we do disobey Allah (swt) on a daily basis. Any one of these sins has the capacity to condemn us to severe punishment in jahannam. 

Examples
· A word that could sentence a Muslim to 70 years in jahannam.
· The woman who went to jahannam for mistreating her cat.

The Sahaba who accompanied the Prophet (saas) on a daily basis, were unlike this Bedouin in their approach. They viewed what remained of their lives as a ''last chance'' to rescue themselves from the punishment of hellfire; they were acutely aware of the fact that they would be accountable for every single action, and they would waste no opportunity to draw closer to Allah (swt) by worshipping him in every manner demonstrated by the Prophet (saas), whether it be by nawaafil (recommended) prayers during the day or the night, by reading the Quran, fasting other than Ramadhan, or devoting their time and money for the cause of Allah (swt). 

It is reported that Umar ibnul Khattab (ra) said that they used to leave nine tenths of the halaal for fear that they may commit a single haraam. This is an example of their waraa' and taqwa. Umar also once said, ''if one of my feet was already in paradise and the other was still outside, I would still not feel safe from Allah's decree and plan''. 

Before the Prophet (saw) passed away he made a list of the hypocrites and left it with Hudhayfa. After the Prophet (saw) had passed away Umar bin al Khattab (ra) went to Hudhayfa and asked him if his own name was on that list. This is the fear of Allah that they had.

To neglect these warning and cling to a single hadith would be quite a gamble; indeed it would be the gamble of a lifetime, and would be nothing short of outright foolishness.

If someone were to enquire by phone, asking what is required to obtain a degree from this university, he or she may be given the answer ''you need to pay the tuition fees, attend lectures and pass the examinations'', the caller may then say thank you and hang up, but this is hardly the whole story. There is clearly more to university than these three things, but for the purpose of that telephone enquiry, such an answer was sufficient. It would be very dangerous indeed if the caller were then to adopt a minimalist attitude and hope to succeed in his university life with these three instructions alone. There is much more to success at university than just attending lectures and paying the fees: one must be register for the correct course, register to use the computer equipment, be aware of issues such as the university policy and code of practice regarding computer use, the non-smoking policy, parking regulations, dress code, attendance schedule and examination instructions. He must arrange suitable accommodation and transport, and have suitable access to the relevant literature and stationary in the library and bookshop. There are a large number of issues that the student must be aware of in order to be able to succeed at university, and these issues are conveyed and absorbed gradually over time.

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