What is the authenticity of the hadith: “None of you truly believes until his desires follow what I have brought”?

The questioner : What is the authenticity of the hadith: ?

The Shaykh : This hadith: is weak in its chain of narration. Al-Hafiz Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali elaborated on its weakness and explained its defects in his well-known book, *Sharh al-Arba'in al-Nawawiyyah* (Explanation of the Forty Nawawi Hadiths). There, Imam al-Nawawi included it in *al-Arba'in* and stated: “Ibn Nasr al-Maqdisi narrated it in his book *al-Hujjah* with a good chain of narration.” This is what al-Nawawi said. However, Ibn Rajab refuted him, as we mentioned, and clarified that there are defects in this chain of narration; more than one defect prevents one from declaring its chain good. Personally, I can mention from those defects that Nu'aym ibn Hammad al-Marwazi is in its chain. He is a distinguished man from the people of the Sunnah, but he was weak in narrating hadiths; some even accused him of lying. A hadith like this—and this is part of the state of its chain—is not permissible to attribute to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), for fear that a Muslim may fall into the punishment of the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: . Therefore, this hadith is weak, at least regarding its chain of narration.
As for its text, it is actually very difficult for a person to make his desires follow what the Messenger (peace be upon him) brought, because the immediate understanding of the word “follow” means “agree with.” Meanwhile, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: . For a Muslim's desires to follow what the Messenger brought, struggle and perseverance are necessary. This is what is obligatory for the Muslim. As for it being so easily, this is not... like fasting among the rulings of the Shari'ah. The rulings of the Shari'ah that require conforming to what the Shari'ah brought involve struggling against the self, which is the greatest jihad. This is what can be said regarding this hadith, and its conclusion is: it is not authentic to attribute it to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).