Messenger of Allah, tell me of something which should cause me to be admitted to Paradise and will keep me away from the Fire

Narrated by Mu’adh ibn Jabal:

I asked the Prophet (peace be upon him): Messenger of Allah, tell me of something which should cause me to be admitted to Paradise and will keep me away from the Fire. He answered: You have asked about a matter of great importance but it is easy for one for whom Allah makes it easy. Worship Allah and associate nothing with Him. Observe Prayer, pay the Zakat, observe the Fast of Ramadan and perform the Pilgrimage if you can afford the journey. Then he added: Shall I inform you of the gates of goodness? The fast is a shield. Charity puts out sins as water puts out fire and also the Prayer in the middle of the night. Then he recited: They withdraw themselves from their beds in the latter part of the night for Prayers and they call on their Lord in fear and hope and spend out of that which We have bestowed on them. No one knows what bliss is kept hidden from them, as a reward for what they used to do (32:17-18). Then he added: Shall I tell you of the root of the matter and of its contours and of its top? I said: Certainly, Messenger of Allah. He said: The root of the matter is Islam, its contours are Prayers and its top is striving in the cause of Allah (Jihad). Then he asked: Shall I tell you of that which is at the bottom of all this? I said: Certainly, Messenger of Allah. Then he took hold of his tongue and said: Keep this in control. I said: Shall we be called to account in respect of that which we say? He answered: May your mother lose you, will people not be thrown face down into Hell only on account of the harvest of their tongue.

Transmitted by Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah and Ahmad.