Hadith No. 42: The Vastness of Allah's Forgivenes

Hadith No. 42: The Vastness of Allah's Forgiveness

الحديث الثاني والأربعون : سَعَةُ مغفرةِ اللهِ عزّ وجلّ

عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رَضِيَ عَنْهُ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: يَا بْنَ آدَمَ، إِنَّكَ مَا ‌دَعَوْتَنِي ‌وَرَجَوْتَنِي ‌غَفَرْتُ ‌لَكَ ‌عَلَى ‌مَا ‌كَانَ ‌مِنْكَ وَلَا أُبَالِي، يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ، لَوْ بَلَغَتْ ذُنُوبُكَ عَنَانَ السَّمَاءِ، ثُمَّ اسْتَغْفَرْتَنِي، غَفَرْتُ لَكَ، يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ، إِنَّكَ لَوْ أَتَيْتَنِي بِقُرَابِ الْأَرْضِ خَطَايَا، ثُمَّ لَقِيتَنِي لَا تُشْرِكْ بِي شَيْئًا، لَأَتَيْتُكَ بِقُرَابِهَا مَغْفِرَةً. رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ رحمه الله وَقَالَ: حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ.1

This hadith brings glad tidings to the believers. Allah, in His omnipotence, informs us of His immense forgiveness. No matter how many sins a person commits, Allah will forgive them. Even if the sins are as high as the sky or as vast as the earth, Allah will still forgive them. However, to attain the vast and immense forgiveness of Allah, there are three important conditions:
 

1. Sincerely believe that only Allah is the One to whom we pray and hope.

2. Seek forgiveness (Istighfar) from Allah for all sins, whether minor or major.

3. Draw near to Allah, entrust all matters to Him, and never associate anything with Him.

1. Praying and Hoping Only in Allah’s Mercy

A person seeking Allah's forgiveness must sincerely believe that Allah is the only One to whom they should turn for prayer and hope. In Surah Ghafir, verse 60, Allah says:

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُوْنِيْٓ اَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۗ اِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُوْنَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِيْ سَيَدْخُلُوْنَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِيْنَ

Translation:
"And your Lord said: 'Call upon Me; I will respond to you. Indeed, those who are too arrogant to worship Me will enter Hell in humiliation.'"

This verse commands humans to pray to Allah. Through prayer and hope, a person avoids arrogance, realizing that nothing is greater or more powerful than Allah. Moreover, Allah promises to answer such prayers. Therefore, anyone who seeks Allah's forgiveness must pray and hope that their sins will be forgiven, regardless of how great those sins may be. Allah also affirms in Surah Az-Zumar, verse 53:

قُلْ يٰعِبَادِيَ الَّذِيْنَ اَسْرَفُوْا عَلٰٓى اَنْفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوْا مِنْ رَّحْمَةِ اللّٰهِ ۗ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوْبَ جَمِيْعًا ۗ اِنَّه هُوَ الْغَفُوْرُ الرَّحِيْمُ

Translation:
"Say, 'O My servants who have harmed yourselves by your own actions, do not despair of Allah's mercy. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.'"

This verse clearly encourages humans not to lose hope in Allah's mercy. No matter how great the sins committed, they should continue to hope and pray for forgiveness. Allah is indeed the Most Forgiving and the Most Merciful, so we should be certain that our prayers for forgiveness can be answered, as stated in the hadith:

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ مُعَاوِيَةَ الجُمَحِيُّ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا صَالِحٌ الْمُرِّيُّ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ حَسَّانَ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سِيرِينَ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: ادْعُوا اللَّهَ ‌وَأَنْتُمْ ‌مُوقِنُونَ ‌بِالإِجَابَةِ، ‌وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَسْتَجِيبُ دُعَاءً مِنْ قَلْبٍ غَافِلٍ لَاهٍ.2

This hadith emphasizes that prayer must come from a heart fully focused on Allah.

2. Seeking Forgiveness (Istighfar) from Allah

Allah is the Most Forgiving, as mentioned in Surah Nuh, verse 10:

فَقُلْتُ اسْتَغْفِرُوْا رَبَّكُمْ اِنَّه كَانَ غَفَّارًاۙ

Translation:
"And I (Nuh) said, 'Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is the Most Forgiving.'"

Here, Prophet Nuh (peace be upon him) urges his people to seek forgiveness from Allah, even though they were committing the grave sin of idol worship. No matter how great the sin, if a person repents, forsakes the wrongdoing, and continually seeks forgiveness, Allah will pardon them. Allah is the Most Forgiving and the Most Accepting of repentance, as He declares in Surah Taha, verse 82:

وَاِنِّيْ لَغَفَّارٌ لِّمَنْ تَابَ وَاٰمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا ثُمَّ اهْتَدٰى

Translation:
"And indeed, I (Allah) am the Most Forgiving to whoever repents, believes, and does righteous work, then remains guided."

Allah (SWT) is the Most Forgiving for anyone who repents. There is no measure for Allah, whether the sins committed by a person are large or small. If they repent, avoid shirk, perform righteous deeds, fulfill their obligations, stay away from immorality, and remain steadfast in Allah's guidance, then certainly Allah will forgive their sins. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:

حَدَّثَنِي عَبْدُ الْأَعْلَى بْنُ حَمَّادٍ، حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ أَبِي طَلْحَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ أَبِي عَمْرَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فِيمَا يَحْكِي عَنْ رَبِّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، قَالَ: ‌أَذْنَبَ ‌عَبْدٌ ‌ذَنْبًا، ‌فَقَالَ: ‌اللهُمَّ ‌اغْفِرْ ‌لِي ‌ذَنْبِي، فَقَالَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى: أَذْنَبَ عَبْدِي ذَنْبًا، فَعَلِمَ أَنَّ لَهُ رَبًّا يَغْفِرُ الذَّنْبَ، وَيَأْخُذُ بِالذَّنْبِ، ثُمَّ عَادَ فَأَذْنَبَ، فَقَالَ: أَيْ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي ذَنْبِي، فَقَالَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى: عَبْدِي أَذْنَبَ ذَنْبًا، فَعَلِمَ أَنَّ لَهُ رَبًّا يَغْفِرُ الذَّنْبَ، وَيَأْخُذُ بِالذَّنْبِ، ثُمَّ عَادَ فَأَذْنَبَ فَقَالَ: أَيْ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي ذَنْبِي، فَقَالَ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى: أَذْنَبَ عَبْدِي ذَنْبًا، فَعَلِمَ أَنَّ لَهُ رَبًّا يَغْفِرُ الذَّنْبَ، وَيَأْخُذُ بِالذَّنْبِ، اعْمَلْ مَا شِئْتَ فَقَدْ غَفَرْتُ لَكَ ، قَالَ عَبْدُ الْأَعْلَى: لَا أَدْرِي أَقَالَ فِي الثَّالِثَةِ أَوِ الرَّابِعَةِ: اعْمَلْ مَا شِئْتَ فقد غفرت لك.3

This hadith is a sign of Allah's goodness towards His servant. Even if a servant commits a sin repeatedly, if they return to their senses and repent, Allah will certainly forgive their sins. However, this does not mean that a servant can recklessly commit sins under the pretext that Allah is the Most Forgiving. They must strive to protect themselves from sinful actions and not take Allah's forgiveness lightly.

3. Drawing Closer to Allah and Surrendering to Him

A servant desiring Allah's forgiveness must strive to draw closer to Allah and fully surrender to Him without associating any partners with Him. Allah says in Surah At-Taghabun, verse 13:

اَللّٰهُ لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا هُوَۗ وَعَلَى اللّٰهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ الْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ

Translation:
"(He is) Allah; there is no deity except Him. And upon Allah let the believers rely."

This verse emphasizes that there is no deity except Allah, and believers must place their trust and reliance solely upon Him. To receive Allah's forgiveness, one must draw near to Him and surrender to His will. Associating partners with Allah (shirk) hinders this. As stated in Surah An-Nisa, verse 116:

اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ اَنْ يُّشْرَكَ بِه وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُوْنَ ذٰلِكَ لِمَنْ يَّشَاۤءُۗ وَمَنْ يُّشْرِكْ بِاللّٰهِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلٰلًا بَعِيْدًا

Translation:
"Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him (shirk), but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And whoever associates others with Allah has certainly gone far astray."

To attain forgiveness, one must avoid shirk, submit to Allah's will, and engage in righteous deeds. As stated in a Qudsi hadith:

حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحِيمِ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو زَيْدٍ سَعِيدُ بْنُ الرَّبِيعِ الهَرَوِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَرْوِيهِ عَنْ رَبِّهِ، قَالَ: إِذَا ‌تَقَرَّبَ ‌العَبْدُ ‌إِلَيَّ ‌شِبْرًا تَقَرَّبْتُ إِلَيْهِ ذِرَاعًا، وَإِذَا تَقَرَّبَ مِنِّي ذِرَاعًا تَقَرَّبْتُ مِنْهُ بَاعًا، وَإِذَا أَتَانِي مَشْيًا أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً.4

A servant who strives to draw closer and surrender to Allah, without associating anything with Him, and who constantly prays and hopes for Allah's forgiveness, InshaAllah will receive the vast forgiveness of Allah, as mentioned in this hadith (No. 42).

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