Oneness, Uniqueness of Allah (Tawheed)

Sahih al-Bukhari 7537

Hadith Text

"If My slave comes nearer to Me for a span, I go nearer to him for a cubit; and if he comes nearer to Me for a cubit; I go nearer to him for the span of outstretched arms."

Commentary on the Divine Saying (Hadith Qudsi)

This sacred tradition reveals Allah's boundless generosity in responding to human spiritual effort. The "span" (shibr) represents the limited voluntary acts of worship performed by the servant, while the "cubit" (dhira') and "span of outstretched arms" symbolize Allah's exponentially greater response.

Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali explains that when a servant takes one step toward Allah through obedience, Allah approaches with multiple steps of acceptance, mercy, and divine assistance. The imagery progresses from smaller to larger measurements, demonstrating that divine response always surpasses human initiative.

Al-Qurtubi notes this hadith illustrates the principle of divine reciprocity (al-mujazah), where Allah's generosity multiplies the reward for every good deed. The "outstretched arms" metaphor particularly signifies Allah's all-encompassing embrace of the repentant servant.

This teaching encourages persistence in worship while affirming that spiritual progress depends ultimately on divine grace rather than mere human effort. The believer's small steps are met with Allah's giant strides toward reconciliation and proximity.