An-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths
Hadith 42, 40 Hadith an-Nawawi
عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: سَمِعْت رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم يَقُولُ: قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: "يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ! إِنَّكَ مَا دَعَوْتنِي وَرَجَوْتنِي غَفَرْتُ لَك عَلَى مَا كَانَ مِنْك وَلَا أُبَالِي، يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ! لَوْ بَلَغَتْ ذُنُوبُك عَنَانَ السَّمَاءِ ثُمَّ اسْتَغْفَرْتنِي غَفَرْتُ لَك، يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ! إنَّك لَوْ أتَيْتنِي بِقُرَابِ الْأَرْضِ خَطَايَا ثُمَّ لَقِيتنِي لَا تُشْرِكُ بِي شَيْئًا لَأَتَيْتُك بِقُرَابِهَا مَغْفِرَةً" . رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ [رقم:3540]، وَقَالَ: حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
On the authority of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Allah, Exalted is He, said: ‘Son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and hope in Me, I will forgive you for whatever you have done, and I do not mind. Son of Adam, if your sins were to reach the clouds of the sky and then you asked My forgiveness, I would forgive you. Son of Adam, if you came to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth, then met Me without associating anything with Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.’ It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi [no. 3540], who said: ‘A hasan sahih hadith.’
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
عَنْ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: سَمِعْت رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم يَقُولُ: قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: "يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ!
The Arabic distinguishes the Prophet’s transmission from Allah’s speech; the attribution is preserved, but this is a sacred narration requiring qualified review.
Can the attribution and wording be checked against the cited al-Tirmidhi edition before approval?
وَقَالَ: حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ.
The Arabic compiler’s note says hasan sahih, while the supplied English witness says only hasan.
Can the grading difference be confirmed against the cited source? The translation follows the Arabic grading.
إنَّك لَوْ أتَيْتنِي بِقُرَابِ الْأَرْضِ خَطَايَا ثُمَّ لَقِيتنِي لَا تُشْرِكُ بِي شَيْئًا لَأَتَيْتُك بِقُرَابِهَا مَغْفِرَةً" .
The Arabic repeats the measure قراب الأرض, a quantity/extent comparison; its precise English idiom is not established by an approved glossary.
Is ‘nearly as great as the earth’ the preferred rendering for this measure?