Forty Hadith Qudsi
Hadith 2, 40 Hadith Qudsi
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: " قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: كَذَّبَنِي ابْنُ آدَمَ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ ذَلِكَ، وَشَتَمَنِي وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ ذَلِكَ، فَأَمَّا تَكْذِيبُهُ إِيَّايَ فَقَوْلُهُ: لَنْ يُعِيدَنِي كَمَا بَدَأَنِي، وَلَيْسَ أَوَّلُ الْخَلْقِ بِأَهْوَنَ عَلَيَّ مِنْ إِعَادَتِهِ، وَأَمَّا شَتْمُهُ إِيَّايَ فَقَوْلُهُ: اتَّخَذَ اللَّهُ وَلَدًا، وَأَنَا الْأَحَدُ الصَّمَدُ، لَمْ أَلِدْ وَلَمْ أُولَدْ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لِي كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ" رواه البخاري (وكذلك النسائي)
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said:
Allah, Exalted is He, said: ‘The son of Adam denied Me, though he had no right to do so, and reviled Me, though he had no right to do so. As for his denying Me, it is his saying, “He will never bring me back as He began me”; yet the first creation is no easier for Me than bringing him back. As for his reviling Me, it is his saying, “Allah has taken a child,” while I am the One, the Self-Sufficient Master. I beget not, nor was I begotten, and none is comparable to Me.’
It was related by al-Bukhari (and likewise by al-Nasa’i).
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
وَأَنَا الْأَحَدُ الصَّمَدُ،
الصمد has no single uncontested English equivalent in this context; the witness renders it ‘the Everlasting Refuge’. The chosen rendering may not convey the full range of the divine name.
Which English rendering of الصمد is preferred by the project’s qualified reviewers for this occurrence?