Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3603
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو كُرَيْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ نُمَيْرٍ، وَأَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " يَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي وَأَنَا مَعَهُ حِينَ يَذْكُرُنِي فَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفْسِهِ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي نَفْسِي وَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي مَلإٍ ذَكَرْتُهُ فِي مَلإٍ خَيْرٍ مِنْهُمْ وَإِنِ اقْتَرَبَ إِلَىَّ شِبْرًا اقْتَرَبْتُ مِنْهُ ذِرَاعًا وَإِنِ اقْتَرَبَ إِلَىَّ ذِرَاعًا اقْتَرَبْتُ إِلَيْهِ بَاعًا وَإِنْ أَتَانِي يَمْشِي أَتَيْتُهُ هَرْوَلَةً " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ . وَيُرْوَى عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ فِي تَفْسِيرِ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ مَنْ تَقَرَّبَ مِنِّي شِبْرًا تَقَرَّبْتُ مِنْهُ ذِرَاعًا يَعْنِي بِالْمَغْفِرَةِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ وَهَكَذَا فَسَّرَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ . قَالُوا إِنَّمَا مَعْنَاهُ يَقُولُ إِذَا تَقَرَّبَ إِلَىَّ الْعَبْدُ بِطَاعَتِي وَمَا أَمَرْتُ أُسْرِعُ إِلَيْهِ بِمَغْفِرَتِي وَرَحْمَتِي . وَرُوِيَ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ جُبَيْرٍ، أَنَّهُ قَالَ فِي هَذِهِ الآيَةِ : ( فاذكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ ) قَالَ اذْكُرُونِي بِطَاعَتِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ بِمَغْفِرَتِي . حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ بْنُ حُمَيْدٍ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ مُوسَى وَعَمْرُو بْنُ هَاشِمٍ الرَّمْلِيُّ عَنِ ابْنِ لَهِيعَةَ عَنْ عَطَاءِ بْنِ يَسَارٍ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ جُبَيْرٍ بِهَذَا .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: ‘I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me within himself, I remember him within Myself; if he remembers Me in an assembly, I remember him in an assembly better than theirs. If he draws near to Me by a handspan, I draw near to him by a forearm’s length; if he draws near to Me by a forearm’s length, I draw near to him by a fathom; and if he comes to Me walking, I come to him swiftly.’ Abu ‘Isa said: This is a hasan sahih hadith. Al-A‘mash is reported to have explained drawing near by a handspan as drawing near through forgiveness and mercy; some scholars likewise explained the hadith to mean that when a servant draws near through obedience to what Allah commanded, Allah hastens to him with forgiveness and mercy. Sa‘id ibn Jubayr explained the verse, “Remember Me, and I will remember you,” to mean: ‘Remember Me through obedience to Me, and I will remember you through My forgiveness.’ This was narrated to us by ‘Abd ibn Humayd, who said: al-Hasan ibn Musa and ‘Amr ibn Hashim al-Ramli narrated to us, from Ibn Lahi‘ah, from ‘Ata ibn Yasar, from Sa‘id ibn Jubayr.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The English witness contains only the main hadith wording; this source continues with interpretive comments and an additional report from Sa‘id ibn Jubayr.
وَيُرْوَى عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ فِي تَفْسِيرِ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ مَنْ تَقَرَّبَ مِنِّي شِبْرًا تَقَرَّبْتُ مِنْهُ ذِرَاعًا يَعْنِي بِالْمَغْفِرَةِ وَالرَّحْمَةِ وَهَكَذَا فَسَّرَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ .
The English witness omits the compiler’s interpretive explanation of the approach metaphor.
Should the compiler’s explanation of drawing near through obedience, forgiveness, and mercy be retained?