Hadith 42 of Nawawi's Forty: The Vastness of Allah's Forgiveness

Peace be upon you.

He (RH) said:

The forty-second Hadith.

On the authority of Anas (RA),

who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying:

Allah the Almighty said:

"O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you

for what you have done, and I shall not mind.

"O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky

and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you.

"O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth

and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it."

Related by at-Tirmidhi, who said it is a Hasan Sahih Hadith.

Yes, this Hadith is from the speech of Allah ﷻ,

as the Prophet ﷺ narrated it from his Lord.

In it, Allah ﷻ says: "O son of Adam,"

reminding him of his weakness, and that he is a son of Adam whom Allah ﷻ created,

And that people are equal, because everyone on the face of this earth

is truly a son of Adam, as long as they are of his offspring.

There is no difference between me and you, or between the Easterner and the Westerner; we are all from Adam, and Adam is from dust.

Allah ﷻ says: "Indeed, as long as you call upon Me and put your hope in Me,

I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind."

This contains two matters: the virtue of supplicating to Allah ﷻ,

and not despairing of the mercy of Allah ﷻ.

Indeed, despairing of the mercy of Allah ﷻ is from a weakness of faith.

Rather, none despairs of the mercy of Allah ﷻ with complete despair except one who is not a believer.

For the believer, no matter what sin he commits, knows that Allah ﷻ forgives it.

And what is reported in the books of some of the righteous, that he would weep for long years over a past sin,

Yet the Prophet ﷺ did not do that, nor did the Companions (RA),

even though they had committed sins, the greatest of which was Shirk.

If a person is sincere in their repentance and desists

from their sin, resolves not to return to it, and does good deeds,

then Allah ﷻ will reward them with one of two things:

either the erasure of that sin,

or the transformation of that sin,

transforming the evil deeds of that sin into good deeds.

“Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allāh will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allāh Forgiving and Merciful.” (Quran 25:70)

...their evil deeds into good deeds.

Then Allah ﷻ said: 'O son of Adam, if your sins reached the clouds of the sky and you asked Me for forgiveness, I would forgive you.'

Allah is the Greatest!

'O son of Adam, if you came to Me with sins nearly filling the earth, then met Me associating nothing with Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly filling it.'

This sentence points to two things: the virtue of supplication and its effect,

and that the believer must supplicate Allah ﷻ.

Therefore, the scholars said that supplication is of three types: obligatory, recommended, and forbidden—either disliked or prohibited.

The obligatory is that which is in the prayer,

and the recommended is anything other than that,

and the disliked and prohibited is that which is transgression, either in location,

such as supplicating in prostration—not legislated except what is narrated,

or transgression in the manner of supplication,

in the request or in what is requested, then it is forbidden, either disliked or prohibited,

As for the recommended, it is anything other than that.

And this Hadith guides us to a foundation for everything regarding the Tawhid of Allah عز وجل,

and that the best way to draw close to Allah عز وجل is to single Him out for worship.

"...then you meet Me associating nothing with Me, I would bring you its fill of forgiveness."

Meaning that Allah عز وجل forgives all of these sins.

The author concluded his book with this Hadith

because there is a subtle point in it,

For many scholars have mentioned, including Ibn Sam'an in Adab al-Imla' wa al-Istimla', and many of those who wrote on this, that

it is legislated and recommended, when concluding lessons of knowledge, to conclude them with supplication,

because supplication is among the means of being answered—

that it follow an act of worship, and among the best acts of worship

is gathering in obedience to Allah ﷻ and studying His Book and His law

and what Allah ﷻ has legislated for His servants.

So I ask Allah ﷻ, Lord of the Noble Throne, to grant us all beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds,

and that He guide us with His guidance,

and forgive us, our parents, and all Muslims,

and I ask Him, Glorified and Exalted, to have mercy on our weakness,

and to mend our brokenness,

and protect us from this world's disgrace and the Hereafter's punishment,

and I ask Him, Glory be to Him, to grant us the intercession of His Prophet ﷺ,

and I ask Him to grant us the companionship of His Prophet ﷺ in Paradise,

and that Allah ﷻ grant us the joy of beholding Him without harm or misguiding trial.

O Allah, grant us beneficial knowledge,

a humble heart, righteous deeds, and weeping eyes.

O Allah, help us remember You, thank You, and worship You well.

O Allah, grant our rulers success in every good,

and protect our land from all evil.

And may Allah's blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ,

and upon all his family and companions.

May Allah reward you with goodness.