Explanation of His saying: (O son of Adam, if you came to me with the earth full of sins, then met me associating nothing with Me, I would come to you with the earth full of forgiveness).
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The Shaykh : .
In this final part of the hadith, the attention of the Muslim is drawn to a cause that is the greatest of the causes by which a Muslim deserves the forgiveness of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), even after a long time or a period of time; and that is tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and being free from shirk (associating partners with Allah) (Blessed and Exalted is He). Because He says in this hadith that if a servant came to his Lord with the earth full of sins, but came to his Lord on the Day of Resurrection as a monotheist, associating nothing with Him, He would come to him with forgiveness equal to that. In this hadith, there is a reference to the famous verse:[An-Nisa 4:48]. Therefore, the first pillar of Islam is that the Muslim worships his Lord alone, with no partner for Him; because every sin after that becomes trivial. On the contrary, every act of obedience accompanied by shirk (associating partners with Allah) (Mighty and Majestic) does not benefit its doer in any way, as stated explicitly in more than one verse of the Noble Qur'an.
So,Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3540Hasan (Darussalam) here it is said: If coming with tawhid (the oneness of Allah), free from shirk (associating partners with Allah) in all its types, is a legislated cause for deserving the forgiveness of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), why then is there an exhortation in some of the previous parts to seek forgiveness? There, we mentioned that the hadith encourages the Muslim to turn to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) by asking Him for His forgiveness, while in the final part of the hadith it says: If you met me associating nothing with Allah and came to me with the earth full of sins and wrongdoings, I would come to you with forgiveness equal to them. It may seem to some people that there is some contradiction or discrepancy here; there it says: It is necessary to seek forgiveness and ask Allah for forgiveness, while here it says: If you come to me with tawhid (the oneness of Allah), I will come to you with forgiveness corresponding to your sins.
The answer is that there is absolutely no contradiction there; because the monotheist, if he comes on the Day of Resurrection as a monotheist, associating nothing with Allah, no matter how many his sins are, Allah must forgive them for him, even after a long time, as I said at the beginning of this sentence. However, if he turns to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) by supplication and seeking forgiveness from Him, Allah forgives them for him, and he comes on the Day of Resurrection with no sin or wrongdoing in his record. So, the monotheist, if he seeks forgiveness from Allah, is purified from sins by his seeking forgiveness from Allah (Mighty and Majestic). As for this monotheist, if he does not seek forgiveness from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and does not call upon Him to forgive him, his tawhid (the oneness of Allah) on the Day of Resurrection will save him from not being forgiven at all, as is the case with disbelievers, as He (Mighty and Majestic) said in the verse mentioned earlier:[An-Nisa 4:48]. This last sentence of this hadith can be interpreted by the other hadith, namely His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Sahih al-Bukhari 5401, Sahih al-Bukhari 5401; meaning: This testimony benefits its sincere reciter on a day of his life on the Day of Resurrection in the gathering place; meaning: He will not remain eternally with the disbelievers who remain eternally in the Fire. This is forgiveness without a doubt. However, if a person wants complete forgiveness such that nothing of the punishment touches him, it is necessary for him to constantly turn to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and supplicate to Him that Allah forgive him all his sins.
O son of Adam, if your sins reached the clouds of the sky, then you sought My forgiveness, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, if you came to me with the earth full of sins, then met me associating nothing with Me, I would come to you with the earth full of forgiveness.
يا ابن آدم ، لو بلغت ذنوبُك عنانَ السماء ثم استغفرتني غَفَرْتُ لك . يا ابن آدم ، لو أتيتَني بقُراب الأرض خطايا ، ثم لقيتَني لا تشرك بي شيئًا ؛ لَأتيتُك بقرابها مغفرةIn this final part of the hadith, the attention of the Muslim is drawn to a cause that is the greatest of the causes by which a Muslim deserves the forgiveness of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), even after a long time or a period of time; and that is tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and being free from shirk (associating partners with Allah) (Blessed and Exalted is He). Because He says in this hadith that if a servant came to his Lord with the earth full of sins, but came to his Lord on the Day of Resurrection as a monotheist, associating nothing with Him, He would come to him with forgiveness equal to that. In this hadith, there is a reference to the famous verse:
Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُSo,
and then you met Me not associating anything with Me, I would come to you with forgiveness nearly as great as it.
ثم لقيتَني لا تشرك بي شيئًا لَأتيتُك بقرابها مغفرةThe answer is that there is absolutely no contradiction there; because the monotheist, if he comes on the Day of Resurrection as a monotheist, associating nothing with Allah, no matter how many his sins are, Allah must forgive them for him, even after a long time, as I said at the beginning of this sentence. However, if he turns to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) by supplication and seeking forgiveness from Him, Allah forgives them for him, and he comes on the Day of Resurrection with no sin or wrongdoing in his record. So, the monotheist, if he seeks forgiveness from Allah, is purified from sins by his seeking forgiveness from Allah (Mighty and Majestic). As for this monotheist, if he does not seek forgiveness from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and does not call upon Him to forgive him, his tawhid (the oneness of Allah) on the Day of Resurrection will save him from not being forgiven at all, as is the case with disbelievers, as He (Mighty and Majestic) said in the verse mentioned earlier:
Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَنْ يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُNarrated 'Urban bin Malik: who attended the Badr battle and was from the Ansar, that he came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have lost my eyesight and I lead my people in the prayer (as an Imam). When it rains, the valley which is between me and my people, flows with water, and then I cannot go to their mosque to lead them in the prayer. O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! I wish that you could come and pray in my house so that I may take it as a praying place. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah willing, I will do that." The next morning, soon after the sun had risen, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came with Abu Bakr. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked for the permission to enter and I admitted him. The Prophet (ﷺ) had not sat till he had entered the house and said to me, "Where do you like me to pray in your house?" I pointed at a place in my house whereupon he stood and said, "Allahu Akbar." We lined behind him and he prayed two rak`at and finished it with Taslim. We then requested him to stay for a special meal of Khazira which we had prepared. A large number of men from the adjoining area gathered in the house. One of them said, "Where is Malik bin Ad-Dukhshun?" Another man said, "He is a hypocrite and does not love Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet said, "Do not say so. Do you not think that he has said: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah," seeking Allah's pleasure? The man said, "Allah and His Apostle know better, but we have always seen him mixing with hypocrites and giving them advice." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah has forbidden the (Hell) Fire for those who testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, seeking Allah's pleasure. "
مَن قال : لا إله إلا الله ؛ نَفَعَتْه يومًا من دهرهNarrated 'Urban bin Malik: who attended the Badr battle and was from the Ansar, that he came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have lost my eyesight and I lead my people in the prayer (as an Imam). When it rains, the valley which is between me and my people, flows with water, and then I cannot go to their mosque to lead them in the prayer. O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! I wish that you could come and pray in my house so that I may take it as a praying place. The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah willing, I will do that." The next morning, soon after the sun had risen, Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came with Abu Bakr. The Prophet (ﷺ) asked for the permission to enter and I admitted him. The Prophet (ﷺ) had not sat till he had entered the house and said to me, "Where do you like me to pray in your house?" I pointed at a place in my house whereupon he stood and said, "Allahu Akbar." We lined behind him and he prayed two rak`at and finished it with Taslim. We then requested him to stay for a special meal of Khazira which we had prepared. A large number of men from the adjoining area gathered in the house. One of them said, "Where is Malik bin Ad-Dukhshun?" Another man said, "He is a hypocrite and does not love Allah and His Apostle." The Prophet said, "Do not say so. Do you not think that he has said: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah," seeking Allah's pleasure? The man said, "Allah and His Apostle know better, but we have always seen him mixing with hypocrites and giving them advice." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah has forbidden the (Hell) Fire for those who testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, seeking Allah's pleasure. "
مَن قال : لا إله إلا الله ؛ نَفَعَتْه يومًا من دهره
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