Is the hadith: “There is no believing servant except that he has a sin he habitually commits from time to time” restricted to forgetfulness?

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : If you have time... the hadith that was read , so... meaning the word was mentioned that it is “forgetfulness” in the sense that he forgets, and it seems to me, and Allah knows best, that this is not... that the condition of forgetfulness must be present, otherwise the matter would be that a person persists in this sin with premeditation. Is it required in this hadith that this person is one who is deluded and then seeks forgiveness?

The Shaykh : What is the hadith?

The questioner : Then he forgets. Is forgetfulness a condition? And does this not contradict the fact that he persists in this matter...?

The Shaykh : Before I look back at the text of the hadith, it seems to me that “forgetfulness” here does not mean forgetfulness of the mind, but rather it means , that is: you abandoned acting upon it. This is how it appears to me before we look back at the text of the hadith. The intended meaning is not forgetfulness of the mind. He says here: This is a new sentence, so it can be an independent piece from the hadith , meaning he abandons doing what is obligatory upon him . Now, this addition reverses the previous understanding to the effect that the intended meaning is ordinary forgetfulness. In that case, the believer is created as one who is deluded, one who repents, and one who forgets, meaning he forgets to repent. When he is reminded, admonished, and so on, he remembers, repents, and returns to Allah (Mighty and Majestic).

The questioner : How do we connect this now to the beginning of the hadith?

The Shaykh : As answered previously, this sentence seems to be independent; it has no connection to what came before.

The questioner : But the issue is, excuse me, it is now at the beginning of the hadith. Let us go back and read it again.

The Shaykh : .

The questioner : Okay, my master, does the word “a sin he persists in and does not leave” mean that he abandoned it, then repented, then forgot?

The Shaykh : It does not mean that. Therefore, I say that this middle sentence, which is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): , has no relation to the last section. The believer, meaning the complete believer—we must add this attribute here—the complete believer is created as one who is deluded and one who repents, unlike the one before him who leaves the world while clinging to the sin. The complete believer is created as one who is deluded, one who repents, and one who forgets. When he is reminded, he remembers, or he is reminded. I do not think there is a connection.

The questioner : Okay, can you explain it, excuse me?

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner : An explanation from you now, completely.

The Shaykh : An explanation of the whole thing.

The questioner : The hadith.

The Shaykh : That is, the believers are of three categories: a category that commits a sin and habitually commits it from time to time. It is not that he commits the sin and then this sin becomes forgotten for him, and he does not return to it. It is not so; rather, it overtakes him once after another. Worse than this is the one who persists in a sin and does not leave it until he dies, which is worse than the first. This is a new sentence, as I said earlier. The complete believer is the one who is created as one who is deluded, one who repents, and one who forgets, for when he is reminded, he remembers. These are three types. The highest and most noble is the last one, the lowest is the middle one, and the one before it is better than it. And Allah knows best.