The ruling on the hadith: (The Muslim slave when he reaches forty years of age...)
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Question:
The first message in this episode is from one of the female listeners, the sender (Noura A. A.) from Riyadh. Our sister has six questions. In her first question, she says: What is the authenticity of this hadith, may Allah reward you with good? Al-Hafiz al-Mawsili narrated from Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who said: "The Muslim slave, when he reaches forty years of age, Allah the Exalted lightens his reckoning; and when he reaches sixty years of age, Allah the Exalted grants him the return to Him; and when he reaches seventy years of age, the people of the heavens love him; and when he reaches eighty years of age, Allah the Exalted makes his good deeds firm and erases his bad deeds; and when he reaches ninety years of age, Allah forgives what has passed of his sin and what has remained, and Allah the Exalted intercedes for him on behalf of his family, and it is written in the heavens: 'A captive of Allah in His earth.'" Al-Hafiz al-Mawsili narrated it, and it was narrated from other routes in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad. Then I read this hadith in the book *Mukhtasar Tafsir Ibn Kathir*—may Allah reward you with good. If this hadith is authentic, please explain it to us in detail? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family, and his Companions, and whoever follows his guidance. As for what follows:
As for this hadith, I do not know of a valid chain of narration for it, and the implication of the authentic hadiths and the verses of the Qur'an indicates its inauthenticity. Indeed, a person, even if his age is advanced, is held accountable for his bad deeds unless he repents to Allah from them.
So the conclusion is: I do not know of a valid, reliable chain of narration for this hadith. It is obligatory for every Muslim, even if he reaches ninety, or even if he reaches one hundred—as long as his mind is with him—to fear bad deeds, to stay away from them, and to hasten to repent from what occurs from him. And so it is for a woman, even if she is advanced in age. It is obligatory for every Muslim, male and female, to fear sins and to repent to Allah from them, even if their age is advanced, even if they are one hundred years old, or more than that.
It is obligatory to be cautious; because Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) has forbidden sins for those who are accountable, and He has threatened them with punishments, except for whoever repents to Him . So it is obligatory for all believers, men and women, to repent to Allah from all sins, and to be cautious from committing them absolutely in all times of life, even if the age is advanced. We ask Allah for success and guidance for everyone. Yes.
The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good.
The first message in this episode is from one of the female listeners, the sender (Noura A. A.) from Riyadh. Our sister has six questions. In her first question, she says: What is the authenticity of this hadith, may Allah reward you with good? Al-Hafiz al-Mawsili narrated from Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who said: "The Muslim slave, when he reaches forty years of age, Allah the Exalted lightens his reckoning; and when he reaches sixty years of age, Allah the Exalted grants him the return to Him; and when he reaches seventy years of age, the people of the heavens love him; and when he reaches eighty years of age, Allah the Exalted makes his good deeds firm and erases his bad deeds; and when he reaches ninety years of age, Allah forgives what has passed of his sin and what has remained, and Allah the Exalted intercedes for him on behalf of his family, and it is written in the heavens: 'A captive of Allah in His earth.'" Al-Hafiz al-Mawsili narrated it, and it was narrated from other routes in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad. Then I read this hadith in the book *Mukhtasar Tafsir Ibn Kathir*—may Allah reward you with good. If this hadith is authentic, please explain it to us in detail? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, and upon his family, and his Companions, and whoever follows his guidance. As for what follows:
As for this hadith, I do not know of a valid chain of narration for it, and the implication of the authentic hadiths and the verses of the Qur'an indicates its inauthenticity. Indeed, a person, even if his age is advanced, is held accountable for his bad deeds unless he repents to Allah from them.
So the conclusion is: I do not know of a valid, reliable chain of narration for this hadith. It is obligatory for every Muslim, even if he reaches ninety, or even if he reaches one hundred—as long as his mind is with him—to fear bad deeds, to stay away from them, and to hasten to repent from what occurs from him. And so it is for a woman, even if she is advanced in age. It is obligatory for every Muslim, male and female, to fear sins and to repent to Allah from them, even if their age is advanced, even if they are one hundred years old, or more than that.
It is obligatory to be cautious; because Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) has forbidden sins for those who are accountable, and He has threatened them with punishments, except for whoever repents to Him . So it is obligatory for all believers, men and women, to repent to Allah from all sins, and to be cautious from committing them absolutely in all times of life, even if the age is advanced. We ask Allah for success and guidance for everyone. Yes.
The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.