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Hadith #460 of 500 • Jami' at-Tirmidhi • Sahih

Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3540 (Book 48, Hadith 171) — Forgiveness and Repentance

Narrated by Anas ibn Malik (رضي الله عنه) • Grade: Sahih (Ahmad Muhammad Shakir (Sahih); Al-Albani (Sahih); Bashar Awad Maarouf (Hasan); Zubair Ali Zai (Isnaad Hasan))

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Hadith Translation Language:
#460 • Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3540 (Book 48, Hadith 171)Jami' at-TirmidhiForgiveness and Repentance
Sahih (Authentic)
Primary Companion Narrator
Anas ibn Malik (رضي الله عنه)

Anas bin Malik narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said

Book & Reference: Chapters on Supplication (Book 48, Hadith 171)
Scholarly Grading Source: Ahmad Muhammad Shakir (Sahih); Al-Albani (Sahih); Bashar Awad Maarouf (Hasan); Zubair Ali Zai (Isnaad Hasan)

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ الْجَوْهَرِيُّ الْبَصْرِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَاصِمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا كَثِيرُ بْنُ فَائِدٍ، حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدُ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ بَكْرَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْمُزَنِيَّ، يَقُولُ حَدَّثَنَا أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏ "‏ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ إِنَّكَ مَا دَعَوْتَنِي وَرَجَوْتَنِي غَفَرْتُ لَكَ عَلَى مَا كَانَ فِيكَ وَلاَ أُبَالِي يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ لَوْ بَلَغَتْ ذُنُوبُكَ عَنَانَ السَّمَاءِ ثُمَّ اسْتَغْفَرْتَنِي غَفَرْتُ لَكَ وَلاَ أُبَالِي يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ إِنَّكَ لَوْ أَتَيْتَنِي بِقُرَابِ الأَرْضِ خَطَايَا ثُمَّ لَقِيتَنِي لاَ تُشْرِكُ بِي شَيْئًا لأَتَيْتُكَ بِقُرَابِهَا مَغْفِرَةً ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ ‏.‏

Anas bin Malik narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:“Allah, Blessed is He and Most High, said: ‘O son of Adam! Verily as long as you called upon Me and hoped in Me, I forgave you, despite whatever may have occurred from you, and I did not mind. O son of Adam! Were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky, then you sought forgiveness from Me, I would forgive you, and I would not mind. So son of Adam! If you came to me with sins nearly as great as the earth, and then you met Me not associating anything with Me, I would come to you with forgiveness nearly as great as it.’”

— Abu Khaliyl (Darussalam Jami' at-Tirmidhi English Translation)

Audio Policy: Out of reverence for the words of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, synthetic or AI-generated speech is strictly disabled for Hadith narrations.
IslamTools Editorial Study Notes (Distinct from Prophetic Text)Forgiveness and Repentance

Main Lesson & Core Meaning

Every child of Adam errs, and the best of those who err are those who repent; Allah increases a servant who pardons others in nothing but honor.

Practical Daily Application

Turn to Allah in sincere Tawbah and daily Istighfar without despair, and pardon those who wrong you so that Allah may pardon you.

Key Islamic Terms & Vocabulary

Tawbah (التوبة)

Sincere repentance: leaving the sin, regretting it, and resolving not to return.

Istighfar (الاستغفار)

Seeking Allah's forgiveness and protection from the consequences of sin.

'Afw (العفو)

Graciously pardoning and overlooking faults when able to retaliate.

Scholarly Context & Jurisprudence Note

Even though the Prophet ﷺ was forgiven all past and future faults, he sought Allah's forgiveness more than seventy to a hundred times each day.

Educational Note: This library is for Islamic study and education. Applying Hadith to complex personal legal matters (Fiqh) requires qualified scholarly guidance.

Noble Companion & Hadith Transmitterرضي الله عنه

أنس بن مالك الأنصاري الخزرجي

Anas ibn Malik (Anas ibn Malik al-Ansari)

The devoted attendant (Khadim) of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ for ten years in Madinah, from the Hijrah until the Prophet's passing. He witnessed the Prophet's noble character firsthand andreceived his blessed supplication for abundant wealth, children, and long life in obedience.

Source Verification & Scholarly Audit Record

APPROVED_FOR_PUBLICATION
Collection: Jami' at-Tirmidhi (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3540 (Book 48, Hadith 171))
Scholarly Grading Source: Ahmad Muhammad Shakir (Sahih); Al-Albani (Sahih); Bashar Awad Maarouf (Hasan); Zubair Ali Zai (Isnaad Hasan)
Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: SahihAl-Albani: SahihBashar Awad Maarouf: HasanZubair Ali Zai: Isnaad Hasan
SOURCE_IDENTIFIEDARABIC_TEXT_VERIFIEDREFERENCE_VERIFIEDNARRATOR_VERIFIEDAUTHENTICITY_VERIFIEDTRANSLATION_VERIFIEDCOPYRIGHT_VERIFIEDEDITORIAL_REVIEWEDAPPROVED_FOR_PUBLICATION

Related Quranic Ayahs

Related Prophetic Hadith

Book & Reference: The Book of Repentance (Bk. 50, No. 12)

حَدَّثَنَا هَارُونُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الأَيْلِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ وَهْبٍ، حَدَّثَنِي عِيَاضٌ، - وَهُوَ ابْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْفِهْرِيُّ - حَدَّثَنِي إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ عُبَيْدِ بْنِ رِفَاعَةَ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ كَعْبٍ الْقُرَظِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي صِرْمَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي أَيُّوبَ الأَنْصَارِيِّ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَنَّهُ قَالَ ‏ "‏ لَوْ أَنَّكُمْ لَمْ تَكُنْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبٌ يَغْفِرُهَا اللَّهُ لَكُمْ لَجَاءَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ لَهُمْ ذُنُوبٌ يَغْفِرُهَا لَهُمْ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Abu Ayyub Ansari reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said:If you were not to commit sins, Allah would have swept you out of existence and would have replaced you by another people who have committed sin, and then asked forgiveness from Allah, and He would have granted them pardon

— Abdul Hamid Siddiqui (Sahih Muslim English Translation)

Scholarly Grading Source: Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (Ijma' / Scholarly Consensus)
Full Reference & Explanation
Primary Companion Narrator:Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه)
Book & Reference: Good Manners and Form (Al-Adab) (Bk. 78, No. 99)

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ أَخِي ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ شِهَابٍ، عَنْ سَالِمِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ، يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏ "‏ كُلُّ أُمَّتِي مُعَافًى إِلاَّ الْمُجَاهِرِينَ، وَإِنَّ مِنَ الْمَجَانَةِ أَنْ يَعْمَلَ الرَّجُلُ بِاللَّيْلِ عَمَلاً، ثُمَّ يُصْبِحَ وَقَدْ سَتَرَهُ اللَّهُ، فَيَقُولَ يَا فُلاَنُ عَمِلْتُ الْبَارِحَةَ كَذَا وَكَذَا، وَقَدْ بَاتَ يَسْتُرُهُ رَبُّهُ وَيُصْبِحُ يَكْشِفُ سِتْرَ اللَّهِ عَنْهُ ‏"‏‏.‏

Narrated Abu Huraira:I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying. "All the sins of my followers will be forgiven except those of the Mujahirin (those who commit a sin openly or disclose their sins to the people). An example of such disclosure is that a person commits a sin at night and though Allah screens it from the public, then he comes in the morning, and says, 'O so-and-so, I did such-and-such (evil) deed yesterday,' though he spent his night screened by his Lord (none knowing about his sin) and in the morning he removes Allah's screen from himself

— Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan (Sahih al-Bukhari English Translation)

Scholarly Grading Source: Imam Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Bukhari (Ijma' / Scholarly Consensus)
Full Reference & Explanation
Book & Reference: The Book Pertaining to the Remembrance of Allah, Supplication, Repentance and Seeking Forgiveness (Bk. 48, No. 53)

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا غُنْدَرٌ، عَنْ شُعْبَةَ، عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ مُرَّةَ، عَنْ أَبِي، بُرْدَةَ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ الأَغَرَّ، وَكَانَ، مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُحَدِّثُ ابْنَ عُمَرَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ "‏ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ فَإِنِّي أَتُوبُ فِي الْيَوْمِ إِلَيْهِ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

Al-Agharr al-Muzani who was from amongst the Companions of Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) reported that Ibn 'Umar stated to him that Allah's Messenger (may peace 'be upon him) said:O people, seek repentance from Allah. Verily, I seek repentance from Him a hundred times a day

— Abdul Hamid Siddiqui (Sahih Muslim English Translation)

Scholarly Grading Source: Imam Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj (Ijma' / Scholarly Consensus)
Full Reference & Explanation
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