There was a man who used to give loans to people. He would say to his servant: ‘When you come to an insolvent person, overlook his debt; perhaps Allah would overlook our sins.’
Narrator in the source: Abu Hurayrah reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah say:
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There was a man who used to give loans to people. He would say to his servant: ‘When you come to an insolvent person, overlook his debt; perhaps Allah would overlook our sins.’ So, the man met Allah (after death), and He overlooked his sins."- Grade in the source
- Authentic
- Reported by
- Agreed upon
- Source entry
- HadeethEnc · 3753 ↗
Original Arabic wording
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: «كان رجلٌ يُدَايِنُ الناسَ، فكان يقول لفتاه: إذا أتيتَ مُعسِرًا فتجاوز عنه، لعل اللهَ يَتجاوزُ عنا، فلقي اللهَ فتجاوز عنه».Understand this hadith
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) talks about a man who used to give loans to people or sell to them with deferred payment. He used to say to his servant who would collect debts from the people: When you go to a debtor and find him unable to repay the debt, "overlook his debt", either by giving him respite or not pressing him to pay, or by accepting the little he offers, though it falls below the due amount. He did that in the hope that Allah would pardon and forgive him. When he died, Allah forgave him and overlooked his sins.
Lessons from the hadith
- Dealing with people in a benevolent and forgiving manner and overlooking the debts of those who are insolvent is one of the greatest means of salvation on the Day of Judgment.
- Benevolence towards people, sincerity toward Allah, and hoping for His mercy are the means for the forgiveness of sins.
References (original Arabic)
صحيح البخاري (4/ 176) (3480). صحيح مسلم (3/ 1196) (1562). بهجة الناظرين شرح رياض الصالحين، لسليم الهلالي (2/ 458). التنوير شرح الجامع الصغير، للصنعاني (8/ 123). كنوز رياض الصالحين، لمجموعة من الباحثين (16/ 402). مرقاة المفاتيح شرح مشكاة المصابيح، للقاري (5/ 1953). نزهة المتقين شرح رياض الصالحين (2/ 945).