Fear Allah wherever you are; follow a bad deed with a good deed and it will erase it; and treat people with good morals
Narrator in the source: Abu Dharr، Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal
Abu Dharr, Jundub ibn Junādah, and Abu ‘Abdur-Rahmān, Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with both of them) reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Fear Allah wherever you are; follow a bad deed with a good deed and it will erase it; and treat people with good morals."- Grade in the source
- At-Tirmidhi said: It is a Hasan (sound) Hadīth
- Reported by
- Narrated by At-Tirmidhi
- Source entry
- HadeethEnc · 4302 ↗
Original Arabic wording
عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ، جُنْدُبِ بْنِ جُنَادَةَ، وَأَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، مُعَاذِ بْنِ جَبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «اتَّقِ اللَّهَ حَيْثُمَا كُنْت، وَأَتْبِعْ السَّيِّئَةَ الْحَسَنَةَ تَمْحُهَا، وَخَالِقْ النَّاسَ بِخُلُقٍ حَسَنٍ».Understand this hadith
The Prophet (ﷺ) enjoins three things: First: fear of Allah, by fulfilling the duties and avoiding the prohibitions, in every place, time, and condition, and in secret and public, and at good times and bad ones, and so on. Second: If you fall into a sin, do a good deed after it, like prayer, charity, an act of kindness, upholding kinship ties, repentance, etc., for that erases the sin. Third: Treat people with good morals, like smiling at them, showing them gentleness and leniency, doing good to them, and averting harm from them.
Lessons from the hadith
- The Hadīth shows Allah's grace toward His servants through His mercy, forgiveness, and pardon.
- The Hadīth comprises three rights: the right of Allah, which is to fear Him; the right of oneself, which is to perform good deeds after bad ones; and the right of people, which is to treat them with noble manners.
- The Hadīth encourages us to do good deeds after bad ones and to possess good morals. These two are among the traits of piety, and he singled them out to clarify them.
References (original Arabic)
الأربعون النووية (ص100) (ح18). سنن الترمذي (3/ 526) (1987). التحفة الربانية في شرح الأربعين حديثًا النووية، لإسماعيل الأنصاري (ص40). شرح الأربعين النووية، لابن عثيمين (ص195). فتح القوي المتين في شرح الأربعين وتتمة الخمسين، لعبد المحسن البدر (ص67).