No people sit in a gathering in which they do not remember Allah and do not invoke blessings upon their Prophet, except that it will be a source of regret for them. If He wills, He will punish them, and if He wills, He will forgive them
Narrator in the source: Abu Hurayrah reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah say:
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No people sit in a gathering in which they do not remember Allah and do not invoke blessings upon their Prophet, except that it will be a source of regret for them. If He wills, He will punish them, and if He wills, He will forgive them."- Grade in the source
- Authentic
- Reported by
- Narrated by Abu Dāwūd, At-Tirmidhi, and An-Nasā’i in Al-Kubra
- Source entry
- HadeethEnc · 5511 ↗
Original Arabic wording
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رضي الله عنه، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «مَا جَلَسَ قَوْمٌ مَجْلِسًا لَمْ يَذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ فِيهِ وَلَمْ يُصَلُّوا عَلَى نَبِيِّهِمْ إِلاَّ كَانَ عَلَيْهِمْ تِرَةً، فَإِنْ شَاءَ عَذَّبَهُمْ وَإِنْ شَاءَ غَفَرَ لَهُمْ».Understand this hadith
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) warned against neglecting the remembrance of Allah, stating that no group of people sit in a gathering where they do not remember Allah Almighty and do not invoke blessings upon His Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), except that such a gathering will be a source of regret, remorse, loss, and deficiency for them on the Day of Judgment. If Allah wills, He will punish them for their past sins and future shortcomings, and if He wills, He will forgive them out of His grace and mercy.
Lessons from the hadith
- Encouraging Dhikr (remembrance of Allah) and highlighting its merit.
- The merit of gatherings in which Allah Almighty is remembered and His Messenger (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) is mentioned, and that gatherings without these are ominous for their people on the Day of Judgment.
- The warning mentioned against heedlessness of remembering Allah is not restricted to gatherings; rather, it includes other things as well. An-Nawawi said: It is disliked for one who sits in a place to leave it without remembering Allah Almighty therein.
- The grief they experience on the Day of Judgment is either because of missing the reward and recompense for not utilizing time in obeying Allah, or because of incurring sin and being subject to punishment for spending the time in disobeying Allah.
- If this warning is against heedlessness caused by what is permissible, then what about the prohibited gatherings that involve backbiting, talebearing, and other prohibitions?!
References (original Arabic)
سنن أبي داود (7/ 221) (4855). سنن الترمذي (5/ 391) (3380). السنن الكبرى للنسائي (9/ 155) (10163). توضيح الأحكام من بلوغ المرام، لعبد الله البسام (7/ 524). منحة العلام في شرح بلوغ المرام، لعبد الله الفوزان (10/ 396). فتح ذي الجلال والإكرام، لابن عثيمين (6/ 464).