O My slaves, I have made oppression forbidden for Myself, and I have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another
Narrator in the source: Abu Dharr
Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), as part of what he narrated from his Lord, said that Allah Almighty said: "O My slaves, I have made oppression forbidden for Myself, and I have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another. O My slaves, all of you are misguided except those whom I guide, so seek guidance from Me, and I shall guide you. O My slaves, all of you are hungry except those whom I feed, so ask Me for food, and I shall feed you. O My slaves, all of you are naked except those whom I clothe, so ask Me for clothes, and I shall clothe you. O My slaves, you commit sins by night and day, and I forgive all sins, so ask Me for forgiveness, and I shall forgive you. O, My slaves, you can neither do Me harm nor do Me any good. O My slaves, if the first and the last amongst you and all humans and jinn were all as pious as the most pious heart of any man amongst you, that would add nothing to My dominion. O My slaves, if the first and the last amongst you and all humans and jinn were all as wicked as the most wicked heart of any man amongst you, this would cause no loss to My dominion. O My slaves, if the first and the last amongst you and all humans and jinn were all to stand together in one place and ask of Me, and I were to give everyone what he asked for, that would not decrease what I possess, except what is decreased of the sea when a needle is dipped into it. O, My slaves, it is only your deeds that I record for, and I shall recompense you for them. So, whoever finds good should praise Allah, and whoever finds other than that should blame no one but himself."- Grade in the source
- Authentic
- Reported by
- Narrated by Muslim
- Source entry
- HadeethEnc · 4810 ↗
Original Arabic wording
عن أبي ذر رضي الله عنه: عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِيمَا رَوَى عَنِ اللهِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «يَا عِبَادِي إِنِّي حَرَّمْتُ الظُّلْمَ عَلَى نَفْسِي، وَجَعَلْتُهُ بَيْنَكُمْ مُحَرَّمًا، فَلَا تَظَالَمُوا، يَا عِبَادِي كُلُّكُمْ ضَالٌّ إِلَّا مَنْ هَدَيْتُهُ، فَاسْتَهْدُونِي أَهْدِكُمْ، يَا عِبَادِي كُلُّكُمْ جَائِعٌ إِلَّا مَنْ أَطْعَمْتُهُ، فَاسْتَطْعِمُونِي أُطْعِمْكُمْ، يَا عِبَادِي كُلُّكُمْ عَارٍ إِلَّا مَنْ كَسَوْتُهُ، فَاسْتَكْسُونِي أَكْسُكُمْ، يَا عِبَادِي إِنَّكُمْ تُخْطِئُونَ بِاللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَأَنَا أَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا فَاسْتَغْفِرُونِي أَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ، يَا عِبَادِي إِنَّكُمْ لَنْ تَبْلُغُوا ضَرِّي فَتَضُرُّونِي، وَلَنْ تَبْلُغُوا نَفْعِي فَتَنْفَعُونِي، يَا عِبَادِي لَوْ أَنَّ أَوَّلَكُمْ وَآخِرَكُمْ وَإِنْسَكُمْ وَجِنَّكُمْ كَانُوا عَلَى أَتْقَى قَلْبِ رَجُلٍ وَاحِدٍ مِنْكُمْ مَا زَادَ ذَلِكَ فِي مُلْكِي شَيْئًا، يَا عِبَادِي لَوْ أَنَّ أَوَّلَكُمْ وَآخِرَكُمْ وَإِنْسَكُمْ وَجِنَّكُمْ كَانُوا عَلَى أَفْجَرِ قَلْبِ رَجُلٍ وَاحِدٍ مَا نَقَصَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ مُلْكِي شَيْئًا، يَا عِبَادِي لَوْ أَنَّ أَوَّلَكُمْ وَآخِرَكُمْ وَإِنْسَكُمْ وَجِنَّكُمْ قَامُوا فِي صَعِيدٍ وَاحِدٍ فَسَأَلُونِي فَأَعْطَيْتُ كُلَّ إِنْسَانٍ مَسْأَلَتَهُ مَا نَقَصَ ذَلِكَ مِمَّا عِنْدِي إِلَّا كَمَا يَنْقُصُ الْمِخْيَطُ إِذَا أُدْخِلَ الْبَحْرَ، يَا عِبَادِي إِنَّمَا هِيَ أَعْمَالُكُمْ أُحْصِيهَا لَكُمْ ثُمَّ أُوَفِّيكُمْ إِيَّاهَا، فَمَنْ وَجَدَ خَيْرًا فَلْيَحْمَدِ اللهَ، وَمَنْ وَجَدَ غَيْرَ ذَلِكَ فَلَا يَلُومَنَّ إِلَّا نَفْسَهُ».Understand this hadith
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs that Allah Almighty said that He made oppression forbidden for Himself and forbidden among His servants, so people should not oppress one another; that all servants are misguided away from the true path, except if guided and directed by Allah. And whoever asks Allah for guidance, He guides and directs him; that all servants stand in need of Allah in all their affairs. So, whoever asks from Allah, He fulfills his need and gives him sufficiency; that they commit sins day and night, and Allah Almighty conceals their sins and pardons them when they ask for His forgiveness; that they cannot cause any harm to Allah or bring Him any benefit; that if they were as pious as the most pious heart of any man, their piety would not add anything to Allah's dominion; and if they were as wicked as the most wicked heart of any man, their wickedness would not cause any decrease in His dominion. This is because they are helpless and in need of Allah. They need Him in all their conditions and in all times and places, whereas He is the Self-Sufficient One above any need; and that if they were to stand in one place, including all humans and jinn, the first and last one amongst them and were to ask from Allah, and He gave everyone what he asked for, this would not cause any decrease to what Allah possesses, like a needle when it is dipped into the sea; the sea does not diminish whatsoever on account of that. This is because of the perfect self-sufficiency of Allah Almighty; and that Allah Almighty records and counts the deeds of His servants and gives them full recompense on the Day of Judgment. Whoever finds good recompense for his deeds should praise Allah for guiding him to His worship, and whoever finds different recompense for his deeds should not blame anyone but his evil-commanding self, which led him to the loss.
Lessons from the hadith
- This is one of the Hadīths the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) narrated about his Lord. It is called a Qudsi or divine Hadīth, and its wording and meaning are attributed to Allah. However, Qudsi Hadīths do not possess the traits of the Qur'an, which is distinguished from anything else, such as reciting it as a form of worship, getting purified for it, presenting it as a challenge, its miraculousness, etc.
- Any knowledge or guidance that people possess comes from Allah’s guidance and teaching.
- Any good that happens to a person comes from Allah's grace, and any evil that afflicts him stems from his soul and vain desire.
- Whoever acts rightly is due to guidance from his Lord, and the good recompense he gets is a favour from Allah, to Whom all praise is due. And whoever does wrong should not blame anyone but himself.
References (original Arabic)
صحيح مسلم (4/ 1994) (2577). التحفة الربانية في شرح الأربعين حديثًا النووية (ص52). شرح الأربعين النووية، لابن عثيمين (ص235). فتح القوي المتين في شرح الأربعين وتتمة الخمسين، للعباد (ص82). الأحاديث الأربعون النووية وعليها الشرح الموجز المفيد، لعبد الله المحسن (ص46).