صحيح مسلم
Muslim
كتاب التوبةThe Book of Repentance
باب سُقُوطِ الذُّنُوبِ بِالاِسْتِغْفَارِ تَوْبَةً:Chapter: Sins Are Erased By Praying For Forgiveness And Repenting
حَدَّثَنَا هَارُونُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الْأَيْلِيُّ ، 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 الْأَنْصَارِيِّ ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، 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.
Related hadith on this topic
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Maulana Abdul Aziz Alvi
Hadith Commentary: Benefits and Issues: The meaning of this hadith is that,
no matter how much a person strives to do good deeds and abstains from sin,
even then he cannot fulfill the true right of doing good and avoiding evil.
Therefore, he should always be diligent in repentance (tawbah) and seeking forgiveness (istighfar).
However, some people, due to their incorrect thinking, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation,
might take the meaning of this hadith to be that committing a sin and then seeking forgiveness
is better than not committing the sin at all.
As a result, they may become emboldened in sin and rely upon Allah’s forgiveness,
whereas seeking forgiveness,
or being granted the opportunity and respite to do so, is not guaranteed.
The actual purpose is that if a sin does occur, one should not become despondent and refrain from repentance and seeking forgiveness;
rather, repentance and seeking forgiveness should be adopted in every circumstance.
In other words, the objective is to encourage and urge repentance, not to encourage or incite the commission of sin.
no matter how much a person strives to do good deeds and abstains from sin,
even then he cannot fulfill the true right of doing good and avoiding evil.
Therefore, he should always be diligent in repentance (tawbah) and seeking forgiveness (istighfar).
However, some people, due to their incorrect thinking, misunderstanding, or misinterpretation,
might take the meaning of this hadith to be that committing a sin and then seeking forgiveness
is better than not committing the sin at all.
As a result, they may become emboldened in sin and rely upon Allah’s forgiveness,
whereas seeking forgiveness,
or being granted the opportunity and respite to do so, is not guaranteed.
The actual purpose is that if a sin does occur, one should not become despondent and refrain from repentance and seeking forgiveness;
rather, repentance and seeking forgiveness should be adopted in every circumstance.
In other words, the objective is to encourage and urge repentance, not to encourage or incite the commission of sin.
Source: Tuhfat al-Muslim: Commentary on Sahih Muslim, Page: 6963
Shaykh Dr. Abdur Rahman Freywai
Explanation:
1:
In the narration of Sahih Muslim, it is stated: (فَیَسْتَغْفِرُوْنَ فَیَغْفِرُلَہُمْ) — that is, they commit sins, then repent and seek forgiveness, so Allah forgives them.
This is to indicate the virtue of seeking forgiveness (istighfar) and repentance (tawbah).
1:
In the narration of Sahih Muslim, it is stated: (فَیَسْتَغْفِرُوْنَ فَیَغْفِرُلَہُمْ) — that is, they commit sins, then repent and seek forgiveness, so Allah forgives them.
This is to indicate the virtue of seeking forgiveness (istighfar) and repentance (tawbah).
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhi – Majlis ‘Ilmi Dar al-Da‘wah, New Delhi Edition, Page: 3539
