Source: Sharḥ Kitāb al-Jāmiʿ from Bulūgh al-Marām by Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī
Translation: Ḥāfiẓ ʿAbd al-Salām bin Muḥammad Bhaṭwī
وعن أنس رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم:
طوبى لمن شغله عيبه عن عيوب الناس
It is narrated from Anas (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“Glad tidings (ṭūbā) to the one who is so occupied with his own faults that he has no time to look into the faults of others.”
Narrated by al-Bazzār with a ḥasan chain.
طُوبَى (Ṭūbā):
Derived from ṭayyib (goodness, purity), on the pattern fūʿal.
Originally ṭayyibī, with the yā’ replaced by wāw due to preceding ḍammah.
It means goodness, blessing, pure life, and also refers to a specific tree in Paradise.
Abū Saʿīd (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"طُوبَى شَجَرَةٌ فِي الجَنَّةِ، مَسِيرَةُ مِائَةِ عَامٍ، ثِيَابُ أَهْلِ الجَنَّةِ تَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَكْمَامِهَا"
"Ṭūbā is a tree in Paradise, the distance across it is one hundred years, and the garments of the people of Paradise emerge from its sheaths."
[Ḥasan — Musnad Aḥmad, Ibn Ḥibbān, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr 3918]
This ḥadīth conveys that the person who is deeply engaged in correcting his own faults, who is so focused on his own self-purification, that he has no time or interest to investigate or talk about the faults of others — is truly deserving of ṭūbā, i.e., glad tidings and Paradise.
He is the one who will:
✔ Enjoy a blessed life in this world
✔ Be granted honor and reward in the Hereafter
✔ Be among those deserving of the tree Ṭūbā in Paradise
⚠ No, this does not mean that one should become so absorbed in his own faults that he abandons the obligation of forbidding evil (nahy ʿan al-munkar).
Rather, the meaning is:
He does not investigate people's faults
He does not backbite or expose others in gatherings
He is preoccupied with his own reform and feels ashamed of his sins
He is humble, not judgmental
This quality of self-accountability keeps his focus on self-improvement rather than fault-finding.
✔ True happiness and success lie in focusing on one’s own flaws, not in searching out others’ faults
✔ Such a person earns the glad tidings of Ṭūbā, a tree and symbol of blessing in Paradise
✔ He avoids backbiting, slander, and idle criticism
✔ This ḥadīth encourages introspection, humility, and sincere self-reform
✔ One must still fulfill the duty of forbidding wrong, but with sincerity, wisdom, and without arrogance or judgmentalism
Translation: Ḥāfiẓ ʿAbd al-Salām bin Muḥammad Bhaṭwī
❖ Ḥadīth
وعن أنس رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم:
طوبى لمن شغله عيبه عن عيوب الناس
It is narrated from Anas (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:
“Glad tidings (ṭūbā) to the one who is so occupied with his own faults that he has no time to look into the faults of others.”
Narrated by al-Bazzār with a ḥasan chain.
Referencing
- Al-Manāwī said: This was narrated by al-ʿAskarī from Anas (رضي الله عنه), Abū Nuʿaym from al-Ḥusayn bin ʿAlī (رضي الله عنهما), and al-Bazzār from Anas (رضي الله عنه).
- ʿIrāqī said: All of these chains are weak.
(See Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām)
✦ Vocabulary
طُوبَى (Ṭūbā):
Derived from ṭayyib (goodness, purity), on the pattern fūʿal.
Originally ṭayyibī, with the yā’ replaced by wāw due to preceding ḍammah.
It means goodness, blessing, pure life, and also refers to a specific tree in Paradise.
Abū Saʿīd (رضي الله عنه) narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"طُوبَى شَجَرَةٌ فِي الجَنَّةِ، مَسِيرَةُ مِائَةِ عَامٍ، ثِيَابُ أَهْلِ الجَنَّةِ تَخْرُجُ مِنْ أَكْمَامِهَا"
"Ṭūbā is a tree in Paradise, the distance across it is one hundred years, and the garments of the people of Paradise emerge from its sheaths."
[Ḥasan — Musnad Aḥmad, Ibn Ḥibbān, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr 3918]
✿ Key Points & Benefits
➊ The One Who Ignores Others’ Faults and Focuses on Himself Is Truly Blessed
This ḥadīth conveys that the person who is deeply engaged in correcting his own faults, who is so focused on his own self-purification, that he has no time or interest to investigate or talk about the faults of others — is truly deserving of ṭūbā, i.e., glad tidings and Paradise.
He is the one who will:
✔ Enjoy a blessed life in this world
✔ Be granted honor and reward in the Hereafter
✔ Be among those deserving of the tree Ṭūbā in Paradise
➋ Does This Mean One Should Ignore the Duty of Forbidding Evil?
⚠ No, this does not mean that one should become so absorbed in his own faults that he abandons the obligation of forbidding evil (nahy ʿan al-munkar).
Rather, the meaning is:
He does not investigate people's faults He does not backbite or expose others in gatherings He is preoccupied with his own reform and feels ashamed of his sins He is humble, not judgmentalThis quality of self-accountability keeps his focus on self-improvement rather than fault-finding.
Summary
✔ True happiness and success lie in focusing on one’s own flaws, not in searching out others’ faults
✔ Such a person earns the glad tidings of Ṭūbā, a tree and symbol of blessing in Paradise
✔ He avoids backbiting, slander, and idle criticism
✔ This ḥadīth encourages introspection, humility, and sincere self-reform
✔ One must still fulfill the duty of forbidding wrong, but with sincerity, wisdom, and without arrogance or judgmentalism
