A Mustard Seed of Faith: Who Is Taken Out of Hell
A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds you can hold. The Prophet ﷺ used it to describe the least amount of faith that will still bring a person out of the Fire. This mustard seed of faith hadith is in both Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Here we look at what it says, what it shows about faith and the danger of shirk, and the deep hope it gives every believer.
At a glance
- Source: Sahih al-Bukhari 22, also in Sahih Muslim 184a
- Narrated by: Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri and Anas ibn Malik
- Grade: Sahih (al-Bukhari and Muslim)
- Topic: Faith, shirk and leaving the Fire
- Practise it: Renew your la ilaha illallah today, and guard it from anything that would spoil it
The hadith: a mustard seed of faith
يَدْخُلُ أَهْلُ الْجَنَّةِ الْجَنَّةَ، وَأَهْلُ النَّارِ النَّارَ، ثُمَّ يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَخْرِجُوا مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرْدَلٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ. فَيُخْرَجُونَ مِنْهَا قَدِ اسْوَدُّوا فَيُلْقَوْنَ فِي نَهَرِ الْحَيَا ـ أَوِ الْحَيَاةِ، شَكَّ مَالِكٌ ـ فَيَنْبُتُونَ كَمَا تَنْبُتُ الْحِبَّةُ فِي جَانِبِ السَّيْلِ، أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّهَا تَخْرُجُ صَفْرَاءَ مُلْتَوِيَةً
“When the people of Paradise will enter Paradise and the people of Hell will go to Hell, Allah will order those who have had faith equal to the weight of a grain of mustard seed to be taken out from Hell. So they will be taken out but (by then) they will be blackened (charred). Then they will be put in the river of Haya’ (rain) or Hayat (life) (the Narrator is in doubt as to which is the right term), and they will revive like a grain that grows near the bank of a flood channel. Don’t you see that it comes out yellow and twisted?”
Sahih al-Bukhari 22 · Narrated by Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this. Imam Muslim records it from him too, adding that Allah admits whom He wills into Paradise out of His mercy:
يُدْخِلُ اللَّهُ أَهْلَ الْجَنَّةِ الْجَنَّةَ يُدْخِلُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ بِرَحْمَتَهِ وَيُدْخِلُ أَهْلَ النَّارِ النَّارَ ثُمَّ يَقُولُ انْظُرُوا مَنْ وَجَدْتُمْ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرْدَلٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ فَأَخْرِجُوهُ. فَيُخْرَجُونَ مِنْهَا حُمَمًا قَدِ امْتَحَشُوا. فَيُلْقَوْنَ فِي نَهْرِ الْحَيَاةِ أَوِ الْحَيَا فَيَنْبُتُونَ فِيهِ كَمَا تَنْبُتُ الْحِبَّةُ إِلَى جَانِبِ السَّيْلِ أَلَمْ تَرَوْهَا كَيْفَ تَخْرُجُ صَفْرَاءَ مُلْتَوِيَةً
“Allah will admit into Paradise those deserving of Paradise, and He will admit whom He wishes out of His Mercy, and admit those condemned to Hell into the Fire (of Hell). He would then say: See, he whom you find having as much faith in his heart as a grain of mustard, bring him out. They will then be brought out burned and turned to charcoal, and would be cast into the river of life, and they would sprout as does a seed in the silt carried away by flood. Have you not seen that it comes out yellow (fresh) and intertwined?”
Sahih Muslim 184a · Narrated by Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
Barley, wheat and an atom
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reports an even smaller measure:
يَخْرُجُ مِنَ النَّارِ مَنْ قَالَ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ، وَفِي قَلْبِهِ وَزْنُ شَعِيرَةٍ مِنْ خَيْرٍ، وَيَخْرُجُ مِنَ النَّارِ مَنْ قَالَ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ، وَفِي قَلْبِهِ وَزْنُ بُرَّةٍ مِنْ خَيْرٍ، وَيَخْرُجُ مِنَ النَّارِ مَنْ قَالَ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ، وَفِي قَلْبِهِ وَزْنُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ خَيْرٍ
“Whoever said ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah’ and has in his heart good (faith) equal to the weight of a barley grain will be taken out of Hell. And whoever said ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah’ and has in his heart good (faith) equal to the weight of a wheat grain will be taken out of Hell. And whoever said ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah’ and has in his heart good (faith) equal to the weight of an atom will be taken out of Hell.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 44 · Narrated by Anas ibn Malik · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
Al-Bukhari notes that another narrator reported it with “of faith” in place of “of good”. The long hadith of intercession in Sahih al-Bukhari 7510 describes the Prophet ﷺ himself interceding again and again for those with these small amounts of faith.
Take heed: these believers still entered the Fire first, and came out charred. Faith saves in the end, but sins carried without repentance can still cost a believer dearly.
What it means: faith is the line between hope and loss
Every one of these narrations ties leaving the Fire to the same condition: faith in the heart, and in the wording of al-Bukhari 44, saying la ilaha illallah. Without that, nothing else counts. The Quran makes this clear:
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِۦ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِٱللَّهِ فَقَدِ ٱفْتَرَىٰٓ إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا
“Indeed, Allāh does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allāh has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin.”
Surah An-Nisa’ 4:48 · Translation: Saheeh International, from Quran.com
So the same hadith that gives hope to a believer with the smallest faith is a warning to anyone who associates partners with Allah. This is why the uncle of the Prophet ﷺ, for all he did for him, was not taken out, as we saw in The Least Punishment in Hell.
Take heed: guard your tawhid above everything. Do not let anything share in the worship, trust, fear or hope that belong to Allah alone.
How to practise it
- Say it with meaning. Make la ilaha illallah part of your daily dhikr, and think about what it denies and what it affirms.
- Check your heart for shirk. Ask yourself where your trust, fear and hope really go, and turn them back to Allah.
- Don’t rely on the minimum. The hadith is hope for the weakest believer, not a plan. Aim to enter Paradise without first entering the Fire.
- Repent now. These believers came out charred. Repentance in this life is far easier than what they went through.
- Ask for a good ending. Ask Allah to keep you firm on faith until your last breath.
Hope: Allah does not waste even an atom of faith
These may be some of the most hopeful words in the Sunnah. Allah will not leave in the Fire anyone with even an atom’s weight of faith. He brings them out, revives them in the river of life, and in Sahih Muslim’s wording admits whom He wills into Paradise out of His mercy.
If you have ever feared that your faith is too weak, these hadith are for you. Hold on to it, strengthen it, and never let it go. For more on the reward of this testimony, see Glorifying Allah: The Reward of La ilaha illallah 100 Times.
Reflection: the Prophet ﷺ compared the believers leaving the Fire to a seed that sprouts by a flood channel, yellow and fresh. Something that looked burnt and finished comes back to life. That is how Allah treats even the smallest faith: He does not let it be lost.
Questions people ask
What is the mustard seed of faith hadith?
In Sahih al-Bukhari 22 and Sahih Muslim 184a, the Prophet ﷺ said that Allah will order everyone with faith equal to the weight of a mustard seed to be taken out of the Fire.
Will a Muslim stay in Hell forever?
These hadith say that whoever has even an atom’s weight of faith and said la ilaha illallah will be taken out of the Fire (Sahih al-Bukhari 44). Some believers may enter it first because of their sins.
Does this hadith apply to those who commit shirk?
No. The hadith is about those with faith. The Quran says Allah does not forgive association with Him (Quran 4:48).
Key lessons
- Anyone with a mustard seed of faith will be taken out of the Fire (al-Bukhari 22, Muslim 184a).
- Even an atom’s weight of faith with la ilaha illallah is enough to leave it (al-Bukhari 44).
- Some believers enter the Fire first because of their sins, so repentance matters.
- Shirk is the one thing Allah does not forgive (Quran 4:48), so guard your tawhid.
- Allah does not waste even the smallest faith; keep yours alive.
Say la ilaha illallah now, slowly, and mean it. May Allah keep it in our hearts until our last breath, and admit us to Paradise without passing through the Fire.
Save this to Pinterest so you can return to this reminder
Share the reward. Send this article to someone who needs it today — teaching a hadith or dua can become a lasting good deed for you, in shaa Allah.
