O Son of Adam, I Will Forgive You: Hadith 42 of an-Nawawi
“Were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky…” Few lines give a sinner more hope. This is the last hadith in Imam an-Nawawi’s collection, Hadith 42, a hadith qudsi in which Allah speaks directly to every son of Adam. Known as the O son of Adam hadith qudsi on forgiveness, it names three doors to Allah’s forgiveness that are open to all of us.
At a glance
- Source: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3540; also Hadith 42 of an-Nawawi’s 40
- Narrated by: Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him)
- Grade: Hasan (Darussalam); a hadith qudsi
- Topic: The vastness of Allah’s forgiveness
- Put it into practice: Make dua and ask Allah’s forgiveness today, whatever you have done
The hadith
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that Allah, Blessed is He and Most High, said:
يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ إِنَّكَ مَا دَعَوْتَنِي وَرَجَوْتَنِي غَفَرْتُ لَكَ عَلَى مَا كَانَ فِيكَ وَلاَ أُبَالِي يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ لَوْ بَلَغَتْ ذُنُوبُكَ عَنَانَ السَّمَاءِ ثُمَّ اسْتَغْفَرْتَنِي غَفَرْتُ لَكَ وَلاَ أُبَالِي يَا ابْنَ آدَمَ إِنَّكَ لَوْ أَتَيْتَنِي بِقُرَابِ الأَرْضِ خَطَايَا ثُمَّ لَقِيتَنِي لاَ تُشْرِكُ بِي شَيْئًا لأَتَيْتُكَ بِقُرَابِهَا مَغْفِرَةً
“O son of Adam! Verily as long as you called upon Me and hoped in Me, I forgave you, despite whatever may have occurred from you, and I did not mind. O son of Adam! Were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky, then you sought forgiveness from Me, I would forgive you, and I would not mind. So son of Adam! If you came to me with sins nearly as great as the earth, and then you met Me not associating anything with Me, I would come to you with forgiveness nearly as great as it.”
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3540 · Hasan (Darussalam) · Translation from Sunnah.com
A small note: in the copy of at-Tirmidhi on Sunnah.com, he calls the hadith gharib (known only through this one route), while Imam an-Nawawi quotes him as saying hasan sahih. Copies of the book differ here. Sunnah.com’s grade is Hasan, and HadeethEnc also grades it Hasan.
Three doors to forgiveness
HadeethEnc quotes Ibn Rajab: the hadith gathers the three means by which sins are forgiven. Based on its explanation:
- Dua with hope. As long as we call on Allah and hope in His mercy without despair, He covers our sins and removes them, even major ones.
- Seeking forgiveness. Even if our sins filled the space between the heavens and the earth, if we ask Allah’s forgiveness, He erases them all, however many they are.
- Dying upon tawhid. Whoever meets Allah without associating anything with Him, Allah meets his sins with forgiveness as great as the earth.
What this hadith does not say
HadeethEnc also explains its limits. Shirk is the one sin Allah does not forgive for the one who dies upon it. And wrongs done to other people are not simply wiped away: people’s rights against one another must be settled. We touched on this in Hadith 39, where a mistake lifts the sin but not another person’s right.
Allah makes the same promise in the Quran:
۞ قُلْ يَـٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allāh. Indeed, Allāh forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.'”
Surah Az-Zumar 39:53 · Translation: Saheeh International, from Quran.com
Reflection: the hadith says Allah forgives “and I would not mind”. We are the ones who mind. We think our sins are too many, too old or too shameful, and so we stop asking. That feeling is the real danger, not the size of the sins. The door this hadith opens is shut only by shirk, or by our own despair.
How to put it into practice
The hadith does not fix a time or number, so these are suggestions:
- Never stop making dua, especially after a sin. That is when it matters most.
- Say the best istighfar: learn Sayyidul Istighfar for the morning and evening.
- Ask in your prayer, for example the dua between the two sujud.
- Turn to Allah in hardship with the dua of Prophet Yunus.
- Settle what you owe people: return rights and apologize where you have wronged someone.
- Guard your tawhid. Keep your worship for Allah alone.
Key lessons
- Allah’s forgiveness is far greater than our sins.
- Dua with hope, seeking forgiveness and tawhid are the three doors to forgiveness.
- No sin is too big to ask about, except shirk for one who dies upon it.
- Rights owed to people still need to be returned.
- Despair of Allah’s mercy is itself a trap; never stop asking.
Questions people ask
Is the “O son of Adam” hadith on forgiveness authentic?
Yes. It is in Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3540, graded Hasan by Darussalam on Sunnah.com and Hasan by HadeethEnc. Imam an-Nawawi included it as the last hadith of his collection.
Does Allah forgive every sin?
According to HadeethEnc’s explanation of this hadith, Allah forgives all sins for those who meet Him upon tawhid, except shirk. Rights owed to other people still have to be settled.
What are the three means of forgiveness in this hadith?
HadeethEnc quotes Ibn Rajab: dua with hope, seeking forgiveness and repentance, and dying upon tawhid.
With this hadith, we have reached the end of Imam an-Nawawi’s collection. You can find all 42 in one place. May Allah forgive us, our parents and all the believers, and accept every word of it from us.
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