O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I shall forgive you

Explanation

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that Allah Almighty said in a Qudsi Hadīth: O son of Adam, as long as you supplicate Me and hope for My mercy and do not despair, I will conceal your sin and eliminate it, not minding about that, even if the sin is one of the major ones. O son of Adam, if your sins grow so numerous that they fill what is between the heavens and the earth, extending over its different corners and areas, and then you ask forgiveness of Me, I shall erase and forgive all of them, not caring about how numerous they are. O son of Adam, if you come to Me after death with sins and misdeeds nearly as great as the earth, and you have died as a monotheist, not associating anything with Me, I will meet these sins and misdeeds with forgiveness as great as the earth, for I am vast in forgiveness and I forgive all sins except for Shirk.

Lessons

• The Hadīth shows Allah's vast mercy, forgiveness, and bounty.
• It highlights the merit of Tawhīd and that Allah forgives the sins and misdeeds of the monotheists.
• It demonstrates the danger of Shirk and that Allah does not forgive the polytheists.
• Ibn Rajab said: This Hadīth comprises the three means whereby forgiveness of sins can be attained: First: supplication along with hope. Second: asking for forgiveness and repentance. Third: dying upon Tawhīd.
• This Hadīth is part of what the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) narrated from his Lord, and it is called a Qudsi or divine Hadīth. Its wording and meaning are from Allah; however, it does not have the unique characteristics of the Qur'an that include reciting it as a form of worship, getting purified for it, presenting it as a challenge, its miraculousness, etc.
• Sins are of three types: First: Associating partners with Allah; Allah does not forgive that. Allah Almighty says: {Whoever associates any partners with Allah, Allah has forbidden Paradise for him.} Second: A person doing wrong to himself through the sins and misdeeds committed between him and his Lord. Allah Almighty pardons and forgives that, if He so wills. Third: Sins of which Allah leaves nothing, and that is people's oppression to one another; in this regard, legal retribution is necessary.