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Riyad as-Salihin 1447

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Allah, the Exalted, has teams of angels who go about on the roads seeking those who remember Allah. When they find some people remembering…

Abu Hurayrahnarrated it
Sahihgraded sahih
2names in the chain
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وعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه

قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: «إن لله تعالى ملائكة يطوفون في الطرق يلتمسون أهل الذكر، فإذا وجدوا قومًا يذكرون الله عز وجل، تنادوا: هلموا إلى حاجتكم، فيحفونهم بأجنحتهم إلى السماء الدنيا، فيسألهم ربهم وهو أعلم: ما يقول عبادي؟

قال: يقولون: يسبحونك، ويكبرونك، ويحمدونك، ويمجدونك، فيقول: هل رأوني؟ فيقولون: لا لا والله ما رأوك، فيقول: كيف لو رأوني؟! قال: يقولون: لو رأوك كانوا أشد لك عبادة، وأشد لك تمجيدًا، وأكثر لك تسبيحًا فيقول: فماذا يسألون؟

قال: يقولون: يسألونك الجنة. قال: يقول: وهل رأوها؟ قال: يقولون: لا والله يا رب ما رأوها. قال: يقول: فكيف لو رأوها؟! قال: يقولون: لو أنهم رأوها كانوا أشد عليها حرصًا، وأشد لها طلبًا، وأعظم فيها رغبة.

قال: فمم يتعوذون؟ قال يقولون: يتعوذون من النار، قال: فيقول: وهل رأوها؟ قال: يقولون: ولا والله ما رأوها. فيقول: كيف لو رأوها؟! قال: يقولون: لو رأوها كانوا أشد فرارًا، وأشد لها مخافة.

قال: يقول: فأشهدكم أني قد غفرت لهم، قال: يقول ملك من الملائكة: فيهم فلان ليس منهم، إنما جاء لحاجة، قال: هم الجلساء لا يشقى بهم جليسهم» (متفق عليه). وفي رواية لمسلم عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: «إن لله ملائكة سيارة فضلا يتتبعون مجالس الذكر، فإذا وجدوا مجلسًا فيه ذكر، قعدوا معهم، وحف بعضهم بعضًا بأجنحتهم حتى يملئوا ما بينهم وما بين السماء الدنيا، فإذا تفرقوا عرجوا وصعدوا إلى السماء، فيسألهم الله عز وجل وهو أعلم: من أين جئتم؟

فيقولون: جئنا من عند عباد لك في الأرض: يسبحونك، ويكبرونك، ويهللونك، ويحمدونك، ويسألونك. قال: وماذا يسألوني؟ قالوا: يسألونك جنتك. قال: وهل رأوا جنتي؟

قالوا: لا، أي رب. قال: فكيف لو رأوا جنتي؟! قالوا: ويستجيرونك. قال: ومم يستجيروني؟ قالوا: من نارك يا رب. قال: وهل رأوا ناري؟ قالوا: لا، قال: فكيف لو رأوا ناري؟

قالوا: ويستغفرونك، فيقول: قد غفرت لهم، وأعطيتهم ما سألوا، وأجرتهم ما استجاروا. قال: فيقولون: رب فيهم فلان عبد خطاء إنما مر، فجلس معهم، فيقول: وله غفرت، هم القوم لا يشقى بهم جليسهم»

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “Allah, the Exalted, has teams of angels who go about on the roads seeking those who remember Allah. When they find some people remembering Allah they call to one another and say, ‘Come to what you are looking for;’ and they surround them with their wings till the space between them and the lowest sky is fully covered.

Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, asks them (although He is best informed about every thing): ‘What are my slave saying?’ They say: ‘They are glorifying Your Tasbih, Tahmid, Takbir, Tamjid, (i.e., they were declaring Your Perfectness, praising, remembering the Greatness and Majesty of Allah).’ He asks: ‘Have they seen Me?’ They reply, ‘No, indeed, they have not seen You.’

He asks: ‘How would they act if they were to see Me?’ Thereupon they reply: ‘If they were to see You, they would engage more earnestly in worshipping and glorifying You and would extol You more.’ He would say: ‘What do they beg of Me?’ They say, ‘They beg You for Your Jannah.’

Allah says, ‘Have they seen My Jannah?’ They say, ‘No, our Rubb.’ He says: ‘How would they act if they were to see My Jannah?’ They reply, ‘Were they to see it, they would more intensely eager for it.’ They (the angels) say, ‘They seek Your Protection.’ He asks, ‘Against what do they seek My Protection?’ They (the angels) say, ‘Our Rubb, from the fire of Hell.’

(He, the Rubb) says, ‘Have they seen the fire of Hell?’ They say, ‘No. By Your Honour, they have not seen it.’ He says: ‘How would they act if they were to see My Fire?’ They say: ‘If they were to see it, they would more earnest in being away from it and fearing it. They beg of Your forgiveness.’

He says: ‘I call you to witness that I hereby grant pardon to them and confer upon them what they ask for; and grant them protection against what they seek protection from.’

One of the angels says: ‘Our Rubb, there is amongst them such and such slave who does not belong to the assembly of those who are participating in Your remembrance. He passed by them and sat down with them.’

He says: ‘I also grant him pardon because they are the people by virtue of whom their associates will not be unfortunate’.”.(The narration in Muslim is also the same with minor changes in wordings).

Riyad as-Salihin 1447, Book 16, The Book of the Remembrance of Allah, Hadith 40. 2 min read

What it means

This Hadīth narrates one of the manifestations of glorifying Dhikr sessions. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said that Allah has assigned a certain group of angels, other than the keepers, to wander about in earth. These angels rove around the Muslims' streets, mosques, and houses seeking Dhikr sessions, to visit, attend, and listen to its participants.

Al-Hāfizh said: "It appears that this specifically applies to assemblies where Allah is exalted." If they find a group of people remembering Allah, the Almighty, or a Dhikr session as in Muslim's narration, they call each other. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) described the angels in Dhikr sessions saying that they encircle them tight like a bracelet in the wrist.

They surround them with their wings, until they reach the heavens. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) narrated the conversation between the Lord, the Exalted, and His noble angels: Their Lord asks them, though He knows best their affairs, to make mention of such people remembering Him in the exalted assembly of angels and to boast about them before the angels.

"What are My slaves saying?" The angels reply that those people remembering Allah are saying: Glory be to Allah, praise be to Allah, there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Most Great. They glorify Allah by saying "there is no god but Allah" because it entails the oneness of worship.

Allah says: "'Have they seen Me?' They reply: 'No, by Allah they have not seen You.' He asks: 'What if they see Me?'" The angels reply: "If they were to see You, they would engage more devoutly in worshiping, extolling, and glorifying You", because diligence in worship is dependent on the extent of knowledge. Then Allah, Blessed and Exalted, asks them what such people are asking of Him, and the angels reply that they are asking Him for Paradise, i.e. they are remembering You and worshiping You aspiring to Your Paradise.

The angels reply that if they were to see it, they would be ever more devoted to enter it. They would endeavor even more seriously to attain it, because hearing about something is not like seeing it.

Allah says to the angels: "From what are they seeking refuge?" In other words what are they afraid of, and what are they asking their Lord to save them from? The angels reply that they are seeking refuge from Hellfire, i.e. they remember and worship their Lord out of fear from Hellfire, and they ask Him, the Almighty, to save them from it.

Allah says: "What if they see it?" The angels reply that if they were to see it, they would exert themselves to flee therefrom, i.e. they would be more diligent in doing righteous deeds that would be a cause for saving them from Hellfire.

Then Allah, the Almighty, says: "Bear witness that I have forgiven them." One of the angels says: "There is amongst them so-and-so who is not one of them. He only came for another purpose", i.e. he came because of a need he had to take care of and was sitting with them, will he be forgiven also?

Allah, the Exalted, says that He grants such a person pardon because they are the people by virtue of whom their companion will in no way be unfortunate.

From the Encyclopedia of Translated Prophetic Hadiths, hadeethenc.com.

The chain

Who passed it on, from Imam an-Nawawi back to the one who was there.

  1. 1Imam an-NawawiCompiler, died 676 AH
  2. 2Abu HurayrahFrom, Companion, died 57 AH

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