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Riyad as-Salihin 439

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “When Allah intends to show mercy to a people, He collects their Prophet before them and makes him a herald to happiness for them in the Hereafter; and…

Abu Musa al-Asharinarrated it
Sahihgraded sahih
2names in the chain
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وعن أبي موسى الأشعري، رضي الله عنه، عن

النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: «إذا أراد الله تعالى، رحمة أمةٍ، قبض نبيها قبلها، فجعله لها فرطاً وسلفاً بين يديها، وإذا أراد هلكة أمةٍ، عذبها ونبيها حي، فأهلكها وهو حى ينظر، فأقر عينه بهلاكها حين كذبوه وعصوا امره»

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said, “When Allah intends to show mercy to a people, He collects their Prophet before them and makes him a herald to happiness for them in the Hereafter; and when He intends to destroy a people, He punishes them while their Prophet is alive, and destroys them while he is alive and watches them and makes him witness their destruction because they disbelieved in him and disobeyed his commands”.

Riyad as-Salihin 439, Book 1, The Book of Miscellany, Hadith 439. 1 min read

What it means

As indicated by the Hadīth, if Allah, the Almighty, wills good for a certain people, He causes their prophet to die before them, and thus he gets to Paradise ahead of them and becomes their intercessor. A similar meaning was expressed in another Hadīth, in which the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “I shall be there at the Basin before you.”

In other words, I will be there before you so as to get the water for you. “And if He wills to destroy a people, He punishes them whilst their prophet is alive, witnessing their destruction.” This is similar to what had befallen the people of Prophet Nūh and other prophets (peace be upon them). It is as if Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to tell them about the favor and kindness of their Lord who sent him as a source of mercy for this Muslim Ummah.

In the Qur’an, He says: {And We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds} [Sūrat al-Anbiyā': 107] Allah, the Almighty, promised the Muslims that He would not punish them while the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was still alive among them, and He even bestowed more of His favor and bounty upon them.

He says: {But Allah would not punish them while you are among them, and Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness.} [Sūrat al-Anfāl: 33]

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 Musa al-AshariFrom, Companion, died 42 AH

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