Hadith Qudsi 1-110
DIVINE JUSTICE, MERCY, AND THE NATURE OF FAITH
THE SCALE OF DEEDS AND THE GRAVITY OF POLYTHEISM
Allah declares that a good deed will be rewarded tenfold or even more, while a bad deed will be counted as only one—or may be forgiven entirely. He emphasizes His closeness to humanity, stating, "He who draws close to Me a hand's span, I will draw close to him an arm's length...and whoever comes to Me walking, I will go to him running." Anyone who meets Allah with sins as great as the earth, yet without associating partners with Him, will be met with forgiveness of the same magnitude, for entering Hell is the fate of one who associates anything with God.
The most dreadful thing the Prophet feared for his followers was minor polytheism, which he identified as hypocrisy. On the Day of Judgment, Allah will tell such people to seek their reward from those they sought to impress. Allah states that He is entirely self-sufficient, free of any need for partners. Consequently, if anyone performs a deed while associating others with Him, Allah will abandon both the person and their polytheistic act.
The purity of one's intention is paramount. Allah will question a martyr, a scholar, and a generous man who performed their deeds to be praised by others. He will tell each of them, "You are lying," and reveal their true intentions were for worldly recognition, not for His sake. Consequently, they will be dragged on their faces and cast into Hell.
THE BOUNDLESSNESS OF DIVINE MERCY
Allah affirms, "My mercy has preceded (excelled) my wrath." He instructs His angels concerning human intentions: if a person intends a bad deed but does not commit it, it should be recorded as a virtue. If they commit it, it is written as a single sin. Conversely, if a person intends a good deed but does not perform it, it is still recorded as a virtue; if they perform it, its reward is multiplied from ten to seven hundred times.
To illustrate this mercy, a story is told of two men from the Children of Israel. One was a sinner and the other a devoted worshipper. The devotee, seeing his friend's sin, rashly declared, "By Allah, He will neither forgive you nor admit you to Paradise." At their judgment, Allah asked the devotee if he held power over what was in Allah's hands. He then sent the sinner to Paradise by His mercy and the devotee to Hell for his arrogance. Similarly, when a person swore that Allah would not forgive someone, Allah declared, "Verily I have forgiven so-and-so and nullified your deeds."
Another man, blessed with wealth and sons but having done no good deeds, feared Allah's punishment. He instructed his sons to burn his body after his death and scatter his ashes on a stormy day. When Allah resurrected him and asked why he did this, the man replied it was out of fear of Him. For this, Allah rewarded him with His mercy and did not punish him.
Allah's forgiveness is perpetually available. The devil vows to misguide the children of Adam as long as they live, but Allah responds, "By My Glory and Majesty! As long as they seek My forgiveness, I will go on to pardon them." Even a slave who repeatedly sins and repents will be forgiven, as Allah acknowledges that the slave knows he has a Lord who forgives sin.
TRIALS, PATIENCE, AND DIVINE LOVE
Allah promises great rewards for those who endure hardship with patience. He says, "I have nothing to give but Paradise as a reward to My believer-slave who, if I cause his son or brother to die, he bears it patiently." If one bears the first shock of a calamity patiently, the reward will be nothing less than Paradise. When a believer's child dies and the parent praises God, Allah commands the angels to build a house in Paradise for this slave and name it 'The House of Praise'. Likewise, if Allah deprives a slave of his eyes and he remains patient, he will be compensated with Paradise.
When a believer falls ill, Allah instructs the angels to continue recording the good deeds the person would have performed if healthy, until they either heal or die. The Prophet rejoiced with a patient suffering from fever, conveying Allah's words that this worldly fire serves to save a faithful slave from his share of the fire in the Hereafter.
Allah’s love is reserved for those who love one another for His sake. For them, there will be pulpits of light in the shade of His Throne, a status that even prophets and martyrs will envy. He states, "My love is established for those who love one another for My sake." When Allah loves a person, He informs the angel Gabriel, who then announces it in the heavens, and acceptance is established for that person on earth; the opposite occurs when Allah dislikes someone.
THE DAY OF JUDGMENT AND THE HEREAFTER
THE FINAL ACCOUNTING
On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will draw near to a believer, screen them, and have them confess their sins privately. He will then say, "I concealed them (your sins in the world) and I do forgive you today," and the person will be given their record of good deeds. As for disbelievers and hypocrites, their disbelief will be announced publicly, and Allah's curse will be upon them.
Nations will be brought forth, and the Prophet's nation will be so numerous they will fill the plains and mountains. Allah will inform the Prophet that seventy thousand of his followers will enter Paradise without any reckoning—they are those who do not rely on superstitious cures or omens but place their full trust in their Lord. In another account, the Prophet’s nation will be gathered in three groups: one will enter Paradise without account, a second after an easy reckoning, and a third, bearing sins like mountains, will have their sins transferred to the Jews and Christians and will enter Paradise by Allah’s mercy.
Allah will question people about His blessings, asking, "Did we not give you a healthy body, and did we not saturate you with cold water?" A person's own body parts—their thighs, flesh, and bones—will be made to speak and bear witness to their deeds after their mouth is sealed. The first deeds a person will be called to account for are their obligatory prayers. If they are complete, they have succeeded; if not, Allah will command the angels to complete them with the person's voluntary prayers.
Allah will call Adam and command him to bring forth the group for Hell, which will be nine hundred and ninety-nine out of every thousand people. The dread of this moment will be so intense that children will turn grey-haired and the pregnant will miscarry. The Prophet then reassured his companions, stating his hope that they would constitute half the inhabitants of Paradise, with the vast numbers for Hell coming from Gog and Magog.
THE REALITY OF HELL
When Allah created Hell, He had the angel Gabriel inspect it. Gabriel returned and said, "By Your glory! No one who hears of it will enter it." Then Allah encompassed it with worldly lusts and desires. When Gabriel saw it again, he feared that no one would escape from entering it.
Allah will ask the least tormented person in Hell if they would offer the entire world as ransom to escape the fire, and they will say yes. Allah will remind them that He asked for something much less while they were in the loins of Adam—to not associate partners with Him—but they refused.
On Judgment Day, the believers will argue vehemently with their Lord about their brethren who were admitted into Hell, recalling how they used to pray, fast, and perform pilgrimage together. Allah will permit them to bring out anyone they recognize, and then anyone with belief in their heart, even as little as the weight of an atom.
Prophet Abraham will see his father, Azar, with a dark and dusty face. Despite Abraham’s plea, Allah, having forbidden Paradise to disbelievers, will not forgive his father. Instead, his father will be transformed into a hyena and thrown into the fire.
PARADISE AND ITS INHABITANTS
When Allah created Paradise, Gabriel saw it and said, "By Your glory! who hears of it would love entering it." Then Allah surrounded it with hardships, such as the discipline of worship. Seeing it again, Gabriel feared that no one would be able to enter it. For His righteous slaves, Allah has prepared delights that "no eye has seen nor any ear has heard nor any human mind has realised."
The inhabitants of Paradise will be asked by Allah if they are satisfied, and they will affirm it. He will then grant them something even better: "I will never be angry with you afterwards." The last person to enter Paradise will be a man who barely escapes the fire. He will repeatedly ask Allah to be moved closer to a series of beautiful trees until he is at the gate of Paradise. Finally, he will ask to enter, and Allah will grant him the equivalent of the entire world and another one like it.
A man from Paradise will express a desire to cultivate land, and Allah will grant his wish. He will sow seeds, and in an instant, the harvest will be ready, piled up like mountains, illustrating that nothing can fully satisfy the son of Adam.
Martyrs hold a special status. When brethren were martyred at Uhud, Allah placed their souls into green birds that roam Paradise freely. They desired to inform their brethren on earth of their blissful state to encourage them in battle, so Allah revealed a verse confirming they are alive and provided for. They reside inside green birds, their souls sheltered in lanterns suspended from the Divine Throne. When asked by Allah if they desire anything, their only wish is to be returned to their bodies to be killed in His way once again.
DIVINE ATTRIBUTES AND DECREES
ALLAH'S SOVEREIGNTY AND KNOWLEDGE
Allah declares that glory is His loincloth and pride His cloak, and He will torment anyone who contends with Him for them. People displease Him when they abuse time, for Allah says, "I am Myself the time. In My Hand lay all the things and I am the one who causes the revolution of the day and night." Similarly, they disbelieve in Him by denying recreation after death and abuse Him by claiming He has a son, when He is the One, the Everlasting, who has not begotten and was not begotten.
Allah created Adam and then took his progeny from his back, declaring, "These will go to Hell and these will go to Paradise." When asked what people should do in light of this, the Prophet replied that they will act according to their destiny. The very first thing Allah created was the pen, which He commanded to write the destiny of everything until the Final Hour.
Allah warns against delving into questions that are beyond human capacity. He foretold that people would keep asking questions until they say, "It is Allah who has created the creation then who created Allah?" He also warns against trying to create like Him, stating, "Who will be more transgressor than the one who tries to create the like of My creatures. Let him create an atom or let him create a grain or a barley seed."
THE NATURE OF WORSHIP AND DEVOTION
Allah is with His slave according to how the slave thinks of Him. He says, "I am with him, when he remembers Me." If a person remembers Him in their heart, He remembers them in His heart; if they remember Him in a group, He remembers them in a better group of angels. When a person makes a declaration of faith and praise, Allah affirms the truth of their words. He sends angels to roam the streets, and when they find people remembering Allah, they surround them. Allah then makes the angels witness that He has forgiven those in the gathering, including anyone who happened to be present, for their companion will not be reduced to misery.
Allah has divided the prayer into two halves between Himself and His slave. When the slave recites the opening chapter of the Qur'an (Al-Fatihah), Allah responds to each verse, affirming the praise, glorification, and worship offered by the slave, and concluding, "This is for My slave and My slave will have what he has asked for."
In the last third of every night, Allah descends to the lowest heaven and asks, "Who is calling Me, so that I may answer him? Who is asking Me, so that I may grant him? Who is seeking forgiveness from Me, so that I may forgive him?" He also wonders at two men: one who leaves his bed to pray, and another who returns to the battlefield after being defeated, fighting until he is killed out of hope for Allah’s reward and fear of His punishment.
Allah tells the son of Adam to spend in charity, promising, "and I shall spend on you." A generous man who used to forgive the debts of the insolvent was himself forgiven by Allah, who declared, "We are worthier than him of that generosity." Fasting is exclusively for Allah, and He gives the reward for it. The smell from a fasting person's mouth is more pleasant to Him than musk, and the fasting person has two joys: one at breaking the fast and another upon meeting their Lord.
Concise Summary
These sacred narrations reveal a compassionate and just God who promises immense rewards for faith, patience, and sincere worship, while warning against the unforgivable sin of polytheism and the futility of deeds done for worldly praise. They describe Allah's boundless mercy, His intimate relationship with those who remember Him, and the ultimate realities of Judgment, Hell, and a Paradise beyond human imagination.