Home > The 40 Hadith of Nawawi > Hadith 10 of Nawawi
Hadith number 10 of the collection of the 40 hadiths of Imam an-Nawawi, in faithful English translation.
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Updated on 07 October 2026 at 4:51 AM
📖 28 min readThis hadith belongs to the collection of the 40 hadiths of Imam an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him), the most studied hadith compilation in the world: foundations of faith, worship and character, all authentic narrations.
His words (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Allah is pure": it has come also from the hadith of Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "Allah is pure, loving the pure; clean, loving cleanliness; generous, loving generosity." At-Tirmidhi reports it, criticised in its isnad. The pure here signifies the purified.
The meaning is that Allah, glorified and exalted, sanctified, is sanctified of all defects and imperfections, like His words:
"Good things are for the good, and the good for good things: those are innocent of what they say."
An-Nur, 26
The intent is those sanctified from the baseness of turpitudes and their misdeeds.
His words, "He accepts only the pure": its sense has come in the hadith of alms, its wording being, "None gives alms of an alms, save of pure gain: and Allah accepts only the pure." The intent is that the Most High accepts of alms only the lawful pure.
It has been said: the intent in this hadith we speak of, by his words, "He accepts only the pure," is more general: that He accepts of deeds only the pure purified of all corrupters, such as display and self-sufficiency; nor of wealth but the lawful pure: for pure describes deeds, words and beliefs, all dividing into pure and impure.
The generalisation in impure and pure
It has been said: that enters into His words,
"Say: the impure and the pure are not equal, even were the multiplicity of the impure to amaze you."
Al-Ma'ida, 100
All of that.
Allah, the Most High, divided speech into pure and impure, and said,
"Allah has given as example a pure word: like a pure tree."
Ibrahim, 24
"And the example of an impure word: like an impure tree."
Ibrahim, 26
"Towards Him rise the pure words: and the righteous deed raises them."
Fatir, 10
The Messenger makes lawful the pure and forbids the impure
The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was described as making lawful pure things and forbidding impure things. It has been said: there enter therein also deeds, words and beliefs.
The description of the believers
Allah, the Most High, described the believers as pure, saying, "those whom the angels take in death while they are pure"; and that the angels say at death, "Come out, O pure soul, that was in a pure body"; and that the angels give them salam at their entry into Paradise, saying to them, "you are pure." And in the hadith, "The believer, when he visits his brother for Allah, the angels say to him, you are pure, and your walking is pure, and you have taken in Paradise a dwelling."
The believer is pure entire
The believer is pure entire: his heart, his tongue and his body, by what has settled in his heart of faith, appeared on his tongue of remembrance, and on his limbs of righteous deeds, which are the fruits of faith, entering into his name. All these pure things, Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, accepts.
Among that by which the purity of the deeds of believers is obtained is the purity of his food, that it be of the lawful; thereby his deed grows. Herein, the hadith alludes that the deed is neither accepted nor grows without eating of the lawful, and that eating the illicit corrupts the deed and prevents its acceptance. He says after the establishment, "Allah accepts only the pure: and Allah commanded the believers what He commanded the messengers. He says, O messengers! Eat of pure things, and do good"; and He says, "O you who have believed! Eat of the pure things We have provided you."
The intent
The intent is that the messengers and their peoples are commanded to eat pure things, which are the lawful, and to work righteously; so long as the eating is lawful, the deed is righteous and accepted; if the eating is not lawful, how should the deed be accepted?
And what he mentioned afterwards of the supplication, and how it would be accepted with the illicit, is an example of excluding the acceptance of deeds with illicit food.
At-Tabarani reports, by a disputed chain, from Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, who said, "I recited this verse before the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), O people! Eat of what is on earth, lawful and pure. Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas rose and said, O Messenger of Allah! Supplicate Allah that I be answered in supplication. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to him, O Sa'd! Purify your food, and you shall be answered in supplication. By Him who holds the soul of Mouhammad in His hand, the servant casts the illicit morsel into his belly, and Allah accepts from him no deed for forty days. And every servant whose flesh has grown of the illicit, the Fire is worthier of him." And in the Mousnad of Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, by a disputed chain also, from Ibn 'Omar, may Allah be pleased with both of them, who said, "Whoever buys a garment of ten dirhams whose price contains an illicit dirham, Allah accepts not his prayer so long as he wears it."
Then he introduced his two fingers into his ears and said, "Be deaf, if I did not hear it from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." And its sense is reported from the hadith of 'Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, in raised form; al-Bazzar and others report it by a very weak chain. And at-Tabarani reports, by a chain with weakness, from the hadith of Abu Hourayra, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "When the man goes out on pilgrimage with a pure provision, and sets his foot in the sand, calling, labbayk, O Allah, labbayk, a caller from the sky calls him, labbayk and sa'dayk: your provision is lawful, your journey lawful, and your pilgrimage accomplished without sin. And when the man goes out with the impure provision, setting his foot in the sand, calling, labbayk, O Allah, labbayk, a caller from the sky calls him, neither labbayk nor sa'dayk: your provision is illicit, your spending illicit, and your pilgrimage unaccomplished." And a similar hadith from 'Omar, may Allah be pleased with him, by a weak chain also. Abu Yahya al-Qattat reports, from Moujahid, from Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, who said, "Allah accepts not the prayer of a man having in his belly of the illicit."
The scholars diverged over the pilgrimage of whoever pilgrimages with illicit wealth, and whoever prays in an illicit garment: does the obligation of the prayer and the pilgrimage fall from them by that? Two narrations exist therein of Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him. The mentioned hadiths indicate that the deed is not accepted with the consuming of the illicit.
But acceptance may intend the approval of the deed, the praise of its doer, his commendation among the angels and His glorification of him; or the obtaining of reward and grace upon it; or the falling away of the obligation from his responsibility. If the intent here is acceptance in the first or second sense, that does not prevent the falling away of the obligation from responsibility thereby. As has come, the prayer of the fugitive is not accepted, nor that of the wife whose husband is displeased, nor of whoever visits a sorcerer, nor of whoever drinks wine for forty days. The intent, and Allah knows best, is the negation of acceptance in the first or second sense, which is intended, and Allah knows best, by the words of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic,
"Allah accepts only from the God-fearing."
Al-Ma'ida, 27
That is why the Ancients feared intensely from this verse over their souls, fearing not to be of the God-fearing whose deeds Allah accepts. Imam Ahmad was asked of the meaning of the God-fearing therein, and said, "He fears things, not falling into what is not lawful to him."
Abu 'Abd Allah an-Nibaji the ascetic, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "Five attributes by which the deed is completed: faith by the knowledge of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic; knowledge of the Truth; sincerity of the deed for Allah; the deed upon the Sunna; and eating of the lawful. If one is missing, the deed does not ascend. For if you know Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, without knowing the Truth, you profit not; and if you know the Truth without knowing Allah, you profit not; and if you know Allah and know the Truth without sincerity of the deed, you profit not; and if you know Allah, know the Truth, make the deed sincere without acting by the Sunna, you profit not; and if you do all that and eat not of the lawful, you profit not."
In the hadith of Abu Hourayra, may Allah be pleased with him, "Allah accepts not the alms of a deceiver, nor his repentance, until he returns it." A similar hadith, "the alms of a usurper," Abu Dawoud reports. And from Ibn 'Omar, like the usurper giving alms of what he usurped. Sa'id ibn al-Mousayyib was asked, I found a lost object, may I give alms of it? He said, "Neither you nor its holder is rewarded." His intent may be, were he to give alms of it before the obligatory identification. If the sovereign, or certain of his deputies, take from the public treasury what is not due them, then give alms of it, or emancipate, or build a mosque, or other from which the people profit, what is reported from Ibn 'Omar applies: like the usurper giving alms of his usurped wealth.
That is why he said to 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amir, emir of Bassora, while the people had gathered at his death, praising him for his goodness and excellence, Ibn 'Omar silent; he asked him to speak, and he reported to him a hadith, "Allah accepts not the alms of a deceiver," then said to him, "and you were over Bassora." Asad ibn Moussa says in the book of scruple: al-Foudayl ibn Iyad reports, from Mansour, from Tamim ibn Salama, who said, Ibn 'Amir said to 'Abd Allah ibn 'Omar, "Do you see these ewers we provide, and these wells we dig, have we no reward therein?" Ibn 'Omar said, "Know you not that the impure never expiates the impure?" And 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Ziyad reports, from Abu Maliha, from Maymoun ibn Mihran, who said, Ibn 'Omar said to Ibn 'Amir, questioning him about emancipation, "Your example is like the one who stole the camels of the pilgrims, then fought with them in the path of Allah: see then whether it be accepted of him."
Some of the people of intense scruple, such as Tawus and Wahb ibn al-Ward, guarded against profiting from what such kings built. As for Imam Ahmad, may Allah have mercy on him, he permitted what they made of public utilities, such as mosques, bridges and manufactures, for these are spent from the wealth of conquests, unless it be certain they made certain of these things with illicit wealth, such as taxes, usurpation and the like: then one guards against profiting from what was made with the illicit wealth. Ibn 'Omar, may Allah be pleased with both of them, perhaps denied their taking of the wealth of the public treasury for themselves, and their claim that what they afterwards did of it is alms of theirs, for that resembles usurpation; upon that is carried the denial of whichever scholar denied kings the building of mosques.
Abu al-Faraj ibn al-Jouzi, may Allah have mercy on him, said, I saw certain Ancients asked of the one who gained lawful and illicit wealth from sultans and emirs, then built hermitages and mosques: has he reward? He issued a view filling the heart of the spender, and that he has, in spending wealth he does not possess, a kind of brokerage, for he knows not the usurped wealths, returning them to their owners. I say: what wonder, claimants to opinion knowing not the origins of the Law! The state of this spender must first be examined: if he is a sovereign, what comes out of the public treasury has known destinations; how deprive the entitled ones and occupy him with the useless of building a school or hermitage? And if he is of the emirs or deputies of sultans, returning what must be returned to the treasury is obligatory. And if it be illicit or usurped, every disposition upon it is illicit; returning to whoever it was taken from, or his heirs, is obligatory; if they are unknown, to the treasury, spent in interests or alms: the taker has gained nothing but sin.
His speech concerns rather the sultans of his time, preventing the entitled ones their rights of the conquests, and disposing therein for themselves as owners, building what they attribute to them of schools, hermitages and the like, of which there may be no need, and by which one people is preferred without cause. As for the just imam giving the people their rights from the conquests, then building for them what they need of mosque, school, hospital and the like, it is permitted. And if someone taking wealth for himself from the public treasury builds by what he took a necessary building in a state where building from the public treasury is permitted, but attributes it to himself, one may argue upon the divergence of the usurper: were he to return the wealth to the wronged one as alms and gift, is he discharged or not? And all of that, if built to the measure of need, without waste nor ornament. 'Omar ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ordered the repair of the mosque of Bassora from the wealth of the public treasury, forbidding them to exceed its cracks, saying, I have not found for construction in the wealth of Allah any right. It is reported from him, "The Muslims have no need of what harms their public treasury."
Know that of the scholars, some made the disposition of the usurper and the like over the wealth of another suspended upon the approval of its holder: were he to approve his disposition upon it, permitted. Certain of our companions report from Ahmad: whoever takes out his zakat from usurped wealth, then the holder approves it, it is permitted, and the zakat falls from him. And likewise Ibn Abi Moussa reports from Ahmad: whoever emancipates the slave of another upon himself, obligating his guarantee in his wealth, then the holder approves it, permitted, and his emancipation executes, contrary to the text of Ahmad. And it is reported from the Hanafites: whoever usurps a sheep, slaughters it for his enjoyment and his guests, then the holder approves it, it suffices.
The second aspect of the dispositions of the usurper over usurped wealth: making alms of it in the name of the holder, when he is incapable of returning it to him or his heirs: permitted with most of the scholars, Malik, Abu Hanifa, Ahmad and others.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: az-Zouhri, ath-Thawri, al-'Awza'i and al-Layth adopted that the taker of booty unjustly, when the people of the army disperse and they reach them not, gives the sovereign his fifth and gives alms of the rest. Reported from 'Obada ibn as-Samit, from Mou'awiya, from al-Hasan al-Basri, resembling the school of Ibn Mas'oud and Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, that they saw making alms of wealth whose holder is unknown. And he says, they made consensus upon the lost object, the permission of alms after identification and the absence of the holder: when he comes, he is given the choice between the reward and the guarantee, likewise the usurped. Malik ibn Dinar said: I asked 'Ata ibn Abi Rabbah of the one having illicit wealth, knowing not its holders, wanting to be quit of it: he said, he gives alms of it, without saying that it suffices him. Malik said, this saying of 'Ata was dearer to me than burdening him with gold?!
Sufyan said, of whoever bought from a people a usurped thing, he returns it to them; if he cannot reach them, he gives alms of it entirely, without taking his capital. And likewise of whoever sold something to a people whose transaction is disliked, by doubt of its wealth: he said, he gives alms of the price. Ibn al-Moubarak contradicted: he gives alms of the profit only. Ahmad said, he gives alms of the profit. Likewise whoever inherited wealth from his father, his father having sold to those whose transaction is disliked: he gives alms to the measure of the profit and takes the rest. A similar saying is reported from some of the Companions, among them 'Omar ibn al-Khattab and 'Abd Allah ibn Yazid al-'Ansari, may Allah be pleased with them. And the well-known of ash-Chafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him: illicit wealths are preserved, without giving alms of them until the entitled one appears.
And al-Foudayl ibn Iyad held that whoever has illicit wealth whose holders are unknown destroys it and casts it into the sea, without giving alms of it, saying, "one draws not near to Allah save by the pure." The correct is the alms, for destroying the wealth and wasting it is forbidden, and leaving it always exposes it to destruction and seizure by tyrants; the alms upon it is not of his gain, to be drawing near by the impure, but it is alms in the name of the holder, that its utility be his in the Hereafter, where its utility in the low world is impossible.
His words, "then he mentions the man long in journey, dishevelled of hair, covered with dust, stretching his hands to the sky, O Lord! O Lord! While his food is illicit, his drink illicit, his clothing illicit, and he was fed of the illicit: how then should he be answered?!"
In these words the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) alluded to the conducts of supplication, to the causes requiring its answer, and to what prevents its answer. He mentions four causes requiring the answer. The first: the length of the journey. The journey alone requires the answer, as in the hadith of Abu Hourayra, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Three supplications answered without doubt: the supplication of the wronged, the supplication of the traveller, and the supplication of the parent for his child." Abu Dawoud, Ibn Majah and at-Tirmidhi report it; with the latter, "the supplication of the parent against his child." A similar hadith from Ibn Mas'oud, may Allah be pleased with him. When the journey lengthens, the supplication is nearer the answer, for it is the probable place of the breaking of the soul by the length of distance from homelands, and the bearing of hardships and the breaking are among the greatest causes of the answer.
The second: abandonment in clothing and appearance, dishevelled hair, dust. That is of the requirements of the answer, as in the famous hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "How many a man dishevelled of hair, covered with dust, his two sandals worn, repelled from the doors, were he to swear upon Allah, He would answer him." And when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) went out to ask for rain, he went out abased, humble, supplicating. And Mouctarrif ibn 'Abd Allah: his nephew was detained, so he wore woollen garments and took a staff; it was said, what is this? He said, "I calm myself for my Lord: perhaps He intercedes for my nephew."
The third: stretching the hands to the sky, of the conducts of supplication whose answer is hoped. In the hadith of Salman, may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "Allah, the Most High, is modest and generous, ashamed when the man raises to him his hands, to return them empty, disappointed." Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawoud, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah report it. And a similar hadith from Anas, from Jabir and others. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) raised his hands in asking for rain until the whiteness of his armpits was seen; and he raised his hands on the day of Badr asking succour against the polytheists, until his cloak fell from his shoulders. Multiple types of the raising of his hands in supplication are reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), among which: he pointed with his index finger alone, reported also upon the minbar, and he did it mounting his mount.
A group of the scholars adopted that in the supplication of qunut in the prayer he points with his index finger, among them al-'Awza'i, Sa'id ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz and Ishaq ibn Rahouwayh. Ibn 'Abbas and others said, "that is sincerity in supplication." Ibn Sirine said, "when you glorify Allah, point with a single finger."
Among that: he raised his hands, making their backs towards the direction of the prayer, and their palms towards his face. This quality is reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the supplication of asking rain; certain love the raising in asking rain upon this quality, among them al-Jouzajani. Certain Ancients used to say, "the raising upon this face is supplication." Among that: he raised his hands, making their backs contrary, reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in asking rain also, and reported from a group of the Ancients that they supplicated thus; some say, "the raising upon this face is seeking asylum with Allah and asking refuge with Him," among them Ibn 'Omar, Ibn 'Abbas and Abu Hourayra, may Allah be pleased with them; and reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that, when he sought refuge, he raised his hands upon this face.
Among that: raising his hands, making his palms towards the sky and their backs towards the earth, the command thereof having come in asking Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, outside hadith; and from Ibn 'Omar, Abu Hourayra and Ibn Sirine: that is supplication and asking Allah, the Mighty and Majestic. Among that: its contrary, turning the palms, making their backs to the sky and their bellies towards the earth. In the Sahih of Mouslim, from Anas: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) asked for rain, pointing the backs of his palms to the sky. And Imam Ahmad reports it, its wording being, he stretched his hands, making their backs towards the sky. And Abu Dawoud reports it, its wording being, he asked for rain thus, meaning that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stretched his hands, making their bellies towards the earth.
And Imam Ahmad reports from the hadith of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was standing at 'Arafat, supplicating thus," and he raised his hands to the height of his collarbones, making the bellies of his palms towards the earth. And thus Hammad ibn Salama describes the raising of the hands of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) at 'Arafat. Ibn Sirine is reported saying, that is the seeking of asylum; and al-Houmaydi says, that is imploration.
The fourth: insistence with Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, by repeating the mention of His lordship, among the greatest of that by which the answer is sought. Al-Bazzar reports from the hadith of 'Aicha, mother of the believers, in raised form, "When the servant says, O Lord, four times, Allah says, here I am, O My servant, ask, you shall be given." And at-Tabarani and others report from the hadith of Sa'd ibn Kharja that a people complained to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) of the withholding of rain; he said, "Kneel upon your knees, and say, O Lord, O Lord"; and he raised the index finger to the sky, and rain fell until they wished to be quit of it.
And in the Mousnad and others, from al-Fadl ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said, "The prayer is two by two, the tashahhud in every two rak'a, supplication and humility, and hold your hands, raising them to your Lord, facing Him, saying, O Lord, O Lord; whoever does not do that, it is incomplete." And Yazid ar-Raqachi reports from Anas: no servant saying, O Lord, O Lord, O Lord, but that his Lord says to him, here I am, here I am. And it is reported from Abu ad-Darda and Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, that they said, "The greatest name of Allah: O Lord, O Lord." And 'Ata used to say, "No servant saying, O Lord, three times, but that Allah looks upon him." It was mentioned to al-Hasan, and he said, "Do you not read the Quran?" Then he recited His words,
"Those who remember Allah standing, sitting and upon their sides, and reflect upon the creation of the heavens and the earth: Lord! You created not this in vain, glory to You, preserve us from the punishment of the Fire. Lord! Whoever You bring into the Fire, You have covered him with shame, and the wrongdoers have no succourers. Lord! We heard a caller calling to the faith, believe in your Lord, and we believed. Lord! Forgive us our sins, efface our evil deeds, and take us with the righteous. Lord! Give us what You promised us by Your messengers, and cover us not with shame on the Day of Resurrection, for You never break the promise." Their Lord answered them: I lose not the deed of any doer among you.
Al 'Imran, 190-194
Whoever contemplates the supplications mentioned in the Quran finds them most often opening with the name of the Lord, His words, "Lord! Give us good in the low world and good in the Hereafter, and preserve us from the punishment of the Fire"; "Lord! Punish us not if we forget or err, Lord! Lay not upon us a burden like that of those before us, Lord! Burden us not with what we cannot bear"; and His words, "Lord! Let not our hearts deviate after You guided them, and grant us mercy from Yourself, You are the Bestower." And the like in the Quran is abundant. Malik and Soufyan were asked of the one saying in supplication, O my master! They said, he says, O Lord! Increase your master, as the prophets said in their supplications.
As for what prevents the answer, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) alluded to expansion in the illicit: in eating, drinking, clothing and food. The hadith of Ibn 'Abbas in this sense preceded also, that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to Sa'd, "purify your food, and you shall be answered in supplication." Eating of the lawful, drinking it, wearing it and being nourished of it are causes requiring the answer to supplication. Ikrima ibn 'Ammar reports: al-Asfar informed us, it was said to Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, how is your supplication answered among the companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)? He said, "I never raised a morsel to my mouth without knowing whence it comes and whither it goes?!" Wahb ibn Mouannabih said, "Whoever delights that Allah answer his supplication, let him purify his food."
And Sahl ibn 'Abd Allah said, "Whoever eats of the lawful forty mornings, his supplication is answered." And Youssouf ibn 'Asbat said, "it has reached us that the supplication of the servant is withheld from the skies by the evil food." His words, "how then should he be answered for that?!" Its sense is, how should it be answered him?! Here is an interrogation of wonder and exclusion, not stating the impossibility of the answer nor its absolute prevention. It is taken therefore that expansion in the illicit and being nourished of it are of the set of obstacles of the answer, and there may exist what prevents this preventer from preventing; and committing real prohibitions may be an obstacle of answer likewise, as likewise the abandoning of obligations, as in the hadith, the abandoning of commanding good and forbidding blameworthy prevents the answer to the supplication of the best, and the doing of obediences causes the answer.
That is why, when those who entered the cave, the rock closing upon them, recommended themselves by their righteous deeds sincere for Allah, the Most High, supplicating Allah by them, their supplication was answered. Wahb ibn Mouannabih said, "The example of whoever supplicates without deed is the example of the one who shoots without a string." And he said, "the righteous deed carries the supplication," then recited His words, "towards Him rise the pure words, and the righteous deed raises them." 'Omar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "By scruple towards what Allah forbade, Allah accepts supplication and glorification." Abu Dhar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "Piety suffices with supplication, as the food of salt suffices." Mouhammad ibn Wasi' said, "Of supplication suffices a little scruple." It was said to Soufyan, would you supplicate Allah? He said, "leaving sins is the supplication."
Al-Layth said, Moussa, upon him peace, saw a man raising his hands, asking Allah with effort; Moussa said, "O my Lord! Your servant has supplicated You until You had pity on him, and You are the most merciful of the merciful, what have You done with his need?" He said, "O Moussa! Were he to raise his hands until they fell off, I should not have looked at his need until He looks to My right." At-Tabarani reports, by a weak chain, from Ibn 'Abbas, in raised form, its sense; and Malik ibn Dinar said, "The sons of Israel were struck by a misfortune, and went out to the desert; Allah, the Most High, revealed to His prophet, inform them: you go out to the desert with impure bodies, and raise to Me palms whose blood you shed, and filled your houses with the illicit; now My anger has intensified upon you, and you grow of Me only in distance." And certain Ancients used to say, "Find not the answer long, when you have barred its paths by disobediences." Certain poets took this sense, "We supplicate Allah in every distress... then forget Him at the lifting of distresses! How hope for the answer to a supplication... whose path we barred by sins?"