Home > The 40 Hadith of Nawawi > Hadith 39 of Nawawi
Hadith number 39 of the collection of the 40 hadiths of Imam an-Nawawi, in a faithful English translation.
Updated on 10 September 2026 at 2:45 AM
📖 16 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.
It was said to Ahmad: al-Walid ibn Muslim narrated from Malik, from Nafi', from Ibn Umar its like, and he denied it too. Mentioned to Abu Hatim ar-Razi: al-Awza'i's hadith and Malik's hadith; said to him: al-Walid reported also from Ibn Lahi'a, from Moussa ibn Wardan, from Oqba ibn Amir, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) its like? Abu Hatim said: "These are discredited hadiths, as if fabricated", and said: "al-Awza'i heard not this hadith from Atta; he heard it from a man unnamed, supposing him Abdallah ibn Amir or Ismail ibn Muslim," and said: "this hadith validates not, its chain establishes not." I say: it is also reported from al-Awza'i, from Atta, from Obayd ibn Oumayr, mursal, without Ibn Abbas's mention. Yahya ibn Salim reports from Ibn Jurayj: Atta said: it reached me the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Allah (Mighty and Majestic) pardoned my community error, forgetfulness and coercion. Al-Jawzajani reports it. This mursal is most resembling. It is also reported by another way from Ibn Abbas, raised: Muslim ibn Khalid az-Zanji reports, from Sa'id al-'Allaf, from Ibn Abbas: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Pardon is made to my community of three: of error, forgetfulness, and what they are coerced into." Al-Jawzajani reports it. Sa'id al-'Allaf is Sa'id ibn Abi Salih; Ahmad said of him: Meccan. Said: how his state? He said: I know not, and I know none narrating from him but Muslim ibn Khalid. Ahmad said: this is not raised, but of Ibn Abbas's word. Mahna transmitted of him. Muslim ibn Khalid was weakened. Reported by a third way, from the narration of Bouqayya ibn al-Walid, from Ali al-Hamdani, from Abu Hamza, from Ibn Abbas, raised. Harb reports it. Bouqayya's narrations, of his unknown elders, equal nothing. Reported by a fourth way, Ibn Adi reports, by the way of Abd ar-Rahim ibn Zayd al-Amma', from his father, from Sa'id ibn Joubayr, from Ibn Abbas, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). This Abd ar-Rahim is weak. And reported of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) by other ways. Already came al-Walid ibn Muslim reporting it from Malik, from Nafi', from Ibn Umar, raised, and al-Hakim authenticated and judged it gharib. It is, with the memory experts, false upon Malik, as Imam Ahmad and Abu Hatim denied, saying of al-Walid: much erring. Abu Obayd al-Ajouri transmits from Abu Dawud: al-Walid ibn Muslim reported from Malik ten hadiths without base, four of them from Nafi'. I say: the apparent is this hadith among them, and Allah knows best. Al-Jawzajani reports from the narration of Yazid ibn Rabi'a, hearing Abu al-Chat, relating from Thawban, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Allah the Mighty and Majestic pardoned my community of three: error, forgetfulness, and what they are coerced into." Yazid ibn Rabi'a is very weak. Ibn Abi Hatim reports from the narration of Abu Bakr al-Hudhali, from Char ibn Chawchab, from Umm ad-Darda, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Allah pardoned my community of three: error, forgetfulness, coercion." Abu Bakr said: I mentioned that to al-Hasan, who said: "Indeed! Read you not thereby a Quran: Our Lord, chastise us not if we forget or err?" Abu Bakr al-Hudhali is abandoned in hadith. Ibn Majah reports it, but with him, from Char, from Abu Dharr al-Ghifari, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Allah the Blessed and Most High pardoned my community error, forgetfulness and what they are coerced into." And mentions not al-Hasan's word. As for the mursal hadith of al-Hasan, Hicham ibn Hassan reported it from him. And Mansour and 'Awf reported it from al-Hasan, of his word, not raising it. Ja'far ibn Jisr ibn Farqad reports it, from his father, from al-Hasan, from Abu Bakra, raised: Ja'far and his father are weak. Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi said: this hadith has no chain argued, cited by al-Bayhaqi. In the Sahih of Muslim, from Sa'id ibn Joubayr, from Ibn Abbas: "When descended the word of the Most High: Our Lord, chastise us not if we forget or err, Allah the Most High said: I did." And from al-Ala', from his father, from Abu Hourayra, that upon its descent he said: yes. Neither is explicit of raising. Ad-Daraqoutni reports from the narration of Ibn Jurayj, from Atta, from Abu Hourayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Allah pardoned my community what their selves whispered and what they are coerced into, except speaking it or acting." A gharib wording. An-Nasai reported it not mentioning coercion. Likewise Ibn Ouyayna reported it from Mis'ar, from Qatada, from Zurara ibn Awfa, from Abu Hourayra, from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), adding: "and what they are coerced into." Ibn Majah reports it, and I denied this addition upon Ibn Ouyayna, none following him, the hadith reported from Qatada's narration in the Sahihs, Sunan and Mousnads without it.
Return we to explaining the raised hadith of Ibn Abbas. His word: "Allah pardoned me for my community error... to the end": its restored: Allah lifted for my community error, or left it of them; for "pardoned" builds not by itself.
His word: error, forgetfulness, and coercion: as for error and forgetfulness, the Quran explicitly pardoned them: "Our Lord, chastise us not if we forget or err"; and He said: "No blame upon you for your errors, but for what your hearts deliberated." In the two Sahihs, from Amr ibn al-As: he heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: "When the judge judges, striving, erring: a reward; and when judging, striving, hitting right: two rewards." Al-Hasan said: were it not what Allah mentioned of these two men's affair, Dawoud and Souleyman, I would see the judges already perished: He praised this one by his knowledge, excused that one by his effort, in: "And Dawoud and Souleyman, judging the harvest, when the people's sheep pastured therein by night" and the verse.
As for coercion, the Quran explicitly pardoned it too: "Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his faith, except him coerced, his heart assured in faith." And He said: "The believers take not the disbelievers as allies besides the believers; whoever does that has nothing of Allah, except you guarding against them prudently." We speak, Allah willing, of this hadith in two chapters: the first on error and forgetfulness's ruling; the second on coercion's ruling.
Error: intending by his act a thing, his act encountering other than intended: intending killing a disbeliever, encountering killing a Muslim. Forgetfulness: having in memory a thing, forgetting at the act. Both are excused in that no sin therein; but lifting sin precludes not a ruling following its forgetfulness, like one forgetting ablution and praying deeming pure: no sin, then if manifests he had prayed impure: repetition upon him. And were the naming omitted on ablution forgetfully, and we say its obligation: must he repeat ablution? Two narrations of Imam Ahmad. Likewise omitting the bismillah of the slaughtered forgetfully: two narrations of him. Most jurists: it is eaten though naming omitted. And if the prayer omitted forgetfully then remembered: judgment upon him, as the Prophet said (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Whoever sleeps a prayer or forgets it: pray it at remembering; no expiation but that," reciting: "And establish the prayer for My remembrance." And if praying carrying in his prayer an impurity unexcused, knowing after his prayer or during, removing: repeats his prayer or not? Two sayings, two narrations of Ahmad. Reported of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) he removed his sandals in prayer, completing, saying: "Jibril informed me of harm therein," not repeating the prayer. And if speaking in prayer, forgetting being in prayer: two famous sayings of invalidation, two narrations of Ahmad; ash-Chafi'i's madhab: not invalidated thereby. And if eating in his fast forgetfully: the majority it invalidates not his fast, acting the word (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Whoever eats or drinks forgetfully, complete his fast: Allah fed him and gave him drink." Malik said: repetition upon him, being as the fast-leaver forgetfully. The majority say: came with fast's intention, committing some of its prohibitions forgetfully: excused.
And if intercourse forgetfully: is its ruling the eater-forgetting's, or not? Two sayings. The first, famous of Ahmad: it invalidates his fast, judgment upon him. Of its expiation two narrations. The second: invalidates not his fast, like eating, ash-Chafi'i's madhab, reported narration of Ahmad. Likewise the disagreement of intercourse in ihram forgetfully invalidating the pilgrimage or not.
And if swearing never doing a thing, doing it forgetfully of his oath, or erring deeming not the sworn-upon: expiation encumbering or not? Three sayings, three narrations of Ahmad. The first: never expiating, were the oath by divorce or freeing; al-Khallal denied this narration of Ahmad, saying: a transmitter's lapse, ash-Chafi'i's opinion in one of his two sayings, Ishaq's, Abu Thawr's and Ibn Abi Chayba's, reported of Atta; Ishaq said: he is made to swear he forgot his oath. The second: expiating in every case, a group of the Ancients' opinion, and Malik's. The third: distinguished whether his oath by divorce, freeing, or other, the famous of Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), Abu Obayd's opinion. Likewise al-Awza'i in divorce, saying: the hadith come of pardoning error and forgetfulness while forgetting, installing upon his wife: no sin; remembering, divorce-isolation upon him, his forgetfulness ceased. And Ibrahim al-Harbi cited the Successeurs' consensus of divorce occurring by forgetting.
And if killing a believer by error: expiation and diya upon him by the Book's text. Likewise deteriorating another's wealth by error deeming it his. Likewise the majority on the muhrim killing game by error or forgetting for his prohibition: its compensatory upon him. Some said: no compensatory, except deliberate of killing it, holding the apparent of the Most High's word: "Whoever of you kills it deliberately: compensatory like the slain of the cattle" and the verse, a narration of Ahmad. The majority answered the verse: the compensatory ordered upon deliberate killing, and Allah's vengeance; both specific to the deliberate: the deliberate void, vengeance void, the compensatory remaining established by other proof. The apparent, and Allah knows best, the forgetful and erring pardoned meaning lifting sin; sin ordered to intents and intentions, the forgetful and erring having no intent: no sin. Lifting rulings not intended by these texts: establishing or negating them needs another proof.
The first: no choice at all, no capacity of abstention: carried by force, entered a place sworn abstention of entering, or carried forcibly striking another to death, no abstention capacity; or a woman slept then fornicated without abstention capacity: no sin by accord, nor oath-breaking in his oath per the scholars' majority. Some Ancients like an-Nakha'i had divergence, and the like occurred in some of ash-Chafi'i's and Ahmad's companions' word. The correct with them: never expiating at all. Reported of al-Awza'i of a woman swearing a thing, her husband making her break by force: her expiation upon him. And Ahmad a narration likewise if his wife coerced in her fast or ihram had intercourse: her expiation upon him. The famous of him: he thereby spoils her fast and pilgrimage.
The second type: coerced by beating or other until acting. The act then has duty: he may not do, choosing the act, but his aim not the act itself, repelling harm: chosen one way, not chosen another. People differed: dutiful or not? Scholars agreed: coerced killing an intouchable, killing him not permitted, killing by his choice, ransoming himself from killing: consensus of the considered scholars. In Imam Ahmad's era contradicting him who is not considered. If killing him in this state: the majority both sharing the qoud obligation: coerced and coercer, sharing the killing, Malik's opinion, ash-Chafi'i's famous, and Ahmad's. Said: upon the coercer alone, the coerced become like the tool, Abu Hanifa's opinion, one of ash-Chafi'i's two sayings. Reported of Zoufar like the first. Reported of him: upon the coerced for his premising, not being the tool, sinful by accord. Abu Youssouf said: no qoud upon either.
Some of our companions reported it, a way for us, from the narration not obligating the community's killing for the individual, and more prior: even coerced by beating and like to destroy another's intouchable wealth, permitted him? Two ways of our companions. If we say permitted: the owner guarantees, returning on the coerced what guaranteed. If we say not permitted: guarantee upon both together like the qoud; said: upon the coerced premising alone, and it is weak. And if coerced drinking khamr or other forbidden acts: two sayings of its permission by coercion. The first: permitted, arguing the Most High's word: "And force not your young girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity, seeking the worldly life's goods; and whoever coerces them, Allah after their coercion is Forgiving, Merciful", descended for Abdallah ibn Oubayy ibn Saloul, having two maids coercing them to prostitution, they refusing. The majority's opinion: ash-Chafi'i, Abu Hanifa, the famous of Ahmad. Reported like it: of al-Hasan, Mak'houl, Misrouq; and of Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) what indicates it. This saying's holders differed on coercing the man to fornication: some saying coercion valid upon him, no sin, ash-Chafi'i, and Ibn Aqil of our companions. Some saying coercion invalid upon him, sin and limit upon him, Abu Hanifa's (may Allah the Most High have mercy on him), Ahmad's text, reported of al-Hasan. The second saying: prudence (taqiya) only in sayings, not in acts, nor coercion upon them. Reported of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), Abu al-Aliya, Abu ach-Cha'tha, ar-Rabi' ibn Anas, ad-Dahhak, a narration of Ahmad, reported of Souhnoun also. Upon this: drinking khamr or stealing coerced, he is punished. Upon the first: drinking khamr coerced then divorcing or freeing, his ruling like the drinker's choosing, or his divorce and freeing are vanity? Two ways of our companions. And reported of al-Hasan of one said: prostrate to the idol, or we kill you: "if the idol facing the qibla, let him prostrate, intending Allah; if other than the qibla: not doing, though killed." Ibn Habib the Malikite said: good saying. Ibn Atiyya said: what prevents him intending Allah though other than the qibla? In Allah's book: "Wheresoever you turn, there is Allah's face." And in the Law, permission of the traveler's supererogatory to other than the qibla.
As for coercion upon sayings: scholars agreed its validity, and that one coerced to a forbidden word by considered coercion: he may ransom himself by it, no sin, indicated by Allah the Most High's word: "except him coerced, his heart assured in faith." And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to Ammar: "If they return, return." The polytheists had tortured him to agreeing their wanted disbelief: he did. As for what reported of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) counseling a group of Companions: "Associate nothing with Allah though cut and burned": intended heart's association, as the Most High said: "If they strive to associate Me what you have no knowledge: obey them not," and He said: "But whoever opens to disbelief his breast: upon them Allah's anger." And the other sayings, coercion imaginable: coerced unjustly to a word of the words, no ruling follows, vanity; the coerced's word issued of him not content, pardoned, without reproach in world and hereafter judgments. Thereby differ the forgetful and ignorant. Equal therein contracts: sale, marriage, or dissolutions: khoul, divorce, freeing, and likewise oaths and vows: the majority of scholars' opinion, Malik's, ash-Chafi'i's and Ahmad's. Abu Hanifa distinguished what accepts dissolution with him and choice remains, like sale and like: binding not under coercion; and what is not so, like marriage, divorce, freeing and oaths: binding under coercion.
If swearing never doing a thing, doing it coerced: Abu Hanifa's opinion expiating; the majority's opinion two sayings. The first: expiating not, as not expiating if done to him by force without abstention capacity, as preceded, the most of them. The second: expiating here, doing by choice unlike if carried without abstention capacity, a narration of Ahmad and ash-Chafi'i's opinion. Of his companions, al-Qaffal those distinguishing the oath from divorce, freeing and others as we said in the forgetful. Some of our companions reported it, a way for us. And if coerced giving his wealth unjustly, selling his property to pay: valid buying from him or not? Two narrations of Ahmad. And of him a third: selling at the like price, bought from him; without, not bought. When the coerced agreed the coercion for desire arising therein after coercion, the coercion standing: what issued of him of contracts and other valid by this intent, the famous with our companions. Another way: not valid also, and it is far. As for coercion by right: not preventing persisting the coerced: the warrior coerced to Islam islamizing: his Islam valid. Likewise the judge coercing selling his wealth paying his debt, or the conjurer, after the isolation's duration and refusing return, coerced to divorce. And if swearing never paying his debt, the judge coercing payment: he expiates thereby, doing the sworn truly without excuse. Our companions mentioned, unlike refusing payment, the judge paying: no expiation, the sworn act not occurring of him.