The collection's most expansive promise of mercy, given three times over. O son of Adam, as long as you call upon Me and place your hope in Me, I forgive you whatever you have done, and I do not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins reached the clouds of the sky and then you sought My forgiveness, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, if you came to Me with sins nearly filling the earth, and then met Me without associating anything with Me, I would come to you with forgiveness nearly as great.
Where this hadith comes from
This is a hadith qudsi, a saying in which the Prophet (peace be upon him) conveys the words of Allah Himself, outside the Qur'an. Here Allah addresses the human being directly, three times over: "O son of Adam." It is narrated by Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) and recorded by at-Tirmidhi, who graded it hasan (sound and reliable).
It is also the closing hadith of Imam an-Nawawi's Forty (hadith 42), which tells you how the tradition has treasured it. Its whole concern is creed and the state of the heart: how vast Allah's mercy is, what hope before Him looks like, and the single condition of meeting Him upon pure tawhid.
The key words
What it means, line by line
The promise is given in three rising waves. First: "so long as you call upon Me and hope in Me, I forgive you whatever you have done, and I do not mind." The ordinary sinner needs only to keep calling and keep hoping. Second: were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky, then you sought forgiveness, "I would forgive you." No height of sin closes the door, so long as one turns back. Third, and widest: were you to come with sins nearly filling the earth, then meet Allah ascribing no partner to Him, "I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great."
Notice what Allah asks: to be called upon, to be hoped in, and to be met upon tawhid. That is why despair, not the size of the sin, is the real danger. The supporting verse, 39:53, carries the same voice, forbidding the one who has wronged himself from ever despairing of Allah's mercy.
Three times the door widens
Watch the promise grow to meet every fear. The first line reassures the ordinary sinner: keep calling and hoping, and forgiveness is yours. The second answers the one whose sins feel sky-high: seek forgiveness, and it is granted. The third meets the one who is sure he is beyond saving: come with sins almost filling the earth, and as long as you meet Allah upon tawhid, He meets you with forgiveness almost as vast. There is no level of sin the promise does not reach.
The gentle conditions
And what does Allah ask in return? Remarkably little: that you call upon Him and hope in Him, and that you meet Him without associating partners with Him. Hope and tawhid. These are within reach of any heart willing to turn back. This is why despair is the real danger, not the size of the sin: the only thing that keeps a person from this ocean of mercy is refusing to walk into it.
Carry this with you
No sin outsizes the mercy of the One you would bring it to.
The promise reaches every fear.
Ordinary sins, sky-high sins, earth-filling sins, the mercy widens three times to meet them all.
The conditions are gentle.
Call on Him, hope in Him, and meet Him upon tawhid. Hope and sincerity are within any heart's reach.
Despair is the real danger.
Not the size of the sin, but refusing to walk into the mercy, is what keeps a person out of it.
Bring Him the worst.
The sin you hide even from your du'as is exactly the one this hadith invites you to bring.
A du'a to carry
قُلْ يَٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Say, 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.' (Az-Zumar 39:53)
A du'a in the ocean of mercy
Three times Allah widened the door until no sin could be left outside it, asking only that we come with hope and meet Him as One. The single thing that can keep us out is refusing to come.
O Allah, we come to You with our sins, hoping in You and worshipping You alone. Do not let us despair of Your mercy, for You forgive all sins, and You are the Forgiving, the Merciful. Ameen.
The hadith qudsi is from sunnah.com: 'O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and hope in Me...' narrated by Anas (ra), recorded by at-Tirmidhi (graded hasan). The supporting Qur'an (39:53) is in Uthmani script verified via quran.ai (ar-uthmani-minimal) with the Saheeh International translation. Per the editorial policy this stays with the creed and spirit (the vastness of Allah's mercy, hope, tawhid). FOR SCHOLAR REVIEW before publication.