nawawiDay.arabicText

nawawiDay.englishTranslation

— Ibn ‘Abbās (RA) (Ibn Mājah (ṣaḥīḥ li-ghayrihi))

nawawiDay.commentary

A great mercy on the Ummah — three categories of involuntary action are forgiven.

nawawiDay.extendedExplanation

Three categories of involuntary action are forgiven for this Ummah: honest mistakes (khaṭa’), forgetfulness (nisyān), and what one is compelled to do under duress (mā ustukrihū ‘alayh). This is one of the great mercies given to the Ummah of Muḥammad ﷺ — earlier nations did not have this dispensation in the same form.

Ibn Rajab notes important limits: the forgiveness applies to sin between the servant and Allah, but not to the rights of others. If a person mistakenly damages another’s property, he still owes compensation — the act is forgiven as a sin, but the financial right remains.

nawawiDay.fromScholars

"‘Overlooked’ does not mean the act has no worldly consequence — it means the sin is lifted. Compensation, expiation, or replacement may still apply where the rights of creation are involved."

— Ibn Rajab · Jāmi‘ al-‘Ulūm wa al-Ḥikam

"Coercion that lifts sin must be genuine — credible threat to life, limb, or honour. Mere social pressure does not qualify."

— Ibn ‘Uthaymīn

nawawiDay.fiqhRulings

  • •Honest mistakes (e.g., breaking fast forgetting one is fasting) — the fast is valid, the act forgiven.
  • •Forgetfulness (e.g., forgetting a sajdah, then remembering) — sajdat as-sahw makes up for it.
  • •Coercion under genuine threat lifts sin — but utterance of kufr while the heart is firm is permitted (per the verse).
  • •Compensation for damage to others is owed even when the act is sin-forgiven.

nawawiDay.quranCrossRefs

2:286‘Our Lord, do not hold us accountable if we forget or err…’ — the Qur’ānic basis of this hadith.
16:106‘Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief — except one who is forced while his heart is firm in faith…’
33:5‘There is no blame on you for what you erred in — but only for what your hearts intended.’

nawawiDay.keyVocab

تَجَاوَزَtajāwaza

overlooked / passed by

الخَطَأَal-khaṭa’

the mistake

النِّسْيَانَan-nisyān

forgetfulness

اسْتُكْرِهُواustukrihū

they were forced

nawawiDay.todaysReflection

Stop torturing yourself over honest mistakes. Allah does not hold you to perfection.

nawawiDay.keyBenefits

  • 1Compulsion under threat removes sin (but not the rights of others).
  • 2Honest forgetfulness is forgiven.

nawawiDay.warnings

  • ⚠‘Forgiveness’ here = sin lifted; financial responsibility for damage to others REMAINS.
  • ⚠‘Compulsion’ requires genuine threat — peer pressure, social shame, or fear of awkwardness do NOT meet the legal threshold.
  • ⚠Utterance of kufr is permitted only under genuine threat to life/limb — and only utterance, not belief.

nawawiDay.relatedHadiths

Bukhari — ‘Whoever forgets while fasting and eats — let him complete his fast’

nawawiDay.memorisation