Arabic Text
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه، عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال:
«إنَّ اللهَ تَعَالَىٰ يَغَارُ، وَغَيْرَةُ الله تَعَالَىٰ أنْ يَأْتِيَ الْمَرْءُ مَا حَرَّمَ اللهُ عَلَيْهِ». متفق عليه.
و«الْغَيْرَةُ»: بفتح الغين، وأصلها الأنفة.
Translation
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
“Indeed, Allah, Most High, is jealous, and the jealousy of Allah, Most High, is that a person should do what Allah has forbidden for him.”
And ghayrah is with a open ghain, and its root meaning is protective self-respect or indignation.
1. Connection to the Chapter
This hadith belongs under مراقبة because it makes the servant conscious that Allah is not indifferent to sin. A person who truly lives with watchfulness understands that forbidden acts are not small, neutral, or hidden from divine concern. They violate the limits of the One who sees and guards.
The hadith deepens مراقبة by adding a moral intensity to the relationship between the servant and his Lord. Allah’s prohibition is not a cold rule. It is a sacred boundary, and crossing it is a matter that arouses divine displeasure in a way suited to His majesty.
2. Key Words Meaning
يَغَار — He has ghayrah; He protects His limits and does not approve of their violation.
غَيْرَة الله — Allah’s protective jealousy over what He has forbidden; this is not like created jealousy, but a meaning befitting His perfection.
أن يأتي المرء — that a person should come to, commit, or approach.
ما حرّم الله عليه — what Allah has made unlawful for him; the forbidden is not arbitrary, but sacredly protected.
الأنفة — dignified aversion to violation; a sense that what is sacred should not be violated.
3. Hadith Lessons
The first lesson is that sin is not spiritually light. The believer may normalize what Allah has forbidden, but the hadith reminds him that heaven does not normalize it. There is divine disapproval attached to crossing limits.
The second lesson is that shame for sin is a sign of life in the heart. When a person belittles disobedience, it is often a sign that fear of Allah has weakened. But when he sees sin as grave, it reflects living مراقبة and a heart still sensitive to Allah.
The third lesson is that Allah’s prohibitions are part of His mercy. He forbids because He knows what damages the servant. To transgress those limits is not merely to break a rule; it is to walk into what harms the soul. The hadith therefore combines warning with care.
4. Special Reflections
This hadith is especially important in a culture that trains people to think that private sin is harmless if nobody is hurt. The believer must not think this way. The one most wounded by sin is often the sinner himself, because he damages his own relationship with Allah.
The explanation of ghayrah as protective dignity matters here. It helps the reader understand that Allah’s disapproval is tied to the honor of His sacred limits. The servant who values his Lord will also treat the forbidden things of Allah with seriousness, not with casual tolerance.
This hadith also explains why some hearts remain spiritually sensitive while others become numb. The heart that watches Allah feels the weight of forbidden things. The heart that has lost that awareness can commit them repeatedly without alarm. The difference between the two hearts is not knowledge alone, but living vigilance.
5. Three Questions to Close With
- Do I treat Allah’s forbidden limits with fear and seriousness, or have I become casual with them?
- When I sin, do I feel the weight of having crossed a sacred boundary?
- Is my heart still alive enough to hate what Allah has forbidden, or has familiarity dulled my response?