Hadith Texts
Hadith 16:
وَعَنْ أَبِي مُوسَى عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ قَيْسٍ الأَشْعَرِيِّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَبْسُطُ يَدَهُ بِاللَّيْلِ لِيَتُوبَ مُسِيءُ النَّهَارِ، وَيَبْسُطُ يَدَهُ بِالنَّهَارِ لِيَتُوبَ مُسِيءُ اللَّيْلِ، حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا». رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ.
Hadith 17:
وَعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «مَنْ تَابَ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا تَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ». رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ.
Hadith 18:
وَعَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَقْبَلُ تَوْبَةَ الْعَبْدِ مَا لَمْ يُغَرْغِرْ». رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ وَقَالَ: حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ.
Full Translation
Hadith 16: On the authority of Abu Musa Abdullah ibn Qays al-Ash’ari (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet ﷺ:
“Indeed Allah extends His hand at night so that the one who sinned during the day may repent — and He extends His hand during the day so that the one who sinned during the night may repent — until the sun rises from the west.”
Narrated by Muslim.
Hadith 17: On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Whoever repents before the sun rises from the west — Allah will accept his repentance.”
Narrated by Muslim.
Hadith 18: On the authority of Abu Abd al-Rahman Abdullah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with both of them), from the Prophet ﷺ who said:
“Indeed Allah accepts the repentance of a servant as long as he has not yet begun to gargle.”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said: a good hadith.
Meanings of Key Words
- Yabsutu yadahu (يَبْسُطُ يَدَهُ) — He extends His hand; a description of Allah’s generosity and openness — His hand stretched out, welcoming, waiting — not withdrawn, not closed, not turned away
- Musi’ al-nahar (مُسِيءُ النَّهَارِ) — the one who sinned during the day; not a label of permanent identity — a description of what happened in those hours, not who the person is
- Hatta tatlu’a al-shams min maghribiha (حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنْ مَغْرِبِهَا) — until the sun rises from the west; one of the major signs of the Hour — when it occurs, the door of repentance closes for the entire world, forever
- Taba Allahu ‘alayhi (تَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ) — Allah will accept his repentance; the verb “taba ‘alayhi” means Allah turns toward him — a reciprocal turning: the servant turns to Allah, and Allah turns to the servant
- Ma lam yughargir (مَا لَمْ يُغَرْغِرْ) — as long as he has not yet begun to gargle; the gargling of the throat — the sound and sensation of the soul rising to the throat at the moment of death, when the body begins its final process and the world of action closes
Hadith Lessons
Imam al-Nawawi places these three hadiths together because they form a single, complete picture — three different views of the same reality. Each one adds a layer. Together they answer one of the most important questions a human being can ask: how long do I have?
Hadith 16 — The Hand That Never Withdraws
The image in this hadith is one of the most tender in all of the Sunnah. Allah — the Lord of everything — is described as extending His hand. Not occasionally. Not on special nights. Not in Ramadan only. Every night, for the person who sinned during the day. Every day, for the person who sinned during the night.
The hand is always out. Always open. Always waiting.
This is not a passive waiting — it is an active, ongoing gesture of invitation. The Arabic word yabsutu (يَبْسُطُ) describes the continuous, present-tense stretching — it is happening right now, as you read this. Whoever sinned today has a hand extended toward them tonight. Whoever sinned last night has a hand extended toward them right now.
And the only condition the hadith gives for this to end is cosmological: until the sun rises from the west. Not until you have sinned too many times. Not until you have used up your chances. Not until Allah grows tired of waiting. The only deadline is the end of the world.
In practical terms — this means there is no human life, however long it has wandered, however deep it has fallen, that has reached the point where the hand has been withdrawn. The hand is out. The question is only whether the servant will reach back.
Hadith 17 — The Cosmic Deadline
Hadith 17 names the deadline explicitly: “before the sun rises from the west.” This is one of the major signs of the approaching Hour — when it occurs, repentance will no longer be accepted from anyone. The door will close for the entire world simultaneously and permanently.
The scholars note that this cosmic deadline — while real — is not meant to give comfort about delay. It is meant to reveal the extent of Allah’s mercy: that the door remains open for the entirety of human history, across all generations, until the very last sign before the end. That is how long Allah has been waiting for every person who has ever lived to return.
But there is a personal deadline that comes before this cosmic one — and Hadith 18 names it.
Hadith 18 — The Gargling of the Throat
“Allah accepts the repentance of a servant as long as he has not yet begun to gargle.”
The gargling — al-ghargharah (الْغَرْغَرَة) — is the sound and sensation of the soul rising to the throat at the moment of death. It is the point of no return — when the angel of death has arrived, when the veil between this world and the next has begun to lift, when a person begins to see what awaits them.
Up until that moment — the door is open. One breath before the gargling begins — the door is open. A man who sinned every day of a seventy-year life, who never prayed, who hurt people, who wasted his years — if he turns to Allah with genuine tawbah one moment before the gargling begins — Allah accepts it.
This is almost too generous to believe. Which is exactly why the Prophet ﷺ stated it so plainly — so that no one could claim they were not told.
But there is a warning on the other side of this mercy: the gargling can begin at any moment. The young person who thinks “I have decades left” does not know this. The healthy person who says “I’ll repent when I’m older” does not know this. The busy person who keeps postponing the return does not know this. The deadline is not scheduled. It does not send a reminder. It arrives — and then the door closes.
Three Deadlines — One Urgent Message
Read together, these three hadiths construct three concentric circles of deadline:
The daily deadline — every night, Allah’s hand is out for the sins of the day. Every day, for the sins of the night. The smallest unit of time: one day. Return before it closes.
The personal deadline — the gargling of the throat. Your individual point of no return. Unknown. Could be tonight. Could be in forty years. But it will come — and when it does, the door closes for you personally, permanently.
The cosmic deadline — the sun rising from the west. The end of the door for all of humanity together. The ultimate outer boundary of divine mercy in this world.
Three deadlines. All of them real. All of them unknown in their timing except the cosmic one — and even that, its exact moment is known only to Allah.
The message is not meant to create despair. It is meant to create urgency in the most loving possible way. The door is wide open — wider and longer than you could have imagined. But it will close. And you do not know when your personal gargling will begin.
The Hand and the Throat — Two Images That Complete Each Other
The extended hand and the gargling throat are the two bookends of this chapter’s message on repentance. The hand says: come back, there is still time, I am waiting, I have not moved. The throat says: but the time is not infinite, and the moment it ends, you will know — and it will be too late.
Together they describe the complete reality of every human life: surrounded by divine mercy on all sides, with a door that is genuinely, permanently open — and a moment approaching, unknown in its timing, when that door will close for good.
The person who truly understands both images does not live in fear — they live in urgency. Not the panicked urgency of someone who thinks Allah is harsh. The urgent tenderness of someone who has been told: the hand is out right now, the door is open right now — and I do not know when my gargling will begin.
Three Questions to Close With
- If I knew my personal deadline — the gargling — was one week away, what would I do differently starting tomorrow? And why am I not doing that now?
- Is there a sin I have been carrying for years, telling myself “I’ll deal with it later” — while Allah has been extending His hand toward me every single night, waiting?
- Does the image of Allah’s hand stretched out — every night, every day, without withdrawal — change how I feel about approaching Him after a day of falling short?