Lesson 3 of 6 · Anxiety is not weak iman
What arrives uninvited is not held against you
Four reports and a verse. The first two are the same statement in the two soundest collections: what occurs in a person's mind is not held against them, as long as it is not acted on and not spoken. The third states the wider principle, that a person is not held to mistakes, to forgetting, or to what they are forced into. The fourth is the Companions frightened by a verse about the contents of their hearts, and being answered.
Qur’an and Sunnah
The answer the Companions were given. No soul burdened beyond its capacity, and then the prayer not to be taken to task for forgetting or making mistakes. It sits two verses after the one that alarmed them.
لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفۡسًا إِلَّا وُسۡعَهَاۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتۡ وَعَلَيۡهَا مَا ٱكۡتَسَبَتۡۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذۡنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوۡ أَخۡطَأۡنَاۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحۡمِلۡ عَلَيۡنَآ إِصۡرࣰ ا كَمَا حَمَلۡتَهُۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِنَاۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلۡنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦۖ وَٱعۡفُ عَنَّا وَٱغۡفِرۡ لَنَا وَٱرۡحَمۡنَآۚ أَنتَ مَوۡلَىٰنَا فَٱنصُرۡنَا عَلَى ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡكَٰفِرِينَ
God does not burden any soul with more than it can bear: each gains whatever good it has done, and suffers its bad- ‘ Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or make mistakes. Lord, do not burden us as You burdened those before us. Lord, do not burden us with more than we have strength to bear. Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our Protector, so help us against the disbelievers.’
Qur’an 2:286
The first of the two that say the same thing in the two soundest collections. What occurs in a person's mind is not held against them, so long as it is not acted on and not spoken.
Narrated Abu Huraira:The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Allah has forgiven my followers the evil thoughts that occur to their minds, as long as such thoughts are not put into action or uttered." And Qatada said, "If someone divorces his wife just in his mind, such an unuttered divorce has no effect.:
Sahih al-Bukhari 5269graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading
The same statement as the report beside it, in the second of the two soundest collections. Both are shown because this is not one isolated report.
It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observed:Verily Allah forgave my people the evil promptings which arise within their hearts as long as they did not speak about them or did not act upon them
Sahih Muslim 127graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading
The wider principle, third of the four. Mistakes, forgetting, and what a person is forced into.
It was narrated from Ibn 'Abbas that the Prophet (ﷺ) said :"Allah has forgiven my nation for mistakes and forgetfulness, and what they are forced to do
Sunan Ibn Majah 2045graded sound, albanithe Arabic and its grading
The fourth. The Companions were frightened by a verse about what their hearts contain, and they were answered rather than left with it.
It is narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas:When this verse:" Whether you disclose that which is in your mind or conceal it, Allah will call you to account according to it" (ii 284), there entered in their minds something (of that fear) such as had never entered their hearts (before). The Apostle (ﷺ) observed: Say: We have heard and obeyed and submitted ourselves. He (the reporter) said: Allah instilled faith in their hearts and He revealed this verse:" Allah burdens not a soul beyond its capacity. It gets every good that it earns and it suffers every ill that it earns. Our Lord, call us not to account if we forget or make a mistake. He the (Lord) said: I indeed did it. Our Lord! do not lay on us a burden as Thou didst lay on those before us. He (our Lord) said: I indeed did it. And pardon us, have mercy on us. Thou art our Protector" (ii. 286). He said: I indeed did it
Sahih Muslim 126graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading
Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford University Press, 2004.