Hadithcore
Sahih Muslim, 214
sahih

'A'isha reported:

I said: Messenger of Allah, the son of Jud'an established ties of relationship, fed the poor. Would that be of any avail to him? He said: It would be of no avail to him as he did not ever say: O my Lord, pardon my sins on the Day of Resurrection.

حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا حَفْصُ بْنُ غِيَاثٍ، عَنْ دَاوُدَ، عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ، عَنْ مَسْرُوقٍ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ، قَالَتْ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ابْنُ جُدْعَانَ كَانَ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ يَصِلُ الرَّحِمَ وَيُطْعِمُ الْمِسْكِينَ فَهَلْ ذَاكَ نَافِعُهُ قَالَ ‏

‏ لاَ يَنْفَعُهُ إِنَّهُ لَمْ يَقُلْ يَوْمًا رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي خَطِيئَتِي يَوْمَ الدِّينِ ‏

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References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 1, Hadith 424
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Book 1, Hadith 416 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
Believing in Allah is a prerequisite to getting His pleasing, entering Paradise, and being saved from Hell. Therefore, Allah, the Almighty, has sent people His messengers to call them to believe in Him and abandon all forms of disbelief and polytheism. In this hadith, Aisha narrated that she asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about one of her relatives, Abdullah ibn Jud'an. He was a Qureish leader from the tribe of Banu Tamim ibn Murrah during the pre-Islamic ignorant times before the Prophet's mission. It was called so, for it was full of ignorant practices. At that time, Ibn Jud'an used to establish ties of relationship, feed the poor, and follow lots of manners that Islam would encourage later. She was wondering if these righteous acts would benefit him in the hereafter and save him from Allah's punishment of the polytheists due to his disbelief. The Prophet (ﷺ) told her that all of his works would not benefit him, for he never believed in neither Allah nor the Last Day. A disbeliever will not get a reward in the hereafter for his righteous acts, for he nullified them by his disbelief. This is an indication that if he had embraced Islam, these acts would have benefitted him. As for his acts’ reward in this worldly life, Imam Muslim reported that Anas ibn Malek narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Allah does not unjustly prevent a believer from even a good deed’s reward. He is rewarded in this world and in the Hereafter. As for the disbeliever, he is given a reward for the good deeds he did for the sake of Allah in the world and when he comes to Hereafter, there is no rewards for him.” Finally, this hadith contains the following benefits: (1) It clarifies the virtue of faith, the prerequisite for accepting righteous deeds, (2) It shows the terrible results of disbelief which nullifies the reward of the righteous deeds..
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