Hadithcore
Sahih Muslim, 228
sahih

'Amr b Sa'id b al-As reported:

I was with Uthman, and he called for ablution water and said: I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) say: When the time for a prescribed prayer comes, if any Muslim performs ablution well and offers his prayer with humility and bowing, it will be an expiation for his past sins, so long as he has not committed a major sin; and this applies for all times.

حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ بْنُ حُمَيْدٍ، وَحَجَّاجُ بْنُ الشَّاعِرِ، كِلاَهُمَا عَنْ أَبِي الْوَلِيدِ، قَالَ عَبْدٌ حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو الْوَلِيدِ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ سَعِيدِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ سَعِيدِ بْنِ الْعَاصِ، حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، قَالَ كُنْتُ عِنْدَ عُثْمَانَ فَدَعَا بِطَهُورٍ فَقَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ ‏

‏ مَا مِنِ امْرِئٍ مُسْلِمٍ تَحْضُرُهُ صَلاَةٌ مَكْتُوبَةٌ فَيُحْسِنُ وُضُوءَهَا وَخُشُوعَهَا وَرُكُوعَهَا إِلاَّ كَانَتْ كَفَّارَةً لِمَا قَبْلَهَا مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ مَا لَمْ يُؤْتِ كَبِيرَةً وَذَلِكَ الدَّهْرَ كُلَّهُ ‏

‏ ‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 2, Hadith 10
USC-MSA web (English) reference
Book 2, Hadith 441 (deprecated numbering scheme)
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
The Prophet (ﷺ) used to encourage people to perform acts of worship by mentioning their reward, for it is Allah's grace that he makes performing these acts, with caring about their conditions, a reason for forgiveness. In this hadith, Amr ibn Saeed ibn Al-'As narrated that when he was with Caliph Uthman ibn Affan, Uthman asked for ablution water and told him that the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "When the time for a prescribed prayer is due and a Muslim properly performs its ablution, submissiveness, and bowing, it will be an expiation for his past sins as long as he did not commit a major sin. This applies for all times." Submissiveness in prayer means that all Muslim's limbs are facing Allah and recalling His greatness. Also, the above-mentioned sins are the minor ones, for forgiving the major sins necessitate repentance. The major sins are those sins that are called in the Quran, the authentic Sunnah, or consensus major sins, necessitate severe punishment, or its doer was cursed or highly reprehensible. This favor from Allah is general and applied to all times, not confined to a specific time. Finally, this hadith contains the following benefits: (1) It clarifies the virtue of frequently persevering the acts of worship, which is a reason for forgiving minor sins, and (2) It confirms the virtue of ablution and submissiveness in prayer..
Related hadiths4
Compare isnād across 4 related chains →