1288 – Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Every son of Adam makes mistakes, and the best of those who make mistakes are the oft-repentant.” Reported by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Mājah, and its chain is strong (1).

Hadith grading:
The chain of transmission is strong. Shaykh al-ʿIrāqī, in his verification of the traditions in Ihyāʾ, noted that al-Tirmidhi recorded the report and deemed it ghareeb (singular), while al-Hākim declared its chain authentic through Anas. I (the author) say: it contains ʿAlī ibn Masʿadah, whom al-Bukhārī regarded as weak. Nevertheless, Ibn Ḥajar strengthened the chain, and Ibn al-Qaṭṭān likewise upheld al-Hākim’s authentication, saying: “Ibn Masʿadah’s ḥadith is acceptable; its singularity lies only in what he alone narrated from Qatādah.”

Lessons derived from the ḥadith:

1. The report shows that no human being is free from sin, for man is created weak and reluctant to comply fully with his Lord’s commands and abstain from His prohibitions. Yet Allah, in His kindness, has opened the door of repentance for His servants and informed us that the best sinners are those who repent frequently and hasten to do so whenever they fall into wrongdoing.

2. Sins are of two categories: major and minor.
   • As for the minor sins, righteous deeds expiate them by Allah’s permission—such as the five daily prayers, repeated performance of ḥajj and ʿumrah, fasting Ramadan and standing in its night prayer, fasting the Day of ʿArafah, the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, and similar acts—just as He, the Exalted, says: “Indeed, good deeds wipe away bad deeds” (Hud 11:114).