140 – Abu Mahdhurah reports that the Prophet ﷺ said, “The beginning of the time brings Allah’s good pleasure, the middle of it His mercy, and the end of it His pardon.” Al-Daraqutni transmitted it with a chain that is extremely weak ⦗1⦘, and al-Tirmidhi has a similar report from Ibn ʿUmar—omitting the reference to the middle of the time—which is likewise weak ⦗2⦘.

Status of the hadith:
The report is extremely weak. Al-Talkhīṣ explains that it comes through Yaʿqūb ibn al-Walīd al-Madani. Aḥmad said, “He was one of the great liars,” Ibn Maʿīn labeled him a liar, al-Nasāʾī abandoned him, and Ibn Ḥibbān accused him of fabrication. Al-Bayhaqī added that the hadith specialists declared him a liar and branded the report a fabrication. Aḥmad also said, “I know of nothing established on this matter,” i.e., in this chapter. Al-Tirmidhi’s version proceeds through the same Yaʿqūb, and Ibn al-Mulqin concluded, “This hadith is not authentic through any of its chains.”

Vocabulary:
• ridwān Allah – Allah’s good pleasure, the opposite of His anger. Al-Alūsī said: “Nothing equals Allah’s pleasure, and it draws after it blessings scarcely imagined; it is the highest of the three ranks.”
• raḥmat Allah – His grace and beneficence toward His servant; it ranks below His pleasure.