Allâh Has Indeed Excused - For Me - My Nation
From Unintentional Mistakes And Forgetfulness

Question :

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said :
What is the meaning of the saying of the Prophet ﷺ:
"Allah has indeed excused for me my Nation from unintentional mistakes, forgetfulness, and for what they are coerced into doing."

Answer:

Ibn Majah recorded this Hadith on the authority of Abu Tharr Al-Ghafari, may Allah be pleased with him. At- Tabarani in Al-Kabir, and Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak also recorded it from Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them. Al-Hakim said, "It is Sahih according to their (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) criteria."

However, Abu Hatim said: "It is not confirmed." This was quoted from him by Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar in Bulugh Al-Maram At-Tabarani also recorded it from Ath-Thawban, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah, but the chain of that narration - as stated by Al-Haythami in Majmu' Az-Zawa'id - is weak.

"Mistake" here means the opposite of purposely or deliberately, "forgetfulness" the opposite of remembering. The Hadith therefore means that Allah blessed the Prophet in his Nation, that no one from his Nation will be held accountable for a boundary transgressed or for an obligatory deed neglected if the person made the mistake unintentionally or if he had forgotten. When any of these two occurs, a person is not sinful.

There are details, however, regarding what a person must do when he forgets to do an obligatory deed or when he accidentally does something wrong. He may have to make atonement, or in the case of an accidental killing, pay blood money. When he forgets a prayer, he must make it up, and when he makes a mistake in prayer, he must perform the prostration of forgetfulness. In certain situations, such as when a person eats unknowingly while fasting or when one forgets and breaks an oath, one doesn't have to make any atonement. All of these and other situations require a more detailed discussion.

There is a third category also: A person who is coerced into doing something forbidden, in which case there is no sin upon him. He is not sinning as long as his heart is at peace with faith, hating what he is forced to do, not considering it allowed, but only doing it because he is forced. Except in the case of killing one who tries to kill him. In this case he is sinning for fighting the one who forced him to fight, since actually killing his opponent is something he did on purpose.

If one is forced to abandon an obligatory deed, then there is no sin upon him; however, he must make up for that deed as soon as he is able.

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