Back to search

What is the authenticity of the Hadith which states that Allah has assigned the angels of evil deeds to the angels of good deeds, so when a servant commits a sin, the angels of evil deeds say, "Shall we record it?" and the angels of good deeds say, "Wait, perhaps he will seek forgiveness," and when night falls, the angels of evil deeds say, "Shall we record it?" and the angels of good deeds say, "Wait, perhaps he will seek forgiveness," and if the servant sleeps without seeking forgiveness, Allah Almighty says, "How little modesty my servant has! He slept and did not seek My forgiveness. By My might and glory, had he sought My forgiveness, I would have forgiven him"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The aforementioned hadith has no origin or chain of transmission (isnad) from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and it is most likely a fabricated (mawdu') lie. The hadith that conveys this meaning was narrated by Al-Tabarani, Abu Nu'aym, and Al-Bayhaqi through the path of Al-Qasim, from Abu Umamah, from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: "Indeed, the angel on the left withholds his pen for six hours from a Muslim servant who errs or commits a sin. If he repents and seeks Allah's forgiveness for it, the sin is discarded. Otherwise, one sin is written." As for the notion that the angel who records good deeds is entrusted by Allah with the angel who records bad deeds, a hadith to this effect has been reported in several versions, all of which are weak or fabricated, due to reasons such as the concealment of defects by narrators (tadlees) or the presence of liars in the chain of transmission.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

Read the full answer on Ftawy