Nawawi Hadith 24: Oppression Is Forbidden

Part One: Allah Speaks Directly to His Servants

Brothers,

Today’s khutbah is based on the 24th hadith in Imam Nawawi’s 40 Hadith, a Hadith Qudsi, meaning these are the words of Allah Himself, conveyed to us through the tongue of His Messenger ﷺ:

On the authority of Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet ﷺ, as far as he traced it back to Allah, who said: 'O My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have forbidden it among you, so do not oppress one another. O My servants, all of you are astray except for those I have guided, so seek guidance of Me and I shall guide you. O My servants, all of you are hungry except for those I have fed, so seek food of Me and I shall feed you. O My servants, all of you are naked except for those I have clothed, so seek clothing of Me and I shall clothe you. O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you. O My servants, you will not attain harming Me so as to harm Me, and you will not attain benefiting Me so as to benefit Me. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you, to be as pious as the most pious heart of any one man among you, that would not increase My kingdom in the slightest. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you, to be as wicked as the most wicked heart of any one man among you, that would not decrease My kingdom in the slightest. O My servants, were the first of you and the last of you, the human of you and the jinn of you, to rise up in one place and ask of Me, and were I to give everyone what he requested, that would not decrease what I have, any more than a needle decreases the sea if put into it. O My servants, it is only your deeds that I record for you and reckon up for you. So whoever finds good, let him praise Allah, and whoever finds other than that, let him blame no one but himself.' (Muslim)

Brothers, few hadiths carry the weight this one carries. This is not the Prophet ﷺ teaching us fiqh or describing a moment from his life. This is Allah, the Lord of all the worlds, speaking directly to His servants in the first person, addressing them nine separate times as “O My servants.”

Let us walk through what He tells us, phrase by phrase.

Part 1: I Have Forbidden Oppression for Myself

Allah begins with a declaration that should stop every heart: I have forbidden oppression for Myself.

Think about what this means. Allah has absolute power over every creature. Nothing restrains Him except what He has chosen to restrain Himself with. And out of that limitless power, He has chosen, entirely voluntarily, to forbid Himself from ever wronging a single one of His creation.

Indeed, Allah does not do injustice, even as much as an atom's weight. (An-Nisaa, 4:40)

If the Being with total power over the universe has forbidden oppression for Himself, what excuse remains for a weak, limited, temporary human being to oppress another human being? Allah then extends that same prohibition to us directly: “and have forbidden it among you, so do not oppress one another.”

O you who believe, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. (An-Nisaa, 4:135)

This command applies everywhere: in the home, in business, in speech, in how we treat those weaker than us or those under our authority. Oppression is not only the visible, dramatic kind. It includes cheating someone in a deal, speaking harshly to someone who cannot answer back, using power over another person to take what is not yours.

Part 2: Our Total Dependence

The hadith continues with a rapid series of confessions about the human condition: astray unless guided, hungry unless fed, naked unless clothed, sinning constantly yet forgiven when we ask.

And He gave you from all that you asked of Him. And if you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, mankind is truly unjust and ungrateful. (Ibrahim, 14:34)

Notice the pattern. Every single blessing we have, guidance, food, clothing, and forgiveness itself, originates from Allah and must be sought from Him. We did not guide ourselves into faith. We do not sustain ourselves without His provision reaching us through whatever means He decrees. And even our sins, committed constantly, day and night, are met with an open door: seek My forgiveness and I will forgive you.

Say, 'O My servants who have transgressed against themselves, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.' (Az-Zumar, 39:53)

This is one of the most merciful sections of the Quran and this hadith belongs beside it perfectly. A servant who has sinned by night and by day still has this door open: ask, and I will forgive.

Part 3: An Ocean and a Needle

The hadith then gives us one of the most vivid images in all the prophetic tradition. If every human and jinn who ever lived, from the first to the last, gathered in one place and asked Allah for everything they could possibly want, and He granted every single request, His kingdom would not decrease by any more than a needle decreases the ocean when dipped into it.

And if whatever trees upon the earth were pens and the sea, replenished thereafter by seven more seas, were ink, the words of Allah would not be exhausted. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise. (Luqman, 31:27)

This image should reshape how a believer approaches Allah in prayer. We often hesitate to ask for too much, as if our requests could burden Him or deplete something. This hadith destroys that hesitation completely. Ask for everything you need, everything you hope for, without fear of asking too much, because His treasury is beyond depletion.

Part Two: Deeds Recorded, Justice Owed, and the Life We Build

Brothers,

Part 4: Your Deeds Are Your Own Record

The hadith closes with a sobering line: it is only your deeds that I record for you and reckon up for you. Whoever finds good, let him praise Allah. Whoever finds other than that, let him blame no one but himself.

This closes the loop on everything before it. Allah has given us guidance, sustenance, clothing, and forgiveness freely. He is not oppressive toward us in any way. What we end up with on the Day of Judgment is a direct reflection of what we chose to do with what was given to us. There is no one else to blame. Not our circumstances, not other people, not even the trials Allah decreed for us, because how we responded to those trials was still our choice.

So whoever does an atom's weight of good will see it, and whoever does an atom's weight of evil will see it. (Az-Zalzala, 99:7-8)

Nothing is lost, and nothing is added unfairly. This is the mercy and the justice of Allah combined in a single verse: total fairness in the reckoning, matched with total generosity in the provision that came before it.

Part 5: Justice Among Men in This Place

Brothers, the opening line of this hadith, the forbidding of oppression, has direct weight in an environment where power imbalances are constant and visible.

There are men here with more strength, more standing, more connections than others. There are moments when it would be easy to take advantage of a weaker man, to intimidate someone into giving up his food, his property, his dignity, because you can, because no guard is watching, because the system here does not always protect the weak the way it should. This hadith is Allah’s own voice telling you directly: I have forbidden oppression for Myself, and I have forbidden it among you. That prohibition does not pause at the entrance to this facility. It follows you into every unit, every yard, every cell block.

If you have been on the receiving end of oppression here, cheated, threatened, humiliated by someone stronger than you, take comfort in knowing that Allah Himself has declared this act forbidden and will hold the oppressor accountable, whether justice arrives in this world or is reserved for the next. And if you have been the one with more power over a weaker brother, this hadith is your warning: whatever you take from him unjustly here will be reckoned exactly, an atom’s weight at a time, with no one else to blame when the account is opened.

This place, more than most, tests whether a man uses strength to protect others or to prey on them. The Hadith Qudsi you have just heard settles the matter from the mouth of Allah Himself: protect, do not prey.

Part 6: Turning to Allah With Everything

Given everything Allah has told us in this hadith, our response should be immediate and constant: turn to Him for everything.

And your Lord says, 'Call upon Me, I will respond to you.' (Ghafir, 40:60)

Ask Him for guidance when you are confused about your path. Ask Him for sustenance when your circumstances are tight. Ask Him for forgiveness every single day, because the hadith already told you that you sin by night and by day, and the door to seek forgiveness stays open regardless. Do not let pride, despair, or the assumption that your case is too small or too repeated stop you from asking. The ocean does not notice the needle.

Refuse to oppress, even when you have the power to. Whatever standing you hold among other men here, remember the source of that standing did not come from you, and the prohibition on using it to wrong others comes directly from Allah’s own words.

Ask relentlessly. Guidance, provision, forgiveness, all of it is available for the asking, without limit and without hesitation.

Track your own deeds honestly. Do not blame the system, your circumstances, or other people for what your own choices produced. The hadith closes that door deliberately.

O Allah, You who have forbidden oppression for Yourself, forbid it from our hearts and our hands as well.

O Allah, guide us, for we are astray except by Your guidance.

O Allah, provide for us and clothe us, for we have nothing except what comes from You.

O Allah, we sin by night and by day, so forgive us, for You alone are the Forgiving, the Merciful.

O Allah, protect the weak among us from the strong, and hold every oppressor to account.

O Allah, do not let power or standing in this place turn any of us into someone who preys on his brothers.

O Allah, record for us good deeds that we may find and praise You for, and forgive the deeds we would rather not find.

O Allah, make us among the just, the ones who stand firm for truth even against ourselves.