Authentic hadith articleAllah said: If My slave draws close to Me by a hand-span, I shall draw close to him by a cubit, and if he draws close to Me by a cubit, I shall draw close to him by an outstretched arm span, and if he draws close to Me by an outstretched arm span, I shall hasten towards him
Authentic hadithNarrated by MuslimHadeethEnc #8293
Arabic hadith textعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه مرفوعاً: «إنَّ اللهَ قال: إذا تَلَقَّاني عبدي بشِبر، تَلَقَّيْتُه بذِراع، وإذا تَلَقَّاني بذراع، تَلَقَّيْتُه ببَاع، وإذا تَلَقَّاني بباع أتيتُه بأسرع».
English translationAbu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah said: If My slave draws close to Me by a hand-span, I shall draw close to him by a cubit, and if he draws close to Me by a cubit, I shall draw close to him by an outstretched arm span, and if he draws close to Me by an outstretched arm span, I shall hasten towards him."
ExplanationExplanation of the hadith
If the slave gets close to Allah by a hand-span, Allah will get close to him by a cubit. If the slave gets close to Allah by something more than that, Allah will get close to him by an even wider span. If the slave comes towards his Lord, Allah will come towards him even faster. Getting close and coming forth are both confirmed attributes of Allah, Glorified and Exalted, and we believe in them without giving them a special form or example, and without distorting the meaning or interpreting them figuratively.