Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Scholars have differed regarding Allah’s statement in the hadith qudsi, “If he comes to Me walking, I come to him at speed,” according to two well-known views. Some affirm hurrying as an Attribute of action for Allah Almighty in a manner befitting Him, while others hold that the context of the hadith indicates that what is intended is the swiftness with which Allah rewards His servant with favor, mercy, and recompense, rather than establishing an independent Attribute called hurrying. The original fatwa favors the second view because the entire hadith occurs in the context of correspondence between the servant drawing nearer through obedience and Allah increasing His favor toward him.
Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet ﷺ said, relating from his Lord:
“I am as My servant thinks of Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me... If he draws near to Me a handspan, I draw near to him an arm’s length; if he draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom; and if he comes to Me walking, I come to him at speed.”
A number of scholars held that the hadith presents an illustration of the vastness of Allah’s favor and generosity.
If the servant draws near to Allah through a small act of obedience, Allah responds with far greater favor. If the servant increases in obedience, Allah increases His mercy and reward toward him.
According to this interpretation, the meaning of:
“If he comes to Me walking, I come to him at speed”
is that whoever turns toward Allah through obedience and worship is met by Allah with favor, mercy, and reward greater than what the servant himself offered.
It is reported that Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him), after narrating this hadith, said:
“By Allah, He is swifter in forgiveness.”
Al-Tirmidhi transmitted from al-A‘mash that the meaning of the hadith is that when the servant draws near to Allah through obedience, Allah hastens toward him with His forgiveness and mercy.
Ishaq ibn Rahawayh (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“Whoever draws near to Allah by a handspan through deeds, Allah draws near to him by a fathom through reward.”
Ibn Qutaybah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“Whoever comes to Me swiftly through obedience, I come to him with reward more swiftly than his coming.”
Because the hadith itself begins with:
“Whoever draws near to Me a handspan, I draw near to him an arm’s length.”
It is known that the servant does not literally draw near to Allah by physically moving a distance of a handspan or an arm’s length. Rather, he draws near to Him through faith, prayer, remembrance, supplication, love, fear, hope, and other acts of obedience.
Therefore, since the servant’s drawing near mentioned in the hadith is not intended merely as a physical distance, these scholars held that the corresponding statement should likewise be understood within the context of reward and correspondence.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah explained that the hadith comes in the context of recompense and that Allah’s drawing near to His servant is mentioned in correspondence to the servant’s drawing near to Him.
Some scholars held that the hadith establishes hurrying as an Attribute of action for Allah Almighty, without resemblance or asking how.
Among the most prominent scholars who explicitly adopted this view were Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) and the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta.
When the Permanent Committee was asked about the Attribute of hurrying, it answered:
“Yes, the Attribute of hurrying is affirmed in the manner stated in the noble hadith qudsi, in a way befitting Him.”
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“The Attribute of hurrying is established for Allah Almighty, as stated in the authentic hadith... This hurrying is one of His Attributes of action in which we are required to believe.”
Those who hold this view rely on the principle that what is stated in the revealed texts should be affirmed according to its apparent meaning in a manner befitting Allah Almighty, while denying any resemblance between the Attributes of the Creator and those of created beings.
An important principle is that the apparent meaning of a word is not determined merely by considering its isolated lexical meaning. Rather, it is understood by examining the context in which it occurs.
A word may be used with a particular meaning in one context and understood differently according to its construction and surrounding indications.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) explained that the apparent meaning of speech is the meaning indicated by the entire construction and context.
Accordingly, the word “hurrying” linguistically indicates a form of moving swiftly. The question, however, remains: Did the hadith intend to establish this action independently, or did it intend to describe the swiftness of Allah’s favor and recompense toward His servant?
This is where the scholars differed.
The original fatwa considers the context of the hadith to favor the meaning of recompense and favor.
The hadith states:
“Whoever draws near to Me a handspan, I draw near to him an arm’s length; whoever draws near to Me an arm’s length, I draw near to him a fathom; and whoever comes to Me walking, I come to him at speed.”
The acts of worship through which a person draws near to Allah are not limited to walking or physical movement. They include actions of the heart, such as fear, love, hope, and reliance upon Allah, as well as actions of the tongue, such as remembrance, supplication, and seeking forgiveness.
Therefore, the meaning of the hadith is that whenever the servant increases in drawing near to Allah, Allah responds to him with greater favor, mercy, and reward.
According to this preferred interpretation, no.
The purpose is not to divert the hadith from its apparent meaning because of rejecting the Attribute or fearing resemblance. Rather, it is to interpret the hadith according to its complete context.
The Arabic language itself contains similar usages.
For example, the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Whoever separates from the community by a handspan...”
The intention is not to measure separation literally with a ruler to determine whether it equals a handspan. Rather, it refers to even the slightest degree of separation and departure from the community.
Likewise, the Prophet ﷺ said concerning times of tribulation:
“The one sitting during them is better than the one standing; the one standing is better than the one walking; and the one walking is better than the one hastening.”
The purpose is to warn against gradually becoming involved in tribulation, not merely to distinguish between bodily positions such as sitting, standing, and walking.
Thus, the context determines what is intended by such expressions.
No.
The fatwa emphasizes that not affirming hurrying as an independent Attribute on the basis of this hadith is not because affirming it would necessarily imply resemblance.
Ahl as-Sunnah affirm for Allah Almighty the Attributes of action established by evidence, such as coming and approaching, in a manner befitting Allah, without resemblance and without asking how.
The issue under discussion is instead whether this particular hadith intends to establish hurrying as an independent Attribute or whether the expression occurs in the context of illustrating the swiftness of Allah’s favor.
The fatwa favors the second interpretation.
Scholars differed regarding the statement, “If he comes to Me walking, I come to him at speed,” according to two recognized views:
The original fatwa favors the view that the hadith is not intended to establish an independent Attribute called hurrying. Rather, it means that whoever draws near to Allah through obedience is met by Allah with greater and swifter favor, reward, and mercy.
This conclusion is based on the context of the entire hadith, not on denying Allah’s Attributes or fearing the affirmation of those that are authentically established.
And Allah knows best.