Meaning of hadeeth: ‘You would recoil to that position from where you started.’

22-2-2016 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalaamu alaykum. What does the following hadith mean: "...you would recoil to that position from where you started, and you would recoil to that position from where you started, and you would recoil to that position from where you started..." (Sahih Muslim, book 41, hadith 6923)

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

The interpreters of hadeeth mentioned some explanations about the meaning of the following saying of the Prophet : “You would recoil to that position from where you had started.” [Muslim]

Perhaps the closest to the meaning and clearest opinion is what Abu al-‘Abbaas Al-Qurtubi said in his book al-Mufhim, “The statement 'You would recoil to that position from where you had started', means that you would return to the first situation in which you were of corruption, disunity, the predominance of desires, and abandoning the religion.”

Allaah Knows best.