مسند امام احمد بن حنبل · Hadith 4238

It was narrated that 'Abdullah (RA) said: I was hiding behind the curtain of the Ka'bah, and three people, a Thaqafi and his two Qurashi in-laws came. They were very fat but not very smart. They said something amongst themselves, then one of them said: Do you think Allah hears what we say? The other said: He hears if we raise our voices, but if we do not raise our voices He will not hear us. The other one said: If He hears some of it He will hear (all of) it. I mentioned that to the Prophet (PBUH) and Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, revealed the words: "And you have not been hiding yourselves (in the world), should testify against you; - till- yet they are not of those who will ever be allowed to please Allah!" [Fussilat 41:22-24],

Translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan · Reviewed by Islamic University of Madinah · Published March 2020