Sunan at-Tirmithiy كتاب البر والصلة باب ما جاء فى العفو عن الخادم

حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ حَدَّثَنَا رِشْدِينُ بْنُ سَعْدٍ عَنْ أَبِى هَانِئٍ الْخَوْلاَنِىِّ عَنْ عَبَّاسٍ الْحَجَرِىِّ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ قَالَ جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى النَّبِىِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ كَمْ أَعْفُو عَنِ الْخَادِمِ فَصَمَتَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ثُمَّ قَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ كَمْ أَعْفُو عَنِ الْخَادِمِ فَقَالَ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً. قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ. وَرَوَاهُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ وَهْبٍ عَنْ أَبِى هَانِئٍ الْخَوْلاَنِىِّ نَحْوًا مِنْ هَذَا. وَالْعَبَّاسُ هُوَ ابْنُ جُلَيْدٍ الْحَجَرِىُّ الْمِصْرِىُّ.
A man came to the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, and asked, "Messenger of God, how many times should I pardon my servant?" But the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, remained silent. (1) The man repeated his question, saying, "Messenger of God, how many times should I pardon my servant?" He then replied, "Seventy times a day." Footnotes: (1) He remained silent either to await revelation from God, or because he disliked such a question - as pardoning should remain limitless and not be restricted. Therefore, the seventy times mentioned in the ḥadīth are a connotation of abundance and not to be taken as an exact figure. Click on ḥadīth to read more