The Prophet ﷺ narrated from his Lord, who said, "When a servant draws near to me by a hand-span, I draw near to him by a forearm's length. When he draws near to me by a forearm's length, I draw near to him by an arm's span. And when he comes to me walking, I come to him at a hurried pace."In another narration, he reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, Allah said, "Son of Adam, if you remember me within yourself, I will remember you within myself. If you remember me in a gathering, I will remember you in a gathering better than it, a gathering of angels. If you draw near to me by a hand-span, I draw near to you by a forearm's length. If you draw near to me by a forearm's length, I draw near to you by an arm's span. And if you come to me walking, I come to you hurrying."Qatada said, "Allah is swifter in granting forgiveness."
عن النبي ﷺ يرويه عن ربه قال: إذا تقرب العبد إلي شبرا تقربت إليه ذراعا، وإذا تقرب مني ذراعا تقربت منه باعا، وإذا أتاني مشيا أتيته هرولة. وفي رواية عنه: قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ قال الله: يا ابن آدم، إن ذكرتني في نفسك ذكرتك في نفسي، وإن ذكرتني في ملأ ذكرتك في ملأ من الملائكة، أو في ملأ خير منهم، وإن دنوت مني شبرا، دنوت منك ذراعا، وإن دنوت مني ذراعا، دنوت منك باعا، وإن أتيتني تمشي، أتيتك أهرول. قال قتادة: فالله عز وجل أسرع بالمغفرة.
Bukhari narrated it in the Book of Tawhid (7536) from Muhammad bin Abdul-Rahim, who said, Abu Zayd Saeed bin Rabi Harawi told us, Shubah told us, from Qatada, from Anas, and he related it with the first wording.Ahmad narrated it (12405) from Abdul-Razzaq, and it is in his Musannaf (20575), from Mamar, from Qatada, from Anas, and he related it with the second wording. Its isnad is sahih.