Sahih Muslim Book - 49, Hadith - 6958

حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مُعَاذٍ الْعَنْبَرِىُّ حَدَّثَنَا أَبِى حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو يُونُسَ عَنْ سِمَاكٍ قَالَ خَطَبَ النُّعْمَانُ بْنُ بَشِيرٍ فَقَالَ « لَلَّهُ أَشَدُّ فَرَحًا بِتَوْبَةِ عَبْدِهِ مِنْ رَجُلٍ حَمَلَ زَادَهُ وَمَزَادَهُ عَلَى بَعِيرٍ ثُمَّ سَارَ حَتَّى كَانَ بِفَلاَةٍ مِنَ الأَرْضِ فَأَدْرَكَتْهُ الْقَائِلَةُ فَنَزَلَ فَقَالَ تَحْتَ شَجَرَةٍ فَغَلَبَتْهُ عَيْنُهُ وَانْسَلَّ بَعِيرُهُ فَاسْتَيْقَظَ فَسَعَى شَرَفًا فَلَمْ يَرَ شَيْئًا ثُمَّ سَعَى شَرَفًا ثَانِيًا فَلَمْ يَرَ شَيْئًا ثُمَّ سَعَى شَرَفًا ثَالِثًا فَلَمْ يَرَ شَيْئًا فَأَقْبَلَ حَتَّى أَتَى مَكَانَهُ الَّذِى قَالَ فِيهِ فَبَيْنَمَا هُوَ قَاعِدٌ إِذْ جَاءَهُ بَعِيرُهُ يَمْشِى حَتَّى وَضَعَ خِطَامَهُ فِى يَدِهِ فَلَلَّهُ أَشَدُّ فَرَحًا بِتَوْبَةِ الْعَبْدِ مِنْ هَذَا حِينَ وَجَدَ بَعِيرَهُ عَلَى حَالِهِ ». قَالَ سِمَاكٌ فَزَعَمَ الشَّعْبِىُّ أَنَّ النُّعْمَانَ رَفَعَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ إِلَى النَّبِىِّ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- وَأَمَّا أَنَا فَلَمْ أَسْمَعْهُ.

It was narrated that Simak said: "An Nu'man bin Bashir delivered a Khutbah and said: 'Verily, Allah rejoices more over the repentance of His slave than a man who loads his provisions on his camel then travels until he is in the wilderness, then the time for a nap comes, so he dismounts and takes a nap beneath a tree, but sleep overwhelms him, and his camel runs away. Then he wakes up and climbs a hill but he does not see anything. Then he climbs a second hill but he does not see anything. Then he climbs a third hill but he does not see anything, so he goes back to the place where he took his nap, and while he is sitting there, his camel comes walking and places its reins in his hand. Allah rejoices more over the repentance of His slave than this man when he finds his camel as it had left him." Simak said: "Ash-Sha'bi said that An-Nu'man attributed this Hadith to the Prophet (s.a.w), but I did not hear that."