Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah honor his face and be pleased with him) says that whenever I heard a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Allah, as He willed, made me benefit from it. And when another person narrated a hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to me, I would make him swear an oath about it. When he swore that he had heard this hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), only then would I accept his statement as true. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this hadith to me, and he is truthful in narrating this hadith, that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Whoever commits a sin, then performs ablution and does it well, then prays two rak‘ahs of prayer and seeks forgiveness from Allah for his sin, Allah will surely forgive his sin. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) recited this verse: «وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ . . .» ‏‏‏‏ [3-آل عمران:135] "And those who, when they commit a sin or wrong themselves . . . ."