عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه مرفوعاً: «إنَّ اللهَ قال: إذا تَلَقَّاني عبدي بشِبر، تَلَقَّيْتُه بذِراع، وإذا تَلَقَّاني بذراع، تَلَقَّيْتُه ببَاع، وإذا تَلَقَّاني بباع أتيتُه بأسرع».
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Allah said: If My slave draws close to Me by a hand-span, I shall draw close to him by a cubit, and if he draws close to Me by a cubit, I shall draw close to him by an outstretched arm span, and if he draws close to Me by an outstretched arm span, I shall hasten towards him."
Narrated by MuslimGradeAuthentic hadith
Explanation
If the slave gets close to Allah by a hand-span, Allah will get close to him by a cubit. If the slave gets close to Allah by something more than that, Allah will get close to him by an even wider span. If the slave comes towards his Lord, Allah will come towards him even faster. Getting close and coming forth are both confirmed attributes of Allah, Glorified and Exalted, and we believe in them without giving them a special form or example, and without distorting the meaning or interpreting them figuratively.
Reference
صحيح مسلم، تحقيق: محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي، نشر: دار إحياء التراث العربي – بيروت. معجم اللغة العربية المعاصرة، للدكتور أحمد مختار عبد الحميد عمر بمساعدة فريق عمل، الناشر: عالم الكتب، الطبعة: الأولى، 1429 هـ - 2008 م.