Supplications

Mu'adh b. Jabal said the Prophet (ﷺ) heard a man making supplication saying, “O God, I ask You for complete favour,” and asked him what complete favour meant. On his replying that it was a supplication by which he hoped to receive good, he said, “Part of complete favour is to enter paradise and be safe from hell.” He heard a man saying, “O Possessor of majesty and splendour,” and said, “Your prayer is answered, so make request.” The Prophet (ﷺ) also heard a man who was saying, “O God, I ask You for endurance,” and said, “You have asked God for trial; now ask Him for wellbeing.” [Or, "ask Him for health."] Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Abu Huraira reported God’s messenger as saying that if anyone sits in an assembly where there is much clamour* and says before getting up to leave, “Glory be to You, O God, and I begin with praise of You; I testify that there is no god but You; I ask Your pardon and turn to You in repentance,” he will be forgiven for what took place in that assembly where he was. *Or, ‘wicked talk,’ or, 'meaningless talk' Tirmidhi and Baihaqi in <i>[Kitab] ad-Da'awat al-kabir</i>, transmitted it.

‘Ali was brought a beast to ride, and when he put his foot in the stirrup he said, “In the name of God.” Then when he sat on its back he said, “Praise be to God.” He then said, “Glory be to Him who has made this subservient to us, for we had not the strength, and to our Lord do we return.” He then said, “Praise be to God (thrice); God is most great (thrice); Glory be to You. I have wronged myself, so forgive me, for only You forgivest sins.” He then laughed, and when he was asked what he was laughing at, he replied that he had seen God’s messenger do as he had done and laugh after that. He had asked him what he was laughing at, and he told him that his Lord was pleased with His servant when he asked Him to forgive him his sins, for God says, “He knows that I alone forgive sins.” Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Umar told that when the Prophet (ﷺ) said farewell to a man he took him by the hand and did not let it go till the man let go the Prophet’s hand, and he would say, “I entrust to God your religion, what you are responsible for, and your last deeds.” A version has “Your final deeds.”* *The text of the tradition has <i>akhira 'amalika</i> and the version <i>khawatima 'amalika</i>, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah transmitted it, but in the version of the last two “your last deeds” is not mentioned.

‘Abdallah al-Khatmi told that when God’s messenger wanted to commend an army [to God’s care] he said, “I entrust to God your religion, what you are responsible for, and your final deeds.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Anas told of a man coming to the Prophet (ﷺ) and saying, “Messenger of God, I intend to make a journey, so give me provisions.” He replied, “May God provide you with piety!” He asked for more, so he added, “And forgive your sin.” He said, “Say more, you for whom I would give my father and mother as ransom,” and he added, “And give you abundance of good wherever you are,” Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a <i>hasan gharib</i> tradition.

Abu Huraira told of a man who said, “Messenger of God, I intend to make a journey, so give me an injunction.” He told him to maintain fear of God and say “God is most great” on every rising ground, and when the man turned away he said, “O God, make the distance short for him and make the journey easy for him.” Tirmidhi transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Umar said that when God’s messenger was travelling and night came on he said, "O earth, my Lord and your Lord is God; I seek refuge in God from your evil, the evil of what you contain, the evil of what has been created in you, and the evil of what creeps upon you; I seek refuge in God from lions, from large black snakes, from other snakes, from scorpions, from the evil of jinn [Or it may be human inhabitants.] which inhabit a settlement and from a parent and his offspring."* *This last phrase occurs in Qur’an, xc, 3 where it appears to be used in a straightforward sense; but in the tradition it is said to be a reference to lblis and his offspring of devils. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Anas told that when God’s messenger went on an expedition he said, "O God, You are my aider and helper; by You I move, by You I attack, and by You I fight." Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Abu Musa told that when the Prophet (ﷺ) feared a people he said, "O God, we put You in front of them, and we seek refuge in You from their evils." Ahmad and Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Umm Salama told that when the Prophet (ﷺ) went out of his house he said, “In the name of God; I trust in God; O God, we seek refuge in You from slipping, or straying, or causing injustice, or suffering injustice, or doing wrong, or having wrong done to us." Ahmad, Tirmidhi and Nasa'i transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a <i>hasan sahih</i> tradition, In the version of Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah, Umm Salama said that God’s messenger never went out of her house without raising his eye to the sky and saying, “O God, I seek refuge in You lest I stray or lead others stray,* or cause injustice, or suffer injustice, or do wrong, or have wrong done to me.” *Some read as above, but others read 'or be led astray'.

Anas reported God’s messenger as saying that when a man goes out of his house and says, "In the name of God; I trust in God; there is no might and no power but in God," the following will be said to him at that time, "You are guided, defended and protected." The devil will go far from him and another devil will say, "How can you deal with a man who has been guided, defended and protected?" Abu Dawud transmitted it, and Tirmidhi transmitted up to “the devil will go far from him."

Abu Malik al-Ash'ari reported God's messenger as saying that when a man goes into his house he should say, “O God, I ask You for good both when entering and when going out; in the name of God we have entered and in God our Lord do we trust.” He should then greet his family. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Abu Huraira said that when the Prophet (ﷺ) congratulated* a man on his marriage he said, “God bless you, bless you both, and prosper your union.” *The verb used is <i>raffa'a</i> which originally meant saying to someone who had just been married, "may the marriage produce close union and sons." It is said that because this was a phrase used in pre-lslamic times, the Prophet (ﷺ) substituted for it the words used in this tradition. The verb thus develops simply the meaning of congratulating without in itself involving any particular formula. Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

'Amr b. Shu'aib, on his father’s authority, said his grandfather told how the Prophet (ﷺ) said that when anyone of them married a woman, or bought a servant he should say, “O God, I ask You for the good in her and in the disposition You have given her, and I seek refuge in You from the evil in her and in the disposition You have given her.” When he buys a camel he should take hold of the top of its hump and say the same kind of thing. In a version regarding a woman and a servant it says he should take hold of her forelock and make supplication for a blessing. Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Abu Bakra reported God’s messenger as saying that the supplications to be used by one who is distressed are, “O God, Your mercy is what I hope for. Do not abandon me to myself for an instant, but put all my affairs in good order for me. There is no god but You.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.

Abu Sa'id al-Khudri told of a man who said to God’s messenger that he was entangled in cares and debts. He replied, “Shall I not teach you words by which, when you say them, God will remove your care and settle your debt?” and when the man expressed a desire to hear them he told him to say morning and evening, “O God, I seek refuge in You from care and grief; I seek refuge in You from incapacity and slackness; I seek refuge in You from niggardliness and cowardice; I seek refuge in You from being overcome by debt and being put in subjection by men.” He said that when he did that God removed his care and settled his debt. Abu Dawud transmitted it.

‘Ali told of a slave who had made a contract with his master to pay for his freedom(1) coming to him and saying, “I am unable to fulfill my contract,* so give me help.” He suggested teaching him words he had been taught by God’s messenger, which would be so effective that if he had a debt as large as a huge mountain God would pay it for him, telling him to say, “O God, grant me enough of what You makest lawful so that I may dispense with what You makest unlawful, and make me able by Your grace to dispense with all but You.” 1. <i>Mukatab</i>. Although the term comes from the root meaning to write, the contract was not necessarily written. *<i>Kitabati</i>. While the word properly refers to something written, it is used for a contract whether written or not. Tirmidhi and Baihaqi, in <i>[Kitab] ad-Da'awat al-kabir</i>, transmitted it.

‘A'isha said that when God’s messenger sat in an assembly or prayed he spoke some words, so she asked him about them. Saying that they were, “Glory be to You, O God, and I begin with praise of You; there is no god but You; I ask forgiveness of You and turn to You in repentance,” he told her that if one speaks what is good this will act as a seal on his words till the day of resurrection, and that if one speaks what is evil this will act as an atonement for what he has said. Nasa’i transmitted it.

Qatada told of hearing that when God’s messenger saw the new moon he said, “A new moon of good and right guidance; a new moon of good and right guidance; a new moon of good and right guidance. I believe in Him who created you” (three times). He would then say, “Praise be to God who has made such and such a month to pass and has brought such and such a month.” Abu Dawud transmitted it.