Hadithcore
Sunan Abi Dawud, 832
hasan· Al-Albani

Narrated Abdullah ibn AbuAwfa:

A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: I cannot memorise anything from the Qur'an: so teach me something which is sufficient for me. He said: Say Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Allah, and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is most great, and there is no might and no strength but in Allah. :He said: Messenger of Allah, this is for Allah, but what is for me? He said: Say: O Allah have mercy on me, and sustain me, and keep me well, and guide me. When he stood up, he made a sign with his hand (indicating that he had earned a lot). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: He filed up his hand with virtues.

حَدَّثَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعُ بْنُ الْجَرَّاحِ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ، عَنْ أَبِي خَالِدٍ الدَّالاَنِيِّ، عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ السَّكْسَكِيِّ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي أَوْفَى، قَالَ جَاءَ رَجُلٌ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقَالَ إِنِّي لاَ أَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ آخُذَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ شَيْئًا فَعَلِّمْنِي مَا يُجْزِئُنِي مِنْهُ ‏.‏ قَالَ ‏"‏ قُلْ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ وَلاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ وَلاَ حَوْلَ وَلاَ قُوَّةَ إِلاَّ بِاللَّهِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ هَذَا لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَمَا لِي قَالَ ‏"‏ قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ ارْحَمْنِي وَارْزُقْنِي وَعَافِنِي وَاهْدِنِي ‏"‏ ‏.‏ فَلَمَّا قَامَ قَالَ هَكَذَا بِيَدِهِ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ أَمَّا هَذَا فَقَدْ مَلأَ يَدَهُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ ‏"‏ ‏.‏

References2 variants
In-Book Reference
Book 2, Hadith 442
English Reference
Book 3, Hadith 831
Sharh · explanationclick to expand
In this Hadith, a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: "I am unable to memorize anything from the Quran," meaning: in terms of memorization, learning, and recitation, "so teach me something that will suffice for me" — something I can recite in prayer and elsewhere. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told him: "Say: Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Allah, and there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and Allah is the Greatest, and there is no power" — meaning: there is no means of escaping sins and warding off disliked evils except by the Will of Allah — "and no strength" for me to perform acts of obedience and attain good "except with Allah," that is: through His guidance, the Almighty. "Al-`Aliyy" (the Most High) is one of the Names of Allah that encompasses a perfect attribute, which is elevation in its three types: elevation of dominance and victory, elevation of status, and elevation of essence. "Al-`Adhim" (the Most Great) is one of the Names of Allah that encompasses a perfect attribute, which is Greatness. The man then said: "O Messenger of Allah, this" — the remembrance and praise — "is for Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, but what is there for me" in terms of supplication and requests? The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) told him: "Say: O Allah, have mercy on me, and grant me sustenance" of good things, "and grant me well-being" from evil, "and guide me" to the straight path. "When the man stood up, he gestured with his hand like this," meaning: he clenched it, "and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'As for this one, he has filled his hand with goodness,'" meaning: he has gathered abundant good and reward.The Hadith demonstrates the ease and compassion of the Islamic Shari`ah. It also highlights the importance of learning the Quran and various Adhkar (remembrances).
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Compare isnād across 2 related chains →