The Book Pertaining to the Remembrance of Allah; Supplication; Repentance and Seeking Forgiveness

Anas reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) visited a person from amongst the Muslims in order to inquire (about his health) who had grown feeble like the chicken. Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Did you supplicate for anything or beg of Him about that? He said: Yes. I used to utter (these words): Impose punishment upon me earlier in this world, what Thou art going to impose upon me in the Hereafter. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Hallowed be Allah, you have neither the power nor forbearance to take upon yourself (the burden of His Punishment). Why did you not say this: O Allah, grant us good in the world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the torment of Fire. He (the Holy Prophet) made this supplication (for him) and he was all right.

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Humaid with the same chain of transmitters, but with a slight variation of wording.

Anas reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) visited a person from amongst his Companions who had grown as feeble as the chicken. The rest of the hadith is the same, but with this variation that he (the Holy Prophet) said: You have not power enough to undergo the torment imposed by Allah. And there is no mention of: He supplicated Allah for him and He cured him.

This hadith had been transmitted on the authority of Anas through another chain of narrators.

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) as saying Allah has mobile (squads) of angels, who have no other work (to attend to but) to follow the assemblies of Dhikr and when they find such assemblies in which there is Dhikr (of Allah) they sit in them and some of them surround the others with their wings till the space between them and the sky of the world is fully covered, and when they disperse (after the assembly of Dhikr is adjourned) they go upward to the heaven and Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, asks them although He is best informed about them: Where have you come from? They say: We come from Thine servants upon the earth who had been glorifying Thee (reciting Subhan Allah), uttering Thine Greatness (saying Allah o-Akbar) and uttering Thine Oneness (La ilaha ill Allah) and praising Thee (uttering al-Hamdu Lillah) and begging of Thee. Be would say: What do they beg of Me? They would say: They beg of Thee the Paradise of Thine. He (God) would say: Have they seen My Paradise? They said: No, our Lord. He would say: (What it would be then) if they were to see Mine Paradise? They (the angels) said: They seek Thine protection. He (the Lord) would say: Against what do they seek protection of Mine? They (the angels) would say: Our Lord, from the Hell-Fire. He (the Lord) would say: Have they seen My Fire? They would say: No. He (the Lord) would say: What it would be if they were to see My Fire? They would say: They beg of Thee forgiveness. He would say: I grant pardon to them, and confer upon them what they ask for and grant them protection against which they seek protection. They (the angels) would again say: Our Lord, there is one amongst them such and such simple servant who happened to pass by (that assembly) and sat there along with them (who had been participating in that assembly). He (the Lord) would say: I also grant him pardon, for they are a people the seat-fellows of whom are in no way unfortunate.

Qatada asked Anas which Supplication Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) frequently made. He said: The supplication that he (the Holy Prophet made very frequently is this:" O Allah, grant us the good in this world and the good in the Hereafter and save us from the torment of Hell-Fire." He (Qatada) said that whenever Anas had to supplicate he made this very supplication, and whenever he (intended) to make another supplication he (inserted) this very supplication in that.

Anas reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) used to supplicate (in these words): " Our Lord, grant us the good in this world and the good in the Hereafter and save us from the torment of Hell Fire."

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: He who uttered these words:" There is no god but Allah, the One, having no partner with Him. Sovereignty belongs to Him and all the praise is due to Him, and He is Potent over everything" one hundred times every day there is a reward of emancipating ten slaves for him, and there are recorded hundred virtues to his credit, and hundred vices are blotted out from his scroll, and that is a safeguard for him against the Satan on that day till evening and no one brings anything more excellent than this, except one who has done more than this (who utters these words more than one hundred times and does more good acts) and he who utters:" Hallowed be Allah, and all praise is due to Him," one hundred times a day, his sins are obliterated even if they are equal to the extent of the foam of the ocean.

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: He who recites in the morning and in the evening (these words):" Hallowed be Allah and all praise is due to Him" one hundred times, he would not bring on the Day of Resurrection anything excellent than this except one who utters these words or utters more than these words.

'Amr b. Maimun reported: He who uttered:" There is no god but Allah, the One, having no partner with Him, His is the Sovereignty and all praise is due to Him and He is Potent over everything" ten times, he is like one who emancipated four slaves from the progeny of Isma'il. Rabi' b. Khuthaim narrated a hadith like this. Sha'bi reported: I said to Rabi': From whom did you hear it? He said: From 'Amr b. Maimun. I came to 'Amr b. Maimun and said to him: From whom did you hear this hadith? He said: from Ibn Abi Laila. I came to Ibn Abi Laila and said to him: From whom did you hear this hadith? He said: From Abu Ayyub Ansari, who narrated from Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him).

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Two are the expressions which are light on the tongue, but heavy in scale, dear to the Compassionate One:" Hallowed be Allah and praise is due to Him" ;" Hallowed be Allah, the Great."

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The uttering of (these words):" Hallowed be Allah; all praise is due to Allah, there is no god but Allah and Allah is the Greatest," is dearer to me than anything over which the sun rises.

Mu'sab b. Sa'd reported on the authority of his father that a desert Arab came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said to him: Teach me the words which I should (often) utter. He said: Utter," There is no god but Allah, the One, having no partner with Him. Allah is the Greatest of the great and all praise is due to Him. Hallowed be Allah, the Lord of the worlds, there is no Might and Power but that of Allah, the All-Powerful and the Wise." He (that desert Arab) said: These all (glorify) my Lord. But what about me? Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: You should say:" O Allah, grant me pardon, have mercy upon me, direct me to righteousness and provide me sustenance." Musa (one of the narrators) said: I think he also said:" Grant me safety." But I cannot say for certain whether he said this or not. Ibn Abi Shaiba has not made a mention of the words of Musa in his narration.

Abu Malik Ashaja'i reported on the authority of his father that whenever a person embraced Islam, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) instructed him to recilte: " O Allah, grant me pardon, have mercy upon me, direct me to the path of righteousness and provide me sustenance."

Abu Malik reported on the authority of his father that when a person embraced Islam, Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) used to teach him how to observe prayer and then commanded him to supplicate in these words: " O Allah, grant me pardon, have mercy upon me, direct me to the path of righteousness, grant me protection and provide me sustenance."

Abu Malik reported on the authority Of his father that he heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying to the person who bad come to him and asked him as to how he should beg his Lord, that he should utter these words: " O Allah, grant me pardon, have mercy upon me, protect me, provide me sustenance," and he collected his fingers together except his thumb and said: It is in these words (that there is supplication) which sums up for you (the good) of this world and that of the Hereafter.

Mus'ab b. Sa'd reported that his father told him that he had been in the company of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) that he said: Is one amongst you powerless to get one thousand virtues every day. Amongst those who had been sitting there, one asked: How one amongst us can get one thousand virtues every day? He said: Recite:" Hallowed be Allah" one hundred times for (by reciting them) one thousand virtues are recorded (to your credit) and one tbousand vices are blotted out.

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: He who alleviates the suffering of a brother out of the sufferings of the world, Allah would alleviate his suffering from the sufferings of the Day of Resurrection, and he who finds relief for one who is hard-pressed, Allah would make things easy for him in the Hereafter, and he who conceals (the faults) of a Muslim, Allah would conceal his faults in the world and in the Hereafter. Allah is at the back of a servant so long as the servant is at the back of his brother, and he who treads the path in search of knowledge, Allah would make that path easy, leading to Paradise for him and those persons who assemble in the house among the houses of Allah (mosques) and recite the Book of Allah and they learn and teach the Qur'an (among themselves) there would descend upon them tranquility and mercy would cover them and the angels would surround them and Allah mentions them in the presence of those near Him, and he who is slow-paced in doing good deeds, his (high) lineage does not make him go ahead.

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira through another chain of transmitters but with a slight variation of wording.

Agharr Abi Muslim reported: I bear witness to the fact that both Abu Huraira and Abu Sa'id Khudri were present when Allah's Messenger may peace be upon him) said: The people do not sit but they are surrounded by angels and covered by Mercy, and there descends upon them tranquillity as they remember Allah, and Allah makes a mention of them to those who are near Him. This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Shu'ba with the same chain of transmitters.

Abu Sa'id Khudri reported that Mu'awiya went to a circle in the mosque and said: What makes you sit here? They said: We are sitting here in order to re- member Allah. He said: I adjure you by Allah (to tell me whether you are sitting here for this very purpose)? They said: By Allah, we are sitting here for this very purpose. Thereupon, he said: I have not demanded you to take an oath, because of any allegation against you and none of my rank in the eye of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) is the narrator of so few ahadith as I am. The fact is that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) went out to the circle of his Companions and said: What makes you sit? They said: We are sitting here in order to remember Allah and to praise Him for He guided us to the path of Islam and He conferred favours upgn us. Thereupon he adjured by Allah and asked if that only was the purpose of their sitting there. They said: By Allah, we are not sitting here but for this very purpose, whereupon he (the Messenger) said: I am not asking you to take an oath because of any allegation against you but for the fact that Gabriel came to me and he informed me that Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, was talking to the angels about your magnificence.

Al-Agharr al-Muzani, who was one amongst the Companions (of the Holy Prophet) reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: There is (at times) some sort of shade upon my heart, and I seek forgiveness from Allah a hundred times a day.

Al-Agharr al-Muzani who was from amongst the Companions of Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) reported that Ibn 'Umar stated to him that Allah's Messenger (may peace 'be upon him) said: O people, seek repentance from Allah. Verily, I seek repentance from Him a hundred times a day.

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Shu'ba with the same chain of transmitters.

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as say- ing: He who seeks repentance (from the Lord) before the rising of the sun from the west (before the Day of Resurrection), Allah turns to him with Mercy.

Abu Musa reported: We were along with Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) on a journey when the people began to pronounce Allah-o-Akbar in a loud voice. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: O people, sh mercy to yourselves for you are not calling One Who is deaf or absent. Verily, you are calling One Who is All-Hearing (and) Near to you and is with you. Abu Musa told that he had been behind him (the Holy Prophet) and reciting:" There is neither might nor power but that of Allah." He (the Holy Prophet), while addressing 'Abdullah b. Qais, said: Should I not direct you to a treasure from amongst the treasurers of Para- dise? I ('Abdullah b. Qais) said: Allah's Messenger, do it, of course. Thereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said: Then recite:" There is no might and no power but that of Allah."

This hadith has been narrated on the authority of 'Asim with the same chain of transmitters.

Abu Musa reported that he (and his other companions) were climbing upon the hillock along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and when any person climbed up, he pronounced (loudly): " There is no god but Allah, Allah is the Greatest." Thereupon Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: Verily, you are not supplicating One Who is deaf or absent. He said: Abu Musa or Abdullah b Qais, should I not direct you to the words (which form) the treasure of Paradise? I said: Allah's Messenger, what are these? He said:" There is no might and no power but that of Allah."

This hadith has been transmitted on the authority of Abu Musa with a slight variation of wording.

Abu Musa reported: We were along with Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) on a journey; the rest of the hadith is the same as transmitted by A'sim.