Sunan Abi Dawud
Sunan Abi Dawud 1427
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to say at the end of his witr: "O Allah, I seek refuge in Thy good pleasure from Thy anger, and in Thy forgiveness from Thy punishment, and I seek refuge in Thy mercy from Thy wrath. I cannot reckon the praise due to Thee. Thou art as Thou hast praised Thyself."
Abu Dawud said: Hisham is the earliest teacher of Hammad. Yahya b. Ma'in said: No one is reported to have narrated traditions form him except Hammad b. Salamah.
Abu Dawud said: Ubayy b. Ka'b said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited supplication in the witr before bowing.
Abu Dawud said: This tradition has also been narrated by 'Isa b. Yunus through a different chain of narrators from Ubayy b. Ka'b. He also narrated it through a different chain of narrators on the authority of Ubayy b. Ka'b that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) recited the supplication in the witr before bowing.
Abu Dawud said: The chain of narrators of the tradition of Sa'id from Qatadah goes: Yazid b. Zurai' narrated from Sa'id, from Qatadah, from 'Azrah, from Sa'id b. 'Abd al-Rahman b. Abza, on the authority of his father, from the Prophet (ﷺ). This version does not mention the supplication and the name of Ubayy. This tradition has also been narrated by 'Abd al-A'la and Muhammad b. Bishr al-'Abdi. He heard the traditions from 'Isa b. Yunus at Kufah. They did not mention the supplication in their version.
This tradition has also been narrated by Hisham al-Dastuwa'i and Shu'bah from Qatadah. They did not mention the supplication in their version. The tradition of Zubaid has been narrated by Sulaiman al-A'mash, Shu'bah, 'Abd al-Malik b. Abi Sulaiman, and Jarir b. Hazim; all of them narrated on the authority of Zubaid. None of them mention the supplication in his version, except in the tradition transmitted by Hafs b. Ghiyath from Mis'ar from Zubaid; he narrated in his version that he (the Prophet) recited supplication before bowing.
Abu Dawud said: This version of tradition is not well know. There is doubt that Hafs might have narrated this tradition from some other narrator than Mis'ar.
Abu Dawud said: It is reported that Ubayy (b. Ka'b) used to recited the supplication )in the witr) in the second half of Ramadan.
Overview & Central Theme
This profound hadith, transmitted in Sunan Abi Dawud 1427, captures the culminating supplication (qunut) of the Witr prayer, revealing the Prophet's ﷺ ultimate reliance on Allah's mercy and His infinite praise. The central theme is tawhid in its most intimate form: acknowledging Allah's absolute sovereignty over all states—pleasure and anger, forgiveness and punishment, mercy and wrath—while humbly confessing human incapacity to fully extol Him. The Prophet ﷺ models a dua that transcends mere petition, becoming a declaration of servitude and a recognition that Allah's self-praise is the only adequate measure of His glory. This teaching underscores the essence of worship as both refuge-seeking and praise-offering, harmonizing fear of Allah's justice with hope in His boundless grace.
Context & Linguistic Insights
The hadith occurs within the context of the Witr prayer, the final voluntary prayer of the night, where the Prophet ﷺ would sometimes recite the qunut (supplication) before or after bowing—a point of jurisprudential debate noted by Abu Dawud through various transmission chains. Linguistically, key terms include: 'ridha' (good pleasure) contrasted with 'sakhat' (anger), 'afw' (forgiveness, implying effacement of sins) versus 'iqab' (punishment), and 'a'udhu' (I seek refuge), which conveys a desperate, protective clinging. The phrase 'la uhsi thana'an 'alayka' (I cannot reckon the praise due to Thee) uses 'ihsa' (to enumerate or fully comprehend), acknowledging that human praise is inherently finite, while 'anta kama athnayta 'ala nafsik' (Thou art as Thou hast praised Thyself) affirms that Allah's self-description in revelation is the ultimate standard of truth. Hisham al-Dastuwa'i, noted as an early teacher of Hammad, and the variant chains cited by Abu Dawud—including those omitting the supplication—reflect meticulous hadith criticism (jarh wa ta'dil), showing how scholars preserved both the text and its contextual variations.
Key Scholarly Insights & Legal Benefits
Daily Life & Spiritual Application
In daily practice, this hadith teaches the believer to end every act of worship—especially the Witr prayer—with a spirit of profound humility and comprehensive trust in Allah. Before sleeping, one can internalize this dua as a nightly shield, seeking refuge in Allah's pleasure from His anger, thereby cultivating a heart that fears sin but hopes for mercy. The phrase 'I cannot reckon the praise due to Thee' should inspire constant gratitude, reminding us that our words of thanks are but drops in an ocean of divine favors. Practically, this means: (1) reciting this qunut in Witr with presence of heart, reflecting on each attribute; (2) applying the principle of seeking refuge in Allah's positive attributes when facing trials, rather than merely fearing negative consequences; and (3) adopting a lifelong posture of 'ajz (inability) before Allah, which paradoxically empowers the believer to act with sincerity, knowing that Allah's praise of Himself is the ultimate reality. This hadith thus transforms the nightly prayer into a school of tawhid, nurturing a soul that is both reverent and hopeful, perfectly balanced between khawf (fear) and raja' (hope).