Invocations

Ismail narrated to us, saying: Malik told me, from Abu al-Zinad, from al-Araj, from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Every prophet had a supplication that would be answered, which he made. I wish to reserve my supplication as intercession for my community in the Hereafter.

Khalifah told me: Mutamir said: I heard my father relate, from Anas, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who said: Every prophet made a supplication—or every prophet had a supplication that he made—and it was answered. I have reserved my supplication as intercession for my community on the Day of Resurrection.

Abu Mamar narrated to us: Abd al-Warith narrated to us: al-Husayn narrated to us: Abdullah ibn Buraydah narrated to us, from Bushayr ibn Kab al-Adawi, who said: Shaddad ibn Aws, may Allah be pleased with him, told me, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him: The chief supplication for forgiveness is to say: O Allah, You are my Lord; there is no god but You. You created me, and I am Your servant. I uphold Your covenant and promise as best I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge Your blessing upon me, and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for no one forgives sins except You. He said: Whoever says this during the day, with firm conviction, and dies before evening, will be among the people of Paradise; and whoever says it during the night, with firm conviction, and dies before morning, will be among the people of Paradise.

Abu al-Yaman informed us: Shuayb informed us, from al-Zuhri, who said: Abu Salamah ibn Abd al-Rahman informed me: Abu Hurayrah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, say: By Allah, I seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him more than seventy times a day.

Ahmad ibn Yunus narrated to us: Abu Shihab narrated to us, from al-Amash, from Umarah ibn Umayr, from al-Harith ibn Suwayd. Abdullah narrated to us two reports, one from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and the other from himself. He said: A believer sees his sins as though he were sitting beneath a mountain and feared it would fall upon him; a wicked person sees his sins like a fly that passed over his nose. Abu Shihab gestured with his hand above his nose. Then he said: Allah rejoices more at the repentance of His servant than a man who stops at a place of danger with his mount carrying his food and drink. He puts his head down and sleeps; when he wakes, his mount is gone. The heat and thirst—or whatever Allah willed—become severe for him. He says, ‘I will return to my place.’ He returns and sleeps again. Then he raises his head and finds his mount beside him. Abu Awanah and Jarir also transmitted it from al-Amash. Abu Usamah said: al-Amash narrated to us: Umarah narrated to us: I heard al-Harith. Shubah and Abu Muslim related from al-Amash, from Ibrahim al-Taymi, from al-Harith ibn Suwayd. Abu Muawiyah said: al-Amash narrated to us, from Umarah, from al-Aswad, from Abdullah; and from Ibrahim al-Taymi, from al-Harith ibn Suwayd, from Abdullah.

Ishaq informed us: Habban informed us: Hammam narrated to us: Qatadah narrated to us: Anas ibn Malik narrated to us, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Hudbah narrated to us: Hammam narrated to us: Qatadah narrated to us, from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Allah rejoices more at the repentance of His servant than one of you who finds his camel after losing it in a desolate land.

Abdullah ibn Muhammad narrated to us: Hisham ibn Yusuf narrated to us: Mamar informed us, from al-Zuhri, from Urwah, from Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to pray eleven units at night. When dawn came, he prayed two brief units, then lay down on his right side until the caller to prayer came and informed him.

Musaddad narrated to us: Mutamir narrated to us, saying: I heard Mansur, from Sad ibn Ubaydah, who said: al-Bara ibn Azib, may Allah be pleased with them both, told me: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: When you go to your bed, perform ablution as you do for prayer, then lie on your right side and say: O Allah, I surrender my face to You, entrust my affair to You, and rely upon You, in hope and fear of You. There is no refuge or escape from You except to You. I believe in Your Book which You revealed and in Your Prophet whom You sent. If you die, you will die upon the natural faith, so make these the last words you say. I said, ‘I will commit them to memory along with the words: and in Your Messenger whom You sent.’ He said, ‘No. Say: and in Your Prophet whom You sent.’

Qabisah narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us, from Abd al-Malik, from Ribiy ibn Hirash, from Hudhayfah, who said: Whenever the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, went to bed, he said, ‘In Your name I die and live.’ When he got up, he said, ‘Praise be to Allah, who gave us life after causing us to die, and to Him is the resurrection.’ Yunshiruha means: bring it out.

Said ibn al-Rabi and Muhammad ibn Ararah narrated to us, both saying: Shubah narrated to us, from Abu Ishaq, who heard al-Bara ibn Azib say that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, instructed a man. Adam narrated to us: Shubah narrated to us: Abu Ishaq al-Hamdani narrated to us, from al-Bara ibn Azib, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, advised a man, saying: When you go to bed, say: O Allah, I surrender myself to You, entrust my affair to You, turn my face toward You, and rely upon You, in hope and fear of You. There is no refuge or escape from You except to You. I believe in Your Book which You revealed and in Your Prophet whom You sent. If you die, you will die upon the natural faith.

Musa ibn Ismail narrated to me: Abu Awanah narrated to us, from Abd al-Malik, from Ribiy, from Hudhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, went to bed at night, he put his hand beneath his cheek and said, ‘O Allah, in Your name I die and live.’ When he awoke, he said, ‘Praise be to Allah, who gave us life after causing us to die, and to Him is the resurrection.’

Musaddad narrated to us: Abd al-Wahid ibn Ziyad narrated to us: al-Ala ibn al-Musayyib narrated to us, saying: My father told me, from al-Bara ibn Azib, who said: When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, went to bed, he slept on his right side, then said: O Allah, I surrender myself to You, turn my face toward You, entrust my affair to You, and rely upon You, in hope and fear of You. There is no refuge or escape from You except to You. I believe in Your Book which You revealed and in Your Prophet whom You sent. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Whoever says these words and dies that night dies upon the natural faith. Istarhabuhum is from rahbah, fear. Malakut means dominion. The proverb says: Rahabut is better than rahamut; that is, to frighten is better than to show mercy.

Ali ibn Abdullah narrated to us: Ibn Mahdi narrated to us, from Sufyan, from Salamah, from Kurayb, from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said: I spent the night with Maymunah. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, got up to relieve himself, washed his face and hands, then slept. He then got up, went to the waterskin, and loosened its tie. He performed ablution, neither excessive nor deficient, and prayed. I got up and stretched, so he would not think I had been watching him. I performed ablution, and he stood to pray. I stood on his left, so he took my ear and moved me to his right. His prayer totaled thirteen units. Then he lay down and slept until he breathed audibly—as he did when asleep. Bilal announced the prayer to him, and he prayed without performing ablution. In his supplication he used to say: O Allah, place light in my heart, light in my sight, light in my hearing, light to my right, light to my left, light above me, light below me, light before me, light behind me, and make light for me. Kurayb said: And seven in my torso. I met a man from the descendants of al-Abbas, who told me these words and mentioned my sinews, flesh, blood, hair, and skin, and two other things.

Abdullah ibn Muhammad narrated to us: Sufyan narrated to us: I heard Sulayman ibn Abi Muslim, from Tawus, from Ibn Abbas, who said: When the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, got up at night to pray, he would say: O Allah, to You belongs praise. You are the Light of the heavens and the earth and all who are in them. To You belongs praise. You sustain the heavens and the earth and all who are in them. To You belongs praise. You are the Truth; Your promise is true, Your word is true, meeting You is true, Paradise is true, the Fire is true, the Hour is true, the prophets are true, and Muhammad is true. O Allah, to You I submit, in You I trust, in You I believe, to You I turn in repentance, by You I contend, and to You I refer for judgment. Forgive me what I have done and what I have left undone, what I have concealed and what I have made public. You are the One who brings forward and puts back. There is no god but You—or there is no god besides You.

Sulayman ibn Harb narrated to us: Shubah narrated to us, from al-Hakam, from Ibn Abi Layla, from Ali, who said: Fatimah, peace be upon her, complained of the soreness in her hand from using the hand mill. She went to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to ask him for a servant, but did not find him. She mentioned it to Aishah. When he came, she told him. He came to us while we had gone to bed. I started to get up, but he said, ‘Stay where you are.’ He sat between us until I felt the coolness of his feet against my chest. He said, ‘Shall I show you two something better than a servant? When you go to bed, say Allahu akbar thirty-three times, subhan Allah thirty-three times, and alhamdu lillah thirty-three times. This is better for you than a servant.’ Shubah also related from Khalid, from Ibn Sirin, who said: The tasbih is thirty-four times.

Abdullah ibn Yusuf narrated to us: al-Layth narrated to us: Uqayl told me, from Ibn Shihab, who said: Urwah informed me, from Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that whenever the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, went to bed, he would blow into his hands, recite the protective surahs, and wipe his body with them.

Ahmad ibn Yunus narrated to us: Zuhayr narrated to us: Ubayd Allah ibn Umar narrated to us: Said ibn Abi Said al-Maqburi narrated to me, from his father, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: When one of you goes to bed, let him dust his bedding with the inside edge of his lower garment, for he does not know what may have come onto it. Then let him say: In Your name, my Lord, I lay my side down, and by You I raise it. If You take my soul, have mercy on it; and if You release it, protect it as You protect Your righteous servants. Abu Damrah and Ismail ibn Zakariyya also transmitted it from Ubayd Allah. Yahya and Bishr related it from Ubayd Allah, from Said, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. Malik and Ibn Ajlan also related it from Said, from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet.

Abd al-Aziz ibn Abdullah narrated to us: Malik narrated to us, from Ibn Shihab, from Abu Abdullah al-Agharr and Abu Salamah ibn Abd al-Rahman, from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends each night to the lowest heaven when the final third of the night remains and says: Who is calling upon Me, that I may answer him? Who is asking Me, that I may give him? Who is seeking My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?

Muhammad ibn Ararah narrated to us: Shubah narrated to us, from Abd al-Aziz ibn Suhayb, from Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: Whenever the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, entered the toilet, he would say: O Allah, I seek refuge in You from male and female devils.