Mishkat al-Masabih
Mishkat al-Masabih 2309
وَعَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: " قَالَ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: يَا رَبِّ عَلِّمْنِي شَيْئًا أَذْكُرُكَ بِهِ وَأَدْعُوكَ بِهِ فَقَالَ: يَا مُوسَى قُلْ: لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ فَقَالَ: يَا رَبِّ كلُّ عبادكَ يقولُ هَذَا إِنَّما أيد شَيْئًا تَخُصُّنِي بِهِ قَالَ: يَا مُوسَى لَوْ أَنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ السَّبْعَ وَعَامِرَهُنَّ غَيْرِي وَالْأَرَضِينَ السَّبْعَ وُضِعْنَ فِي كِفَّةٍ وَلَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ فِي كِفَّةٍ لَمَالَتْ بِهِنَّ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ". رَوَاهُ فِي شرح السّنة
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri reported that the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) said: ‘Moses (peace be upon him) said, “My Lord, teach me something by which I may remember You and call upon You.” He replied, “Moses, say: There is no deity but God.” He said, “My Lord, all Your servants say this. I want something special that You grant to me.” He replied, “Moses, if the seven heavens and all who dwell in them besides Me, and the seven earths, were placed on one side of a scale, and ‘There is no deity but God’ on the other, the phrase ‘There is no deity but God’ would outweigh them.”’ Al-Baghawi transmitted it in Sharh al-Sunnah. The Arabic source marks it as not studied by al-Albani.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The phrase أيد شيئًا is unusual and is rendered according to the apparent request for something special; the final scale comparison is translated as an outweighing.
وَعَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: " قَالَ مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: يَا رَبِّ عَلِّمْنِي شَيْئًا أَذْكُرُكَ بِهِ وَأَدْعُوكَ بِهِ فَقَالَ: يَا مُوسَى قُلْ: لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ فَقَالَ: يَا رَبِّ كلُّ عبادكَ يقولُ هَذَا إِنَّما أيد شَيْئًا تَخُصُّنِي بِهِ قَالَ: يَا مُوسَى لَوْ أَنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ السَّبْعَ وَعَامِرَهُنَّ غَيْرِي وَالْأَرَضِينَ السَّبْعَ وُضِعْنَ فِي كِفَّةٍ وَلَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ فِي كِفَّةٍ لَمَالَتْ بِهِنَّ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ". رَوَاهُ فِي شرح السّنة
The clause إنما أيد شيئا تخصني به appears irregular; the apparent intended sense is ‘I want something special that You grant me.’ The final scale phrase لمالت بهن is also compressed.
Are these clauses intended to mean a special formula and that it outweighs the heavens and earth?