Mishkat al-Masabih
Mishkat al-Masabih 2479
عَنِ الْقَعْقَاعِ: أَنَّ كَعْبَ الْأَحْبَارِ قَالَ: لَوْلَا كَلِمَاتٌ أَقُولُهُنَّ لَجَعَلَتْنِي يَهُودُ حِمَارًا فَقِيلَ لَهُ: مَا هُنَّ؟ قَالَ: أَعُوذُ بِوَجْهِ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ الَّذِي لَيْسَ شَيْءٌ أَعْظَمَ مِنْهُ وَبِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ التامَّاتِ الَّتِي لَا يُجاوزُهنَّ بَرٌّ وَلَا فاجرٌ وَبِأَسْمَاءِ اللَّهِ الْحُسْنَى مَا عَلِمْتُ مِنْهَا وَمَا لَمْ أَعْلَمْ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ وَذَرَأَ وبرأ. رَوَاهُ مَالك
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Al-Qa‘qa‘ reported that Ka‘b al-Ahbar said: ‘Were it not for certain words I say, the Jews would have turned me into a donkey.’ He was asked, ‘What are they?’ He replied: ‘I seek refuge in the mighty Face of Allah, than which nothing is greater; in the perfect words of Allah, which neither the righteous nor the wicked can overstep; and in Allah’s most beautiful names, those I know and those I do not know, from the evil of what He has created, brought forth, and originated.’ Reported by Malik. The hadith was not studied by al-Albani.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
بَرٌّ وَلَا فاجرٌ
The clause literally says that no righteous or wicked person goes beyond these words; the precise force of the idiom is not explicit in this context.
Does this mean that no righteous or wicked person can overstep these words, or that their protection reaches beyond either person? The literal reading is retained.