Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3383
حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ حَبِيبِ بْنِ عَرَبِيٍّ، حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ كَثِيرٍ الأَنْصَارِيُّ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ طَلْحَةَ بْنَ خِرَاشٍ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ جَابِرَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، رضى الله عنهما يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ " أَفْضَلُ الذِّكْرِ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَأَفْضَلُ الدُّعَاءِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ حَدِيثِ مُوسَى بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ . وَقَدْ رَوَى عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْمَدِينِيِّ وَغَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ عَنْ مُوسَى بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Yahya ibn Habib ibn ‘Arabi narrated to us: Musa ibn Ibrahim ibn Kathir al-Ansari narrated to us, saying: I heard Talhah ibn Khirash say: I heard Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) say that he heard the Messenger of Allah say: ‘The best remembrance is “There is no god but Allah,” and the best supplication is “Praise belongs to Allah.”’ Abu ‘Isa said: This hadith is hasan gharib; we know it only through the narration of Musa ibn Ibrahim. ‘Ali ibn al-Madini and more than one other narrator also transmitted this hadith from Musa ibn Ibrahim.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic pairs the best remembrance (dhikr) with the declaration of divine oneness, and the best supplication with praise of Allah. The compiler notes the report’s single known route through Musa ibn Ibrahim while naming other narrators who transmitted from him.