[اللهم إني أسألك علماً نافعا ورزقاً طيبا وعملاً صالحا
“Oh Allaah! Verily, I ask you for beneficial knowledge and generous and wholesome provision, and deeds that are accepted”
[Narrated by Ahmad, Ibn Maajah and others]
By the Noble Scholar and Doctor
AbdurRazaaq ibn AbdulMuhsin al-‘Abbaad al-Badr
May Allaah, the Most High, Preserve him and his father
____________________________
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Verily, all Praise is due for Allaah, I Praise him and I seek his assitance and forgiveness and I repent to him. I seek refuge in Allaah from the evils of ourselves and the wickedness of our deeds. Whoever Allaah guides none can misguide and whomsoever Allaah guides, none can lead astray.
I bear witness that there is no God except Allaah alone, with no partners and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, May the Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him and all his companions.
To begin;
Today’s Hadeeth is going to be short, not long, about the hadeeth that has been narrated by Ibn Maajah and Imaam Ahmad [May Allaah have Mercy on both of them] and others from them from the people of knowledge. It was narrated on the authority of the mother of the believers Umm Salamah [May Allaah be Pleased with her] the wife of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] that she said;
“The Messenger of Allaah [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] would say after the morning prayer, after giving Tasleem;
‘Oh Allaah! Verily, I ask you for beneficial knowledge and generous and wholesome provision, and deeds that are accepted’[1].”
So it was from the guidance and practice of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] to say this every day after the morning praying and he would supplicate with this great and comprehensive supplication.
‘Oh Allaah! Verily, I ask you for beneficial knowledge and generous and wholesome provision, and deeds that are accepted’
It is also narrated in another version that he would say ‘And righteous deeds’ but the meaning of the accepted deeds in the previous narration is the same as this, meaning both versions are supplicating for righteous deeds.
So if you act upon this - my noble brother – this great supplication, a supplication that has the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] continued to preserve every day after the morning prayer, then this would be a cause of great
Barakah in your day and you will find your day open. How many countless openings a Muslim can have in his day if he turns to Allaah [The Great and High]? How many favours will be upon him because of these three things that he asks for; beneficial knowledge, generous or wholesome provision and deeds that are righteous or accepted?
Also, if you hold on to these three things then you will find the objective a Muslim hopes for in his day, combined and placed in his day. The goals that a Muslim has in his day are three:
1) Beneficial knowledge
2) Generous or wholesome provision
3) Righteous deeds
If you contemplate on this last objective and goal of a Muslim, then he will not find any of the other objectives of goals outside of his day. These three objectives are combined in this one objective or goal of a Muslim for his day.
So the purpose of this supplication is to open the day for the Muslim and it is a means of one being able to achieve his goals for that particular day. By turning to Allaah [The Great and High] he is able to actualise these goals. So this supplication is beneficial for him from two aspects;
Firstly, this supplication enables the Muslim to define his goals for the day from the very beginning of it. They say; ‘whoever wants the way to salvation then he must define his goals and how he is going to achieve these goals by having a strategy. If he is able set his goals out and plans how he is able to achieve them, only then he will attain his goals.’ So from the means of being successful in gaining his goals is to plan, organise and reaffirm his intentions and aims. As for one who doesn’t have a goal or a plan nor does he have any clear idea, then his day will be mixed up of various different things which will create conflict and disruption in his day. Perhaps this person will not attain any of these goals. So from one of the main points is that we must have a clear goal and how we will attain this.
Secondly, this supplication helps one turn to Allaah [The Great and High] so he gains His assistance in achieving his goals because he asked and sought it from the very beginning of the day.
If one asks in the beginning of the day then this will remain and be repeated in the affairs of a Muslim, every day singling out Allaah and turning to Him [The Great and High], from the beginning of the day asking him [The Great and High], means one will be assisted in being successful in achieving this great aim and lofty request.
So the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] started with asking for beneficial knowledge. In this there is clear evidence that knowledge precedes everything, so must be the first thing we seek, this is proof that knowledge comes before doing deeds as the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] started the supplication with this. As Allaah, The Glorified and Exalted, says;
“So know, [O Muhammad], that there is no deity except Allah and ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and believing women” [Muhammad 47: 19]
So knowledge comes before action and with knowledge the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] started this supplication, seeking knowledge before provisions and actions. Bringing knowledge forward and seeking it before anything else is also a proof that righteous deeds and wholesome provision are both based on knowledge. So knowledge is the way one is able to gain upright provision and ward off anything corrupt in his provision. If one doesn’t have beneficial knowledge then it becomes easy for his affairs to become mixed, his wealth to be mixed with useful and corrupted wealth, and his for his actions to be fruitful and at times tainted, and without having beneficial knowledge he wouldn’t be able to distinguish what is good and bad pertaining to his affairs.
It is for this reason that actual and authentic knowledge must be sought and the Muslim must protect and give attention to it, it must be the most important thing in a Muslim’s life.
As for the one who seeks provision without seeking knowledge, then this opens the door for him to do deeds without knowledge, and this has been contested in our religion. Like the statement of ‘Umar ibn AbdulAziz [May Allaah have Mercy on him] who said;
“Whoever worships Allaah without knowledge, then his he does more harm than good[2]”.
This is also beneficial for us understand, that this supplication reinforce the importance of knowledge in the daily lives of the Muslim. In fact, it is the most important thing in the life of a Muslim. All his days are given the due importance in seeking beneficial knowledge, no time is wasting during his day, all day he spends time in gaining beneficial knowledge. So this Hadeeth proves this point, because every day we say;
‘Oh Allaah! Verily, I ask you for beneficial knowledge…’
The scholars say that this supplication is necessary for us but it is also necessary for us to seek the means as well. So if one says ‘Oh Allaah! Verily, I ask you for beneficial knowledge’ then it is necessary that he seeks the means to gain knowledge, so he must go out and sit in the circles of knowledge, in the sitting of knowledge, read books, revise issues and rulings (Masalah) and things similar to this. He must seek the means and the routes that help one gain and acquire knowledge. So this supplication must be followed by action.
However, if a person is lackadaisical in his day and in his early morning he says; ‘Oh Allaah! Verily, I ask you for beneficial knowledge and generous and wholesome provision, and deeds that are accepted’ and then he pulls his pillow under his head and goes to sleep until Dhuhr, then how does he expect to gain knowledge from his pillow? It won’t happen. So it is necessary for one to seek the means to gain it.
If he says; ‘Oh Allaah! Verily, I ask you for beneficial knowledge’ and then he tries hard and then he says ‘Oh Allaah! Verily, I ask you for generous and wholesome provision’ and then he goes to work to gain his provision, there’s no doubt that this person is taking the means, based on this it is said[3];
You intend to gain a knowledgeable perspective by evening
Without labouring, so insanity is your speciality
You expect to gain wealth without difficulty
Without being instructed how do you gain knowledge?
Meaning, that it is necessary for you to seek the means and it is not sufficient for one rely on Allaah (Tawakkul) or rely on supplicating to alone, it is necessary for the supplication to be followed with one seeking to take the means.
So this supplication is beneficial and there are many great benefits for the student of knowledge, as he seeks it every day. Every day he tries to follow the example of his Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] when he supplicates to Allaah with this great supplication. This is extremely beneficial for the Muslim and it is binding upon him that he doesn’t omit saying this supplication every day, except that he may lose out on gaining some knowledge that may benefit him, or learn a ruling that may be fruitful, or miss out on acquiring some wisdom or miss a sitting of knowledge or the ability to read a book.
As for a day that goes by and it ends without any benefit for the person or his religion, then this an extreme misfortune. If a person realise how much of a misfortune this is, then he will realise that he has lost a day. Some of the Salaf were very strict and resolute on this, despite them being very strong in knowledge, their etiquettes with it and them being extremely careful and diligent in gaining knowledge, when the sun would set at the end of the day, they would cry because they would feel like they hadn’t gained anything. However, in reality they did but they didn’t meet the expectations that they had set for themselves.
The point is that the Hadeeth has great benefit and it is incumbent upon the Muslim that he gives it importance and pays attention to it every day and that he tries to seek knowledge.
He shouldn’t deny himself of gaining knowledge or sitting its sitting or reading its books, especially today when tapes and different avenues are available. The vast availability can be a means of him gaining a lot of knowledge and being very fortunate.
He would say; ‘Oh Allaah! Verily, I ask you for beneficial knowledge’, in this is there an important point, that knowledge is of two types; beneficial knowledge and harmful knowledge.
“It was not Solomon who disbelieved, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic… And [yet] they learn from them that by which they cause separation between a man and his wife”
[Baqarah 2:102]
This ayah shows that knowledge can be harmful; unfortunately this type of knowledge has become widespread in our times.
As for beneficial knowledge, then this is knowledge that benefits the person. The definition of what we need to seek is in the supplication, when he would say; ‘Oh Allaah! Verily, I ask you for beneficial knowledge’. Furthermore, it has been narrated in other narrations of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] that he would seek refuge in knowledge that brings no benefit.
His would say; ‘Oh Allaah! Verily, I ask you for beneficial knowledge’ refers to the knowledge that has a beneficial impact on the person. Beneficial knowledge is beneficial, not only to the student but to the teacher as well, as knowledge can only be deemed beneficial if it benefits the one who propagates it, so for this reason the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] would say;
“Oh Allaah! Benefit me with you teach me…[4]”
So knowledge can be beneficial for oneself but he may not act upon on it or benefit from it. So I ask Allaah, The Glorified and Exalted, to favour us with beneficial knowledge.
Beneficial knowledge within oneself is what benefits him as he sees himself increase in correctness, guidance, Taqwa and he draws closer to Allaah, The Glorified and Exalted, and he wins the Pleasure of his Lord [The Glorified and Perfect].
After that, he would say; ‘and generous and wholesome provision’, meaning ‘Oh Allaah, give me provision’. In this there is also an encouragement for us to seek provision in our daily lives. Whilst seeking Allaah’s [The Glorified and Exalted] help and assistance.
So if a Muslim supplicates saying; ‘and generous and wholesome provision’ it means he is planting within himself to seek the generous and wholesome provision in his heart because provisions are of two types; good and wholesome and bad and corrupted. Likewise, food is of two types, drink is of two types, clothes are of two types; good and wholesome and bad and corrupted.
So it is necessary for us to be able to distinguish between the good and wholesome and bad and corrupted, in order for our food, drink, clothes etc to remain good and beneficial for us.
It is also narrated that he [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] said in a hadeeth;
“A man comes after a long journey, dishevelled, and he reaches his hands to the sky and asks; ‘Oh Lord, Oh Lord’ but his food is unlawful, his clothes are unlawful, his drink is unlawful and transport is unlawful. So how does he expect to be answered?[5]”
Based on this, the some of Salaf would say; ‘The best of your food is a cause for your supplication to be accepted.’
So I ask Allaah, The Glorified and Exalted, to give us beneficial knowledge. This supplication to Allaah, The Glorified and Exalted, helps one to become independent from gaining his provision from haram sources, from sources such as interest, deception in trading, unlawful forms of business and the like. This is the summary of the meaning of his saying; ‘and generous and wholesome provision’.
Then he would finish this supplication by saying; ‘and deeds that are accepted’ and in another narration ‘and deeds that are righteous’. Meaning he would ask for his actions to be righteous based on the Legislation of Allaah [The Great and High]. Good deeds comprise of two things;
1) Deeds that are for Allaah [The Great and High] alone
2) Deeds that are in line with the Sunnah
So if his deeds have these two aspects then it will be accepted by Allaah [The Great and High] in what he strives for. Therefore, good and righteous deeds are those that are done for Allaah alone and that are in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet [Peace and Blessings of Allaah be upon him] then it will be accepted. Allaah [The Great and High] will not accept deeds unless they are righteous and the definition of righteous is that which has Ikhlaas and that which is done correctly and authentically just as He has ordered us to do. Fudayl ibn ‘Ayyad [May Allaah have Mercy on him] said about the Ayah;
“…to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed…”
[Mulk 67:2]
He said, “Being sincere and authentic”. Somebody asked him, ‘What does it means to be sincere and authentic?’ He replied, “Verily, deeds must be done only with Ikhlaas and if they are not authentic then they will not be accepted. So if it is authentic but he wasn’t sincere then it won’t be accepted, it must have both sincerity and authenticity. Sincerity is to do it for Allaah and authenticity is to follow the Sunnah”[6].
So this supplication - my noble brothers – is a great supplication and whoever is attentive of it should now increase in his attentiveness towards it. Whoever didn’t know about this supplication or wasn’t attentive towards it then now you know its importance, its virtue, its position and he now realises our need for supplicating with it. Every day, after the Morning Prayer, we must recite this wonderful supplication;
“Oh Allaah! Verily, I ask you for beneficial knowledge and generous and wholesome provision, and deeds that are accepted”
And Allaah Knows best.
[1] Narrated by Ibn Maajah [hadeeth no. 925], Ahmad [hadeeth no. 26481] and his narration it has the wording ‘And a vast provision’ and it has been graded Saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaanee in Saheeh Ibn Maajah.
[2] Majmoo al-Fataawa (28/78 published by Daar Al-Jaleel 1418 AH)
[4] Narrated by at-Tirmidhi [hadeeth no. 3599] Ibn Maajah [hadeeth no. 251] from the Hadeeth of Aboo Hurayrah [May Allaah be Pleased with him] and it was classed Saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaanee [May Allaah have Mercy on him]
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