English Translation

Yazid narrated to us: al-Mas’udi informed us, from Ibrahim Abu Isma’il al-Saksaki, from Abd Allah ibn Abi Awfa, who said: A man came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and said, "O Messenger of Allah, I cannot recite the Qur’an, so instruct me in something that will suffice me instead of it." The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to him, "Say: Praise be to Allah, and Glory be to Allah, and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is greater, and there is no power and no strength except in Allah." The man said it, and closed his fist and counted five along with his thumb, and said, "O Messenger of Allah, this is for Allah, the Exalted — what is there for myself?" He said, "Say: O Allah, forgive me, and have mercy on me, and grant me well-being, and guide me, and provide for me." So he said it, and closed his other fist and counted five along with his thumb. Then the man went away having closed both his fists together. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, "He has indeed filled both his hands with good." Abu Abd al-Rahman said: And in my father’s book: Yazid ibn Harun narrated to us: Fa’id ibn Abd al-Rahman informed us, who said: I heard Abd Allah ibn Abi Awfa say: I was with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and a young man came to him and said, "O Messenger of Allah, there is here an orphan boy who has a widowed mother and an orphan sister; feed us from what Allah, the Exalted, has fed you; may Allah give you from what He has, until you are satisfied." He related the hadith at length. Abu Abd al-Rahman said: And in my father’s book: Yazid ibn Harun narrated to us: Fa’id ibn Abd al-Rahman informed us, who said: I heard Abd Allah ibn Abi Awfa say: A man came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and said, "O Messenger of Allah, there is here a young man who is dying, and he is told, ‘Say: There is no god but Allah,’ but he cannot say it." He said, "Was he not saying it during his life?" He said, "Yes indeed." He said, "Then what prevents him from it at his death?" He related the hadith at length. My father did not narrate these two hadiths to us — he struck them out of his book — because he did not accept the hadith of Fa’id ibn Abd al-Rahman, considering him one whose hadith is to be abandoned.