A Recitation to Avoid Calamities

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following was adapted from translations by Dr. Alan A. Godlas, from a hadits in the canonical collections of Imam Abu Dawud Sulayman ibn al-Ash’ats as-Sijistani (r.a.), Imam Abu ‘Isa Muhammad ibn ‘Isa as-Sulami at-Tirmidzi (r.a.), and Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Yazid ibn Majah (r.a.). 

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ، فِي الْأَرْضِ، وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ، وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ 

Bismillah al-ladzii laa yadhurru ma’a Asmihi shay’un al-ardh wa laa fii as-samaa’i wa Huwa as-Samii’u al-‘Aliim 

In the Name of Allah (s.w.t.), in the Presence of Whose Name nothing is harmful, neither on the earth nor in the heavens.  And He is Infinitely Hearing and Knowing. 

The hadits, in the collection of Imam Abu Dawud (r.a.), stated that Shaykh Abu Mawdud (r.a.) reported that someone heard Shaykh Abu Sa’id Aban ibn ‘Utsman (r.a.), the son of the rightly-guided caliph and companion of the Prophet (s.a.w.), Sayyidina Abu ‘Amr ‘Utsman ibn ‘Affan (r.a.), saying that his father, meaning Sayyidina ‘Utsman (r.a.), said, “I heard the Prophet (s.a.w.) say that whoever says, three times in evening, ‘In the Name of Allah, in the Presence of Whose Name nothing is harmful, neither on the earth nor in the heavens; and He is Infinitely Hearing and Knowing,’ an attack of an affliction will not strike him until he gets up in the morning.  And whoever says it three times when he gets up in the morning, an attack of an affliction will not strike him until he reaches the evening.” 

Shaykh Abu Mawdud (r.a.) stated that subsequently, Shaykh Aban (r.a.) became afflicted with a partial paralysis.  Then, the man who had heard the hadits from Shaykh Aban (r.a.) began staring at him with suspicion.  At this point, Shaykh Aban (r.a.) responded to him, “What is wrong with you?  Why are you staring at me?  I did not lie about ‘Utsman, and neither did ‘Utsman lie about the Prophet (s.a.w.).  What happened was that on the day when whatever afflicted me afflicted me, I got angry and forgot to say it.” 

In the variant in the collection of Imam at-Tirmidzi (r.a.), narrated by Shaykh Abu az-Zannad (r.a.), the hadits is nearly identical until after the man began to stare at Shaykh Aban (r.a.).  At that point, Shaykh Aban (r.a.) responded to him, “What are you staring at?  The hadits is as I reported it.  What happened is that I did not say it one day so that God would Bring about His destiny upon me.”  Imam at-Tirmidzi (r.a.) added that this version is regarded as being well-attested but not of the highest degree of reliability, being hasan swahih gharib. 

It is interesting to note that Shaykha Ramlah (r.a.), who was the wife of Sayyidina ‘Utsman (r.a.), and mother of Shaykh Aban (r.a.), was a protector of Imam Abu az-Zannad ‘Abdullah ibn Dzakwan (r.a.); he was a mawla, client, of hers, keeping in mind that in the early years of Islam, when non-Arabs converted to Islam, it was necessary to become a client of an Arab.