Question 1: On the authenticity of the ḥadīth, Khudh min al-Qurʾān mā shiʾta limā shiʾta (“Take from the Qur’an whatever you wish for whatever purpose you wish”).

Question 1: Noble Shaykh, I came across a short booklet that cites a ḥadīth reading, “Take from the Qur’an whatever you wish for whatever purpose you wish.” Is this narration authentic? Kindly inform us—may Allah reward you with goodness.

Answer: The report that states, “Take from the Qur’an whatever you wish for whatever purpose you wish” (1) is widely circulated on some people’s tongues, but—regrettably—it is one of those narrations that have no foundation in the Sunnah. Therefore, it is impermissible to relate it or to attribute it to the Prophet ﷺ.

Furthermore, the sweeping, all-inclusive sense conveyed by the phrase—“Take from the Qur’an whatever you wish for whatever purpose you wish”—is absolutely unsound and untenable in Islamic law. Suppose, for instance, that I were to remain in my home, abandon my trade and craft, and then ask my Lord to send down provision from the sky on the pretext that I have “taken from the Qur’an” for that purpose! Who could claim such a thing?

These words are false, and they were most likely coined by those indolent Sufis who made a habit of sitting idly in what they call ribāṭs, settling there while waiting for Allah’s provision to be brought to them by other people—something wholly at odds with the disposition of a Muslim, for the Prophet ﷺ trained the believers