841 – ʿAbd Allah ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ taught us the declaration to be recited when we have a need:

‘Indeed, all praise belongs to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and ask His forgiveness. We seek refuge with Allah from the evils within ourselves. Whomever Allah guides, none can mislead, and whomever He lets stray, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah alone, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger.’

He would then recite three verses.”

It was narrated by Ahmad and the Four Sunan compilers, and al-Tirmidhī and al-Ḥākim graded it sound.⦗1⦘

Status of the ḥadīth: authentic.

This narration is known as “the ḥadīth of need.” Shuʿbah said: “I asked Abū Isḥāq, ‘Is it meant for the marriage sermon only, or for other occasions as well?’ He replied, ‘For every need.’” Al-Baghawī likewise reports it from Ibn Masʿūd in Sharḥ al-Sunnah for the marriage sermon and other situations.

Al-Tirmidhī said, “It is a ḥasan ḥadīth,” while Abū ʿAwānah, Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Ḥākim, and Ibn Khuzaymah all declared it ṣaḥīḥ.

Al-Ḥāfiẓ wrote in al-Talkhīṣ: “Al-Bayhaqī transmitted—through Abū Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī, from Shuʿbah, who said: Abū Isḥāq informed us, ‘I heard Abū ʿUbaydah ibn ʿAbd Allah relate from his father that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ taught us the sermon of need: “Praise be to Allah,” or, “Indeed, praise belongs to Allah….”’ It was also recorded by Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasāʾī, al-Tirmidhī, and al-Ḥākim. Abū ʿUbaydah did not hear directly from his father. A mawqūf version is likewise reported by Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī through this chain, and there are additional routes as well.”