1283 – Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: “One day I was riding behind the Prophet ﷺ and he said: ‘Young man! Safeguard Allah and He will safeguard you; safeguard Allah and you will find Him before you. When you ask, ask Allah; and when you seek assistance, seek assistance from Allah.’ ” Al-Tirmidhī narrates it and classed it as ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ (1).

Hadith grading:
The report is ḥasan (sound).

Ibn Rajab, in his commentary on the Forty Ḥadith, wrote: “Al-Tirmidhī recorded it from Ibn ʿAbbās, and Aḥmad recorded it through Ḥunsh al-Ṣanʿānī from Ibn ʿAbbās. This ḥadith reaches us through many routes from Ibn ʿAbbās—via his son ʿAlī, ʿIkrimah, ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, and others. The soundest chain is that of Ḥunsh al-Ṣanʿānī cited by al-Tirmidhī, and it is a good, reliable chain.”

Vocabulary:
• “Safeguard Allah” (imperative): remember Allah, uphold His commands by obedience, avoid His prohibitions by shunning them, and respect His limits by not overstepping them.
• “Tujāhaka” (before you): with any of the three vowelings on the initial tāʾ; it means “in front of you,” i.e., He will preserve you from the harms of both worlds.

Takeaways from the ḥadith:
This noble narration contains several all-encompassing principles:
First: “Safeguard Allah and He will safeguard you”