909 – Abu Saʿid al-Khudri and Abu Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with them—testified that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever says, ‘lā ilāha illā-llāh, wa-llāhu akbar’ (There is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest), his Lord confirms him and says, ‘There is no god but I, and I am the Greatest.’ If he says, ‘lā ilāha illā-llāh waḥdahu lā sharīka lah’ (There is no god but Allah alone, without partner), Allah says, ‘There is no god but I, alone without partner.’ If he says, ‘lā ilāha illā-llāh, lahuʾl-mulk wa lahuʾl-ḥamd’ (There is no god but Allah; His is the dominion and to Him belongs all praise), Allah says, ‘There is no god but I; Mine is the dominion and to Me belongs all praise.’ If he says, ‘lā ilāha illā-llāh, wa lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā bi-llāh’ (There is no god but Allah, and there is no might nor power except through Allah), Allah says, ‘There is no god but I, and there is no might nor power except through Me.’ The Prophet added, “Whoever utters these words while ill and then dies, the Fire will not touch him.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhī, who classified it as a ḥasan (sound) hadith.

[Explanation]
This is the last hadith that al-Nawawī—may Allah have mercy on him—records in his Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn under the chapter “What is to be said for the sick.” The preceding reports dealt with the supplication made by the visitor for the patient; this one contains what the patient himself should recite. Abu Hurayrah and Abu Saʿid al-Khudri—may Allah be pleased with them—relate that the Prophet ﷺ said Allah, exalted is He, affirms His servant when the servant says, “Allāhu akbar, lā ilāha illā-llāh” (Allah is the Greatest, there is no god but Allah); Allah responds, “There is no god but I, and I am the Greatest.” And when the servant says, “Allāhu akbar, wa lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā bi-llāh” (Allah is the Greatest, and there is no might nor power except through Allah), Allah likewise affirms him. So whoever pronounces this lā ilāha