—may Allah be pleased with him—he never left it out whenever he supplicated. This points to the virtue of this prayer and shows that one should make it a regular part of his own supplication. For that reason the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would conclude every circuit of ṭawāf with it; between the Yemeni Corner and the Black Stone he would say, “Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire,” ending each round with these words. Allah knows best.

1468 – Ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ used to say, “Allāhumma innī asʾaluk al-hudā waʾt-tuqā waʾl-ʿafāfa waʾl-ghanā” (O Allah, I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity, and sufficiency). Narrated by Muslim.

Commentary
After presenting several hadiths on supplication in his book Riyāḍ al-Ṣāliḥīn, the author—may Allah have mercy on him—cites the report of Ibn Masʿūd that the Prophet ﷺ would say: “O Allah, I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity, and sufficiency.” These are four brief yet comprehensive requests the Prophet ﷺ made of his Lord.

“O Allah, I ask You for guidance (hudā).” Here guidance means beneficial knowledge. Guidance is of two kinds: guidance in knowledge and guidance in action; some scholars describe it as guidance of indication and guidance of enablement. When a person asks his Lord for guidance, he is therefore asking for both—namely, that Allah teach him what is right and grant him success in acting upon it. This meaning is contained in the verse from Sūrat al-Fātiḥah: “Guide us to the straight path,” that is, show us the good and enable us to carry it out.