Explanation of Riyad al-Salihin-52b

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted, in the context of the hadiths in the chapter on bidding farewell to a companion and advising him when parting for travel or otherwise, and supplicating for him and asking him to supplicate for you, " 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I sought permission from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to perform 'Umrah, so he granted it and said:

Brother, do not forget us in your supplications.

لا تنسانا يا أخي من دعائك

Riyad as-Salihin 713

He said a word for which I would not want to have the world. In another narration, he said:

Include me in your supplication, little brother

أشركنا يا أخي في دعائك

Mishkat al-Masabih 2248

It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said: It is a good and authentic hadith. And Salim ibn 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) used to say to a man when he intended to travel: Come closer to me so that I may bid you farewell as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to bid us farewell. He would say:

I entrust to Allaah your religion what you are responsible for and your final deeds.

أستودع الله دينك وأمانتك وخواتيم عملك

Sunan Abi Dawud 2600Sahih (Al-Albani)

It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said: It is a good and authentic hadith. And 'Abd Allah ibn Yazid al-Khatmi, the Companion (may Allah be pleased with him), said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say when he intended to bid farewell to an army:

I entrust to Allah your religion, what you are responsible for, and your final deeds.

أستودع الله دينكم وأمانتكم وخواتيم أعمالكم

Sunan Abi Dawud 2601Sahih (Al-Albani)

It is an authentic hadith, narrated by Abu Dawud and others with an authentic chain. And Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, I intend to travel, so provide me with provisions. He said:

May Allah provide you with piety

زودك الله التقوى

He said: Give me more. He said:

and forgive your sin

وغفر ذنبك

He said: Give me more. He said:

And may He make goodness easy for you wherever you are

ويسر لك الخير حيث ما كنت

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3444Hasan (Darussalam)

It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi, who said: It is a good hadith ".

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
These hadiths were mentioned by al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) in his book Riyad al-Salihin, in the section on what is recommended regarding bidding farewell to a companion, supplicating for him, and asking him to supplicate for you. He mentioned the hadith of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he intended to perform 'Umrah, so he sought permission from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who granted it and said: In another narration: He mentioned that al-Tirmidhi narrated it and said: It is good and authentic. However, the truth is that it is weak and does not reach the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Asking others for supplication is divided into categories. The first category: asking others to supplicate for the benefit of the Muslims, meaning for something general. This is permissible. A man entered on a Friday while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was delivering the sermon and said: O Messenger of Allah, wealth has been destroyed and the roads have been cut off, so call upon Allah to relieve us. He raised his hands and said: So Allah sent a cloud that spread and expanded and rained, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not descend from the pulpit until the rain was dripping from his beard, and the rain continued for a full week. In the second Friday, another man, or the first one, entered and said: O Messenger of Allah, the wealth has been drowned and the buildings have collapsed, so call upon Allah to hold it back from us. He raised his hands and said: And he pointed to the directions around us and not on us. Wherever he pointed to a direction, the clouds parted and separated until the people went out walking in the sun. If you ask a righteous person, whose response is expected, for something general for the Muslims, this is permissible, because you are not asking for yourself, just as if a poor person came to you asking for your intercession with a person to give him, or a debtor came asking for your intercession with a person to pay his debt, and you interceded, then this is permissible because the benefit is for someone else. The second category: asking a righteous man to supplicate so that the man benefits from this supplication. It does not matter to him if he benefits, but he likes this man, from whom he asked for supplication, to turn to Allah, to ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic), to attach his heart to Allah, and to know that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is the Hearer of supplication. The important thing is that his intention is the benefit of this man. This is also permissible, because you are not asking him purely for your own benefit, but for his benefit as well. This righteous man wants to increase in good by supplicating to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and drawing near to Him, and for the reward and recompense. The third category: asking others for supplication for one's own benefit. Some scholars permitted this and said: There is no harm in asking a righteous man to supplicate for you. But Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: It is not recommended if your intention is only your own benefit, because this may fall into the condemned matter, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took the pledge of his Companions not to ask people for anything, and because this asker, who asked someone else to supplicate for him, may rely on the supplication of this other person and forget to supplicate for himself. He says: I told so-and-so, who is a righteous man, to call upon Allah for me, and if Allah responds to this supplication, it is sufficient, so he relies on others. And because it may cause arrogance in the person asked, thinking he is a righteous man whom people aspire to for his supplication, and harm may result for the person asked. In any case, this third category is disputed. Some scholars said: There is no harm in saying to a righteous man: So-and-so, call upon Allah for me. And some said: It is not recommended. The best is not to say that, because he may bestow a favor upon you with it, and you may humble yourself before him by asking him. Then, who is it that stands between you and your Lord? You, my brother, call upon Allah yourself for yourself. No one stands between you and Allah. Why do you go and become needy to others, saying: Call upon Allah for me, when there is no intermediary between you and your Lord? Allah the Exalted said: And Allah grants success.