Is this hadith reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Abu Bakr: “Shirk is more subtle than the crawling of ants, and I will show you something that, if you do it, Allah will remove from you the minor shirk. You say: ‘O Allah, I seek refuge in You from associating partners with You while I am aware of it, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I am not aware of. You say this three times.’”
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The questioner : Is this hadith reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him): I hope you will clarify the meaning of the hadith and whether it is authentic?
The Shaykh : I do not know this hadith. As for the meaning of the hadith, a person seeks refuge in Allah (Mighty and Majestic) from associating partners with Allah while he is aware of it, and he seeks Allah’s forgiveness for what he does not know to be shirk, because a person may fall into shirk without realizing it, so he seeks forgiveness from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) for shirk of which he was unaware.
Shirk is more subtle than the crawling of ants, and I will show you something that, if you do it, Allah will remove from you the minor shirk. You say: “O Allah, I seek refuge in You from associating partners with You while I am aware of it, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I am not aware of.” You say this three times.
الشرك أخفى من دبيب النمل وسأدلك على شيء إذا فعلته أذهب الله عنك صغار الشرك ، تقول : اللهم إني أعوذ بك أن أشرك بك وأنا أعلم وأسغفرك لما لا أعلم ، تقول ذلك ثلاث مراتThe Shaykh : I do not know this hadith. As for the meaning of the hadith, a person seeks refuge in Allah (Mighty and Majestic) from associating partners with Allah while he is aware of it, and he seeks Allah’s forgiveness for what he does not know to be shirk, because a person may fall into shirk without realizing it, so he seeks forgiveness from Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) for shirk of which he was unaware.