And prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions: He said -may Allah have mercy on him-

The reader: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions:
He said -may Allah have mercy on him-: “Chapter on the dislike of a person asking by the Face of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, for anything other than Paradise:
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Nothing but Paradise must be begged for Allah's sake.

لا يُسأل بوجه الله إلا الجنة

Sunan Abi Dawud 1671Da'if (Al-Albani)

Abu Dawud narrated it.
Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Grant shelter to him who begs for it in the Name of Allah, give to him who begs in the Name of Allah, accept the invitation of him who invites you, and requite him who does a favour to you, but if you are unable to requite him, go on praying for him till you are sure that you have requited him adequately.

من استعاذ بالله فأعيذوه، ومن سأل بالله فأعطوه، ومن دعاكم فأجيبوه، ومن صنع إليكم معروفا فكافئوه، فإن لم تجدوا ما تكافئونه به فادعوا له حتى تروا أنكم قد كافأتموه

Riyad as-Salihin 1723

This is an authentic hadith, narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Nasa'i with the chains of the two Sahihs.”

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author said -may Allah have mercy on him-: “Chapter on the dislike of asking by the Face of Allah for anything other than Paradise”: The Face of Allah, the Exalted, is described by Allah, the Exalted, as possessing majesty and honor. He, the Exalted, said: : Everyone on the earth is perishing and vanishing, but the Face of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, remains: . For this reason, some scholars said: “It should be understood that the phrase:

And the Face of your Lord will remain

ويبقى وجه ربك

is connected to what precedes it”, so that the perfection of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, becomes clear, and that it is impossible for Him to perish; rather, He is the Everlasting One who does not vanish. Thus, the Face of Allah, the Exalted, is great, and the greatest thing a person asks for is Paradise. Allah, the Exalted, said: . We ask Allah to make us and you among them. This is the greatest victory that no other victory can compare to: . We ask Allah to make us and you among them.
Since Paradise is the greatest thing for which one is responsible, the greatest thing by which one is held accountable—meaning, the greatest thing a person asks for is Paradise—it became so that one does not ask by the Face of Allah for anything other than Paradise. So do not ask by the Face of Allah for anything from the matters of this world. Do not say, “O Allah, I ask You by Your Face to give me a house to live in, or a car to ride in, or the like,” because the Face of Allah is too great for anything from this world to be asked by it. The entire world is lowly, it is all transient, and there is no good in it except what brings one closer to Allah (Mighty and Majestic); otherwise, it is a loss. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: : The Asr, meaning: the age, which is the world. He swore by the Asr that every person is in loss, gaining nothing from his age except the one who gathered these four attributes: one, two, : meaning, they advised one another to truth, and the fourth: that is, patience in truth and calling to it, and patience with the decrees of Allah, and so on.
So the important point is: do not ask by the Face of Allah for anything other than Paradise, and likewise what brings one closer to Paradise. Ask Allah for that. You may ask by the Face of Allah for safety from the Fire. Say: “O Allah, I ask You by Your Face to save me from the Fire,” because if a person is saved from the Fire, he must enter Paradise. There are not three abodes; there are only two abodes: the abode of the disbelievers, which is the Fire—I seek refuge in Allah from it—may Allah protect us and you from it—and the abode of the believing, God-fearing, which is Paradise. So if you say: “I ask You by Your Face to protect me from the Fire,” there is no harm, because whenever Allah protects you from the Fire, He will admit you to Paradise.
This hadith has a weak chain of narration, but its meaning is correct. One should not ask by the great Face of Allah for anything other than something great.
As for the hadith of Ibn 'Umar, discussion of it will come in the next lesson. And Allah is the One who grants success.