The man who could not memorise anything
He was given five phrases, then asked the honest follow-up.
قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ ارْحَمْنِي وَارْزُقْنِي وَعَافِنِي وَاهْدِنِي
Allāhumma-rḥamnī wa-rzuqnī wa ʿāfinī wa-hdinī
“O Allah, have mercy on me, provide for me, keep me well, and guide me.”
Nobody corrected him for asking.
Where this comes from
He said: I cannot take anything from the Qurʾān, teach me what will do instead. He was given subḥānallāh, alḥamdulillāh, lā ilāha illā-llāh, allāhu akbar, lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāh. Then he said: Messenger of Allah, that is all for Allah. What is there for me. And he was given this.
The full narration
Narrated Abdullah ibn AbuAwfa: A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: I cannot memorise anything from the Qur'an: so teach me something which is sufficient for me. He said: Say Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Allah, and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is most great, and there is no might and no strength but in Allah. :He said: Messenger of Allah, this is for Allah, but what is for me? He said: Say: O Allah have mercy on me, and sustain me, and keep me well, and guide me. When he stood up, he made a sign with his hand (indicating that he had earned a lot). The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: He filed up his hand with virtues
Source
Sunan Abī Dāwūd · 832
- Al-Albani: Hasan
- Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: Hasan
- Zubair Ali Zai: Hasan