🔄 Supplicate Seeking Al-ʿĀfiyah

❝ Abū Bakr Al-Ṣiddīq رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْهُ said: “Last year the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood amongst us, may my father and mother be ransomed for him, then, he was choked with tears. Then he repeated: Last year the Messenger of Allah ﷺ stood amongst us, may my father and mother be ransomed for him, then he continued: Ask Allah for Al-Muʿāfah (His Security, Safety and Wellbeing), for no servant is given anything better, after certainty (yaqīn) than Muʿāfah.”

Narrated by Al-Nasāī in [ ʿAmal Al-Yawm wal-Laylah] and ibn Mājah. It is an authentic ḥadīth, which has come down from multiple paths.

On the authority of ʿAbdullah bin Buraidah, from ʿĀishah رَضِيَ ٱللَّٰهُ عَنْها , who said: “I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is your view if I know when the Night of Al-Qadr is, then what should I say in it?” He said: ‘Say:
«اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ ، تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ ، فَاعْفُ عَنِّي» ‏
“O Allah, indeed You are Pardoning, You love pardon, so pardon me.”

This was narrated by Al-Tirmidhī, and Al-Nasāī in [Al-Yawm Wal-Laylah] , and inb Mājah through the chain of transmission of Kahmas bin Al-Ḥassan from ibn Buraidah in it. And Al-Tirmidhī said: “This ḥadīth is Ḥassan Ṣaḥīḥ.”

(Al-Saʿd) I say: It's chain is disconnected. Ibn Buraidah didn't hear from ʿĀishah.

However it has been narrated from ʿĀishah as mawqūf (not attributing to the Prophet ﷺ) :

Narrated by ibn Abī Shaybah through the chain of transmission of Shurayḥ bin Hāniʾ, from ʿĀishah, that she said:

إني لو عرفت أي ليلة ليلة القدر؛ ما سألت الله فيها إلا العافية.
“If only I knew which night is Laylatul Qadr, I would not ask from Allah for anything except for Al-ʿĀfiyah” ⁽¹⁾

And it was narrated by Al-Nasāī in [Al-Yawm Wal-Laylah] throught the chain of transmission of ʿAbdullah bin Jubayr, from Masrūq, from ʿĀishah, that she said:
لو علمت أي ليلة ليلة القدر؛ لكان أكثر دعائي فيها أن أسأل الله العفو والعافية
“Were that I knew which night is Laylatul Qadr, verily in my supplications I would abundantly ask Allah for ʿAfw and for Al-ʿĀfiyah”

And it was narrated by Al-Khaṭīb in [Tārīkh Baghdād] through the chain of transmission of Al-Ḥassan, from ʿĀishah, that she said:
لو أدركت ليلة القدر ما سألت الله إلا العفو والعافية.
“If I reached Laylatul Qadr, I would not ask from Allah for anything except for ʿAfw and Al-ʿĀfiyah”

These narrations are not free from faults. However, some of them strengthen others, and they indicate that this report was preserved from ʿĀishah. But what is more correct is that it is mawqūf.

This is a mighty supplication for anyone who wants to supplicate, be it on this night or any other night. ❞


— Al-Shaykh Al-Muḥaddith ʿAbdullah Al-Sʿad (text)

~ Galandān

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[1] 'Abdul 'Aziz Al-Khudhayr said:
"This was reported by Ibn Abī Shaybah and Al-Bayhaqī, in a Sahīh Kūfiy Hadīth in its essence, and in Mawqūf form." And Khālid al-Hayek also said that the chain of this Hadīth is Sahīh.

♻️Benefit: What is Al-ʿĀfiyah ?

Al-'Āfiyah العَافِيَة is a word with a deep meaning. Henceforth, it means saving (one's)  Deen from fitnah, and also (safety) from the loss of health of the body, in addition to protection of one's ahl and wealth from those calamities too.

What is the difference between seeking 'Afuw (الْعَفْوَ) and seeking 'Āfiyah (العَافِيَة)?

'Afuw (الْعَفْوَ) means waiving and erasion; this is the erasing of the Uqūbah (Punishment/Retaliation) due for the sin.

On the other hand, (المَغْفِرَة) means forgiveness in return for his Thawāb (rewards). Therefore, Maghfirah is an Attribute that is only related to Allāh and not to His slaves. So we cannot refer to anyone else with that which is smiliar to اَسْتَغْفِرُ اللّه (O Allāh, forgive me).

It is said that (الْعَفْوَ) is erasing of the Punishment and that (المَغْفِرَة) is saving one from being exposed and the humiliation/degradation thereafter, as one is only completely freed from the Punishment of Hell when one is saved from the humiliation (that stems from those sins and wrongdoings).

Hence, (الْعَفْوَ) is being rescued from the Bodily Punishment while (المَغْفِرَة) is related to the Spiritual one.

Based on this, (الْعَافِيَةَ) is completely different from the two (الْعَفْوَ and المَغْفِرَة)- it is the well-being of a slave from all ailments and calamities that they face in the dunyā and ākhirah. And the meaning is vast.
[For more details: source]

It is said in a Hadīth reported by at-Tirmithī and Ahmad:

Mu'ādh Ibn Rifā'āh narrated from his father:
Abū Bakr as-Siddīq rose to the minbar and started weeping and said:
Last year, Rasūlullah ﷺ rose to the minbar and wept. Then he said:
«سَلُوا اللَّهَ الْعَفْوَ وَالْعَافِيَةَ فَإِنَّ أَحَدًا لَمْ يُعْطَ بَعْدَ الْيَقِينِ خَيْرًا مِنَ الْعَافِيَةِ»
“Ask Allāh for الْعَفْوَ and الْعَافِيَةَ for indeed after the certainty (of faith), there is nothing that has been given to anyone of you which is better than الْعَافِيَةَ.”

At-Tirmithī said: This chain is Hasan Gharīb. And al-Arnaoot said in the Takhrīj of the Musnad: Its chain is Hasan. (What is most likely is that this is mawqūf as we cited in the previous post.)


~ Galandān