Question
Is this Hadith authentic?
“The one who recites the following
لا اله الا الله وحده لا شريك له أحدا صمدا لم يلد و لم يولد ولم يكن له كفوا احد
(la ilaha ilallahu wahdahu la sharik lahu ahad samadan lam yalid wa lam yulad wa lam yakulahu kufuwan ahad)
will get the reward of two million virtues and who will read it five times will get the reward of ten million virtues”
Answer
We have received several queries about this recital, with each query having different wordings. I have therefore worded my answer to suit that.
This Hadith is recorded in the Hadith collections cited below with two weak chains.
However, there is extensive variation in a) the wording of this recital, as well as b) the promised reward.
A brief explanation of this follows:
1. The words in your question appear in Al-Mu’jamul Kabir of Tabarani [to be recited without any number]. See Majma’uz Zawaid, vol. 10, pg. 85 and Musnad ‘Ahmad ibn Mani’, see Al-Matalibul ‘Aliyah, Hadith: 2870 and Ithaful Khiyarah, Hadith: 8205
Reward: Two million rewards. [In the last reference above, it is stated to be recited eleven times, instead of ten.]
2. The words in Musnad Ahmad, vol. 4, pg. 103, and Al-Mu’jamul Kabir of Tabarani, Hadith: 1278 are as follows:
لا اله الا الله واحدا أحدا صمدا لم يتخذ صاحبة ولا ولدا ولم يكن له كفوا احد
Reward: Forty thousand rewards for reciting it ten times.
3. In Sunan Tirmidhi, it appears with the following words:
أشهد أن لا اله الا الله وحده لا شريك له إلها واحدا أحدا صمدا لم يتخذ صاحبة ولا ولدا ولم يكن له كفوا احد
Reward: Forty million rewards for reciting it ten times.
(Sunan Tirmidhi, Hadith: 3473)
All these narrations are weak, but suitable for recital. One may recite whichever wordings of the above one is comfortable with.
As far as the promised reward is concerned, due to the variant narrations and the extent of their weakness, one should merely understand that this recital is indeed very rewarding and it is difficult to specify a particular volume of reward.
And Allah Ta’ala Knows best,
Answered by: Mawlana Muhammad Abasoomar
Checked by: Mawlana Haroon Abasoomar