What is Sunan Abu Dawud 1540 about?

This hadith from Sunan Abu Dawud (Book of Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat): Detailed Injunctions about Witr), narrated by Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab:, states: "The Prophet (ﷺ) used to seek refuge in Allah from five things; cowardliness, niggardliness, the evils of old age, evil thoughts, and punishment in the grave."

Is this hadith authentic?

This hadith is graded Da'if. The grade indicates the level of authenticity based on the chain of narration and content analysis.

Which collection is this hadith from?

This hadith is from Sunan Abu Dawud, which contains 5,276 hadiths across 43 books. It is hadith number 1540 in the Book of Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat): Detailed Injunctions about Witr.

I searched for a different number — is this the right hadith?

Hadith numbering varies across editions and translations (USC-MSA, Dar as-Salam, Fath al-Bari, and others). If you followed a link citing a different number but landed here, you may have been redirected to the canonical version in our library. If you were looking for a different hadith entirely, use the search bar to find it by text.

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Sunan Abu Dawud

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Sunan Abu Dawud #1540

Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat): Detailed Injunctions about Witr

Da'if

The Arabic includes the chain of narration (sanad) and the collector's commentary; the English translation shows the Prophet's words only.

حَدَّثَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، حَدَّثَنَا إِسْرَائِيلُ، عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ، عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ مَيْمُونٍ، عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ، قَالَ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَتَعَوَّذُ مِنْ خَمْسٍ مِنَ الْجُبْنِ وَالْبُخْلِ وَسُوءِ الْعُمْرِ وَفِتْنَةِ الصَّدْرِ وَعَذَابِ الْقَبْرِ ‏.‏

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to seek refuge in Allah from five things; cowardliness, niggardliness, the evils of old age, evil thoughts, and punishment in the grave.

Narrated by Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab:

Context

Umar ibn al-Khattab narrates that the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) sought refuge in Allah from five specific afflictions: cowardliness, niggardliness, the evils of old age, evil thoughts, and punishment in the grave. This hadith emphasizes the importance of spiritual resilience and the need to seek divine protection from negative traits and consequences.

Modern Application

In today's world, individuals often face challenges that may lead to feelings of cowardice or selfishness. This hadith serves as a reminder to make dua for strength and guidance, helping people to cultivate positive traits and seek refuge from harmful thoughts and actions.

Topics

This hadith is tagged with Spiritual Struggle and Seeking Refuge in Allah because it highlights the Prophet's (ﷺ) proactive approach to combating negative traits through prayer.

Spiritual Struggle Seeking Refuge in Allah