Fath al-Rabbani

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Buraidah Aslami (may Allah be pleased with him) that he went out at the time of ‘Isha and met the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took his hand and brought him to the mosque. There, they heard the voice of a man reciting. The Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Do you think he is showing off?” Sayyiduna Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him) remained silent. Then that man supplicated as follows: “O Allah! I ask You by virtue of my bearing witness that You are Allah, there is no deity except You, the One, the Self-Sufficient, who neither begets nor is begotten, and there is none comparable to Him.” (O Allah! I ask You by this means, that I testify that You are the only Allah, there is no god but You, You are One, You are Self-Sufficient, You did not beget nor were You begotten, and there is none equal to You.) Upon hearing this supplication, the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “By Him in Whose hand is my soul! He has supplicated to Allah by His greatest name; whenever Allah is asked by this name, He grants, and whenever supplication is made by it, He accepts.” Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The next night, I went out at the time of ‘Isha, and again met the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He took my hand and brought me to the mosque, and the voice of the same man’s recitation was coming. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Do you think he is showing off?” Sayyiduna Buraidah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “O Messenger of Allah! Do you think he is showing off?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “He is not showing off, rather he is a sincere believer. He is not showing off, rather he is a sincere believer.” I (Buraidah) looked and saw that it was Sayyiduna Abu Musa Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him), who was reciting aloud in a corner of the mosque. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Abdullah bin Qais Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) has been given a melodious voice like that of Dawud (peace be upon him).” I said: “O Messenger of Allah! Shall I inform him of this?” He said: “Yes, and inform him.” When I informed him, he said to me: “You are my sincere friend, because you have informed me of a special statement of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him).”