Majma al-Zawaid — Hadith 3677

Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "When one of you intends to do something, he should recite: 'O Allah! I seek Your guidance through Your knowledge, I ask You for Your power, and I ask You of Your bounty. Indeed You have power and I have no power, You know and I do not know, and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah! If this matter (here the man should mention the matter he intends to do) is better for me with regard to my religion, my livelihood and my Hereafter, then well and good; otherwise turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and then ordain good for me wherever it may be. Nothing can happen except with the help of Allah Almighty.'"
Abu Ya'la recorded it, and its narrators have been declared trustworthy. Al-Tabarani recorded a similar narration in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat.