Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah

A woman from the tribe of Juhaina, Sayyida Qateela bint Saifi (may Allah be pleased with her), says: A Jewish scholar came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said: "You people commit shirk, because you say: 'Whatever Allah wills and you will,' and you swear by the Ka'bah." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), upon hearing this, said: "You should say: 'Whatever Allah wills and then you will,' and when swearing, say: 'By the Lord of the Ka'bah.'"

Sayyidah Qutaylah bint Safi Juhaniyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) says: A Jewish scholar came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Muhammad! You are the best of people, but if only you did not commit shirk? The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Subhan Allah! (How astonishing!) How is that?” He said: When you swear an oath, you say: By the Ka‘bah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent for a while and then said: “This man has spoken the truth. Now, whoever swears an oath should swear by the Lord of the Ka‘bah (and not by the Ka‘bah itself).” He then said: O Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)! You are very good people, but if only you did not set up equals with Allah! The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Subhan Allah! How is that? He said: You say: Whatever Allah wills and you will. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) remained silent for a while, then said: “This man has spoken the truth. If anyone says ‘Masha Allah’, he should say «ثُم شئت» (i.e., whatever Allah wills and then you will).”

Sayyidah Aisha’s (may Allah be pleased with her) half-brother, Sayyiduna Tufail bin Sakhbara (may Allah be pleased with him), says: I passed by a group of Jews in a dream. I asked them, “Who are you?” They said, “We are Jews.” I said, “You are the best people, if only you did not say that Uzair (peace be upon him) is the son of Allah, the Exalted.” The Jews said, “You too are the best people, if only you did not say: ‘Whatever Allah wills and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) wills.’” Then I passed by a group of Christians. I asked them, “Who are you?” They said, “We are Christians.” I said, “You are very good people, if only you did not say that Isa (peace be upon him) is the son of Allah, the Exalted.” They said, “You too are the best people, if only you did not say: ‘Whatever Allah wills and Muhammad (peace be upon him) wills.’” When morning came, I narrated this dream to some people and then went to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and related it to him. He (peace and blessings be upon him) asked, “Did you narrate this dream to anyone?” I said, “Yes.” When the people had finished the prayer, he (peace and blessings be upon him) addressed them, praised and glorified Allah, and said: “Tufail has seen a dream and has narrated it to some of you. You people used to say a phrase, but modesty prevented me from forbidding you. (From now on) do not say: ‘Whatever Allah wills and Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) wills.’”

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), argued with him about something, and said: "Whatever Allah wills and you will." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Have you made me an equal to Allah? Rather, say: Whatever Allah alone wills."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "When a person swears an oath, he should not say: «ما شاء الله وشئت» (Whatever Allah and you will), rather he should say: «ما شاء الله ثم وشئت» 'Whatever Allah wills and then you will.'"