The 365 · Sunnah · Day 103 · Speech
Reciting 'Lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata illā bi-llāh' (A Treasure from the Treasures of Paradise)
The hadith
أَلَا أَدُلُّكَ عَلَى كَنْزٍ مِنْ كُنُوزِ الْجَنَّةِ: لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ
The Prophet ﷺ to Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī: 'Shall I direct you to a treasure from the treasures of Paradise? Lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata illā bi-llāh.' (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6384, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2704.) Translation: 'There is no power and no strength except by Allah.'
Svenska: Profeten ﷺ till Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī: 'Skall jag visa dig en skatt från paradisets skatter? Lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata illā bi-llāh.' (Sahih al-Bukhari 6384, Sahih Muslim 2704.) Översättning: 'Det finns ingen makt och ingen styrka utom genom Allah.'
Sahih Bukhari 6384, Sahih Muslim 2704 (Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī)
The story
Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī preserved this hadith. The Prophet ﷺ singled out this phrase as a 'treasure of Paradise' rather than other dhikr-formulas; the singular qualifier marks the phrase's structural depth. The classical scholars used this phrase as the foundational ḥawqalah-discipline.
Why it's here
The Prophet ﷺ named this phrase 'a treasure from the treasures of Paradise' (kanz min kunūz al-jannah). The phrase structurally affirms total dependence on Allah: no movement (ḥawl) and no power (quwwah) except by Allah's enabling. The classical scholars (Ibn al-Qayyim) wrote that this phrase is structurally protective: when recited at moments of difficulty, it operationally invokes Allah's enabling.
Try it today
1. Recite at moments of difficulty (work stress, family difficulty, health challenge): the phrase invokes Allah's enabling. 2. Recite during the call to prayer (when the muezzin says ḥayya ʿalā aṣ-ṣalāh, respond with lā ḥawla...; when he says ḥayya ʿalā al-falāḥ, again the same response: this is the Sunnah for adhān-response, Sahih Muslim 385). 3. Build a daily count: minimum 100 reps. 4. Recite during transitions: leaving home, entering work, before challenging conversations.
In your day
Modern decision-fatigue and over-reliance on self produces the structural delusion of self-sufficiency. The phrase inverts: total dependence is the structural reality. The discipline of regular recitation re-anchors the believer in this reality.
A reflection to carry
Lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata illā bi-llāh: a treasure from the treasures of Paradise. The Prophet ﷺ to Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī: 'Shall I direct you to a treasure from the treasures of Paradise? Lā ḥawla wa-lā quwwata illā bi-llāh.' (Bukhārī 6384.)
Read the longer reflection
The phrase structurally affirms total dependence on Allah: no movement (ḥawl) and no power (quwwah) except by Allah's enabling. Ibn al-Qayyim: structurally protective; when recited at moments of difficulty, it operationally invokes Allah's enabling. Cure: recite at moments of difficulty (work stress, family difficulty, health challenge); during the call to prayer (when muezzin says ḥayya ʿalā aṣ-ṣalāh, respond with lā ḥawla...); build a daily count (minimum 100); recite during transitions (leaving home, entering work, before challenging conversations). Modern decision-fatigue and over-reliance-on-self produces structural delusion of self-sufficiency; the phrase inverts: total dependence is the structural reality.
Sources: Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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