It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) concerning this saying of Allah Almighty: "Except for one who has taken a covenant with the Most Merciful" [Surah Maryam: 87] ; he said: Take a covenant with the Most Merciful, for on the Day of Resurrection Allah Almighty will say: "Whoever has a covenant with Me, let him stand up." The narrator said: We said: O Abu Abd al-Rahman, (what is that covenant?) teach us. He said: Say: 'Allahumma fatir al-samawati wal-ard, 'alim al-ghaybi wash-shahadah, inni a'hadu ilayka fi hadhihil-hayatid-dunya, innaka in takilni ila 'amalin tuqarribni minash-sharri wa tuba'idni minal-khayr, wa inni la athiqu illa bi-rahmatik, faj'alhu li 'indaka 'ahdan tu'addihi ilayya yawmal-qiyamah, innaka la tukhliful-mi'ad' (O Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen, I make this covenant with You in this worldly life: that if You leave me to my own deeds, they will bring me closer to evil and take me further from good, and I rely on nothing but Your mercy; so make this (pledge) a covenant for me with You, which You will fulfil for me on the Day of Resurrection. Indeed, You do not break Your promise). This hadith has a sahih (authentic) chain of narration, but the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim) did not record it.