Abdullah bin Buraydah al-Aslami narrates from his father that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heard a man saying: 'Allahumma inni as'aluka bi-annaka antallahu la ilaha illa ant, al-Ahadus-Samad, alladhi lam yalid wa lam yulad, wa lam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad' (O Allah, I ask You, for indeed You are Allah; there is no god but You, the One, the Self-Sufficient, who has no child, nor is He the child of anyone, and there is none equal to Him). Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "You have certainly asked Allah by His Greatest Name, by which, when He is asked, He gives, and when He is called upon, He answers." This hadith is sahih (authentic) on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Buraydah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heard a man saying: 'Allahumma inni as'aluka bi-annaka Ahadun Samad, lam yalid wa lam yulad, wa lam yakun laka kufuwan ahad' (O Allah, I ask You by virtue of the fact that You are One, Self-Sufficient; You neither begot anyone nor were You begotten, and there is none equal to You). He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He has certainly asked Allah by His Greatest Name, or he said: His Most Great Name, by which, when He is called upon, He answers, and when He is asked, He gives." This is a supporting narration (shahid) for the previous hadith, whose chain is sahih on the condition of Imam Muslim.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu al-Darda' and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that they both said: "The greatest Name of Allah Almighty (al-Ism al-A'zam) is 'Rabbi, Rabbi' (O my Lord! O my Lord!)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The Greatest Name of Allah Almighty is in three surahs of the Holy Qur'an: in Surah al-Baqarah, Surah Al Imran and Surah Ta Ha." Al-Qasim says: I searched for (that Name) in these surahs and found it to be 'al-Hayyul-Qayyum' (the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The supplication of Dhun-Nun (Sayyiduna Yunus, peace be upon him) which he made in the belly of the fish (is this): 'La ilaha illa anta, subhanaka inni kuntu minaz-zalimin' (There is no god but You; You are glorified; indeed I have been of the wrongdoers). The fact is that no Muslim ever supplicates with these words for any purpose except that Allah Almighty answers his supplication." This hadith has a sahih chain (sahih al-isnad), but the two Shaykhs did not record it. It has also been narrated likewise by al-Firyabi from Sufyan al-Thawri, but connecting it to Sufyan is an error of the narrator.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "The supplication of Dhun-Nun (peace be upon him) which he made in the belly of the fish is this: 'La ilaha illa anta, subhanaka inni kuntu minaz-zalimin' (There is no god but You; You are glorified; indeed I have been of the wrongdoers). No Muslim man supplicates with these words in any matter at all except that Allah hears his call."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: We were in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Shall I not tell you of something which, when any severe hardship or trial of this world befalls one of you and he supplicates with it, his distress will be removed?" It was said: Certainly (please tell us)! So he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "It is the supplication of Dhun-Nun (peace be upon him): 'La ilaha illa anta, subhanaka inni kuntu minaz-zalimin' (There is no god but You; You are glorified; indeed I have been of the wrongdoers)."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Malik (Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas) (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: "Shall I not guide you to that Greatest Name of Allah by which, when He is supplicated, He answers, and when something is asked of Him, He gives? It is the very supplication with which Yunus (peace be upon him) called out in the three darknesses: 'La ilaha illa anta, subhanaka inni kuntu minaz-zalimin' (There is no god but You; You are glorified; indeed I have been of the transgressors)." At this a man said: O Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)! Was this supplication specifically for Sayyiduna Yunus (peace be upon him), or is it general for all the believers? The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Have you not heard this saying of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic: 'So We responded to him and saved him from distress, and thus do We save the believers.'" [Surah al-Anbiya': 88] And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) further said: "Any Muslim who recites these words forty times during his illness and then dies in that illness will be given the reward of a martyr, and if he recovers, he will recover in a state where all his sins have been forgiven."

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, the Greatest Name of Allah Almighty is in three surahs of the Holy Qur'an: in Surah al-Baqarah, Surah Al Imran and Surah Ta Ha." (The narrator says:) I searched for them and found these words in Surah al-Baqarah, in Ayat al-Kursi: "Allah, there is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all" [Surah al-Baqarah: 255] ; at the beginning of Surah Al Imran: "Alif Lam Mim. Allah, there is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all" [Surah Al Imran: 1-2] ; and in Surah Ta Ha this verse: "And faces will be humbled before the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all" [Surah Ta Ha: 111] .

Ibn Zabr (that is, Abdullah bin al-Ala) said: I heard al-Qasim Abu Abd al-Rahman say: "Indeed, the Greatest Name of Allah Almighty is in three surahs of the Qur'an: al-Baqarah, Al Imran and Ta Ha." Then a man named Isa bin Musa said to him, while I was listening: O Abu Zabr, I heard Ghaylan bin Anas say: I heard al-Qasim Abu Abd al-Rahman say: I heard Sayyiduna Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrate from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that the Greatest Name of Allah Almighty is in three surahs of the Qur'an. Then he mentioned it in a similar way. This narration of Amr bin Abi Salamah does not create any defect ('illah) in the hadith of al-Walid bin Muslim, because al-Walid is the greater memoriser and the more precise narrator of the hadiths of his own region; moreover, the two Shaykhs did not use al-Qasim Abu Abd al-Rahman as evidence.