Radhitu Billahi Rabba Wabil Islami Dina: Meaning and Benefits
Contents
What do you say when the adhan reaches the shahadah? One short answer, radhitu billahi rabba wabil islami dina wa bi-Muhammadin rasula, carries some of the greatest promises in the Sunnah: Paradise, the sweetness of faith and forgiveness of sins. Here is the Arabic, what it means, and four benefits from authentic hadith.
At a glance
- Hadith: 6 narrations: Sahih Muslim (3), Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunan Abi Dawud, Sunan Ibn Majah
- Grade: Sahih, except Ibn Majah 3870: Hasan (Darussalam), see the note on its grading
- Topic: Dhikr, contentment with Allah, the adhan
- Do it today: Answer the next adhan’s shahadah with these words
Radhitu billahi rabba wabil islami dina in Arabic
رَضِيتُ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا وَبِالإِسْلاَمِ دِينًا وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ رَسُولاً
Raḍītu billāhi rabban, wa bil-Islāmi dīnan, wa bi-Muḥammadin rasūlan
“I am pleased with Allah as Lord, with Islam as religion and with Muhammad as Messenger.”
Sunan Abi Dawud 1529 · Sahih (al-Albani) · Narrated by Abu Sa’id al-Khudri · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
Many people say it ending with nabiyyan (“as Prophet”): Raḍītu billāhi rabban, wa bil-Islāmi dīnan, wa bi-Muḥammadin nabiyyan. That first-person wording is in Sunan Ibn Majah 3870 (see the note on its grading below). The wording shown above, ending with rasūlan (“as Messenger”), is the one graded Sahih.
1. Paradise becomes due
Abu Sa’id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to him:
يَا أَبَا سَعِيدٍ مَنْ رَضِيَ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا وَبِالإِسْلاَمِ دِينًا وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ نَبِيًّا وَجَبَتْ لَهُ الْجَنَّةُ
“Abu Sa’id, whoever is content with Allah as his Lord, Islam as his religion and Muhammad as his Prophet, Paradise is due to him.”
Sahih Muslim 1884 · Narrated by Abu Sa’id al-Khudri · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
Abu Sa’id was so amazed that he asked the Prophet ﷺ to say it again, and he did. The same promise comes as “whoever says” in Sunan Abi Dawud 1529 (Sahih, al-Albani), the wording in the card above. HadeethEnc explains that being pleased with Islam means accepting all of its commands and prohibitions, and being pleased with the Prophet ﷺ means accepting everything he brought (HadeethEnc 4193).
Try this: say it slowly once today and ask yourself whether each of the three parts is true for you.
2. You taste the sweetness of faith
Al-Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib (may Allah be pleased with him) heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:
ذَاقَ طَعْمَ الإِيمَانِ مَنْ رَضِيَ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا وَبِالإِسْلاَمِ دِينًا وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ رَسُولاً
“He has found the taste of faith who is content with Allah as his Lord, with Islam as his religion and with Muhammad as his Messenger.”
Sahih Muslim 34 · Narrated by al-Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
Faith here has a taste. HadeethEnc compares it to food: only a healthy body tastes the sweetness of food, and only a heart free from misleading desires tastes the sweetness of iman. When that happens, obeying Allah becomes easy for the believer (HadeethEnc 65116).
Try this: when a ruling of Islam feels heavy today, remind yourself that contentment with it is part of tasting faith.
3. Your sins are forgiven when you say it after the adhan
Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
مَنْ قَالَ حِينَ يَسْمَعُ الْمُؤَذِّنَ أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ رَضِيتُ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ رَسُولاً وَبِالإِسْلاَمِ دِينًا. غُفِرَ لَهُ ذَنْبُهُ
“If anyone says on hearing the Mu’adhdhin: I testify that there is no god but Allah alone, Who has no partner, and that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger, (and that) I am satisfied with Allah as my Lord, with Muhammad as Messenger and with Islam as din, his sins would be forgiven.”
Sahih Muslim 386 · Narrated by Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
The same hadith is in Sunan Abi Dawud 525 (Sahih, al-Albani), Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 210 and Sunan an-Nasa’i 679 (both Sahih, Darussalam). It is said when the mu’adhdhin reaches the two testimonies.
Try this: at the next adhan, stop what you are doing for a moment, repeat the testimony, then add these words.
4. Allah will please you on the Day of Resurrection
Abu Salam, the servant of the Prophet ﷺ, reported that the Prophet ﷺ said:
مَا مِنْ مُسْلِمٍ أَوْ إِنْسَانٍ أَوْ عَبْدٍ يَقُولُ حِينَ يُمْسِي وَحِينَ يُصْبِحُ رَضِيتُ بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا وَبِالإِسْلاَمِ دِينًا وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ نَبِيًّا - إِلاَّ كَانَ حَقًّا عَلَى اللَّهِ أَنْ يُرْضِيَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ
“There is no Muslim, or no person, or slave (of Allah), who says, in the morning and evening: ‘Radaytu billahi Rabban wa bil-Islami dinan wa bi Muhammadin nabiyyan,’ but he will have a promise from Allah to make him pleased on the Day of Resurrection.”
Sunan Ibn Majah 3870 · Hasan (Darussalam) · Narrated by Abu Salam · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
A note on its grading: Darussalam grades this narration Hasan. The same report, through the same chain, is in Sunan Abi Dawud 5072, which al-Albani grades Da’if. Saying this dhikr in the morning and evening is a common practice, and the words themselves are authentic from the hadith above. For the ruling on the morning and evening timing, please ask a qualified scholar.
Try this: add it to your morning and evening adhkar, knowing what the evidence for that timing is.
Bringing it together
Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) described a day when the Prophet ﷺ, in anger, kept telling the people to ask him whatever they liked. Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) knelt and answered with these same words:
فَبَرَكَ عُمَرُ عَلَى رُكْبَتَيْهِ فَقَالَ رَضِينَا بِاللَّهِ رَبًّا، وَبِالإِسْلاَمِ دِينًا، وَبِمُحَمَّدٍ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَبِيًّا
“Umar knelt down before the Prophet ﷺ and said: We accept Allah as (our) Lord and Islam as (our) religion and Muhammad as (our) Prophet.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 93 · Narrated by Anas ibn Malik · Translation adapted from Sunnah.com
Umar said it three times, and after that the Prophet ﷺ became silent.
Reflection: In Sahih Muslim the wording is “whoever is content”, not just “whoever says”. The words are easy; the contentment behind them is the real work. Saying it every day is a daily check: am I truly content with Allah’s decree today, with the rules of Islam, and with following the Prophet ﷺ even when it is hard?
Questions people ask
Is it nabiyyan or rasulan?
Both appear in the narrations. Sunan Abi Dawud 1529 and Sahih Muslim 386, both Sahih, use rasulan (Messenger). Sahih Muslim 1884 uses nabiyyan in the form “whoever is content”. The first-person wording with nabiyyan is in Sunan Ibn Majah 3870, graded Hasan by Darussalam, while al-Albani grades the same report in Abu Dawud 5072 Da’if.
When should I say it?
After the mu’adhdhin’s two testimonies during the adhan (Sahih Muslim 386). Many also say it in the morning and evening, based on Sunan Ibn Majah 3870; see the note on its grading above.
Is there a set number, like three times?
The narrations in this article do not give a number, so saying it once follows them. For other narrations that mention a number, please ask a qualified scholar.
What does radhitu billahi rabba mean in English?
“I am pleased with Allah as Lord, with Islam as religion and with Muhammad as Messenger.”
Does just saying it guarantee Jannah?
The promise is great, and in Sahih Muslim the wording is about being truly content with Allah, Islam and the Prophet ﷺ. Say it with sincerity and live by it. For detailed questions, please ask a qualified local scholar.
Key lessons
- Whoever is content with Allah as Lord, Islam as religion and Muhammad ﷺ as Prophet, Paradise is due (Sahih Muslim 1884, Abu Dawud 1529).
- That same contentment is the taste of faith (Sahih Muslim 34).
- Saying it after the adhan’s testimonies is a means of forgiveness (Sahih Muslim 386).
- The morning and evening promise is in Ibn Majah 3870, with a difference over its grading.
- The words are short, but they ask for real contentment with Allah’s decree.
One small step for today: the next time you hear the adhan, listen for the testimonies and answer them with these words. May Allah make us truly content with Him, with Islam and with His Messenger ﷺ, and make it a means of entering Jannah.
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