Hadith: Allāhumma inni as’aluka al-huda wa at-tuqa wa al-‘afāf wa al-ghina (O Allah, I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity, and self-sufficiency)

عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رَضيَ اللهُ عنهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يَقُولُ:
«اللهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْهُدَى وَالتُّقَى، وَالْعَفَافَ وَالْغِنَى».
[صحيح] - [رواه مسلم] - [صحيح مسلم: 2721]

‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to say:
"Allāhumma inni as’aluka al-huda wa at-tuqa wa al-‘afāf wa al-ghina (O Allah, I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity, and self-sufficiency)."
[Authentic hadith] - [Narrated by Muslim] - [Sahih Muslim - 2721]

Explanation

Among the supplications of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was: "O Allah, I ask You for guidance", i.e., the straight path of knowing the truth and acting upon it, "piety", i.e., adhering to commands and avoiding prohibitions, "chastity", i.e., refraining from what is unlawful or unsuitable of words or deeds, "and self-sufficiency", i.e., being free from want of others, and needing none but one's Lord, the Almighty.

Benefits from the Hadith

1. The nobility of these qualities of: guidance, piety, chastity, and self-sufficiency, and the encouragement to adopt them.
2. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) cannot benefit or harm himself, as all this is within the power of Allah Almighty.
3. The One who possesses the power to bring benefit, harm, and guidance to the creation is Allah alone—neither a close angel, a sent prophet, nor anyone else.