Arabic Text
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، وَأَبُو كُرَيْبٍ قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ شَقِيقٍ، عَنْ أُمِّ سَلَمَةَ، قَالَتْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم " إِذَا حَضَرْتُمُ الْمَرِيضَ أَوِ الْمَيِّتَ فَقُولُوا خَيْرًا فَإِنَّ الْمَلاَئِكَةَ يُؤَمِّنُونَ عَلَى مَا تَقُولُونَ " . قَالَتْ فَلَمَّا مَاتَ أَبُو سَلَمَةَ أَتَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ أَبَا سَلَمَةَ قَدْ مَاتَ قَالَ " قُولِي اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَلَهُ وَأَعْقِبْنِي مِنْهُ عُقْبَى حَسَنَةً " . قَالَتْ فَقُلْتُ فَأَعْقَبَنِي اللَّهُ مَنْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لِي مِنْهُ مُحَمَّدًا صلى الله عليه وسلم .
English Translation
Umm Salama reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: Whenever you visit the sick or the dead, supplicate for good because angels say" Amen" to whatever you say. She added: When Abu Salama died, I went to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said: Messenger of Allah, Abu Salama has died. He told me to recite:" O Allah! forgive me and him (Abu Salama) and give me a better substitute than he." So I said (this), and Allah gave me in exchange Muhammad, who is better for me than him (Abu Salama).
This hadith is from Sahih Muslim, one of the most rigorously authenticated collections in Islamic scholarship. No editorial opinion is added.