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Is it permissible to say to someone: "You are in the safety of God and my safety," without connecting it with "then" (ثم), and is it better to use "then" (ثم) out of reverence for God?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The correct phrasing is: "You are in Allah's protection, then in my protection." It is stated in Sheikh Bakr Abu Zayd's book, "Al-Manahi al-Lafziyyah" (Prohibited Phrases): If one says, "I am by Allah, then by you," or "What Allah willed, then what you willed," there is no harm in that. He supports this by citing the hadith: "I have no report today except by Allah, then by you," and the hadith that permits saying: "What Allah willed, then what so-and-so willed." In Al-Baghawi's "Sharh al-Sunnah" (Commentary on the Sunnah): "Do not say, 'What Allah willed and what so-and-so willed,' but say, 'What Allah willed, then what so-and-so willed.'"

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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