Hadith record

3. More than one person has narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Basriy from al-Qasim ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Hashimiy from Harun ibn Kharijah who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that when you think of doing something, take six pieces of paper and write on three of them, ‘In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. It is to ask from Allah, the Majestic, the Wise, what is good for so and so son of so and so, “do it.’” On the other, three write, ‘In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. It is to ask from Allah, the Majestic, the Wise, what is good for so and so son of so and so, “do not do it.’” Keep them under your prayer rug and perform two Rak‘at Salah (prayer). After completing Salah (prayer), make a sajdah and say one hundred times, ‘I ask Allah, through His mercy, to choose what is good and safe.’ Then sit straight and say, ‘O Lord, pick and choose for me in all matters with ease and safety.’ Then mix the pieces and take out one. If three times, consecutively it comes ‘do it’, then you may do what you wanted to do. If three times consecutively it comes ‘do not do it,’ then do not do what you wanted to do. If one comes ‘do it’ and the other comes ‘do not do it’ continue taking out up to five pieces, then see which side is more then follow the side which is more and ignore the sixth piece.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.