The short answer
Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakeel is the phrase that ends Al Imran 3:173, spoken by believers who had been warned that people had gathered against them. In this site's translation it reads "Allah is Sufficient for us! Most Excellent is He in Whom we trust!" Sahih al-Bukhari 4563 (graded sahih) has it said by Ibrahim, peace be upon him, and by the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
What is Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakeel in Arabic?
It is the Quran's own text, the last four words of Al Imran 3:173.
Al Imran 3:173
حَسْبُنَا ٱللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ ٱلْوَكِيلُ
Ḥasbunā llāhu wa niʿma l-wakīl.
Allah is Sufficient for us! Most Excellent is He in Whom we trust!
Say it in two parts: Hasbuna-llahu, then wa ni'mal-wakeel. The apostrophe in ni'mal stands for ʿayn, a throat sound English does not have, and the long ee in wakeel is the ī of the transliteration.
You will also see it written hasbunallah wa nimal wakil, and searched as "wanikmal". In Arabic the word is spelt with the letters nun, ʿayn and mim, so no k belongs in it.
Listen and repeat. A recording by a fluent human reciter is coming. We do not use a synthetic voice for the Quran.
What does Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakeel mean?
In the translation used on this site, the believers in the verse cried: "Allah is Sufficient for us! Most Excellent is He in Whom we trust!" Word by word:
Arabic reads right to left, so the first word is on the right.
- حَسْبُنَاḥasbunāsufficient for us
- ٱللَّهُAllāhuAllah
- وَنِعْمَwa niʿmaand most excellent isThe translation reads "Most Excellent is He".
- ٱلْوَكِيلُal-wakīlthe one entrustedThe translation reads "He in Whom we trust".
In his commentary Jami' al-Bayan on 3:173, al-Tabari glosses hasbunallah as "Allah is enough for us". He says wakil, in Arabic usage, is the one to whom the handling of another's affair is entrusted, and that the people in the verse had entrusted their affair to Allah and trusted Him (source 3). It adds no count and no ruling.
Which Quran verse contains it?
Al Imran 3:173
ٱلَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّ ٱلنَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا۟ لَكُمْ فَٱخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَـٰنًا وَقَالُوا۟ حَسْبُنَا ٱللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ ٱلْوَكِيلُ
Those to whom men said: Indeed, the people have gathered against you, therefore fear them. (The threat of danger) but increased the faith of them and they cried: Allah is Sufficient for us! Most Excellent is He in Whom we trust!
Believers were told that people had gathered against them and that they should fear them. In the translation's words, that "increased the faith of them", and they spoke the phrase. The verse gives no count and no timetable.
Verse 3:174 follows and says "So they returned with grace and favour from Allah, and no harm touched them". That tells what happened to those believers. This page cites no source that makes it a promise for anyone else.
Al-Tabari, in the same commentary, reports that the commentators differed on when the warning was given: on the march to Hamra al-Asad after the battle of Uhud, or at the meeting at Badr al-Sughra the following year. He calls the first view the more correct of the two (source 4).
Who said it in Sahih al-Bukhari?
Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported two speakers. Ibrahim said the words when he was thrown into the fire. The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said them when "they" said what 3:173 reports, that the people had gathered against them.
1AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 4563
The report ends with Ibn Abbas. It is his account of who said the words and when, and it does not quote the Prophet describing Ibrahim.
A second report, also from Ibn Abbas, says the last thing Ibrahim said when he was thrown into the fire was the wording below. Its Arabic has hasbi, "me", where 4563 and the verse have hasbuna, "us".
Sahih al-Bukhari 4564
حَسْبِيَ اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ
Ḥasbiya llāhu wa niʿma l-wakīl.
2AuthenticSahih al-Bukhari 4564
This too is Ibn Abbas's own account, not a saying of the Prophet.
When might you say it?
The verse and the two reports connect these words with a frightening situation and with relying on Allah. They connect the words with those settings. None of them gives a count or a promised result.
Picture a worrying message arriving before an appointment, a small everyday echo of being unsettled by news. It is an illustration only, not a narrated ritual and not a rule about when to say the phrase.
Is Hasbiyallahu the same wording?
No. Hasbuna means "us" and hasbi means "me", so Al Imran 3:173 and Bukhari 4563 differ from Bukhari 4564 by one word. Hasbiyallahu la ilaha illa Huwa is a separate wording in At-Tawbah 9:129, where the verse is about what to say "if they turn away". The Arabic ends "illa Huwa": people also search for "hasbi allahu la ilaha illallah", but "illallah" is not the verse's wording.
At-Tawbah 9:129
حَسْبِىَ ٱللَّهُ لَآ إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ
Ḥasbiya llāhu lā ilāha illā huwa.
Allah suffices me. There is no God except Him.
| Wording | Where it is |
|---|---|
| Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakeel | Al Imran 3:173; Sahih al-Bukhari 4563 |
| Hasbiyallahu wa ni'mal wakeel | Sahih al-Bukhari 4564 |
| Hasbiyallahu la ilaha illa Huwa | At-Tawbah 9:129 |
A count attached to the 9:129 wording would need its own report. This page does not cover it.
The first time I heard Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakeel, it was said quickly and quietly by someone who was worried. Learning where the words come from, in the Quran and in the report about Ibrahim, made me hear them as more than a phrase.
Try it: three quick questions
Pick an answer; each one explains itself.
1Where does Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakeel appear in the Quran?
Answer: At the end of Al Imran 3:173. It closes 3:173. At-Tawbah 9:129 has a different wording, Hasbiyallahu la ilaha illa Huwa.
2Which word does Sahih al-Bukhari 4564 use for the last words of Ibrahim, peace be upon him, in the fire?
Answer: Hasbi, "me". The Arabic of 4564 has hasbiya, "me", where Bukhari 4563 has hasbuna, "us". Source 2
3Does Sahih al-Bukhari 4563 give a number of times to say the phrase?
Answer: No, it names no count. It says who said the words and when. It names no count and no result. Source 1
Questions people ask
Are there benefits, or a set number of times, for Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakeel?
We found no report that gives this phrase a count such as 100 or 1000 (source 5). Al Imran 3:173 itself and Sahih al-Bukhari 4563 and 4564 give no count and promise no result; the next verse tells what happened to those believers. We did find other reports that use the words, which this page does not cover. For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
What is the difference between Hasbunallah and Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakeel?
Hasbunallah is the opening of the phrase, written without the final u of Allahu. The Quran's text is hasbuna Allahu wa ni'ma al-wakil, so the full phrase is the one to learn.
Sources
Every claim on this page comes from one of these. Gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves.
- 1
Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakil was said by Ibrahim, peace be upon him, when he was thrown into the fire, and by Muhammad (the Prophet, peace be upon him) when they said the people had gathered against them.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4563 Book 65, Hadith 85
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 2
Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, says that the last thing Ibrahim, peace be upon him, said when he was thrown into the fire was hasbiya Allahu wa ni'mal wakil (the singular 'hasbi', meaning 'me').
Sahih al-Bukhari 4564 Book 65, Hadith 86
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari (Al-Bukhari); sahih on the condition of the two Sheikhs (Al-Hakim); a sahih mawquf report: Ibn Abbas's own words (Al-San'ani)
- 3
Al-Tabari, commenting on Al Imran 3:173, glosses 'hasbuna Allah' as 'kafana Allah, ya'ni yakfina Allah' (Allah is enough for us) and 'ni'ma al-wakil' as 'ni'ma al-mawla' for whoever takes charge of him and answers for him; he adds that al-wakil in the speech of the Arabs is the one to whom the handling of another's affair is entrusted.
Al-Tabari, Jami' al-Bayan, commentary on Al Imran 3:173 (Arabic text on the King Saud University Quran site) Record: scholarly-tabari-3-173-hasbuna-wakil. An electronic transcription; the page does not state the edition or volume.
- 4
Al-Tabari, commenting on Al Imran 3:173, reports that the commentators differed on when the warning 'the people have gathered against you' was given: on the march from Uhud to Hamra al-Asad after Uhud, or at the meeting at Badr al-Sughra a year later. He prefers the first.
Al-Tabari, Jami' al-Bayan, commentary on Al Imran 3:173 (Arabic text on the King Saud University Quran site) Record: scholarly-tabari-3-173-occasion. Same transcription.
- 5
A search of sunnah.com and the dorar.net hadith encyclopedia on 24 October 2026 found no narration that gives a count (such as 100 or 1000) for saying 'hasbunallahu wa ni'mal wakeel'.
Ilmwell team search of dorar.net and sunnah.com, 24 October 2026 Record: search-hasbunallah-counts. A search of two databases on one date, not proof that no such report exists anywhere.
- Q
Quran Arabic for Al Imran 3:173 and At-Tawbah 9:129 (the scrolls and the word cards), and the English.
Tanzil Project Uthmani text, CC BY 3.0. English: adapted from Marmaduke Pickthall's translation (1930), modernised and checked against modern translations.
Next
For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
Join the email list
New guides by email, now and then. No spam, and you can leave at any time.
Ilmwell is free and kept going by readers. See how to support it.