Abu Hurairah reported,

Abu Hurairah said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ put me in charge of guarding the zakat of Ramadan. Someone came and began scooping up handfuls of the food, so I seized him and said, 'By Allah, I am going to take you to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.'"The man pleaded, "I am in need, I have dependents, and my need is severe."Abu Hurairah continued, "So I let him go. In the morning the Prophet ﷺ asked me, 'Abu Hurairah, what did your captive do last night?'"I answered, 'Messenger of Allah, he complained of severe need and of dependents, so I felt pity for him and let him go.'"The Prophet ﷺ said, 'He lied to you, and he will be back.'"I knew he would return, because the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had said he would. So I lay in wait for him, and he came and started scooping up the food. I seized him and said, 'I am going to take you to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.'"He said, 'Let me go. I am in need and I have dependents. I will not come back.'"I felt pity for him and let him go. In the morning the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to me, 'Abu Hurairah, what did your captive do?'"I said, 'Messenger of Allah, he complained of severe need and of dependents, so I felt pity for him and let him go.'"He said, 'He lied to you, and he will be back.'"So I watched for him, and he came and began gathering up the food. I seized him and said, 'I am taking you to the Messenger of Allah. This is the third time now. You keep claiming you will not return, and then you return.'"He said, 'Let me go, and I will teach you words by which Allah will benefit you.'"I asked, 'What are they?'"He said, 'When you go to your bed, recite the Verse of the Throne, "Allah, there is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all" [Baqarah 2:255], to the end of the verse. A guardian from Allah will remain over you, and no devil will come near you until morning.'"So I let him go. In the morning the Messenger of Allah said to me, 'What did your captive do last night?'"I said, 'Messenger of Allah, he claimed he would teach me words by which Allah would benefit me, so I let him go.'"He asked, 'What were they?'"I said, 'He told me that when I go to my bed I should recite the Verse of the Throne from its beginning to the end of the verse, "Allah, there is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all" [Baqarah 2:255]. And he told me that a guardian from Allah would remain over me and no devil would come near me until morning.'"The companions were the most eager of people for good. The Prophet ﷺ then said, "He told you the truth, though he is a liar. Do you know who you have been speaking with these three nights, Abu Hurairah?"Abu Hurairah replied, "No."The Prophet ﷺ said, "That was a devil."

عن أبي هريرة قال

وكلني رسول الله ﷺ بحفظ زكاة رمضان، فأتاني آت، فجعل يحثو من الطعام فأخذته، وقلت: والله لأرفعنك إلى رسول الله ﷺ قال: إني محتاج وعلى عيال ولي حاجة شديدة، قال: فخليت عنه، فأصبحت، فقال النبي ﷺ: يا أبا هريرة ما فعل أسيرك البارحة؟ قال: قلت: يا رسول الله شكا حاجة شديدة وعيالا، فرحمته، فخليت سبيله قال: أما إنه قد كذبك وسيعود، فعرفت أنه سيعود لقول رسول الله ﷺ: إنه سيعود فرصدته، فجاء يحذو من الطعام، فأخذته، فقلت: لأرفعنك إلى رسول الله ﷺ قال: دعني، فإني محتاج وعلى عيال لا أعود فرحمته، فخليت سبيله، فأصبحت، فقال لي رسول الله ﷺ: يا أبا هريرة ما فعل أسيرك؟ قلت: يا رسول الله شكا حاجة شديدة وعيالا فرحمته، فخليت سبيله قال: أما إنه قد كذبك وسيعود فرصدته، فجاء يحنو من الطعام، فأخذته، فقلت: لأرفعنك إلى رسول الله، وهذا آخر ثلاث مرات أنك تزعم لا تعود، ثم تعود، قال دعني أعلمك كلمات ينفعك الله بها قلت: ما؟ قال: إذا أويت إلى فراشك فاقرأ آية الكرسي: {الله لا إله إلا هو الحي القيوم} حتى تختم الآية، فإنك لن يزال عليك من الله حافظ، ولا يقربنك شيطان حتى تصبح، فخليت سبيله، فأصبحت، فقال لي رسول الله: ما فعل أسيرك البارحة؟ قلت: يا رسول الله زعم أنه يعلمني لي: كلمات ينفعني الله بها، فخليت سبيله قال: ما هي؟ قلت: قال لي: إذا أويت إلى فراشك فاقرأ آية الكرسي من أولها حتى تختم الآية: {الله لا إله إلا هو الحي القيوم} وقال لي: لن يزال عليك من الله حافظ، ولا يقربك شيطان حتى تصبح، وكانوا أحرص شيء على الخير، فقال النبي ﷺ: أما إنه قد صدقك وهو كذوب، تعلم من تخاطب منذ ثلاث ليال يا أبا هريرة؟ قال: لا، قال: ذاك شيطان.