‘Abdullāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “No person (“no believer” in another report) suffers any anxiety or grief, and then says:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي عَبْدُكَ ، وَابْنُ عَبْدِكَ ، وَابْنُ أَمَتِكَ ، نَاصِيَتِي بِيَدِكَ ، مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُكَ ، عَدْلٌ فِيَّ قَضَاؤُكَ ، أَسْأَلُكَ بِكُلِّ اسْمٍ هُوَ لَكَ ، سَمَّيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ ، أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ فِي كِتَابِكَ ، أَوْ عَلَّمْتَهُ أَحَدًا مِنْ خَلْقِكَ ، أَوْ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ ، أَنْ تَجْعَلَ الْقُرْآنَ رَبِيعَ قَلْبِي ، وَنُورَ صَدْرِي ، وَجَلَاءَ حُزْنِي ، وَذَهَابَ هَمِّي
(O Allah, I am your slave, the son of your slave and the son of your maid-slave. Your command over me is forever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask you by every Name belonging to You, which You have Named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or You taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the unseen with You, that You make the Qur’ān the life of my heart and the light of my chest, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety) except that Allah will remove his sorrow and replace it with happiness.”
They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, should we memorize these phrases (of the supplication)?” He responded, “Yes, whoever hears these words should memorize them.”[1]
Transliteration:
Allaahumma innee ʿabduk, wabnu ʿabdik, wabnu amatik, naasiyati beyadik, maadhin fiyya hukmuk, ʿadlun fiyya qadhaa’uk, as’aluka bi kullismin huwa lak, sammayta bihi nafsak, aw anzaltahu fee kitaabik, aw ʿalamtahu ahadan min khalqik, awista-tharta bihi fee ʿilmil ghaybi ʿindak, an taj-ʿal al-Qur’aan al-ʿađ̣eema rabeeʿa qalbi, wa noora sadri, wa jalā’a huzni, wa dhahāba hammi.
Duʿā breakdown and reflections:
“O Allah, I am your slave, the son of your slave and the son of your maid-slave”
Ibn al-Qayyim stated in his book, Zād al-Ma’ād,[2] that these words are full of recognition of who Allah is, and in it, the worshipper is calling upon the Lord, acknowledging the Creator, and presenting oneself as the slave of Allah, and the son/daughter of His slaves.
The supplicating believer also places things where they belong by recognizing (the following):
that his fate is in Allah’s control
that his destiny takes place according to the Divine Plan
that Allah does whatever He Pleases with it
that the servant can neither bring benefit nor harm to himself
that he cannot bring about his own birth, death, or resurrection
that he has no power to alter his decree except as Allah Wills
that he is completely dependent on his Creator, Cherisher, Sustainer, and Lord
that his own existence is subject to whatever Allah Decrees, and
that Allah is Just, and what He Wills shall Be.
Your Command over me is forever executed and Your Decree over me is just.
This part of the supplication highlights two important points related to the Oneness of Allah:
The first is the recognition and confirmation of fate, and that Allah’s Decree regarding His slaves shall unfailingly come into being, and that His slaves cannot escape it or repel it.
The second point is that Allah is Just; He does not oppress His servants, and His decree takes place by virtue of His Knowledge and Divine Justice. This is because injustice represents the need, ignorance, incompetence, weakness, and inferiority of an unjust individual, and therefore, such attributes are not Divine, and they cannot come from one who is Omniscient, All-Knowing, Wise, and has no needs.
Allah is the All-Wise (Al-Hakeem), and thus His Wisdom is in effect wherever His Will is executed and ordained. Every atom and every cell in the universe and the entirety of His creation is in need of Him, but He is Rich beyond any need, and His Will affects all of His creation at all times and places. Belief in His Wisdom, therefore, must be combined with full acknowledgement and humble recognition that the slave is unaware of the full scope of matters, even when they are perceived to be difficult, for the All-Wise does not oppress His slaves. He tests them to elevate them, to purify them, to strengthen them, and to increase them in gratitude, guidance, resilience, and purpose. He plans for His slaves better than they plan for themselves, and He wants mercy and salvation for His slaves more than they want it for themselves.
We are in need of exemplifying gratitude towards Him, and as a result, He increases us in blessings for our action of praise.
وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ
“And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in blessings]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.’ “[3]
I ask you by every Name belonging to You, which You have Named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or You taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the unseen with You…
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is calling upon Allah by His beautiful Names and Attributes that He named Himself with, revealed in His Book, taught to any of His creation, or preserved in the knowledge of the unseen – to the extent that even the angels amongst His creation do not know of them – in a manner that is powerful, for such a prayer surpasses other prayers and is beloved to Allah and most certainly worthy of a response, because it highlights the slave’s humility, knowledge, and recognition of the Lord of the Worlds.
…that You make the Qur’ān the life of my heart and the light of my chest, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety
The Qur’an, by Allah, is a cure for every type of illness in this world: mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual, if only we took it as a cure for everything, knowing that it is a means to rebalance the heart and retune the heart to its original natural disposition.
The Qur’an, by Allah, is a light for every type of darkness in this world, if only we embraced that light consistently, knowing that it removes the dark corrosions of sinfulness and heedlessness that accumulate in one’s heart.
The Qur’an, by Allah, is a relief for every type of sorrow and anxiety in this world, if only we resorted to it constantly through ease and through difficulty, knowing that it is a means of wiping away one’s stress, pain, anxiety, and sorrows.
The Qur’an as a cure, however, works only in proportion to how patient and sincere the believer is in embracing it, trusting in its effectiveness, and knowing that Allah’s Will, with His Speech as a prescription, will lead to an excellent and complete recovery, for Allah’s Promise is always fulfilled.
No person suffers any anxiety or grief, and then says … except that Allah will remove his sorrow and replace it with happiness.”
This is a guarantee from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who does not speak about religious matters from himself but rather from revelation.[4] This is a guarantee that the one who prays with this prayer, sincerely, humbly, gratefully, persistently, and patiently, will see that their sorrows are replaced with happiness. The one doing so, however, should not give up quickly on their supplication and should ideally implement as many of the etiquettes of duʿā as possible, such as repenting for one’s sins, being in a state of purification, facing the Qiblah, raising one’s hands, and so forth.
They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, should we memorize these phrases (of the supplication)?” He responded, “Yes, whoever hears these words should memorize them.”
This final part of the narration reminds us of at least two significant points:
It is important to benefit from what we hear as believers, particularly when there is an advice to do so. With this particular narration in mind, remember that every human being will face some type of sorrow or anxiety at one point or another in their lives, and thus it is wise for the believer to know these words and to pray with them often.
It is imperative as believers to also share this duʿā with others for the sake of helping them gain nearness to Allah and relief from their hardships, by His will, while being rewarded for our sharing of knowledge that is of vast benefit. The one who encourages others to do good is rewarded equally – every time they perform that deed – without the performer of the deed losing anything of their reward, as was authentically reported.[5]
Conclusion
This duʿā is one of many reminders to bring us closer to Allah through sincerity, humility, gratitude, submission, and acknowledgement of His Majesty and the status of His Speech. Memorize this invocation and its meanings, pray with it frequently, and teach it to your loved ones, and may Allah the Exalted rectify your affairs, relieve you of your hardships, and reward you immensely for your patience and good deeds in this life and the next.
References:
[1] Recorded by Aḥmad (4167), al-Ḥākim (1809), and Ibn Ḥibbān (984).
[2] See: Ibn al-Qayyim, Provisions for the Hereafter.
Jazak Allah Khayr for pointing that out I did not notice.
The word Adheema/Azeem is present in transliteration. But not in the arabic.
For authenticity maybe best to stick to the Arabic original whilst reciting.
Although the word Al Azim is just there to denote reverence for Quran ... Quran Al Karim, Quran Al Majid , Quran Al Hakeem and Quran Al Azim etc. Are all used for this.
By Shaykh Abdul Qadir al Jilani رحمة الله عليه
: Purification of the Mind (Jila’ Al-Khatir)
* The Prophet (Allah’s prayer and peace be on him) is reported to have said: “The sense of shame stems from faith.” O servants of Allah, how impudent and how daring you are to your Lord (mighty and glorified is He)! Showing modesty to the creatures but impudence to the True One is utter foolishness and madness. The reality of modesty is feeling a sense of shame with your Lord (mighty and glorified is He) in both your private and public lives so that modesty with the creatures comes to be a consequence not a cause. The believer feels a sense of shame with regard to the Creator, whereas the hypocrite feels a sense of shame with respect to the creatures.
The following incident was narrated by Maulana Khalil ur Rahman Sajjad Nomani. (DB).
He Stated: "An individual caught a Taxi in Tokyo. Even though he could not speak Japanese he was able to communicate to the Driver that he needed to go to an institute near a major Hospital.
As they were driving, he noticed that the driver switched off the electronic meter which calculates the charges for the journey.
Since the passenger could not communicate effectively in Japanese, he was unable to ask the driver the reason for this.
After about 2 kilometres or so he noticed the Taxi Driver switch the meter back on. When they arrived at their destination. He asked the people who were waiting to greet him at the institute. To question the Taxi driver and ask him as to why he had switched off the meter during the course of the journey.
The Taxi driver responded that during their journey he had missed a turning.
He quickly realised his mistake and switched of the meter, because he knew the journey would become longer. He did not want the passenger to end up paying extra for what was his mistake. After 2 KM when they returned to the original route he switched the meter back on.
Maulana states: That Taxi Driver (being a non muslim) had not done a chilla, did not read namaaz, did not know quran, did not where a jubba or an imamah, did not have a beard. He did not know Kalimah. But what he did have was Imaandari (Honesty and Integrity). Our situation is such that despite having all of those aforementioned things, we have no Imaandari ( Honesty and Integrity).
Somebody had sent me the above anecdote as a video clip a while ago. Where Maulana Khaliur Rahman narrated the story of the Japanese Taxi Driver.
That story really hit home recently. suffering from health issues I have over the last 3 months been dependent on Taxis..For my numerous Hospital and Doctors appointments. In my hometown the Taxi profession is dominated by Muslim drivers.
Every time I have caught a Taxi the driver has been a muslim. I am not going to pigeon whole everyone there have been some very good drivers. But however at the sametime I have had drivers deliberately taking the longest routes possible to the destination so they can charge a few pounds extra. Knowing and realising I was to ill to bother arguing perhaps saw me as a easy target.
Strangest one was a driver who asked me what route I normally take. I told him my regular route. He asked if it was ok to take a different route. I said no I am happy with my normal route. So he still took a different route which was slightly longer. When we arrived at the destination. His diversion had only gained him an extra 20 pence. I was thinking in my head seriously you did that just for 20 extra pence. You just contaminated youre entire income for a few extra pennies.
Taxi driving is a very common profession for muslims in most western countries. Most of their passengers will be non-muslim If all of them behaved with the honesty and integrity of that Japanese Taxi Driver towards their passengers imagine what impact could be made.
They say that you learn from the etiquettes of a scholar more than you learn from his knowledge. This just couldn’t be more true. Every scholar I’ve seen, heard of and spoken to always amazed me with his/her character. And the greater their ‘ilm, the finer their character was.
Recently I began classes with a shaykh but the masjid he asked me to come to (where he did the classes) was quite complex to get to. I managed to reach a nearby location and gave him a call to get directions as I didn’t know any of the students. He tried to explain at first but the line was so bad that it cut off halfway. After 5-10 mins, he calls me back and says, “My daughter, where exactly are you?” As I was telling him, I saw a car pulling up across the road with the shaykh inside indicating for me to come. Subhan’Allah, it turns out he had actually stopped his class, brought a student along and came to pick me up! I was completely taken by surprise… A great shaykh like him coming to pick up a complete nobody like me. The humbleness and good character/gesture was extremely touching.
On top of that, he had brought along a student who wanted to recite to him (as he is a scholar in the 10 qira’at and grants ijazahs), so all the way along the road the student was reciting off by heart to him while he was listening/correcting and at the same time, showing me the route for when I next come.
I learnt so many lessons from this (and other incidents), mainly:
When serving in the way of Allah, humble yourself to those below you. Being a scholar or a learned one will always earn you respect but it is from lofty character to lower yourself for those below you.
Make great use of time. If you can kill two birds with one stone, do so. In the time I’ve spent with this shaykh, one of the striking things I’ve noticed about him is that despite his age, he never fails to make use of time. I was told of how a brother once came to visit him to recite and get ijazah but the shaykh was due to go on a long journey, so instead of telling him to come back on another day, he took the brother with him! He told him to prepare and the 10hr journey (with a 3-day stay), was enough for the student to recite nonstop and gain certification.
Although it’s good to have personal schedules, it is at times also extremely helpful for others if we go out of our way to fit them into our busy schedules. Be helpful. Maybe people’s circumstances are tough and they’re coming to you as a resort and a solution. Help them and Allah will help you!
In relation to the above, it’s really crucial for our scholars to make time for the women and sisters of this Ummah, particularly in the absence of female scholars. Sometimes, we see brothers crowding around a shaykh or taking up all his time and attention such that he’s not able to give equal time to sisters. What really impressed me about this scholar was the way he treated his female students. He would dedicate his time and efforts to whoever came, and let them complete their learning. In fact many times, he would give more time to the sisters than the brothers! His wife told me that once, two sisters travelled in from distant towns (one from North Egypt, the other from South Egypt) to learn from him and get an ijazah. He told his family to accommodate for one of the sisters so she lived with them, while the other one stayed nearby with a friend. In just 3 days, he managed to listen to and review their hifdh/qira’ah. I was surprised and asked ‘how’, because he has lots of students, particularly brothers. She replied that wherever he went, he took the sisters along with him and they would recite. If he went to do classes in another institute, he would take them and they’ll be reciting in the car (btw, he’s very talented in listening to two different people reciting at once!). In the masjid, they only brought water and dates as food while they would recite the whole day from morning till evening (very strong sisters, masha’Allah!) until they completed their ijazah in just 3 days and returned to their respective cities in a short time. Oh and his family (including the women!) are all educated and qualified in this ‘ilm, showing that he dedicated a great deal to them.
Age is nothing but a number. The shaykh – like many shuyukh – is just as active as the youth that I see. After Fajr prayer, he sits in his mosque for a minimum of 12 hours, receiving students, teaching them the Book of Allah and helping them return home with some ‘ilm from him.
While we should give our utmost respect and honour to our scholars, we should also realise that they are human beings too, and sometimes they are also struggling with the trials of fame. So whenever possible, we should help them in their struggles, i.e. we shouldn’t idolize them or make them into celebrities. The celebrity culture which has infiltrated Islamic knowledge particularly in the West is breaking the backs of our du’at and scholars!
Seize opportunities that Allah presents to you and don’t let shyness prevent you from progressing and taking up opportunities.
I would write more but I must dash!
Luqman said to his son, “O my son, sit with the scholars, crowd them at the knees! For indeed, hearts come to life with words of wisdom just like the dead earth comes back to life with the downpour of rain.”
– Mukhtasar Ihya ‘Ulum al-Din, by Imam al-Ghazali
May Allah place us in the company of the righteous and allow us to benefit from them and be of benefit to others, ameen
Imam al-Shafi’i, may Allah be pleased with him, said in his poetry, “If a fool speaks to you, do not answer him, for the best answer is silence. If you speak to him, you have delighted him. If you leave him, he nearly dies in anguish.”
Source: Dīwān al-Imām al-Shāfi’ī 38
Al-Ajurri said about the people of lowly desires, “Your silence over them and your abandonment of speaking to them is harder on them than your debate with them. Such was said by the righteous predecessors among the Muslim scholars.”
Source: al-Sharī’ah 1/449
قال الإمام الشافعي رضي الله عنه في شعره إِذا نَطَقَ السَفيهُ فَلا تَجِبهُ فَخَيرٌ مِن إِجابَتِهِ السُكوتُ فَإِن كَلَّمتَهُ فَرَّجتَ عَنهُ وَإِن خَلَّيتَهُ كَمَداً يَموتُ
There is a story which Sayyidina Jalaluddin Rumi tells of an ant that’s creeping across the carpet in a mosque, and the ant complains to God saying: “what is this, these bumps, and strange colours, and patterns, this must have been created just as a meaningless obstacle course, what a futile thing to have made.” But of course the carpet maker, looking at it from above can see the patterns and the purpose of it, and can see that the whole thing is perfect and is good. And Allah is often like that. We often can’t make sense of the misfortunes because we are too dimensional, we are at ground level, we can’t see what it all means, but the khalifa of Allah subhanahu wa’tala knows even if he can’t always see that this is a manifestation of Allah’s will which is always good and always perfect and always beautiful. ~ Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad
———-
I found this anecdote truly amazing. Life takes us through so many unexpected hurdles and obstacles, difficult and painful situations and experiences, all of which we often cannot decipher why these things are happening, or have happened to us. Just like the ant in the story, I guess, we are only tiny ‘beings’ in this big world where our vision and understanding is very limited. We do not have the full view like Allah does; He knows what has happened, what is happening and what is yet to come; He can see how everything fits together and what the ultimate result shall be. ONLY HE KNOWS!!
May He grant us true reliance and trust in Him alone, with whom no trust or reliance is lost. Allahumma amin.
Our master the holy Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
إن الله يحب الرفق في الأمر كله (رواه البخاری)۔
“Allah is kind and loves kindness in every matter.”
إن الرفق لا يكون في شيء إلا زانه . ولا ينزع من شيء إلا شانه ( رواه مسلم) ۔
“Whenever kindness is in a thing it adorns it, and whenever it is removed from anything, it disfigures it.” [Muslim]
——————————————
Sayyidi wa sanadi Shaikh Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani (Allah preserve him) often says that Arabic is a very unique and rich language. It has a huge vocabulary. Sometimes it is quite difficult to convey the meaning of a word when translating it into another language. This is specially so with the languages like English
He was happily married for only three years when he received news that his wife had passed away in a car accident. His 14-month old daughter, Aayah, would grow up not having known her mother. He had no family who could help raise her except for a distant sibling, who already had children of her own.
Eventually, he began to question his faith. He wondered why his wife had to be taken away. He wondered why hardship and suffering existed in this world. He wondered why God would allow him to feel pain, since God was the Ever-Merciful, and why his daughter had to be raised without her mother.
The urge to do Good is like a “guest” sent by Allah
By Mufti Taqi Usmani D.B.
If an urge (or desire) arises to do some good deed, do it at once, because the next day you may forget the urge or who knows one will live or not live till the next day. Even if one lives, the urge may disappear in the rush of so many pressing issues of life. In case the urge remains, the circumstances favourable for execution may not be there.
The urge to do good may be considered to be a guest sent by Allah that must be welcomed with honour. The honour lies in prompt execution of the urge. If the urge is to offer some optional prayer and you ignore it by arguing that it is neither obligatory nor essential, then you dishonour the divine guest that Allah had sent to reform you. If you show this cold attitude to the guest, it may never visit you again (You may never get that tawfeeq again). Although the golden rule is to attend to all business with promptitude yet if an urge arises in you for some particular good deed it is highly appreciable to put that urge into practice quickly.
-Taken from Islahi Khutbaat [Discourses on Islamic Way of Life] (Vol: 1)
Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (رحمه الله) warned:
إذا رأيت وقتك يمضي، وعمرك يذهب وأنت لم تنتج شيئاً مفيداً، ولا نافعاً، ولم تجد بركة في الوقت,
فاحذر أن يكون أدركك قوله تعالى :
ولا تُطِعْ مَنْ أَغْفَلنا قَلْبَهُ عَن ذِكْرِنَا وَاتَّبَعَ هواهُ وَكانَ أَمرُهُ فُرُطا” سورة الكهف الأية 28
If you see your time pass by and your life go, and you have not produced anything worthwhile or beneficial and you do not find any blessing in your time then be wary that the statement of Allah has overcome you:
“And obey not him whose heart We have made heedless of Our Remembrance, one who follows his own lusts and whose affair (deeds) has been lost.” [Al-Kahf: 28] (1)
The Shaykh (رحمه الله) also said:
وفي هذه الآية إشارة إلى أهمية حضور القلب عند ذكر الله، وأن الإنسان الذي يذكر الله بلسانه لا بقلبه تنْزَع البركة من أعماله وأوقاته حتى يكون أمره فُرطا عليه
And in this ayah is an indication to the importance of (having) presence of heart when performing dhikr of Allah. And that the person who remembers Allah with (only) his tongue and not his heart, (then) the barakah (blessing) is removed from his actions and his time to the extent that his deeds become lost. (2)
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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