Supplication for fear of shirk
| اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ أَنْ أُشْرِكَ بِكَ وَ أَنَا أَعْلَمُ ، وَ أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ لِمَا لاَ أَعْلَمُ Allâhumma innî a’uuthu bika an ushrika bika wa anâ a’alamu, wa astaghfiruka limâ lâ a’alamu. ‘Oh Allâh indeed I seek refuge in you of associating anything with You knowingly, and I seek your forgiveness for what I know not.’[1] |
| اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ عِلْمًا نَافِعًا ، وَ رِزْقًا طَيِّبًا ، وَ عَمَلاً مُتَقَبَّلاً Allâhumma innî as`aluka ‘ilman nâfi’an, wa rizqân tayyibân, wa ‘amalân mutaqabbalân. ‘Oh Allâh indeed I ask you for knowledge that is of benefit , and a good provision and deeds that will be accepted.’(Recite in Arabic upon rising in the morning and or after the salatul Fajr)[2] |
| La ‘ilâha ‘illâ ‘allâhu ‘al-`athîmu ‘al-halîmu, la ‘ilâha ‘illâ ‘allâhu rabbul `arshil-`athîmi, la ‘ilâha ‘illâ ‘allâhu rabbus-samâwâti wa rabbul-‘ardhi wa rabbul-`arshil-karîmi. There is no ‘ilâh except Allâh The Magnificent, The Forbearing. There is no ‘ilâh except Allâh Lord of the Magnificent Throne. There is no ‘ilâh except Allâh Lord of the Heavens, Lord of the Earth, and Lord of the Noble Throne.[3] |
| La ‘ilâha ‘illâ ‘allâhu ‘al-`athîmu ‘al-halîmu, la ‘ilâha ‘illâ ‘allâhu rabbul `arshil-`athîmi, la ‘ilâha ‘illâ ‘allâhu rabbus-samâwâti wa rabbul-‘ardhi wa rabbul-`arshil-karîmi. |
There is no ‘ilâh except Allâh The Magnificent, The Forbearing. There is no ‘ilâh except Allâh Lord of the Magnificent Throne. There is no ‘ilâh except Allâh Lord of the Heavens, Lord of the Earth, and Lord of the Noble Throne.[3]
Asking for Allâh’s Guidance in a Certain Affair – Al-Istikhâra
The Messenger of Allâh used to teach us to ask Allâh’s guidance in all matters just like he used to teach us a surah out of the Qur’ân. He would say: If one of you intends on doing a certain matter, let him pray two rak’ât, then let him say:
| Allâhumma ‘innî ‘astakhîruka biilmika, wa ‘astaqdiruka biqudratika, wa ‘as’aluka min fadhlikal-`athîmi, fa’innaka taqdiru wa lâ ‘aqdiru, wa ta`lamu wa lâ ‘a`lamu, wa ‘anta `allâmul-ghuyûbi, ‘allâhumma ‘in kunta ta`lamu ‘anna hâthal ‘amra – and [here] you name it [the affair] by its name – khayrun lî fî dînî wa ma`âshî wa `âqibati ‘amrî, wa`âjilihi wa’âjilihi, faqdurhu lî wa yassirhu lî, thumma bâriklî fîh, wa ‘in kunta ta`lamu ‘anna hâthal-‘amra sharrun lî fî dînî wa ma’âshî wa `âqibati ‘amrî, wa`âjilihi wa’âjilihi, fasrifhu `annî wasrifnî `anhu, waqdurlî ‘al-khayra haythu kâna, thumma radh-dhinî bihi |
| O’ my ‘ilâh I ask your guidance due to your knowledge, and I ask your help due to your ability. For You are able and I’m not able, You know and I don’t Know, and You are the one that knows the hidden matters. O’ my ‘ilâh if You know that this affair – and [here] you name it [the affair] by its name is better for me in my faith, my livelihood, the aftermath of my affair, its short term, and its long term, then decree it for me, make it easy for me, and bestow blessings for me in it; and if You know that this affair is bad for me in my faith, my livelihood, the aftermath of my affair, its short term, and its long term, then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it; and decree for me the good where ever it is, and then content me with it. |
One that asks the Creators’ guidance in a matter, and consults with His creation, then acts deliberately would never regret his action. For Allâh The Exalted says:
| And consult them in the matter [of moment]. Then when you have taken a decision put your trust in Allâh. For Allâh loves those who put their trust [in Him]. [4] |
Abu Qâtada said:
| There is not a people that consult amongst themselves seeking Allâh Face[5]except that they would be guided to the most straight and correct action for them. |
On Debt
It is reported of ‘Ali bin ‘Abi Tâlib that someone who was indebted came to him and said: I am unable to pay my debt so help me.
He said:
| Shall I not teach you a few words the Messenger of Allâh taught me, if you had the like of a mountain (Sîrin) of debt Allâh would fulfill it on your behalf? Say:
 ‘Allâhumma kfinî bihalâlika `an harâmika, wa ‘aghninî bifadhlika `amman siwâka[6] |
Upon Having a Dream
Abu Salamata bin Abdurrahmân said:
| I heard Qatâda son of Rib`iy say: I heard the Messenger of Allâh say:
Ru’yâ [7]is from Allâh, and hulmu is from the shaytân, so if one of you sees something he hates, let him spittle to his left three times when he awakens, and let him seek protection in Allâh from its evil, for, Allâh willing, it will not harm him. |
Abu Salamata said:
| I used to consider a Ru’yâ heavier upon me than a mountain, then when I heard this hadîth, I became disconcerned, and in one narration |
He said:
| I used to see Ru’yâs as cause for concern, until I heard Aba Qatâda say: I used to see Ru’yâs and they would make me sick, until I heard the Messenger of Allâh say:
“The good Ru’ya is from Allâh, so if one of you sees what he likes, then he should not tell anyone about it except those whom he loves, and if he sees something he hates, then he should tell no one of it, and he should spit to his left three times, and solicit Allâh’s protection from the despicable Shaytân from the evil of what he saw, for it will not harm him. |
The Virtues of Tahmîd, Tahlîl, and Tasbîh
The Messenger of Allâh said:
| “Whoever says:
 Lâ ‘ilâha ‘illâ ‘allâhu wahdahu lâ sharîka lahu, lahulmulku wa lahul hamdu wa huwa `alâ kulli shay’in qadîrun[8] |
| 100 times would get the reward of manumitting ten slaves, one hundred good deeds would be written for him, one hundred sins would be remitted from him, it would be a shield for him from the Shaytan that day till night, and nobody would arrive with better than what he arrived with except for one that had done more than him.” |
Fitna
Prophet sallAllâhu alayhi wa sallam used to open his prayer by making the du’a in tahajjud:
| اللهم رب جبرائيل وميكائيل وإسرافيل فاطر السماوات والأرض عالم الغيب والشهادة أنت تحكم بين عبادك فيما كانوا فيه يختلفون اهدني لما اختلف فيه من الحق بإذنك إنك تهدي إلى من تشاء إلى صراط مستقيم Allâhumma Rabbi Jibra’il Wa Mika’il Wa Isra’fil Fa’ttiri Ssama’wa’ti Walardhi A’limulghaibi Washaha’dati Anta Tahkumu Baina I’bâdik Fi’mâ Ka’nu Fiihi Yakhtalifun Ihdinii Lima’khtalafa Fiihi Minalhakki Biidhnik Innakatahdi Ilâ Sira’ti mustaki’ma. “O Allâh, Lord of Jibrâ’îl, Mîkâ’îl and Isrâfîl, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of all that is hidden and open! It is You that will judge between Your servants in those matters about which they used to differ. Guide me by Your Grace to the Truth concerning that about which they differed, for indeed You guide whomsoever You wish to a path that is straight.”[9] |
Sins Forgiven
The exellence of saying
Subhân Allâh wa bi Hamdihi
| سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَ بِحَمْدِهِ ‘Glorified is Allâh and praised is He’ |
| “Whoever says: ‘Glorified is Allâh and praised is He’ one hundred times a day will have his sins forgiven even if they are like the foam of the sea.” (Taken from Al-Bukhari 7/168, Muslim 4/2071.) |
Footnotes
(1) Taken from Ahmad 4/403. See also Al-Albani’s Sahih Al-Jami’ As Saghir 3/233 and At-Targhîb wat Tarhîb 1/19.
(2) This supplication has been extracted from Ibn As Sunni number 54 and Ibn Majah number 920. Its chain of transmission is good (hasan) according to Ibn Al-Qayyim 2/375. Also see Al-Albani’s Sahih Ibn Majah 1/52 and Majma’ Az-Zawa’id 10/111.
(3) Reported by: Agreed upon by Bukhâri and Muslim and is #97 in The Authentic of Good Sayings
(4) Surat ‘Al-‘lmrân (#3) V. 159.
(5) Meaning they want to see Allâh’s Face (because that is the greatest pleasure for the people of Paradise). The Qur’ân and the Sunnah affirm that Allâh has a face, two hands, fingers, and two eyes. Some people deny these attributes because they incorrectly suppose that by affirming them they are humanizing Allâh. Such an argument is only valid for those that would say, for example, “Allâh has hands like ours (?)” Such a statement is not allowed because it qualifies Allâh’s attributes without evidence from the Qur’an or the Sunnah. It would also be in contradiction to the Qur’anic verse:
| There is nothing that is like Him, and He is The Ever-Hearing, The Ever-Seeing |
Thus we must affirm the attributes that Allâh, and/or his Messenger have affirmed; we must believe that these attributes befit the Magnificence, and Glory of Allâh; and we are not allowed to qualify these attributes unless Allâh, and/or his Messenger have done so for us.
This was reported by: Ibn Taymiya said that it was reported by Al-Bukhâri to this effect. Al-Albâni said that the wording was identical to that of Al-Bukhâri; however, the word “all” in “in all matters” was not in Al-Bukhâri’s Qiyâm ul-Layl but was in his Ad-Da`awât and his At-Tawhîd. Also, he said that Al-Bukhâri reported, after the phrase “the aftermath of my affair”, the following:
| “Or he said: the short term of my affair and its long term” |
indicating that the narrator was not sure which of the two was correct. So perhaps, Al-Albâni continued, Ibn Taymiya combined the two so that the supplicant would be sure he was, either way, saying the words of the Prophet . For this reason it appears in this book as
| “the aftermath of my affair, its short term, and its long-term. Al-Albani said he had no problem with that, then, he said: “And Allâh knows best”. |
He included this hadîth in The Authentic of Good Sayings as #96.
(6) O’ my ‘ilâh make me with what You have made lawful needless of what You have made unlawful, and make me with your benevolence independent of all others.
This is reported by At-Tirmidhi who said it was comely (hasan). Al-Albâni agreed, and included this hadîth in The Authentic of Good Sayings as #116
(7) This hadîth seems to be describing a Ru’ya as one might describe the English word “Dream”, and a Hulum as the English word “Nightmare”. Later in this hadîth we see that the word Ru’ya can also be used loosely to describe any vision (good or bad) experienced during sleep.
This is reported in: Agreed upon by Bukhâri and Muslim, and Al-Albâni included it in The Authentic of Good Sayings as #39.
(8) There is no ‘ilâh except Allâh, no partner does He have; his is the Kingdom, and to Him is all Praise, and He is ever-able to do everything.
Reported in Sahîh ‘Al-Bukhâri and Sahîh Muslim. ‘Al-Albâni included this hadîth in The Authentic of Good Sayings as #6.
(9) [Muslim and Abu ‘Awanah as Referenced in Sifat Salat in Nabi SallAllâhu Alayhi wa Sallam]
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