Dua or Supplication to alleviate Grief, Distress and Anxiety

The Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم he said as reported by the noble companion Abdullah ibn Mas’ood رضي اللّه عنه and reported by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad. اللَّهُـمَّ إِنِّـي عَبْـدُكَ، إبْـنُ أَمَتِـكَ، the Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said No slave is afflicted with anxiety and grief and then says, O Allah I am your slave son of your male slave, son of your female slave, نَاصِـيَتي بِيـدِكَ my forehead is in your Hand, مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُـكَ،and Your judgment upon me is assured, عَـدْلٌ فِـيَّ قَضَـاءُكَ، and whatever You have decreed for me is just, أسْـأَلُكَ بِكُـلِّ اسْمٍ هُـوَ لَك I ask You by every name belonging to You سَـمَّيْتَ بِـهِ نَفْسَـكَwhich You have named Yourself,فِـي كِتَـابِكَ ، أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ or You have revealed in Your Book, أَوْ عَلَّمْتَـهُ أَحَـدًا مِـنْ خَلْقِـكَ or You taught one of Your creation, أَوِ اسْـتَأْثَـرْتَ بِهِ فِـي عِلْـمِ الْغَيْـبِ عِنْـدَكَ or You have preserved knowledge of that Name with You in the Unseen, I ask You that You make the Qur’aan the spring of my heart,أَنْ تَجْعَـلَ القُـرْآنَ رَبِيَـعَ قَلْبِي ، وَنُورَ صَدْرِي ، and the light of my chest, وَجَـلاَءَ حُـزْنِي وَذَهَـابَ هَمِّـي ، a banisher for my grief and a reliever for my anxiety.”

The Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said, “إِلاَّ أَذْهَبَ اللّهُ حُزْنَهُ وَهَمَّهُ وَأَبْدَلَ مَكَانَهُ فَرَحَا whoever says this Allah سبحان وتعلى will replace his distress and grief with joy.
The Prophet صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم was asked “O Messenger of Allah should we not learn this? He صلّى اللَّهُ عليه وسلّم said, “Certainly! It is proper and befitting for the one who hears of this supplication that they learn it.”

This hadith is reported by Imam Ahmad contains amazing benefits. Benefits that are important to each and every one of us because there is not one of us except he will be met with trials and tribulations and this is a test from Allah سبحان وتعلى, to distinguish between those who are truthful and those who are faking. Allah عزّ وجل He said in the Noble Qur’aan in Surathul Baqarah verse 155,
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الأَمْوَالِ وَالأنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ
Certainly we shall test you with fear, hunger, loss of wealth, life and fruits but give glad tidings to the patient”

Imam Sa’adi رحمح الله تعلى mentions in his explanation of the Qur’aan ‘Taysir al Kareem ar Rahman’ explaining this verse, he said, (Arabic) “Allah the Most High informs us that He would definitely test His servants. (Arabic) So, the one who is truthful can be distinguished from the one who is faking and is a liar.” So, the one who is annoyed and irrational can be recognized from the one who is patient. And this is the Sunnah of Allah عزّ وجل. So from this verse we benefit that each and every one of us will meet a test. Depending upon our reaction, then this will show whether we are from those people who are patient or from those people who are irrational and impatient.

With regards to this hadith then I will use some of the words of the people of knowledge to explain it. Ibnul Qayyim رحمح الله تعلى firstly and foremostly, and some of the other scholars from amongst the people of knowledge. In this life as Shaykh Abdur Razak he mentions the slave is tried with a variety of painful experiences. These painful experiences they affect the heart, causing it to become restless and they cause pain to the soul. Also it may be disturbing and stressful, what you have suffered and experienced.

Now brothers and sisters there is something that you have to understand and this is an important point mentioned by Ibnul Qayyim and others, if the pain that you have experienced is related to things that have happened in the past, then that is sadness. Understand this. If the pain that has afflicted the heart is connected to something that has happened in the past, then this is sadness(Huzn). And if it is connected to something that you expect and fear will happen in the future then this is worry(Hamm), and if it is related to something that is going on in your life right now then this is anxiety or stress.

And there is no way to remove these three things from the heart unless we truly return back to Allah عزّ وجل and humble ourselves before Allah. Surrendering to Allah عزّ وجل and accepting His command and believing in His pre-decree. And knowing His Names and Attributes and believing in His Book. And reading the Qur’aan and contemplating upon it and acting upon it. This is the only way that you can remove sadness, worry and anxiety from the qalb (heart).

And I say to you that this supplication, dua is not something only meant to be said upon the tongue. Many people they make d'ua or they mention various adkhar and it is just a movement of the tongue. There is no feeling in the heart. And that is why Ibnul Qayyim رحمح الله تعلى mentioned in his book ‘al Fawaid’ (Arabic) the most superior remembrance and the most beneficial form of remembrance is that which is found in the heart and it is spoken upon the tongue. And the one who is mentioning Allah the one who is supplicating to Allah, invoking Allah he should understand the meaning of what they are saying and the intent behind it.

Many people make dua, many people make dhikr but they don’t understand what they are saying and they don’t understand the core messages behind it. So therefore they may not achieve what they expected to achieve due to the deficiency in themselves.
Further, when we make dua to Allah عزّ وجل, we have to supplicate to Allah سبحان وتعلى with love, fear and hope
What is the proof? Allah عزّ وجل, He said in the Qur’aan,
أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ يَبْتَغُونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمُ الْوَسِيلَةَ أَيُّهُمْ أَقْرَبُ وَيَرْجُونَ رَحْمَتَهُ وَيَخَافُونَ عَذَابَهُ

And Ibnul Qayyim mentioned “Some people suffered from anxiety or stress and they think the answer is to do something haram or something that they used to do in the past, because Shaytaan is whispering them to commit such behaviours. Ibnul Qayyim further added that, “If the anxiety, worry and stress are removed by using means other than the Qur’an for instance if you are sick and you regain health then the anxiety, stress and worry will return back.” However if the Qur’an is the spring of your heart then it will banish those things forever as long as that belief is in your heart. Ibnul Qayyim رحمح الله تعلى added, “Whoever is not cured by the Qur’an then Allah سبحان وتعلى will not cure that individual, who ever is not happy with the Qur’an (in terms that they believe it to be sufficient) Allah سبحان وتعلى will make nothing sufficient for them.”