The Supplication that is Said at the Time of Affliction – A Prophetic Remedy for Difficult Times

 

الحمد لله رب العالمين، وصلى الله وسلم على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه أجمعين، أما بعد

 

Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullaah) said:

 

“In the Musnad[1] there occurs from him (i.e. the Prophet) (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) that he said:

مَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ تُصِيبُهُ مُصِيبَةٌ فَيَقُولُ: إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ اللَّهُمَّ أْجُرْنِي فِي مُصِيبَتِي وَأَخْلِفْ لِي خَيْرًا مِنْهَا إِلاَّ أَجَرَهُ اللَّهُ فِي مُصِيبَتِهِ وَأَخْلَفَ لَهُ خَيْرًا مِنْهَا

((There is no one who is afflicted with an affliction then says:

 

‘Indeed we belong to Allaah, and indeed to Him we shall return. O Allaah, reward me in my affliction, and requite me with that which is better than it.’

 

Except that Allaah will reward him in his affliction, and will requite him with that which is better than it.))

 

This statement is of the most far reaching cure for the afflicted person as well as its most beneficial for him in his temporal worldly life and his life to come. Indeed, it comprises two great fundamentals, if the servant realizes them through understanding them; then he will be comforted from his affliction:

The first of them: is that the servant, and his family, and his wealth are possessions of Allaah, The Mighty and Majestic, Allaah had but placed them with the servant as something borrowed. So if He takes it from him, then it is like the lender taking his possession from the borrower.

The second: is that the eventual destination of the servant and his return is to Allaah – his True Lord, and it is a must that he will leave the dunya (the life of this world) behind him and shall come to his Lord alone – just as He created him the first time, without family or wealth or kinsfolk – but with good deeds and misdeeds.

So if this is the beginning of the servant, and that which he was entrusted with, and his ultimate end, how then can he be delighted at one that is existent or grieve over one that is nonexistent? Therefore his contemplation upon his beginning and his life to come is from the greatest form of remedy for this malady.”[2]

 

Point of benefit: Shaikh Muhammad bin Saalih al-‘Uthaimeen (rahimahullaah) said:

 

“The duty of the person at the time of afflictions is to have patience and anticipation of reward, so that one should not be prohibited from the reward, since it is the one who is afflicted that in reality can prohibit the reward. So if a calamity befalls you, then say:

‘Indeed we belong to Allaah, and indeed to Him we shall return. O Allaah; reward me in my affliction, and requite me with that which is better than it.’

If you say that, Allaah will reward you in your affliction, and will requite you with that which is better than it.

This is an affair stated by the Prophet (‘alaihis salaatu was-salaam), and the actuality has bore witness to it. Since Umm Salamah (radhiyallaahu ‘anhaa) was under Abu Salamah, and she used to love him with a great amount of love, so Abu Salamah (radhiyallaahu ‘anhu) died, and she said:

‘O Allaah; reward me in my affliction, and requite me with that which is better than it.’ Yet she used to say to herself: ‘Who is better than Abee Salamah?’ So when her iddah (waiting period) expired, the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) married her, so the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) was better for her than Abee Salamah.

This is something that the occurrences also often bear witness to, since if the person is patient and anticipates (reward), then indeed Allaah, The Glorified and Most High, will give the patient ones their reward in full, without reckoning, and impatience and sadness and lamenting does not repel the calamity.”[3]

 

After mentioning this incident and this supplication, Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullaah) stated:

 

“Look then at the outcome of patience and al-Istirjaa (saying: Indeed we belong to Allaah, and indeed to Him we shall return),[4] and of following the Messenger and of being pleased with Allaah, to that which was to eventually lead to – and Umm Salamah being granted marriage to the most noble of creation to Allaah.”[5]

 

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[1] Reported by Ahmad in his Musnad (no.26635), it is likewise reported by Muslim (no.2123) with slight variations in wording between them, the wording above also varies slightly from that which is reported in the Musnad.

[2] Abridged from Zaadul Ma’aad vol 4 p.189

[3] Majmu’ Fataawa vol 17 p.416-417

[4] Shaikh Zaid bin Haadi al-Madkhali (rahimahullaah) said: “In al-Istirjaa (saying: Indeed we belong to Allaah, and indeed to Him we shall return) is an acknowledgement and a submission by the owned servant of his Creator and his Originator in that He has free right of disposal in regard to him with; whatever He wishes – when He wishes – how He wishes, from living and dying and sound health and sickness and poverty and affluence and happiness and sadness – in accordance to His Wisdom and His pre-decree, The Glorified.

Likewise that his eventual destination is to Him, thus He will give full share to every doer over that which he did – and your Lord does not at all oppress anyone” (Al-Afnaan an-Nadiyyah vol 2 p.255)

[5] ‘Uddatus Saabireen p.141