Supplication

Adam related to us: Shu‘ba related to us: a man from Aslam called Majza’a related to us, saying: I heard ‘Abd Allah ibn Abi Awfa, from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who used to supplicate: “O Allah, to You belongs praise filling the heavens, filling the earth, and filling whatever else You will. O Allah, purify me with cold, snow, and cold water. O Allah, purify me of sins and cleanse me as a white garment is cleansed of filth.”

‘Abd al-Ghaffar ibn Dawud related to us: Ya‘qub ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman related to us, from Musa ibn ‘Uqba, from ‘Abd Allah ibn Dinar, from ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Umar, who said: Among the supplications of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was: “O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the loss of Your blessing, the change of the well-being You have granted, the suddenness of Your retribution, and all that incurs Your anger.”

Khallad ibn Yahya related to us: Sufyan related to us, from al-Miqdam ibn Shurayh ibn Hani, from his father, from ‘A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her, who said: When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw a cloud forming on one of the horizons of the sky, he would leave what he was doing, even if he was praying, and turn toward it. If Allah dispersed it, he would praise Allah; but if it rained, he would say: “O Allah, make it a beneficial downpour.”

Musaddad related to us: Yahya related to us, from Isma‘il, who said: Qays related to me, saying: I went to Khabbab, who had been cauterized seven times. He said, “Were it not that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, forbade us to pray for death, I would pray for it.”

Muhammad ibn Bashshar related to us: ‘Abd al-Malik ibn al-Sabbah related to us: Shu‘ba related to us, from Abu Ishaq, from Ibn Abi Musa, from his father, from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who used to supplicate with these words: “My Lord, forgive me for my sin, my ignorance, my excess in all my affairs, and what You know better than I do. O Allah, forgive me all my mistakes: those committed deliberately, through ignorance, or in jest—and all of that is in me. O Allah, forgive me for what I have done in the past and what I do later, what I have kept secret and what I have made public. You are the One who brings forward and the One who delays, and You have power over all things.”

Ibn al-Muthanna related to us: ‘Ubayd Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Majid related to us: Isra’il related to us: Abu Ishaq related to us, from Abu Bakr ibn Abi Musa and Abu Burda—I think the chain goes from him to Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari—from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who used to supplicate: “O Allah, forgive me for my sin, my ignorance, my excess in my affairs, and what You know better than I do. O Allah, forgive me for what I do in jest and in earnest, my mistakes and what I do deliberately; all of that is in me.”

Abu ‘Asim related to us, from Haywa, who said: ‘Uqba ibn Muslim related to us: He heard Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Hubuli, from al-Sunabihi, from Mu‘adh ibn Jabal, who said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took my hand and said, “Mu‘adh.” I replied, “At your service.” He said, “I love you.” I said, “By Allah, I love you too.” He said, “Shall I teach you some words to say at the end of every prayer?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “Say: ‘O Allah, help me to remember You, thank You, and worship You well.’”

Musaddad and Khalifa related to us: Bishr ibn al-Mufaddal related to us: al-Jurayri related to us, from Abu al-Ward, from Abu Muhammad al-Hadrami, from Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, who said: A man said in the presence of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, “Praise belongs to Allah—abundant, good, and blessed praise.” The Prophet said, “Who said those words?” The man was silent, thinking he had intruded upon something the Prophet disliked. The Prophet asked, “Who was it?” He said nothing but what was right. A man said, “I did; I hope for good through it.” The Prophet said, “By the One in whose hand my soul is, I saw thirteen angels hastening to see which of them would raise it to Allah, Mighty and Majestic.”

Abu al-Nu‘man related to us: Sa‘id ibn Zayd related to us: ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Suhayb related to us, saying: Anas related to me: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he wanted to enter the privy, would say: “O Allah, I seek refuge in You from male and female devils.”

‘A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, left the lavatory, he would say, “I ask Your forgiveness.”

Ibn ‘Abbas said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to teach us this supplication as he taught us a surah from the Qur’an: “I seek refuge in You from the punishment of Hell, and I seek refuge in You from the punishment of the grave; I seek refuge in You from the trial of the False Messiah; I seek refuge in You from the trials of life and death; and I seek refuge in You from the trial of the grave.”

Ibn ‘Abbas said: I spent the night at Maymuna’s house. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, got up and went to relieve himself, then washed his face and hands and slept. Then he got up, went to the water-skin, and loosened its tie. He then performed ablution—not excessively, but thoroughly—and prayed. I got up and stretched, not wanting him to see that I had been waiting for him. I performed ablution, and he stood to pray. I stood to his left, so he took me by the ear and moved me around to his right. His night prayer thus came to thirteen rak‘ahs. Then he lay down and slept until he snored; whenever he slept, he snored. Bilal called him for the prayer, and he prayed without performing ablution. Among his supplications was: “O Allah, place light in my heart, light in my hearing, light to my right and light to my left, light above me and light beneath me, light before me and light behind me, and make abundant light for me.”

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas said: When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, got up at night and prayed, completing his prayer, he praised Allah as He deserves to be praised. Then, among the last words he would say, was: “O Allah, grant me light in my heart, grant me light in my hearing, grant me light in my sight, grant me light to my right and light to my left, grant me light before me and light behind me, and increase me in light. Increase me in light. Increase me in light.”

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas said: When the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, got up to pray in the middle of the night, he would say: “O Allah, praise belongs to You. You are the Light of the heavens and the earth and all who are in them. Praise belongs to You. You are the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth. Praise belongs to You. You are the Lord of the heavens and the earth and all who are in them. You are the Truth; Your promise is true, meeting You is true, the Garden is true, the Fire is true, and the Hour is true. O Allah, to You I have submitted, in You I have believed, upon You I have relied, to You I have turned in repentance, by Your help I have contended, and to You I have brought my case for judgment. So forgive me what I have sent ahead and what I have left behind, what I have concealed and what I have made known. You are my God; there is no god but You.”

Ibn ‘Abbas said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to supplicate: “O Allah, I ask You for pardon and well-being in this world and the Hereafter. O Allah, I ask You for well-being in my religion and my family. Conceal my vulnerabilities and calm my fears. Guard me from before me, from behind me, from my right and my left, and from above me. I seek refuge in You from being struck down from beneath me.”

‘Ubayd ibn Rifa‘a al-Zuraqi reported from his father: On the day of Uhud, when the polytheists turned back, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Stand in orderly ranks so that I may praise my Almighty Lord.” They formed ranks behind him, and he said: “O Allah, all praise belongs to You. O Allah, none can withhold what You have bestowed, none can bring near what You have put far away, none can put far away what You have brought near, none can give what You have withheld, and none can withhold what You have given. O Allah, extend to us Your blessings, mercy, bounty, and provision. O Allah, I ask You for lasting bliss that neither changes nor passes away. O Allah, I ask You for bliss on the day of hardship and security on the day of war. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the evil of what You have given us and the evil of what You have withheld from us. O Allah, make faith beloved to us and adorn it in our hearts; make disbelief, wickedness, and disobedience hateful to us, and make us among the rightly guided. O Allah, cause us to die as Muslims, let us live as Muslims, and join us with the righteous, without disgrace or trial. O Allah, fight the unbelievers who bar people from Your way and deny Your messengers, and bring Your scourge and punishment upon them. O Allah, fight the unbelievers who were given the Scripture, O God of Truth.”

Ibn ‘Abbas said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to supplicate in times of distress: “There is no god but Allah, the Magnificent, the Forbearing. There is no god but Allah, Lord of the heavens and the earth and Lord of the Magnificent Throne.”

‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Bakra said that he said to his father: “Father, I hear you supplicating every morning: ‘O Allah, grant well-being to my body. O Allah, grant well-being to my hearing. O Allah, grant well-being to my sight. There is no god but You.’ You repeat this three times in the evening and three times in the morning. And you say: ‘O Allah, I seek refuge in You from disbelief and poverty. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of the grave. There is no god but You.’ You repeat this three times in the evening and three times in the morning.” He replied: “Yes, my son. I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say these words, and I like to follow his Sunnah.”

‘Abdullah ibn al-Harith said: I heard Ibn ‘Abbas say: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say in times of distress: “There is no god but Allah, the Magnificent, the Forbearing. There is no god but Allah, Lord of the Magnificent Throne. There is no god but Allah, Lord of the heavens, Lord of the earth, and Lord of the Noble Throne. O Allah, avert its evil.”

Jabir said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to teach us the prayer for seeking guidance (istikharah) in matters just as he taught us a surah of the Qur’an. He said: “When one of you intends to undertake a matter, let him pray two rak‘ahs and then say: ‘O Allah, I seek the best choice from You by Your knowledge, and I seek ability from You by Your power, and I ask You from Your immense bounty. You have power, and I have none; You know, and I do not know; You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if You know that this matter is good for me in my religion, my livelihood, and the outcome of my affair—or, he said, in its immediate and later course—then decree it for me. And if You know that this matter is bad for me in my religion, my livelihood, and its outcome—or, he said, its immediate and later course—then turn it away from me and turn me away from it. Decree good for me wherever it may be, then make me content with it.’ And he should name his need.”