Prophet’s prayers for refuge with Allaah and dhikr at times of tribulation and hardship

From: www.islamqa.com

Are there any du’aa’s that we can say at times of calamity and tribulation, such as war and the kaafirs’ attacks against Muslim countries?.

Praise be to Allaah.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allaah a great deal from trials and tribulations, as it says in the hadeeth of Zayd ibn Thaabit that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Seek refuge with Allaah from trials and tribulations, both visible and hidden.”
Narrated by Muslim, 2867.

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “My Lord came to me tonight in the most beautiful form…” and in this hadeeth he said that Allaah said, “O Muhammad, when you pray, then say: ‘Allaahumma inni as’aluka fi’l al-khayraat wa tark al-munkaraat, wa hubb al-masaakeen, wa an taghfira li wa tarhamani wa tatooba ‘alayya. Wa in aradta bi ‘ibaadika fitnatan, faqbidni ilayka ghayra maftoon (O Allaah, I ask You (to enable me) to do good deeds and avoid evil deeds, and to love the poor, and (I ask You) to forgive me, have mercy on me and accept my repentance. If You will that some trial should befall Your slaves, then take me to You [i.e., cause me to die] without having subjected to that trial).”

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3233; al-Albaani said of this hadeeth in Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb (408), it is saheeh li ghayrihi.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to seek refuge from trials and tribulations because when they come they do not befall the wrongdoers only, rather they befall everyone.

It is a good idea to acquaint ourselves with the ahaadeeth that mention dhikrs which have to do with trials and tribulations and disasters, so that we may call upon Allaah with these words and spread this knowledge and memorize whatever we can of them… and understand their meanings so that we can worship Allaah by means of them, because they are the greatest words that can be spoken in these circumstances.

1 – Abu Burdah ibn ‘Abd-Allaah narrated from his father that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was afraid of some people he would say, “Allaahumma inna naj’aluka fi nuhoorihim wa na’oodhu bika min shuroorihim (O Allaah, we place You before them and we seek refuge in You from their evil).”
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 1537; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 1360.

2 – It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to say at times of distress: “Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah al-‘Azeem al-Haleem, laa ilaaha ill-Allaah Rabb al-‘Arsh al-‘azeem, la ilaaha ill-Allaah Rabb ul-samawaati wa Rabb ul-ard wa Rabb ul-‘Arsh il-kareem (There is no god but Allaah, the All-Powerful, the Forbearing; there is no god but Allaah, Lord of the mighty Throne; there is no god but Allaah, Lord of heaven, Lord of earth, and Lord of the noble Throne).” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6345; Muslim, 2730.

3 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The words of relief are: Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah al-‘Azeem al-Haleem, laa ilaaha ill-Allaah Rabb al-‘Arsh al-‘azeem, la ilaaha ill-Allaah Rabb ul-samawaati wa Rabb ul-ard wa Rabb ul-‘Arsh il-kareem (There is no god but Allaah, the All-Powerful, the Forbearing; there is no god but Allaah, Lord of the mighty Throne; there is no god but Allaah, Lord of heaven, Lord of earth, and Lord of the noble Throne).”
Saheeh al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer wa Ziyaadatuhu, 4571.

4 – When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went on a military campaign he would say, ‘Allaahumma anta ‘adudi wa anta naseeri wa bika uqaatil (O Allaah, You are my help and You are my support and by Your help I fight).”
Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3584; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2836.

5 – The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Shall I not tell you of something that, if any worldly calamity or disaster befalls any man among you and he says these words, he will be relieved of it. (It is) the du’aa’ of Dhu’l-Noon: “Laa ilaaha illa anta subhaanaka inni kuntu min al-zaalimeen (none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allaah), Glorified (and Exalted) be You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]! Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers).” According to another report: “No Muslim man says this du’aa’ concerning anything but Allaah will answer his prayer.”
Saheeh al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer wa Ziyaadatuhu, 2065

6 – The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to teach his Sahaabah to say these words when they felt afraid: “A’oodhu bi kalimaat-illaah il-taammati min ghadabihi wa min sharri ‘ibaadihi wa min hamazaat al-shayaateeni wa an yahduroon (I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allaah from His wrath and from the evil of His slaves and from the evil promptings of the devils and from their presence).”
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 3893; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 3294.

7 – The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The du’aa’ of the person who is in distress is: ‘Allaahumma rahmataka arjoo fa laa takilni ilaa nafsi tarfat ‘ayn wa aslih li sha’ni kullahu laa ilaaha illa anta (O Allaah, for Your mercy I hope, so do not leave me in charge of my affairs even for the blink of an eye; rectify all my affairs. There is no god except You)’”
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 5090; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 4246.

8 – If some matter was troubling him, he would say, Yaa Hayyu yaa Qayyoom bi rahmatika astagheeth (O Ever-Living, O Sustainer, by Your mercy I seek Your help).” According to another report: “If some matter worried him or distressed him.” Saheeh al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer, 4791.

9 – The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: to Asma’ bint ‘Umays, “Shall I not teach you some words which you can say at times of distress and hardship? ‘Allaahu rabbee laa ushriku bihi shay’an (Allaah is my Lord, I do not associate anything with Him).’”
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 1525; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood, 1349.
According to a version narrated in al-Saheeh al-Jaami’, “Whoever is afflicted by worry, distress, sickness or hardship, and says, Allaahu rabbee laa shareeka lah (Allaah is my Lord, He has no partner or associate), will be relieved of that.”

And there are other ahaadeeth which will have a positive effect in times of tribulation and fear, bringing peace of mind and physical safety, and drawing one closer to Allaah… We should be content with that which has been narrated in saheeh reports from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), for that is sufficient and we have no need to reports that are not sound. This is better. And Allaah knows best.
See also question no. 12715.
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