By Imam Murtadha Gusau
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all creation, and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family and all his Companions.
Dear brothers and sisters! Know that, when calamities, tribulations, trials and tragedies strike, turning to prayer and Du’a (supplication) anchors the Muslim believer’s heart. It is the ultimate expression of humility, transforming feelings of helplessness into spiritual empowerment by bringing us directly to the One (Allah) who controls all destinies.
Supplication (Du’a) is not just a mechanism for requesting relief; it is the essence of worship (Ibadah) and a shield against despair. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) emphasised that Du’a repels calamity and can alter destinies. And our great Islamic scholars, past and present, teach that when a Muslim believer faces adversity, calling out to Allah demonstrates beautiful patience and reliance.
When overwhelmed by grief, anxiety, sorrow, worry, or catastrophic events, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) taught specific supplications to calm the heart and bring clarity.
When stricken by tragedy, trouble, Muslim believers are taught to recite:
“Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un, Allahummah ajurni fi musibati wa akhlifli khairan minha (Verily to Allah we belong and to Him we return. Ya Allah, reward me for my affliction and replace it with something better).”
When afflicted by anxiety, sorrow, test and trial a highly recommended supplication is:
“Allahummah inni a’uzubika minal hammi wal huzni… (Ya Allah, I take refuge in You from anxiety and sorrow…).”
Respected brothers and sisters! Islam often remind us that this worldly life is a temporary place of trials. Allah tests individuals so that they turn back to Him and develop an unbreakable spiritual relationship with Allah!
No doubt, prayer and supplication (Du’a) serve as the Muslim believer’s greatest weapons, transforming feelings of despair into profound spiritual resilience during tragedies and hardships. Turning to Allah the Almighty in times of trouble reaffirms faith, heals the heart, and brings peace to the soul.
When life presents insurmountable challenges—illness, loss, insecurity, or sudden tragedy—we often feel helpless. Yet, Islam teaches that “impossible” is not a word in the vocabulary of a Muslim believer.
Imam Ibnul-Qayyim famously described supplication (Du’a) as one of the most beneficial remedies. It is the ultimate shield against calamity that repels distress, alleviates pain, and brings about relief.
Every time you raise your hands up, you shift your mindset from a state of helplessness to absolute empowerment, placing your trust in the One (Allah) who controls every situation.
Losing something or someone you love can completely change you, but it is also an opportunity to turn closer to Allah the Almighty.
When the husband of Umm Salamah, Abu Salamah passed away, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) taught her to recite the above mentioned supplication (Du’a).
Umm Salamah (RA) thought no one could be better than her husband (Abu Salamah), yet she patiently persevered and trusted Allah’s plan. Her immense patience was rewarded when she was later married to the best of Mankind, the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
Fellow brothers and sisters! Remember, every loss is a bridge to something greater when you rely on Allah the Almighty.
While we face countless worldly trials, Allah the Almighty does not burden any soul beyond its capacity. Beautiful patience combined with consistent prayer and Du’a, guarantees spiritual victory, either in this life or the Hereafter.
And do not forget, there are two types of Du’a: the one you make because someone asked, and the one you make in secret for another person without them knowing.
When you sincerely pray for someone’s ease, healing, success, victory or guidance, in your absence, the angels respond by saying “Ameen” and pray for the same blessings for you.
In a world heavily focused on transactions, hypocrisy, argument, a silent, heartfelt prayer is the highest form of compassion and solidarity.
And asking Allah for help is one of the best ways we can come closer to Him and express our vulnerability and need for Him.
Respected brothers and sisters! Let’s all pray:
Ya Allah! We ask of You integrity and soundness in our religion, our life, our family, and our possessions.
Ya Allah! Cover our shame, pacify our fears, guard us from what is in front of us and behind us, from what is on our right and on our left, over our head and under our feet.
Ya Allah! Grant health to our body. Ya Allah! Grant health to our hearing. Ya Allah! grant health to our sight. There is no deity except You.
Ya Allah! We seek refuge in You from unbelief and poverty, and from the punishment of the grave. There is no deity except You.
Ya Allah! You are our Lord. There is no deity except You. You are our Creator and we are your creature. We try to keep our covenant with You and to live in the hope of Your promise as well as we can. We seek refuge in You from our own evil deeds. We acknowledge your favours to us, and we acknowledge our sins. Forgive us our sins, for there is no one who can forgive sins except You.
Ya Allah! We seek refuge in You from worry and sorrow. We seek refuge in you from impotence and sloth, from stinginess and cowardice, we seek refuge in You from the burden of debt and from being humbled by men.
Ya Allah! Make the beginning of this day good, the middle prosperous, and the end successful. We ask You to grant us the good of this world and of the Hereafter. O Most Merciful of all Who show us mercy!
Ya Allah! We ask of You to make us pleased with what you decreed for us return to good life after death, and we earnestly seek the pleasure of looking at Your Glorious Countenance and the craving to meet You, without distress or affection or misguiding trial. We seek refuge in You from oppressing others or being oppressed, from doing wrong or suffering wrong, and from committing an error or a sin which You will not forgive.
Ya Allah! We seek refuge in You from the feebleness of old age.
Ya Allah! Guide us to the best of deeds and the best of morals, as none can guide to the best except You, and save us from bad deeds, as none can save us from what is bad except You.
Ya Allah! Strengthen our faith, expand our living space, and bless us in our livelihood.
Ya Allah! We seek refuge in You from negligence, degradation and destitution, we seek refuge in You from unbelief, wickedness, vanity and show, and we seek refuge in You from blindness, deafness and leprosy and bad, dangerous diseases.
Ya Allah! Give our soul piety and our conscience purity. You are the Master of our soul and the Guardian of our conscience.
Ya Allah! We seek refuge in You from a knowledge which does not benefit, from a heart which does not tremble, from an ego which not sated, and from a supplication which is not accepted.
Ya Allah! We seek refuge in You from the evil of what we did and from the evil of what we did not do, from the evil of what we know and from the evil of what we did not know.
Ya Allah! We seek refuge in You from a decline in Your favour, from a change in Your protection, from Your sudden punishment and all Your displeasure.
Ya Allah! We seek refuge in You from ruin and falling, from drowning and burning, and from senility: we seek refuge in You from Satan’s beguiling us at our death, and we seek refuge in You from being bitten by venomous creatures. We seek refuge in You from greed, bad manners, bad actions, bad desires and bad, dangerous diseases. We seek refuge in You from the burden of debt, from being humbled by people, and from the ridicule of enemies.
Ya Allah! Strength our religion which is our fortress, make this world a better place of sojourn for us, and grant us a good life in the Hereafter which will be our abode. Make our life increase in all goodness and our death a rest from all evil.
Ya Allah! Support us and help us, and do not let others overpower us, guide us and make the following of Your Commands easy for us.
Ya Allah! Make us grateful to You, mindful of You, full of fear toward You, devoted to obedience of You, humble before You, earnest in supplication, and penitent. Our Lord, accept our repentance, wash away our sins, answer our supplication, establish our veracity, guide our heart, make our tongue truthful, and remove all ill-feeling from our heart.
Ya Allah! We ask You for a resolute mind and firmness in following the guidance. We ask You to make us thankful for Your favour, to be of good service to You, and to grant us a sound heart and a truthful tongue. We ask You to grant us what you know to be good and to give us refuge from what is evil, and to forgive us.
Ya Allah! Inspire us with good conduct and save us from the evil of our selfishness.
Ya Allah! We ask You to guide us to the doing of good deeds and abstaining from bad deeds and love those who are humble, and to forgive us and show mercy to us. And if You wish a trial for Your servants, take us to You before falling into it.
Ya Allah! We ask You for Your love and the love of those who love You, and for the love of every action which will bring us closer to Your love.
Ya Allah! We ask You the best of the request for the best in our supplication, for the best success and the best reward. Strengthen us, make heavier our balance of good, confirm our faith, elevate our rank, accept our worship, and forgive our mistakes, and we ask of You the highest ranks in the Garden of Paradise. We ask You for good beginnings, good endings, the totality of goodness, from the first to the last, from within and from without, and we ask of You the highest ranks in the Garden (Jannah).
Ya Allah! We ask You to exalt our fame, lighten our burden, purify our heart, keep us chaste, forgive us our sins. And we ask of You a high rank in the Garden (Jannah).
Ya Allah! We seek refuge in You against difficulties, calamities, troubles, tragedy, oppression and the ridicule of enemies.
Ya Allah! O Controller of the hearts, keep our heart firm in your religion, keep it contented with Your worship.
Ya Allah! Grant us increase and not decrease, honour and not dishonour, give us Your favours and do not deprive us, prefer us, let not others be preferred to us.
Ya Allah! Grant us the best of outcomes in all our affairs, and save us from disgrace in this world and from punishment in the Hereafter.
Ya Allah! Grant us such fear of You as will come between us and acts of disobedience to You; such obedience to You as will bring us to Your Garden: and such certainty that the calamities of this world will made easy for us by You. Let us enjoy our hearing, our sight, and our faculties as long as You grant us life, and let it be, the last to be taken away from us. Avenge us from those who have wronged us and help us against our enemies. Let no calamity be fall our religion, let no worldly affairs be our greatest care or all about which we know, and let not those who have no fear of You and who do not show mercy towards us rule over us.
Ya Allah! We ask You to bestow Your mercy on us, to forgive us, to protect us from every sin, to give us a share of every good, and to grant us the attainment of the Garden and salvation from the fire.
Ya Allah! leave not for us a sin which You have not forgiven, nor a short- coming which You have not concealed, nor a worry which You have not removed, nor a debt which You have not paid, nor a need from among the needs of this world or the Hereafter, the fulfillment of which is beneficial for us and pleasing to You, which You have not fulfilled, O Most Merciful of all show us mercy!
Ya Allah! We ask for a mercy from You by which You will guide our heart, settle our affairs, remove our worries, protect us from what is unseen to us, make our face radiant, purify our deeds, inspire us with wisdom, avert calamities from us, and protect us from every evil.
Ya Allah! We ask You for success on the day of judgment, and a life of happiness, and the rank of the martyrs, the companionship of the Prophets, and victory over enemies.
Ya Allah! We ask You for correctness of belief; for a faith which leads to good conduct; for a success which results in eternal felicity, for mercy, health and forgiveness from You, and for Your pleasure.
Ya Allah! We ask You for health, for integrity, for good character, and that we may be pleased with our portion.
Ya Allah! We seek refuge in You from the evil of ourselves. And from the evil of every creature which You are grasping by its forelock. O our Lord, keep us on the straight path.
Ya Allah! You hear our words, You behold our situation, You know what is open and what is hidden within us, nothing is hidden from You. It is we alone who are in need, a humble seeker of Your forgiveness, we beseech You with humility in our heart, with trembling and fear, in prostration and utter helplessness.
Ya Allah! Grant us soundness of belief, goodness of character, forgiveness of our sins, and Your eternal pleasure in the Hereafter.
May Allah’s blessings be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and his family and Companions.
Dear servants of Allah! While we were parroting the same Du’as, with closed eyes tears were rolling on our cheeks in repentance and we got relief and pledged ourselves that we shall not commit sins in life and shall do anything in order to please Allah. However, let’s recorded those supplications in our mobile phone and then tried to put them in a better way, so that Allah grants peace and His mercy upon us. Ameen.
And all praise is for Allah, and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the Messenger, his family and his true followers.
Recite and written by Imam Murtadha Muhammad Gusau, the Chief Imam of: Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah Mosque; and Late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene Mosque, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com; or +2348038289761.