Supplications for Alleviating Worries
Quranic Supplications for Easing Worries
The Holy Quran provides guidance for dealing with worries and sorrows, featuring verses that reinforce this message, including the following:
- Allah, the Exalted, states: (So verily, with hardship, comes ease; indeed, with hardship, comes ease).
- Allah, the Exalted, mentions: (Allah will surely make ease after difficulty).
- Allah, the Exalted, reminds us: (Or did you think that you would enter Paradise while such [trial] has not come to you as came to those before you? They were touched by misery and hardship and were shaken until the Messenger and those who believed with him said, “When [will come] the aid of Allah?” Unquestionably, the aid of Allah is near).
- Allah, the Exalted, declares: (He it is Who causes you to travel upon land and sea; until when you are aboard the ships and they sail with them by a good wind and they rejoice therein came a stormy wind, and the waves came at them from everywhere, and they thought they were surrounded. They supplicated Allah sincerely, invoking Him for guidance. “If You should save us from this, we will surely be among the grateful” – but when He saved them, there was a treachery among them on earth, unjustly).
Sunnah Supplications for Alleviating Worries
Numerous supplications are reported in the Sunnah for alleviating worries. Here are a few notable examples:
- (O Allah, I seek refuge in You from worry and sadness, from incapacity and laziness, from cowardice and miserliness, from the burden of debts and the oppression of men).
- (O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the hardship of calamity, from the grasp of misery, from bad judgment, and from the gloating of enemies).
- (There is no deity but Allah, the Most Great, the Most Forbearing. There is no deity but Allah, Lord of the heavens and the earth, and Lord of the mighty throne).
- (O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the withdrawal of Your blessings, from the changing of Your health, from the suddenness of Your punishment, and from all Your displeasure).
- (O Allah, provide for me through what is lawful, so that I may avoid what is forbidden, and enrich me with Your grace from all besides You).
- (O Allah, Lord of the seven heavens, Lord of the mighty throne, our Lord and the Lord of all things. You are the Most High, and nothing is above You. You are the Most Near, and nothing is below You. You revealed the Torah, the Gospel, and the Criterion. Split the grain and the seeds. I seek refuge in You from the evil of everything that You have taken by the forelock. You are the First and there is nothing before You. You are the Last and there is nothing after You. Relieve us from our debts and spare us from poverty).
- (O Allah, I seek refuge in You from destruction, from falling, from drowning, from burning, from old age, and I seek refuge in You from being overtaken by Satan at death, and I seek refuge in You from dying as a coward, and from dying afflicted).
The Virtue of Alleviating the Worries and Distresses of Muslims
Several Hadiths emphasize the merits of relieving the worries and distresses of fellow Muslims:
- Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: (A Muslim is the brother of another Muslim; he does not wrong him or forsake him. Whoever helps his brother, Allah will assist him. Whoever alleviates the distress of a Muslim, Allah will remove a distress of his on the Day of Resurrection. And whoever covers [the faults of] a Muslim, Allah will cover him on the Day of Resurrection).
- Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: (Whoever alleviates the distress of a believer in this world, Allah will relieve him from a distress on the Day of Resurrection. And whoever makes it easy for someone in difficulty, Allah will make it easy for him in this world and the Hereafter. And whoever covers a Muslim’s faults, Allah will cover him in this world and the Hereafter, and Allah will assist His servant as long as His servant is in assistance to his brother).
- Abdullah ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) stated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: (The most beloved of people to Allah are those who are most beneficial to others, and the most beloved of deeds to Allah, the Exalted, is bringing happiness to a Muslim, relieving him of his distress, paying his debt, or removing his hunger. To walk with my brother to fulfill a need is more beloved to me than to perform I’tikaf in this mosque for a month. Whoever suppresses his anger, Allah will cover his faults. And whoever hides his anger, even if he wishes to act upon it, Allah will fill his heart with hope on the Day of Resurrection. And whoever walks with his brother to fulfill a need until it is provided, Allah will firmly establish his feet on the Day when feet will slip).