Hadith Concerning Relief
For Sadness, Worry, Trials and Grief
It was narrated by Ibn Sina on the authority of Abi Qutada (rd) that the Messenger of Allah, (sw)said: “whoever reads the verse of the Throne (ayat al-kursi) and the khawatam of Surat al-Baqara at the time of distress, Allah will help him.”
It was narrated by Imam Ahmad on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn Ja‘far (rd) that the Messenger of Allah (sw), encouraged the saying of this supplication at the time of distress: La illaha il Allah al-Haleem al-Kareem, Subhanallahi rabb al-‘Arsh al-‘Adheem wal Hamdulilahi Rabb al-‘Alameen (there is none worthy of worship except Allah, the Gentle and Generous. Glory is to Allah the Lord of the Great Throne, and all praises be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds.)
It was narrated by Imam Ahmad , Bukhari, and Muslim, on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas (rd), that the Prophet Of Allah(sw), encouraged the saying of this supplication at the time of distress: La illaha il Allah al-Haleem al-Kareem, La Illaha Il Allah Rabb al-‘Arsh al-‘Adheem, La Illaha il Allah Rabb al-Samawat al-Sabi‘ wa Rabb al-‘Arsh al-Kareem (there is none worthy of worship except Allah the Gentle and Generous. There is none worthy of worship except Allah the Lord of the Great Throne. There is none worthy of worship except Allah the Lord of the Seven Heavens and the Lord of the Generous Throne.)
It is narrated by al-Khatib on the authority of Anas (rd) that if the Prophet(sw) were concerned with a matter he would find the Prophet (sw)praying, wiping his head with his right hand, and saying: Bismillah al-ladhi la illaha ghayrahu al-rahman al-raheem, allahumma adhhab ‘anni al-hamm wal huzn. (In the name of Allah there is no god other than Him, the Merciful and Compassionate, O Allah take away worries and grief.)
It was narrated in Kitab al-Du‘a of Imam Tabarani on the authority of Ali ibn Abi Talib (rd), that the Messenger of Allah (sw) ordered him to say at times of distress and hardship: la illaha il Allah al-Haleem al-Kareem, Subhanahu wa ta‘ala, tabarak Allah rabb al-‘arsh al-‘adheem, wal Hamdulilahi rabb al-‘Alameen (there is none worthy of worship except Allah the Gentle and Generous, Glorious is he and Most High, Blessed be He the Lord of the Great Throne, and all praises be to the Lord of the Worlds.)
Imam Tabarani also narrated on the authority of Ali ibn Abi Talib (rd) that the Messenger of Allah (sw) taught him to say the following words at times of fear: la illaha il allah al-haleem al-kareem, Subhan Allah wa tabarak Allah rabb al-‘Arsh al-‘Adheem, wal Hamdulilahi Rabb al-‘Alameen.
It was also narrated by Imam Tabarani, on the authority of Asma bin ‘Amis (rd) that the Messenger of Allah (sw) gathered Bani ‘Abdul Mutallib and said to them, “When any of you experience any worry, depression, distress, sickness, pain or calamity then he should say Allah rabbi la ushrik bihi shay’in (Allah is my Lord I do not associate any partners with him) three times. It was said that these were the last words of Umar ibn ‘Abdul ‘Aziz (rd)before his death.
It was narrated by Imam Tabarani on the authority of Umar (rd) that the Messenger of Allah(sw) gathered Bani Hashim and told them that when any of them experienced depression or worry that they should say seven times, Allah Rabbi la Ushrik bihi Shay’in.
It is narrated by Ibn Abi Dunya on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas (rd), that the Prophet Of Allah(sw), encouraged the reading of this supplication at the time of distress: La Illaha il Allah al-Haleem al-Kareem. La illaha il Allah al-‘Alee al-‘Adheem. La Illaha il Allah Rabb al-Samawat al-Sab‘i wa Rabb al-‘Arsh al-‘Adheem. (There is none worthy of worship except Allah the Gentle, the Generous. There is none worthy of worship except Allah the Most High the Great. There is none worthy of worship except Allah the Lord of the Seven Heavens and the Lord of the Great Throne.)
It is narrated by al-Hakim on the authority of Sa‘d (rd)that the Prophet of Allah(sw), said “Shall I not inform you of something, that if a distress or calamity falls upon you will be relieved by Allah? The supplication of Dhun Nun – La Illaha illa Ant Subhanaka inne Kunta min al-Dhalimeen. (There is none worthy of worship except You, Glory to you if that I were from the transgressors.)
It is narrated by Abu Na‘im on the authority of Shadad that the Prophet of Allah(sw), encouraged the saying of Hasbi Allah wa Ni‘mal Wakeel (Allah is my protector and what a great guardian) at the times of distress.
It was narrated in Kitab al-Du‘a of al-Tabarani on the authority of Umar (rd) that the Messenger of Allah,(sw) said “I do not forbid any of you, if the affairs of his living become difficult, to say if he leaves his house, Bismillah ‘ala Nafsi wa Deeni wa Maali, Allahumma riddani bi qada’ik, wa barakli fi qadri, hatta la uhib u‘ajil ma akhirt, wa la tu’akhir ma ‘ajilt. (The name of Allah on my self, my religion, and my property. O Allah make me pleased with your divine decree, and bless my fate, until I do not love for you to make quick what you have destined to come to me slowly, and I do not love for you to make slow that which you have made come to me quickly).
It was narrated in Imam Dhahabi’s Tubb al-Nabawi on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas (rd)that if one has found himself increased in worries then he should increase in the reading of la hawla wa la quwattah illa billahil ‘alee al-‘adheem (there is no power nor strength except with Allah the Most High the Great.)
It was narrated in Imam Dhahabi’s Tubb al-Nabawi that when the Prophet(sw) was worried he would raise his head and say Subhanallah al-‘Adheem (Glory to Allah the Great).
It was narrated on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (rd) that the Messenger of Allah (sw)said, “No Muslim is touched by any worry, or sadness, and says: Allahumma inne ‘abduka, wa ibnu ‘abduk, wa ibnu amatik, nasiyati bi yaddik, madin fi hukmak, ‘adlun fi qada’uk, asaluka bi kulli ismun huwa laka, samayta bihi nafsik, aw anzalatu fi kitabik, aw ‘alamtahu ahadan min khalqik, aw istatharta bihi fil ‘ilm al-ghaybi ‘indak, an taj‘al al-qur’an al-‘adheem rabi‘a qalbi, wa nura sadri, wa jala’a huzni, wa dhahaba hammi. (O Allah, I am your bondservant, son of your bondsman, and son of your bondswoman. My forelock is in Your Hands; Your judgment is continuously being carried out upon me; Your sentence upon me is just. I ask You with every name that is Yours, with which You have named Yourself, brought down in Your book, taught to one of Your creation, or have preferred for Yourself in the hidden knowledge, with You: that You make the Qur’an the spring of my heart, and the light of my chest, and the dispelling of my sadness, and deportation of my concern) except that Allah dispels his worry and replaces his sadness with relief.
On the authority of al-Dahhak (rd): Kunta wa takoon, hayyun la yamoot, tanam al-‘ayun, wa tankadar al-nujoom, wa anta hayyun qayyum, la ta’khidhuka sinatun wa la nawm, ya hayyu ya qayyum. (You are and you will be, Living you do not die! Eyes sleep, and stars appear, and you are Living and Sustaining, Sleep nor Slumber overtake you, O Living, O Sustaining)
On the authority of Ubai bin Ka’ab (rd), who said; ‘I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I supplicate often, so how much of my supplication should I devote to you?’ He replied, ‘as you desire’. I said, ‘a quarter of it?’ He said ‘as you desire, but if you were to increase upon this, it would be better for you.’ I said, ‘half of it?’ He said, ‘as you desire, but if you were to increase upon this, it would be better for you.’ I said, ‘two-thirds of it?’ He said again, ‘as you desire, but if you were to increase upon this, it would be better for you.’ Finally I said, ‘and if I dedicate my supplication in its entirety to you?’ He said, ‘then your worries will be fulfilled, and your sins forgiven.’
It has been narrated from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (rd) that he said, “The Messenger of Allah(sw) visited a sick person and asked him, ‘What do you expect from Allah?’ The sick person said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I expect good.’ He(sw) then said, ‘Expect from Allah what you will, for indeed Allah Blessed and High [deals] with the believer as the believer expects Him to.’
On the authority of Ibn Mas‘ud (rd) that the Messenger of Allah (sw)said: ask Allah the Victorious and Majestic of his favors, for indeed Allah loves being asked, and the best of worship is waiting for relief from Allah Most High.
On the authority of Anas (rd) that the Messenger of Allah (sw)said: waiting for relief from Allah Most High is worship.
On the authority of Ali ibn Abi Talib (rd) that the Messenger of Allah (sw)said: the best of actions of my ummah is waiting for relief from Allah the Victorious and Majestic.
Also on the authority of Ali (rd) that the Messenger of Allah(sw) said to Ali “So know that victory is with patience, and relief is with distress and that with hardship comes ease.”
On the authority of Sahl ibn Sa‘d al-Sa‘di (rd)that the Messenger of Allah (sw)said to ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (rd), “Shall I not teach you words which you can find relief through?” He said “yes, O Messenger of Allah.” “Preserve Allah so that he can preserve you, preserve Allah and find him in front of you, you will know Allah through hope, and he will know you through hardships, so if you ask, as from Allah, and if you ask help, ask help from Allah, the pen has written what has happened and what will happen, so if all of created struggled to benefit you with something they would not benefit you if Allah had not written it for you, Victorious is He and Majestic, you cannot have power over Him, so if you can do for Allah with truthfulness and certainty, so do, and if you cannot then indeed patience over what you dislike is very good, and know that victory is with patience, and relief is with distress, and that with hardship comes relief.”
On the authority of Anas (rd)that the Messenger of Allah (sw) said: “indeed help is from Allah Victorious is He and Majestic, which is given to the slave by the strength of his ability, and indeed patience, is given by the strength of his hardships” and he added, “indeed relief is given by the strength of his hardships.”
On the authority of Musaylama ibn Mukhlad (rd) that he said, that the Messenger of Allah (sw)said: whoever covers (the faults) a Muslim, Allah covers (his faults for) him in this world and the next and whoever lifts distress upon a distressed person, Allah lifts upon him distress from the distress of the Day of Reckoning, and whoever is there at the need of his brother, Allah is there at his need.
On the authority of Abu Hurayra (rd), that the Messenger of Allah (sw) said: whoever covers (the faults of) his Muslim brother, Allah covers (the faults of) him on the Day of Reckoning, and whoever lifts from his Muslim brother a distress from the distress of the world, Allah lifts upon him a distress from the distresses of the Day of Reckoning, and indeed Allah is of the assistance of his slave, as much as he is in assistance of his brother.
On the authority of Ibn ‘Umar (rd), that the Messenger of Allah (sw)said, “Whoever is there at the need of his Muslim brother, Allah will be there at the time of his need, and whoever gives relief to the distress of a Muslim, Allah relieves with it distress from the distresses of the Day of Reckoning, and whoever covers (the faults of) a Muslim, Allah covers (his faults) on the Day of Reckoning.
On the authority of Ali (rd), that the Messenger of Allah (sw)said, “Whoever increases in asking forgiveness, Allah will make relief from him from every worry, a way out from every hardship, and provision from where he does not even imagine.”
On the authority of Abu Hurayra (rd), that the Messenger of Allah (sw)said, “Say la hawla wa la quwwatah illa billah (there is neither power nor strength except with Allah), it is the cure for ninety nine illnesses, and it makes worries easy.”
On the authority of Sufyan ibn Sa‘id al-Thuri (rd), that he said “O Messenger of Allah, tell me something.” So he said, “O Sufyan, when you find your provision much then increase in asking Allah for forgiveness (istighfar), and when a matter you dislike comes upon you, then increase from saying there is no power nor strength except with Allah (la hawla wa la quwwatah illa billah), and if Allah gives you blessings then increase with praising Allah (al-Hamdulilah).
On the authority of Ibn Umar (rd), that the Prophet(sw) said, “Three men from Bani Isra’il walked, when rain came down upon them they went to a cave, and so a rock blocked the cave, and so they said ‘so let us, each man from us, ask Allah from the best of our actions.’ So the first man said ‘O Allah I had a pretty cousin, and I desired her, and so I spent upon her one hundred dinars, and so when I sat with her in a meeting of man and woman, she said to me ‘fear Allah O cousin, do not consummate except with its right’, so I got off of her, and I left the one hundred dinars, O Allah you know that I did such an action fearing You, so reward me from You, so relieve us.’ So one third of the rock opened. The second man said, ‘O Allah you know that I had two mature and elder parents, who I used to visit in the mornings, evenings, and all times of day, and so I went to them one night, and I found them sleeping, and so I disliked waking them up, and I also disliked leaving them because I had to feed them, and so I stood there until they woke up and then I fed them, O Allah you know that I did such an action fearing You, so reward me from You, so relieve us.’ So the second third of the rock opened. The third man said: O Allah you know that I hired a worker, and so when I paid him his due, he said ‘I worked more than this!’ and so he did not take the pay, and he said, ‘between you and I there will be a day that the oppressed will take their due from the oppressors,’ and so he left, then I went and bought sheep for his due, and I raised them and fed them, and they increased and multiplied, and then after a period, he came to me and said to me ‘You still owe me my due, I did this and that in this and this time’ and so I said ‘take all of these sheep, they are for you’ and so he said ‘you ban me from my due and now you ridicule me?’ so then I replied ‘no take them, as they are yours!’ and so he took them and then started to make supplication for me. O Allah you know that I did such an action fearing You, so reward me from You, so relieve us.’ So the rock moved in totality. The men then left walking.”
On the authority of Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Sa‘d (rd) on his father t on his grandfather (rd) that the Messenger of Allah (sw) said “Shall I not inform you and tell you of something, when a distress or hardship from the world falls upon one of you men, and he supplicates with it, Allah will relieve him.” So they said, “yes” So the Prophet r said, “the supplication of Dhun Nun, there is none worthy of worship except You, Glory to You that I be from the transgressors! (la illaha illa ant subhanaka inne kunta min al-dhalimeen).
On the authority of Umar (rd), that he said, “I do not pay attention about my current situation, whether I like it, or whether I dislike it, this is because I do not know if the good is in what I like or if it is in what I do not like.”
On the authority of Abu ‘Abd al-Sammad al-‘Ami (rd), that he said “I heard Malik ibn Dinar (rh)say during his illness, and it was the last of the words that I heard him say, ‘How near are blessings to misfortune, they take turns, and in the end they both perish.’”
It was narrated that Ali ibn Abi Talib (rd) said, “patience is like a guarantee of success, and the one who relies on Allah is not disappointed.”
On the authority of Anas ibn Malik (rd), that the Messenger of Allah ((sw)used to look at a rock in front of his face, and say “If hardship came such that it would be underneath this rock, then ease would not come until it (hardship) would leave it (the rock). Thus, Allah revealed “Indeed with hardship comes ease, indeed with hardship comes ease.”
It was narrated upon Ali ibn Abi Talib (rd), that he said “the best actions of those who experience many problems are waiting for relief from Allah Victorious and Majestic, and patience upon divinely decreed trials.”
It was also narrated upon him, that he said, “the intelligent does not fear the first hardship, nor does he become happy from his first good event, for maybe the thing which makes you happy will go away, and maybe the thing that makes you sad will be made easy.”
It was narrated upon Hasan al-Basri, “Good is that which there is no evil in, it is thankfulness with relief, and patience with problems, how many are those who have a blessing and are not thankful? And how many are those who are faced with problems and are not patient?”
Qadi Abu Husayn narrated in his book Kitab al-Faraj Ba‘d al-Shidda, and said that he was told by many of the righteous that they said that on the authority of Abu Hurayra that the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “If I am in a hardship and I expect good times afterwords, it is more beloved to me than that I be in good times, and expect hardship afterwords.”
Ibn Mas‘ud t used to swear by Allah that no servant expects the best from Allah Most High except that He gives him the best.
Istighfar and Expecting the Best from Allah
It is also encouraged when one is facing a hard situation, worries, or anxiety to expect the best from Allah.
Ibn ‘Abbad al-Rundi narrates in his Sharh al-Hikam al-‘Ataiyyah:
Abu Talib al-Makki (rd) said, “Ibn Mas‘ud (rd) used to swear by Allah that no servant expects the best from Allah Most High except that He gives him the best. This because all good is in Allah’s control. When Allah gives the servant the state of expecting the best from Him, He has also given the servant what he is expecting. This is because the One Who let him expect the best is the One who wanted to make him realize his expectation.”…
It has been narrated from Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (rd) that he said, “The Messenger of Allah(sw)visited a sick person and asked him, ‘What do you expect from Allah?’ The sick person said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I expect good.’ He (sw) then said, ‘Expect from Allah what you will, for indeed Allah Blessed and High [deals] with the believer as the believer expects Him to.’
Different sources. If you want to find all of them then go through these books:
Kitab al-Du`a by Imam Tabarani
Jami` al-Jawami` by Imam Suyuti
al-Tibb al-Nabawi by Imam al-Dhahabi
Abwab al-Faraj by Shaykh al-`Alawi al-Maliki
Kitab al-Faraj by Qadi al-Tunkhi
Kitab al-Adhkar by Imam Nawawi
