Dua for anxiety, worry and distress

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) used to say at times of intense distress and grief: "There is no god but Allah." No deity is truly worthy of worship but Allah, "the Most Magnificent" in status, the One of great significance in His essence, attributes, and actions. "The Forbearing" Who does not hasten the sinner's punishment; rather, He delays it, and He might pardon him despite having the ability to punish him, as He is the One Able to do all things. "There is no god but Allah, the Lord of the Mighty Throne,"  the Creator of the Mighty Throne. "There is no god but Allah the Lord of the heavens and the earth" and their Creator and the Creator, Possessor, Manager, and Disposer of everything therein the way He wills. "The Lord of the Noble Throne,"  the Creator of the Mighty Throne.

Benefits

• The necessity of turning to Allah in supplication when calamities and hardships strike.
• It is recommended to recite this Dhikr (remembrance of Allah) at times of calamity.
• The Throne of the Most Compassionate, over which He, Glorified and Exalted, rose, is the highest, largest, and greatest of all creations. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) described it as mighty and noble.
• He specifically mentioned the heavens and the earth because they are among the greatest visible creations.
• At-Tībi said: He began this praise by mentioning "the Lord" to suit the removal of distress, as it reflects divine care. It includes "Tahlīl" (saying: there is no god but Allah), which encompasses monotheism and is the foundation of all exaltations of majesty, "greatness,"  which indicates complete power, and "forbearance,"  which indicates knowledge, as the ignorant one cannot be expected to be forbearing or generous, which are the origin of noble attributes.

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This Hadīth is one of the comprehensively precise statements of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) as he sought refuge with Allah from a number of evils and obstacles that interrupt the servant's advance along the path to Allah. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sought refuge from "incapacity and laziness" which are both hindrances to movement. Failing to perform an act may be caused by the person's lack of resolve or willingness to do the act; in other words, laziness. A lazy person is someone with the least resolve and desire to do something. However, in some cases the reason for not doing an act is that the person lacks the ability to do it, and this is what is meant by incapacity. "Cowardice and miserliness": these two characteristics prevent a person from performing his duties as well as doing righteous deeds. Cowardice weakens the heart, thus, the person does not enjoin what is good nor forbid what is evil because of the weakness of his heart and his attachment to people, apart from the Lord of the people. A coward person acts only according to people's desires and orders. He devotes his servitude to people rather than to Allah, the Almighty. Miserliness encourages people to withhold their wealth and refrain from spending it. So, a miserly person does not fulfill the right of Allah by paying the obligatory Zakah, nor does he give the people their rights that they have over him regarding his wealth. A miserly person is disliked by the people and by Allah. "Senility" means that a person reaches the most decrepit age, at which he starts to lose many of his senses and his body becomes weak. Therefore, he is unable to worship Allah the way he used to, and cannot bring benefit to his family. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sought refuge from the punishment of the grave, which is true, and because it is true, he legislated for us seeking refuge from the punishment of the grave in every prayer (before Taslīm). Finally, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sought refuge from the trials of life and death to include both worlds; the worldly life as well as the Hereafter. The trials of this life are its calamities and afflictions. The trials of the Hereafter include worrying about having a bad end of life and an evil destination, as well as the trial of being questioned by the two angels in the grave, and others. In another narration, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "... and from the burden of heavy debt and the tyranny of men": both of them are forms of defeat and subjugation. Heavy debt is a stressful situation to the indebted person wherein he finds himself helpless. It is thus a from of defeat for the man, but for a rightful reason. "The tyranny of men" means their oppression and overpowering, which is also a form of defeat but without a rightful reason.

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The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sought refuge from several things, which are:

First: (O Allah, I seek refuge), shelter, and protection (with You) not with anyone else (from the dominance of debt), its subjugation, grief, and distress, and I ask You for support to repay and settle it.

Second: (The dominance of the enemy), his subjugation and overpowering, and I ask You to ward off his harm and grant me victory over him.

Third: (And the gloat of the enemies) and their rejoicing at what befalls Muslims of misfortunes and calamities.

Benefits

• Encouraging the act of seeking refuge with Allah from everything that distracts one from obeying Him and causes concerns like debts and others.
• There is nothing wrong with debts in general; however, the case is different for those who tend not to repay debts, which is the dominant debt.
• Man has to avoid things that bring him gloat and criticism.
• Pointing out the disbelievers' hostility towards the believers and how they rejoice at their misfortunes.
• The enemies' expression of their delight at one's misfortune is harder for him than the misfortune itself.

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This Hadīth belongs to the category of "jawāmi‘ al-kalim": the most succinct statements of a few words that imply extensive and comprehensive meanings with great significance in implementation. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) sought refuge with Allah from four things. If a person is safe from these four, then he will be safe in this world and the next, and this, indeed, is the ultimate and obvious success. The four things he sought refuge from are:

"Jahd al-balā’": intense afflictions and the hardships that accompany them. If trials become severe a person may not be safe from getting angry, annoyed and irritated with what Allah decreed upon him, thus he may lose the reward of the life of this world as well as in the Hereafter.

"Dark ash-shaqā’": falling into utter misery. This is general, including primarily misery in the Hereafter since it is ultimate and eternal misery that will never be followed by happiness, or misery the life of this world wherein a person's state changes for the worse with time. One day may make him happy and another may make him miserable.

"Sou’ al-qadā’": the preordained evils; i.e. what Allah has decreed upon the servant that the servant perceives to be bad for him. It is general regarding all the affairs in the life of this world such as wealth, children, health, wife, etc., as well as the affairs of the Hereafter. It is important to note here that the preordained evil is considered to be evil from the person's viewpoint. In reality everything that Allah preordains and decrees is good and devoid of any evil whatsoever, as in the statement of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) addressing Allah, the Almighty: "Evil cannot be ascribed to you." Another interpretation suggests that "sou’ al-qadā’" can mean bad judgment, i.e. that the person seeks refuge with Allah from making a bad harmful judgment and ruling. "Shamātat al-a‘dā’": rejoicing and gloating of a person's enemies at his misfortune, a cause of immense grief. The enemies of the Muslim are, in fact, the non-believers who rejoice and celebrate when Muslims dispute with each other, fight each other and humiliate themselves in whatever manner. The inclusion of the enemies of Islam as the interpretation of this Hadīth is a takes precedence over a Muslim's personal enemies (over some worldly affairs), nevertheless this meaning can be included in a secondary way. It is necessary that the Muslim who makes this supplication intends the enemies of Islam primarily then his enemies from among the Muslims secondarily (and only in a just and rightful manner). We ask Allah to make peace among the Muslims.

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Whenever the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) wished to launch a military campaign or set out on one, he would say what means: O Allah, You are my helper and supporter. It is by You alone that I carry out my deeds, and it is by You alone that I pounce upon the enemies of religion, and it is by You alone that I fight them.

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