Explanation of the Duaa for anxiety and sorrow - Hadeeth #2

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد

Narrated Ibn `Abbaas رضي الله عنهما: The Prophet ﷺ used to invoke Allaah at the time of distress, saying:

لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ الْعَظِيمُ الْحَلِيمُ، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ، لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ رَبُّ السَّمَوَاتِ وَرَبُّ الْأَرْضِ، وَرَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْكَرِيمِ

Laa ilaaha illal-laahu al-`Adheem, al-Haleem, Laa ilaaha illal-laahu Rabbu al-`arsh al-`Adheem, Laa ilaaha illal-laahu Rabbu-s-samaawaati wa Rabbul-ardi wa Rabbu-l-arsh il-kareem.

❝None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah, the Majestic, the Most-Forbearing. None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah, Lord of the Magnificent Throne. None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah, Lord of the Heavens, Lord of the Earth and Lord of the Noble Throne.❞

📚 [Saheeh al-Bukhaaree (6345, 6346, 7426, 7431) and Saheeh Muslim (4915)]

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📑 Terminologies:

Laa ilaaha illallaah: meaning: There is no one worthy of being worshiped but Allaah; i.e. only Allaah deserves worship.

Al-`Adheem (The Majestic): This is one of the Beautiful Names of Allaah عز وجل which points to His Magnificent Self and Lofty Attribute. It also points to His action of enlarging the rewards of His slaves, as He تعالى said:

ذَٰلِكَ أَمْرُ اللَّـهِ أَنزَلَهُ إِلَيْكُمْ ۚ وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّـهَ يُكَفِّرْ عَنْهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِ وَيُعْظِمْ لَهُ أَجْرًا

{That is the command of Allaah, which He has sent down to you; and whoever fears Allaah - He will remove for him his misdeeds and make great for him his reward}

📚 [Surah al-Talaaq (65): 5]

There is nothing greater than Him; to Him belongs all Greatness and Majesty. As He تعالى said:

وَلَهُ الْكِبْرِيَاءُ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

{And to Him belongs [all] Grandeur within the heavens and the earth, and He is the Exalted in Might, the Wise}

📚 [Surah al-Jaathiyah (45): 37]

Meaning: the inhabitants of the Heavens and Earth declare His Greatness.

Al-Haleem (The Most-Forbearing): This is from the Names of Allaah عز وجل which also points to His actions of being forbearing and patient. The One who is capable of punishing His slaves for their sins yet He delays it and gives them respite and opportunities to repent. Even though the sins of His slaves are many, yet He تعالى does not hasten to punish them, rather, He تعالى still provides for them out of His Bounty.

Al-Kareem (The Most-Generous): This is the Name of Allaah تعالى which points to His Self, as well as to His action of being Generous and Compassionate. He تعالى provides for His slaves without measure, and His blessing upon His slaves is numerous and limitless. From His generosity is that He تعالى feels ashamed to turn away empty the hands of His servant when he raises them to Him in Du`aa.

📚 [Sunan Abu Dawood (1488), and graded as “Saheeh” by Shaikh al-Albaanee]

Al-`Arsh (The Throne): The `Arsh (Throne) is the greatest of all things that Allaah has created, over which our Lord rose in a manner that befits His Majesty. It has pillars and is carried by bearers who are Angels of immense size.

Imaam Ibn Katheer رحمه الله commented on the saying of Allaah تعالى:

وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ

{and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne}

📚 [Surah al-Tawbah (9):129]

Meaning: He is the Sovereign and Creator of all things because He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne which is the roof of creation. All created things, the heavens and the earth and all that is in them and in between them are beneath the Throne of Allaah and are subject to His power. His knowledge encompasses all things and His power controls all things, and He is Watcher over all things. 

📚 [Tafseer Ibn Katheer – Surah Tawbah]

The Throne has bearers who carry it:

Allaah تعالى says:

لَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَّحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ

{Those (Angels) who bear the Throne (of Allaah) and those around it glorify the praises of their Lord, and believe in Him, and ask forgiveness for those who believe (in the Oneness of Allaah) (saying): ‘Our Lord! You comprehend all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who repent and follow Your way, and save them from the torment of the blazing Fire!’}

📚 [Ghaafir 40:7]

The bearers of the Throne are of immense size:

It was narrated from Jaabir Ibn `Abdullaah that the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said: ❝I have been granted permission to speak about one of the Angels of Allaah, one of the bearers of the Throne. The space between his earlobes and his shoulders is the distance of seven hundred years’ traveling.❞

📚 [Narrated by Abu Dawood (4727) and graded as “Saheeh” by Shaikh al-Albaanee]

The greatness of the Throne:

The greatness of al-`Arsh is clearly stated in the Hadeeth in which the Prophet ﷺ said: ❝The seven heavens and the seven earths by the side of al-Kursee are nothing but like a ring thrown down in a desert land, and such is al-Kursee in comparison to al-`Arsh (the Throne).❞

📚 [Reported by Ibn Abee Shaybah (al-`Arsh (58)), and al-Baihaqee (al-Asmaa’ was-Sifaat (862)) with both narrations being from the way of Abee Dhar. Shaikh al-Albaani graded it as “Saheeh due to corroborating chains” (al-Saheehah (109))]

Meaning: The seven heavens and the seven earth combined together in comparison to al-Kursee is but like a ring thrown in a desert. Similarly, al-Kursee in comparison to al-`Arsh is like a ring thrown in a desert.

Ibn `Abbaas رضي الله عنهما said: “Al-Kursee is the footstool, and no one is able to give due consideration to (Allaah’s) Throne.”

📚 [It was authenticated by Shaikh al-Albaanee in “Sharh al-Tahaawee” (279) and also in “al-Mukhtasar al-`Uloo” (45) as “Mawqoof” (i.e. with the chain ending with the Companion).

What it means is that al-Kursee, with its vastness which extends over the heavens and the earth, is only the footstool of Allaah سبحانه وتعالى. So how can we imagine His `Arsh (Throne)?

Imaam Maalik رحمه الله said about Allaah’s Istawaa’ (Allaah’s rising over the Throne):

1) Istawaa' is something well known.

2) The actual way Allaah ascends is not known to us.

3) Belief in it is obligatory.

4) Seeking after its specific details is Bid`ah.

📚 [Hilyatul Awliyaa' (6/325-326)]

Note: Anyone who interprets al-Kursee or al-`Arsh to mean as “Allaah’s dominion” or “Allaah’s Kingdom” is wrong; both al-Kursee and al-`Arsh are two of Allaah’s creation.

📑 Explanation:

This is a tremendous Hadeeth, having great significance; one should make it a habit of seeking Allaah’s help and support through it during adversity, and should frequently say it during distress, hardship, and during great calamities.

The Prophet ﷺ used to say this frequently when a calamity descended, or when the affairs became difficult, or when something would upset him. Imaam Ahmad in his Musnad (2411) reported the Hadeeth that Ibn `Abbaas رضي الله عنه said: “If anything upset the Messenger of Allaah ﷺ, he ﷺ would say: (and he mentioned the above remembrance). Then he ﷺ would make Du`aa.”

It has been named as “Du`aa for anxiety and distress”, because it is a remembrance which one says at the beginning, before making the Du`aa, then he supplicates for his needs. And it is in itself also a Du`aa, because it is in one way describing the desperate state of the one making the Du`aa.

Du`aa can be direct where a person is clearly asking Allaah for something, and sometimes a Du`aa can be indirect, i.e. where a person is admitting to Allaah about his own desperate condition: his own weakness, his own inability to do a thing without Allaah’s help, admitting to his wrong-doings, admitting that he has oppressed himself or others, etc. The example of this is the Du`aa made by Yunus عليه السلام:

لَّا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

{None has the right to be worshiped but You (O Allaah)], Glorified (and Exalted) are You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]. Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers}

📚 [Surah al-Anbiyaa (21): 87]

📚 [See Sharh Saheeh Muslim of Imaam al-Nawawee (17/47-48)]

In this blessed Du`aa, there words which affirms one’s Imaan in Allaah; words which affirm Allaah’s Tawheed; words which declare Allaah’s greatness over all the creation and over all that exists in the heavens and the earth and that is between them; words which declares one’s sincerity towards Allaah عز وجل by singling Him out in His Uloohiyah (Worship), Ruboobiyah (Lordship), and al-Asmaa’ wal-Sifaat (Names and Attributes).

In this Hadeeth, there is clear evidence that the greatest treatment during adversity/calamity/distress/sorrow is Imaan, Tawheed, and sincerity for Allaah عز وجل. Oft-repeating these great words removes the adversity, distress, sorrow etc. There is nothing like Tawheed in removing the hardships in this world and the horrors of the Hereafter. When a Muslim says these words, contemplating on its meaning, and pondering over the evidence that it leads to, soon he will find calmness in his heart and tranquility in his self, and the adversity and hardship are removed from him.

📚 [See Fiqh al-Ad`iyaa’ wal-Adhkaar of Shaikh `Abdul Razaaq al-Badr (3/181-182)]

Adversity, sorrow, distress do not stand a chance when the words of Tawheed and the Greatness of Allaah تبارك وتعالى are chanted. The conjugation between the Names of Allaah: “al-`Adheem and al-Haleem” point to the perfection of each other. The conjugation is the evidence of the perfection of Allaah’s Greatness with His Kindness in opposition to the creation. For a person can be great (in status) but will not necessarily be kind (i.e. his pride will prevent him from being kind to others), or he would be kind but will be of low status. Allaah’s Greatness does not prevent Him from being Compassionate towards His creation; nor does His Kindness mean that He has some weakness or deficiency, rather, His Kindness only points to His perfection, free of any deficiencies.

One makes the remembrance of Allaah with His Name, “al-`Adheem” because there is nothing in the heavens and the earth Mighty than Him, which also assures the person that there is nothing impossible for Allaah, and that Allaah is capable of removing all the calamities, adversities, distress etc.

It is like saying: “O Allaah! You are the Most-Great, nothing is greater than You and nothing is impossible for You. O Allaah! You are the Most-Forbearing! So do not hasten to punish me even though my sins are many. O Allaah! You are the Lord of the Heavens and the earth (i.e. You are the Lord of everything), and You are the Lord of the greatest of creation – the Mighty Throne. I ask You, O Allaah, that you relieve me of the adversity, anxiety, distress, sorrow that has affected me.”

And in this Du`aa, one makes the remembrance of Allaah with His Name, “al-Haleem”, because calamities mostly descend upon the Believers because of their sins, or because of their shortcomings in fulfilling the rights of their Lord, or because of being negligent. As Allaah تعالى said:

وَمَا أَصَابَكُم مِّن مُّصِيبَةٍ فَبِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَيَعْفُو عَن كَثِيرٍ

{And whatever disaster strikes you, it is because of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much.}

📚 [Surah al-Shooraa (42): 30]

The Throne has been repeated because it is the greatest of Allaah’s creations, which again points to the Greatness of its Creator عز وجل, which in turn points to the fact that there is nothing that can prevent Allaah from removing the calamity that has befallen.

“Al-Haleem”: meaning: the One who does not hasten to punish His slaves, even though He is capable of doing it. “Al-`Adheem”: meaning: there is nothing which can prevent Him from doing what He intends. “Al-Kareem”: meaning: the One who bestows His blessings upon His creation without measure.