Supplication 7: …حسبي الله

حَسْبِيَ اللهُ لَآ إِلٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَهُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ

Allah is sufficient for me . There is none worthy of worship but Him . I rely on Him alone, He is the Lord of the Majestic Throne

To be recited seven times

 

Brief Commentary

  • The Prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said that any Muslim who recites this supplication seven times in the morning and once more seven times in the evening then Allah shall provide Him what suffices all his worries [1]
  • This supplication is like supplication 6 in that we do not explicitly ask Allah for anything, but instead we remind ourselves of our relationship with Allah, and set ourselves in the correct frame of mind for the day
  • We commence this prayer by affirming that Allah is sufficient for us. We say it in the general form, therefore Allah will suffice us in absolutely everything that we desire, no matter how small or large it is, or whether it is related to this life or the hereafter
  • We follow that up with stating that there is none worthy of worship but Him, therefore clarifying why He is sufficient for us, as He possesses the attributes which make Him deserving of worship
  • As Allah is sufficient for us, the next part of the supplication is the manifestation of knowing this, which is that we rely on Him alone i.e. we have Tawakkul on Him
  • To further confirm why we rely on Him, we remind ourselves of His greatness, for He is the Lord of the Majestic throne. Its Majesty has been described in the commentary of Ayatul Kursi
  • This supplication revolves around Tawakkul on Allah, and is the only one from the supplications that is to be said seven times. Perhaps this is due to the importance of Tawakkul, and that it is not an easy matter so a person should say the supplication many times to ensure the meanings settle in his heart
  • When Allah wanted to mention the main qualities of believers in Surah Al-Anfal, He included the quality of their Tawakkul on Him [2]
  • Tawakkul brings many benefits. The Prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said, “If you have Tawakkul on Allah as you truly should, then He would provide for you like He provides for the birds. Do you not see that they leave in the early morning with an empty stomach, and return full in the afternoon?” [3]
  • There are 70,000 people who enter Jannah without any punishment or questioning [by Allah]. Their qualities are that they have true Tawakkul on Allah in everything they do [4]

 

Action Points

  • Make sure you remind yourself to live by this hadith every time you recite it i.e. you have true Tawakkul on Allah
  • Imam Ahmad said, “Tawakkul is an action of the heart” [5]. Therefore, don’t think that just by saying this supplication you have achieved Tawakkul, rather you should live by what it necessitates
  • Abu Sai’d Al-Khazzaz defined Tawakkul as “Constant movement without being stationary, and being stationary without movement” [5]. By this he means that you should be physically moving and using whatever means you possess achieve your goals, whilst at the same time, your heart is stationary in terms of its dependence on Allah i.e. your heart is so confident that Allah will provide for you, such that you never worry and are in a state of tranquillity no matter what the circumstances are
  • Though this may sound like a simple supplication, it in fact is a great supplication to save a person from distress. Ibn Abbas narrated that the supplicationحسبي الله ونعم الوكيل (a shorter version of this supplication) is what Ibrahim (alayhi assalam) said when he was thrown into the fire, so Allah saved him, and it is what our Prophet (SallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said when the disbelievers regrouped immediately after the battle of Uhud, so Allah saved the Muslims from them [6]

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  1. Hadith, reported by Abu Dawud, hadith number 5081
  2. Qur’an, Surah Al-Anfal [8:2-4]
  3. Hadith, reported by Tirmidhi, hadith number 2344, and Ibn Majah, hadith number 4164
  4. Hadith, reported in Sahih Bukhari, hadith number 6472, and Sahih Muslim, hadith number 220
  5. ‘Mukhtasar Minhaj Al-Qasideen’ by Ibn Qudamah Al-Maqdisi
  6. Hadith, reported in Sahih Bukhari, hadith number 4563
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