The Du’a Taught to Only 1 Prophet

The Value of Du'a — The Familiar and the Forgotten

And those that follow in his blessed path until the day of judgment, and we ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahumma ameen.

Dear brothers and sisters, so often when we talk about the concept of du'a, and we talk about a du'a, a prayer, I can't tell you how many times someone walks up and says, can you give me the du'a for this situation? We're often looking for the perfect formula, the perfect du'a, the perfect supplication to fit our situation.

And sometimes we look for the longer du'as, the ones that have such poetry to them, because they're able to encapsulate what we are feeling in such a poetic way. And we know that it comes from our Prophet ﷺ, so we attach ourselves to it. So we love these long poetic du'as, and I want to write it down, and make sure that you send it to me, and make sure that you give me this, and make sure that you give me that.

And there are two things that are missed in the process. One of them is the value of raw du'a, the value of du'a in your own language, supplication in your own language, where you express those feelings, where Allah does not need you to rhyme, or to sound poetic, or to sound beautiful, or even to speak Arabic when you make your du'a. Allah loves to hear your voice, and hear its sincerity, and that is the most important ingredient.

However, no doubt, there's blessings in the du'as from the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. The second part of that — the things that we say so regularly, that we lose value for those things, and we don't realize that they are in fact expressions of du'a.

As-Salamu Alaykum — A Contract, Not Just a Greeting

For example, as-salamu alaykum is a du'a. Peace be unto you, wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh — may the peace and mercy of Allah be upon you. It's a du'a. And so it doesn't really make sense when someone says salaam to you, but they intend everything that is in opposition to that peace. So you say salaam in anger, and you go on harming, and backbiting, and hurting the person that you say salaam to. No, salaam is a contract.

It's a prayer and a contract between two brothers and two sisters that there is peace, that you're not going to be harmed from my end, and that I will pray for your peace, and for your mercy, and for blessings in your life. It's a contract that we may betray sometimes, when we act in opposition to it.

Alhamdulillah — A Du'a That Must Not Be Betrayed

The other one, the most common one, is alhamdulillah. To say alhamdulillah, and to say it in a way that betrays the alhamdulillah. "How are you?" — "You know, alhamdulillah." Alhamdulillah is an expression of thanks to Allah. It's a du'a, it's a prayer — alhamdulillah. All praises and thanks are due to Allah.

But someone says alhamdulillah in a way that's complaining, even in the way that they say it. Or they say alhamdulillah, and then they attach on to it three sentences of complaint. What's the point of your alhamdulillah if you're going to betray it in the way that you say it, and immediately with what you say after it? Alhamdulillah is a du'a. It's a prayer. It's an invocation. It's a powerful one.

How are you? How are things going? How are you feeling? How are you coping? Alhamdulillah. No matter what, the hamd belongs to Allah. The praise and thanks and grace belongs to Allah.

The Hadith of the Believer's Affair

Now, what we come to today builds on what we've been speaking about over the last few weeks, but I want to preface it with the following. The hadith of the Prophet ﷺ that we all know:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2999)

How wonderful is the affair of the believer — everything in his regard is good. If he is touched by something that is good, he is grateful and that is better for him. We all know how to express gratitude — we say alhamdulillah, and that is better for him. And if he is harmed by something that is painful, by something that causes him grief, then he is patient and that is better for him.

It's in how we express patience where we actually find most of the du'as. Let me be clear here. The amount of times that I've been asked for du'as for patience versus du'as of thanks is highly disproportionate. Because the reality is we usually look for words when we're in pain. When it comes to gratitude — yeah, alhamdulillah. But when it comes to pain and du'a: how do I get this debt away from me? How do I get this pain away? How do I make this situation better? That's when people start looking for the long du'as. And that's where we find these blessings from the Sunnah.

A Du'a Given to No Prophet Before

The du'a that I'm going to talk about today has never been given to a prophet before. And I want to say first and foremost what that means. When the Prophet ﷺ was on the night of al-Isra' wal-Mi'raj, on the night of the ascent, he was told:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 806)

Receive the glad tidings of two lights that have been given to you that were never given to a prophet before you — the opening of the book, al-Fatiha, and the last two verses of al-Baqarah are two gifts that were given to you that were not given to any prophet that came before you.

Now when you read Quran, when you get into salah, how often do you lose appreciation for al-Fatiha? Because you say it all the time. You get right past it, and now let me think about the surah that I'm going to read. But al-Fatiha is a gift from Allah. There is a reason why, and it's for your own good, that you recite it every single rak'ah in your prayer, and your prayer is invalid without it. It is greater than what will come after it. So read it over and over and over again, and ponder over it, learn its meanings, and immerse yourself in al-Fatiha because it's profound, it's beautiful.

And there is a reason why those last two verses of Surah al-Baqarah are two verses that the Prophet ﷺ taught us we should never leave before we sleep. Every night when we go to sleep, we should read those last two verses of Surah al-Baqarah every single night. Don't miss them. Just like you don't miss Ayat al-Kursi, don't miss those last two verses of Surah al-Baqarah.

So it indicates that Allah has given something special to the Prophet ﷺ and by extension, us. It's a gift that Allah gives to this ummah — that He favors us with — that allows us to gain greater blessing from Him.

The Words Not Given to Any Ummah Before

Sa'id ibn Jubayr rahimahullah said:

He said: the words that I'm about to share with you were not given to any ummah before you. They are a gift from Allah, not given to any ummah before you. And if they were given to anyone before you, it would have been given to Ya'qub (peace be upon him) — Jacob — when he lost his son Yusuf (peace be upon him) — Joseph. And what does he say in the Quran? "Oh, my grief over Yusuf." Ya asafa ala Yusuf.

So Sa'id ibn Jubayr was saying — if Allah was going to gift these words to anyone before you, surely it would have been Ya'qub (peace be upon him). But the expression — you know, if I was to say, ready, write it down, it's going to be many lines, you have to memorize this — adhkar al-sabah wal-masa', the morning and evening remembrance. No. You know what the words are?

This entire build-up for إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ. You know the thing that you write when you hear someone died — you text it, you say it sort of as a matter of habit. Verily to Allah we belong and to Allah we return.

The Quranic Context of Inna Lillahi

It's only mentioned once in the Quran. And that is where Allah says:

And give glad tidings to the patient — those who, when they are struck by any tragedy, respond with what is known as istirja' — the homecoming du'a: To Allah we belong and to Allah we return. As a result of that — when they say that, when they're struck with something harmful, when they respond with إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ — Allah descends His prayers, His forgiveness, His mercy upon those people, and they will remain amongst those who are guided.

What do you hope to not lose in tragedy? Perspective. You hope to not lose your way. That the tragedy stops you in your return to Allah. Stops you in your tawbah. Stops you in your consistency with worship. Stops you in your happiness. Stops you in your journey. So Allah says: when you say إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ, He descends upon you His prayers, His forgiveness, His mercy, and He keeps you upon guidance. Continue along your way.

The Du'a in Practice — Umm Salama and the Prophet ﷺ

So let's talk about this du'a — إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ — that we often just throw out there because we know we're supposed to respond that way to tragedy. Specifically death. You don't really hear إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ being used outside of the context of death.

But what makes this such a gift that Allah chose it for this ummah and did not give it to anyone before the Prophet ﷺ? And that's why you don't find it. You find hamd many times — the praise of Allah many times in the words of the Prophets — but you don't find istirja'.

First and foremost, I want you to pay attention to the times that you probably just saw it as the beginning of a du'a. The story of Umm Salama radiyallahu anha. When her husband Abu Salama radiyallahu anhu died, Umm Salama thought: I have nothing. At this point, Abu Salama was an incredible human being and indeed he was a great sahabi. I've got nothing to look forward to in life anymore. And the Prophet ﷺ taught her to say the du'a:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 918)

Verily to Allah we belong and to Allah we return. O Allah, compensate me for my tragedy and give me better than that which was taken away from me. The du'a starts off with إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ. That is the beginning of it.

The du'a of the Prophet ﷺ when his son Ibrahim died — we all know the du'a:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1303)

The eyes shed tears, the heart breaks, and we only say that which is pleasing to Allah. But in every single narration, the Prophet ﷺ started off with إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ.

The way I want you to think about it — it's like the Basmala is to the surah of the Quran. بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ — sometimes you say it so quickly and you forget that it's actually there for a reason. إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ is in every one of these narrations.

And the Prophet ﷺ said: whoever is struck by something and they respond with إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ — verily to Allah we belong and verily to Allah we return — Allah will surely compensate them for their grief, and Allah will give them better than that which was taken away from them.

The House of Praise in Paradise

The hadith of the Prophet ﷺ where he said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1021)

When a person loses their child, Allah says to the angels: "Did you take the child of My servant?" And they say: "Yes." Allah says — and this is Allah showing you He knows how you feel — "Did you take the apple of his eye? The most beloved thing in the world to him?" "Yes." Allah says: "And what did My servant say?" And Allah knows what His servant said. And they say: "He praised You and he made istirja' — الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ، إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ." And Allah says: "Build for My servant a house in Paradise and call it the House of Praise."

إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ is not just the first sentence. It's the core of it. It's the most profound thing you can say when a tragedy hits you. And it's something that we could take for granted.

The Story of Fudayl ibn Iyad — Do You Know What You Just Said?

SubhanAllah, there's even a narration. Fudayl ibn Iyad rahimahullah — one time he saw a man and he said to him: "How many years have passed?" — meaning, how old are you? He said: "Sixty years."

He said: "Do you realize that you're at an age now where you're getting close to Allah? Wake up, be certain now. Take advantage of every moment because Allah has given you sixty years to know Him and to direct yourself towards Him. That's a gift."

And the man responded: إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ. And Fudayl said: "Do you know what you just said?" He said: "Yeah." He said: "Do you know what it means?" He said: "No. I just said it because I was taught that way — we were taught that when disaster hits, say إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ."

He said: "It means exactly what I'm telling you. إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ — you're on your way back to Allah. You're on your way back to Allah. You're getting older, so fix yourself. Correct your ways now, because you are traveling towards Allah."

The Meaning of This Powerful Du'a

So what is the meaning of this word, of this powerful du'a? It is two things combined in one: number one, a statement of fact; number two, a supplication of hope.

Inna Lillah — A Statement of Fact

إِنَّا لِلَّهِ — we belong to Allah. That's a statement of fact. It's acknowledging and affirming what is reality whether you acknowledge it or affirm it or not. If you deny it, it doesn't make it any less true. إِنَّا لِلَّهِ — we belong to Allah.

Say: O Allah, the one who controls everything, who has dominion over all things. You give to whom You will, You withhold from whom You will. You honor whom You will, You disgrace whom You will. بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ — we affirm that goodness is all in Your hand. إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ — and You have power over all things. It's a statement of fact. You take the dead from the living and the living from the dead. Statement of fact.

And then — O Allah, I know that You own me. I know that I am in Your hands. I know that I have no power over myself. So it's a statement of fact and a statement of hope. Ya Allah, I wouldn't want to be anyone else's. I wouldn't want to belong to anyone else. I wouldn't want anyone else to control my affairs. I wouldn't want anyone else to be my master. It's just You, O Allah. And I'm happy with that. So it's an affirmation of fact, a statement of hope.

Wa Inna Ilayhi Raji'un — A Supplication of Hope

وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ — to You we return. You're returning to Allah whether you like it or not, whether you acknowledge it or not. But إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ is a statement of hope. Ya Allah, You will not let me down when I meet You, so long as I did what I was commanded. Ya Allah, do not let me be amongst the disappointed. Ya Allah, do not let me be amongst the deprived. Ya Allah, let the pain that I feel now, that I responded to with praise, be granted paradise on the day of judgment. All of these are embedded in إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ.

I'm coming back to You, O Allah. This just reminded me that I'm on my way back to You as well. You took something away from me in this world to remind me that this entire world is eventually going to be taken away from me. One layer of the veil between You and I has been pulled back — until the entire veil, which is life as a whole, is pulled back.

With death, one curtain has been pulled back. The entire thing is eventually going to be pulled and I'm going to be standing in front of You, O Allah. And I have hope in that moment, O Allah. I have hope in that moment that I stand before You. So it's an affirmation of fact and a supplication of hope.

Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal — Inna Lillah in the Seerah

The last thing that I want to say, dear brothers and sisters, is a story from the Prophet ﷺ in the seerah, where sometimes the way that the sahaba used to use these words is completely different from the way that we use these words.

One of the most powerful usages of these words is in the story of the slander of Aisha radiyallahu anha — and it wasn't her that used the word.

How did the entire slander of Aisha radiyallahu anha happen? They were on their way back from Bani Mustalaq. Aisha radiyallahu anha went to take a nap under a tree. She overslept. The caravan left thinking that she was in her place, and she was not. And so the Prophet ﷺ and the caravan went ahead and Aisha radiyallahu anha slept through it all. This is how it all starts.

A man by the name of Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal radiyallahu anhu — Safwan goes out. He's the one that would check after everyone had left. And he sees Aisha radiyallahu anha under the tree. And as he sees her, his first expression is:

He actually says it. Why does he say it? Because he knows there is no way that those people who gossip and make fitna are not going to turn this into something it's not. As soon as I wake her up — and even if I act in the most noble way, which I will.

Safwan literally sits his camel down, steps back, lets her get on the camel, and then takes her into Madinah. He doesn't even talk to her — to maintain that nobility and that barrier, to keep away kalam al-nas, to keep away the words of the people and the gossip of the people. But he knew, as soon as this was happening — he was a smart man — إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ: I know what comes next.

SubhanAllah. And what came? Exactly what he feared. As soon as he walked into Madinah, Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul sees them and says: "I guarantee something happened there." Then the whole fitna happens.

Allah cleared the name of Aisha radiyallahu anha as we know — ten ayahs for Aisha radiyallahu anha. Amazing. But Allah also says in verse 26 of Surah al-Nur:

Those two — they are free from what was said about them. They have been granted forgiveness and a wonderful sustenance. You know the barakah, the blessing that comes in the life of Safwan after that incident because he responded the way he was supposed to respond.

Safwan is in this equation too. He's just the one that fades into the background. But Allah says he was also cleared — from the heavens. وَرِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ — and Allah descended upon him all sorts of blessings.

Conclusion — Bringing This Phrase Back to Life

And Imam al-Qurtubi rahimahullah says in conclusion that Rasulullah ﷺ taught us to say إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ even when the lamp goes out. You know sometimes the power goes out — what's your first response? The Prophet ﷺ — it was إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ. That's how we are to function with this beautiful word.

So let's bring back the life of this phrase, the way that we bring back the life of alhamdulillah. We ask Allah to always find us in a place of praise and in a place of responding and returning to Him. Allahumma ameen.