Allah the Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an:
وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ (155) الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُمْ مُصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ (156) أُولَئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ
And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient,Who, when disaster strikes them, say, “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.” Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided.
(Qur’an 2:155-157)
Life is a test. Each one of us has a different journey through this test facing various difficulties and adversities along the way. Each one of us has our own weakness, our own trial and our own grief. The verses mentioned above give us the secret in tackling all such situations.
The verses begin with addressing the fact that Allah will surely test us throughout our life, whether it is through hunger, wealth, income, or death. The Holy book reminds us that we will need to have patience in such times, and gives glad tidings to the ones who persevere. But Allah does not leave us unarmed; rather he equips us to have patience through the recitation of the following words.
إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ
“Only to Allah we belong, and only towards him is our return”
The Theory
Although the wording of the dua is quite simple, there is a big psychological secret hidden behind it. When one reads “إِنَّا لِلَّهِ–Only to Allah we belong” one realizes that I and everything around me is the sole property of Allah. This means that no matter what the situation is, it is not impossible for the Supreme Creator to fix. Since everything happens with the permission of Allah, taking Haram steps in fixing this problem can do nothing, if He does not will it so. It reminds us that we are simply ordered to make an attempt and to leave the rest upon the trustable hands of our Lord.
When a person reads the second part of this dua, “وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ– And only towards him is our return” one realizes that I and everything around me has to return and answer to Allah. Everything is temporary and the real abode is the afterlife. Hence it is futile to despair upon the loss of a person or object, as everything in this world is made to perish. If I have lost someone dear to me, then it is a fact of life that we all have to pass in this world, and we will all return towards Allah after our deaths. If the passed beloved was a sinner, then I will pray for him so we can rejoice in Jannah. And if he was a pious person, then I will work even harder to meet him in paradise. If I am being oppressed by someone who I have no power over, then I don’t have to go out of my means to get my revenge; Allah will make him answer on the Day of Judgement. Everything will be brought to justice on that day. It does not matter what problem I am in, one day it also has to end as nothing in this world ever lasts.
The Benefits
1)The verse above promises that the people who do this will be rewarded with the salutations and the mercy of Allah.
2) The recitation of this Dua was a common practice of the Holy prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him). To the extent that one day the lamp in his house blew out, and he exclaimed the aforementioned words. His wife, Ayesha (May Allah be pleased with her) asked that this is not a calamity, it is simply a lamp. The prophet replied that anything that displeases a believer can be considered a calamity (meaning that this Dua can be recited at any such occasion).
3) It comes in a Hadith, that a person who reads this Dua in times of adversity, Allah will write three benefits for him: Allah will fix his problem, prepare a good abode for him, and give him a better exchange in place of the loss.
4) This dua brings the reward every time you read it, even if a long time has passed.
3) Umme Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) once said,
Sahih Muslim
“When a person suffers from a calamity and utters: ‘Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un. Allahumma’ jurni fi musibati, wakhlif li khairan minha (We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. O Allah! Compensate me in my affliction, recompense my loss and give me something better in exchange for it), then Allah surely compensates him with reward and better substitute.” Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her) said: When Abu Salamah (May Allah be pleased with him) died, I repeated the same supplication as the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had commanded me (to do). So Allah bestowed upon me a better substitute than him (I was married to Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)).
The dua is:
إِنَّا
لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ اللَّهُمَّ أْجُرْنِى فِى مُصِيبَتِى
وَأَخْلِفْ لِى خَيْرًا مِنْهَا
Only to Allah we belong, and Only to him is our
return. Oh Allah, reward me for my calamity, and give me a better exchange for
it.
Sheikh Abdullah Ayaz Mullanee is a scholar from the Greater Toronto Area. He is passionately involved in several initiatives around Toronto and is regularly invited to speak at youth and community based events. Shaykh Abdullah currently teaches at Khairul Ummah Academy and Mathabah Institute while conducting online classes for Lubab Academy’s Arabic Language program. He is also the editor in chief for ‘Bridging The Gap’, the official magazine for the Canadian Council of Muslim Theologians.