One of the things I decided to blog about is my own personal du’a–it’s not lifted straight from the pages of the Qur’an or Sunnah, but it draws from them. My goal was to have a du’a that:

• Is short, so I can recite it in sujood every rakah or every salah
• Is encompassing–covers every aspect (in this case, of the akhirah)
• Is easy to remember, so I can remember it as needed!
• Is easy, not full of hard-to-pronounce or hard-to-remember words.

The du’a is:

اللهمَّ إجعَلنِي مِن المَقَرِّبِينَ وَ مِن المُخلِصِينَ وَ مِن الصِدِّقِينَ وَ مِن المُحسِنِين

Allahumma ij’alnee min al-muqarribeen, wa min al-mukhliseen, wa min al-muhsineen, wa min as-siddiqeen.

What does this du’a mean? It means, “O Allah, make me from among the muaqarribeen, and the mukhliseen, and the muhsineen, and the siddiqeen.” Let’s break down these four groups to see who they are:

1. Al-Muqarribeen: Linguistically, it means something like “those who are close.” Islamically, it means those closest to Allah in the hereafter. There is no reward greater than seeing Allah’s Face, and no people will see it more than the muqarribeen. (Search the Qur’an, there are lots of references to them.)
2. Al-Mukhliseen: These are the sincere ones–because your years
   of salah, or sawm, of Qur’an, mean nothing if you are insincere. Also, Shaytan promises that he will misguide every last human–except the mukhliseen.
3. Al-Muhsineen: These are the ones who do ihsaan, excellence, in every aspect. They are praised in many places of the Qur’an. It’s a great quality to have.
4. As-Siddiqeen: Of the four levels mentioned in the Qur’an (prophets, siddiqeen, and two others), this is the highest level that we, today, can theoretically reach.

Obviously, you’re free to use (or not use) this du’a, or mix it up and make your own; I find it useful because it’s concise, it covers a lot of traits, and it’s pretty easy to remember.

Wallahu ta’ala ‘alim.