Du’a for Wealth and Poverty

April 19, 2009 – 5:39 am

ghunan yutghee

Note: This is the 5th post in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma.

In our last post, we talked about how the human race does taghaa if they see themselves as self-sufficient. Living in western societies, we see this all around us–people racing, fighting, stealing, overworking, to make a few more dollars so that they can “make it.” They buy lottery tickets so they can “make it” and be rich, rich rich!

Did you know, the Prophet Dawud (alayhi salaam) used to make du’a:

اللهمّا أعوذُ بِكَ مِن غُنَن يُطغِي و فِقرٍ يُنسِي
Allahumma a’oothu bika min ghunan yutghee wa fiqrin yunsee

Translation: O Allah, I seek refuge in you from wealth that makes one tyrannical, and poverty that makes one forget. [Recorded in Kitaab ad Du'a by Abdullah ibn Abu Shaybah]

What does this du’a mean? Ghunan yutghee means wealth that makes one tyrannical–because if humans see themselves as self-sufficient, this is what happens!

And “poverty that makes one forget?” If you’ve ever seen people in a bad financial position, struggling to overcome debts, credit-card payments, interest loans, sometimes out of the pressure of the moment, they forget ALL of Allah’s favours on them, and it makes them into a tyrant.

Action Items:

  • Memorize this du’a. It’s very short and easy; if you remember the gist of it, you just need to remember “ghunan yutghee wa faqrun yunsee.”
  • Reflect. Are you falling into the trap of seeking wealth? Are you so sure it will benefit you? Is it already making you creep towards the edge of tughyaan?

Wallahu ta’ala ‘alam.

References:

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Du'a, Islam, Qur'an, Tafseer | Tagged , , | Comments (15)

Du’a for Laziness and Incapability

March 18, 2009 – 3:30 pm

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The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) used to make a du’a:

اللّهُمَّ إنِّي أعُوذُبِكَ مِن العَجزِ وَ الكَسلٍ

Transliteration: Allahumma inniy a’oothubika min al-ajzi wal-kasli
Translation: O Allah, I seek refuge in you from incapability and laziness.

Why is this du’a important? For two reasons:

  • Laziness is an attribute of munafiqeen. If this wasn’t bad enough, being lazy leads to procrastination, which leads to its own set of problems.
  • It’s common these days for people to say “I can’t do it.” Like “I can’t pray at work,” or “I can’t achieve X.” The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) would say a’oothubillah to that kind of talk. Think about it!

Action Plan:

  • Memorize this du’a and make it every day in your sujood in every salaah. You have the Arabic, transliteration, and translation–you have no excuse not to do it!
  • Share your tips. What other tips and tricks do you use to overcome laziness and procrastination? Let us know in the comments!
References

Lazy Boy: A Khutbah by Muhammad Alshareef. Published by Eman Rush audio.

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Du'a, Ibadah, Islam, Tazkiyyah | Tagged , , | Comments (8)

A Concise Du’a for Guidance

November 25, 2008 – 4:54 pm

Bismillah.

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.

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Du'a, Islam | Tagged , , | Comments (8)