When you feel trapped with no way out
Yūnus ﷺ called on Allah from inside the whale, in darkness upon darkness. He was answered.
لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
Lā ilāha illā anta subḥānaka innī kuntu mina-ẓ-ẓālimīn.
“There is no god but You. Glory be to You. Truly, I have been among the wrongdoers.”
Where this comes from
Yūnus ﷺ left his people in anger and boarded a ship. When the sea rose, lots were cast and he was thrown overboard, swallowed by a great fish. In the dark of the sea, inside the creature, he made this du'ā, and Allah says: So We answered him and saved him from distress. And thus do We save the believers. (21:88)
The full narration
Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin Sa`d narrated from his father, from Sa`d that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:“The supplication of Dhun-Nun (Prophet Yunus) when he supplicated, while in the belly of the whale was: ‘There is none worthy of worship except You, Glory to You, Indeed, I have been of the transgressors. (Lā ilāha illā anta subḥānaka innī kuntu minaẓ-ẓālimīn)’ So indeed, no Muslim man supplicates with it for anything, ever, except Allah responds to him.”
Source
Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī · 3505
- Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: Sahih
- Al-Albani: Sahih
- Zubair Ali Zai: Isnaad Sahih