Four things that all fail in the same way
Each one is a thing that should work and does not.
أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الأَرْبَعِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ لاَ يَنْفَعُ وَمِنْ قَلْبٍ لاَ يَخْشَعُ وَمِنْ نَفْسٍ لاَ تَشْبَعُ وَمِنْ دُعَاءٍ لاَ يُسْمَعُ
Aʿūdhu bika mina-l-arbaʿ: min ʿilmin lā yanfaʿ, wa min qalbin lā yakhshaʿ, wa min nafsin lā tashbaʿ, wa min duʿāʾin lā yusmaʿ
“I seek refuge in You from four: from knowledge that does not benefit, from a heart that does not humble itself, from a self that is never satisfied, and from a supplication that is not heard.”
Where this comes from
All four rhyme in Arabic and all four are the same shape: something that exists and does not do its job. Knowledge that sits there. A heart that stays hard. An appetite with no floor. Words that go nowhere.
The full narration
Narrated AbuHurayrah: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to say: "O Allah, I seek refuge in Thee from four things: Knowledge which does not profit, a heart which is not submissive, a soul which has an insatiable appetite, and a supplication which is not heard
Source
Sunan Abī Dāwūd · 1548
- Al-Albani: Sahih
- Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: Sahih
- Shuaib Al Arnaut: Sahih
- Zubair Ali Zai: Isnaad Hasan