Hopelessness
When you cannot see a way forward at all
76 verified supplications · 76 written out in full
لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ الْعَظِيمُ الْحَلِيمُ، لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ رَبُّ السَّمَوَاتِ …
When distress presses on you
The words the Prophet ﷺ turned to at moments of overwhelming distress.
لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
When you feel trapped with no way out
Yūnus ﷺ called on Allah from inside the whale, in darkness upon darkness
۞ قُلْ يَـٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ …
When you think you have gone too far
Allah addresses those who wronged themselves the most, and calls them 'M
يَـٰبَنِىَّ ٱذْهَبُوا۟ فَتَحَسَّسُوا۟ مِن يُوسُفَ وَأَخِيهِ وَلَا تَا۟يْـَٔسُوا۟ مِن رَّوْحِ …
When you have almost given up
Yaʿqūb ﷺ said this after losing two sons and his eyesight, still refusin
يَا حَىُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ
When something is wearing you down
What the Prophet ﷺ turned to whenever a matter distressed him.
فَإِذَا بَلَغْنَ أَجَلَهُنَّ فَأَمْسِكُوهُنَّ بِمَعْرُوفٍ أَوْ فَارِقُوهُنَّ بِمَعْرُوفٍ …
When there seems to be no way out
A promise attached to one condition, and to provision from a direction y
فَسَقَىٰ لَهُمَا ثُمَّ تَوَلَّىٰٓ إِلَى ٱلظِّلِّ فَقَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّى لِمَآ أَنزَلْتَ إِلَىَّ …
When you have nothing and no one
Mūsā ﷺ said this alone in Madyan, having fled with nothing, sitting in t
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ …
When you wonder whether it even reaches Him
Not a description of Allah. A command, and a promise attached to it.
وَضَرَبَ ٱللَّهُ مَثَلًا لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ ٱمْرَأَتَ فِرْعَوْنَ إِذْ قَالَتْ رَبِّ ٱبْنِ …
When home is not safe
The prayer of a woman married to Pharaoh, asking to be built a house som
فَدَعَا رَبَّهُۥٓ أَنِّى مَغْلُوبٌ فَٱنتَصِرْ
When you have been beaten down by it
Nūḥ ﷺ after centuries of being mocked, in six words.
ٱلَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ ٱللَّهَ قِيَـٰمًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىٰ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِى …
When you cannot see the point of any of it
Said by those who look at the sky and think about it until it moves them
وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُقَـٰتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ ٱلرِّجَالِ …
When you are stuck somewhere you need to leave
The Qur'an quotes the oppressed asking to be taken out, and to be sent s
لَلَّهُ أَشَدُّ فَرَحًا بِتَوْبَةِ عَبْدِهِ حِينَ يَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ أَحَدِكُمْ كَانَ عَلَى …
What He feels when you come back
The Prophet ﷺ described it with a man who had lost everything in the des
لَهُۥ مُعَقِّبَـٰتٌ مِّنۢ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِۦ يَحْفَظُونَهُۥ مِنْ أَمْرِ ٱللَّهِ …
When you want your situation to change
Where the Qur'an says change begins.
وَٱعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَكَ ٱلْيَقِينُ
When you want it to last
Not a request for a good moment, but for a good ending to a long one.
ٱلَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ ٱلْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُۥ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ …
Someone is already asking on your behalf
The Qur'an records what those who carry the Throne say about the believe
إِلَّا تَنصُرُوهُ فَقَدْ نَصَرَهُ ٱللَّهُ إِذْ أَخْرَجَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ ثَانِىَ …
Two men in a cave with an army outside
Abū Bakr could see the feet of the men searching. This is what he was to
وَإِن يَمْسَسْكَ ٱللَّهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُۥٓ إِلَّا هُوَ ۖ وَإِن يَمْسَسْكَ بِخَيْرٍ …
When you have run out of people to ask
A statement about where harm and good actually come from.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِن تَنصُرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ يَنصُرْكُمْ وَيُثَبِّتْ …
A conditional you can act on today
Support is offered in exchange for support.
إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَـٰلِحًا فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ ٱللَّهُ …
The most surprising thing said about repentance
Not that the record is wiped, but that the entries are changed.
إِنَّمَآ أَمْرُهُۥٓ إِذَآ أَرَادَ شَيْـًٔا أَن يَقُولَ لَهُۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ
When what you are asking for looks impossible
How anything happens, according to the Qur'an.
أَمَّن يُجِيبُ ٱلْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ ٱلسُّوٓءَ وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفَآءَ …
Who answers when you are at the end of it
A question the Qur'an asks rather than answers, because the answer is ob
فَأَمَّا مَنْ أَعْطَىٰ وَٱتَّقَىٰ وَصَدَّقَ بِٱلْحُسْنَىٰ فَسَنُيَسِّرُهُۥ لِلْيُسْرَىٰ …
Two paths, described in parallel
Six short verses setting out the difference in what happens next.
قَالَ رَجُلٌ لَمْ يَعْمَلْ حَسَنَةً قَطُّ لأَهْلِهِ إِذَا مَاتَ فَحَرِّقُوهُ ثُمَّ اذْرُوا …
The man who had never done a single good thing
He told his sons to burn him and scatter him so that Allah would never f
إِنِّي لأَعْلَمُ آخِرَ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ دُخُولاً الْجَنَّةَ وَآخِرَ أَهْلِ النَّارِ خُرُوجًا …
The last person admitted
He is shown his small sins, admits them, and then is shown what they bec
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ إِنْ تَشَأْ لاَ تُعْبَدْ فِي الأَرْضِ
Said on the worst day of his life
At Uḥud, with the dead around him and his own face bleeding.
اللَّهُ أَرْحَمُ بِعِبَادِهِ مِنْ هَذِهِ بِوَلَدِهَا
A comparison he made using a woman in front of him
Prisoners were brought in, and a woman among them was searching for her
مَنْ مَاتَ وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ
The one condition attached to entering
ʿUthmān narrated it, and it is as short as it sounds.
مَن جَآءَ بِٱلْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُۥ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا ۖ وَمَن جَآءَ بِٱلسَّيِّئَةِ فَلَا …
The exchange rate
Stated once, plainly, and it is not symmetrical.
يَـٰبَنِىَّ ٱذْهَبُوا۟ فَتَحَسَّسُوا۟ مِن يُوسُفَ وَأَخِيهِ وَلَا تَا۟يْـَٔسُوا۟ مِن رَّوْحِ …
When you have been waiting a very long time
Said by Yaʿqūb after decades, sending his sons back out to look again.
وَلَا تُفْسِدُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَـٰحِهَا وَٱدْعُوهُ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا ۚ إِنَّ …
Calling on Him in two states at once
An instruction about the posture of asking.
ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَمْ يَكُ مُغَيِّرًا نِّعْمَةً أَنْعَمَهَا عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ …
When you cannot see yourself changing
A verse about how a people's condition actually shifts.
حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا ٱسْتَيْـَٔسَ ٱلرُّسُلُ وَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ كُذِبُوا۟ جَآءَهُمْ …
Rescue that comes at the very last point
A verse that admits the messengers themselves reached the end of it.
يَخْرُجُ مِنَ النَّارِ أَرْبَعَةٌ فَيُعْرَضُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَيَلْتَفِتُ أَحَدُهُمْ …
Asked by someone who has just been taken out of the Fire
Four are brought out, and one of them turns back to speak.
مَا مِنْ عَبْدٍ قَالَ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ. ثُمَّ مَاتَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ، إِلاَّ دَخَلَ …
A condition that reads as very small
Abū Dharr kept asking, and the answer kept being the same.
مَا كَانَ لِأَهْلِ ٱلْمَدِينَةِ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُم مِّنَ ٱلْأَعْرَابِ أَن يَتَخَلَّفُوا۟ عَن …
On effort that seems to have gone nowhere
A short guarantee attached to good work.
وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَ ٱلَّذِينَ يَخُوضُونَ فِىٓ ءَايَـٰتِنَا فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَخُوضُوا۟ …
When a conversation is going nowhere
An instruction about when to stop talking.
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ تَوَفَّىٰهُمُ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةُ ظَالِمِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ قَالُوا۟ فِيمَ كُنتُمْ ۖ …
When where you are is making it impossible
An answer given to people who said they were oppressed and stuck.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ خُذُوا مِنَ الأَعْمَالِ مَا تُطِيقُونَ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَمَلُّ …
Which deeds are most loved
Not the biggest ones.
إِنَّكُمْ لَسْتُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ مِثْلِي إِنِّي أَبِيتُ يُطْعِمُنِي رَبِّي وَيَسْقِينِي …
Do not take on more than you can hold
He told them Allah does not tire of rewarding, but they would tire of do
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَّا قَضَى الْخَلْقَ كَتَبَ عِنْدَهُ فَوْقَ عَرْشِهِ إِنَّ رَحْمَتِي سَبَقَتْ …
A statement about the order of things
Written above the Throne before anything else was made.
يَقُولُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي وَأَنَا مَعَهُ حِينَ يَذْكُرُنِي …
A condition placed on your own expectation
The first clause of the same narration, taken on its own.
قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِذَا تَحَدَّثَ عَبْدِي بِأَنْ يَعْمَلَ حَسَنَةً فَأَنَا …
How intentions are counted before you act
The arithmetic is different in each direction.
فَأَقُولُ يَا رَبِّ مَا بَقِيَ فِي النَّارِ إِلاَّ مَنْ حَبَسَهُ الْقُرْآنُ أَىْ وَجَبَ …
After the last person is taken out
A point is reached where nobody is left except one category.
لاَ يَتَمَنَّيَنَّ أَحَدُكُمُ الْمَوْتَ مِنْ ضُرٍّ أَصَابَهُ، فَإِنْ كَانَ لاَ بُدَّ فَاعِلاً …
When you want it to be over
A prohibition, then a way to phrase it that is allowed.
اللَّهُمَّ كَانَ لِي أَبَوَانِ شَيْخَانِ كَبِيرَانِ فَكُنْتُ لاَ أَغْبُقُ قَبْلَهُمَا أَهْلاً …
Three men sealed in by a rock
Each asked to be released by one deed nobody had seen.
فَقُلْتُ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ غَفَّارًا يُرْسِلِ ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُم …
Nūḥ's method, and what he promised would follow
Four consequences named for one practice.
أَتَانِي آتٍ مِنْ رَبِّي فَأَخْبَرَنِي ـ أَوْ قَالَ بَشَّرَنِي ـ أَنَّهُ مَنْ مَاتَ مِنْ …
Good news that a man wanted to run and tell everyone
Abū Dharr kept asking, and each time got the same qualification.
۞ قُلْ يَـٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ …
Addressed to those who went furthest
The address used for them is the tenderest in the Qur'an.
إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ شُفِّعْتُ، فَقُلْتُ يَا رَبِّ أَدْخِلِ الْجَنَّةَ مَنْ كَانَ …
What he will ask for at the intercession
The request is put in the plainest possible terms.
آخِرُ مَنْ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ رَجُلٌ فَهُوَ يَمْشِي مَرَّةً وَيَكْبُو مَرَّةً وَتَسْفَعُهُ …
The one who walks, stumbles, and is scorched
He gets there last, and what he is given still overwhelms him.
فَٱعْبُدُوا۟ مَا شِئْتُم مِّن دُونِهِۦ ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ ٱلْخَـٰسِرِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ خَسِرُوٓا۟ …
What real loss is defined as
Not money, not health, not reputation.
إِنَّ آخِرَ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ دُخُولاً الْجَنَّةَ، وَآخِرَ أَهْلِ النَّارِ خُرُوجًا مِنَ …
A conversation with the last person to leave the Fire
He is told to enter and objects that there is no room.
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْجِ الْوَلِيدَ بْنَ الْوَلِيدِ، وَسَلَمَةَ بْنَ هِشَامٍ، وَعَيَّاشَ بْنَ أَبِي …
Naming people who were being held and beaten
He named them one by one after rising from the bow.
يَا رَبِّ مَا فَعَلْتُ إِلاَّ مِنْ مَخَافَتِكَ . فَغَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَهُ
The man who asked to be scattered so he could not be found
He thought so badly of his own record that he tried to disappear.
انْظُرُوا إِلَى عَبْدِي رَجَعَ رَغْبَةً فِيمَا عِنْدِي وَشَفَقَةً مِمَّا عِنْدِي
The man who ran, then turned around
Everyone around him had already fled.
لَقَدْ عَجِبَ رَبُّنَا عَزَّ وَجَلَّ مِنْ قَوْمٍ يُقَادُونَ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ فِي السَّلاَسِلِ
People brought to the Garden in chains
One line, and no explanation attached to it.
تَمَّتْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلاً لاَ مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ …
What he recited striking a rock in the trench
Salman was standing there watching.
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْجِ عَيَّاشَ بْنَ أَبِي رَبِيعَةَ، وَسَلَمَةَ بْنَ هِشَامٍ، وَالْوَلِيدَ بْنَ …
Three names, then everyone with no name
He was saying it inside the prayer itself.
اللَّهُمَّ هَذَا عَبْدُكَ خَرَجَ مُهَاجِرًا فِي سَبِيلِكَ فَقُتِلَ شَهِيدًا أَنَا شَهِيدٌ …
The bedouin who asked for something else
They handed him his share of the spoils and he did not know what it was.
لاَ تُصَاحِبُنَا نَاقَةٌ عَلَيْهَا لَعْنَةٌ
What he said about a curse spoken in traffic
The mountain pass had narrowed and everyone was stuck.
أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْعَجْزِ وَالْكَسَلِ وَالْجُبْنِ وَالْهَرَمِ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ فِتْنَةِ …
Six things he took shelter from
They run from the start of a life to the end of it.
أَعَلِمَ عَبْدِي أَنَّ لَهُ رَبًّا يَغْفِرُ الذَّنْبَ وَيَأْخُذُ بِهِ غَفَرْتُ لِعَبْدِي
A man who sinned three times and was forgiven three times
The reason given each time is identical.
أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الأَرْبَعِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ لاَ يَنْفَعُ وَمِنْ قَلْبٍ لاَ يَخْشَعُ وَمِنْ نَفْسٍ …
Four things that all fail in the same way
Each one is a thing that should work and does not.
اللَّهُمَّ الْعَنْ أَبَا سُفْيَانَ اللَّهُمَّ الْعَنِ الْحَارِثَ بْنَ هِشَامٍ اللَّهُمَّ …
The prayer that was interrupted by a verse
He was naming three men at Uhud.
أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ غَلَبَةِ الدَّيْنِ وَغَلَبَةِ الْعَدُوِّ وَشَمَاتَةِ الأَعْدَاءِ
Three ways of being beaten
The third one is not about losing at all.
أَسْأَلُكَ أَنْ تَرُدَّنِي إِلَى الدُّنْيَا فَأُقْتَلَ فِي سَبِيلِكَ عَشْرَ مَرَّاتٍ لِمَا …
What the martyr asks for after seeing what it is worth
Nobody who enters wants to come back, except one.
لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ، وَفِي قَلْبِهِ وَزْنُ شَعِيرَةٍ مِنْ خَيْرٍ
The smallest amount that gets a person out
It is measured three times, and it keeps getting smaller.
وَلَكِنْ وَعِزَّتِي وَكِبْرِيَائِي وَعَظَمَتِي وَجِبْرِيَائِي لأُخْرِجَنَّ مَنْ قَالَ لاَ …
The oath sworn about who comes out
He is told the matter is not his to settle.
إِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونَ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا …
The warning about how a life ends
It runs in both directions.
أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي وَأَنَا مَعَهُ حِينَ يَذْكُرُنِي فَإِنْ ذَكَرَنِي فِي نَفْسِهِ …
Where He says He is
Four statements, each one answering a movement.
أَخْرِجُوا مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرْدَلٍ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ
The order given after everyone is placed
It comes after the Garden and the Fire are already settled.
جَعَلَ اللَّهُ الرَّحْمَةَ مِائَةَ جُزْءٍ، فَأَمْسَكَ عِنْدَهُ تِسْعَةً وَتِسْعِينَ جُزْءًا …
How much of it is down here
The example given is a horse lifting its hoof.
مَنْ لَمْ يَدَعْ قَوْلَ الزُّورِ وَالْعَمَلَ بِهِ وَالْجَهْلَ فَلَيْسَ لِلَّهِ حَاجَةٌ أَنْ …
What fasting is worth without the rest
It names three things and then dismisses the fast.
وَلاَ أَنَا، إِلاَّ أَنْ يَتَغَمَّدَنِي اللَّهُ بِرَحْمَةٍ، سَدِّدُوا وَقَارِبُوا، وَاغْدُوا …
What he answered when they pressed him
They asked the obvious follow-up and he did not soften it.
مَنْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يَنْظُرَ إِلَى رَجُلٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَلْيَنْظُرْ إِلَى هَذَا
The bravest fighter on the field
Someone followed him to find out why.