‘Abdullāh ibn Masʿūd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ said, “No person (“no believer” in another report) suffers any anxiety or grief, and then says: 

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي عَبْدُكَ ، وَابْنُ عَبْدِكَ ، وَابْنُ أَمَتِكَ ، نَاصِيَتِي بِيَدِكَ ، مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُكَ ، عَدْلٌ فِيَّ قَضَاؤُكَ ، أَسْأَلُكَ بِكُلِّ اسْمٍ هُوَ لَكَ ، سَمَّيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ ، أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ فِي كِتَابِكَ ، أَوْ عَلَّمْتَهُ أَحَدًا مِنْ خَلْقِكَ ، أَوْ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ ، أَنْ تَجْعَلَ الْقُرْآنَ رَبِيعَ قَلْبِي ، وَنُورَ صَدْرِي ، وَجَلَاءَ حُزْنِي ، وَذَهَابَ هَمِّي 

(O Allah, I am your slave, the son of your slave and the son of your maid-slave. Your command over me is forever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask you by every Name belonging to You, which You have Named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or You taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the unseen with You, that You make the Qur’ān the life of my heart and the light of my chest, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety) except that Allah will remove his sorrow and replace it with happiness.”

They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, should we memorize these phrases (of the supplication)?” He responded, “Yes, whoever hears these words should memorize them.”^[1]

Transliteration:
Allaahumma innee ʿabduk, wabnu ʿabdik, wabnu amatik, naasiyati beyadik, maadhin fiyya hukmuk, ʿadlun fiyya qadhaa’uk, as’aluka bi kullismin huwa lak, sammayta bihi nafsak, aw anzaltahu fee kitaabik, aw ʿalamtahu ahadan min khalqik, awista-tharta bihi fee ʿilmil ghaybi ʿindak, an taj-ʿal al-Qur’aan al-ʿađ̣eema rabeeʿa qalbi, wa noora sadri, wa jalā’a huzni, wa dhahāba hammi.

Duʿā breakdown and reflections:

“O Allah, I am your slave, the son of your slave and the son of your maid-slave”

Ibn al-Qayyim stated in his book, Zād al-Ma’ād,^[2] that these words are full of recognition of who Allah is, and in it, the worshipper is calling upon the Lord, acknowledging the Creator, and presenting oneself as the slave of Allah, and the son/daughter of His slaves.

The supplicating believer also places things where they belong by recognizing (the following):

1. that his fate is in Allah’s control
2. that his destiny takes place according to the Divine Plan
3. that Allah does whatever He Pleases with it
4. that the servant can neither bring benefit nor harm to himself
5. that he cannot bring about his own birth, death, or resurrection
6. that he has no power to alter his decree except as Allah Wills
7. that he is completely dependent on his Creator, Cherisher, Sustainer, and Lord
8. that his own existence is subject to whatever Allah Decrees, and
9. that Allah is Just, and what He Wills shall Be.

Your Command over me is forever executed and Your Decree over me is just.

 This part of the supplication highlights two important points related to the Oneness of Allah:

1. The first is the recognition and confirmation of fate, and that Allah’s Decree regarding His slaves shall unfailingly come into being, and that His slaves cannot escape it or repel it.
2. The second point is that Allah is Just; He does not oppress His servants, and His decree takes place by virtue of His Knowledge and Divine Justice. This is because injustice represents the need, ignorance, incompetence, weakness, and inferiority of an unjust individual, and therefore, such attributes are not Divine, and they cannot come from one who is Omniscient, All-Knowing, Wise, and has no needs.

Allah is the All-Wise (Al-Hakeem), and thus His Wisdom is in effect wherever His Will is executed and ordained. Every atom and every cell in the universe and the entirety of His creation is in need of Him, but He is Rich beyond any need, and His Will affects all of His creation at all times and places. Belief in His Wisdom, therefore, must be combined with full acknowledgement and humble recognition that the slave is unaware of the full scope of matters, even when they are perceived to be difficult, for the All-Wise does not oppress His slaves. He tests them to elevate them, to purify them, to strengthen them, and to increase them in gratitude, guidance, resilience, and purpose. He plans for His slaves better than they plan for themselves, and He wants mercy and salvation for His slaves more than they want it for themselves.

We are in need of exemplifying gratitude towards Him, and as a result, He increases us in blessings for our action of praise.

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ۖ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ

“And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in blessings]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.’ “^[3]

I ask you by every Name belonging to You, which You have Named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or You taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the unseen with You…

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ is calling upon Allah by His beautiful Names and Attributes that He named Himself with, revealed in His Book, taught to any of His creation, or preserved in the knowledge of the unseen – to the extent that even the angels amongst His creation do not know of them – in a manner that is powerful, for such a prayer surpasses other prayers and is beloved to Allah and most certainly worthy of a response, because it highlights the slave’s humility, knowledge, and recognition of the Lord of the Worlds.

…that You make the Qur’ān the life of my heart and the light of my chest, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety

The Qur’an, by Allah, is a cure for every type of illness in this world: mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual, if only we took it as a cure for everything, knowing that it is a means to rebalance the heart and retune the heart to its original natural disposition.

The Qur’an, by Allah, is a light for every type of darkness in this world, if only we embraced that light consistently, knowing that it removes the dark corrosions of sinfulness and heedlessness that accumulate in one’s heart.

The Qur’an, by Allah, is a relief for every type of sorrow and anxiety in this world, if only we resorted to it constantly through ease and through difficulty, knowing that it is a means of wiping away one’s stress, pain, anxiety, and sorrows.

The Qur’an as a cure, however, works only in proportion to how patient and sincere the believer is in embracing it, trusting in its effectiveness, and knowing that Allah’s Will, with His Speech as a prescription, will lead to an excellent and complete recovery, for Allah’s Promise is always fulfilled. 

No person suffers any anxiety or grief, and then says … except that Allah will remove his sorrow and replace it with happiness.”

This is a guarantee from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who does not speak about religious matters from himself but rather from revelation.^[4] This is a guarantee that the one who prays with this prayer, sincerely, humbly, gratefully, persistently, and patiently, will see that their sorrows are replaced with happiness. The one doing so, however, should not give up quickly on their supplication and should ideally implement as many of the etiquettes of duʿā as possible, such as repenting for one’s sins, being in a state of purification, facing the Qiblah, raising one’s hands, and so forth. 

They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, should we memorize these phrases (of the supplication)?” He responded, “Yes, whoever hears these words should memorize them.”

This final part of the narration reminds us of at least two significant points:

1. It is important to benefit from what we hear as believers, particularly when there is an advice to do so. With this particular narration in mind, remember that every human being will face some type of sorrow or anxiety at one point or another in their lives, and thus it is wise for the believer to know these words and to pray with them often.
2. It is imperative as believers to also share this duʿā with others for the sake of helping them gain nearness to Allah and relief from their hardships, by His will, while being rewarded for our sharing of knowledge that is of vast benefit. The one who encourages others to do good is rewarded equally – every time they perform that deed – without the performer of the deed losing anything of their reward, as was authentically reported.^[5]

Conclusion

This duʿā is one of many reminders to bring us closer to Allah through sincerity, humility, gratitude, submission, and acknowledgement of His Majesty and the status of His Speech. Memorize this invocation and its meanings, pray with it frequently, and teach it to your loved ones, and may Allah the Exalted rectify your affairs, relieve you of your hardships, and reward you immensely for your patience and good deeds in this life and the next.

References:

[1] Recorded by Aḥmad (4167), al-Ḥākim (1809), and Ibn Ḥibbān (984).

[2] See: Ibn al-Qayyim, Provisions for the Hereafter.

[3] Qur’ān 14:7.

[4] See: Qur’ān 53:4.

[5] Reported by at-Tirmidhi (2613).