In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful
A dear sister has shared this du’a twice and I have been thing about it alot.
Protect Yourself From the 4 Evils
اَللّٰهُمَّ عَالِمَ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ ، فَاطِرَ السَّمٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ، رَبَّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَمَلِيْكَهُ ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَّا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ ، أَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ نَفْسِيْ ، وَمِنْ شَرِّ الشَّيْطَانِ وَشِرْكِهِ ، وَأَنْ أَقْتَرِفَ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِيْ سُوْءًا ، أَوْ أَجُرَّهُ إِلَىٰ مُسْلِمٍ.
Allāhumma ʿālima-l-ghaybi wa-sh-shahādah, fāṭir-as-samāwāti wa-l-arḍi, rabba kulli shay’iw-wa malīkah, ash-hadu al-lā ilāha illā Anta, aʿūdhu bika min sharri nafsī wa min sharri-sh-shayṭāni wa shirkihī wa an aqtarifa ʿalā nafsī sū’an aw ajurrahū ilā muslim.
O Allah, Knower of the unseen and the seen, Creator of the heavens and the earth, the Lord and Sovereign of everything; I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship but You. I seek Your protection from the evil of my own self, from the evil of Shayṭān and from the evil of polytheism to which he calls,and from inflicting evil on myself, or bringing it upon a Muslim.
Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said: “O Messenger of Allah, instruct me what to say in morning and in the evening.” He said: “Say [the above].” (Composite: Tirmidhī 3392, 3529)
Dhikr & Dua App by LifeWithAllah.com
The first time was on Fajr club, she was talking about being a doctor and how not being infallible necessitates this dua. The second time was after a parent coaching session and she made it about how we can get it wrong with our children and so they are the other muslim we may bring harm to. May Allah save us and them.
And it is something I have become suddenly aware of.
A few weeks ago, one of my favourite arabic inspiration account sent me a DM about gifting books to me and the agents as her way to encourage us to read more arabic books and I offered her an address in the UK of a dear sister who could receive it for me to save her on shipping. And she was happy too. Then she said, and I would like to send that dear sister of yours books too and I was so humbled.
Another story…
So I am constantly buying books and a dear sister's mom was coming back to Nigeria and I shamelessly begged that she bring some books that I too came to know about through another dear one. When the books arrived, she called to inform me and mentioned that when the book was delivered, she and her friend fell in love with it and searched for and ordered it as well.
And I found so much consolation in this. How goodness spreads as well. And Allah does not allow those who do good go to waste.
Sometimes you share something and someone acts on it and inspires others to act on it and you get the reward and you don’t even know where or how far that goes, even generations maybe?
May we be among those who enjoin good. May we not be a fitnah for those around us. Especially for our children.
P.s: I got a number of feedback from a number of you awesome people from the substack prompt to inspire me to a paid subscription. Which again, is substack marketing, however, I am not ready. I love engaging here with everyone who wants to. However, as I am not saying no to support, if you would like to support my writing or even just my work, please do so here. I always have a waitlist of books to buy anyway.
Maybe we are overthinking all the good we can do. Maybe we just need to do a little each time. Maybe we just need to be good and show good and speak good and model good…
Reminds me of the hadith…
عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ أَيْضًا، "أَنَّ نَاسًا مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم قَالُوا لِلنَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه و سلم يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ذَهَبَ أَهْلُ الدُّثُورِ بِالْأُجُورِ؛ يُصَلُّونَ كَمَا نُصَلِّي، وَيَصُومُونَ كَمَا نَصُومُ، وَيَتَصَدَّقُونَ بِفُضُولِ أَمْوَالِهِمْ. قَالَ: أَوَلَيْسَ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ مَا تَصَّدَّقُونَ؟ إنَّ بِكُلِّ تَسْبِيحَةٍ صَدَقَةً، وَكُلِّ تَكْبِيرَةٍ صَدَقَةً، وَكُلِّ تَحْمِيدَةٍ صَدَقَةً، وَكُلِّ تَهْلِيلَةٍ صَدَقَةً، وَأَمْرٌ بِمَعْرُوفٍ صَدَقَةٌ، وَنَهْيٌ عَنْ مُنْكَرٍ صَدَقَةٌ، وَفِي بُضْعِ أَحَدِكُمْ صَدَقَةٌ. قَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَيَأْتِي أَحَدُنَا شَهْوَتَهُ وَيَكُونُ لَهُ فِيهَا أَجْرٌ؟ قَالَ: أَرَأَيْتُمْ لَوْ وَضَعَهَا فِي حَرَامٍ أَكَانَ عَلَيْهِ وِزْرٌ؟ فَكَذَلِكَ إذَا وَضَعَهَا فِي الْحَلَالِ، كَانَ لَهُ أَجْرٌ". [رَوَاهُ مُسْلِمٌ].
Also on the authority of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him): Some people from amongst the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), "O Messenger of Allah, the affluent have made off with the rewards; they pray as we pray, they fast as we fast, and they give [much] in charity by virtue of their wealth." He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Has not Allah made things for you to give in charity? Truly every tasbeehah [saying: 'subhan-Allah'] is a charity, and every takbeerah [saying: 'Allahu akbar'] is a charity, and every tahmeedah [saying: 'al-hamdu lillah'] is a charity, and every tahleelah [saying: 'laa ilaha illAllah'] is a charity. And commanding the good is a charity, and forbidding an evil is a charity, and in the bud`i [sexual act] of each one of you there is a charity."
They said, "O Messenger of Allah, when one of us fulfils his carnal desire will he have some reward for that?" He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Do you not see that if he were to act upon it [his desire] in an unlawful manner then he would be deserving of punishment? Likewise, if he were to act upon it in a lawful manner then he will be deserving of a reward."
[Muslim]
Hadith 25, 40 Hadith an-Nawawi
Such mercy, such ease!
May Allah ﷻ admit us all into Jannah. Amīn.
Salam Alaikum wa rahmātullah wa barakatuh. First, Alhamdulilah for the mercy of Allah. I was crying when I saw someone had quoted this and clicked on it. Right from the first two paragraphs, I had to pause and say Alhamdulillah. Because somehow this is exactly what I needed to hear right now, in this moment. AlhamduliLlah for the kindness of Al-Lateef. Second, jazakillahu khairan for the du’a, for the reminder and the comfort this has brought me. May your writing and good deeds to be a source of goodness for you, may it continue to multiply and grow and may it weigh heavy on your scale of good🤍