Question:
Assalamualaikum wrm. wbt.,
During the worrying COVID-19 outbreak in our country today, I heard an ustaz supplicate with the following du’a:
تحصنت بذي العزة ، واعتصمت برب الملكوت ، وتوكلت على الحي الذي لا يموت ، اللهم اصرف عنا هذا الوباء إنك على كل شيء قدير.
My question is, is this du’a warid from the Prophet PBUH? Is it permissible for us to supplicate using this supplication as our effort to ask for protection against this pandemic? Thank you ustaz.
Answer:
Waalaikumussalam wrm. wbt.,
Alhamdulillah, praise and thanks to Allah for the countless blessings He has blessed us all with. Blessings and salutations to the Prophet Muhammad PBUH, his wives, his family, companions and all those that follow his teachings to the day of judgement.
Supplication is a powerful weapon for believers. Du’a is a worship that every Muslim should not neglect. Allah SWT states:
وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ٱدْعُونِىٓ أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِى سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ
“And your Lord says, "Call upon Me; I will respond to you." Indeed, those who disdain My worship will enter Hell [rendered] contemptible.”
Surah Ghafir (60)
Al-Hafiz Ibnu Kathir said the verse showcases the honour and All-Giving attribute of Allah SWT where He encourages and guarantees His slaves that He will grant their supplications. This is as stated by Sufian al-Thauri:
يَا مَنْ أَحَبُّ عِبَادِهِ إِلَيْهِ مَنْ سَأَلَهُ فَأَكْثَرَ سُؤَالَهُ وَيَا مَنْ أَبْغَضُ عِبَاده إِلَيْهِ مَنْ لَمْ يَسْأَلْهُ وَلَيْسَ أَحَد كَذَلِكَ غَيْرك يَا رَبِّ
“The slaves who are beloved by Him are those who always ask from Him. And those who are most disliked are those who never ask to Him. There is none similar to You, O our Lord.” (Refer Tafsir Al-Quran Al-‘Azim, 14/366)
Thus, supplication is the integral part of worship. Furthermore, it is not just an integral part of worship, but it is also the key to all goodness and closes the door of transgression and evil.
We could see how the Prophet Zechariah AS supplicates to be blessed with righteous children in times when his wife was unable to conceive. His supplication is recorded by Allah SWT:
هُنَالِكَ دَعَا زَكَرِيَّا رَبَّهُۥ ۖ قَالَ رَبِّ هَبْ لِى مِن لَّدُنكَ ذُرِّيَّةً طَيِّبَةً ۖ إِنَّكَ سَمِيعُ ٱلدُّعَآءِ
At that, Zechariah called upon his Lord, saying, “My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring. Indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication.”
Surah Ali Imran (38)
The same when Prophet Lot AS asked to be saved from the evils of his people who no longer listen to his call towards the truth and openly commit sins:
رَبِّ نَجِّنِى وَأَهْلِى مِمَّا يَعْمَلُونَ
“My Lord, save me and my family from [the consequence of] what they do."
Surah al-Syu’ara (169)
Furthermore, even our prophet the Prophet Muhammad PBUH supplicates:
اللَّهُمَّ أَعِزَّ الإِسْلاَمَ بِأَحَبِّ الرَّجُلَيْنِ إِلَيْكَ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ أَوْ عَمْرِو بْنِ هِشَامٍ
“O Allah, honour Islam with two of the most beloved man for You, whether it is Umar bin al-Khattab or Amru bin Hisyam.”
Narrated by al-Tabarani (87) in al-Mu’jam al-Awsat
Thus, we should never belittle the power of du’a nor should we lose hope if our du’a are not answered immediately for maybe Allah SWT has prepared something better for us than we had actually asked for. This is in accordance with the words of the Prophet PBUH:
مَا مِنْ مُؤْمِنٍ يَنْصُبُ وَجْهَهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ يَسْأَلُهُ مَسْأَلَةً ، إِلاَّ أَعْطَاهُ إِيَّاهَا ، إِمَّا عَجَّلَهَا لَهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا ، وَإِمَّا ذَخَرَهَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مَا لَمْ يَعْجَلْ ، قَالَ : يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ، وَمَا عَجَلَتُهُ ؟ قَالَ : يَقُولُ : دَعَوْتُ وَدَعَوْتُ ، وَلاَ أُرَاهُ يُسْتَجَابُ لِي
"No believer turns his face to Allah and asks Him for something but that He gives it to him, either by giving it to him sooner in this world or storing it up for him in the Next World, as long as he does not try to make it come quickly." They asked, "Messenger of Allah, what does 'making it come quickly' mean?" He said, "He says, 'I asked and asked and do not think that I will be answered.'"
Sahih al-Bukhari (711) in al-Adab al-Mufrad
Coming back to the question presented, the stated du’a in the question is:
تَحَصَّنتُ بِذِي العِزَّةِ وَالجَبْرُوتِ، وَاعْتَصَمْتُ بِرَبِّ المَلَكُوتِ، وَتَوَكَّلْتُ على الحَيِّ الَّذِي لَا يَمُوتُ، اللهُمَّ اصْرِفْ عَنَّا هَذَا الوَبَاءَ إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيءٍ قَدِيرٍ
“I seek protection from the owner of honour and strength. I seek protection from the Lord of the dominion over everything. I hand over my affairs to the All-Living and never dies. O Allah, remove this outbreak from us. Indeed, You are the decider of everything.”
Basically, this du’a is not warid from the Prophet PBUH. We did not find any support of it from the Porphet PBUH in any accredited hadith books. However, we found a du’a with a similar wording written by Syeikh Ahmad bin Ghanim al-Nafrawi al-Azhari al-Maliki. He said:
“The teacher of our teachers which is Syeikh Badrudding al-Qarafi said: Most questions about whether it is permissible to specifically asking for the removal of an outbreak from a place? Some state that it is impermissible because it is an opportunity for martyrdom. I did not find any clear evidence from scholars of madhhab Maliki that permits it. However, Sayyidi Syeikh Ahmad al-Zaruq and Syeikh Umar al-Qalshani used several du’a asking for protection from an epidemic. Among the du’a used by Sayyidi Syeikh Ahmad al-Zaruq is:
تحصنت بذي العزة والجبروت، واعتصمت برب الملكوت، وتوكلت على الحي الذي لا يموت، اصرف عنا الأذى إنك على كل شيء قدير
He recited this supplication three times.” (Refer Al-Fawakih Al-Dawani ‘Ala Risalah Ibn Abi Daud Al-Qirwani, 2/551)
Although the supplication is not warid from the Prophet PBUH, it does not mean that we cannot supplicate with the du’a. We find that the du’a has good words and do not contradict the usul shariah. Furthermore, the du’a do not contain any elements of shirk. There are also mentioning of Allah SWT’s names in the supplication. This is in line with the statement of Allah SWT:
وَلِلَّـهِ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ فَٱدْعُوهُ بِهَا
“And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them.”
Surah al-‘Araf (180)
Furthermore, there are also other supplications that are warid from the Prophet PBUH. An example of them is:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ البَرَصِ، وَالْجُنُونِ، وَالْجُذَامِ، وَمِنْ سَيِّئِ الْأَسْقَامِ
"O Allah, I seek refuge in Thee from leprosy, madness, elephantiasis, and evil diseases."
Sunan Abu Daud (1554), al-Nasa’ie (5493), Musnad Ahmad (13027)
We have discussed regarding supplication for protection against epidemic in Irsyad al-Hadith Series 269. [1]
To conclude, the supplication is not warid from the Prophet PBUH and it cannot be referred to the Prophet PBUH. However, it is permissible to supplicate with this du’a because it has a good meaning and it does not contradict the usul shariah.
May Allah SWT remove this pandemic from our country. Let’s increase our dhikr and supplication to Allah SWT. May Allah SWT protect us all. Amin. Wallahua’lam.
Endnotes:
[1] Refer the following link https://muftiwp.gov.my/artikel/irsyad-al-hadith/2433-irsyad-al-hadith-siri-ke-269-doa-menolak-wabak-ebola