Secrets of the Prophetic Supplication in Travel and Changing Circumstances
Supplications the Prophet ﷺ taught his Companions on returning from travel, and in times of calamity, alarm, and sleeplessness
Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on 2025-05-25 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — [Watch the original video on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyBoimcahbQ)
The Doctor opened the khatira with blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and upon his family and Companions, then said: O Allah, we ask You for the good of this day, the good of what is in it, and the good of what follows it, and we seek refuge in You, our Lord, from the evil of this day, the evil of what is in it, and the evil of what follows it. O Allah, set right for us our religion, which is the safeguard of our affairs; set right for us our worldly life, in which is our livelihood; and set right for us our Hereafter, to which is our return; and, O Allah, make life an increase for us in every good, and make death a relief for us from every evil. O Allah, protect us from disgrace in this world and from the punishment of the Hereafter. O Allah, do not empower over us, because of our sins, those who do not fear You regarding us and do not have mercy on us. O Allah, Your gentleness, Your pardon, and Your kindness; O Allah, Your mercies that encompass all things, be gentle with us, O Lord of the worlds.
Supplication in Travel and in the Turning of Circumstances
We mentioned in the chapters on supplication that the Prophet ﷺ used to supplicate while traveling. The discussion here is about supplication in travel specifically, and about supplication in times of upheaval in life. Glory be to Allah, the All-Powerful! At times of travel you expect nothing, because all the decrees are in the hand of the King, glory be to Him, the Exalted, and He alone, the Mighty and Majestic, is able to carry out what He wills.
Returning from Travel: The Mosque First
When the Prophet ﷺ returned from his travel, the first thing he turned to was the mosque. That is because the mosque is the home of hearts before the homes of bodies, and the basic principle among people is that they give their hearts rest before their bodies, is it not so? And they relate that the first thing he began with when he returned from his travel ﷺ was that he went back to his mosque, peace and blessings be upon him.[1]
And it is reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned from a military expedition, and when he entered, ʿĀʾishah met him, took his hand, and said: Praise be to Allah who gave you victory, honored you, and exalted you.[2] This sentence expresses the longing of one person for another, but the Prophet ﷺ taught those around him that the bonds between human hearts are preceded by bonds with Allah, glory be to Him, the Exalted. So she praises Allah who kept him safe for her; for were it not for Allah's favor in preserving that person, he would not have been safe and would not have returned. And accordingly the tongue is busy with remembrance and with supplication to Allah, Blessed and Exalted, night and day. And glory be to the All-Creating, the All-Knowing, who taught the Prophet ﷺ and entrusted him with the secret of his teaching of his Companions and his wives, may the pleasure of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, be upon them all.
Saying Istirjāʿ
And when we speak of supplication in itself and how the Prophet ﷺ trained his Companions, the troubles of this world are very many, as you know, may Allah preserve your station. And the world, with its multitude, its preoccupations, and its hardships, is greater and mightier than any person can bear by himself, and hence there had to be a seeking of help from the Lord of the worlds, glory be to Him, the Exalted. For that reason the Prophet ﷺ used to teach his Companions to say istirjāʿ, saying: إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون ("Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return").
We say that when we lose a person, but it is reported that the Prophet ﷺ said: «ليسترجع أحدكم في كل شيء حتى في شسع نعله، فإنها من المصائب» ("Let each of you say istirjāʿ over everything, even over the strap of his sandal, for it is among the calamities")[3]. So why is it counted among the calamities? Then he reflects on the value of the pair of sandals: how many refugees on the borders between countries look hopefully for what people give them! And if a young boy is given a pair of shoes, even a modest one, how great is his happiness and joy in such a thing! And the Prophet ﷺ used to teach his Companions: إنا لله وإنا إليه راجعون ("Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return").
When Something Startles a Person
And it is reported that the Prophet ﷺ, when something startled him, would say: He is Allah, my Lord; He has no partner.[4] He is Allah who commands and forbids, who decrees concerning His servants, who judges between creatures, and who rules over His creation, glory be to Him, the Exalted. And when we say "my Lord," we have already mentioned that He looks after the affairs of those He lords over. And he ﷺ used to say: He has no partner.
In Fright
And the Prophet ﷺ used to teach his Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, to say in fright: «أعوذ بكلمات الله التامة من غضبه وشرّ عباده ومن همزات الشياطين وأن يحضرون» ("I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from His anger and from the evil of His servants, and from the whisperings of the devils, and that they should be present with me")[5]. We seek refuge in Allah, glory be to Him, the Exalted, from His anger, for the anger of the Lord of Might, glory be to Him, the Exalted, is a grave matter.
As for the whisperings of the devils and that they be present, he said in explaining its meaning: Satan is a whisper that comes to you from afar; he sends me the signal from afar and cannot be near me; but no sooner do I begin to listen to him than he comes step by step until he is with me, and then we think together, talk together, walk together, and work together.
The Supplication for Sleeplessness: "The Stars Have Set"
And it is reported that one of the Companions said: O Messenger of Allah, I am anxious all night, I toss and turn and do not sleep. So the Prophet ﷺ said to him: «قل: اللهم غارت النجوم، وهدأت العيون، وأنت حيّ قيّوم لا تأخذك سنة ولا نوم، يا حيّ يا قيّوم أهدئ ليلي وأنم عيني» ("Say: O Allah, the stars have set, the eyes have grown calm, and You are the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining; neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes You. O Ever-Living, O Self-Sustaining, calm my night and make my eye sleep")[6].
It is as though the Prophet ﷺ wanted to open the minds of his Companions to the science of astronomy and what lies beyond it, and to looking at the stars and their states, so as to open these horizons to the realization that the One who had power over the stars and made them set is able to put him to sleep and to wake him, glory be to the Most High, the All-Powerful.
And reflect on the words "O Ever-Living"; just imagine the words "O Ever-Living," glory be to Allah, the All-Powerful! For He, glory be to Him, the Exalted, is the Ever-Living who does not sleep. And the servant needs sleep, so he turns to his Lord, glory be to Him. He is the Ever-Living whom neither drowsiness nor sleep overtakes, exalted is Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, above any likeness, He is as He has told of Himself, glory be to Him, the Exalted. So the Prophet ﷺ speaks to his Companions, may the pleasure of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, be upon them: O Ever-Living, O Self-Sustaining, calm my night and make my eye sleep.
And he concluded by saying: May Allah keep your religion and your worldly life sound, preserve your well-being and your safety, and may Allah, the Exalted, reward you with good.
--- [1]: Editor's documentation: In the two Ṣaḥīḥs, from the ḥadīth of Kaʿb ibn Mālik, may Allah be pleased with him: «كان إذا قدم من سفر بدأ بالمسجد، فركع فيه ركعتين» ("Whenever he returned from a journey, he would begin with the mosque and pray two rakʿas in it") (al-Bukhārī no. 4418; Muslim no. 2769). [2]: Editor's documentation: The speaker did not attribute the report, and neither its source nor its authenticity has been verified, so it is introduced with the form "it is reported." [3]: Editor's documentation: The speaker did not attribute it. It is from the ḥadīth of Abū Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him; Ibn Ḥajar said of it (as cited in *al-Futūḥāt al-Rabbāniyya* 4/28): «غريب، في سنده من ضعف» ("gharīb; its chain includes a weakened narrator"); so it is introduced with the form "it is reported." [4]: Editor's documentation: The speaker did not attribute it and conveyed it by meaning. Its wording, from the ḥadīth of Thawbān, may Allah be pleased with him, is «هو اللهُ، اللهُ ربي لا شريكَ له» ("He is Allah; Allah is my Lord, He has no partner"), and Ibn Ḥajar graded it ḥasan (as cited in *al-Futūḥāt al-Rabbāniyya* 4/12). [5]: Editor's documentation: The speaker did not attribute it. It is in this wording in Abū Dāwūd (no. 3893), and in al-Tirmidhī (no. 3528) in a close wording, from the ḥadīth of ʿAmr ibn Shuʿayb from his father from his grandfather ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr, may Allah be pleased with them both; al-Albānī graded al-Tirmidhī's narration ḥasan and Abū Dāwūd's weak. It includes ﴿وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ رَبِّ أَن يَحْضُرُونِ﴾ (and I seek refuge in You, my Lord, lest they be present with me) in Sūrat al-Muʾminūn, verse 98, and the speaker said it as part of the supplication without mentioning the verse. [6]: Editor's documentation: The speaker did not attribute it. It is from the ḥadīth of Zayd ibn Thābit, may Allah be pleased with him, on the complaint of sleeplessness; Ibn Ḥajar said of it in *Natāʾij al-Afkār* (3/110): "gharīb"; so it is mentioned by way of narration.