Words and meaning
A Beautiful Duʿāʾ — and an Arabic Language Benefit
The Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ) taught us this duʿāʾ - to be said in the times of worry and sadness:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي عَبْدُكَ، ابْنُ عَبْدِكَ، ابْنُ 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، أَوِ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ، أَنْ تَجْعَلَ الْقُرْآنَ رَبِيعَ قَلْبِي، وَنُورَ صَدْرِي، وَجَلَاءَ حُزْنِي، وَذَهَابَ هَمِّي.
“O Allāh, I am Your servant, the son of Your male servant and the son of Your female servant. My forelock is in Your Hand. Your judgment upon me is certain and Your decree concerning me is just. I ask You by every Name that belongs to You—by which You named Yourself, revealed in Your Book, taught to any of Your creation, or kept with Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen—to make the Qurʾān the spring of my heart, the light of my chest, the remover of my sadness and the reliever of my distress.”
It is reported from ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه and was authenticated by a number of scholars, including Shaykh al-Albānī (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ).
Notice the vocabulary:
اِبْنٌ — son
اِبْنَةٌ — daughter
عَبْدٌ — male servant
أَمَةٌ — female servant
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ) was asked about a woman saying this duʿāʾ. He explained that it is better for her to use the feminine wording.
So a woman may say:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَمَتُكَ، ابْنَةُ عَبْدِكَ، ابْنَةُ أَمَتِكَ، نَاصِيَتِي بِيَدِكَ...
“O Allāh, I am Your female servant, the daughter of Your male servant and the daughter of Your female servant…”
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي عَبْدُكَ، ابْنُ عَبْدِكَ، ابْنُ 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، أَوِ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ، أَنْ تَجْعَلَ الْقُرْآنَ رَبِيعَ قَلْبِي، وَنُورَ صَدْرِي، وَجَلَاءَ حُزْنِي، وَذَهَابَ هَمِّي.
“O Allāh, I am Your servant, the son of Your male servant and the son of Your female servant. My forelock is in Your Hand. Your judgment upon me is certain and Your decree concerning me is just. I ask You by every Name that belongs to You—by which You named Yourself, revealed in Your Book, taught to any of Your creation, or kept with Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen—to make the Qurʾān the spring of my heart, the light of my chest, the remover of my sadness and the reliever of my distress.”
It is reported from ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه and was authenticated by a number of scholars, including Shaykh al-Albānī (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ).
Notice the vocabulary:
اِبْنٌ — son
اِبْنَةٌ — daughter
عَبْدٌ — male servant
أَمَةٌ — female servant
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ) was asked about a woman saying this duʿāʾ. He explained that it is better for her to use the feminine wording.
So a woman may say:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَمَتُكَ، ابْنَةُ عَبْدِكَ، ابْنَةُ أَمَتِكَ، نَاصِيَتِي بِيَدِكَ...
“O Allāh, I am Your female servant, the daughter of Your male servant and the daughter of Your female servant…”