Requesting Rectification and Improvement from Allah in All Matters

From Abu Hurairah Radhiyallahu Anhu, he said:

"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to say:

اللَّهُمَّ أَصْلِحْ لِى دِينِىَ الَّذِى هُوَ عِصْمَةُ أَمْرِى وَأَصْلِحْ لِى دُنْيَاىَ الَّتِى فِيهَا مَعَاشِى وَأَصْلِحْ لِى آخِرَتِى الَّتِى فِيهَا مَعَادِى وَاجْعَلِ الْحَيَاةَ زِيَادَةً لِى فِى كُلِّ خَيْرٍ وَاجْعَلِ الْمَوْتَ رَاحَةً لِى مِنْ كُلِّ شَرٍّ

[O Allah, rectify for me my religion which is a safeguard for my affairs, and rectify for me my worldly life in which is my livelihood, and rectify for me my Hereafter to which is my return. Make life an increase for me in every good and make death a comfort for me from every evil.] (Reported by Muslim 2720)

**The Importance of This Prayer According to Scholars**

Imam Ibnul Qayyim rahimahullah said:

"One of the most beneficial things in anticipating future events is to practice this prayer, which the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to frequently supplicate:

Similarly, another hadith:

اللَّهُمَّ رَحْمَتَكَ أَرْجُو فَلاَ تَكِلْنِى إِلَى نَفْسِى طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ وَأَصْلِحْ لِى شَأْنِى كُلَّهُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ

[O Allah, I hope for Your mercy. Do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye, and rectify all my affairs. There is no deity but You.]

If a person continuously recites this prayer with a present heart and sincere intention, while striving to achieve what it entails, Allah will grant what he supplicates for and aspires to. His worry will turn into joy and happiness."

**Wasaail Mufidah, page 30.**

Ath-Thibi commented on this hadith:

"The improvement of the Hereafter includes gentleness and guidance to the obedience of Allah and worshipping Him, and seeking comfort in death. These three elements combine the goodness of the world, religion, and the Hereafter, which are the foundations of noble character."

**Faidhul Qadir 2/173.**

Imam Ash-Shan'ani rahimahullah said:

"This prayer encompasses the goodness of both abodes (the world and the Hereafter)."

**Kitab Subul As-Salam, 4/223.**

**The Meaning of the Hadith Phrases:**

- **"كان رسول الله"**: The Messenger of Allah used to...

The phrase **"كان"** in usul fiqh indicates regularity, but not necessarily continuity. It implies that the action was done frequently.

**"اللَّهُمَّ أَصْلِحْ لِى دِينِىَ"**: O Allah, rectify for me my religion.

Al-Allamah Al-Uthaimin rahimahullah said:

"This encompasses Islam and other acts of worship."

**"الَّذِى هُوَ عِصْمَةُ أَمْرِى"**: which is a safeguard for my affairs.

This means:

"It protects me from the Fire and prevents me from slipping in worldly life."

**Syarh Bulughul Maram 6/453.**

**Why is it important to pray for the rectification of one's religion?**

Al-Qori rahimahullah said:

"Because religion preserves all my affairs. If one's religion is corrupt, all their affairs become corrupt, resulting in loss and misery in both absent and present matters."

**Syarh Misykatul Mashobih 5/1721.**

Al-Allamah Al-Uthaimin rahimahullah said:

"It means: O Allah, make my religion sound, which means it becomes sincere and correct. Religion is what a person holds onto to protect themselves from evil and enemies. The more sound one's religion is, the more they are protected from all evil. A sound religion is characterized by sincerity to Allah and following the Messenger. Anyone who associates partners with Allah has an unsound religion. Thus, if someone prays, gives charity, fasts, reads the Qur'an, remembers Allah, seeks knowledge, or strives in jihad out of ostentation, all these actions are unsound, and we seek refuge with Allah."

**Syarh Riyadhus-Salihin 6/26.**

🖋️ He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said:

"Religion is a safeguard for a person, preventing them from evil deeds and vile morals. It is also a safeguard for them in the Hereafter, ensuring they are kept away from the Fire and enter Paradise."

📚 Syarh Bulughul Maram 6/454

🖋️ Shaykh Al-Allamah Al-Fauzan (may Allah preserve him) said:

"There is no salvation except through religion. If a person's religion is not sound, there is no safeguard for them. Instead, they fall into error and slip. Religion is a safeguard for my affairs from mistakes and bad consequences, and You (O Allah) protect me with religion from all forbidden things."

📚 Tashilul Ilmam 6/346

**وَأَصْلِحْ لِي دُنْيَايَ الَّتِى فِيهَا مَعَاشِى**

"O Allah, rectify for me my worldly life in which is my livelihood."

1️⃣ The first meaning:

🖋️ Al-Qari (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

"It means: who can help me in worship, in which is my livelihood."

2️⃣ The second meaning:

"It is said: Protect from corruption what I need from this world."

📚 Syarh Misykatul Mashabih 5/1721

3️⃣ The third meaning:

🖋️ Ath-Thibi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

"Rectifying the world means sufficing oneself with what is needed, being lawful and aiding in obedience to Allah."

📚 Misykatul Mashabih 5/223

4️⃣ The fourth meaning:

🖋️ Al-Allamah Al-Uthaimin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

"Rectifying the world is that Allah bestows upon you sufficiency, making you independent of people, granting you wealth that does not lead you to transgress Allah's commands, and easing your worldly affairs, providing you with sustenance that helps you in obedience to Allah."

📚 Syarh Bulughul Maram 6/453

**Why is it important to pray for the rectification of one's worldly life?**

🖋️ Al-Allamah Al-Uthaimin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

"Every person wants their worldly life to be good, because if their world is corrupt, it will cause their religion to be corrupt. If a person is preoccupied with earning a livelihood, it may often prevent them from many religious matters, even though earning a livelihood is part of religion."

📚 Syarh Bulughul Maram 6/454

🖋️ Al-Allamah Al-Fauzan (may Allah preserve him) said:

"Do not forget the world, for if the world is good, the Hereafter will be good too, and if the world is corrupt, the Hereafter will be bad. The Hereafter is built upon the worldly life, so one should ask Allah to rectify their worldly life so that it aids them in obedience to Allah. No one can be independent of the world."

📚 Tashilul Ilmam 6/346

**وَأَصْلِحْ لِي آخِرَتِي الَّتِي فِيهَا مَعَادِي**

"Rectify for me my Hereafter, which is my place of return."

1️⃣ The first meaning:

🖋️ Ath-Thibi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

"Rectifying the Hereafter is through Allah's gentleness and guidance to worship and obey Him."

📚 Misykatul Mashabih 5/223

2️⃣ The second meaning:

🖋️ Al-Allamah Al-Uthaimin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

"Rectifying the Hereafter means two things: being saved from the Fire and entering Paradise."

📚 Syarh Bulughul Maram 6/454

▪️ **وَاجْعَلِ الْحَيَاةَ زِيَادَةٍ لِي فِي كُلِّ خَيْرٍ**

"O Allah, make my life a cause for the increase in all good for me."

**👉🏼 Why is it important for a person to pray that their life becomes a means of increasing every good for them?**

🖋️ Shaykh Al-Allamah Al-Uthaimin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

"If a person is granted success (through their supplication) in this life, they will continue to increase in goodness every day by performing righteous deeds, and they will feel this within themselves. You will find such a person in a state of joy when they perform a good deed."

📚 Syarh Riyadhus_Shalihin 6/29

▪️ **وَاجْعَلِ الْمَوْتَ رَاحَةً لِي مِنْ كُلِّ شَرٍّ**

"O Allah, make my death a comfort and relief from all evil."

🖋️ Al-Qari (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

"It means being in the state of the testimony of faith, correct belief, and repentance, so that my death becomes a means of liberation from the difficulties of the world and the attainment of comfort in the Hereafter."

**👉🏼 Why does a person pray to Allah for their death to be a comfort from all evil?**

🖋️ Shaykh Al-Allamah Al-Uthaimin (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

"Because a person does not know what will befall them in this world. They may remain in the world for a long time, but their heart may turn away (from faith), we seek refuge in Allah from that. Their prolonged life may corrupt their religion. They may remain in the world and encounter great trials that exhaust them... So, the hastening of death by Allah becomes a comfort for them from all evil."

📚 Syarh Riyadhus_Shalihin 6/29

⭕ **And in the portion of the supplication above, there is a great benefit:**

🖋️ Shaykh Al-Allamah Al-Fauzan (may Allah preserve him) said:

"This contains the submission of one's affairs to Allah and that a person should not supplicate for evil upon themselves with death, nor should they wish for death. Rather, they should ask Allah to grant them a good life and a good death and to entrust all their matters to Allah."

📚 Tashil lil-Imam 6/346

⭕ **Objection:**

Doesn't the portion of the hadith indicate the permissibility of wishing for death?

**👉🏼 Answer:**

In the hadith, it does not indicate a desire for death, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say:

" أمتني" ("Cause me to die")

But he said:

" اجعل الموت..." ("Make death a comfort for me from all evil")

This is similar to the hadith:

"وَإِذَا أَرَدْتَ فِتْنَةَ قَوْمٍ فَتَوَفَّنِي غَيْرَ مَفْتُونٍ"

("If You intend to inflict a trial upon a people, take my life without being tested.") (Reported by At-Tirmidhi)

And the hadith:

"وَتَوَفَّنِي إِذَا عَلِمْتَ الْوَفَاةَ خَيْرًا لِي"

("And cause me to die if You know that death is better for me.") (Reported by An-Nasa'i: 3/54-55 and Ahmad: 4/364. Declared authentic by Al-Albani in Sahih An-Nasa'i: 1/281)

All these hadith are restricted (conditional).

⭕ And if someone says that the statement: "It is not permissible to wish for death except with a restriction," is contradicted by the statement of Maryam in the Qur'an:

"قَالَتْ يَٰلَيْتَنِى مِتُّ قَبْلَ هَٰذَا وَكُنتُ نَسْيًا مَّنسِيًّا"

("She said, 'I wish I had died before this and was in oblivion, forgotten.'") (Maryam: 23)

How could Maryam fall into something prohibited?

**👉🏼 Answer:**

1️⃣ "Wajib for us to know that the Sharia of those before us, if it conflicts with our Sharia (brought by the Messenger), is not a proof, because our Sharia abrogates all previous religions."

2️⃣ "Maryam did not wish for death before, but she wished for death before the occurrence of this trial, even if she were to remain alive for a thousand years. The important thing for her was to die without facing the trial."

Because what was going to happen to Maryam was a great matter. When she came to her people carrying her son, they said:

"يَا مَرْيَمُ لَقَدْ جِئْتِ شَيْئًا فَرِيًّا (٢٧) يَا أُخْتَ هَارُونَ مَا كَانَ أَبُوكِ امْرَأَ سَوْءٍ وَمَا كَانَتْ أُمُّكِ بَغِيًّا (٢٨) فَأَشَارَتْ إِلَيْهِ..."

("O Mary, you have certainly done a thing unprecedented. O sister of Aaron, your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother unchaste.") (Surah Maryam: 27-28)

This is similar to the words of Yusuf (peace be upon him):

"أَنْتَ وَلِيِّي فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ تَوَفَّنِي مُسْلِماً وَأَلْحِقْنِي بِالصَّالِحِينَ"

("You are my Protector in this world and the Hereafter. Cause me to die a Muslim and join me with the righteous.") (Surah Yusuf: 101)

It does not mean asking Allah to cause him to die, but asking to die in the state of Islam, and this is not objectionable.

Like saying: "O Allah, cause me to die as a Muslim, as a believer, in the state of monotheism and correct belief, or cause me to die while You are pleased with me," or similar phrases.

We must know the difference between a person wishing for death due to the distress of a calamity befalling them (which is prohibited) and a person wishing for death with certain attributes pleasing to Allah (which is permissible).

📚 See Syarh Riyadhus_Shalihin 1/251 and Syarh Bulughul Maram 6/455.

We ask Allah for guidance and success for us and for you in what He loves and is pleased with.

✍ Compiled by: Abu Hanan As-Suhaily

21 Jumadi Awwal 1442 - 5/1 2021

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