Protection & Refuge

Rabbanā ātinā fid-dunyā ḥasanatan wa fil-ākhirati ḥasanatan wa qinā ʿadhāban-nār.

Our Lord, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.

The supplication the Prophet ﷺ made most frequently. (Sahih al-Bukhari 6389)

[ Surah Al-Baqara 2:201 ]

Rabbanā lā tu'ākhidhnā in nasīnā aw akhṭa'nā. Rabbanā wa lā taḥmil ʿalaynā iṣran kamā ḥamaltahu ʿalal-ladhīna min qablinā. Rabbanā wa lā tuḥammilnā mā lā ṭāqata lanā bih. Waʿfu ʿannā waghfir lanā warḥamnā, Anta Mawlānā fanṣurnā ʿalal-qawmil-kāfirīn.

Our Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or fall into error. Our Lord, do not lay upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, do not burden us with more than we have strength to bear. Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy upon us. You are our Protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people.

To each request in this verse Allah answered: 'Yes.' (Sahih Muslim 126). Whoever recites the last two verses of al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice him. (Sahih al-Bukhari 5009)

[ Surah Al-Baqara 2:286 ]

Rabbanā innanā āmannā faghfir lanā dhunūbanā wa qinā ʿadhāban-nār.

Our Lord, we have believed, so forgive us our sins and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.

[ Surah Aal-i-Imraan 3:16 ]

Rabbanā mā khalaqta hādhā bāṭilan, Subḥānaka faqinā ʿadhāban-nār.

Our Lord, You did not create this without purpose. Exalted are You; protect us from the punishment of the Fire.

[ Surah Aal-i-Imraan 3:191 ]

Rabbanā innaka man tudkhilin-nāra faqad akhzaytah, wa mā liẓ-ẓālimīna min anṣār.

Our Lord, whoever You admit to the Fire You have disgraced, and for the wrongdoers there are no helpers.

[ Surah Aal-i-Imraan 3:192 ]

Rabbanā akhrijnā min hādhihil-qaryatiẓ-ẓālimi ahluhā, wajʿal lanā min ladunka waliyyan wajʿal lanā min ladunka naṣīrā.

Our Lord, take us out of this town whose people are oppressors, and appoint for us from Yourself a protector, and appoint for us from Yourself a helper.

[ Surah An-Nisaa 4:75 ]

Rabbanā lā tajʿalnā maʿal-qawmiẓ-ẓālimīn.

Our Lord, do not place us with the wrongdoing people.

[ Surah Al-A'raaf 7:47 ]

Rabbanā lā tajʿalnā fitnatan lil-qawmiẓ-ẓālimīn. Wa najjinā biraḥmatika minal-qawmil-kāfirīn.

Our Lord, do not make us a trial for the wrongdoing people, and save us by Your mercy from the disbelieving people.

[ Surah Yunus 10:85-86 ]

Rabbis-sijnu aḥabbu ilayya mimmā yadʿūnanī ilayh, wa illā taṣrif ʿannī kaydahunna aṣbu ilayhinna wa akun minal-jāhilīn.

My Lord, prison is more beloved to me than that to which they invite me. And if You do not turn their plot away from me, I may incline toward them and become of the ignorant.

Said by Prophet Yusuf ﷺ

[ Surah Yusuf 12:33 ]

Rabbij-ʿal hādhal-balada āminan wajnubnī wa baniyya an naʿbudal-aṣnām.

My Lord, make this city secure and keep me and my sons away from worshipping idols.

Said by Prophet Ibrahim ﷺ

[ Surah Ibrahim 14:35 ]

Mā shā'Allāh, lā quwwata illā billāh.

What Allah has willed! There is no power except with Allah.

Recommended when one sees something pleasing, as a safeguard against the evil eye.

[ Surah Al-Kahf 18:39 ]

Rabbi immā turiyannī mā yūʿadūn. Rabbi falā tajʿalnī fil-qawmiẓ-ẓālimīn.

My Lord, if You should show me that which they are promised, then, my Lord, do not place me among the wrongdoing people.

[ Surah Al-Muminoon 23:93-94 ]

Rabbi aʿūdhu bika min hamazātish-shayāṭīn. Wa aʿūdhu bika Rabbi an yaḥḍurūn.

My Lord, I seek refuge in You from the incitements of the devils, and I seek refuge in You, my Lord, lest they be present with me.

[ Surah Al-Muminoon 23:97-98 ]

Rabbanaṣ-rif ʿannā ʿadhāba jahannam, inna ʿadhābahā kāna gharāmā. Innahā sā'at mustaqarran wa muqāmā.

Our Lord, avert from us the punishment of Hell. Indeed, its punishment is ever clinging; indeed, it is evil as a settlement and residence.

[ Surah Al-Furqaan 25:65-66 ]

Rabbi najjinī wa ahlī mimmā yaʿmalūn.

My Lord, save me and my family from what they do.

Said by Prophet Lut ﷺ

[ Surah Ash-Shu'araa 26:169 ]

Rabbi najjinī minal-qawmiẓ-ẓālimīn.

My Lord, save me from the wrongdoing people.

Said by Prophet Musa ﷺ

[ Surah Al-Qasas 28:21 ]

Rabbanā lā tajʿalnā fitnatan lilladhīna kafarū waghfir lanā Rabbanā, innaka Antal-ʿAzīzul-Ḥakīm.

Our Lord, do not make us a trial for those who disbelieve, and forgive us, our Lord. Indeed, it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise.

[ Surah Al-Mumtahana 60:5 ]

Rabbib-ni lī ʿindaka baytan fil-jannati wa najjinī min Firʿawna wa ʿamalihi wa najjinī minal-qawmiẓ-ẓālimīn.

My Lord, build for me a house near You in Paradise, and save me from Pharaoh and his deeds, and save me from the wrongdoing people.

Said by Asiyah, the wife of Pharaoh

[ Surah At-Tahrim 66:11 ]

Qul aʿūdhu bi-Rabbil-falaq. Min sharri mā khalaq. Wa min sharri ghāsiqin idhā waqab. Wa min sharrin-naffāthāti fil-ʿuqad. Wa min sharri ḥāsidin idhā ḥasad.

Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of the daybreak, from the evil of that which He created, and from the evil of darkness when it settles, and from the evil of the blowers in knots, and from the evil of an envier when he envies.

Recited three times morning and evening, before sleep, and as ruqyah. (Sunan Abi Dawud 5082)

[ Surah Al-Falaq 113:1-5 ]

Qul aʿūdhu bi-Rabbin-nās. Malikin-nās. Ilāhin-nās. Min sharril-waswāsil-khannās. Alladhī yuwaswisu fī ṣudūrin-nās. Minal-jinnati wan-nās.

Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind, the Sovereign of mankind, the God of mankind, from the evil of the retreating whisperer who whispers in the breasts of mankind, from among the jinn and mankind.

Recited three times morning and evening, before sleep, and as ruqyah. (Sunan Abi Dawud 5082)

[ Surah An-Naas 114:1-6 ]

A`ūdhu billāhi minash-shayṭānir-rajīm.

Seeking refuge with Allah against him (i.e. by saying I seek refuge in Allah from Satan the outcast).

[ Abu Dawud 1/206, At-Tirmidhi. See also Al-Albani, Sahih At-Tirmidhi 1/77, and Surat Al-Mu'minun, 23:98-9. Hisn al-Muslim 141 ]

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The call to prayer - 'Athan.

[ Muslim 1/291, Al-Bukhari 1/151. Hisn al-Muslim 142 ]

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Saying words of Allah's remembrance (Thikr) and recitation of the Qur'an.

[ "Do not turn your homes into graveyards, surely the Devil flees from the house in which Surat Al-Baqarah is read," Muslim 1/539. The Devil is also driven out by the invocations for morning and evening, those that are said before sleeping and upon waking up, those for entering and leaving the house, including those for entering and leaving the mosque, and by many other authentic invocations taught to us by the Prophet (ﷺ) such as the reading of 'Ayatul-Kursi, (Al-Baqarah 2:255), and the last two 'Ayat of Surat Al-Baqarah before going to sleep. Whoever says: "There is none worthy of worship but Allah alone, Who has no partner, His is the dominion and His is the praise, and he is Able to do all things," one hundred times, it will be a protection for him from the Devil throughout the day.' Hisn al-Muslim 143 ]

The Prophet (ﷺ) used to seek Allah's protection for Al-Hasan and Al-Husain by saying: U`īthukumā bikalimāti ‘llāhit-tāmmati min kulli shayṭānin wa hāmmah, wa min kulli `aynin lāmmah

I seek protection for you in the Perfect Words of Allah from every devil and every beast, and from every envious blameworthy eye.

[ Al-Bukhari4/119. Hisn al-Muslim 146 ]

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Whoever memorizes ten 'Ayat (Verses) from the beginning of Surat Al-Kahf, will be protected from the False Messiah 1 if he recites in every prayer after the final Tashahhud before ending the prayer, seeking the protection of Allah from the trials of the False Messiah.

[ 1 Muslim 1/555, another version mentions the last ten 'Ayat, Muslim 1/556. 2 See invocations no. 55 and 56 of this book. Hisn al-Muslim 199 ]

Allāhumma innī a`ūdhu bika an ushrika bika wa anā a`lam, wa astaghfiruka limā lā a`lam.

O Allah, I seek refuge in You lest I associate anything with You knowingly, and I seek Your forgiveness for what I know not.

[ Ahmad 4/403. See also Al-Albani, Sahihul-Jami' As-Saghir 3/233 and Sahihut-Targhib wat- Tarhib 1/19. Hisn al-Muslim 203 ]

If you see something from your brother, yourself or wealth which you find impressing, then invoke blessings for it, for the evil eye is indeed true.

[ Ahmad 4/447, Ibn Majah, Malik. Al-Albani graded it authentic in Sahihul-Jami' As-Saghir 1/212. Also see Al-Arna'ut's checking of Ibn Al-Qayyim's Zadul-Ma'ad 4/170. Hisn al-Muslim 244 ]

A`ūdhu bikalimāti ‘llāhit-tāmmāti ‘llatī lā yujāwizuhunna barrun wa lā fājirun min sharri mā khalaq, wa bara'a wa dhara', wa min sharri mā yanzilu minas-samā', wa min sharri mā ya`ruju fīhā, wa min sharri mā dhara'a fi ‘l-arḍ, wa min sharri ma yakhruju minhā, wa min sharri fitani ‘llayli wannahār, wa min sharri kulli ṭāriqin illā ṭāriqan yaṭruqu bikhayr yā Rahmān.

I seek refuge in the Perfect Words of Allah -which neither the upright nor the corrupt may overcome - from the evil of what He created, of what He made, and of what He scattered, from the evil of what descends from the heavens, and of what rises up to them, from the evil of what He scattered in the earth, and of what emerges from it, from the evil trials of night and day, and from the evil of every night visitor, except the night visitor who comes with good. O Merciful One.

[ Ahmad 3/419, with an authentic chain of narration, and Ibn As-Sunni (no. 637). Al-Arna'ut, graded its chain authentic in his checking of Al-'Aqidah At-Tahawiyyah p. 133. See also Majma'uz-Zawa'id, 10/127. Hisn al-Muslim 247 ]

A`ūdhu bikalimāti ‘llāhit-tāmmāti min ghaḍabihi wa `iqābihi wa sharri `ibādih, wa min hamazātish-shayāṭīni wa an yaḥḍurūn.

I seek refuge in the Perfect Words of Allah from His anger and His punishment, from the evil of His slaves, and from the taunts of devils and from their presence.

[ Abu Dawud 4/12. See also Al-Albani, Sahih At- Tirmidhi 3/171. Hisn al-Muslim 113 ]