Today, in our series of posts on "Selected Invocations (Dua / دُعا) from Qur'ān," we share a very powerful prayer that Allah Himself has taught His messenger Muhammad ﷺ whenever entering into a difficulty, praying an entry with truth as well as an exit with truth. We must remember this small prayer and should invariably recite when seeing difficult times or undertaking a task that seemingly seems difficult and an uphill task, for it is a supplication for true and sincere entrance and exit:
وَقُلْ رَّبِّ اَدۡخِلۡنِىۡ مُدۡخَلَ صِدۡقٍ وَّ اَخۡرِجۡنِىۡ مُخۡرَجَ صِدۡقٍ وَّاجۡعَلْ لِّىۡ مِنۡ لَّدُنۡكَ سُلۡطٰنًا نَّصِيۡرًا
(17:80) And pray: "My Lord! Cause me to enter wherever it be, with Truth, and cause me to exit, wherever it be, with Truth, and support me with authority from Yourself."
This prayer clearly shows that the time of Hijrah (Migration) had come near. That is why Allah has instructed the Holy Prophet to this effect: You should follow the truth wherever and in whatever condition you be. If you migrate from a place, you should migrate for the sake of the truth, and wherever you go, you should go for the sake of the truth.
" .. and support me with authority from Yourself " That is, "Either grant me power and authority or make some government my helper so that I may use its power to reform the corrupt world. " This is because power is required to check indecency and sin and to enforce the law of justice.
Hasan Basri and Qatadah have made the same interpretation of this verse, and the great commentators like Ibn Jarir and Ibn Kathir have adopted the same. This is supported by a Tradition of the Holy Prophet: "Allah eradicates by the power of government those evils, which are not eradicated by the teachings of the Qur'an." This is a clear proof that according to Islam, political power is also required to introduce reform, for admonition alone is not enough for this. Besides this, when Allah Himself has taught this prayer to His Prophet for the establishment of His Way and enforcement of His Law, it is not only lawful but desirable to acquire power and those, who consider this to be a worldly thing, are obviously in the wrong. What is really "worldliness" is that one should desire and acquire power for one's own interest. On the contrary. the desire of power for the sake of Allah's Way is not the worship of the world but the worship of God.
Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: The Command to emigrate - Imam Ahmad recorded that Ibn `Abbas said: The Prophet was in Makkah, then he was commanded to emigrate, and Allah revealed the words:
(And say: "My Lord! Let my entry be good, and (likewise) my exit be good. And grant me from You a helping authority.') At-Tirmidhi said, "This is Hasan Sahih.' Al-Hasan Al-Basri commented on this Ayah, "When the disbelievers of Makkah conspired to kill the Messenger of Allah, or expel him or imprison him, Allah wanted him to fight the people of Makkah, and commanded him to go to Al-Madinah.
(وَاجْعَل لِّى مِن لَّدُنْكَ سُلْطَـناً نَّصِيرًا And grant me from You a helping authority.) Al-Hasan Al-Basri explained this Ayah; "His Lord promised to take away the kingdom and glory of Persia and give it to him, and the kingdom and glory of Byzantium and give it to him.'' Qatadah said, "The Prophet of Allah knew that that he could not achieve this without authority or power, so he asked for authority to help him support the Book of Allah, the Laws of Allah, the obligations of Allah and to establish the religion of Allah. Authority is a mercy from Allah which He places among His servants, otherwise some of them would attack others, and the strong would consume the weak.'' Alongside the truth, he also needed power and authority in order to suppress those who opposed and resisted him.
Yusuf Ali Explanation:
The entry and exit here referred to may be interpreted in four senses: (1) entry into death and exit at the resurrection: for the righteous, who have purified their souls by prayer (last verse) and spiritual teaching from the Qur'an (next verse), there is on each occasion a fuller and fuller realisation and enjoyment of truth and honour: for those who are estranged from Allah, the effect is the opposite: the truth becomes bitter and there is ignominy and exposure instead of honour: (2) entry for the holy Prophet into the new life at Madinah, which was still in the womb of futurity, and exit from the life of persecution and the milieu of falsehood, which surrounded him in his native city of Makkah still given up to idolatry: (3) referring to the impending Hijrah again, the prayer may mean, "Let it be from pure motives of truth and spiritual honour, and not from motives of anger against the city of Makkah or its persecutors, or of ambition or worldly power from the city of Madinah, which was ready to lay everything at the Prophet's feet": (4) generally, entry and exit at every stage of life.
All prayer must be for Allah's aid and authority. However much we may plan, our success must depend on His aid. However nobler our motives, we have no right to imperil any lives unless there is authority in the Word of Allah. The Prophet only acts on Allah's commission and inspiration.
Qur'an Wiki:
This is a supplication that God has taught to His Messenger so that his followers learn how to pray to God. It is a supplication for true and sincere entrance and exit. This implies a true and sincere journey, from start to finish and along the way. Truth and sincerity have their own connotations here in reference to the attempts made by the unbelievers to persuade the Prophet to invent something different from the Qur’ān. Moreover, truth and sincerity add an air of steadfastness, reassurance and total dedication.
“And grant me, by Your grace, sustaining power.” (Verse 80)
This is a supplication for strength that would enable the Prophet to look down on all earthly powers and all that the unbelievers could muster. The expression, ‘by Your grace,’ implies closeness to God and contact with Him, as well as seeking His help and support.
A true advocate of faith derives strength only from God, and acquires a position commanding respect only through God’s power. Such an advocate seeks no shelter or support from a ruler or a person of influence unless he first turns to God for help and protection. The divine message may touch the hearts of people in power, or those occupying positions of influence, and they then become its soldiers and servants. This ensures success for them in this life and in the life to come. But the message itself will not prosper if it ranks itself among the servants and soldiers of rulers. It is God’s message and, as such, it commands a position higher than that of any ruler.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Invocations / Dua " دُعا " from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs / verses (ayat) of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:
- The plain translation has been taken from the Qur'ān officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [1]
- The exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. [2]
In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided by [2], additional input has been interjected from following sources:
- Towards Understanding the Quran
- Tafsir Ibn Khatir
- Muhammad Asad Translation
- Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
- Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
- Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
In addition the references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.
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