Arabic Text
عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما أيضًا أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يقول:
«اللهم لك أسلمت، وبك آمنت، وعليك توكلت، وإليك أنبتُ، وبك خاصمتُ. اللهم إني أعوذ بعزتك لا إله إلا أنت أن تضلني، أنت الحي الذي لا يموت، والجن والإنس يموتون».
متفق عليه، وهذا لفظ مسلم، واختصره البخاري.
Translation
Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, also reported that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to say:
“O Allah, to You I have submitted, in You I have believed, upon You I have relied, to You I have returned, and by You I have defended the truth. O Allah, I seek refuge in Your might—there is no god but You—from being led astray. You are the Ever-Living who never dies, while jinn and humans die.”
1. Connection to the Chapter
This hadith is a perfect fit for اليقين والتوكل because it gathers the inner language of a heart that has settled upon Allah. It is not merely a du‘a; it is a declaration of where the soul stands when life becomes heavy. Yaqin is seen here in the firmness of submission, belief, return, and trust, while tawakkul is explicit in the words “upon You I have relied.”
The chapter speaks about certainty and reliance, and this hadith shows their living expression. A believer who truly knows Allah does not only believe in Him abstractly; he speaks to Him from the place of surrender and dependence.
2. Key Words Meaning
لك أسلمت — to You I have submitted; I have yielded my will to Your command.
بك آمنت — in You I have believed; my faith is anchored in Your truth.
عليك توكلت — upon You I have relied; I have entrusted my affairs to You.
إليك أنبت — to You I have returned; I have turned back to Your worship and nearness.
بك خاصمت — by You I have defended the truth; I argued for Your religion with Your support, not with ego.
أعوذ بعزتك — I seek refuge in Your might; I hide myself in Your power and protection.
أن تضلني — that You let me go astray; from the greatest fear: deviation from guidance.
الحي الذي لا يموت — the Ever-Living who never dies; the One whose support never ends.
3. Hadith Lessons
The first lesson is that the believer’s relationship with Allah should cover the whole life of the heart. Submission, faith, trust, return, and truth-defending are all mentioned together because real religion is comprehensive. The servant does not belong to himself; he belongs to Allah.
The second lesson is that tawakkul is not passive helplessness. It is the act of giving the heart to Allah after using the faculties He gave. A believer still thinks, speaks, argues for truth, and returns in repentance—but he does all of that while depending on Allah.
The third lesson is that the most dangerous loss is not worldly loss but misguidance. The du‘a seeks refuge from being led astray because guidance is the soul’s real life. Wealth can be restored, health can return, but misguidance can ruin the heart itself.
The fourth lesson is that Allah is the living support of every believer. The du‘a contrasts Allah’s eternal life with the mortality of jinn and humans. This means every created helper, every human backing, every visible support is temporary. Only Allah remains.
4. Special Reflections
This hadith is especially beautiful because it sounds like the speech of a soul that has stopped negotiating with the world. It is a full declaration of dependence. Many people live fragmented lives: they submit in one area, believe in another, rely on people in a third, and only turn to Allah in moments of crisis. This du‘a gathers the fragments.
The phrase بك خاصمت is also important. The believer does not defend truth through ego, anger, or empty combativeness. He argues by Allah’s guidance and for Allah’s sake. That is a needed lesson today, when religious debate often becomes performance rather than service to truth.
The refuge from misguidance is also deeply modern. People fear failure, loss, rejection, and instability, but the Prophet ﷺ teaches fear of something more serious: being left to drift from the truth. When the heart is not guided, every other success becomes fragile.
5. Three Questions to Close With
- Have I truly submitted to Allah, or only accepted Him in words?
- When I defend what is right, am I doing so by Allah’s guidance or by my own ego?
- What do I fear more: losing worldly comfort, or losing guidance?