On one occasion, the respected wife of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), Sayyidah Ummu Salamah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) said to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), “O Rasul of Allah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)! Will you not teach me a special du‘aa that I can make for myself?” Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) responded, “Certainly! Recite the following:
اَللّٰهُمَّ رَبَّ النَّبِيِّ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، اِغْفِرْ لِيْ ذَنْبِيْ ، وَأَذْهِبْ غَيْظَ قَلْبِيْ ، وَأَجِرْنِيْ مِنْ مُضِلَّاتِ الْفِتَنِ مَا أَحْيَيْتَنَا
Transliteration: Allahumma Rabban Nabiyyi Muhammadin (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) ighfir lee zambee, wa az-hib ghaiza qalbee, wa ajirnee min mudhillaatil fitani ma ahyaytanaa.
Translation: O Allah! Rabb of Nabi Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)! Forgive my sins, remove anger from my heart, and so long as you allow me to live, save me from trials that cause a person to go astray.” (Musnad Ahmad #26576)
In this du‘aa, one is asking Allah Ta‘ala for three things, of which the first is forgiveness for one’s sins. From time to time throughout one’s life, whether knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally, one may fall into sins. These sins become impediments and hurdles that cause major problems – both in this world and the next. Hence, the aspect of seeking forgiveness for sins is commonly found in many of the various sunnah du‘aas, as it is absolutely vital and necessary.
The second thing that one is asking is for one to have anger removed from one’s heart. In other words, one is asking Allah Ta‘ala to grant him control over his temper. The reason for this is that anger and a hot temper is such a quality that when it surfaces, it causes a person to lose all control of himself. At the time of anger, even an intelligent person may make a fool of himself, and even a wise person may fall into folly. Thus, anger is the root cause that prompts a person to issue three talaaqs on the spur of the moment, to pull the trigger and commit murder, and commit other heinous sins and crimes that destroy his Deen and dunya. Hence, when this is how detrimental an uncontrolled temper is, we have been taught to make this du‘aa to Allah Ta‘ala.
It is reported in other narrations that if Sayyidah ‘Aaishah (radhiyallahu ‘anha) became angered over something, then with great love and affection, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) would remind her to recite the abovementioned du‘aa. (‘Amalul Yaumi wal Lailah – Ibnus Sunni #455)
The third thing that one is asking for is lifelong protection, until one’s final breath, from all fitnahs (trials and sins) that cause deviation and misguidance in Deen. It should not be that one spends his entire life striving in the path of righteousness, but at the very end, he falls into a fitnah that causes him to lose everything.
This aspect, of protection from fitnahs, is also commonly repeated in many sunnah du‘aas on account of its great importance. When safety from fitnahs is so vital for salvation, then together with making du‘aa for this safety, we should also adopt measures to protect our imaan and the imaan of our progenies.
Thus, we should ensure that we always refer to the rightly-guided ‘Ulama and stay far away from people regarding whom there is doubt. Likewise, extreme caution should be exercised when selecting literature to read, a lecture to listen to or any other avenue of acquiring Deeni information.
May Allah Ta‘ala forgive our sins, grant us control over our tempers and save us all from fitnahs, aameen.