From among the various du‘aas in which Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) sought the protection of Allah Ta‘ala from certain things, one extremely comprehensive du‘aa is the following:
اَللّٰهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ زَوَالِ نِعْمَتِكَ وَتَحَوُّلِ عَافِيَتِكَ وَفُجَاءَةِ نِقْمَتِكَ وَجَمِيعِ سَخَطِكَ
“O Allah, I seek your protection from losing Your favours, from the conditions of Your ease changing, from Your sudden punishment and from all forms of Your displeasure” (Saheeh Muslim #6944)
Every bounty that Allah Ta‘ala has blessed us with, no matter how small it may seem, is indeed a very great favour from Allah Ta‘ala. We generally do not appreciate the true value of a bounty until we lose it. As the Arabic proverb says, “The (true) appreciation of a favour is (understood) after it has gone.”
Therefore, in the first part of this du‘aa, we seek the protection of Allah Ta‘ala from losing any of the favours which He has blessed us with, whether they are physical and material favours, spiritual and Deeni favours, worldly favours, or favours that relate to our Aakhirah. Furthermore, seeking protection from losing favours is actually a supplication for one to be protected from sins and evil, since committing sins is the cause for the loss of favours. So, when the favours of Allah Ta‘ala are secure, this will mean that this person will not commit sins, and therefore be protected from its negative consequence. (Adapted from Faidhul Qadeer #1471)
Thereafter, we seek the protection of Allah Ta‘ala from our condition of ‘aafiyah (ease and comfort) being changed to difficulty and pain, since ‘aafiyah is one of the greatest bounties a person can be blessed with after imaan. How often we witness that someone who was fit and healthy, all of a sudden becomes extremely sick and even bed-ridden. In some cases, an entire city or country were at ease and in a short space of time their condition completely changes; a man who was once a millionaire is now eagerly awaiting a food hamper and a progressive country is now a war-torn demolished civilization.
The third aspect from which we seek the protection of Allah Ta‘ala is the punishment of Allah Ta‘ala striking us suddenly. This is indeed something which is very frightening because one does not have any guarantee regarding what the future holds for him.
Finally, we ask Allah Ta‘ala to protect us from all those actions, thoughts, characteristics etc. which will cause His displeasure, since His pleasure is what our lives revolve around. If a person outwardly seems to have the perfect life, but he has earned the displeasure of Allah Ta‘ala, then he is indeed doomed and will never experience true peace. However, if he has earned the pleasure of Allah Ta‘ala, even if he may be a pauper, he will most definitely find true peace and serenity.