Overcoming Hardships Reflections With the Divine

Yaqeen (Certainty)

How to Achieve Tranquility of the Heart Series: Part IPart IIPart IIIPart IVPart VPart VI | Part VIIPart VIIIPart IX | Part XPart XIPart XIIPart XIIIPart XIV | Part XV | Part XVIPart XVIIPart XVIIIPart XIXPart XX

Abu Darda radiAllahu `anhu (may Allah be pleased with him) was one of the righteous companions of the Prophet ﷺ (peace be upon him). Once, a man came running to him saying, “O Abu Darda, your house has burned down!” He said: “No, it cannot be burned!” The man insisted that a fire had engulfed the whole neighborhood and his house was of the ones that had burned down. Abu Darda (ra) responded, with full certainty, “Allah will never allow this to happen because of the words that I heard from the Prophet ﷺ. Whoever says these words in the beginning of a day, the Prophet ﷺ told us, will not be afflicted by a misfortune until the end of the day, and whoever says these words in the evening will not be afflicted until morning.” He told him the words that he had recited that day as he had learned from the Prophet ﷺ, and when they both went to inspect the neighborhood, it turned out that most of the other houses had burned down, except the house of Abu Darda (ra). [Ibn As-Sinny, Tabarani]

This is a remarkable story. It is not simply remarkable because his house did not burn down – for Allah subhanahu wa ta`la (swt) is capable of all things. It is remarkable because Abu Darda (ra) was so sure of the words of the Prophet ﷺ, that even someone telling him that he saw the whole neighborhood burn down did not shake his faith. It is similar to the faith of Abu Bakr (ra), who said “If he [the Prophet ﷺ] has said it, then it is true.”

Truly yaqeen (certainty) is the soul of faith.

This is the final article in the section on things to know, and thus we have to conclude with this topic – the topic of certainty. That is because simply knowing we have to think well of Allah, or have trust, won’t truly help us when we need it if we are not sure. Being sure (having yaqeen) means certainty in the Strength of Allah, in His Mercy, in His promise, and in everything that we talked about in the past seven articles. It is certainty that He can make us better, save us and help us. We need to ask ourselves – how firm is that certainty?

We discussed how shaytan makes us doubt – that is the best he can do. And that is precisely what we must fight, because the first description of those who have taqwa (God-consciousness) in the Qur’an is:

2:3

“Who believe in the unseen…” (Qur’an, 2:3)

Our faith should be as strong as if we can see. If you visited a certain place and saw it with your own eyes, chances are no matter what, no one can tell you it doesn’t exist, especially if you have souvenirs. The Qur’an and the sayings of the Prophet ﷺ should be as true to us as though we have visited a place – it should be that real. Many of us have experienced the bounty of Allah (swt) – these are our souvenirs. So when things go wrong in our life, we need to be able to go back to that place and hold onto those souvenirs as our anchors – and for that certainty, the reward is immeasurable.

Does that mean nothing bad will ever happen? Of course not. But you will able to see beyond the immediate. Your certainty in Allah (swt) means you know; when bad things befall you, you will reflect on why tests happen and try to learn from the experience. When things turn out well, you know to fall into prostration because that result could not have occurred except by the will and grace of Allah (swt).

There is a beautiful du`a’ (supplication) in this regard. The Prophet ﷺ used to supplicate:

“O Allah! Grant us such fear of You as will come between us and acts of disobedience to You; such obedience to You as will bring us to Your Garden; and such certainty that the calamities of this world will be made easy for us by You. “1 [Tirmidhi]

Calamities without doubt test our faith, and this is why the Prophet ﷺ taught us to pray for certainty – so that these calamities are made easier.

Be like the companions. Their faith never wavered because they were certain in Allah’s Words in the Qur’an, and they were certain in what the Prophet ﷺ taught them. They never stopped asking Allah, because they knew it is only Allah that responds to the du`a’ of the distressed.2 They never stopped seeking forgiveness, even when they felt their sins were like mountains, because they knew that Allah’s Hands are open to accept the repentant sinner, over and over again.3 They knew to work hard even if they never saw the fruits of their labor, because they knew that every drop of sweat was recorded with Allah and would never ever go to waste.4 They didn’t let other people’s rudeness get to them, because if they were patient and said words of peace, they were of the people that Allah praised in the Qur’an.5 They fled from Allah, only to Him.

Be like the companions. Have faith.

Insha’Allah next week we will begin with the things we have to do in our journey to achieve tranquility of the heart.


  1. Part of a longer du’a which continues: “Let us enjoy our hearing, our sight and our faculties as long as You grant us life, and let it be the last to be taken away from us. Avenge us from those who have wronged us and help us against our enemies. Let no calamity be fall our religion; let not worldly affairs be our greatest care or all about which we know; and let not those who have no fear of You and who do not show mercy toward us rule over us.”
  2. “Is He (not best) who responds to the desperate one when he calls upon Him and removes evil and makes you inheritors of the earth? Is there a deity with Allah? Little do you remember.” (Qur’an, 27:62)
  3. The Prophet ﷺ said “Verily, Allah extends His hand out at night in order to accept the repentance of the sinner by day. And He extends His hand out during the day in order to accept the repentance of the sinner by night, until (the day) when the sun will rise from its west.” (Muslim)
  4. “Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds – indeed, We will not allow to be lost the reward of any who did well in deeds” (Qur’an, 18:30)
  5. “The servants of the Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily and when the ignorant address them harshly, they say words of peace,” (Qur’an, 25:63)

About the author

Jinan Yousef

Jinan's main interests within the field of Islamic Studies are the Names of Allah, the life and character of the Prophet ﷺ, tazkiya and Muslim personalities.

47 Comments

  • mA that was a great read. Do you have the Arabic to both of the dua’ that you mentioned. Both the one of Abu Dardaa’ and the entire second one (certainty that the calamities of this world will be made easy for us by You)…

    • The Prophet’s (pbuh) du’a:

      اللهم اقسم لنا من خشيتك ما تحول به بيننا وبين معاصيك، ومن طاعتك ما تُبلِّغنا به جنَّتك، ومن اليقين ما تهوِّن به علينا مصائب الدنيا، اللهم متِّعنا بأسماعنا، وأبصارنا، وقوَّاتنا ما أحييتنا، واجعلهم الوارث منا، واجعل ثأرنا على من ظلمنا، وانصرنا على من عادانا، ولا تجعل مصيبتنا في ديننا، ولا تجعل الدنيا أكبر همِّنا، ولا مبلغ علمنا، ولا تسلِّط علينا من لا يرحمنا”

    • Salaam u alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
      The Arabic of the second dua is:
      “Allahummaqsim lana min khashyatika ma tahoolo bihi baynana wa bayna ma’siatik wa min taa’tika ma tuballighona bihi a’layna jannatak wa minal yaqeeni ma tahwwino bihi ‘alaina masaib addunya. Allahumma matti’na bi asma’ina wa absarina wa quwwatina ma ahyaytana, waja’lhul waritha minna, wa aja’l tharana a’la man zalamana, wansurna a’la man a’dana, la taj’al museebatana fee deenina wa la taja’l iddunya akbara hammina wa ghammina, wa mablagha i’lmina, wa la tasullit a’layna man la yarhamna.” Ameen.

  • It’s so easy to believe, but to believe with extreme certainty, now that’s where we may have a problem. Faith with our certainty leaves room for the decay of faith…

  • It has been reported that the dhikr the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said to Abu Darda (ra):

    اللهم انت ربي لا اله الا انت عليك توكلت وانت رب العرش العظيم , ما شاء الله كان وما لم يشأ لم يكن , ولا حول ولا قوة الا بالله العلي العظيم , اعلم ان الله على كل شيء قدير وان الله قد احاط بكل شىء علما , اللهم اني اعوذ بك من شر نفسي ومن شر كل دابة ربي آخذ ناصيتها , ان ربي على صراط مستقيم

    “O Allah, You are my Lord, there is no god but You, I put my trust in You, You are the Lord of the Mighty Throne. Whatever Allah wills will happen and what He does not will, cannot happen. There is no power or strength except with Allah, the Exalted, the Mighty. I know that Allah has power over all things, and Allah comprehends all things in knowledge. O Allah, I seek refuge with You from the evil of myself and from the evil of all creatures under Your control. Surely the straight way is my Sustainer’s way“

    • Assalaamu Alaikum. Your article is truly enlightening. Please could you kindly transiliterate the Dua to english as i can not read Arabic. I also have unrelated question i was wondering if you could pls help me answer. Do i earn any rewards from reading the english version of The Holy Qur’an over and over again? (example- Reading translated version of Suratul- Khaf every Friday)? Plus can you help me wit any website that has an easy guide with audio support to learning Holy Qur’an and Arabic. JazakALLAHUL Khair.
      May Allah(SWA) Increase you in knowledge and Grant you Al-Jannatul Firdaus. Aameen

      • Assalamu alikum..Dear Isah Muhammad.. Allah subuhanhu wa ta’ala knows what is in our heart and He rewards based on it’s intention and when we perform it as per the way His rasool taught us. Keep doing what you doing now at the same time you should make every effort to learn Arabic and so that you can read the Qur’an(Surah AL-Kahaf) In shaa Allah, you will see the difference.
        These days I don’t think one can go for any excuse by not learning Arabic (at least reading) when many of spent hours on the internet and there many resources available. Also look for local mosque one can teach you in person. May Allah make it easy for you. ameen.

        And Allah knows the best.
        -student of Quran’

    • Salaam alaikm

      The du’a in Tirmidhi has been classed as hasan by al-Albani.

      As for the dhikr taught to Abu Darda (ra), it is considered weak. I asked about weak hadith and using them and the answer I received is that a weak does not mean that it is fabricated- Ahl al-Sunnah use these hadiths for individual supererogatory practices as long as they agree and do not conflict with Quranic teachings.

  • Asalamualikum,

    Thank you does not do justice. This article has helped me tremendously. MashAllah my perception completely changed in dealing with harships.

    I have enjoyed reading every bit of these series and I make dua that inshAllah Allah grants you with numerous blessings in this world and in the akera. You truly have fullfilled your duty as sincere,caring, humble, and kind Muslim.

  • Assalamu aleykum. I really loved this seires. Really good and important for us to know. I wanted to ask you in the end of this article you wrote about the companions “They fled from Allah…” Is that right or do you mean that they fled to Allah? I’m sorry for this strange question but my english is not so good.

    May Allah reward you for your effort, Amin.

    • W alaikm isalam w rahmat Allah sr. Meryem

      It’s not a strange question at all 🙂 I stated that “they fled from Allah, only to Him”. In the Qur’an, Allah says:

      “So flee to Allah” (Qur’an, 51:50)

      Usually, when we fear something or someone, we flee from them- except Allah. Even when we sin, and we fear His punishment, we flee to Him seeking His forgiveness. This is what I meant- the companions (ra), even when they did wrong, knew to return to Allah, whereas sometimes when we commit wrong, it makes us turn away from Allah. Hope this makes sense 🙂

  • Jazak’Allahu Khairan for this piece (and series) dear Sr. Jinan (finally caught up with the series!). Always enjoy your work on the site!

    I can certainly attest to having experiences, in the relatively small struggles that academics bring us (I’m sure all can relate!). I have hit many lows in this part of my life, but with hard work and du’a, I’ve seen again and again, despite the low point or place I was in, thinking that I was in an impossible or unrecoverable position, He Rescued me from it, despite my faults and errors.

    Thus, at present, when things again seem a bit down, I know that again, if I am sincere HE will Help me through to survive once again. Each time this happens, it brings me to tears – how can I deserve this? Indeed, Allah is Al-Ghafur, Al-Raheem!

    Looking forward to the next part of the series!

    Wa alaikkum as salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!

  • […] of the Heart Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part […]

  • […] of the Heart Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII| Part VIII | Part IX| Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part […]

  • […] of the Heart Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX| Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part […]

  • […] of the Heart Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part […]

  • assalamoualaikoum,

    I enjoyed your article, it made me closer to Allah, thank you for that, you will always be remembered in my duas..keep on writing such beautiful things…I am touched, I love Allah more and more now,I see him differently and I am grateful to him now for everything..indeed he is the most merciful and just one…keep it up…:)

  • AsSalaamualykum wa Rahmatullah

    This is an awe-inspiring series.
    Clarity of thought and simplicity of words…SubhanAllah!
    You are blessed Sr.Jinan.
    May Allah grant you and your family Jannatul Firdous!
    InshAllah. Ameen.

  • I have a question regarding the following dua. I do not understand the meaning of the sentence up to the first semicolon(;). I guess the translation might not be done correctly. I request someone to help me understand the first sentence or correct the first sentence with proper English translation.

    My Questions:
    ————-
    First we are asking “Allah grant us such fear” – so my question is what fear, what the fear is compared to? and we continue asking “as will come between us” – between who? between me and Allah or between me and other people? and we continue asking “and acts of disobedience to You” – this part does not sound right to me and does not fit into the context of previous section of this sentence.

    The full dua:
    ————-
    O Allah! Grant us such fear of You as will come between us and acts of disobedience to You; such obedience to You as will bring us to Your Garden; and such certainty that the calamities of this world will be made easy for us by You. Let us enjoy our hearing, our sight and our faculties as long as You grant us life, and let it be the last to be taken away from us. Avenge us from those who have wronged us and help us against our enemies. Let no calamity be fall on our religion; let not worldly affairs be our greatest care or all about which we know; and Let not those who have no fear of You and who do not show mercy toward us rule over us.

    • Salaam Shahul,

      In the du’a, we are asking Allah to grant us as much fear as would keep us away from acts of disobedience.

      I hope this is clear.

      Jinan

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