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All of the strategies presented thus far would be completely ineffective if not for the will and help of Allah. As such, the most important strategy is to seek the help of Allah in strengthening your heart and dealing with shubuhāt and we do this by supplicating to and imploring Allah i.e. du’ā. Du’ā is at the center of our being as Al-Khattabi states,
“The meaning of du’ā is the servant’s asking his Lord for His Help, and asking His continued support. Its essence is that a person shows his neediness to Allah, and frees himself from any power or ability to change (any matter by himself). This characteristic is the mark of servitude, and in it is the feeling of human submissiveness. Du’ā also carries the meaning of praising Allah, and attributing to Him Generosity and Bounteousness.”1
There are many du’ā that are mentioned in the Qur’an, the corpus of hadīth literature and narrations from the companions of the Prophet ﷺ related to strengthening the heart and dealing with shubuhāt. Below are mentioned some of the most powerful and heart warming ones for one to memorize and use.
Du’ā to separate between truth and that which resembles it (i.e. shubuhāt):
Al-Buhuti reported: Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “O Allah, show me the truth as truth and guide me to follow it. Show me the falsehood as falsehood and guide me to avoid it.”2
Prophetic Du’ā to make firm one’s heart:
The Prophet ﷺ said, “Oh turner of the hearts (Allah, the Most High), keep my heart firm on Your Dīn .”3
Prophetic Du’ā for a sound heart and general steadfastness:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to say in his prayer: “O Allah, I ask You for steadfastness in all my affairs and determination in following the right path, I ask You to make me thankful for Your blessings and to make me worship You properly. I ask You for a sound heart and a truthful tongue. I ask You for the best of what You know and I seek refuge in You from the worst of what You know and I seek Your forgiveness for what You know.”4
Qur’anic Du’ā for a strengthening the heart:
“Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower.”5
Other Relevant Qur’anic Du’ā:
“Guide us to the straight path. The path that You have bestowed Your favor upon, not (the path) of those who have earned anger, nor those who have gone astray.”6
“Our Lord! We have heard the caller to ˹true˺ belief, ˹proclaiming,˺ ‘Believe in your Lord ˹alone˺,’ so we believed. Our Lord! Forgive our sins, absolve us of our misdeeds, and allow us ˹each˺ to die as one of the virtuous.”7
“Our Lord! Shower us with perseverance, and let us die while submitting ˹to You˺.”8
“Our Lord! Grant us mercy from Yourself and guide us rightly through our ordeal.”9
“Our Lord! We believe in Your revelations and follow the messenger, so count us among those who bear witness.”10
“My Lord! Make me and those ˹believers˺ of my descendants keep up prayer. Our Lord! Accept my prayers.”11
Other Relevant Prophetic Du’ā:
The Prophet ﷺ said: “There is no Muslim – or no person, or slave (of Allah) – who says, in the morning and evening: ‘I am content with Allah as my Lord, Islam as my religion and Muhammad as my Prophet’, but he will have a promise from Allah to make him pleased on the Day of Resurrection.”12
“O Allah, I ask You for Your love and the love of those who love You and love of the action which will make me reach Your love.”13
Zaid bin Arqam narrated that the Prophet ﷺ used to supplicate: “O Allah, I seek refuge in You from knowledge which does not benefit, from a heart that does not entertain the fear (of Allah), from a soul that is not satisfied and the supplication that is not answered.”14
1 Quoted in Qadhi, Abu Ammaar Yasir, and Al Hidaayah Publishing & Distribution. Du’A: The Weapon of the Believer, 2001., pg. 22
2 Sharḥ al-Muntahá al-Irādāt 3/497
3> Authenticated by al-Albanee in al-Jaam’i as-Sagheer 1323/7988
4 Sunan an-Nasa’i 1304 (Hasan)
5 القرآن الكريم. “Surat ’Ali `Imran [3:8] – The Noble Qur’an.” Accessed March 29, 2022. https://legacy.quran.com/3/8.
6 القرآن الكريم. “Surat Al-Fatihah [1:6-7] – The Noble Qur’an.” Accessed March 29, 2022. https://legacy.quran.com/1/6-7.
7 القرآن الكريم. “Surat ’Ali `Imran [3:193] – The Noble Qur’an.” Accessed March 29, 2022. https://legacy.quran.com/3/193.
8 القرآن الكريم. “Surat Al-’A`raf [7:126] – The Noble Qur’an.” Accessed March 29, 2022. https://legacy.quran.com/7/126.
9 القرآن الكريم. “Surat Al-Kahf [18:10] – The Noble Qur’an.” Accessed March 29, 2022. https://legacy.quran.com/18/10.
10 القرآن الكريم. “Surat ’Ali `Imran [3:53] – The Noble Qur’an.” Accessed March 29, 2022. https://legacy.quran.com/3/53.
11 القرآن الكريم. “Surat ’Ibrahim [14:40] – The Noble Qur’an.” Accessed March 29, 2022. https://legacy.quran.com/14/40.
12 Sunan Ibn Majah 3870 (Hasan)
13 Tirmidhi #3490 (Hasan Ghareeb)
14 Qushayrī, Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim