Salat al-Istighatha
Salat al-Istighatha (Arabic: صلاة الاستغاثة; “The Salutation of Seeking Help”) is a concise yet powerful prayer upon the Prophet ﷺ, recited in times of hardship and distress. Scholars and the righteous have turned to this prayer in times of difficulty, seeking relief through the blessings of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Among its reported virtues is that, by the permission of Allah the Exalted, it is a means of receiving the Prophet’s ﷺ spiritual assistance and relief from affliction.
Read lessArabic, Transliteration and Translation
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ وَسَلِّمْ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ ❁ قَدْ ضَاقَتْ حِيلَتِي أَدْرِكْنِي يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ❁
Allāhumma ṣalli wa-sallim ʿalā sayyidinā Muḥammadin, qad ḍāqat ḥīlatī adriknī yā rasūla Llāh.
O Allah, send prayers and peace upon our master Muhammad. My means have become exhausted. Come to my aid, O Messenger of Allah.
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About Salat al-Istighatha
This salutation was received directly from the Prophet ﷺ by the Mufti of Damascus, Shaykh Hamid Effendi al-Imadi. It was later transmitted with a chain of narration by Sayyid Muhammad Amin Ibn Abidin al-Shami (d. 1252 AH/1836 CE), the eminent Ottoman Hanafi jurist of Damascus and author of the authoritative legal commentary Radd al-Muhtar.
In his thabat, Ibn Abidin transmits this account through his teacher, Sayyid Muhammad Shakir al-Aqqad, from the pious Shaykh Ahmad al-Halabi of Damascus, from the Mufti of Damascus, Shaykh Hamid Effendi al-Imadi, who related the following incident:
A government minister in Damascus once intended to punish me, causing me to spend the entire night in great anxiety and distress. That night, I saw our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, in a dream. He ﷺ comforted me, taught me this salutation, and said that if I recited it, Allah would remove my hardship. When I awoke, I immediately began reciting it. Before I had completed two hundred recitations, a man arrived with the news that the matter had been resolved and the affliction had been lifted. Through the blessings of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Allah relieved me of my distress.
The nineteenth-century Turkish gnostic and scholar Shaykh Muhammad Haqqi Effendi al-Nazili (d. 1301 AH/1884 CE) also mentions some of the virtues of this salutation. He relates that he once asked his Shaykh to teach him a litany that would increase him in knowledge, draw him nearer to Allah, and strengthen his connection with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. His Shaykh instructed him to recite Ayat al-Kursi (Quran 2:255) together with this salutation.
He further explained that whoever recites this salutation regularly will, by Allah’s permission, receive knowledge and spiritual secrets directly from the Prophet ﷺ, to the extent that he will come under the Prophet’s ﷺ special spiritual care. He added that this had been tried and tested by experience.
This salutation is traditionally recited 100 to 300 times daily.
Reported Virtues
The regular recitation of Salat al-Istighatha is associated with the following benefits:
- Relief from hardship, anxiety, and distress, by Allah’s permission.
- An increase in beneficial knowledge.
- Drawing nearer to Allah.
- Strengthening one’s spiritual connection with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
- Receiving knowledge and spiritual secrets from the Prophet ﷺ, by Allah’s permission.
- Coming under the Prophet’s ﷺ special spiritual care.
Recommended Recitation
The following recitations have been recommended for particular purposes:
- For relief from hardship and distress: Recite until relief comes. It is reported that Shaykh Hamid Effendi al-Imadi’s hardship was lifted before he had completed 200 recitations.
- For beneficial knowledge, spiritual growth, and strengthening one’s connection with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: Recite Ayat al-Kursi (Quran 2:255) together with this salutation.
- For regular daily recitation: Recite between 100 and 300 times each day.
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Show CommentsShould i recite it in my heart or outloud?
Lets pray we get visions
I recited this once 300 times at a time of severe mental and emotional distress whilst lying down. I swear by Allah, on the 300th recitation, I felt as if a hand was pressing against my heart. I immediately felt calm and relaxed. I have no doubt that it was the spiritual presence of the Messenger ﷺ calming my heart down. No matter what you are going through, this salawat will come to save you.
Mashallah
Masha Allah
Maashaallah
💚💚💚
ALHAMDULILLAH