Dua for Grief and Sadness (Allahumma Inni Abduka)
“Allahumma inni 'abduka ibnu 'abdik” is an authentic dua from the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, recorded in Musnad Ahmad 3712. Read it below in Arabic with transliteration and an English translation, and learn when to say it.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي عَبْدُكَ، ابْنُ عَبْدِكَ، ابْنُ أَمَتِكَ، نَاصِيَتِي بِيَدِكَ، مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُكَ، عَدْلٌ فِيَّ قَضَاؤُكَ، أَسْأَلُكَ بِكُلِّ اسْمٍ هُوَ لَكَ، سَمَّيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ، أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ فِي كِتَابِكَ، أَوْ عَلَّمْتَهُ أَحَدًا مِنْ خَلْقِكَ، أَوِ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الْغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ، أَنْ تَجْعَلَ الْقُرْآنَ رَبِيعَ قَلْبِي، وَنُورَ صَدْرِي، وَجِلَاءَ حُزْنِي، وَذَهَابَ هَمِّي
Transliteration: Allahumma inni 'abduk, ibnu 'abdik, ibnu amatik, nasiyati biyadik, madin fiyya hukmuk, 'adlun fiyya qada'uk, as'aluka bi kulli ismin huwa lak, sammayta bihi nafsak, aw anzaltahu fi kitabik, aw 'allamtahu ahadan min khalqik, awista'tharta bihi fi 'ilmil-ghaybi 'indak, an taj'alal-Qur'ana rabi'a qalbi, wa nura sadri, wa jala'a huzni, wa dhahaba hammi.
Translation: O Allah, I am Your servant, son of Your servant, son of Your maidservant. My forelock is in Your hand; Your command over me is ever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask You by every name that is Yours — by which You have named Yourself, or revealed in Your Book, or taught to any of Your creation, or kept with You in the knowledge of the unseen — to make the Quran the spring of my heart, the light of my chest, the remover of my sadness and the reliever of my worry.
Source: Musnad Ahmad 3712
When to recite
When afflicted by worry, grief or sadness.
Virtue
The Prophet ﷺ said that no one is struck by worry or grief and says this except that Allah removes his worry and grief and replaces it with joy. He was asked, “Should we learn it?” and replied, “Yes — whoever hears it should learn it.”
About this dua
Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad. A woman says “inni amatuk, bintu ‘abdik, bintu amatik” (I am Your maidservant, daughter of Your servant, daughter of Your maidservant).
Source and authenticity
- Reference: Musnad Ahmad 3712
- Grading: Graded sahih by al-Albani (as-Silsilah as-Sahihah 199).
The English translation is our own, kept close to the Arabic. Hadith numbers follow the standard numbering used on sunnah.com.