Lā ilāha illā anta — in distress

Source: Qurʾan 21:87

Where the scholars teach this duʿāʾ.

1. "repeated to them. He said, It is narrated that a man from Al-Nasir's entourage was on his deathbed, and his son would say to him, Say, La ilaha illa Allah, there is no deity but Allah. He responded, Al-Nasir is my master. The statement was repeated to him, and he repeated the same. He lost consciousness, and upon regaining it he said, Al-Nasir is my master. This was his practice. Whenever he was told, Say, La ilaha illa Allah, he would say, Al-Nasir is my master. Then he told his son, Oh so-and-so, Al-Nasir only knows you by your sword, and execution, execution. Then he died. Abdul Haq said, It was said to another whom I know, Say, La ilaha illa"

   — Ibn al-Qayyim, The Disease and The Cure

2. "his son, I am narrating to you the will. I enjoin you with two things and forbid you from two things. I enjoin you with la ilaha illallah, there is no god but Allah. For if the seven heavens and seven earths were placed in one pan of a balance and la ilaha illallah in the other, it would outweigh them. If the seven heavens and seven earths were an obscure ring, la ilaha illallah would break them apart."

   — Ibn Kathir, Volume 1 — From Creation to Mūsā

3. "Allah. And he kept saying, Fix this in such-and-such house, and do such-and-such in such-and-such garden. He said, And in what Abu Tahir al-Salafi permitted me to narrate about a man who was on his deathbed, he was told, Say, La ilaha illa Allah. But he kept saying in Persian, Dah yazda. Its interpretation is ten for eleven. It was said to another, Say, La ilaha illa Allah. And he kept saying, Where is the road to the Minjab bath house? This saying has a story behind it."

   — Ibn al-Qayyim, The Disease and The Cure

More from Distress

• Ḥasbunā Allāh
  When overwhelmed
• Allāhumma lā sahl — when a task is hard
  Facing a difficult matter
• Innā lillāhi — upon receiving bad news
  On hearing of loss or trial