What is the status of the narration that is circulating on social media wherein the Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said: whoever reads the following once in the morning and once at night, Allah will remove all his anxieties and worries:
اللهم صل على سيدنا محمد اللهم صل عليه وسلم وأذهب حزن قلبي في الدنيا والآخرة
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Answer
We have been unable to substantiate this narration from the books of ḥadīth. Scholars have affirmed that it is necessary to verify the source and chain of a narration before attributing it to the Prophet ﷺ and regarding it as a ḥadīth (Muqaddamah Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim; Tadrīb al-Rāwī, 2: 604). If someone is aware of its source, please contact us.
It is worth noting three additional points.
(1) Firstly, it is preferable to send salutations and blessings on the Prophet ﷺ through the words that are transmitted in ḥadīths because of the blessings and benefits therein and also because other words may be restrictive in a way that undermines the status of the Prophet ﷺ (al-Kawkab al-Durrī, 1: 403). It is, nevertheless, permissible to send salutations and blessings through words that are not transmitted in ḥadīths. Thus, it is permissible to use the aforementioned words provided it is not regarded as a ḥadīth and the specific timing and benefit cited therein is not regarded as being substantiated, unless the source and chain is verified.
(2) Secondly, there are many benefits of sending salutations and blessings on the Prophet ﷺ. Ḥafiẓ Ibn al-Qayyim (d. 751/1350) has outlined 40 benefits in Jilāʾ al-Afhām (p. 445) which include the fulfilment of a person’s needs and relief from anxieties (also see Fatḥ al-Bārī, 11: 169). Thus, a person should send salutations on the Prophet ﷺ in abundance and he shall acquire all the benefits including protection and relief from anxieties and worries.
(3) Thirdly, there is an established supplication for anxieties and worries, which the Prophet ﷺ would often read:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّيْ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْهَمِّ وَالْحَزَنِ وَالْعَجْزِ وَالْكَسَلِ وَالْبُخْلِ وَالْجُبْنِ وَضَلَعِ الدَّيْنِ وَغَلَبَةِ الرِّجَالِ
“O Allah, I seek refuge with You from worry, grief, incapacity, laziness, cowardice, miserliness, the burden of debt, and being overpowered by men.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, 6329)
It is therefore recommended to read this supplication for protection and relief from anxieties, and it is advisable to precede it with durūd (salutations on the Prophet ﷺ), preferably Durūd Ibrāhīmī, as another benefit of durūd is that it is a means for the acceptance of supplications.
Allah knows best
Yusuf Shabbir
Approved by: Mufti Shabbir Ahmed Sahib
21 Muḥarram 1438 / 22 October 2016