It might be the tight chest that arrives before you have even opened your eyes. It might be the racing thoughts at night, or a heaviness that makes everything, even prayer, feel like lifting something too big. You may have been told, kindly or not, that you just need to pray more.

You probably already pray. And you are still struggling. Both of those can be true at once.

Feeling this way is not a failure of faith

This needs saying first, because a great deal of shame sits on top of anxiety and depression in our communities.

Ya'qub (peace be upon him), a Prophet of Allah, grieved for Yusuf until his eyes turned white. He did not hide it, and he did not call it a lack of faith. He said:

"I only complain of my grief and my sorrow to Allah." — Quran 12:86

When the Prophet's young son Ibrahim died, he wept. When he was asked about it, he said:

"The eyes shed tears and the heart grieves, but we say only what pleases our Lord." — Sahih al-Bukhari 1303

Sadness, fear and worry are part of being human. What the Sunnah gives us is not a promise that we will never feel them, but a way to carry them, and a place to take them.

Duas are not instead of treatment

Anxiety and depression are real conditions, and many of them have physical causes or respond well to treatment. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that Allah has not sent down any disease without also sending down its cure (Sahih al-Bukhari 5678).

If you are in the UK, your GP can refer you, and in England you can also refer yourself to NHS Talking Therapies. In the USA, your doctor or a licensed therapist is the place to start. Seeing someone is not a sign that you have given up on Allah. It is using what He provided.

If you are having thoughts of ending your life, please speak to someone today. In the UK, call Samaritans free on 116 123. In the USA, call or text 988. In an emergency, call 999 in the UK or 911 in the USA.

If you are not sure whether what you feel is spiritual or medical, we have written about telling sihr, nazar and anxiety apart.

Five authentic duas for anxiety and sorrow

1. The dua for worry and grief.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to say this often.

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الْهَمِّ وَالْحَزَنِ، وَالْعَجْزِ وَالْكَسَلِ، وَالْبُخْلِ وَالْجُبْنِ، وَضَلَعِ الدَّيْنِ، وَغَلَبَةِ الرِّجَالِ

Allahumma inni a'udhu bika minal-hammi wal-hazan, wal-'ajzi wal-kasal, wal-bukhli wal-jubn, wa dala'id-dayn, wa ghalabatir-rijal.

"O Allah, I seek refuge in You from worry and grief, from helplessness and laziness, from miserliness and cowardice, from the burden of debt and from being overpowered by men." — Sahih al-Bukhari 6369

Notice that worry about the future (hamm) and grief over the past (hazan) are named separately. Both are known, and both are brought to Allah.

2. The dua for when sorrow does not lift.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that no one says this when struck by worry or grief except that Allah removes it and replaces it with relief.

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

Allahumma inni 'abduka, ibnu 'abdika, ibnu amatika, nasiyati biyadika, madin fiyya hukmuka, 'adlun fiyya qada'uka, as'aluka bikulli-smin huwa laka, sammayta bihi nafsaka, aw anzaltahu fi kitabika, aw 'allamtahu ahadan min khalqika, awista'tharta bihi fi 'ilmil-ghaybi 'indaka, an taj'alal-Qur'ana rabi'a qalbi, wa nura sadri, wa jala'a huzni, wa dhahaba hammi.

"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 forever executed, and Your decree over me is just. I ask You by every name that is Yours, with which You named Yourself, or revealed in Your Book, or taught to any of Your creation, or kept with Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen, to make the Quran the spring of my heart, the light of my chest, the departure of my sorrow and the release of my anxiety." — Musnad Ahmad 3712

A woman can say: Allahumma inni amatuka, bintu 'abdika, bintu amatika, and continue the same.

3. The dua of Yunus (peace be upon him).

He said it in the darkness of the whale, the darkest place anyone has ever been.

لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

La ilaha illa anta, subhanaka, inni kuntu minaz-zalimin.

"There is no god but You. Glory be to You. Truly, I have been among the wrongdoers." — Quran 21:87

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that no Muslim calls upon Allah with it about anything except that Allah answers him (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3505).

4. The dua of distress.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to say this at times of distress.

لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ الْعَظِيمُ الْحَلِيمُ، لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْعَظِيمِ، لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ رَبُّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَرَبُّ الْأَرْضِ وَرَبُّ الْعَرْشِ الْكَرِيمِ

La ilaha illallahul-'Azimul-Halim, la ilaha illallahu Rabbul-'arshil-'azim, la ilaha illallahu Rabbus-samawati wa Rabbul-ardi wa Rabbul-'arshil-karim.

"There is no god but Allah, the Mighty, the Forbearing. There is no god but Allah, Lord of the Mighty Throne. There is no god but Allah, Lord of the heavens, Lord of the earth, and Lord of the Noble Throne." — Sahih al-Bukhari 6346, Sahih Muslim 2730

5. A short call for help, for the moments of panic.

When something distressed him, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would say:

يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغِيثُ

Ya Hayyu ya Qayyum, bi rahmatika astaghith.

"O Ever-Living, O Sustainer of all, by Your mercy I call for help." — Jami at-Tirmidhi 3524

It is short enough to say on a train, in a meeting, or in the middle of the night when your heart is pounding.

How to use them without making it another burden

Anxiety turns everything into a test you can fail. Do not let duas become one more.

  • Pick one and keep it. One dua said every day for a month helps more than ten said once. Start with number 2 after Fajr or before sleep.
  • Say it slowly, and know what it means. Read the meaning first, then the Arabic. Even in your own language, Allah hears you.
  • Breathe while you say it. Slow recitation slows the body down too. That is not a trick; it is part of how Allah made us.
  • Keep the morning and evening adhkar and Ayat al-Kursi before sleep. They are protection, and they give the day a steady shape.
  • Say the words of reliance when fear rises: Hasbunallahu wa ni'mal-wakil, "Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs" (Quran 3:173).

And remember what Allah promised, twice, in a surah revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) at a heavy time:

"So truly, with hardship comes ease. Truly, with hardship comes ease." — Quran 94:5-6

"Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear." — Quran 2:286

"Truly, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest." — Quran 13:28

When to ask for more help

If the heaviness has lasted more than two weeks, if you cannot sleep or eat, if it came on suddenly with no reason, or if you also notice strong aversion to prayer or the Quran, it is worth describing the whole picture to someone. That means a doctor first, and if you also want spiritual guidance from the Quran and Sunnah, you can tell us privately here. We will read what you write, give you sources you can check, and tell you plainly if something sounds like it needs medical care.

Sources

  • Quran 12:86, 13:28, 21:87, 2:286, 3:173, 94:5-6
  • Sahih al-Bukhari 1303 — the Prophet wept for his son Ibrahim
  • Sahih al-Bukhari 5678 — every disease has a cure
  • Sahih al-Bukhari 6369 — refuge from worry and grief
  • Musnad Ahmad 3712 — the dua for sorrow and anxiety
  • Jami at-Tirmidhi 3505 — the dua of Yunus
  • Sahih al-Bukhari 6346, Sahih Muslim 2730 — the dua of distress
  • Jami at-Tirmidhi 3524 — Ya Hayyu ya Qayyum