Dua For Students – Seeking Refuge From Harmful Knowledge
Word to Word Translation (read from right to left)
مِنْ |
بِكَ |
أَعُوذُ |
إِنِّي |
اللَّهُمَّ |
| min | bika | a’udhu | innee | Allahumma |
| from | in you | I seek refuge | indeed I | O Allah |
قَلْبٍ |
وَمِنْ |
يَنْفَعُ |
لَا |
عِلْمٍ |
| qalbin | wa min | yanfa’u | la | ‘ilmin |
| a heart | and from | benefit | not | knowledge |
لَا |
نَفْسٍ |
وَمِنْ |
يَخْشَعُ |
لَا |
| la | nafsin | wa min | yakhsha’u | la |
| not | a soul | and from | (it) fears | not |
يُسْتَجَابُ لَهَا |
لَا |
دَعْوَةٍ |
وَمِنْ |
تَشْبَعُ |
laha yustajabu |
la |
da’watin |
wa min |
tashba’u |
|
for it answered |
not |
prayer |
and from |
satiated |
In previous duas for students we asked for beneficial knowledge, now we are doing the opposite, we are seeking refuge in Allah from a knowledge that is of no use.
The four components of this Dua:
1. Seeking refuge from a knowledge that is not beneficial
2. Seek refuge from a heart that does not fear Allah
3. From a soul that is not satisfied
4. From a dua that is not answered.
1. Seeking refuge from a knowledge that is not beneficial
This can be a knowledge that we do not act upon or knowledge that is of no use
- We seek refuge in Allah from the knowledge we do not act upon
If we don’t use the knowledge we acquire, then all the time and energy in acquiring it is wasted.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: On the night that I was ascended up to the heavens, I came upon people whose lips were being cut off by pliers made from fire. Each time their lips were severed, they would be brought back and formed again. So I said: O Jibreel, who are these people?’ He said: They are speakers from your nation, who say words but do not do deeds, and who read the Book of Allah yet do not act. [Al Bayhaqi Hasan]
- We don’t want knowledge that is of no use
Knowledge that is of no use can be harmful, for example, if someone tells you something about someone and you take it upon yourself to act on what you were told, you could be acting upon knowledge that is incorrect and of no use.
It is always best to get both sides of the story before passing judgment. It is always best to approach something knowing the whole picture before you act. Approaching something from both angles is more complete, meaning when you understand both sides of something you get the whole picture.
2. A heart that does not tremble
We want refuge from a heart that does not have kushu in it, no fear or humility.
If you have knowledge of the deen, you have to act upon that knowledge so you should fear Allah and make sure you do what you are supposed to do. Your heart plays a very big role in seeking knowledge.
If the knowledge does not have humility, then it becomes harmful. The worst arrogance is that of knowledge. What makes knowledge beautiful is humility, so don’t be arrogant and show off and think you are better because you believe you know more.
A Scholar once said: three things happen as you gain knowledge.
1. You get a little bit of knowledge and you feel arrogant
2. You become humble
3. The more you learn the more ignorant you feel
Humility actually gives knowledge a beauty. Knowledge can bring a person culture & manners, a certain refinement, a certain elegance. The seeker of any knowledge should be humble in front of his teacher. We should have fear and respect. It is not appropriate that you are in a gathering of knowledge and you are doing something else like talking to someone else when the teacher is talking, because:
- it is against the etiquette of the gathering, and
- you will be missing the knowledge being taught
3. We also seek refuge from a greedy soul, a soul that is not satisfied
We want our soul to co-operate with us as it’s the nature of humans to always want more. That is why we train ourselves to be pleased and grateful for what we have. For example, fasting is good training for self-control and helps to kill the desire for greed. The homework we must complete as students is another form of good training.
When having to complete homework, you have to pull yourself away from the things you like doing in this Dunya to complete it. It is a good training for you because its willpower to pull yourself away from the things you like doing. You may delay your salah because you are doing something that you love and you want to finish that first, in just one minute, one minute more, but time is ticking, by the time you look it has been an hour.
We should seek refuge from such a heart that is not fearful, a heart that is not satisfied is greedy.
4. We seek refuge from a dua that is not answered.
We want Allah to hear our Duas. Allah is the only one who can give us what we ask for. We will all have different challenges. We all have different circumstances, different relationships and for all these things we turn to Allah (SWT).
You may feel disappointed when you really want something and you don’t feel you get an answer. In order for your Dua’s to be answered, you must be humble and express your need to Allah (SWT).
There are three things that happen to our Duas
1. Allah grants you what you asked for
2. He protects you from something harmful
3. He responds to your Dua for the hereafter -your Dua may be saved for you until the day of judgment
When making Dua we may not see the answer we expected, since Allah may answer it in one of these three ways. We must be patient and never despair from making dua.
very nice post, Ameen
Jazakallah to the SoQ team this is a brilliant post. A very needed dua for our generation and how wonderfully you guys have put it together. Excited to see more content inshallah!
Jazkallah Khair, more dua will be posted insha Allah
Love what a read
Subhanallah this was a much needed reminder to pursue things which are beneficial. Jazakillah khairan kaseran sister. May Allah reward you for all your work. The audio was really beneficial. InshaAllah adding this to my list duas to recite daily
Ameen, May Allah accept our efforts
Masha-allah very good post.Jazakallah for sharing each and everything in detail.
Beautiful reminder! This is indeed a powerful dua that we must preserve inshallah!
This is one of the most beneficial posts I have read lately masha’Allah. I was on the search for a new dua to memorize and practice…you’ve made it so easy for me 🙂 Jazak’Allah khair!
Mashallah, your welcome, you can find more duas in relation to seeking knowledge here. You can also download the pdf format by subscribing to the free resource library.
Such delicate yet powerful reminders, something I needed to read and I’m so happy I was able to understand my readings too.
Mashallah, its such a blessing when we are able to understand
Oh I did not know about this dua at all. JazakAllah Khair for sharing..I will also let my daughter know about it in sha Allah
Your welcome
Ma shaa Allah amazing article! Such a great duaa SubhanAllah & beautifully explained. JazakilAllahu Khayran Katheera ?
Wayakki,
Alhamdulillah this is very beneficial regardless of age. May Allah guide us all and protect us. Shukran for sharing 🙂
Ameen
SubhanAllah sis, this post was so beneficial <3 I think these points are so important to know! The most eye-opening for me was the "three things happen as you gain knowledge" part- I never thought of this, but this is so true! May Allah guide us and purify our hearts, and may we trust in His plans, ameen!
Alhamdullilah, yeah when the dua’s are broken down and analysed there is better understanding, so glad you benefited from it