O Allah, I seek refuge in you from anxiety and grief

Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri may Allah be pleased with him:

He said: What is the matter that I am seeing you sitting in the mosque when there is no time of prayer?

He said: I am entangled in cares and debts, Messenger of Allah.

He replied: Shall I not teach you words by which, when you say them, Allah will remove your care, and settle your debt?

He said: Why not, O Messenger of Allah?

He said: Say in the morning and evening: "O Allah, I seek refuge in you from anxiety and grief, I seek refuge in you from incapacity and slackness, I seek refuge in you from cowardice and niggardliness, and I seek refuge in you from being overcome by debt and being put in subjection by men."

He said: When I did that Allah removed my care and settled my debt.

I seek refuge in you O Allah, I seek the protection of your majesty against worry and sorrow, and whatever leads to them. O Allah open my chest with the light of faith so that the devil may not grieve me with his insinuations of the whispers and suspicions. O Allah protect me against his attempts to distort my faith, and to make me dissatisfied with whatever you decreed.

The companions of the Prophet, may Allah be pleased with them, love to be alone in their homes and in mosques; to remember and to supplicate Allah, and to think about the creatures of the Almighty during their leisure time. If one of them is distressed, he would hasten to pray, so as to emulate the traditions of the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), because the slave is closer to his Lord in the state of prostration.

The Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) expressed that the supplication should be said from the depths of the heart, with certainty that he would be answered, so that this communication seems as if the supplicant speaks to his Lord with his heart, tongue and whole being.

Anxiety is the hardship resulted from expecting a hated matter- it is said that anxiety is: the most important thing that I am tired of thinking about it and fear of the occurrence of what is disliked.

Sadness is the hardship resulted from remembering what has been lost, it is said: one is sad because of the death of a dear friend. So sadness is the result of thinking in the past.

Worry is the severe distress that befalls man for many reasons, his concerns accumulate on him to the extent that he does not know how to get rid of them.