The Enduring Good Deeds

Lit. “Returning.”

Allah ﷻ says in His Book,

إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيْهِ رَٰجِعُونَ

“Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.”

[Surah al-Baqarah, part of v. 156]

The Virtue of Asserting That We All Belong to Allah During Afflictions

There are several Hadiths that mention the rewards of admitting that the return is to Allah by saying:

إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ

“Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.”,

when afflictions strike.

For instance, Imam Ahmad reported that Umm Salamah narrated:

Once, Abu Salamah came back after he was with Allah’s Messenger ﷺ and said: I heard Allah’s Messenger ﷺ recite a statement that made me delighted.

He ﷺ said:

لَاا يُصِيبُ أَحَدًا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مُصِيبَةٌ فَيَسْتَرْجِعُ عِنْدَ مُصِيبَتِهِ ثُمَّ يقُولُ اللَّهُمَّ أْجُرْنِي فِي مُصِيبَتِي وأَخْلِفْ لِي خَيْرًا مِنْهَا إِلاَّ فَعَلَ ذلِكَ بِه

No Muslim is struck with an affliction and then says Istirja` when the affliction strikes, and then says: `O Allah! Reward me for my loss and give me what is better than it’, but Allah will do just that.

Umm Salamah said: So I memorized these words.

When Abu Salamah died I said Istirja` and said: “O Allah! Compensate me for my loss and give me what is better than it.”

I then thought about it and said, “Who is better than Abu Salamah?”

When my Iddah (the period of time before the widow or divorced woman can remarry) finished, Allah’s Messenger ﷺ asked for permission to see me while I was dyeing a skin that I had. I washed my hands, gave him permission to enter and handed him a pillow, and he sat on it.

He ﷺ then asked me for marriage and when he finished his speech, I said, “O Messenger of Allah! It is not because I do not want you, but I am very jealous and I fear that you might experience some wrong mannerism from me for which Allah would punish me. I am old and have children.”

He ﷺ said:

أمَّا مَا ذَكَرْتِ مِنَ الْغَيْرَةِ فَسَوْفَ يُذْهِبُهَا اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَنْكِ وَأَمَّا مَا ذَكَرْتِ مِنَ السِّنِّ فَقَدْ أَصَابَنِي مِثْلُ الَّذِي أَصَابَكِ وَأَمَّا مَا ذَكَرْتِ مِنَ الْعِيَالِ فَإِنَّمَا عِيَالُكِ عِيَالِي

As for the jealousy that you mentioned, Allah the Exalted will remove it from you. As for your being old as you mentioned, I have suffered what you have suffered. And for your having children, they are my children too.

She said, “I have surrendered to Allah’s Messenger.”

Allah’s Messenger ﷺ married her and Umm Salamah said later,

“Allah compensated me with who is better than Abu Salamah: Allah’s Messenger ﷺ.”

Muslim reported a shorter version of this Hadith;

Umm Salama, the wife of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), reported Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:

If any servant (of Allah) who suffers a calamity says:

إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّآ إِلَيْهِ رَٰجِعُونَ اللَّهُمَّ أْجُرْنِي فِي مُصِيبَتِي وأَخْلِفْ لِي خَيْرًا مِنْهَا 

Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un. Allahumma ajurni fi musibati, wa akhlif li khairan minha

“We belong to Allah and to Him shall we return; O Allah, reward me for my affliction and give me something better than it in exchange for it”,

Allah will give him reward for affliction, and would give him something better than it in exchange.

She (Umm Salama) said: When Abu Salama died, I uttered (these very words) as I was commanded (to do) by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). So Allah gave me better in exchange than him, i.e. (I was taken as the wife of) the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ).

[Muslim]

[Adapted from Tafseer Ibn Kathir, 2:156]