What are the prayers (duas) to be said in order to put up with illnesses and problems, and the misfortunes and disasters that hit us?

- What prayers should I need to say in order to get rid of psychological depression, to be patient and to have high ethics?
- I am a dialysis patient and often go into depression; this affects my manners since I am impatient.

Dear Brother / Sister,

The following prayers are the ones said by the Prophet (pbuh) to ill people: 

"As'alu'llahal-azim. Rabbal-arshil-azim an yashfiyaka."

(I ask Allah, who is the Lord of the Great Throne, to cure you.)

When one of the family members of the Prophet (pbuh) became ill, the Prophet would put his blessed hand on his forehead and said a prayer as follows:

"Allahumma Rabbana. Adhhibil-ba'sa, ishfi, antash-Shafi. La shifaan illa shifauka, shifaan la yughadiru saqaman."

(O Allah! our Lord! Remove this disease and cure him! You are the Great Curer. There is no cure but through You, which leaves behind no disease.)

Hz. Ayyub caught a very severe disease; his illness lasted for a very long time and he was subjected to various tests and misfortunes. However, he always showed patience when he was hit by misfortunes and he was called "HERO OF PATIENCE". Then, his test got more severe and his illness deteriorated; it started to harm his tongue and heart, which mentioned Allah's names. He prayed Allah not because of his health but so that his mentioning of Allah would not be harmed:

“Rabbi inni massaniyaddurru wa Anta arhamurrahimin”

(Truly distress has seized me But Thou art the Most Merciful of those that are merciful.)

Thereupon, Allah cured him in return for his patience and sincere intention.

We advise you to ask help from Allah with patience (fasting) and prayer (salah).

You can pray to Allah as you wish. However, it is necessary to pay attention to some issues for your prayers to be accepted.

- First of all, your prayer should be within the framework of acceptance.

- Secondly, it should be made with a sincere and sinless mouth.

- If it is possible, you should have wudu and eat halal food to make your prayer blessed.

- You should pray in holy places, especially mosques.

- You should pray at holy times, especially in the month of Ramadan and holy nights like the Night of Power (Laylatul-Qadr) and Laylatul-Barat.

- You should pray after prayers, especially the morning prayer.

Thus, your prayers will be more likely to be accepted due to divine wisdom and mercy.

Patience is a faculty of the spirit; it is a nice trait.  To tolerate things that are difficult to endure and that are hard for the soul can be possible only through patience. The perseverance shown to defend and protect a right is possible through patience. It is necessary to be patient and to be used to patience in order to fulfill Allah's commands, to resist the illegitimate desires of the soul that are not liked by the mind and religion, to resist and to overcome the troubles and misfortunes that hit man unexpectedly and give man great sorrow and pain.

The mother of all virtues, the secret of becoming successful in life and attaining perfection is this beautiful trait. The reason for all kinds of disgrace is impatience or lack of patience. Patience has a value over all virtues.

"Allah is with those who patiently persevere." (al-Baqara, 2/153, 155)

The outcome of patience is salvation and success. Patience is bitter but its outcome is sweet. Hz. Prophet (pbuh) stated the virtues of patience by saying,

"He who shows patience succeeds." (Musnad, 1/307)

" Patience is the key to success." (al-ʿAjlūnī, Kashf al-Khafāʾ, 2/21)

" Patience is a light." (Muslim, Ṭahārah, 1)

" Patience is a treasure of the treasures of Paradise." (al-Ghazālī, Iḥyā’ ʿUlūm al-Dīn, 4/61)

" There is a lot of goodness in showing patience when you encounter the things that give you pain." (Musnad, 1/307)

Hz. Prophet (pbuh) emphasized the importance of patience when a person is hit by a calamity first as follows:

"The real patience is at the first stroke of a calamity." (Bukhari, Janaiz, 32)

Patience does not mean to consent to condemnation, abasement and derogation, to endure attacks that will harm human dignity and not to object to them. For, it is not permissible to show patience to things that are not legitimate. It is necessary to feel hatred against them and to fight them.

It is not patience, but helplessness and laziness, for a person to endure bad deeds that he can overcome or to be lax though he can meet his needs. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) prayed as follows: 

"O Allah! I seek refuge with You from helplessness and laziness." (Bukhari, Jihad, 25)

There are some troubles that will exceed man's will and power. It is one of the characteristics of believers to show patience and to consent to divine determination without being excited and complaining when such misfortunes hit them. As a matter of fact, God Almighty commands fitting patience in the Quran. (Yusuf, 12/18) The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

"Fitting patience is patience without complaining." (Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr, vol. 4, p. 303)

In fact, when you can do something, it is unnecessary and useless to show impatience; it is also unnecessary and useless to show patience when you cannot do anything.

Patience, which is mentioned in more than seventy verses of the Quran means to comply with the obligatory cases contrary to human nature and to resist difficulties. The purpose of patience is to put up with unexpected events and difficulties that are encountered, not to worry and not to panic. Allah gives glad tidings of endless rewards to those who show patience and praises them.

Believers are often targeted by the cruelty and evil deeds of the enemies of Allah just because they believe; they suffer from various hardships and have to fight the enemies. In that case, patience is the power of the believer and the guardian of his faith. When the Pharaoh wanted to persecute those who believed in Hz. Musa (Moses), they prayed as follows:

"Our Lord! Pour out on us patience and constancy, and Take our souls unto Thee as Muslims (who bow to Thy will)." (al-Araf, 7/126)

It is a well-known fact how our beloved Prophet (pbuh) and the first Muslims showed patience and endurance to the tortures and persecutions inflicted upon them.

The aspects of worshipping that are hard for the soul are relieved with patience. Thus, we pray five times a day in peace and fast during hot summer days without any trouble. This is also valid for other worshipping and good manners. The following verses indicate this:

"But indeed if any show patience and forgive, that would truly be an exercise of courageous will and resolution in the conduct of affairs." (ash-Shura, 42/43)

"And We shall try you until We test those among you who strive their utmost and persevere in patience; and We shall try your reported (mettle)." (Muhammad, 47/31)

Man usually obeys his soul; he finds it is difficult to abide by the commands of Allah and abstain from His prohibitions. He wants to satisfy the bad pleasures of his soul. He avoids good deeds and virtues. For instance, he finds it nicer to spend his money in his pocket on fun and pleasure than to give it to a poor person. Playing games seems more interesting to a child than studying. Sightseeing is preferred to working and earning money.

In that case, it is very nice of a person to choose the good and beneficial one, even if it is difficult for him, and try to fulfill it with patience and endurance.

In addition, man may live in abundance or absence throughout life; he may become ill when he is healthy, undergo catastrophes such as floods, earthquakes and fires; in all those cases, the greatest support for man is patience. Acting contrarily will lead man to rebellion and ungratefulness to Allah. God Almighty states the following regarding the issue:

"Behold, he that is righteous and patient, never will Allah suffer the reward to be lost, of those who do right." (Yusuf, 12/90).

Prophets are the greatest examples of patience. For, they faced all difficulties with patience. We hope that Allah will make us one of His slaves who are "firmly patient and constant, grateful and appreciative." (Ibrahim, 14/5)

The outcome of patience is salvation. Patience is the mother of faith and worship, knowledge and wisdom, in short, all virtues. A patient person is a good person. Allah states that those who do good deeds and advise the truth and patience to each other will be saved. Patience is the way to victory. (al-Asr, 103 / 1-3)

The Prophet (pbuh) said,

"Whoever remains patient, Allah will make him patient. Nobody can be given a blessing better and more encompassing than patience." (Tirmidhi, Birr, 76).

"It is very useful for you to show patience when you encounter something you do not like." (Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, I/307)

Besides, God Almighty states the following:

"Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods, lives and the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere." (al-Baqara, 2/155).

We learn from this verse and similar ones that Allah test people by inflicting upon them various troubles and that those who show patience pass this test.

All challenges are resolved and all kinds of obstacles are overcome thanks to patience. Therefore, a Turkish saying goes as follows: "Sour grapes become halwa (dessert) with patience."

Hz. Prophet (pbuh) says:

"How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this applies only to a believer. If prosperity attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is better for him." (Riyadus-Salihin, 1/54)

Patience, which we believe to be good for us, is the common attribute of all the prophets. When they proclaimed the religion of Allah, they all suffered various troubles; they were tortured and expelled from their countries. They were thrown into prison by rulers, but they were always patient. There are many verses in the Quran expressing the patience of the prophets. The life of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is full of examples of the best patience. For this reason, the duty of every Muslim is to be patient and ask patience from Allah, thinking that salvation is in patience.

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