No matter the situations the faithful Muslim goes through, he finds his refuge with his Lord in difficult times and finds serenity through the remembrance of his Creator. He entrusts himself to Him in all his affairs and acts in full awareness, firmly believing that Allah is Capable of everything. Hasbi Allah wa nim'al wakil is the word of those who believe with certainty in Allah, and it makes their faith grow within them, as Allah azza wa jal says in the Quran. What does this word from the Holy Book of Islam mean? How to pronounce it properly and when to use it? This is the theme of this article.
Translation and explanation of Hasbi Allah wa ni mal wakil
This phrase found in the Quran is the shield of the pious whose heart is filled with full trust in Allah. This is the work that each of us must do on ourselves to reach this level of trust and fear of the Most High, meant to make us pronounce the best words in difficult times.
The English translation of the Arabic term Hasb is: « surety, guarantor, that which suffices, sufficiency ».
Hasbi Allah therefore means « Allah is My Guarantor ».
This is why the first part of this Quranic formula is often translated as Allah suffices us.
Hasbi Allah means Allah is my Guarantor
Hasbunallahu means Allah is our Guarantor.
The meaning of « ni'ma » is « blessing » but it also serves to express the beauty of a thing, the perfection of someone or something. « Ni'mal Wakil » is therefore an exclamation to bear witness to the Perfection of the Protection of Allah: And what a Protector! And He is our Best Guarantor!
Wakil means, as explained in the book of the complete Quranic lexicon: « to entrust, to commend something to someone, to charge someone with, to rely on, to give in management, to give power of attorney, to lean on someone, to mandate someone, to abandon oneself to someone, to hand oneself over to someone, to take as manager ». We therefore understand from this expression that the believer entrusts all his affairs to Allah, in Whom he places absolute trust to manage them for him and bring him out of any inextricable circumstance.
The Muslim should not, however, hasten to cry out this Quranic expression at the slightest occasion, nor use it as an invocation against his brothers and sisters.
Indeed, the du'a of the oppressed is answered and there is no veil between it and the Lord of the Worlds. The believer should rather strive to keep good assumptions about his friends in religion, his brothers and sisters in Allah, and his loved ones.
In case of trials, one can call upon Allah to extract us from a misfortune, and this expression is among the beautiful words that strengthen the hearts of the pious, without using it as a weapon against one's coreligionists, or against anyone whomsoever.
Hasbi allah wa ni mal wakil in the Quran?
Allah mentions in verse 173 of Surah Ali Imran this expression about absolute trust in God in these terms:
"Certainly those to whom it was said: « The people have gathered against you; fear them » - this only increased their faith - and they said: « Allah suffices us; He is our best Guarantor. »
ٱلَّذِينَ قَالَ لَهُمُ ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّ ٱلنَّاسَ قَدْ جَمَعُوا۟ لَكُمْ فَٱخْشَوْهُمْ فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَٰنًۭا وَقَالُوا۟ حَسْبُنَا ٱللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ ٱلْوَكِيلُ " (verse 173 in surah 3 THE FAMILY OF IMRAN / AL-IMRAM
The tafsir of Ibn Kathir comments on this verse as follows:
(…) Ibn Abbas said that when Abraham was cast into the fire, he cried out: Allah suffices us, He is the Best Protector! », thus Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, declared it when he was told that « the people have surely gathered their forces against you, fear them ». Then the faith of the believers increased and they placed their trust in God alone ».
« It has been reported in a hadith: When you find yourself in a difficult and distressing situation, say: « Allah suffices us, He is the best protector! ».
Which invocations to say to come out of a trial?
When a misfortune strikes us and we feel sadness or anguish, we can recite the invocation of anguish and sadness from the sunnah:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي عَبْدُكَ ابْنُ عَبْدِكَ ابْنُ أَمَتِكَ نَاصِيَتِي بِيَدِكَ، مَاضٍ فِيَّ حُكْمُكَ، عَدْلٌ فِيَّ قَضَاؤكَ أَسْأَلُكَ بِكُلِّ اسْمٍ هُوَ لَكَ سَمَّيْتَ بِهِ نَفْسَكَ أَوْ أَنْزَلْتَهُ فِي كِتَابِكَ، أَوْ عَلَّمْتَهُ أَحَداً مِنْ خَلْقِكَ أَوِ اسْتَأْثَرْتَ بِهِ فِي عِلْمِ الغَيْبِ عِنْدَكَ أَنْ تَجْعَلَ القُرْآنَ رَبِيعَ قَلْبِي، وَ نُورَ صَدْرِي وَ جَلاَءَ حُزْنِي وَ ذِهَابَ هَمِّي
English translation of this invocation of sadness and anguish:
« O Allah! I am Your servant, son of Your servant, son of Your maidservant. I am under Your power. Your judgment is carried out upon me, Your decree upon me is just. I ask You by every name that belongs to You, by which You have named Yourself, or which You have revealed in Your Book, or which You have taught to one of Your creatures, or which You have kept secret in the Knowledge of the Unseen, to make the Quran the springtime of my heart, the light of my chest, that it dispel my sadness and put an end to my worries. »
Phonetic pronunciation of the invocation of sadness:
Allâhumma innî 'abduka bnu 'abdika bnu amatik. Nâsiyatî bi-yadik.
Mâdhi fiyya hukmuk, 'adlun fiyya qadâ uk.
Asaluka bi-kulli-ismin huwa laka sammayta bihi nafsak, aw anzaltahu fî kitâbik, aw 'allamtahu ahadan min khalqik, aw istatharta bihi fî 'ilmi-l-ghaybi 'indak, an taj'ala-l-qurâna rabî'a qalbî, wa nûra sadrî, wa jalâa huznî, wa dhihâba hammî.
May Allah grant us a tongue that invokes Him at all times, and gentleness upon our tongues and our gestures towards our brothers and sisters.