Revive a Sunnah

In the name of Allah

Revive a Sunnah: A Frequent Invocation that we Should Remember

Umm Salamah, Mother of the Believers (radi Allahu anha) said the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) used to frequently say

يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِى عَلَى دِينِكَ

"O Changer of the hearts, make my heart stick to Your religion.” 

So, I asked him, “O Messenger of Allah, why do you often say, “O Changer of the hearts make my heart stick to Your religion?” He said, “Oh Umm Salamah, every person’s heart is between the two fingers of Allah. Whoever Allah wants to remain guided he’s guided. And whoever Allah wishes to be lead astray deviates."

Collected by At-Tirmidhi, 3522; Al-Albani graded it a Saheeh in his checking of Sunan Tirmidhi.

Notes of Benefit:

Al-Imam, Al-Hafidh Al-Mubarakfuri (rahimahullah) wrote some wonderful words for this hadeeth in his explanation for Jaam’i At-Tirmidhi. He wrote:

1. “O Changer of the hearts…” Sometimes the heart is turned to obedience and other times it’s led to disobedience. Also there are times when the heart is directed to be attentive of Allah, and other times it’s diverted to be heedless.

2. “Make my heart stick to Your religion…" This is a request to Allah to make the heart remain solid in Islam, without any deviation from the upright Religion and straight path.

3. “Whoever Allah wants to remain guided he’s guided…” This means everybody’s heart Allah wishes to be guided; He allows it to remain sound and the person obedient.

4. "And whoever Allah wishes to be lead astray deviates." This implies that whoever Allah wants to be lead astray He turns his heart away from the truth, or away from Islam and obedience to the Most Wise.

5. There is another narration where after Mu’adh (radi Allahu anhu) heard this hadeeth he recited the ayah, “(They say): "Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate (from the truth) after You have guided us, and grant us mercy from You. Truly, You are the Bestower." [Aal-Imran: 8]

6. Anas (radi Allahu anhu) also asked the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam), “You regularly say, “O Changer of the hearts make my heart stick to Your religion.” Are you afraid for us? He said, “Yes!”. This means Anas (radi Allahu anhu) knew these words the Prophet (sallaAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said weren’t for him, because he was protected by Allah from sin and deviation, especially his heart. Rather, He would constantly say these words in order to teach his ummah."

Taken from: “Tuhfatul Ahwathee bi shari Jami’ At-Tirmidhi”