Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 827 [Read full issue]
Protection
"O God, I seek refuge in You from worry [hamm] and grief [hazan], and I seek Your protection from infirmity and sloth. And I seek refuge in You from cowardice and miserliness, and I seek refuge in You from the stress of debt and from being tyrannized by men." [Bukhari]
Hamm is worry for what may come in the future, while hazn is grief over what has transpired in the past. This supplication of the Prophet (peace be upon him), then, is seeking God's protection from the past and from the future, which to God the Exalted are the same, since He is not limited by time or our perceptions of linear time. Infirmity (ajz) is not having the ability or power to do something because of some disability. Sloth (kasl), however is having the ability but not the desire, the will, or the drive. Cowardice (jubn) is lacking the courage to be firm when firmness is needed, while miserliness (bukhl) is cowardice with regard to money. The miser hoards his money out of fear and greed. Cowardice and miserliness are paired here because each refers to a lack of resolve to strive with the body and wealth. Debt and tyranny are put together because having debt makes person beholden to the lender; he or she is enslaved if the lender is unprincipled. On a global level, international debt is a means by which powerful nations keep weaker ones bonded. Economic bondage is a world weapon. There is great wisdom in seeking refuge from debt and being weak before people, for the two go together.
Compiled From:
"Purification of the Heart" - Hamza Yusuf, pp. 180, 181