In the Qur’an, Surah Taha mentions that Allah (swt) entrusted Prophet Musa (AS) with a grave task to complete. He was to embark on this mission to meet Firaawn (the pharaoh) and inform him that he had transgressed.
Can you imagine the difficulties of such a task? Being commanded by Allah (swt) to confront a tyrant emperor—one you knew had a history of enslaving and torturing the Israelites—and tell him his practices were wrong. To issue a warning that if he did not seek forgiveness from Allah (swt), he would be punished.
So how did Prophet Musa (AS) respond? He recited the well-known du’a beginning with “rabbish rahli sadri,” a supplication asking Allah for the courage to face the challenge ahead.
Full Dua of Rabbish Rahli Sadri in Arabic:
This full dua from Surah Taha spans ayat 25 to 28. The Arabic text is as follows:
رَبِّ اشْرَحْ لِي صَدْرِي وَيَسِّرْ لِي أَمْرِي وَاحْلُلْ عُقْدَةً مِنْ لِسَانِي يَفْقَهُوا قَوْلِي
Transliteration: Rabbish rahli sadri wa yassirli amri wah lul uqdatan min lisaani, yaf kahu kauli
Meaning of Rabbish Rahli Sadri
So what exactly does this dua mean? What did Prophet Musa ask of Allah by reciting these words?
English Translation:
“My Lord, expand for me my breast [with assurance] and ease for me my task and untie the knot from my tongue that they may understand my speech.”
This is a beautiful dua. Prophet Musa asked Allah to grant him peace of mind (expand his breast), ease the burden of his mission, and loosen the knot from his tongue so that others could understand his words—ensuring the message of Allah (swt) was clearly conveyed.
Even though Prophet Musa was a nabi (prophet), he still turned to Allah with this dua when faced with a difficult task.
We can benefit greatly from this dua. There will be times in our lives when we are required to speak up and act courageously. Reciting this dua asks Allah to grant us confidence (open our chests), enable us to speak boldly, and stand firm. Inshallah, Allah will make the challenges ahead easier than we expect.
As a reminder, we should make a habit of reciting the duas of the prophets mentioned in the Qur’an—duas that were met with Allah’s positive response. Imagine being among those who utter the same words as the prophets did thousands of years ago.
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