رَبِّ أَدْخِلْنِي مُدْخَلَ صِدْقٍ وَأَخْرِجْنِي مُخْرَجَ صِدْقٍ وَاجْعَلْ لِي مِنْ لَدُنْكَ سُلْطَانًا نَصِيرًا
Rabbi adkhilnee mudkhala sidqinw wa akhrijnee mukhraja sidqinw waj’al lee milladunka sultaanan naseeraa
“My Lord, cause me to enter a sound entrance and to exit a sound exit and grant me from Yourself a supporting authority.”
Surah Isra Ayat 80
Background Context to This Du’a
Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) faced severe persecution in Mecca and was compelled to plan his escape from the city.
He sent Mus’ab Ibn Umayr to Medina (Yathrib) as a scout. After eleven months, Mus’ab returned to Mecca and reported that the sociopolitical climate in Medina was more suitable for Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) and his companions. It was here that the Second Pledge at Al-Aqabah was made, involving 73 men and 2 women.
The Pledge Entailed:
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To listen and obey in all circumstances, whether in difficulty or ease;
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To spend generously both in times of plenty and scarcity;
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To enjoin good and forbid evil;
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To fear no censure while serving Allah;
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To assist Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) upon his arrival and protect him from all harms that one would safeguard themselves, their spouses, and children against.
The world was vastly different then. Today, we move freely between cities, travel across borders, and return home without hesitation or fear—such liberties are woven into the fabric of modern life. We scarcely pause to consider how extraordinary this freedom is.
But in the time of the Prophet (ﷺ), to leave one’s home was no simple matter. Migration was not merely a journey; it was a profound and perilous decision, laden with consequence. To settle in another city could ignite tribal rivalries, disrupt alliances, and provoke conflict. When news spread of a pledge made in loyalty to the faith, the leaders of Quraysh erupted in fury. They launched campaigns to intercept travelers, blocked trade routes, and sought to stop those who intended to leave. Some were detained, others imprisoned. Rights were stripped away, and faith was tested under coercion.
It is said that during the dawn prayer, after rising from bowing, the Prophet (ﷺ) would often raise his hands in supplication, calling upon God to protect the oppressed—those suffering in the shadows of Mecca. He prayed for strength, for deliverance, and for divine justice to prevail.
On the eve of the great journey, a revelation came. The leaders of Quraysh had conspired: they would either imprison him, take his life, or drive him from his homeland. Yet even as they schemed, a higher plan was unfolding. “They plot, and Allah plans—and Allah is the best of planners.”
It was then, at this pivotal moment, that the Prophet (ﷺ) turned to his Lord in prayer. He asked not for vengeance, nor for ease, but for dignity in movement—for a truthful entrance and a truthful exit. “O Lord, cause me to enter a truthful entrance, and cause me to exit a truthful exit. Grant me from Your presence a powerful support.”
In this simple yet profound du’a, he sought more than physical safety. To enter “a truthful entrance” was to arrive in a new land with honor, integrity, and divine acceptance. Though forced to leave the city of his birth—where every stone held memory, where kin had become strangers—he still prayed for a noble departure, a departure befitting a messenger of peace. “Cause me to exit a truthful exit”—not in defeat, but in faith, in grace, in submission to the Divine Will.
And in closing, he asked not for armies or kingdoms, but for support that comes only from the heavens: “Grant me from Your presence a powerful support.” A strength that sustains the heart, that steadies the soul when the world turns hostile.
This prayer is not only a record of a historical moment—it is a light for every soul facing displacement, change, or hardship. It teaches us that even when uprooted, we can carry our dignity with us. That even when forced to leave, we may still depart with truth. And that no matter where we go, we can ask for a return to grace, to purpose, to the presence of the Divine.
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