Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Abu Sufyan bin Harb came to the service of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He said: O Muhammad (peace be upon you), I beseech you by Allah and by the bond of kinship between us, that we are suffering from severe famine and are eating al-'ilhaz (i.e., hair and blood). So Allah the Exalted revealed this verse: «‏‏‏‏وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُمُ بِالْعَذَابِ، فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ» ‏‏‏‏. (Al-Mu’minun: 76) "And We seized them with punishment, but they did not humble themselves before their Lord, nor did they supplicate with humility."

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates about the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): He said: No person should ever wish for death because of any hardship that befalls him. If he must do so, then he should say: "O Allah! Keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and give me death when death is better for me."

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "No person should ever wish for death because of any hardship that befalls him, rather he should say: O Allah! Keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and give me death when death is better for me."

Abdur Rahman bin Abu Bakrah narrates from his father that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: The supplication of a person in distress is this: "O Allah! I hope for Your mercy, so do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye, and set all my affairs right. There is no deity except You."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "In the times before you, three men were returning to their homes when it started to rain on the way. They took shelter in a mountain, and a rock fell upon them. One of them said to the others: Our footprints have disappeared, and a rock has fallen upon us. Now, no one knows about this place except Allah Almighty, so pray to Allah Almighty through your most trustworthy deed. One of them said: O Allah! You know this, there was a woman whom I liked very much. I sought intimacy with her, but she did not agree. Then I gave her compensation, and when she came close to me, I left her. If You know that I did this hoping for Your mercy and fearing You, then grant us relief. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So one third of the mountain (i.e., the rock) moved from its place. The second person said: O Allah! If You know this, I had parents, and I used to milk for them in their vessel. When I came to them, both were asleep. I stood waiting until they woke up, and then they drank it. If You know that I did this hoping for Your mercy and fearing Your punishment, then remove this difficult situation from us. So (another) one third of the rock moved. The third person said: O Allah! You know this, one day I hired a man as a laborer. He worked for me for half a day. I gave him his wages, but he expressed displeasure and did not take it. So I started working further with that wage until it became a lot of wealth. That man came to receive his wage, so I said: Take all these things. If I wanted, I could have given him only his wage at that time. If You know that I did this hoping for Your mercy and fearing Your punishment, then grant us relief. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So the rock moved away, and those people walked out.

(Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) The words of the narration "so I did more for him" mean that I did more for him, because the Arabs use the word "ala" in the meaning of "lahu" in their idiom. Saeed bin Abul Hasan heard hadith from Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) in Madinah Munawwarah, because he was raised there, and Hasan could not hear hadith from him because he left Madinah Munawwarah in his childhood.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whenever any servant is afflicted with severe grief or distress, he should recite these words: 'O Allah! I am Your servant, the son of Your servant, the son of Your maidservant. My forelock is in Your hand. Your command over me is ever executed, and Your decree concerning me is just. I ask You by every name belonging to You which You have named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or taught to any of Your creation, or kept with Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen with You, (I ask You) to make the Qur'an the spring of my heart, the light of my chest, the remover of my sorrow, and the reliever of my distress.' (The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said:) Then Allah Almighty will remove his grief and replace his sorrow with happiness." The people said: "O Messenger of Allah! It is appropriate for us that we should learn these words." The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Yes, it is appropriate for everyone who hears them to learn them."

Sayyiduna Sahl bin Sa’d Sa’idi (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said:“O Allah! Forgive my people, for they do not know.”

(Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:) What is meant by this is that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) made this supplication on the day of the Battle of Uhud, when his face was wounded. He said:“O Lord! Forgive my people.”That is, forgive them for the sin they committed by wounding my face. This does not mean that forgiveness was being sought for the disbelievers, because if at that time you had prayed for their forgiveness, they would have certainly become Muslim at that very moment.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates this statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "O Allah! Only that thing is easy which You make easy, and if You wish, You can make grief easy as well."

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates this statement of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him: "The supplication of every one of you is accepted, as long as he does not show haste by saying: 'I prayed, but it was not accepted.'"

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates that the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "A servant's supplication continues to be answered, as long as he does not pray for something sinful or for severing the ties of kinship, and as long as he does not show impatience." It was asked, "O Messenger of Allah! What does showing impatience mean?" The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, replied: "It is when he says, 'O my Lord! I have prayed, then I have prayed, but I think You have not answered my supplication.' Then he gives up supplicating."