An entire treaty was written on this Dua alone. The lessons and perfection of this Dua can take up volumes.
This is the Dua of the one who was in the stomach of the whale. Nun, or Dhun-Nun, is the title of Prophet Yunus (alayhissalam). Nun is one of the names given to a fish, or a whale.
It is one of the most oft-read stories as children, and it is even told in the old testament. It is the very famous story of Yunus (Jonah). He was a prophet who became frustrated with his people and left them assuming there was no hope for them. This was a major mistake for a prophet, because prophets should never give up on their people unless Allah informs them otherwise.

“And [mention] the man of the fish (Dhun-Nun], when he went off in anger and thought that We would not call him to responsibility..” (21:87)
Fast forward to the moment Yunus was thrown into the violent seas on a dark, stormy night. Imagine the terror as the waves crashed upon one another pulling him down into the dark depths of the ocean.
Enveloped in the darkness of the ocean and the night, Yunus is swallowed by a massive whale.
Take a moment to imagine your state of mind in such a scenario. Imagine being many miles under the surface of the ocean, the wetness, the stench in the belly of the whale, the claustrophobia, the salt water and acidity of the stomach.

لَآ إِلٰهَ إِلَّآ أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّيْ كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِيْنَ

la ilaha illa anta subhanaka inneekuntu mina aththalimeen

And he called out within the darknesses, “There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.”
[Surat Al-Anbiya: 87]

This is the Dua that every one of us should memorise; we should be saying over and over again. This is the Dua of Yunus (alayhissalam).
This Dua is used at any type of problem, worry or distress. The multitudes of darkness that Yunus was enveloped was far greater than any of our stresses: financial, family or marital. Yet, Allah (swt) pulled him out in the blink of an eye.

This Dua is so perfect because it is comprised of these three sentences:

1. Laa ilaaha illa anta 2. Subhaanak 3. inni kuntu minadh-dhalimeen

The first two sentences are praising Allah (two thirds of the Dua). The last part is recognition of one’s own deficiencies when it comes to Allah (swt).

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The blessings of ‘Laa ilaaha il-Allah’ are simply too numerous to mention. Our Prophet (ﷺ) said that this is the best kalimah (phrase) that anyone can ever say. It is the one phrase that is weightier than all sins on the Day of Judgement. It is the one phrase that because of it, Allah has created the heavens and the earth, and Allah has revealed the books, sent the prophets, divided mankind into Muslim and non-Muslim. All of this is based on ‘Laa ilaaha il-Allah’.

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In this particular Dua, you are saying “Laa ilaaha ila anta”, i.e there is no deity worthy of worship except you. This nuance has you speaking to Allah directly in the second person. You are practically communicating with Allah directly. And by doing so, you are directly affirming His Names and Attributes, His Majesty and Nobility.
While the first part of the Dua affirms Allah’s prefection, the second part, subhaanaka, negates any perceived imperfections. In this phrase, Yunus takes all blame for the sin and that never was evil subscribed to Allah. Recall the contrast between this and what Iblis said earlier in this book.

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After negating any perceived imperfection to Allah, Yunus ascribed it to himself in the third phrase, inni kuntu minadhdhalimeen. Yunus owned up to his mistake.
Imagine dear reader, here is a prophet of Allah saying, “I was a dhaalim (wrongdoer)”. If a prophet uttered these words, then by Allah we are all in need of saying these words. If Yunus admits to falling short, then what about us?

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We have fallen short in worshipping Allah, in thanking Allah, in abstaining from the haraam, in the rights of others, in being good parents, in being honest and kind, and the list goes on. Everyone of us is a dhaalim, so we should admit to Allah in these beautiful phrases uttered by Yunus (alayhissalam). We must negative arrogance and admit to being the sinful servant of Allah, for the worst sin in the Eyes of Allah is arrogance.

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Once again, as was with the previous Dua, Yunus did not specify how to be saved. In fact, he did not ask to be saved, he simply praised Allah and owned up to his mistake.

Allah responded in the immediate next verse:
So We responded to him and saved him from the distress. And thus do We save the believers.

This is one of the most optimistic verses in the whole Quran: This Dua saves us from our distresses, any darkness or cloud in our life. Any issue that is troubling you, any anxiety or grief, this Dua will save you.
Realise that the combination of tawheed (faith in the Oneness of Allah)
and istighfar (seeking forgiveness) is a common motif of the Quran.
Allah said in the Quran: “Know that La ilaaha il-Allah, and then seek forgiveness for your own sin”. He says again, “So be firm onto Him and seek His forgiveness,” i.e. be firm with the kalimah, and seek forgiveness for your own sin.

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It is reported in Musnad Abu Ya’la (one of the books of hadith) that the Shaytan said, “I destroy the people with their sins but they have destroyed me with ‘Laa ilaaha il-Allah’ and istighfar.” So attack back with the kalimah and istighfar.

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There is yet another Dua to mention in this context known as sayyidul-istighfar (the Chief of prayers for forgiveness). The Prophet ( ) ﷺ said, “If somebody recites it during the day with firm faith in it and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it and dies before the morning he will be from the people of Paradise.” [Sahih Bukhari]
That Dua is:

اَللّٰهُمَّ اَنْتَ رَبِّىْ لَآ إِلٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ خَلَقْتَنِىْ وَ اَنَا عَبْدُكَ وَ اَنَا عَلٰى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ اَعُوْذُبِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ اَبُوْءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ وَ اَبُوْءُ بِذَنْبِىْ فَاغْفِرْلِىْ فَاِنَّهُۥ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوْبَ إِلَّآ اَنْتَ

O Allah, You are my Lord, none has the right to be worshipped except You, You created me and I am Your servant and I abide to Your covenant and promise as best I can, I take refuge in You from the evil of which I committed. I acknowledge Your favour upon me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for verily none can forgive sin except You.

Based on everything we have said so far, you can surely see why this Dua is indeed the best Dua for istighfar. You affirm Allah’s Names and Attributes, you affirm His perfection, you affirm your own weakness and you admit your own sins and mistakes.

The Prophet Muhammad ( )ﷺ said, “No Muslim ever says the Dua of Dhun-Nun except that Allah (swt) will respond to him.” [Musnad Imam Ahmed]

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Duas That Changed The World

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Source – visionaireramadan.com