Few phrases in the Qur’an come with their reward spelled out in the very next verse. For those who respond to hardship with inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un, Surah Al-Baqarah 2:157 lists what they receive — and an authentic hadith adds a promise about worldly loss that one of the Prophet’s ﷺ own companions lived to see fulfilled. This page keeps to what the Qur’an and authentic hadith actually state.
The Three Rewards in the Qur’an (2:157)
Immediately after describing those who say these words, Allah says about them:
أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ
Ulā'ika 'alayhim ṣalawātun min rabbihim wa raḥmah, wa ulā'ika humu l-muhtadūn
Three things are promised: salawat from their Lord (His praise and blessings upon them), His mercy, and the declaration that they are the rightly guided. The scholars point out how remarkable this is — Allah Himself commends the person who says these words with a patient heart.
The Promise of a Better Replacement
Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said: whoever suffers a calamity and says inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un, Allahumma-jurni fi musibati wa akhlif li khayran minha, Allah will reward them in their calamity and give them something better in its place (Sahih Muslim). She herself said it upon the death of her husband Abu Salamah — wondering who could be better than him — and Allah later honoured her with marriage to the Prophet ﷺ himself. The promise was fulfilled in the very narrator of the hadith.
A Shield for the Heart
Beyond the textual rewards, the phrase reframes loss at the moment it strikes: what left you was never owned by you, and the separation is temporary. Said sincerely, it cuts off despair before it settles, and it converts grief into an act of worship. This is why it is among the first phrases Muslim children learn and among the last a believer says in this world.
A Note on Fabricated Virtues
Various forwarded messages attach specific counts, wazifas, and guaranteed worldly outcomes to the phrase — a certain number of recitations for a certain result. These have no basis in the Qur’an or authentic sunnah, and this site does not publish them. The authentic promises above — Allah’s salawat, His mercy, guidance, reward, and a better replacement — need no invented additions.
Read the full meaning of the phrase, see the verses in their Qur’anic context, or learn all the occasions it is said.
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:157 promises those who say it with patience: blessings (salawat) from their Lord, His mercy, and guidance. The hadith of Umm Salamah adds that Allah rewards the afflicted and replaces their loss with better. No authentic text prescribes a count. It is said once, sincerely, at the time of hardship — along with the fuller dua taught by the Prophet ﷺ.What is the reward for saying inna lillahi?
Is there a specific number of times to recite it?