Supplication when going to the mosque

اللّٰهُمَّ اجْعَلْ فِيْ قَلْبِيْ نُوْرًا وَّفِيْ لِسَانِيْ نُوْرًا وَّاجْعَلْ فِيْ سَمْعِيْ نُوْرًا وَّاجْعَلْ فِيْ بَصَرِيْ نُوْرًا وَّاجْعَلْ مِنْ خَلْفِيْ نُوْرًا وَّمِنْ اَمَامِيْ نُوْرًا وَّاجْعَلْ مِنْ فَوْقِيْ نُوْرًا وَّمِنْ تَحْتِيْ نُوْرًا ، اللّٰهُمَّ اَعْطِنِيْ نُوْرًا

O Allah! Place light in my heart, and in my tongue, in my hearing and in my sight; let there be light behind me and in front of me, light above me and below me. O Allah, grant me light.

1. Sahih Muslim, (2/530) no. (763), Darussalam numbering (1799). The original book has further words on the authority of several hadiths; we have given only the wording of the hadith of Sahih Muslim that states clearly that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said them while going out for the prayer.

   The narrators of this hadith differed about when the Prophet ﷺ said this supplication. Hafiz Ibn Hajar (RH) reconciled all the narrations by explaining that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ said it on every occasion mentioned in the narrations. See: [Nata'ij al-Afkar of Ibn Hajar (1/266)]

   Zubair Ali Zai wrote:

   “This supplication is general; it has nothing to do with going to the mosque” [Hisn al-Muslim, takhrij of Zubair Ali Zai: page (40)]

   The reply is that the hadith of Sahih Muslim clearly says:

   “فأذن المؤذن **فخرج إلى الصلاة**، وهو يقول:اللهم اجعل في قلبي نورا....الخ”

   “The muezzin called the adhan, then he ﷺ went out for the prayer while saying: اللهم اجعل في قلبي نورا ....” [Sahih Muslim (3/530) no. (763)]; see also: [al-Jami' al-Kamil of al-A'zami (9/534)]

   So it is wrong to say that “it has nothing to do with going to the mosque”.