What is meant by the Hadith: "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from helplessness, laziness, cowardice, avarice, old age, harshness, heedlessness, destitution, abasement, and poverty. And I seek refuge in You from poverty, disbelief, wickedness, discord, hypocrisy, seeking fame, and showing off"?

Several prophetic supplications have been reported in which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, resorted to God Almighty to protect him from various matters, including: - Inability, laziness, cowardice, stinginess, old age, harshness, heedlessness, destitution, abasement, wretchedness, poverty, disbelief, immorality, dissension, hypocrisy, seeking fame, ostentation, deafness, muteness, insanity, leprosy, vitiligo, and evil diseases. - Worry, sorrow, overwhelming debt, and subjugation by men. - Scarcity, and from being wronged or wronging others. - Bad manners.

The intent behind these supplications has been interpreted as a teaching for the Ummah: - Poverty: Poverty of the soul and greed, or poverty that leads to ingratitude for blessings. - Scarcity: Scarcity of good qualities and doors to righteousness. - Abasement: Abasement resulting from disobedience or humbling oneself before the wealthy. - Dissension: Opposing the truth. - Hypocrisy: Displaying Islam while concealing disbelief, or the inward not matching the outward, or practical hypocrisy. - Destitution (Al-'Ailah): Having many dependents with poverty. - Old age (Al-Haram): Being returned to the most decrepit age and the accompanying senility and deterioration of the senses. - Cowardice and Stinginess: Negligence in performing duties and God's rights, and not helping the oppressed or spending [in charity]. - Seeking fame (As-Sum'ah): Making one's deed known and publicized so that people see and hear about it, which differs from ostentation (Ar-Riyaa') that relates to sight.