Supplication When Being Praised
اللهم لا تؤاخذني بما يقولون، واغفر لي ما لا يعلمون
English
O Allah, do not hold me accountable for what they say, and forgive me for what they do not know.
Allāhumma lā tuʾākhidhnī bimā yaqūlūn, wa-ghfir lī mā lā yaʿlamūn.
Reference
كانوا إذا أثنوا عليه فسمع ذلك قال: اللهم لا تؤاخذني بما يقولون، واغفر لي ما لا يعلمون
- Ibn Abī Shaybah 38446 · 20/107
Explanation
This is a duʿā’ of humility said by someone who hears himself being praised. The speaker asks Allah not to hold him accountable for what people say about him, and to forgive him for what they do not know, meaning the faults hidden from them. The page reports about a man from the earliest generation of this Ummah that when people praised him and he heard it, he would say this. It asks not to be held to account for people's praise.