His Supplication on the Day of 'Arafa
On the day of 'Arafa, the Ima`m stood in prayer, recited the Holy Qur'a`n, and supplicated Allah with this holy supplication, which is among the outstanding supplications of the members of the House (
ahl al-Bayt) , peace be on them. This is because it contains important affairs. The following is its text:
"Praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds! O Allah, to You belongs praise! Originator of the heavens and the earth! Possessor of majesty and munificence! Lord of Lords! Object of worship of every worshipper! Creator of every creature! Inheritor of all things! There is nothing like Him, knowledge of nothing escapes Him, He encompasses everything, and He is watchful over everything. You are Allah, there is no god but You, the Unique, the Alone, the Single, the Isolated. You are Allah, there is no god but You, the Generous, the
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1. Al-Majjlisi, Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 46, p. 105.
2. Ibid., p. 62.
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Generously Bestowing, the All-mighty, the Mightily Exalted, the Magnificent, the Magnificently Magnified. You are Allah, there is no god but You, the All-high, the Sublimely High, the Strong in prowess. You are Allah, there is no god but You, the All-merciful, the All-compassionate, the All-knowing, the All-wise. You are Allah, there is no god but You, the All-hearing, the All-Seeing, the Eternal, the All-aware. You are Allah, there is no god but You, the Generous, the Most Generous, the Everlasting, the Most Everlasting. You are Allah, there is no god but You, the First before everyone, the Last after every number. You are Allah, there is no god but You, the Close in His highness, the High in His closeness. You are Allah, there is no god but You, Possessor of radiance and glory, magnificence and praise. You are Allah, there is no god but You. You have brought forth the things without root, formed what You have formed without exemplar, and originated the originated things without imitation. It is You who has ordained each thing with an ordination, eased each thing with an easing, and governed everything below Yourself with a governing. It is You whom no associate helps with Your creation and no vizier aids in Your command. You have no witness and no equal. It is You who willed, and what You willed was unfailing, who decreed, and what You decreed was just, who decided, and what You decided was fair. It is You whom place does not contain, before whose authority no authority stands up, and whom no proof or explication can thwart."
In these brilliant words, the Ima`m magnified, lauded, and praised Allah. He explained the most positive attributes of Him, the Exalted. He said: "Allah, the Most High, has brought forth, found, and originated things with His power and will, which firmly made everything." Allah, the Exalted, firmly created seen and unseen things. He ordained them with an ordination and governed them with a governing through His great wisdom, which perplexes intellects. Man is a possible being, limited in knowledge, power, and will, Hence he is unable to know the Great Creator, Who is far above imagination and perception. This is what the Ima`m has stressed in the following paragraph of this holy supplication:
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"It is You who have counted everything in numbers, appointed for everything a term, and ordained everything with an ordination. It is You before whose selfness imaginations fall short, before whose howness understandings have no incapacity, and the place of whose whereness eyes perceive not. It is You who have no bounds, lest You be bounded, who are not exemplified, lest You be found, who do not beget, lest You be begotten. It is You with whom there is no opposite, lest it contend with You, who have no equal, lest it vie with You, who have no rival, lest it resist You. It is You who are He who began, devised, brought forth, originated, and made well all that He made. Glory be to You! How majestic is Your station! How high Your place among the places! How cleanly Your Separator cleaves with the truth!"
In this paragraph, the Ima`m of monotheists has mentioned the boundless knowledge of Allah, the Exalted, of which is that He has counted in numbers everything in the universe and knows everything in it, Hence no weight of an atom is concealed from Him in the heavens and the earth. The Ima`m has also mentioned that understandings fall short before the selfness and howness of Him, the Exalted. This is because the possible being is incapable of understanding the selfness and howness of the Necessary Being, Who has neither kind nor genus nor family. Man- who is incapable of understanding his selfness, his howness, and his wonderful organs- is unable to understanding the selfness and howness of the Almighty Creator, Who created time, place, the stars, and galaxies whose stars none can count except Allah.
This paragraph contains important philosophical concepts such negating bound, equal, and opposite. The books of philosophy and theology have discussed them in detail. Now, listen to another part of this holy supplication:
"Glory be to You! The Gentle - how gentle You are! The Clement - how clement You are! The Wise - how knowing You! Glory be to You! The King - how invincible You are! The Munificent - how full of plenty You are! The Elevated - how elevated You are!
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Possessor of radiance and glory, magnificence and praise! Glory be to You! You have stretched forth Your hand with good things, and from You guidance has come to be known, Hence he who begs from Your religion or this world will find You. Glory be to You! Whatever passes in Your knowledge is subjected to You, all below Your Throne are humbled before Your mightiness, and every one of Your creatures follows You in submission. Glory be to You! You are not sensed, nor touched, nor felt, nor beguiled, nor held back, nor challenged, nor kept up with, nor resisted, nor deceived, nor circumvented. Glory be to You! Your path is smooth ground, Your command right guidance, and You are a living, eternal refuge. Glory be to You! Your word is decisive, Your decree unfailing, Your will resolute. Glory be to You! None can reject Your wish, none can change Your words. Glory be to You! Outdazzling in signs, Creator of the heavens, Author of the spirits!"
This part contains the most wonderful words with which the saints and the pious glorify their Lord. How Great and Majestic was Allah in the opinion of the Ima`m, peace be on him. This is because He, the Exalted, is gentle and clement to his creatures, and is a Powerful King! Whoever seeks refuge in Him seeks refuge in a stronghold and inaccessible cave. The Ima`m, peace be on him, mentioned the mightiness of Allah, the Most High, to which all that which in the universe is subjected, toward which all that which in the existence is humble, before which all creatures are submissive. Another quality of Allah's mightiness is that He is free from body, Hence He is not sensed through the five senses, for He is the Light of the heavens and the earth. Another quality of His mightiness is that none can beguile, circumvent, argue with, and challenge him; rather all His creatures are in his grasp, His force, and His Command. Hence His word is decisive, His decree is unfailing, and His will is resolute. After this, let's listen to another part of this holy tradition:
"To You belongs praise, a praise that will be permanent with Your permanence! To You belongs praise, a praise everlasting through Your favor! To You belongs praise, a praise that will parallel
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Your benefaction! To You belongs praise, a praise that will increase Your good pleasure! To You belongs praise, a praise along with the praise of every praiser and a thanksgiving before which falls short the thanksgiving of every thanksgiver; a praise which is suitable for none but You and through which nearness is sought to none but You, a praise which will make permanent the first (bounty) and call forth the permanence of the last; a praise which will multiply through recurrence of times and increase through successive doublings; a praise which the guardians will not be able to number and which exceeds what the writers number in Your Book; a praise which will counterbalance Your glorious Throne and equal Your elevated Footstool; a praise whose reward with You will be complete and whose recompense will comprise every recompense; a praise whose outward conforms to its inward, and whose inward conforms to its to correct intention; a praise with whose like no creature has praised You and whose excellence none knows but You; a praise in which he who strives to multiply Your praise will be helped and he who draws the bow to the utmost in fulfilling it will be confirmed; a praise which will gather all the praise which You have created and tie together all which You will afterwards create; a praise than which no praise is near to Your word and than which none is greater from any who praise You; a praise whose fullness will obligate increase through Your generosity and to which You will join increase after increase as graciousness from You; a praise that will befit the generosity of Your face and meet the might of Your majesty!"
The Ima`m, peace be on him, used all words to praise and laud his Greatest Lover, the Almighty Creator. He praised Him with a boundless praise for His great blessings and favors.
After this let's listen to another part of this holy supplication:
"My Lord, bless Mohammed and the Household of Mohammed with a fruitful blessing, more fruitful than which there is no blessing! Bless him with a growing blessing more growing than which there is no blessing! And bless him with a pleasing blessing, beyond which there is no blessing! My Lord, bless Mohammed and his Household
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with a blessing which will please him and increase his good pleasure! Bless him with a blessing which will please You and increase Your good pleasure toward him! And bless him with a blessing through other than which You will not be pleased for him, and for which You see no one else worthy!
"My Lord, bless Mohammed and his Household with a blessing which will pass beyond Your good pleasure, be continuous in its continuity through Your subsistence, and never be spent, just as Your words will never be spent! My Lord, bless Mohammed and his Household with a blessing which will tie together the blessings of Your angels, Your prophets, Your messengers, and those who obey You, comprise the blessings of Your servants, jinn or mankind, and those worthy of Your response, and bring together the blessings of the kinds of Your creatures which You have sown and authored! My Lord, bless Mohammed and his Household with a blessing which will encompass every blessing, bygone and new! Bless him and his Household with a blessing which is pleasing to You and everyone below You and will bring forth with all that a blessing with which You will multiply those blessings and increase them through the recurrence of days with an increasing in multiplies which none can count but You!"
In these words the Ima`m, peace be on him, praised his grandfather, the greatest Messenger, may Allah bless him and his family. He asked Allah, the Exalted, to bless him with a fruitful, growing, and pleasing blessing which would remain throughout the recurrence of days and nights, be continuous through the subsistence of Allah, Who has no bound, and never be spent just as the words of Allah would never be spent.
After this let's listen to another part of this supplication:
"My Lord, bless the best of his Household, those whom You have chosen for Your command appointed the treasures of Your knowledge, the guardians of Your religion, Your vicegerents in Your earth, and Your arguments against Your servants, purified from uncleanness and defilement through a purification by Your desire, and
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made the mediation to You and the road to Your Garden! My Lord, bless Mohammed and his Household with a blessing which makes plentiful Your gifts and generosity, perfects for them Your bestowals and awards, and fills out their share of Your kindly acts and benefits! My Lord, bless Mohammed and his Household with a blessing whose first has no term, whose term has no limit, and whose last has no utmost end! My Lord, bless them to the weight of Your Throne and all below it, the amount that fills the heavens and all above them, the number of Your earths and all below and between them, a blessing that will bring them near to You in proximity, please You and them, and be joined to its likes forever!"
In these words the Ima`m, peace be on him, showed the high position of the members of the House (
ahl al-Bayt) , peace be on them, and their excellencies, which are as follows:
* Allah chose them to spread His religion and to deliver His message to His servants.
* He appointed them as the treasurers of His knowledge and centers of His wisdom.
* They guarded the religion of Allah from increase and decrease.
* They were the vicegerents of Allah in His earth and His arguments against His servants.
* Allah purified them from uncleanness and defilement, as this holy verse reads:
"Verily Allah intends to keep off from you every kind of uncleanliness and to purify you, people of the House, with a through purification."
* Allah, the Exalted, made them the mediation to Him and the road to His Garden, Hence whoever followed them was safe, and whoever disobeyed them was drowning and straying.
These are some of their outstanding merits and laudable deeds about which the Ima`m, peace be on him, talked. Now, let's listen to another part of this supplication:
"O Allah, surely You have confirmed Your religion in all times
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with an Ima`m whom You have set up as a guidepost to Your servants and a lighthouse in Your lands after his cord has been joined to Your cord! You have appointed him the means to Your pleasure, made obeying him obligatory, cautioned against disobeying him, and commanded following his commands, abandoning his prohibitions, and that no forward-goer go ahead of him or back-keeper keep back from him! Hence he is the preservation of the shelter-seekers, the cave of the faithful, the handhold of the adherents, and the radiance of the worlds! O Allah, Hence inspire Your guardian to give thanks for that in which You have favored him inspire us with the like concerning him, grant him an authority from You to help him, open for him an easy opening, aid him with Your mightiest pillar, brace back his back, strengthen his arm, guard him with Your eye, defend him with Your safeguarding, help him with Your angels, and assist him with Your most victorious troops! Through him establish Your Book, Your bounds, Your laws, and the norms of Your Messenger's Sunna (Your blessings, O Allah, be upon him and his Household), bring to life the guideposts of Your religion, deadened by wrongdoers, burnish the rust of injustice from Your way, sift the adversity from Your road, eliminate those who deviate from Your path, and erase those who seek crookedness in Your straightness! Make his side mild toward Your friends, stretch forth his hand over his enemies, give us his clemency, his mercy, his tenderness, his sympathy, and make us his hearers and obeyers, strivers toward his good pleasure, assistants in helping him and defending him, and brought near through that to You and Your Messenger (Your blessings be upon him and his Household)."
The Ima`m, peace be on him, talked about the high position of the appointed Ima`m and his great importance in the world of Islam, for he is the guardian of the religion of Allah, the one who guides (people) to the way of the truth and guidance, and the means to Allah's good pleasure. Hence it is incumbent on (men) to obey the Ima`m, and it is forbidden for them to disobey him, for he is the preservation of the shelter-seekers, the cave of the faithful, the handhold of the adherents, and the radiance of the worlds. Then the Ima`m asked Allah to grant him victory and a clear conquest in order
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that he might establish the
Sunna of Islam, and bring to life the guideposts of Islamic law and the precepts of the religion which were deadened by the wrongdoers. Now, let's listen to another part of this great supplication:
"O Allah, and bless the friends (of the Ima`ms), the confessors of their station, the keepers to their course, the pursuers of their tracks, the clingers to their handhold, the adherents to their guardianship, the followers of their Ima`mate, the submitters to their command, the strivers to obey them, the awaiters of their days, the directors of their eyes toward them, with blessings blessed, pure, growing, fresh, and fragrant! Give them and their spirits peace, bring together their affair in reverential fear, set right their situations, turn toward them,
Surely Your are Ever-turning, All-compassionate and the Best of forgivers, and place us with them in the Abode of Peace, through Your mercy, O Most Merciful of the merciful!"
The Ima`m, peace be on him, asked Allah, the Exalted, to bless the Shi'ites of the members of the House (
ahl al-Bayt) , peace be on them, who (the Shi'ites) represent the ideological awareness in Islam, follow the way of the pure Ima`ms, pursue their tracks, adhere to their guardianship, follow their Ima`mate, and strive to obey them, and await their days. It is the Shi'ites who cling to the true Islam and follow the Prophet's words and practices through obeying the Ima`ms of the members of the House (
ahl al-Bayt) , peace be on them, cleaving to them, and putting into practice the Islamic precepts which have been reported on their authority. Then the Ima`m, peace be on him, asked Allah to bring together their affairs in reverential fear, to set rights their situations, to turn toward them, and to place him with them in the Abode of Peace. Let's listen to another part of this supplication:
"O Allah, this is the Day of 'Arafa, a day which You have made noble, given honor, and magnified. Within it You have spread Your mercy, showed kindness through Your pardon, and made plentiful Your giving, and by it You have been bounteous toward Your servants. O Allah, I am Your servants whom You favored before
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creating him and after creating him. You made him one of those whom You guided to Your religion, gave success in fulfilling Your right, preserved through Your cord, included within Your party, and directed aright to befriend Your friends and show enmity to Your enemies. Then You commanded him, but he did not follow Your commands, You restricted him, but he did not heed Your restrictions, You prohibited him from disobedience toward You, but he broke Your command by doing what You had prohibited, not in contention with You, nor to display pride toward You; on the contrary, his caprice called him to that which You had set apart and cautioned against, and he was helped in that by Your enemy and his enemy. Hence he went ahead with it knowing Your threat, hoping for Your pardon, and relying upon Your forbearance, though he was the most obligated of Your servants -given Your kindness toward him- not to do Hence. Here I am, then, before You, despised, lowly, humble, abject, fearful, confessing the dreadful with which I am burdened and the great offenses that I have committed, seeking sanctuary in Your forgiveness, asking shelter in Your mercy, and certain that no sanctuary-giver will give me sanctuary from You and no withholder will hold me back from You. Hence act kindly toward me, just as You act kindly by shielding him who commits sins, be munificent toward me, just as You are munificent by pardoning him who throws himself before You, and show kindness to me just as it is nothing great for You to show kindness by forgiving him who expectantly hopes in You! Appoint for me in this day an allotment through which I may attain a share of Your good pleasure, and send me not back destitute of that with which Your worshippers return from among Your servants! Though I have not forwarded the righteous deeds which they have forwarded, I have forwarded the profession of Your Unity and the negation from You of opposites, rivals, and likenesses, I have come to You by the gateways by which You have commanded that people come, and I have sought nearness to You through that without seeking nearness through which none gains nearness to You. Then I followed all this with repeated turning toward You, lowliness and abasement before You, opinion of You, and trust in what is with You;
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and that I coupled hope in You, since the one who hopes in You is seldom disappointed! I ask You with the asking of one vile, lowly, pitiful, poor, fearful, seeking sanctuary; all that in fear and pleading seeking refuge and asking shelter, not presumptuous through the pride of the proud, nor exalting myself with the boldness of the obedient, nor presumptuous of the intercession of the interceders. For I am still the least of the least and the lowliest of the lowly, like a dust mote or less!"
In this part of his supplication, the Ima`m, peace be on him, expressed his magnification and glorification toward the Day of 'Arafa, which is among the most glorious days of Allah. This is because, Allah, the Exalted, spreads therein His mercy, shows kindness toward the pilgrims of His Sacred House through pardon and forgiveness. The Ima`m, peace be on him, also showed his lowliness and absolute obedience to Allah relying upon His gentleness, hoping for His pardon, forwarding the profession of His Unity, and negating from Him opposites, rivals, and likenesses, coming to Him by the gateways which He, the Exalted, had commanded that people come, and which were the gateways of the pure Ima`ms. In this there is a lesson for the negligent and those who turn away from Allah, the Exalted, to follow this way, that they might save themselves from the chastisement of Allah in the Next Abode.
Now, let's return to listen to another part of this holy supplication: "O He who does not hurry the evildoers nor restrain those living in ease! O He who shows kindness through releasing stumblers and gratuitous bounty through respiting the offenders! I am the evildoer, the confessor, the offender, the stumbler! I am he who was audacious toward You as one insolent! I am he who disobeyed You with forethought! I am he who hid myself from Your servants and blatantly showed myself to You! I am he who was awed by Your servants and felt secure from You! I am he who dreaded not Your penalty and feared not Your severity! I am the offender against himself! I am the hostage to his own affliction! I am short in shame! I am long in suffering! By the right of him whom You have
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distinguished among Your creation and by him whom You have chosen for Yourself! By the right of him whom You have selected from among Your creatures and by him whom You have picked for Your task! By the right of him whom the obeying of whom You have joined to obeying You, and by him the disobeying of whom You have made like disobeying You! And by the right of him whose friendship You have bound to Your friendship and by him whose enmity You have linked to Your enmity! Shield me in this day of mine by that through which You shield him prays fervently to you while disavowing and him who seeks refuge in Your forgiveness while repenting! Attend to me with that through which You attend to the people of obedience toward You, proximity to You, and rank with You! Single me out as You single him out who fulfills Your covenant, fatigues himself for Your sake alone, and exerts himself in Your good pleasure! Take me not to task for my neglect in respect to You, my transgressing the limit in Your bounds, and stepping outside Your ordinances! Draw me not on little by little by granting me a respite, like the drawing on little by little of him who withholds from me the good he has by not sharing with You in letting favor down upon me! Arouse me from the sleep of the heedless, the slumber of the prodigal, and the dozing of the forsaken! Take my heart to that in which You have employed the devout, enthralled the worshippers, and rescued the remiss! Give me refuge from that which will keep me far from You, come between me and my share from You, and bar me from that which I strive for in You! Make easy for me the road of good deeds toward You, racing to them from where You have commanded, and covering them as You desire! Efface me not along with those whom You efface for thinking lightly of what You have promised! Destroy me not with those whom You destroy for exposing themselves to Your hate! Annihilate me not among those whom You annihilate for deviating from Your roads! Deliver me from the floods of trial, save me from the gullets of affliction, and grant me sanctuary from being seized by respite!"
In this paragraph, the Ima`m, peace be on him, talked about the favors of Allah, the Exalted, toward His servants, which are: Allah did
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not hurry to punish the evildoers and the disobedient; He granted them a respite in order that they might return to the road of the truth and righteousness. The Ima`m, peace be on him, also expressed his abasement and lowliness before the Great Creator. He asked and pleaded to him to grant him pardon and good pleasure, to arouse him from the sleep of the heedless and the slumber of the prodigal, and to make him walk on the road of the righteous. Let's listen to another part of this holy supplication:
"Come between me and the enemy who misguides me, the caprice which ruins me, and the failing which overcomes me! Turn not away from me with the turning away in wrath from one with whom You are not pleased! Let me not lose heart in expecting from You lest I be overcome by despair of Your mercy! Grant me not that which I cannot endure lest You weigh me down with the surplus of Your love which You load upon me! Send me not from Your hand, the sending of him who possesses no good, toward whom You have no need, and who turns not back (to You)! Cast me not with the casting of him who has fallen from the eye of Your regard and been wrapped in degradation from You! Rather take my hand (and save me) from the falling of the stumblers, the disquiet of the deviators, the slip of those deluded, and the plight of the perishers! Release me from that with which You have afflicted the ranks of Your servants and handmaids and make me reach the utmost degrees of him about whom You are concerned, towards whom You show favor, and with whom You are pleased, Hence that You let him live as one praiseworthy and take him to You as one felicitous! Collar me with the collar of abstaining from that which makes good deeds fail and takes away blessings! Impart to my heart restraint before ugly works of evil and disgraceful misdeeds! Divert me not by that which I cannot reach except through You from doing that which alone makes You pleased with me! Root out from my heart the love of this vile world, which keeps from everything which is with You, bars from seeking the mediation to You, and distracts from striving for nearness to You! Embellish for me solitude in prayer whispered to You by night and by day! Give me a preservation which will bring me close to dread of
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You cut me off from committing things made unlawful by You, and spare me from captivation by dreadful sins! Give me purification from the defilement of disobedience, take away from me the filth of offenses, dress me in the dress of Your well-being, cloak me in the cloak of Your release, wrap me in Your ample favors, and clothe me in Your bounty and Your graciousness! Strengthen me with Your giving success and Your pointing the right way, help me toward righteous intention, pleasing words, and approved works, and entrust me not to my force and my strength in place of Your force and Your strength! Degrade me not on the day You raise me up to meet You, disgrace me not before Your friends, make me not forget remembering You, take me not away from me thanking You, but enjoin it upon me in states of inattention when the ignorant are heedless of Your boons, and inspire me to laud what You have done for me and confess to what You have conferred upon me! place my beseeching You above the beseeching of the beseechers and my praise of You above the praise of the praisers! Abandon me not with my neediness for You, destroy me not for what I have done for You!"
Have you noticed this clinging to Allah, the Exalted, and sincere obedience to Him? Have you noticed how the Ima`m, peace be on him, asked his Lord with lowliness, submission, and flattery? He asked Him to protect him from the trickery of the accursed Satan, the first enemy of man. He asked Him to turn him aside from every caprice that took him to a way other than the right way, to take care of him, to take his hand (and save him) from the falling of the stumblers, the disquiet of the divators, and the slip of those deluded, to root out from his heart the love of this world, which is the root of every crime, and to embellish for him worship and obedience to Him, that he would attain obedience, worship, and nearness to Him. Now, let's listen to another part of this holy supplication:
"And slap not my brow with that with which You slap the brow of those who contend with You, for I am submitted to You. I know that the argument is Yours, that You are closest to bounty, most accustomed to beneficence,
worthy of reverent fear, and worthy of
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forgiveness, that You are closer to pardoning than to punishing, and that You are nearer to covering over than to making notorious! Hence let me live an agreeable life that will tie together what I want and reach what I love while I not bring what You dislike and not commit what You have prohibited; and make me die the death of him whose light runs before him and on his right hand! Abase me before Yourself and exalt me before Your creatures, lower me when I am alone with You and raise me among Your servants, free me from need for him has no need of You and increase me in neediness and poverty toward You! Give me refuge from the gloating of enemies, the arrival of affliction, lowliness and suffering! Shield me in what You see from me, the shielding of him who would have power over violence had he no clemency, and would seize for misdeeds had he no lack of haste! When You desire for a people a trial or an evil, deliver me from it, for I seek Your shelter; and since You have not stood me in the station of disgrace in this world of Yours, stand me not in such a station in the next world of Yours! Couple for me the beginnings of Your kindness with their ends and the ancient of Your benefits with the freshly risen! Prolong not my term with a prolonging through which my heart will harden! Strike me not with a striking that will take my radiance! Visit me not with a meanness that will diminish my worth or a deficiency that will keep my rank unknown! Frighten me not with a fright by which I will despair or a terror through which I will dread!
"However, make me stand in awe of Your threat
, take precautions against leaving no excuses and Your warning, and tremble at the recitation of Your verses! Fill my night with life by keeping awake therein for worshipping You, solitude with vigil for You, exclusive devotion to reliance upon You, setting my needs before You, and imploring that You will set my neck free from the Fire and grant me sanctuary from Your chastisement, within which its inhabitants dwell! Leave me not blindly wandering in my insolence or inattentive in my perplexity for a time, make me not an admonition to him who takes admonishment, a punishment exemplary for him who takes heed, a trial for him who observe, devise not against me along with those against whom You devise, replace me not with another,
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change not my name, transform not my body, appoint me not a mockery for Your creatures, a laughing-stock for Yourself, a follower of anything but Your goo-pleasure, a menial servant for anything but avenging You!"
The Ima`m, peace be on him, presented his worries and requests before the Great Creator asking Him to fulfill them and not to refuse to accept answering him. He asked Him to let him live an agreeable life that would tie together what he wanted, not to let him commit any sin, and to make him die the death of one whose light ran before him and on his right hand. He also asked Allah to abase him before Himself when he stood in whispered prayers, and to make him find no entity of himself before Him. He asked Him to exalt him before His creatures, to free him from need for them, to give him refuge from the gloating of enemies, which is among the greatest disasters against man, to save him from the arrival of affliction, lowliness and suffering, to deliver him from a trial or an evil when He desired it for a people, etc. Now, let's listen to the last paragraphs of this great supplication:
"Let me find the coolness of Your pardon and the sweetness of Your mercy, Your repose, Your ease, and the garden of Your bliss! Let me taste through some of Your boundless plenty, the favor of being free for what You love and striving in what brings about proximity with You and to You, and give me a gift from among Your gifts! Make my commerce profitable and my return without loss, fill me with fear of Your station, yearn for the meeting with, and allow me to repent with an unswerving repentance along with which You let no sin remain, small or large, and leave no wrongs, open or secret! Root out rancor toward the faithful from my breast, bend my heart toward the humble, be toward me as You are toward the righteous, adorn me with the adornment of the Allah-fearing, appoint for me a goodly report among those yet to come and a growing remembrance among the later folk, and take me to the plain of those who came first! Complete the lavishness of Your favor upon me, clothe me in its repeated generosities, fill my hands with Your benefits, drive Your generous gifts to me, Make me the neighbor of
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the best of Your friends in the Gardens which You have adorned for Your chosen, and wrap me in Your noble presents in the stations prepared for Your beloved ones! Appoint for me a resting place with You where I may seek heaven in serenity, and a resort to which I may revert and rest my eyes, weigh not against me my dreadful misdeeds, destroy me not on the day the secrets are tried, eliminate from me every doubt and uncertainty, appoint for me a way in the truth from every mercy, make plentiful for me the portions of gifts from Your granting of awards, and fill out for me the shares of beneficence from Your bestowal of bounty! Make my heart trust in what is with You and my concern free for what is Yours, employ me in that in which You employ Your pure friends, drench my heart with Your obedience when intellects are distracted, and combine with me independence, continence, ease, release, health, plenty, tranquillity, and well-being! Make not fail my good deeds through my disobedience that stains them or my private times of worship through the instigations of Your trial! Safeguard my face from asking from anyone in the world, and drive me far from begging for that which is with the ungodly! Make me not an aid to the wrongdoers, nor their hand and helper in erasing Your Book! Defend me whence I know not with a defense through which You protect me! Open toward me the gates of Your repentance, Your mercy, Your clemency, and Your boundless provision! Surely I am one of those who beseech You! And complete Your favor toward me! Surely Your are the best of those who show favor! Place the rest of my life in the hajj and the
'Umra seeking Your face, O Lord of the worlds! And may Allah bless Mohammed and his Household, the good, the pure, and peace be on him and them always and forever!
1"
With this we will end this holy supplication, which is among the excellent supplications of the members of the House (
ahl al-Bayt) , peace be on them. It contains outstanding lessons on wisdom, knowledge, and turning to Allah in repentance. Moreover it contains pure words and beautiful styles.
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1. Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiya, Supplication no. 47.
