Prayer for the Day of Arafah

Praise belongs to God
whose decree none may avert,
and whose gift none may prevent.
No fashioner's fashioning is like His fashioning,
and He is the Generous, the All-embracing.
He brought forth the varieties of unprecedented creatures
and perfected through His wisdom all He had fashioned.
Hidden not from Him are harbingers,
nor lost with Him are deposits. [3]
He repays every fashioner,
feathers the nest of all who are content
and has mercy upon all who humble themselves.
He sends down benefits
and the all-encompassing Book
in radiant light.
He hears supplications,
averts afflictions,
raises up in degrees,
and knocks down tyrants.
For there is no god other than He,
nothing is equal to Him,
"Like Him there is naught,
and He is the Hearing, the Seeing" (XLII, 11),
the subtle, the Aware,
and "He is powerful over all things" (V, 120 etc.).
O God, I make Thee my quest
and bear witness to Thy Lordship,
acknowledging that Thou art my Lord
and to Thee is my return. [4]
Thou originated me by Thy blessing before I was a thing remembered. [5]
Thou created me from dust,
then gavest me a place in the loins (of my fathers),
secure from the uncertainty of Fate and the vagaries of
the ages and the years.
I remained a traveller from loin to womb in a time
immemorial of past days
and bygone centuries.
In Thy tenderness, bounty and goodness toward me Thou
didst not send me out into the empire of the
leaders of disbelief, those who broke Thy
covenant and cried lies to Thy messengers. [6]
Rather, Thou sentest me out to that guidance which had
been foreordained for me, the way which
Thou madest easy for me
and in which Thou nurtured me.
And before that Thou wert kind to me through Thy
gracious fashioning
and abundant blessings.
Thou originated my creation from a sperm-drop spilled [7]
and madest me to dwell in a threefold gloom among flesh,
blood and skin. [8]
Thou gavest me not to witness my creation, [9]
nor didst Thou entrust me with anything of my own affair.
Then thou sentest me out into the world for the guidance
that had been foredained for me, complete
and unimpaired.
Thou watched over me in the cradle
as an infant boy,
provided me with food,
wholesome milk,
and turned the hearts of the nurse-maids toward me.
Thou entrusted my upbringing to compassionate mothers,
guarded me from the calamities brought by the jinn
and kept me secure from excess and lack.
High art Thou, O Merciful! O Compassionate!
Then when I began to utter speech
Thou completed for me Thy abundant blessings.
Thou nurtured me more and more each year
until, when my nature was perfected
and my strength balanced,
Thou madest Thy argument encumbent upon me by
inspiring me with knowledge of Thee,
awing me with the marvels of Thy wisdom,
awakening me to the wonders of Thy creation which Thou
hadst multiplied in Thy Heaven and Thy earth, [10]
and instructing me in Thy thanks and remembrance.
Thou madest encumbent upon me Thy obedience and
worship,
madest me to understand what Thy messengers had
brought
and madest easy for me the acceptance of Thy good
pleasure.
Thou wast gracious to me in all of this, through Thy
succour and kindness.
Then, since Thou created me from the best soil, [11]
Thou wert not satisfied, my God, that I should have one
blessing without another.
Thou provided me with varieties of sustenance
and kinds of garments
and Thy tremendous, most tremendous, graciousness
to me
and Thy eternal goodness toward me.
And finally, when Thou hadst completed for me every
blessing
and turned away from me all misfortunes,
Thou wert not prevented by my ignorance and audacity
from guiding me toward that which would bring me nigh
to Thee
or from giving me success in that which would bring me
close to Thee.
For if I prayed to Thee Thou answered,
if I asked of Thee Thou gavest,
if I obeyed Thee Thou showed Thy gratitude,
and if I thanked Thee Thou gavest me more. [12]
All of that was to perfect Thy blessings upon me and
Thy goodness toward me.
So glory be to Thee; Glory be to Thee,
who are Producer and Reproducer, [13] Laudable,
Glorious.
Holy are Thy Names and tremendous Thy bounties.
So which of Thy blessings, my God, can I enumerate by counting
and mentioning?

For which of Thy gifts am I able to give thanks ?
Since they, O Lord, are more than reckoners can count [14]
or those who entrust to memory can attain by knowledge.
But the affliction and hardship, O God, that Thou turned
and averted from me
is more than the health and happiness that came to me.
And I witness, my God, by the truth of my faith,
the knotted resolutions of my certainty,
my pure and unadulterated profession of Unity,
the hidden inwardness of my consciousness,
the places to which the streams of light of my eyes
are attached,
the lines on my forehead's surface,
the openings for my breath's channels,
the parts of my nose's soft point,
the paths of my ears' canals,
what my lips close upon and compress,
the movements of my tongue in speaking,
the joint at the back of my mouth and jaw,
the sockets of my molar teeth,
the place where I swallow my food and drink,
that which bears my brain,
the hollow passages of my neck's fibers,
that which is contained in my breast's cavity,
the carriers of my aorta,
the places where my heart's curtain [15] is attached,
the small pieces of flesh around my liver,
that which the ribs of my sides encompass,
the sockets of my joints,
the contraction of my members,
the tips of my fingers,
my flesh,
my blood,
my hair,
my skin,
my nerves,
my windpipe, [16]
my bones,
my brain,
my veins,
and all of my members,
what was knitted upon them in the days when I was
a suckling baby,
what the earth has taken away from me,
my sleep,
my waking,
my being still,
and the movements of my bowing and prostrating,
that had I taken pains and had I striven
for the duration of the epochs and ages
were my life to be extended through them
to deliver thanks for one of Thy blessings,
I would not have been able to do so,
except by Thy grace, which alone makes encumbent
upon me never-ending and ever renewed
gratitude to Thee,
and fresh and ever present praise.
Indeed, and were I and the reckoners among Thy
creatures ever so eager
to calculate the extent of Thy bestowal of blessings,
whether past
or approaching,
we would fail to encompass it through numbers
or to calculate its boundaries.
Never How could it ever be done!
For Thou announcest in Thy eloquent Book
and truthful Tiding,
"And if you count God's blessing, you will never
number it" (XIV, 34).
Thy Book, O God, Thy Message, has spoken the
Truth!
And Thy prophets and messengers delivered Thy
revelation that Thou hadst sent down upon
them
and the religion that Thou hadst promulgated for them
and through them.
And I witness, my God, by my effort,
my diligence,
and the extent of my obedience and my capacity,
and I say as a believer possessing certainty,
"Praise belongs to God,
who has not taken to Him a son"
that He might have an heir,
"and who has not any associate in His dominion"
who might oppose Him in what He creates,
"nor any protector out of humbleness" (XVII, 111)
who would aid Him in what He fashions.
So glory be to Him,
glory be to Him!
"Why, were there gods in earth and heaven other than
God,
they would surely go to ruin" (XXI, 22) and be rent. [17]
Glory be to God, the Unique, the One,
"the Everlasting Refuge" who "has not begotten, nor
has He been begotten,
and equal to Him there is none" (CXII, 2-4).
Praise belongs to God,
praise equal to the praise of the angels stationed near to Him
and the prophets sent by Him.
And God bless His elect, Muhammad,
the Seal of the Prophets,
and his virtuous, pure and sincere household, and give
them peace.

Then he began to supplicate. He occupied himself with prayer as tears ran from his blessed eyes. Then he said:O God, cause me to fear Thee as if I were seeing Thee, [18]
give me felicity through piety toward Thee,
make me not wretched by disobedience toward Thee,
choose the best for me by Thy decree (qada')
and bless me by Thy determination (qadar),
that I may love not the hastening of what Thou hast
delayed,
nor the delaying of what Thou hast hastened.
O God, appoint for me sufficiency in my soul,
certainty in my heart,
sincerity in my action,
light in my eyes,
and insight in my religion.
Give me enjoyment of my bodily members,
make my hearing and my seeing my two inheritors,
help me against him who wrongs me,
show me in him my revenge and my desires,
and console thereby my eyes.
O God, remove my affliction,
veil my defects,
forgive my offence,
drive away my Satan, [19]
dissolve my debt,
and give me, my God, the highest degree
in the world to come and in this world.
O God, to Thee belongs the praise,
just as Thou created me and made me to hear and to
see;
and to Thee belongs the praise,
just as Thou created me and made me a creature
unimpaired
as a mercy to me,
while Thou hadst no need of my creation.

My Lord, since Thou created me
and then made straight my nature;
my Lord, since Thou caused me to grow
and made good my shape; [20]
my Lord, since Thou didst good to me
and gavest me well-being in my soul;
my Lord, since Thou preserved me
and gavest me success;
my Lord, since Thou blessed me
and then guided me;
my Lord, since Thou chosest me
and gavest me of every good;
my Lord, since Thou gavest me to eat
and drink; [21]
my Lord, since Thou enriched me
and contented me; [22]
my Lord, since Thou aided me
and exalted me;
my Lord, since Thou dothed me with Thy pure covering
and smoothed the way for me by Thy sufficient
fashioning:
Bless Muhammad and the household of Muhammad,
aid me against the misfortunes of time and the
calamities of nights and days,
deliver me from the terrors of this world and the
torments of the world to come
and spare me from the evil of that which the evildoers
do in the earth.

O God, as for what I fear, spare me from it,
and as for what I seek to avoid, guard me against it.
in my soul and my religion watch over me,
in my travelling protect me,
in my family and my property appoint for me a
successor,
in what Thou hast provided for me bless me,
in my soul humble me,
in the eyes of men magnify me,
from the evil of jinn and men preserve me,
for my sins disgrace me not,
for my inward secrets shame me not,
for my action try me not,
of Thy blessings deprive me not
and to other than Thee entrust me not.
My God, to whom wouldst Thou entrust me ?
To a relative ? He would cut me off.
Or to a stranger ? He would look at me with displeasure.
Or to those who act toward me with arrogance ?
But Thou art my Lord and the sovereign over my affair.
I would complain to Thee of my exile and the
remoteness of my abode,
and that he whom Thou hast made sovereign over me
despises me.
My God, so cause not Thy wrath to alight upon me.
If Thou becomest not wrathful with me
I will have no care, [23] glory be to Thee
But Thy protection is more embracing.
So I ask Thee, O Lord, by the Light of Thy Face by which the
earth and the heavens are illuminated,
shadows are removed,
and the affairs of the ancients and the later folk are
set aright,
not to cause me to die when Thy wrath is upon me, [24]
nor to send down upon me Thy anger.
The pleasure is Thine
The pleasure is Thine,
to be satisfied with me before that.

There is no god but Thou, Lord of the Holy Land, [25]
the Sacred Monument, [26]
and the Ancient House, [27]
upon which Thou caused blessing to descend
and which Thou madest a sanctuary for mankind. [28]

O He who pardons the greatest sins by His clemency!
O He who lavishes blessings by His bounty!
O He who gives abundance by His generosity!
O Sustenance to me in my adversity!
O Companion to me in my solitude!
O Aid to me in my affliction!
O Benefactor to me in my blessing!
O my God
and God of my fathers,
Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob! [29]
Lord of Gabriel, Michael and Israfil! [30]
Lord of Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets,
and his household, the chosen ones!
Revealer of the Torah, the Gospel, the Psalms and
the Criterion, [31]
and Sender down of Kaf Ha' Ya' Ayn Sad, Ta' Ha',
Ya' Sin, and the Wise Quran! [32]
Thou art my cave (of refuge) when the roads for all their
amplitude constrict me
and the land for all its breadth is strait for me.
If not for Thy mercy, I would have been among the
perishing,
and Thou annullest my slip.
If not for Thy covering me, [33] I would have been
among the disgraced,
and Thou confirmest me with help against my enemies. [34]
And if not for Thy helping me, I would have been
among those overcome. [35]

O He who appropriated loftiness and exaltation to Himself,
so His friends (awliya') are mighty through His might!
O He before whom kings place the yoke of abasement
around their necks,
for they fear His overwhelming power!
"He knows the treachery of the eyes and what the
breasts conceal" (XL,19)
and the unseen brought by time and fate.
O He about whom none knows how He is but He!
O He about whom none knows what He is but He!
O He whom none knows but He!
O He who squeezed the earth onto the water and held
back the air with the sky!
O He to whom belong the noblest Names! [36]
O He who possesses kindness which will never be cut off!
O He who assigned the cavalcade to Joseph in the barren
land,
brought him out of the well
and made him a king after slavery!
O He who returned him to Jacob after "his eyes were
whitened with sorrow that he was
suppressing" (XII, 84) [37]
O He who removed affliction and tribulation from Job [38]
and restrained Abraham's hands from the sacrifice of
his son after he had reached old age and
his life had passed by! [39]
O He who answered the prayer of Zachariah
and bestowed upon him John,
not leaving him childless and alone! [40]
O He who brought Jonah out from the stomach of the
fish! [41]
O He who parted the sea for the Children of Israel,
then saved them
and drowned Pharoah and his hosts! [42]
O He who sends winds heralding His mercy! [43]
O He who does not hurry (to act) against those of His
creatures who disobey Him! [44]
O He who rescued the sorcerers after (their) long denial!
They had early benefitted from His blessing,
eating His provision
and worshipping other than Him;
they had opposed, denied and cried lies to His
messengers. [45]
O God!
O God!
O Beginner, O Creator with no compeer!
O Everlasting who has no end!
O Living when nothing was alive!
O Quickener of the dead! [46]
O "He Who is aware of the deserts of every soul" (XIII,33)!
O He toward whom my gratitude was little,
yet He deprived me not!
My transgression was great,
yet He disgraced me not!
He saw me committing acts of disobedience,
yet he made me not notorious!
O He who watched over me in childhood!
O He who provided for me in my adulthood!
O He whose favors toward me cannot be reckoned and
whose blessings cannot be repaid!
O He who has confronted me with the good and the fair,
and I have confronted Him with evil and disobedience
in return!
O He who led me to faith before I had come to know
gratitude for His gracious bestowal!
O He upon whom I called when I was sick
and He healed me,
when naked
and He clothed me,
when hungry
and He satisfied me,
when thirsty
and He gave me to drink,
when abased
and He exalted me, [47]
when ignorant
and He gave me knowledge,
when alone
and He increased my number,
when away
and He returned me,
when empty-handed
and He enriched me,
when in need of help
and He helped me,
and when rich
and He took not from me.
I refrained from (calling upon Thee in) all of that
and Thou caused me to begin (to call).
Thine are the praise and the gratitude!
O He who overlooked my slip,
relieved my distress,
heard my prayer,
covered my defects,
forgave my sins,
caused me to reach my desire,
and helped me against my enemy!
If I were to count Thy blessings, favors and generous
acts of kindness
I would not be able to reckon them. [48]

O my Protector!
Thou art He who was gracious,
Thou art He who blessed,
Thou art He who worked good,
Thou art He who was kind,
Thou art He who was bounteous,
Thou art He who perfected,
Thou art He who provided,
Thou art He who gave success,
Thou art He who bestowed,
Thou art He who enriched,
Thou art He who contented, [49]
Thou art He who sheltered,[50]
Thou art He who sufficed,
Thou art He who guided,
Thou art He who preserved (from sin),
Thou art He who covered (my sins),
Thou art He who forgave,
Thou art He who overlooked,
Thou art He who established (in the earth), [51]
Thou art He who exalted,
Thou art He who aided,
Thou art He who supported,
Thou art He who confirmed,
Thou art He who helped,
Thou art He who healed,
Thou art He who gave well-being,
Thou art He who honored
- blessed art Thou
and high exalted!
So Thine is the praise everlastingly,
and Thine is gratitude enduringly and foreverl
Them I, my God, confess my sins,
so forgive me for them.
I am he who did evil,
I am he who made mistakes,
I am he who purposed (to sin),
I am he who was ignorant,
I am he who was heedless,
I am he who was negligent,
I am he who relied (upon other than Thee),
I am he who premeditated,
I am he who promised,
I am he who went back on his word,
I am he who confessed (my sins)
and I am he who acknowledged Thy blessings upon me
and with me and then returned to my sins.
So forgive me for them,
O He who is not harmed by the sins of His servants
nor needs He their obedience.
He gives success through His aid and His mercy to
whomsoever of them works righteousness.
So praise belongs to Thee, My God and My Lord !

My God, Thou commanded me and I disobeyed
and Thou forbade me and I committed what Thou hadst
forbidden.
I became such that I neither possessed any mark of
guiltlessness
that I might ask forgiveness
nor any power
that I might be helped.
Then by what means shall I turn toward Thee, O my
Protector ! ?
What, by my ears ?
Or my eyes ?
Or my tongue ?
Or my hand ?
Or my leg ?
Are not all of them Thy blessings given to me ?
And with all of them I disobey Thee, O my Protector!
Thine is the argument and the means against me. [52]

O He who veiled me (my sins) from fathers and mothers lest
they drive me away,
from relatives and brothers lest they rebuke me,
and from kings lest they punish me!
If they had seen, O my Protector, what Thou hast seen
from me,
they would not have given me respite,
they would have abandoned me
and cut me off.

So here I am, O my God,
before Thee O Lord,
humbled, abased, constrained, despised,
neither possessing guiltlessness that I might ask forgiveness
nor possessing power that I might be helped.
There is no argument with which I might argue,
nor can I say I committed not (sins) and worked not evil.
And denial, were I to deny-my Protector!-could hardly
profit me.
How could it ever do that ?
For all of my members are witness against me for what I
have done. [53]

And I acted with certainty and without any doubt that
Thou wilt ask me about great affairs,
and that Thou art the equitable Judge who does no wrong.
Thy justice is deadly for me and I flee from Thy every just
act.
If thou chastisest me, O my God, it is for my sins after
Thy argument against me;
and if Thou pardonest me, it is by Thy clemency,
generosity and kindness.

"There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee!
Truly I am one of the wrong-doers" (XXI, 87).
There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee!
Truly I am one of those who pray forgiveness.
There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee!
Truly I am one of those who profess Thy Unity.
There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee!
Truly I am one of the fearful.
There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee!
Truly I am one of those who are afraid.
There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee!
Truly I am one of the hopeful.
There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee!
Truly I am one of those who yearn.
There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee!
Truly I am one of those who say "There is no god
but Thou".
There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee!
Truly I am one of the petitioners.
There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee!
Truly I am one of the glorifiers.
There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee!
Truly I am one of those who magnify.
There is no god but Thou, glory be to Thee, my Lord,
and the Lord of my fathers, the ancients!

My God, this is my praise of Thee exalting Thy majesty,
my sincerity in remembering Thee by professing Thy
Unity,
and my acknowledgment of Thy bounties by
enumeration,
even though I acknowledge
that I cannot reckon them for their multitude,
their abundance,
their manifestness
and their existence from ancient times
until a present in which Thou hast never ceased to
care for me through them
from when Thou created me and brought me into
existence in the beginning of (my) life,
by enriching from poverty,
relieving affliction,
bringing ease,
removing hardship,
dispelling distress,
and (giving me) well-being in body
and soundness in religion.
Were all the world's inhabitants, both the ancients and
the later folk, to assist me in attempting to
mention Thy blessing,
I would not be able, nor would they, to do so.
Holy art Thou and high exalted,
a generous,
mighty,
merciful
Lord.
Thy bounties cannot be reckoned,
nor Thy praise accomplished,
nor Thy blessings repaid.
Bless Muhammad and the household of Muhammad,
complete Thy blessings upon us
and aid us in Thy obedience.
Glory be to Thee! There is no god but Thou.

O God, truly Thou hearest the destitute,
removest the evil, [54]
succourest the afflicted,
healest the sick,
enrichest the poor,
mendest the broken,
hast mercy upon the young
and helpest the old.
There is no Support other than Thee
and none powerful over Thee.
And Thou art the Sublime, the Great.
O Freer of the prisoner in irons!
O Provider of the infant child!
O Protection of the frightened refugee!
O He who has no associate and no assistant!
Bless Muhammad and the household of Muhammad,
and give me this evening the best of what Thou hast given
to and bestowed upon any of Thy servants,
whether a blessing Thou assignest,
a bounty Thou renewest,
a trial Thou avertest,
an affliction Thou removest,
a prayer Thou hearest,
a good deed Thou acceptest
or an evil deed Thou overlookest.
Truly Thou art gracious,
Aware of what Thou wilt,
and Powerful over all things!
O God, truly Thou art the nearest of those who are called,
the swiftest of those who answer,
the most generous of those who pardon,
the most openhanded of those who give
and the most hearing of those who are asked of.
O Merciful and Compassionate in this world and the next!
Like Thee none is asked of;
and other than Thee none is hoped for.
I prayed to Thee and Thou answered me,
I asked of Thee and Thou gavest to me,
I set Thee as my quest and Thou hadst mercy upon me,
I depended upon Thee and Thou delivered me,
I took refuge with Thee and Thou sufficed me,
O God, so bless Muhammad, Thy servant, messenger and
prophet,
and his good and pure household, all of them.
And complete Thy blessings upon us,
gladden us with Thy gift
and inscribe us as those who thank Thee and remember
Thy bounties.
Amen, amen, O Lord of all beings!
O God, O He who owned and then was all-powerful,
was all-powerful and then subjected,
was disobeyed and then veiled (the sin of disobedience),
and was prayed forgiveness and then forgave.
O Goal of yearning seekers
and utmost Wish of the hopeful!
O He who "encompasses everything in knowledge" (LXV,12)
and embraces those who seek pardon in tenderness,
mercy and clemency!
O God, truly we turn towards Thee this evening,
which Thou honored and glorified through Muhammad,
Thy prophet and messenger,
the elect of Thy creation,
the faithful guardian of Thy-revelation which bears good
tidings and warning and which is the light-
giving lamp [55]
which Thou gavest to those who surrender (al-muslimin)
and appointed as a mercy to the world's inhabitants. [56]
O God, so bless Muhammad and the household of Muhammad,
just as Muhammad is worthy of that from Thee,
O Sublime!
So bless him and his elect, good and pure household, all
of them,
and encompass us in Thy pardon,
for to Thee cry voices
in diverse languages.
So appoint for us a share this evening, O God,
of every good which Thou dividest among Thy servants,
every light by which Thou guidest, [57]
every mercy which Thou spreadest, [58]
every blessing which Thou sendest down,
every well-being with which Thou clothest
and every provision which Thou outspreadest. [59]

O Most merciful of the merciful!
O God, transform us now into men successful,
triumphant,
pious,

and prosperous.
Set us not among those who despair,
empty us not of Thy mercy,
deprive us not of that bounty of Thine for which we hope,
and set us not among those deprived of Thy mercy,
nor those who despair of the bounty of Thy gift for which
we hope.
Reject us not with the disappointed,
nor those driven from Thy door.

O Most Magnanimous of the most magnanimous !
O Most Generous of the most generous!
Toward Thee we have turned having sure faith,
repairing to and bound for Thy Sacred House. [60]
So help is with our holy rites,
perfect for us our pilgrimage,
pardon us,
and give us well-being,
for we have extended toward Thee our hands
and they are branded with the abasement of confession.
O God, so give us this evening what we have asked of Thee
and suffice us in that in which we have prayed Thee to
suffice us,
for there is none to suffice us apart from Thee
and we have no lord other than Thee.
Put into effect concerning us is Thy decision,
encompassing us is Thy knowledge [61]
and just for us is Thy decree.
Decree for us the good
and place us among the people of the good!

O God make encumbent upon us through Thy magnanimity
the mightiest wage,
the most generous treasure
and the lastingness of ease.
Forgive us our sins, all of them,
destroy us not with those who perish, [62]
and turn not Thy tenderness and mercy away from us,
O Most Merciful of the merciful!

O God, place us in this hour among those
who ask of Thee and to whom Thou givest,
who thank Thee and whom Thou increasest, [63]
who turn to Thee in repentance and whom Thou
acceptest [64]
and who renounce all of their sins before Thee and whom
Thou forgivest,
O Lord of majesty and splendor!
O God, purify us,
show us the right way
and accept our entreaty.
O Best of those from whom is asked!
And O Most Merciful of those whose mercy is sought!

O He from whom is not hidden the eyelids' winking,
the eyes' glancing,
that which rests in the concealed,
and that which is enfolded in hearts' hidden secrets!
What, has not all of that been reckoned in Thy knowledge
and embraced by Thy clemency ?
Glory be to Thee and high indeed art Thou exalted above
what the evil-doers say!
The seven heavens and the earths and all that is therein praise
Thee,
and there is not a thing but hymns Thy praise. [65]
So Thine is the praise, the glory and the exaltation of
majesty,
O Lord of majesty and splendor,
of bounty and blessing
and of great favor!
And Thou art the Magnanimous, the Generous,
the Tender, the Compassionate.
O God, give me amply of Thy lawful provision,
bestow upon me well-being in my body and my religion,
make me safe from fear [66]
and deliver me from the Fire.
O God, devise not against me, [67]
lead me not on step by step, [68]
trick me not [69]
and avert from me the evil of the ungodly among jinn
and men.

Then he lifted his head and eyes toward Heaven. Tears were flowing from his blessed eyes as if they were two waterskins, and he said in a loud voice:

O Most Hearing of those who hear!
O Most Seeing of those who behold!
O Swiftest of reckoners! [70]
O Most Merciful of the merciful!
Bless Muhammad and the household of Muhammad,
the chiefs, the fortunate.
And, I ask of Thee, O God, my need.
If Thou grantest it to me,
what Thou holdest back from me will cause me no harm;
and if Thou holdest it back from me,
what Thou grantest me will not profit me.
I ask Thee to deliver me from the Fire.
There is no god but Thou alone,
Thou hast no associate.
Thine is the dominion,. and Thine is the praise,
and Thou art powerful over everything.
O my Lord!
O my Lord!

Then he said "O my Lord" over and over. Those who had been gathered around him, who had listened to an of his prayer and who had limited themselves to saying "amen" raised their voices in weeping. They stayed in his company until the sun went down, and then all of them loaded their mounts and set out in the direction of the Sacred Monument. [71]

 

---

 

[3] Cf. Quran LXXIII, 20: "And lend to God a good loan. Whatever good you shall forward to your soul's account, you shall find it with God as better, and mightier a wage."

 

[4] Cf. Quran XL, 43. In another place, using a different root form for the verb "return", the Quran says in one of the verses most often heard in the Islamic world, "Surely we belong to God, and to Him we return" (II, 156).

 

[5] Cf. Quran LXXVI, 1: "Has there come on man a while of time when he was a thing unremembered?"

 

[6] The sin of breaking God's covenant is often described in the Quran. For example, "Such as break the covenant of God after its solemn binding . . . they shall be the losers." (II, 27). And "Crying lies to the messengers" is often mentioned as a major sin of past nations, e.g., "And the people of Noah, when they cried lies to the Messengers . . ." (XXV, 37).

 

[7] Cf. Quran LXXV, 36-37: "What, does man reckon he shall be left to roam at will? Was he not a sperm-drop spilled? . . ."

 

[8] Reference to Quran XXXIX, 6: "He created you in the wombs of your mothers, creation after creation, in a threefold gloom."

 

[9] Cf. Quran XVIII, 52: "I made them not to witness the creation of the heavens and the earth, nor their own creation ...."

 

[10] Cf. Quran XVI, 13: "And that which He has multiplied for you in the earth of diverse hues. Surely in that is a sign for a people who remember."

 

[11] Reference to the Imam's descent from the Prophet. Cf. the first selection from 'Ali above (p. 29).

 

[12] Cf. Quran XIV, 7: "And when your Lord proclaimed: If you give thanks, I will give you more ...."

 

[13] Cf. Quran XXX, 11: "God produces creation, then He reproduces it, then unto Him you will be returned." Also XXIX, 19; XXX, 27.

 

[14] Cf. Quran XIV, 34 and XVI, 18: "And if you count God's blessing, you will never number it."

 

[15] The "curtain of the heart" (hijab al-qalb) is the pericardium.

 

[16] The windpipe is not mentioned in some editions of Mafatih al-jinan.

 

[17] Cf. Quran XIX, 88-91: "And they say, 'The All-merciful has taken unto Himself a son.' You have indeed advanced something hideous!. The heavens are wellnigh rent of it and the earth split asunder, and the mountains wellnigh fall down crashing for that they have attributed to the All-merciful a son ...."

 

[18] In the famous hadith concerning ihsan or "spiritual virtue" it is said that "Spiritual virtue is that you should worship God as if you were seeing him, and if you see Him not, He nonetheless sees thee."

 

[19] Cf. Quran XLIII, 36: "Whoso blinds himself to the Remembrance of the All-merciful, to him We assign a Satan for comrade."

 

[20] Cf. Quran LXIV, 3: "He shaped you and made good your shapes". See also XL, 64.

 

[21] Cf. Quran XXVI, 79: " . . . who created me, and Himself guides me, and Himself gives me to eat and drink. . .".

 

[22] Cf. Quran LIII, 48: "And that He it is Who enriches and contents."

 

[23] Some editions add here the phrase "other than Thee".

 

[24] Cf. Quran IX, 55: "So let not their possessions or their children. please thee; God only desires thereby to chastise them in this present life, and that their souls should depart while they are unbelievers."

 

[25] I.e., Mecca and the land surrounding it.

 

[26] The "Sacred Monument", known as Muzdalifah, is the place where the pilgrims spend the night after the day at Arafat. Cf. Quran II, 198: "When you press on from Arafat, remember God by the Sacred Monument."

 

[27] I.e., the Ka'bah, called the "Ancient House" in reference to the tradition that it was constructed by Abraham. See Quran XXII, 29 and 33; also XIV, 35-7

 

[28] Cf. Quran II, 125: "And when We made the House a resort for mankind and a sanctuary...."

 

[29] A further reference to the Prophet's blood descent from the Abrahamic line of prophets.

 

[30] Israfil is the angel who according to Islamic tradition blows the trumpet at the time of the Resurrection.

 

[31] The Criterion (al-furqan), is one of the names of the Quran, mentioned several times in its text, such as III, 4 and XXV, I.

 

[32] Kaf Ha' Ya Ayn Sad are Arabic letters which appear at the beginning of the chapter of Maryam, Quran XIX. Ta' Ha' and Ya' Sin are also letters appearing at the beginning of Quranic chapters, XX and XXXVI respectively, from which the chapters take their names. "The Wise Quran" is a tide which appears in Quran XXXVI, 2.

 

[33] Al-Sattar, "He who covers (faults and sins)", is one of the names of God.

 

[34] Cf. Quran III, 13: "God confirms with His help whom He will."

 

[35] Cf. Quran III, 160: "If God helps you, none can overcome you."

 

[36] Akram al-asma'. God's "fairest names" (al-asma' al-husna) are referred to several times in the Quran, such as VII, I80 and XX, 8.

 

[37] For the story of Joseph in the Quran see chapter XII.

 

[38] Cf. Quran XXI, 83-84 and XXXVIII, 42-45.

 

[39] Cf. Quran XXXVII, 102-105 and XIV, 39.

 

[40] See Quran XXI, 89-90.

 

[41] The story of Jonah and the "fish" is referred to in Quran LXVIII, 48-50.

 

[42] Cf. Quran XXVI, 63-66 etc.

 

[43] Cf. Quran XXV, 48: "And He it is Who sends the winds, glad tidings heralding His mercy, and We send down purifying water from the sky." See also VII, 57 and XXX, 46.

 

[44] Cf. Quran XVIII, 59: "Thy Lord is the Forgiver, Full of Mercy. If He took them to task (now) for what they earn, He would hasten on the doom for them; but theirs is an appointed term from which they will find no escape."

 

[45] Reference to the story of Moses and the sorcerers, related several times in the Quran, especially VII, 111-126; XX, 62-73 and XXVI, 36-51.

 

[46] A divine Name used in Quran XXX, 50 and XLI, 39.

 

[47] Cf. Quran III, 26: "Thou exaltest whom Thou wilt, and Thou abasest whom Thou wilt."

 

[48] Again reference to Quran XIV, 34 and XVI, 18.

 

[49] Cf. Quran LIII, 48: "He it is who enriches and contents."

 

[50] Cf. Quran XCIII, 6: "Did He not find thee an orphan and shelter Thee?"

 

[51] Cf Quran VII, 10: "We have established you in the earth . . .".

 

[52] Cf Quran VI, 150: "To God belongs the argument conclusive."

 

[53] Cf Quran XLI, 19-20: "Upon the day when God's enemies are mustered to the Fire duly disposed, till when they are come to it, their hearing, their eyes and their skins bear witness against them concerning what they have been doing."

 

[54] Cf. Quran XXVII, 62: "He who answers the constrained, when he calls unto Him, and removes the evil and appoints you to be successors in the earth."

 

[55] Cf Quran XLI, 4 and XXXIII, 46.

 

[56] Cf Quran XXI, 107.

 

[57] The symbolism of light and darkness is employed often in the Quran, not to mention its usage in Sufism and philosophy, such as the School of Illumination (ishraq) of Suhrawardi. A good example of Quranic usage is the following: "God is the Protector of the believers; He brings them forth from the shadows into the light" (II, 257). There is also the famous "Light Verse" (XXIV, 35), which contains the sentence "God guides to His Light whom He will."

 

[58] Cf Quran XLII, 28.

 

[59] Cf Quran XVII, 30.

 

[60] Again a reference to the rites performed on the Day of Arafah. The "Sacred House" is of course the Ka'bah.

 

[61] Cf. Quran LXV, 12.

 

[62] The word "destroy" (ahlak, from whose root is derived the word "those who perish", halikun) is used repeatedly in the Quran in reference to God's punishment of the evildoers, especially those of generations and ages past, as a sign and a warning for those present. For example, "Have they not regarded how We destroyed before them many a generation . . ." (VI, 6). See also X, I4; XIX, 98; XXI, 9; etc.

 

[63] Cf Quran II, 58: "We will forgive you your sins and will increase (reward) for the right-doers."

 

[64] Cf Quran IX, 104: "God is He who accepts repentance from His servants."

 

[65] This sentence is almost a word for word quotation of Quran XVII, 44.

 

[66] Cf. Quran CVI, 4: "Let them serve the Lord of this House who has . . . made them safe from fear."

 

[67] Cf. Quran III, 54: "And they devised, and God devised, and God is the best of devisers." See also Quran XIII, 42; XXVII, 50, etc.

 

[68] Cf Quran VII, 182-183: "And those who cry lies to Our signs-step by step We lead them on from whence they know not." See also LXVIII, 44.

 

[69] Cf. Quran IV, I42: "The hypocrites seek to trick God, but God is tricking them."

 

[70] A divine Name appearing in Quran VI, 62.

 

[71] At this point the compiler remarks that some sources add another section to Imam Husayn's prayer, a section which he then relates himself. Other authorities, such as Majlisi, express their doubts as to the authenticity of this last section. In fact it is almost certainly by Ibn 'Ata'allah al-Iskandari, and therefore I have not translated it here. Readers interested will find a translation in V. Danner, Ibn 'Ata'illah's Sufi Aphorisms, Leiden, 1973, pp. 64-9. See W. Chittick, "A Shadhili Presence in Shi'ite Islam", Sophia Perennis, vol. I, no. 1, 1975, pp. 97-100.

Source: A Shi'ite Anthology

 

 By: Allamah Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Tabataba'i