| 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. 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, II), the subtle, the Aware, and "He is powerful over all things" (V, I20 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. Thou originated me by Thy blessing before I was a thing remembered. 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. 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 and madest me to dwell in a threefold gloom among flesh, blood and skin. Thou gavest me not to witness my creation, 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, 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, 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. 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, 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 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 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, 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, III) 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. 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, give me felicity through piety toward Thee, make me not wretched by disobedience toward Thee, choose the best for me by Thy decree (qadha') 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, 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; 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; my Lord, since Thou enriched me and contented me; 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, 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 folks are set aright, not to cause me to die when Thy wrath is upon me, 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, the Sacred Monument, and the Ancient House, upon which Thou caused blessing to descend and which Thou madest a sanctuary for mankind. 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! Lord of Gabriel, Michael and Israfil! 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, and Sender down of Kaf Ha' Ya' Ayn Sad, Ta' Ha', Ya' Sin, and the Wise Quran! 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, I would have been among the disgraced, and Thou confirmest me with help against my enemies. And if not for Thy helping me, I would have been among those overcome. 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! 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) O He who removed affliction and tribulation from Job and restrained Abraham's hands from the sacrifice of his son after he had reached old age and his life had passed by! O He who answered the prayer of Zachariah and bestowed upon him John, not leaving him childless and alone! O He who brought Jonah out from the stomach of the fish! O He who parted the sea for the Children of Israel, then saved them and drowned Pharoah and his hosts! O He who sends winds heralding His mercy! O He who does not hurry (to act) against those of His creatures who disobey Him! 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. 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! 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, 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. 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, Thou art He who sheltered, 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), 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 forever! Then 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 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. 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. And I acted with certainty and without ana 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 l 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 I 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 I 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, glornot ny 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, 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 which Thou gavest to those who surrender (al-muslimin) and appointed as a mercy to the world's inhabitants. 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, every mercy which Thou spreadest, every blessing which Thou sendest down, every well-being with which Thou clothest and every provision which Thou outspreadest. 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. 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 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, 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, who turn to Thee in repentance and whom Thou acceptest 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 I 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. 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 and deliver me from the Fire. O God, devise not against me, lead me not on step by step, trick me not 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! 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 Irse 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 | | |
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