belongs to Allah, for, had He withheld from His servants the knowledge to praise Him for the uninterrupted kindnesses with which He has tried them3 and the manifest favors which He has lavished upon them, they would have moved about in His kindnesses without praising Him, and

spread themselves out in His provision without thanking Him.

Had such been the case, they would have left the bounds of humanity for that of beastliness and become as He has described in the firm text of His Book:

(They are but as the cattle - nay, but they are further astray from the way!).4 O Praise belongs to Allah, for

the true knowledge of Himself He has given to us,

the thanksgiving He has inspired us to offer Him,

the doors to knowing His Lordship He has opened for us,

the sincerity towards Him in professing His Unity to which He has led us, and

the deviation and doubt in His Command from which He has turned us aside;

a praise through which we

may be given long life among those of His creatures who praise Him,

and overtake those who have gone ahead toward His good pleasure and pardon;

a praise through which He

will illuminate for us the shadows of the interworld,5 ease for us the path of the Resurrection, and raise up our stations at the standing places of the Witnesses6 ( on the day when every soul will be repaid for that it has earned - they shall not be wronged; 7 ( the day a master shall avail nothing a client, and they shall not

be helped);8 a praise which will rise up from us to the highest of the ' Illeeyoon9 (in a book inscribed, witnessed by those brought nigh), 10 a praise whereby our eyes may be at rest when sight is dazzled, 11 our faces whitened when skins are blackened, 12 a praise through which we may be released from Allah's painful Fire and enter Allah's generous neighborhood,

a praise by which we

may jostle the angels brought nigh and

join the prophets, the envoys,

in a House of Permanence that does not remove,

the Place of His Generosity that does not change.

Praise belongs to Allah, who

chose for us the good qualities of creation,

granted us the agreeable things of provision, and

appointed for us excellence through domination over all creation;

every one of His creatures submits to us through His power, and comes to obey us through His might.13 Praise belongs to Allah, who locked for us the gate of need except toward Him.

So how can we praise Him?

When can we thank Him? Indeed, when?

Praise belongs to Allah, who

placed within us the organs of expansion,

assigned for us the agents of contraction,

gave us to enjoy the spirits of life,

fixed within us the limbs of works,

nourished us with the agreeable things of provision,

freed us from need through His bounty, and

gave us possessions through His kindness.

Then He commanded us that He might test our obedience and

prohibited us that He might try our thanksgiving.

So we turned against the path of His commandments and

mounted the backs of His warnings.

Yet He hurried us not to His punishment,

nor hastened us on

to His vengeance.

No, He went slowly with us through His mercy, in generosity, and

awaited our return through His clemency, in mildness.

Praise belongs to Allah, who showed us the way to repentance, which we would not have won save through His bounty.

Had we nothing to count as His bounty but this,

His trial of us would have been good,

His beneficence toward us great,

His bounty upon us immense.

For such was not His wont in repentance with those who went before us.14 He has lifted up from us What we have not the strength to bear, 15 charged us only to our capacity, 16 imposed upon us nothing but ease, and

left none of us with an argument or excuse.

So the perisher among us is he who perishes in spite of Him and

the felicitous among us he who beseeches Him.

And praise belongs to Allah with all the praises of

His angels closest to Him,

His creatures most noble in His eyes, and

His praisers most pleasing to Him;

a praise that may surpass other praises as our Lord surpasses all His creatures.

Then to Him belongs praise,

in place of His every favor upon us, and upon all His servants, past and still remaining, to the number of all things His knowledge encompasses, and

in place of each of His favors, their number doubling and redoubling always and forever, to the Day of Resurrection;

a praise

whose bound has no utmost end,

whose number has no reckoning,

whose limit cannot be reached,

whose period cannot be cut off;

a praise which will become

a link to His obedience and pardon,

a tie to His good

pleasure,

a means to His forgiveness,

a path to His Garden,

a protector against His vengeance,

a security against His wrath,

an aid to obeying Him,

a barrier against disobeying Him,

a help in fulfilling His right and His duties;

a praise that will

make us felicitous among His felicitous friends,

and bring us into the ranks of those martyred by the swords of His enemies.

He is a Friend, Praiseworthy!

it in summoning to Thy creed,

busied it in counseling those worthy of Thy summons

migrated to the land of exile and the place of remoteness from

the home of his saddlebags,

the walkway of his feet, the ground of his birth,

and the intimate abode of his soul,

desiring to exalt Thy religion and

seeking help against those who disbelieved in Thee, until

what he attempted against Thy enemies went well with him and

what he arranged for Thy friends was accomplished.

He rose up against them

seeking victory through Thine aid,

becoming strong in spite of his weakness with Thy help.

He fought against them in the center of their cities

and attacked them in the midst of their dwellings, until Thy command prevailed, and Thy word rose up, though the idolaters were averse.17 O Allah, so raise him, because of his labors for Thy sake, to the highest degree of Thy Garden, 18 that none may equal him in station, none may match him in level, and no angel brought nigh or prophet sent out may parallel him in Thy sight. And inform him concerning his Household the pure and his community the faithful of an excellent intercession, greater than what Thou hast promised him!19 O Keeper of promises!

O Faithful to Thy word!

O He who changes evil deeds into manifold good deeds!20 Thou art of bounty abounding!

tire of worshiping Thee,

never prefer curtailment over diligence in Thy command, and

are never heedless of passionate love for Thee;

And Seraphiel, the Owner of the Trumpet, fixed in his gaze, awaiting Thy permission and the descent of the Command, that he may arouse through the Blast the hostages thrown down in the graves;

And Michael, possessor of standing with Thee and a raised up place in Thy obedience;

And Gabriel, entrusted with Thy revelation,

obeyed by the inhabitants of Thy heavens,

distinguished in Thy Presence, 22 brought nigh to Thee; and the spirit who is over the angels of the veils; 23 and the spirit who is of Thy command24 - bless them and the angels below them: the residents in Thy heavens,

those entrusted with Thy messages,

those who become not wearied by perseverance, or exhausted and flagged by toil,

whom passions distract not from glorifying Thee, and

whose magnification of Thee is never cut off by the inattention of heedless moments;

their eyes lowered, they do not attempt to look at Thee;

their chins bowed, they have long desired what is with Thee;

unrestrained in mentioning Thy boons,

they remain humble before Thy mightiness and the majesty of Thy magnificence; and

those who say when they look upon GEHENNAM roaring over the people who disobeyed Thee: 'Glory be to Thee!, we have not worshiped Thee with the worship Thou deservest!'

Bless them, and

Thy angels who are the Reposeful,

those of proximity to Thee,

those who carry the unseen to Thy messengers,

those entrusted with Thy revelation,

the tribes of angels whom Thou hast

singled out for Thyself,

freed from need for food and drink

by their calling Thee holy, and

made to dwell inside Thy heavens' layers,

those who will stand upon the heavens' borders25 when the Command descends to complete Thy promise,

the keepers of the rain, the drivers of the clouds,

him at whose driving's sound is heard the rolling of thunder, and when the reverberating clouds swim before his driving, bolts of lightning flash;

the escorts of snow and hail,

the descenders with the drops of rain when they fall,

the watchers over the treasuries of the winds,

those charged with the mountains lest they disappear,

those whom Thou hast taught the weights of the waters and the measures contained by torrents and masses of rain;

the angels who are Thy messengers to the people of the earth with the disliked affliction that comes down and the beloved ease;

the devoted, noble scribes, 26 the watchers, noble writers, 27 the angel of death and his helpers, Munkar And Nakeer, 28 Ruman, the tester in the graves, 29 the circlers of the Inhabited House, 30 MAALIK31 and the guardians, RIZ''WAAN32 and the gatekeepers of the gardens, those (who disobey not Allah in what He commands them and do what they are commanded); 33 those who say, (Peace be upon you, for that you were patient - and fair is the Ultimate Abode); 34 the ZABANEEYA, who, when it is said to them: (take him, and jetter him, then roast him in hell), 35 hasten to accomplish it, nor do they give him any respite; 36 him whom we have failed to mention, not knowing his place with Thee,

nor with which command Thou hast charged him; and

the residents in the air, the earth, and the water, and

those of them charged over the creatures;

bless them on the day when every soul will come, with it a driver and a witness, 37 and bless them with a blessing that will add

honor to their honor and

purity to their purity.

O Allah, and when Thou blessest Thy angels and Thy messengers and Thou extendest our blessings to them, bless us through the good words about them which Thou hast opened up for us!

Thou art Munificent, Generous.

affection for him, hoping for a commerce that comes not to naught38 in love for him; those who were left by their clans when they clung to his handhold and

denied by their kinsfolk when they rested in the shadow of his kinship;

forget not, O Allah, what they abandoned for Thee and in Thee, and

make them pleased with Thy good pleasure

for the sake of the creatures they drove to Thee

while they were with Thy Messenger, summoners to Thee for Thee.

Show gratitude to them for

leaving the abodes of their people for Thy sake and

going out from a plentiful livelihood to a narrow one, and

[show gratitude to] those of them who became objects of wrongdoing and whom Thou multiplied in exalting Thy religion.

O Allah, and give to those who have done well in following the Companions, who say:

)Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who went before us in faith), 39 Thy best reward; those who went straight to the Companions' road,

sought out their course, and

proceeded in their manner.

No doubt concerning their sure insight diverted them and

no uncertainty shook them from following in their tracks and being led by the guidance of their light.

As their assistants and supporters, they

professed their religion,

gained guidance through their guidance,

came to agreement with them, and

never accused them in what they passed on to them.

O Allah, and bless the Followers, from this day of ours to the Day of Doom,

their wives, their offspring, and

those among them who obey Thee,

with a blessing through which Thou wilt preserve them from disobeying Thee,

make room for them in

the plots of Thy Garden,

defend them from the trickery of Satan,

help them in the piety in which they seek help from Thee,

protect them from sudden events that come by night and - day except the events which come with good - and

incite them to

tie firmly the knot of good hope in Thee, what is with Thee, and

refrain from ill thoughts [toward Thee] because of what the hands of Thy servants' hold.

Thus Thou mayest restore them to beseeching Thee and fearing Thee,

induce them to renounce the plenty of the immediate,

make them love to work for the sake of the deferred and prepare for what comes after death,

make easy for them every distress that comes to them on the day when souls take leave from bodies,

release them from that which brings about the perils of temptation and being thrown down in the Fire and staying forever within it, and

take them to security, the resting place of the God-fearing.

all hidden tidings are manifest!

Bless Muhammad and his Household and

expose us not before Thee!

O Allah,

remove our need for the gifts of the givers through Thy gift,

spare us the loneliness of those who break off through Thy joining,

that we may beseech no one along with Thy free giving,

that we may feel lonely at no one's absence along with Thy bounty!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

scheme for us, not against us,

devise to our benefit, not to our loss, 40 give the turn to prevail to us, not to others!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

protect us from Thyself,

safeguard us through Thyself,

guide us to Thyself, and

take us not far from Thyself!41 He whom Thou protectest stays safe,

he whom Thou guidest knows, and

he whom Thou bringest near Thyself takes the spoils.

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and

SPARE us

the cutting edge of time's turning changes,

the evil of Satan's snares, and

the bitterness of the sovereign's aggression!

O Allah, the spared are spared only through the bounty of Thy strength,

so bless Muhammad and his Household and spare us!

The givers give only through the bounty of Thy wealth,

so bless Muhammad and his Household and give to us!

The guided are guided only by the light of Thy face,

so bless Muhammad and his Household and guide us!

O Allah,

he whom Thou befriendest will not be injured by the abandonment of the abandoners,

he to whom Thou givest will not be diminished by the withholding of the withholders,

he whom Thou guidest will not be misled by the misguidance of the misguiders.

So bless Muhammad and his Household,

defend us

from Thy servants through Thy might,

free us from need for other than Thee through Thy support, and

make us travel the path of the Truth through Thy right guidance!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and put

the soundness of our hearts into the remembrance of Thy mightiness,

the idleness of our bodies into giving thanks for Thy favor, and

the flow of our tongues into the description of Thy kindness!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household, and make us one of Thy

summoners who summon to Thee,

Thy guiders who direct to Thee, and

Thy special friends whom Thou hast singled out!

O Most Merciful of the merciful!

life in this world and

to achieve the deferred in their life to come.

Through all of this He

sets right their situation,

tries their records, 44 and watches their state in the times for obeying Him, the waystations of His obligations, and the places of His ordinances, (That He may repay those who do evil with what they have done and repay those who do good with goodness).45 O Allah, to Thee belongs praise for

the sky Thou hast split into dawn for us, 46 giving us to enjoy thereby the brightness of daytime,

showing us sought-after nourishments, and

protecting us from the striking of blights.

In the morning we and all things, every one, rise for Thee,

the heaven and the earth and

what Thou hast scattered in each,

the still and the moving,

the resident and the journeying,

what towers up in the air and

what hides under the ground.

O We rise in the morning in Thy grasp:

Thy kingdom and authority contain us and

Thy will embraces us.

We move about by Thy command and

turn this way and that through Thy governing.

We own nothing of the affair except what Thou hast decreed and

nothing of the good except what Thou hast given.

This is a fresh, new day,

over us a ready witness.

If we do good, it will take leave from us with praise, and

if we do evil, it will part from us in blame.

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

provide us with the day's good companionship and

preserve us against parting from it badly

by doing a misdeed

or committing a sin, whether small or a great!

Make our good deeds within it plentiful

empty

us therein of evil deeds, and

fill what lies between its two sides for us with

praise and thanksgiving,

wages and stores,

bounty and beneficence!

O Allah, ease our burden on the Noble Writers, 47 fill our pages for us with our good deeds, and

degrade us not before them with our evil works!

O Allah, appoint for us in each of the day's hours

a share from Thy servants,

a portion of giving thanks to Thee, and

a truthful witness among Thy angels!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and safeguard us from

before us and behind us,

from our right hands and our left hands, and

from all our directions, 48 a safeguarding that will preserve from disobeying Thee,

guide to obeying Thee, and

be employed for Thy love!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and

give us success in this day of ours, this night of ours, and in all our days, to

employ the good,

stay away from the evil,

give thanks for favors,

follow the SUNNA's norms,

avoid innovations,

enjoin good behavior,

forbid the disapproved,

defend Islam,

diminish falsehood and abase it,

help the truth and exalt it,

guide the misguided,

assist the weak, and

reach out to the troubled!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and make this (day)

the most fortunate day we have known,

the most excellent companion we have accompanied, and

the best time in which we have lingered!

PLACE us among

the most satisfied of all Thy creatures whom night and day have passed by,

the most thankful of them for the favors Thou hast done,

the firmest of them in the laws Thou hast set down in the Shareea'h, and

the most unyielding of them toward the prohibited acts against which

Thou hast cautioned!

O Allah, I call Thee to witness - and Thou art sufficient witness - and

I call Thy heaven and Thy earth to witness and Thy angels and Thy other creatures who inhabit them

in this my day, this my hour, this my night, and this my resting place,

that I bear witness that Thou art Allah,

other than whom there is no god,

Upholding justice,

Equitable in judgment,

Clement to the servants, 49 Master of the kingdom, 50 Compassionate to the creatures, and

that Muhammad is Thy servant and Thy messenger,

Thy chosen from among Thy creatures.

Thou didst charge him with Thy message and he delivered it;

Thou didst command him to counsel his community and he counseled it.

O Allah, so bless Muhammad and his Household more than Thou hast blessed any of Thy creatures!

Give him for our sake the best Thou hast given any of Thy servants, and

repay him on our behalf better and more generously than Thou hast repaid any of Thy prophets on behalf of his community!

Thou art All-kind with immensity,

the Forgiver of the great, and

Thou art more merciful than every possessor of mercy!

So bless Muhammad and his Household, the good, the pure, the chosen, the most distinguished!

gentleness,

the decree goes into effect through Thy power, and

all things proceed according to Thy desire.

By Thy desire they follow Thy command without Thy word and

by Thy will they obey Thy bans without Thy prohibition.

Thou art the supplicated in worries and

the place of flight in misfortunes;

none of them is repelled unless Thou repellest,

none is removed unless Thou removest.

Upon me has come down, My Lord, something whose weight burdens me and

upon me has fallen something whose carrying oppresses me.

Through Thy power Thou hast brought it down upon me and

through Thy authority Thou hast turned it toward me.

None can send away what Thou hast brought,

none can deflect what Thou hast turned,

none can open what Thou hast closed,

none can close what Thou hast opened,

none can make easy what Thou hast made difficult,

none can help him whom Thou hast abandoned.

So bless Muhammad and his Household,

open for me, my Lord, the door of relief through Thy graciousness,

break from me the authority of worry by Thy strength,

confer the beauty of Thy gaze upon my complaint,

let me taste the sweetness of benefaction in what I ask,

give me from Thyself mercy and wholesome relief, and

appoint for me from Thyself a quick way out!

Distract me not through worry

from observing Thy obligations and

acting in accordance with Thy prescriptions.

My capacity has been straitened, my Lord, by what has come down on me, and

I am filled with worry by carrying what has happened to me,

while Thou hast power

to remove what has afflicted me and

to repel that into which I have fallen.

So do that for me though I merit

it not from Thee,

O Possessor of the Mighty Throne!

passes quickly and

relent in that which lasts the longer!

When we set out after two concerns,

one of which makes Thee pleased with us

and the other of which displeases Thee,

incline us toward that which makes Thee pleased and

weaken our strength in that which displeases Thee!

Leave not our souls alone to choose in that, for

they choose falsehood except inasmuch as Thou givest success, and

they command to evil except inasmuch as Thou hast mercy!52 O Allah, Thou created us from frailty, 53 built us up from feebleness, and began us from a mean water; 54 we have no force except through Thy strength and

no strength except through Thy help.

So confirm us by giving us success,

point us the right way by Thy pointing,

blind the eyes of our hearts toward everything opposed to Thy love, and

set not in any of our limbs passage to disobeying Thee!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and ASSIGN

the whisperings of our hearts,

the movements of our members,

the glances of our eyes, and

the idioms of our tongues,

to that which makes incumbent Thy reward, lest

a good deed slip by us, through which we might deserve Thy repayment,

or an evil deed remain with us, by which we might merit Thy punishment!

Richest of the rich!

Here we are, Thy servants, before Thee.

I am the neediest of the needy toward Thee,

so redress our neediness through Thy plenty and

cut us not off from our hopes through Thy withholding, lest Thou

makest wretched him who seeks felicity through Thee and

deprivest him who seeks help from Thy bounty!

Then to whom would we return after Thee?

Where would we go from Thy gate?

Glory be to Thee! WE ARE

the distressed, the response to whom Thou hast made incumbent,

the people from whom Thou hast promised to remove the evil.55 That thing most resembling Thy will and

that affair most worthy for Thee in Thy mightiness is

showing mercy to him who asks Thee for mercy and

helping him who seeks help from Thee.

So show mercy upon our pleading with Thee and

free us from need when we throw ourselves before Thee!

O Allah, SATAN will gloat over us if we follow him in disobeying Thee,

so bless Muhammad and his Household and

let him not gloat over us after we have

renounced him for Thee

and beseeched Thee against him!

us! Then

the writers of evil deeds may depart from us with a page empty of the mention of our evil deeds, and

the writers of good deeds may turn away from us happy with the good deeds of ours which they have written.

And when the days of our life have passed by,

the terms of our lifetimes have elapsed, and

Thy call, which must come and be answered, summons us forth,

then bless Muhammad and his Household and

make the outcome of what the writers of our works count against us an accepted repentance,

which afterwards gave us no rest in a sin that we committed, or an act of disobedience that we performed!

Remove not from us any covering with which Thou hast covered over the heads of the witnesses on the day when the records of Thy servants are tried!

Verily Thou art compassionate to him who supplicates Thee,

the responder to him who calls upon Thee!

the surrendered,

asking Thee in my shame, the asking of the destitute, the pitiful,

admitting to Thee that

at the time of Thy beneficence I surrendered not save through abstaining from disobedience toward Thee

and in none of my states was I ever without Thy Kindness.

Will it profit me, my God, to admit to Thee the evil of what I have earned?

Will it save me from Thee to confess the ugliness of what I have done?

Or wilt Thou impose upon me in this my station Thy displeasure?

Will Thy hate hold fast to me in the time of my supplication?

Glory be to Thee!

I do not despair of Thee, for Thou hast opened the door of repentance toward Thyself.

Rather, I say, the words of a lowly servant,

having wronged himself and

made light of his Lord's inviolability, and

whose sins are dreadful, great,

whose days have parted, fled,

until, when he sees

the term of his works expired and

the limit of his lifetime reached

and knows with certainty that he has no escape from Thee,

no place to flee from Thee, he

turns his face toward Thee in repeated turning,

makes his repentance toward Thee sincere,

stands before Thee with a pure and purified heart,

then supplicates Thee with a feeble, quiet voice.

He is bowed before Thee, bent,

his head lowered, thrown down,

his legs shaking in fear,

his tears flooding his cheeks.

He supplicates Thee: O Most Merciful of the merciful!

O Most Merciful of those toward whom seekers of mercy keep on turning!

O Tenderest of those around whom run seekers of forgiveness!

O He whose pardon is greater than His vengeance!

O He whose good pleasure is more

abundant than His anger!56 O He who seeks His creatures' praise with excellent forbearance! O He who has accustomed His servants to the acceptance of their repeated turning!57 O He who seeks to heal their corruption through repentance! O He who is pleased with the easy of their acts! O He who recompenses with the much their little! O He who has made himself accountable to them to respond to supplication!58 O He who pledged Himself by His gratuitous bounty to give them excellent repayment!

I am not the most disobedient of those who have disobeyed Thee and whom Thou hast forgiven,

nor am I the most blameworthy to offer excuses which Thou hast accepted,

nor am I the most wrongdoing of those who have repented to Thee, and to whom Thou hast returned

I repent to Thee in this my station, the repentance of one

remorseful over what preceded from him hastily,

apprehensive of what has gathered around him,

pure in shame for that into which he has fallen,

knowing that

pardoning great sins is nothing great for Thee.59 overlooking enormous misdeeds is not difficult for Thee,

putting up with indecent crimes does not-trouble Thee, and

the most beloved of Thy servants to Thee is he who

refrains from arrogance before Thee,

pulls aside from persistence, and

holds fast to praying forgiveness!

I am clear before Thee of arrogance,

I seek refuge in Thee from persistence,

I pray forgiveness from Thee for shortcomings,

I seek help from Thee in incapacity!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

dispense with what is incumbent upon me toward Thee,

release me from what I merit from Thee, and

grant

me sanctuary from what the evildoers fear!

For Thou art full of pardon,

the hoped-for source of forgiveness,

well known for Thy forbearance.

My need has no object but Thee,

my sin no forgiver other than Thee

— Could that be possible?

I have no fear for myself except from Thee;

Thou art worthy of reverential fear, and worthy to forgive!60 Bless Muhammad and his Household,

grant my need,

answer my request favorably,

forgive my sin, and

give me security from fear for myself

Thou art powerful over everything, 61 and that is easy for Thee.

Amen, Lord of the worlds!

who turns in his need toward one of Thy creatures

or assigns the cause of its being granted to other than Thee,

has exposed himself to deprivation

and deserves to miss Thy beneficence.

O Allah, I have a need of Thee:

My exertion has fallen short of it

and my stratagems have been cut back before reaching it.

My soul induced me to present it to him who

presents his needs to Thee and

can do nothing without Thee in his requests, but this is

one of the slips of the offenders,

one of the stumbles of the sinners!

Then through Thy reminding me, I was aroused from my heedlessness,

through Thy giving success, I stood up from my slip,

and through Thy pointing the way, I returned and withdrew from my stumble.

I said: Glory to my Lord!

How can the needy ask from the needy?

How can the destitute beseech the destitute?

So I went straight to Thee, my God, in beseeching,

and I sent Thee my hope with trust in Thee.

I came to know that

the many I request from Thee are few before Thy wealth,

the weighty I ask from Thee is vile before Thy plenty;

Thy generosity is not constrained by anyone's asking,

Thy hand is higher in bestowing gifts than every hand!

O Allah, so bless Muhammad and his Household,

take me through Thy generosity to Thy gratuitous bounty and

take me not through Thy justice to what I deserve!

I am not the first beseecher to beseech Thee and Thou bestowed upon him while he deserved withholding,

nor am I the first to ask from Thee and Thou wast bounteous toward him while he merited deprivation.

O

Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

respond to my supplication,

come near my call,

have mercy on my pleading,

listen to my voice,

cut not short my hope for Thee,

sever not my thread to Thee,

turn not my face in this my need, and other needs, away from Thee,

ATTEND FOR MY SAKE TO

the fulfillment of my request,

the granting of my need, and

the attainment of what I have asked

before I leave this place

through Thy making easy for me the difficult and

Thy excellent ordainment for me in all affairs!

Bless Muhammad and his Household

with a permanent, ever-growing blessing,

whose perpetuity has no cutting off and

whose term knows no limit, and

make that a help to me and

a cause for the granting of my request!

Thou art Boundless, Generous!

And of my needs, My Lord, are such and such.

HERE YOU SHOULD STATE YOUR NEEDS, THEN PROSTRATE YOURSELF, AND SAY IN YOUR PROSTRATION

Thy bounty has comforted me and

Thy beneficence has shown the way,

So I ask Thee by Thee and by Muhammad and his Household (Thy blessings be upon them) that Thou sendest me not back in disappointment!

violated me in that which Thou hast prohibited,

showing thereby ingratitude toward Thy favor upon him and

delusion concerning what Thou hast denied him.

O Allah, so bless Muhammad and his Household,

keep my wrongdoing enemy from wronging me through Thy strength,

blunt his blade toward me through Thy power, and

assign to him a diversion in that which is close to him and

the inability to reach his enemy!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

let the wrongdoer not find it easy to wrong me,

give me good help against him,

preserve me from the like of his acts, and

place me not in the like of his situation!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household, and

assist me with an immediate assistance

that will heal my rage toward him and

redeem my fury toward him!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

compensate me for his wronging me with Thy pardon and

replace his evil action toward me with Thy mercy, for

every detested thing less than Thy anger is slight and

every disaster next to Thy rancor indifferent!

O Allah,

just as Thou hast made me detest being wronged, so also protect me from doing wrong!

O Allah,

I complain to no one but Thee, and

I seek help from no ruler other than Thee -

how could I?

So bless Muhammad and his Household,

join my supplication to response, and

unite my complaint with change!

O Allah,

tempt me not with despair of Thy just treatment and

tempt him not with feeling secure from Thy disapproval,

lest he persist in wronging me and

constrain me in my rights.64 Let him soon recognize what Thou hast promised the wrongdoers65 and let me recognize Thy promised response

to the distressed!66 O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

give me success in accepting Thy decrees for me and against me,

make me pleased with what Thou takest for me and from me,

guide me to that which is most upright and

employ me in that which is safest!

O Allah,

if the best for me with Thee lies

in delaying the taking to task for my sake of him who has wronged me and in refraining from vengeance toward him until

the Day of Decision and the Gathering of Disputants,

then bless Muhammad and his Household,

strengthen me from Thee with true intention and lasting patience,

give me refuge from evil desire and the impatience of the greedy, and

form in my heart the image of Thy reward which Thou hast stored away for me and the repayment and punishment which Thou has prepared for my disputant!

Make this a cause of my contentment with what Thou hast decreed and my trust in what Thou hast chosen!

Amen, Lord of the worlds!

Thou art of bounty abounding and

Thou art powerful over everything.

Thy good pleasure and bounty, and

by which Thou strengthenest me for the acts of obedience which Thou hast given me success to accomplish;

or the time of illness through which Thou puttest me to the test and bestowest upon me favors:

lightening of the offenses that weigh down my back,

purification of the evil deeds into which I have plunged,

incitement to reach for repentance,

reminder of the erasure of misdeeds through ancient favor; and

, through all that, what the two writers write for me: blameless acts, which

no heart had thought,

no tongue had uttered, and

no limb had undertaken,

rather, as Thy bestowal of bounty upon me and

the beneficence of Thy benefaction toward me.67 O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

make me love what Thou hast approved for me,

make easy for me what Thou hast sent down upon me,

purify me of the defilement of what I have sent ahead,

erase the evil of what I have done beforehand,

let me find the sweetness of well-being,

let me taste the coolness of safety, and

APPOINT FOR ME

a way out from my illness to Thy pardon,

transformation of my infirmity into Thy forbearance,

escape from my distress to Thy refreshment, and

safety from this hardship in Thy relief!

Thou art gratuitously bountiful in beneficence,

ever gracious in kindness,

the generous, the Giver,

Possessor of majesty and munificence!

stranger!

O Relief of all who are downcast and distressed!

O Aid of everyone abandoned and alone!

O Support of every needy outcast!

Thou art He who embracest everything in mercy and knowledge!68 Thou art He who hast appointed for each creature a share of Thy favors!

Thou art He whose pardon is higher than His punishment!

O Thou art He whose mercy runs before His wrath!

Thou art He whose bestowal is greater than His withholding!

O Thou art He by whose mercy all creatures are embraced!

Thou art He who desires no repayment by him upon whom He bestows!

Thou art He who does not overdo the punishment of him who disobeys Thee!

And I, my God, am Thy servant whom Thou commanded to supplicate and who said:

I am at Thy service and disposal!

Here am I, my Lord, thrown down before Thee.

I am he whose back offenses have weighed down!

I am he whose lifetime sins have consumed!

I am he who was disobedient in his ignorance,

while Thou didst not deserve that from him!

Wilt Thou, my God,

be merciful toward him who supplicates Thee, that I should bring my supplication before Thee?

Wilt Thou forgive him who weeps to Thee that I should hurry to weep?

Wilt Thou show forbearance toward him who puts his face in the dust before Thee in lowliness?

Wilt Thou free from need him who complains to Thee of his indigent need with confidence?

My God,

disappoint not him who finds no bestower other than Thee, and

abandon not him who cannot be freed from his need for Thee through less than Thee!

My God, so bless Muhammad and

his Household,

turn not away from me when I have turned my face toward Thee,

deprive me not when I have besought Thee, and

slap not my brow with rejection when I have stood before Thee!

Thou art He who has described Himself by mercy, so bless Muhammad and his Household and have mercy upon me!

Thou art He who has named Himself by pardon, so pardon me!

Thou hast seen, my God,

the flow of my tears in fear of Thee,

the throbbing of my heart in dread of Thee, and

the infirmity of my limbs in awe of Thee.

All this from my shame before Thee because of my evil works!

So my voice has become silent, no longer crying to Thee, and

my tongue has gone dumb, no longer whispering in prayer.

My God, so to Thee belongs praise!

How many of my flaws Thou hast covered over without exposing me!

How many of my sins Thou hast cloaked without making me notorious!

How many faults I have committed, yet Thou didst not

tear away from me their covering,

collar me with their detested disgrace, or

make their dishonor plain to those of my neighbors who search for my defects and to those who envy Thy favor toward me!

But that did not prevent me from passing on to the evil that Thou knowest from me!

So who is more ignorant than I, my God, of his own right conduct?

Who is more heedless than I of his own good fortune?

Who is further than I from seeking to set himself right?

For I spend the provision Thou deliverest to me in the disobedience Thou hast

prohibited to me!

Who sinks more deeply into falsehood and

is more intensely audacious in evil than I?

For I hesitate between Thy call and the call of Satan and then follow his call without being

blind in my knowledge of him or

forgetful in my memory of him,

while I am certain that

Thy call takes to the Garden and

his call takes to the Fire!

Glory be to Thee! How

marvelous the witness I bear against my own soul and the enumeration of my own hidden affairs!

And more marvelous than that is Thy lack of haste with me, Thy slowness in attending to me!

That is not because I possess honor with Thee,

but because Thou waitest patiently for me

and art bountiful toward me that I may

refrain from disobedience displeasing to Thee and

abstain from evil deeds that disgrace me, and

because Thou lovest to pardon me more than to punish!

But I, my God, am

more numerous in sins,

uglier in footsteps,

more repulsive in acts,

more reckless in rushing into falsehood,

weaker in awakening to Thy obedience, and

less attentive and heedful toward Thy threats,

than that I could number for Thee my faults

or have the power to recount my sins.

I only scold my own soul,

craving Thy gentleness, through which the affairs of sinners are set right, and

hoping for Thy mercy, through which the necks of the offenders are freed.

O Allah, this is my neck, enslaved by sins,

so bless Muhammad and his Household and release it through Thy pardon!

This is my back, weighed down by offenses, so bless Muhammad and his Household and lighten it through Thy kindness!

My God, were I to

weep to

Thee until my eyelids drop off,

wail until my voice wears out,

stand before Thee until my feet swell up,

bow to Thee until my backbone is thrown out of joint,

prostrate to Thee until my eyeballs fall out,

eat the dirt of the earth for my whole life,

drink the water of ashes till the end of my days,

mention Thee through all of that until my tongue fails, and not lift my glance to the sky's horizons in shame before Thee,

yet would I not merit through all of that the erasing of a single one of my evil deeds! Though Thou

forgivest me when I merit Thy forgiveness and

pardonest me when I deserve Thy pardon,

yet I have no title to that through what I deserve,

nor am I worthy of it through merit,

since my repayment from Thee from the first that I disobeyed Thee is the Fire!

So if Thou punishest me, Thou dost me no wrong.

My God, since Thou hast

shielded me with Thy covering and not exposed me,

waited patiently for me through Thy generosity, and not hurried me to punishment, and

shown me clemency through Thy bounty, and not changed Thy favor upon me or muddied Thy kindly acts toward me,

HAVE MERCY ON

my drawn out pleading,

my intense misery, and

my evil situation!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

protect me from acts of disobedience,

employ me in obedience,

provide me with excellent turning back [to Thee],

purify me through repentance,

strengthen me through preservation from sin,

set me right through well-being,

let me taste the sweetness of forgiveness,

make me the freedman of Thy pardon and the slave released by Thy mercy,

and

write for me a security from Thy displeasure!

Give me the good news of that in the immediate, not the deferred - a good news I recognize - and

make known to me therein a sign which I may clearly see!

That will not

constrain Thee in Thy plenty,

distress Thee in Thy power,

ascend beyond Thy lack of haste,

or tire Thee in Thy great gifts, which are pointed to by Thy signs.

Verily Thou dost what Thou wilt,

Thou decreest what Thou desirest.

Thou art powerful over everything.69

against his seduction, and

make us walk in reverential fear contrary to his path of ruin!

O Allah,

assign him no place of entrance into our hearts and

do not allow him to make his home in that which is with us!

O Allah, cause us to recognize the falsehood with which he tempts us, and once Thou hast caused us to recognize it, protect us from it!

Make us see what will allow us to outwit him,

inspire us with all that we can make ready for him,

awaken us from the heedless slumber of relying upon him, and

help us well, through Thy giving success, against him!

O Allah,

saturate our hearts with the rejection of his works and

be gentle to us by destroying his stratagems!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

turn his authority away from us,

cut off his hope from us, and

keep him from craving for us!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

and PLACE our fathers, our mothers, our children, our wives, our siblings, our relatives, and the faithful among our neighbors, male and female, in

a sanctuary impregnable to him,

a guarding fortress,

a defending cave!

Clothe them in shields protective against him and

give them arms that will cut him down!

O Allah, include in that everyone who

witnesses to Thee as Lord,

devotes himself sincerely to Thy Unity,

shows enmity toward him through the reality of servanthood, and

seeks help from Thee against him through knowledge of the divine sciences!

O Allah,

undo what he ties,

unstitch what he sews up,

dislocate what he devises,

frustrate him when he makes up his mind, and

destroy what he establishes!

O Allah,

rout his troops,

nullify his trickery,

make his cave collapse,

and

rub his nose in the ground!

O Allah,

place us in the ranks of his enemies and

remove us from the number of his friends,

that we obey him not when he entices us and

answer him not when he calls to us!

We command everyone who obeys our command to be his enemy and

we admonish everyone who follows our prohibition not to follow him!

O Allah, bless Muhammad, the Seal of the prophets and lord of the emissaries, and the folk of his house, the good, the pure!

Give refuge to us, our families, our brothers, and all the faithful, male and female, from that from which we seek refuge, and

grant us sanctuary from that through fear of which we seek sanctuary in Thee!

Hear our supplication to Thee,

bestow upon us that of which we have been heedless, and

safeguard for us what we have forgotten!

Through all this bring us into the ranks of the righteous and the degrees of the faithful!

Amen, Lord of the worlds!

is not great and

that which ends in subsistence is not little.

And bless Muhammad and his Household!

to the best of intentions and my works to the best of works!

O Allah,

complete my intention through Thy gentleness,

rectify my certainty through what is with Thee, and

set right what is corrupt in me through Thy power!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

spare me the concerns which distract me,

employ me in that about which Thou wilt ask me tomorrow, and

let me pass my days in that for which Thou hast created me!

Free me from need, expand Thy provision toward me, and tempt me not with ingratitude!

Exalt me and afflict me not with pride!

Make me worship Thee and corrupt not my worship with self-admiration!

Let good flow out from my hands upon the people and efface it not by my making them feel obliged!72 Give me the highest moral traits and

preserve me from vainglory!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

raise me not a single degree before the people without lowering me its like in myself and

bring about no outward exaltation for me without an inward abasement in myself to the same measure!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and Muhammad's Household, give me to enjoy

a sound guidance which I seek not to replace,

a path of truth from which I swerve not, and

an intention of right conduct in which I have no doubts!

Let me live as long as my life is a free gift in obeying Thee, but

if my life should become a pasture for Satan, seize me to Thyself before

Thy hatred overtakes me or

Thy wrath against be becomes firm!

O Allah, deposit in me

no quality for which I will be faulted, unless

Thou settest it right,

no flaw for which I will be blamed, unless Thou makest it beautiful,

no deficient noble trait, unless Thou completest it!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and Muhammad's Household and REPLACE FOR ME

the animosity of the people of hatred with love,

the envy of the people of insolence with affection,

the suspicion of the people of righteousness with trust,

the enmity of those close with friendship,

the disrespect of womb relatives with devotion,

the abandonment of relatives with help,

the attachment of flatterers with love set right,

the rejection of fellows with generous friendliness, and

the bitterness of the fear of wrongdoers with the sweetness of security!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

APPOINT FOR ME

a hand against him who wrongs me,

a tongue against him who disputes with me, and

a victory over him who stubbornly resists me!

and GIVE ME

guile against him who schemes against me,

power over him who oppresses me,

refutation of him who reviles me, and

safety from him who threatens me!

Grant me success to obey him who points me straight and

follow him who guides me right!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and

POINT ME STRAIGHT TO

resist him who is dishonest toward me with good counsel,

repay him who separates from me with gentle devotion,

reward him who deprives me with free giving,

recompense him who cuts me off with joining,

oppose him who slanders me with excellent mention

give thanks for good, and

shut my eyes to evil!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

adorn me with the adornment of the righteous, and

clothe me in the ornaments of the God-fearing, through

spreading justice,

restraining rage,

quenching the flame of hate,

bringing together the people of

separation,

correcting discord,

spreading about good behavior,

covering faults,

mildness of temper,

lowering the wing, 73 beauty of conduct,

gravity of bearing,

agreeableness in comportment,

precedence in reaching excellence,

preferring bounteousness,

refraining from condemnation,

bestowing bounty on the undeserving,

speaking the truth, though it be painful,

making little of the good in my words and deeds, though it be much, and

making much of the evil in my words and deeds, though it be little!

Perfect this for me through

lasting obedience,

holding fast to the community, and

rejecting the people of innovation and those who act in accordance with original opinions!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household, appoint for me

Thy widest provision in my old age and

Thy strongest strength when I am exhausted, and

try me not with

laziness in worship of Thee,

blindness toward Thy path,

undertaking what opposes love for Thee,

joining with him who has separated himself from Thee, and

separating from him who has joined himself to Thee!

O Allah, MAKE ME

leap to Thee in times of distress,

ask from Thee in needs, and

plead to Thee in misery!

TEMPT ME NOT

to seek help from other than Thee when I am distressed,

to humble myself in asking from someone else when I am poor, or

to plead with someone less than Thee when I fear,

for then I would deserve Thy abandonment, Thy withholding, and Thy turning away,

repute,

the false witness,

the speaking ill of an absent man of faith or

the reviling of one present, and all things similar -

a speech in praise of Thee,

a pursual of eulogizing Thee,

an excursion in magnifying Thee,

a thanksgiving for Thy favor,

an acknowledgment of Thy beneficence, and

an enumeration of Thy kindnesses!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

let me not be wronged while Thou canst repel from me,

let me not do wrong while Thou art powerful over holding me back,

let me not be misguided while Thou art able to guide me,

let me not be poor while with Thee is my plenty,

let me not be insolent while from Thee comes my wealth!

O Allah,

I come to Thy forgiveness,

I go straight to Thy pardon,

I yearn for Thy forbearance, and

I trust in Thy bounty,

but there is nothing with me to make me warrant Thy forgiveness,

nothing in my works to make me merit Thy pardon, and

nothing on my behalf after I judge my soul but Thy bounty,

so bless Muhammad and his Household and

bestow Thy bounty upon me!

O Allah,

make my speech be guidance,

inspire me with reverential fear,

give me success in that which is most pure, and

employ me in what is most pleasing to Thee!

O Allah, let me thread the most exemplary path and

make me live and die in Thy creed!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

give me to enjoy moderation,

MAKE ME INTO ONE OF

the people of right behavior,

the proofs of right conduct, and

the servants of righteousness, and

provide me with triumph at the place of Return74 and safety from the Ambush!75 O Allah,

take to Thyself from my

soul what will purify it and

leave for my soul that of my soul that will set it right,

for my soul will perish unless Thou preservest it!

O Allah,

Thou art my stores when I sorrow,

Thou art my recourse when I am deprived,

from Thee I seek aid when troubled and

WITH THEE IS

a substitute for everything gone by,

a correction for everything corrupted, and

a change from everything Thou disapprovest.

SO SHOW KINDNESS TO ME WITH

well-being before affliction,

wealth before asking,

right conduct before misguidance;

suffice me against the burden of shame toward the servants,

give me security on the Day of Return, and

grant me excellent right guidance!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

repel from me through Thy gentleness,

feed me through Thy favor,

set me right through Thy generosity,

heal me through Thy benefaction,

shade me in Thy shelter,

wrap me in Thy good pleasure, and

give me success to reach

the most guided of affairs when affairs confuse me,

the purest of works when works seem similar, and

the most pleasing to Thee of creeds when creeds conflict!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

crown me with sufficiency,

place in me excellent guardianship, 76 give me to guide correctly,

tempt me not with plenty,

grant me excellent ease,

make not my life toil and trouble, and

refuse not my supplication in rejection, for

I make none rival to Thee and

I supplicate none with Thee as equal!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

hold me back from prodigality,

fortify my provision against ruin,

increase my possessions through blessing them, and

set me upon the path of guidance through piety in what I spend!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

spare me the burden of earning, and

provide

for me without reckoning,

lest I be distracted from Thy worship through seeking and

carry the load of earning's ill results!

O Allah,

bestow upon me what I seek through Thy power and

grant me sanctuary from what I fear through Thy might!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

save my face through ease, and

demean not my dignity through neediness,

lest I seek provision from those whom Thou hast provided and

ask for bestowal from the worst of Thy creatures!

Then I would be tried by praising him who gave to me and

afflicted with blaming him who held back from me,

while Thou - not they - art patron of giving and holding back.

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and

provide me with soundness in worship,

detachment in renunciation,

knowledge put into action, and

abstinence in measure!

O Allah, seal my term with Thy pardon,

verify my expectation in hoping for Thy mercy,

smooth my paths to reach Thy good pleasure, and

make my works good in all my states!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

incite me to remember Thee in times of heedlessness,

employ me in Thy obedience in days of disregard,

open a smooth road for me to Thy love, and

complete for me thereby the good of this world and the next!

O Allah, and bless Muhammad and his Household the best Thou hast blessed any of Thy creatures before him and wilt bless any of them after him, and

give to us in this world good, and in the next world good, and

protect me through Thy mercy from the chastisement of the Fire!77

terrifying affairs!

Offenses have isolated me, so there is none to be my companion.

I am too weak for Thy wrath and there is none to strengthen me.

I have approached the terror of meeting Thee and there is none to still my fear.

Who can make me secure from Thee when Thou hast filled me with terror?

Who can come to my aid when Thou hast isolated me?

Who can strengthen me when Thou hast weakened me?

None can grant sanctuary to a vassal, my God, but a lord,

none can give security to one dominated but a dominator,

none can aid him from whom demands are made but a demander.

In Thy hand, my God, is the thread of all that,

in Thee the place of escape and flight,

so bless Muhammad and his Household,

give sanctuary to me in my flight, and

grant my request!

O Allah, if Thou shouldst

turn Thy generous face away from me,

withhold from me Thy immense bounty,

forbid me Thy provision,

or cut off from me Thy thread, I will

find no way to anything of my hope other than Thee

nor be given power over what is with Thee through another's aid, for

I am Thy servant and in Thy grasp;

my forelock is in Thy hand.78 I have no command along with Thy command. Accomplished is Thy judgment of me, just Thy decree for me!79 I have not the strength to emerge from Thy authority

nor am I able to step outside Thy power.

I cannot win Thy inclination,

arrive at Thy good pleasure,

or attain what is with Thee except through obeying Thee and through the bounty of Thy mercy.

My

God, I rise in the morning and enter into evening as Thy lowly slave.

I own no profit and loss for myself except through Thee.

I witness to that over myself and

I confess to the frailty of my strength and the paucity of my stratagems.

So accomplish what Thou hast promised me and

complete for me what Thou hast given me, for

I AM THY SLAVE,

miserable, abased,

frail, distressed,

vile, despised, poor,

fearful, and seeking sanctuary!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and

LET ME NOT

forget to remember Thee in what Thou hast done for me,

be heedless of Thy beneficence in Thy trying me,

or despair of Thy response to me, though it keep me waiting,

whether I be in prosperity or adversity,

hardship or ease,

well-being or affliction,

misery or comfort,

wealth or distress,

poverty or riches!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

make me laud Thee, extol Thee, and praise Thee in all my states so that I

rejoice not over what Thou givest me of this world

nor sorrow over that of it which Thou withholdest from me!

Impart reverential fear of Thee to my heart,

employ my body in that which Thou acceptest from me, and

divert my soul through obedience to Thee from all that enters upon me, so that

I love nothing that displeases Thee and

become displeased at nothing that pleases Thee!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

empty my heart for Thy love,

occupy it with remembering Thee,

animate it with fear of Thee and quaking before Thee,

strengthen it with beseeching Thee,

incline it to Thy obedience,

set it running in the path most beloved to Thee, and

subdue it through desire for what is with Thee

all the days of my life!

LET

my provision in this world be reverential fear of Thee, 80 my journey be toward Thy mercy, and

my entrance be into Thy good pleasure!

Appoint for me a lodging in Thy Garden,

give me strength to bear everything that pleases Thee,

make me flee to Thee and desire what is with Thee,

clothe my heart in estrangement from the evil among Thy creatures, and

give me intimacy with Thee, Thy friends, and those who obey Thee!

Assign to no wicked person or unbeliever a kindness toward me or a hand that obliges me, nor to me a need for one of them!

Rather make the stillness of my heart, the comfort of my soul, my independence and my sufficiency lie in Thee and the best of Thy creatures!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

make me their comrade,

make me their helper, and

oblige me with yearning for Thee and doing for Thee what Thou lovest and approvest!

Thou art powerful over everything81 and that is easy for Thee.

my affairs, for

if Thou entrustest me to myself, I will be incapable before myself and fail to undertake that in which my best interest lies.

If Thou entrustest me to Thy creatures, they will frown upon me, and

if Thou makest me resort to my kinsfolk, they will refuse to give to me;

if they give, they will give little and in bad temper,

making me feel long obliged and blaming me much.

So through Thy bounty, O Allah, free me from need,

through Thy mightiness, lift me up,

through Thy boundless plenty, open my hand, and

with that which is with Thee, suffice me!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

rid me of envy,

encircle me against sins,

make me abstain from things unlawful,

give me not the boldness of disobedient acts,

assign me love for that which is with Thee and satisfaction with that which comes to me from Thee,

BLESS ME IN

that which Thou providest me,

that which Thou conferrest upon me, and

that through which Thou favourest me, and

make me in all my states

safeguarded, watched,

covered, defended,

given refuge, and granted sanctuary!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and

let me accomplish everything which Thou hast enjoined upon me or made obligatory for me toward Thee,

in one of the ways of Thy obedience,

or toward one of Thy creatures,

though my body be too frail for that,

my strength too feeble,

my power not able to reach it, and

my possessions and what my hand owns not encompass it, and

whether I have remembered it or forgotten it.

It, my Lord, is among that which Thou hast counted against me

while I have been heedless of it in

myself.

Let me perform it through Thy plentiful giving and the abundance which is with Thee - for Thou art Boundless, Generous - so that nothing of it may remain against me, lest Thou wouldst wish

to settle accounts for it from my good deeds

or to compound my evil deeds

on the day I meet Thee, my Lord!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and

provide me with desire to serve Thee for the sake of my state in the hereafter,

such that I know the truthfulness of that [desire in my heart,

be dominated by renunciation while in this world,

do good deeds with yearning, and

remain secure from evil deeds in fright and fear!

And GIVE ME A LIGHT WHEREBY

I may walk among the people, 82 be guided in the shadows, and

seek illumination in doubt and uncertainty!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and

PROVIDE ME WITH

fear of the threatened gloom and

yearning for the promised reward, such that I may find

the pleasure of that for which I supplicate Thee and

the sorrow of that from which I seek sanctuary in Thee!

O Allah,

Thou knowest what will set my affairs right in this world and the next,

so be ever gracious toward my needs!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and Muhammad's Household

and provide me with what is Thy right when I fall short in thanking Thee for that through which Thou hast favored me in

ease and difficulty,

health and sickness,

such that I may come to know in myself repose in satisfaction and serenity of soul in that which Thou hast made incumbent upon me in whatever states may occur

fear and

security,

satisfaction and displeasure,

loss and gain!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and

provide me with a breast safe from envy,

such that I envy none of Thy creatures in anything of Thy bounty and

such that I see none of Thy favors toward any of Thy creatures in

religion or this world,

well-being or reverential fear,

plenty or ease,

without hoping for myself better than it through and from Thee alone, who hast no associate!

bless Muhammad and his Household and

make me well with a

well-being sufficient, healing, sublime, growing,

a well-being that will give birth to well-being in my body,

a well-being in this world and the next!

Oblige me through

health, security, and

safety in my religion and body,

insight in my heart,

penetration in my affairs,

dread of Thee,

fear of Thee,

strength for the obedience which Thou hast commanded for me!, and

avoidance of the disobedience which Thou hast prohibited for me!

O Allah, OBLIGE ME THROUGH

the Haj, the U'mra, 84 and visiting the graves of Thy Messenger (Thy blessings, mercy, and benedictions upon Thy Messenger and upon the Household of Thy Messenger for as long as Thou causest me to live, in this year of mine and in every year, and

make that

accepted, thanked, and

mentioned before Thee and

stored away with Thee!

Make my tongue utter Thy praise, Thy thanksgiving, Thy remembrance, and Thy excellent laudation, and

expand my heart toward the right goals of Thy religion!

GIVE ME AND MY PROGENY REFUGE FROM

the accursed Satan,

the evil of venomous vermin, threatening pests, swarming crowds, and evil eyes,

the evil of every rebel Satan, 85 the evil of every refractory sovereign,

the evil of everyone living in ease and served,

the evil of everyone weak or strong,

the evil of everyone born high or low,

the evil of everyone small or great,

the evil of everyone near or far,

the evil of everyone, JINN or man, who declares war on Thy Messenger and his Household, and

the evil of every crawling creature that Thou hast taken by the forelock!

Surely Thou art on a straight path.86 O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household

and

IF SOMEONE DESIRES ILL FOR ME,

turn him away from me,

drive away from me his deception,

avert from me his evil,

send his trickery back to his own throat, and

place before him a barricade, so that Thou mayest

blind his eyes toward me,

deafen his ears toward my mention,

lock his heart toward recalling me,

silence his tongue against me,

restrain his head,

abase his exaltation,

break his arrogance,

abase his neck,

disjoint his pride, and

MAKE ME SECURE FROM ALL

his injury, his evil,

his slander, his backbiting, his faultfinding,

his envy, his enmity,

his snares, his traps,

his foot soldiers, and his cavalry!

Surely Thou art Mighty, Powerful!

one has toward a tyrannical sovereign, and

let me be devoted to them, with the devotion of a compassionate mother!

Make my obedience and devotion to them

more gladdening to my eyes than sleep to the drowsy and

more refreshing to my breast than drink to the thirsty,

so that I may prefer their inclination to my inclination,

set their satisfaction before my satisfaction,

make much of their devotion to me though it be little, and

make little of my devotion to them though it be great.

O Allah,

lower before them my voice,

make agreeable to them my words,

make mild before them my temper,

make tender toward them my heart, and

turn me into their kind companion, their loving friend!

O Allah,

thank them for my upbringing,

reward them for honoring me, and

guard them as they guarded me in my infancy!

O Allah,

and whatever harm has touched them from me,

detested thing has reached them from me,

or right of theirs which has been neglected by me,

allow it to alleviate their sins,

raise them in their degrees, and

add to their good deeds!

O He who changes evil deeds into manifold good deeds!88

O Allah, whatever

word through which they have transgressed against me,

act through which they have been immoderate with me,

right of mine which they have left neglected,

or obligation toward me in which they have fallen short,

I grant it to them and bestow it upon them, and

I beseech Thee to remove from them its ill consequence, for I do not

accuse them concerning myself,

find them slow in their devotion toward me,

or dislike the way they have attended to my affairs, my Lord! They have

rights against me which are

more incumbent

precedence in beneficence toward me that is greater, and

kindness toward me that is mightier than that I

should settle accounts with justice or

repay them with equivalents.

Where then, my God, would be their long occupation with bringing me up?

Where the hardship of their toil in taking care of me?

Where the stinting of themselves to provide me with plenty?

What an idea! I can never

discharge their right against me,

fulfill my obligations toward them,

or accomplish the duty of serving them.

So bless Muhammad and his Household and

help me, O Best of those whose help we seek!

Give me success, O Most Guiding of those whom we beseech!

Place me not among the people of disrespect to fathers and mothers on (the day when every soul will be repaid for what it has earned; they shall not be wronged).89 O Allah, bless Muhammad, his Household, and his progeny and

single out my parents for the best which Thou hast singled out for the fathers and mothers of Thy faithful servants,

O Most Merciful of the merciful!

O Allah, let me not forget to remember them

after my ritual prayers,

at every time throughout my night,

and in each of the hours of my day!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

forgive me through my supplication for my parents,

forgive them through their devotion toward me with unfailing forgiveness,

be well pleased with them through my intercession for them with resolute good pleasure, and

make them reach through Thy generosity the abodes of safety!

O Allah,

if Thy forgiveness reaches them first, make them my intercessors, and

if Thy forgiveness reaches me first, make me their intercessors,

so

that we may gather together through Thy gentleness in the house of Thy generosity and the place of Thy forgiveness and mercy!

Verily Thou art Possessor of abounding bounty and ancient kindness, and

Thou art the Most Merciful of the merciful!90

Thou didst not give us authority over him,

allowed him to dwell in our breasts and

let him run in our blood vessels;

he is not heedless, though we be heedless,

he does not forget, though we forget;

he makes us feel secure from Thy punishment and

fills us with fear toward other than Thee.

If we are about to commit an indecency, he gives us courage to do so, and

if we are about to perform a righteous work, he holds us back from it.

He opposes us through passions, 91 and sets up for us doubts.

If he promises us, he lies, and

if he raises our hopes, he fails to fulfill them.

If Thou dost not turn his trickery away from us, he will misguide us, and

if Thou dost not protect us from his corruption, he will cause us to slip.

O Allah, so defeat his authority over us through Thy authority, such that Thou holdest him back from us through the frequency of our supplication to Thee and

we leave his trickery and rise up among those preserved by Thee from sin!

O Allah,

grant me my every request,

accomplish for me my needs,

withhold not from me Thy response when Thou hast made Thyself accountable for it to me, 92 veil not my supplication from Thyself, when Thou hast commanded me to make it, 93 and be kind to me through everything that will set me right in this world and the next, in everything that

I remember or forget,

display or conceal,

make public or keep secret!

In all of this, place me through my asking Thee among

those who set things

right,

those who are answered favorably when they request from Thee and

from whom is not withheld when they put their trust in Thee,

those accustomed to seek refuge in Thee,

those who profit through commerce with Thee,

those granted sanctuary through Thy might,

those given lawful provision in plenty from Thy boundless bounty through Thy munificence and generosity,

those who reach exaltation after abasement through Thee,

those granted sanctuary from wrong through Thy justice,

those released from affliction through Thy mercy,

those delivered from need after poverty through Thy riches,

those preserved from sins, slips, and offenses through reverential fear toward Thee,

those successful in goodness, right conduct, and propriety through obeying Thee,

those walled off from sins through Thy power,

the refrainers from every act of disobedience toward Thee,

the dwellers in Thy neighborhood!

O Allah,

give me all of that through Thy bestowal of success and Thy mercy,

grant us refuge from the chastisement of the burning, and

give to all the Muslims, male and female, and all the faithful, male and female, the like of what I have asked for myself and my children,

in the immediate of this world and the deferred of the next!

Verily Thou art the Near, the Responder,

the All-hearing, the All-knowing,

the Pardoner, the Forgiving,

the Clement, the Merciful!

And ( give to us in this world good, and in the next world good,

and protect us from the chastisement of the Fire!)94

on the beauties of Thy courtesy through

acting gently with their weak,

remedying their lacks,

visiting their sick,

guiding their seeker of right guidance,

giving good counsel to their seeker of advice,

attending to the one among them who returns from travel,

hiding their secrets,

covering over their shameful things,

helping their wronged,

sharing kindly with them in goods,

turning toward them with wealth and bestowal of bounty, and

giving what is due to them before they ask!

Let me, O Allah,

repay their evildoer with good-doing,

turn away from their wrongdoer with forbearance,

have a good opinion of every one of them,

attend to all of them with devotion,

lower my eyes before them in continence,

make mild my side toward them in humility,

be tender toward the afflicted among them in mercy,

make them happy in absence through affection,

love that they continue to receive favor through good will,

grant them what I grant my next of kin, and

observe for them what I observe for my special friends!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

provide me the like of that from them,

appoint for me the fullest share of what is with them,

increase them in insight toward my right and knowledge of my excellence

so that they will be fortunate through me and I fortunate through them!

Amen, Lord of the worlds!

with victory,

help them with patience, and

give them subtlety in guile!96 O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

give them the knowledge of that of which they are ignorant,

teach them what they do not know, and

show them what they do not see!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

make them forget when they meet the enemy to remember this cheating and delusive world of theirs,

erase from their hearts the thought of enchanting possessions,

place the Garden before their eyes, and

display to their sight that part of it which Thou hast prepared for them

— the homes of everlastingness and

mansions of honor,

the beautiful HOURIS,

the rivers gushing forth with all sorts of drinks,

the trees hanging low with all kinds of fruits -

lest any of them think of turning his back

or suggest to himself to flee his opponent!

O Allah,

defeat their enemy through that,

trim their nails from them,

separate them from their weapons,

pull out the firm ties from their hearts,

keep them far away from their stores,

bewilder them in their roads,

turn them astray from their direction,

cut off reinforcements from them,

chop them down in numbers,

fill their hearts with terror,

hold back their hands from stretching forth,

tie back their tongues from speaking,

scatter by them the ones behind them, 97 make them a lesson for those beyond them, and through their degradation cut off the hopes of those who come after them! O Allah, make the wombs of their women barren, dry up the loins of their men, cut off the breeding of their mounts and their cattle, and permit not their sky to rain or their earth to grow!

O Allah, through that strengthen the prowess98 of the People of Islam, fortify their cities,

increase their properties,

give them ease from their fighting to worship Thee and from their warfare to be alone with Thee, so that

none will be worshiped in the regions of the earth but Thee and

no forehead of theirs may be rubbed in dust for less than Thee!

O Allah,

send out the Muslims of every region on raids against the idolaters who face them

Reinforce them with angels in ranks from Thee,

till the idolaters are routed by them to the end of the land, slain in Thy earth or taken captive,

or till they admit that Thou art Allah,

other than whom there is no god,

Thou alone, who hast no associate!

O Allah,

include in this Thy enemies in the regions of the lands, the Indians, the Byzantines, the Turks, the Khazars, the Abyssinians, the Nbbians, the Zanjeess, the Slavs, the Daylamites, and the rest of the idol-worshiping nations, those whose names and attributes are concealed,

but whom Thou countest in Thy cognizance

and overseest through Thy power!

O Allah,

distract the idolaters from reaching for the borders of the Muslims through the idolaters,

bar them from cutting them down through being cut down,

and hold them back from massing together against them through dissension!

of BADR, 99 so that through it Thou mayest cut off their roots,

harvest their thorns,

and disperse their number!

O Allah, mix their waters with pestilence and their foods with maladies,

hurl down their cities,

harass them with peltings,

hinder them through drought,

place their supplies in the most ill-omened part of Thy earth and the farthest from them,

bar them from its fortresses,

and strike them with constant hunger and painful illness!

O Allah,

if a warrior from the people of Thy creed wars against them

or a struggler from the followers of Thy prescriptions struggles against them

so that Thy religion may be the highest,

Thy party the strongest,

and Thy share the fullest,

cast ease to him,

arrange his affair,

attend to him by granting success,

select for him his companions,

strengthen his back,

lavish upon him livelihood,

give him enjoyment of joyous vitality.

cool for him the heat of yearning,

give him sanctuary from the gloom of loneliness,

make him forget the remembrance of wife and child,

pass along to him an excellent intention,

attend to him with well-being,

make safety his companion,

release him from cowardice,

inspire him with boldness,

provide him with strength,

support him with help,

teach him right conduct and the norms of the SUNNA,

point him straight in judgment,

remove from him hypocrisy,

purify him from seeking fame,

and make his thinking and remembrance, his departing and his staying, be in Thee and for Thee!

When he stands in ranks before Thy enemy and his enemy,

make them few in his eye,

diminish their importance in his heart,

give him a turn to prevail over them,

not them a turn to prevail over him!

But if Thou sealest him with felicity and decreest for him martyrdom, then let

it be after

he has exterminated Thy enemies by slaying,

captivity has afflicted them,

the borders of the Muslims are secure,

and Thy enemy has turned his back in flight!

O Allah, and if a Muslim should

take the place of a warrior or a soldier in his home,

attend to those left behind in his absence,

help him with a portion of his property,

assist him with equipment,

hone him for the struggle,

send along with him a supplication for his purpose,

or guard his honor in his absence,

reward him with the like of his reward, measure for measure, like for like, and

recompense him for his act with an immediate compensation through which he will hasten to the profit of what he has sent forth and the joy of what he has given, till the present moment takes him to

the bounty Thou hast granted to him and

the generosity Thou hast prepared for him!

O Allah

and if the affair of Islam should worry a Muslim and

the alliance of the idolaters' against Islam should grieve him, so that he

has the intention to go to war and

is about to enter the struggle,

but frailty keeps him seated,

neediness keeps him waiting,

a mishap delays him,

or an obstruction prevents him from his wish,

write his name among the worshipers,

make incumbent for him the reward of the strugglers,

and place him among the ranks of the martyrs and the righteous!

O Allah bless Muhammad, Thy slave and Thy messenger, and the Household of Muhammad, with a blessing

high above all other blessings,

towering beyond all other salutations,

a blessing whose end is never reached and

whose number is never cut off,

like the

most perfect of Thy blessings that has passed to any one of Thy friends!

Thou art All-kind, Praiseworthy,

the Originator who takes back again,

Accomplisher of what Thou desirest.

above likenesses and opposites,

proudly magnified beyond similitudes and rivals!

Glory be to Thee! There is no god but Thou.

his Household

prevent me from extravagance and excess,

put me on the course of generous spending and moderation,

teach me excellent distribution,

hold me back through Thy gentleness from squandering,

allow me to attain my provisions through lawful means,

direct my spending toward the gateways of devotion,

and take away from me any possession which will bring forth pride in me, lead to insolence, or drag me in its heels to rebellion!

O Allah, make me love the companionship of the poor and help me be their companion with excellent patience!

Whenever Thou takest away from me the goods of this perishing world, store them for me in Thy abiding treasuries!

Make this world's broken pieces which Thou hast conferred upon me and its goods which Thou hast quickly granted to me

a way to reach Thy neighborhood,

a link to Thy nearness,

and a means to Thy Garden!

Verily Thou art Possessor of bounty abounding,

and Thou art the Munificent, the Generous.

the bounty of Thy beneficence toward him, until, when

the eye of guidance was opened for him and

the clouds of blindness were dispelled,

he reckoned that through which he had wronged himself and

reflected upon that in which he had opposed his Lord.

He saw his vast disobedience as vast and his great opposition as great.

So he turned to Thee, hoping in Thee and ashamed before Thee, and

he directed his beseeching toward Thee, having trust in Thee.

He repaired to Thee in his longing with certitude and

he went straight to Thee in fear with sincerity.

His longing was devoid of every object of longing but Thee, and

his fright departed from every object of fear but Thee.

So he stood before Thee pleading,

his eyes turned toward the ground in humbleness,

his head bowed before Thy might in lowliness;

he revealed to Thee in meekness those secrets of his which Thou knowest better than he;

he numbered for Thee in humility those sins of his which Thou countest better than he;

he sought help from Thee before

the dreadful into which he has fallen in Thy knowledge and

the ugly which has disgraced him in Thy judgment the sins

whose pleasures have turned their backs and gone and

whose evil consequences have stayed and stuck fast.

He will not deny Thy justice, my God, if Thou punishest him,

nor will he consider Thy pardon great if Thou pardonest him and hast mercy upon him,

for Thou art the Generous Lord for whom the forgiveness of great sins is nothing great!

O Allah, so here I am:

I have come to Thee obeying Thy command (for Thou hast

commanded supplication) and

asking the fulfillment of Thy promise, (for Thou hast promised to respond): Thou hast said,

(Supplicate Me and I will respond to you).101 O Allah, So bless Muhammad and his Household,

meet me with Thy forgiveness just as I have met Thee with my confession,

lift me up from the fatal infirmities of sins just as I have let myself down before Thee, and

cover me with Thy covering just as Thou hast shown no haste to take vengeance on me!

O Allah,

make firm my intention to obey Thee,

strengthen my insight in worshiping Thee,

give me the success of works which will wash away the defilement of offenses,

and take me when Thou takest me in the creed of Thy prophet Muhammad (upon him be peace(.

O Allah,

I repent to Thee in this my station from

my sins, great and small,

my evil deeds, inward and outward,

my lapses, past and recent,

with the repentance of one who does not tell himself that he might disobey

or secretly think that he might return to an offense.

Thou hast said, my God, in the firm text of Thy Book, that Thou

acceptest repentance from Thy servants, 102 pardonest evil deeds, 103 and lovest the repenters, 104 so accept my repentance as Thou hast promised,

pardon my evil deeds as thou hast guaranteed,

and make obligatory toward me Thy love as Thou hast stipulated!

To Thee, my Lord, belongs

my stipulation that I will not return to what is disliked by Thee,

my guarantee that I will not go back to what Thou blamest, and

my covenant that I will stay away from acts of disobedience

to Thee.

O Allah, Thou knowest better what I have done,

so forgive me what Thou knowest

and turn me through Thy power to what Thou lovest

O Allah, counted against me are

claims that stay in my memory and

claims that I have forgotten,

while all of them remain in Thy eye that does not sleep

and Thy knowledge that does not forget!

So compensate their owners,

lighten their load upon me,

lift up their weight from me,

and preserve me from approaching their like!

O Allah, but

I can not be faithful to my repentance without Thy preservation,

nor can I refrain from offenses without Thy strength.

So strengthen me with a sufficient strength and

attend to me with a defending preservation!

O Allah, if any servant repents to Thee,

while in Thy knowledge of the Unseen

will break his repentance

and return to his sin and offense,

I seek refuge in Thee lest I be like that!

painful penalties feared by transgressors!

O Allah, so have mercy on

my being alone before Thee,

the pounding of my heart in dread of Thee,

the trembling of my limbs in awe of Thee!

My sins, my God, have stood me in the station of degradation in Thy courtyard.

If I remain silent, none will speak for me;

if I seek an intercessor, I am not worthy for intercession.

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

make Thy generosity intercede for my offenses,

follow up my evil deeds with Thy pardon,

repay me not with the punishment that is my proper repayment,

spread over me Thy graciousness,

wrap me in Thy covering,

and do with me what is done by

a mighty man, when a lowly slave pleads to him and he shows him mercy,

or a rich man, when a poor slave submits himself and he raises him to wealth!

O Allah,

I have no protector against Thee, so let Thy might be my protector!

I have no intercessor with Thee, so let Thy bounty be my intercessor!

My offenses have set me quaking, so let Thy pardon give me security!

Not all that I have said rises up from

my ignorance of my evil footsteps

or forgetfulness of my blameworthy acts in the past,

but in order that Thy heaven and those within it and Thy earth and those upon it may hear

the remorse which I have professed to Thee and

the repentance through which I have sought asylum with Thee.

Then perhaps one of them, through Thy mercy, may

show mercy upon my evil situation or

be seized by tenderness for my evil state.

There may come from him for my

sake a

supplication to which Thou givest ear more than to my supplication or

an intercession surer with Thee than my intercession through which I may

be delivered from Thy wrath and

attain to Thy good pleasure!

O Allah,

if remorse is a repentance toward Thee, 105 then I am the most remorseful of the remorseful! If refraining from disobedience is a turning back to Thee, then I am the first of those who turn back!

If praying for forgiveness alleviates sins, surely I am one of those who pray for Thy forgiveness!

O Allah,

as Thou hast commanded repentance and guaranteed acceptance,

as Thou hast urged supplication, and promised to respond,

so bless Muhammad and his Household,

accept my repentance,

and return me not to the returning place of disappointment in Thy mercy!

Surely Thou art Ever-turning toward the sinners.

All-compassionate106 toward the offenders who turn back! O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household just as Thou hast guided us by him!

Bless Muhammad and his Household just as Thou hast rescued us through him!107 Bless Muhammad and his Household, with a blessing that will intercede for us on the Day of Resurrection, the day of neediness toward Thee! Thou art powerful over everything, 108 and that is easy for Thee!

least of it which Thou hast kept to Thyself is not reached by the furthest description of the describers!

Attributes go astray in Thee,

descriptions fall apart below Thee,

the subtlest of imaginations are bewildered by Thy magnificence!

So art Thou: Allah, the First in Thy firstness, and

so art Thou everlastingly. Thou dost not pass away.

But I am the slave,

feeble in works,

immense in hopes.

The tying links are outside my hand, except what is tied by Thy mercy;

the bonds of hopes have been cut away from me, except the pardon to which I hold fast.

Little on my part is the obedience toward Thee upon which I count, and

great against me the disobedience toward Thee to which I have reverted.

But pardoning Thy slave will not constrain Thee, even if he be bad, so pardon me!

O Allah,

Thy knowledge watches over hidden works,

every covered thing is exposed before Thy awareness,

the intricacies of things are not concealed from Thee,

and unseen mysteries slip not away from Thee.

But over me Thy enemy has gained mastery:

He asked a delay from Thee to lead me astray, and Thou gavest him the delay!

He asked a respite from Thee until the Day of Doom to misguide me, and Thou gavest him the respite!109 So he threw me down, though I had fled to Thee from

small, ruinous sins and

great, deadly works,

until, when I had yielded to disobeying Thee and

merited Thy anger through my bad efforts, he

turned the bridle of his treachery away from me,

met me with the word of his ingratitude,

undertook to be quit of me, 110 turned his back to

flee from me,

threw me to the desert of Thy wrath alone, and

sent me as an outcast into the courtyard of Thy vengeance. There is

no intercessor to intercede for me with Thee,

no protector to make me feel secure against Thee,

no fortress to veil me from Thee,

no shelter in which to seek asylum apart from Thee!

This is the station of him who takes refuge with Thee, the place of the confessor to Thee:

Let not Thy bounty be too narrow for me,

let not Thy pardon fall short of me!

Let me not be the most disappointed of Thy repentant servants,

nor the most despairing of those who come to Thee with expectations!

Forgive me, surely Thou art the best of the forgivers!

O Allah,

Thou commanded me, and I refrained,

Thou prohibited me, and I committed.

Evil thoughts tempted me to offend, and I was negligent.

I cannot call upon daytime to witness my fasting,

nor can I seek sanctuary in night because of my vigil;

no SUNNA praises me for keeping it alive, only Thy obligations, he who neglects which has perished.

I cannot seek access to Thee through the excellence of a supererogatory work, given the many

duties of Thy obligations of which I have been heedless

and the stations of Thy bounds which I have transgressed, thereby

violating sacred things and

committing great sins,

though Thou hast given me safety from their disgraces as a covering.,

This is the station of him who

is ashamed of himself before Thee, angry with himself, and satisfied with Thee.

He meets Thee with

a humble soul,

a neck bent down,

a back heavy with offenses,

hesitating between longing for Thee and

fear of Thee. Thou art

the most worthy of those in whom he might hope,

the most deserving for him to dread and fear.

So give me, my Lord, what I hope for,

make me secure against what frightens me, and

act kindly toward me with the kindly act of mercy!

Surely Thou art the most generous of those from whom are asked

produced me as another creature as Thou willed.112 Then, when I needed Thy provision, and could not do without the aid of Thy bounty,

Thou appointed for me a nourishment from the bounty of the food and drink which Thou bestowed upon Thy handmaid

in whose belly Thou gavest me to rest and

in the lodging of whose womb Thou deposited me.

Hadst Thou entrusted me in those states, my Lord, to my own force or driven me to have recourse to my own strength,

force would have been removed from me and

strength taken far away.

So Thou hast fed me through Thy bounty with the food of the Good, the Gentle;

Thou hast done that for me in graciousness toward me up to this my present point.

I do not lack Thy goodness,

nor does Thy benefaction keep me waiting.

Yet with all that, my trust has not become firm enough that I might free myself for that which is more favored by Thee.

SATAN has taken possession of my reins through my distrust and frail certainty.

I complain of

his evil neighborhood with me and

my soul's obedience toward him!

I ask Thee to preserve me against his domination,

and I plead with Thee to turn his trickery away from me!

I ask Thee to make the path to my provision easy,

since to Thee belongs praise for Thy beginning with immense favors and Thy inspiring gratitude for beneficence and bestowing favor!

Bless Muhammad and his Household, and

make the way to my provision easy for me!

[I ask Thee] to make me content with Thy ordainment for me,

to make me satisfied with my

lot in that which Thou hast apportioned for me

and to place what has gone of my body and my life-span into the path of Thy obedience!113 Surely Thou art the Best of providers!

O Allah, I seek refuge in Thee from the Fire

through which Thou art harsh toward him who disobeys Thee and

by which Thou hast threatened him who turns away from Thy good pleasure;

from the Fire whose light is darkness,

whose ease is pain, and

whose far is near;

from the Fire parts of which devour parts and

parts of which leap upon parts;

from the Fire which leaves bones decayed and

lets its people drink boiling water;

from the Fire which 'does not spare him who pleads to it, '114 has no mercy on him who seeks sympathy from it,

and has no power to relieve him who humbles himself before it and yields himself to it;

it meets its inhabitants with the hottest that it possesses: painful punishment and intense noxiousness.

I SEEK REFUGE IN THEE FROM

its gaping-jawed scorpions,

its scraping-toothed serpents, and

its drinks, which tear apart the intestines and hearts of its inhabitants and root out their marrows.

I ask guidance from Thee to that which will keep far from it and make it retreat!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

grant me sanctuary from it through the bounty of Thy mercy,

release me from my stumbles through Thy good releasing, and

abandon me not, O Best of the sanctuary-granters!

O Allah, Thou

protectest from the disliked,

givest the good,

dost what Thou wilt, and

Thou art powerful over everything.115 O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household when the pious are mentioned

and

bless Muhammad and his Household as long as night and day come and go with a blessing

whose replenishment is never cut off and

whose number cannot be counted,

a blessing that will fill up the air and

crowd the earth and the heaven!

O Allah bless him until he is well pleased and

O Allah bless him and his Household after good pleasure with

a blessing that has neither bound nor utmost limit!

O Most Merciful of the merciful!

transgressed,

the evil deeds which we have earned,

the offenses which we have committed!

Thou seest them to the exclusion of all observers;

Thou hast the power to make them public above all the powerful!

By giving us safety Thou hast veiled their eyes and stoppled their ears.

So make the shameful things Thou hast covered over and the inward reality Thou hast concealed our admonisher,

a restrainer upon bad character traits and committing offenses, and

a striving toward the repentance that erases [sins] and the praiseworthy path!

Bring the time of striving near and

visit us not with heedlessness of Thee!

Surely we are Thy beseechers,

the repenters of sins.

And bless Thy chosen, O Allah, from Thy creation, Muhammad and his descendants, the friends selected from among Thy creatures, the pure, and

make us listeners to them and obeyers, as Thou hast commanded!117

me from

imagining any meanness in someone who is destitute or

imagining any superiority in someone who possesses wealth,

for the noble is he whom obedience to Thee has ennobled and

the exalted is he whom worship of Thee has exalted!

So bless Muhammad and his Household,

give us to enjoy a wealth which does not run out,

confirm us with an exaltation which will never be lost, and

let us roam freely in the kingdom of everlastingness!

Surely Thou art the One, the Unique, the Eternal Refuge;

Thou hast not begotten, nor hast Thou been begotten, and

equal to Thee is not any one!118

rich is he to whom Thou hast given riches, and

the safe he whom Thou hast protected!

No one has any defense against Thee,

nor any means to bar Thy penalty.

Thou decidest what Thou wilt for whom Thou wilt and

Thou decreest what Thou desirest for any whom Thou desirest!

to Thee belongs praise for protecting us from affliction and

to Thee belongs thanks for conferring upon us blessings,

a praise which will leave behind the praise of the praisers,

a praise which will fill the earth and the heaven!

Surely Thou art the All-kind through immense kindnesses,

the Giver of abounding favors,

the Accepter of small praise,

the Grateful for little gratitude,

the Beneficent, the Benevolent, Possessor of graciousness!

There is no god but Thou;

unto Thee is the homecoming.121

great their repayment

is an affair from which they could have held back without Thee, and hence Thou wilt recompense them, and

whose cause is not in Thy hand, and hence Thou wilt repay them.

Nay, my God, Thou hadst power over their affair before they had power to worship Thee, and

Thou hadst prepared their reward before they began to obey Thee; and

that because

Thy wont is bestowal of bounty,

Thy custom beneficence,

Thy way pardon.

So all creatures confess

that Thou wrongest not him whom Thou punishest and

bear witness that Thou bestowest bounty upon him whom Thou pardonest.

Each admits that he has fallen short of what Thou meritest.

Had SATAN not misled them from Thy obedience, no disobeyer would have disobeyed Thee, and

had he not shown falsehood to them in the likeness of truth no strayer would have gone astray from Thy path.

So Glory be to Thee!

How manifest is Thy generosity in dealing with him who obeys or disobeys Thee!

Thou showest gratitude to the obedient for that which Thou undertakest for him,

and Thou grantest a respite to the disobedient in that within which Thou art able to hurry him.

Thou givest to each of them that which is not his due, and

Thou bestowest bounty upon each in that wherein his works fall short.

Wert Thou to counterbalance for the obedient servant that which Thou Thyself hadst undertaken, he would be on the point of

losing Thy reward and

seeing the end of Thy favor,

but through Thy generosity Thou hast repaid him

for a short, perishing term with a long, everlasting term, and

for a near, vanishing limit with an

extended, ???? limit. Then

Thou dost not visit him with a settling of accounts for Thy provision through which he gained strength to obey Thee,

nor dost Thou force him to make reckonings for the organs he employed to find the means to Thy forgiveness.

Wert Thou to do that to him, it would take away

everything for which he had labored and

all wherein he had exerted himself

as repayment for the smallest of Thy benefits and kindnesses, and

he would remain hostage before Thee for Thy other favors.

So how can he deserve something of Thy reward? Indeed, how?

This, my God, is the state of him who obeys Thee and the path of him who worships Thee.

But as for him who disobeys Thy command and goes against Thy prohibition,

Thou dost not hurry him to Thy vengeance, so that he may seek to replace his state in disobeying Thee with the state of turning back to obey Thee,

though he deserved from the time he set out to disobey Thee every punishment which Thou hast prepared for all Thy creatures.

Through each chastisement which Thou hast kept back from him

and each penalty of Thy vengeance and Thy punishment which Thou hast delayed from him,

Thou hast refrained from Thy right and shown good pleasure in place of what Thou hast made obligatory.

So who is more generous, my God, than Thou? and

who is more wretched than he who perishes in spite of Thee? Indeed, who?

Thou art too blessed to be described by any but beneficence and

too generous for any but justice to be feared from Thee!

There

is no dread that Thou wilt be unjust toward him who disobeys Thee,

nor any fear of Thy neglecting to reward him who satisfies Thee.123 So bless Muhammad and his Household,

give me my hope, and

increase me in that of Thy guidance through which I may be successful in my works!

Surely Thou art All-kind, Generous.

into death with my complaint

or I come to have a complaint against him while he is alive,

forgive him what he did to me and

pardon him that through which he turned his back on me!

Inquire not from him about what he committed toward me and

expose him not through what he earned by me!

And Make my open-handedness in pardoning such servants and my contribution in charity toward them

the purest charity of the charitable and

the highest gift of those seeking nearness to Thee!

Recompense me for my pardoning them with Thy pardon and

for my supplicating for them with Thy mercy so

that each one of us may gain felicity through Thy bounty and

each may attain deliverance through Thy kindness!

O Allah, if there is a servant from among Thy servants whom

an ill visits on my account,

a harm touches from my direction,

or a wrong overtakes through me or because of me, and

should I fail to take care of his right

or go before him [in death] with his complaint,

bless Muhammad and his Household,

satisfy him toward me through Thy wealth, and

give him his full right from Thyself

Then protect me from what Thy decision mandates

and save me from what Thy justice decides, for

my strength cannot bear Thy vengeance and

my obedience cannot stand up to Thy displeasure!

If Thou recompensest me with the right, Thou wilt destroy me, and

if Thou dost not shield me in Thy mercy, Thou wilt lay me waste.

O Allah,

I ask Thee to grant, my God, that whose giving will not decrease Thee, and

I ask Thee to carry that whose carrying will not

weigh Thee down:

My God, I ask Thee to give my soul, which

Thou didst not create to keep Thyself from evil

nor to find the way to profit.

No, Thou brought it forth

to demonstrate Thy power over its like and

to provide an argument against its similar.

I ask Thee to carry those of my sins whose carrying weighs me down and

I seek help from Thee in that whose heaviness oppresses me.

So bless Muhammad and his Household,

give to me my soul in spite of its wrong-doing, 125 and appoint Thy mercy to carry my burden!

How many evildoers Thy mercy has overtaken!

How many wrongdoers Thy pardon has embraced!

So bless Muhammad and his Household and

make me the model of him whom Thou hast

aroused through Thy forbearance from the deadly infirmities of the offenders and

saved through Thy giving success from the tangled plights of the sinners,

so that I may rise up

freed by Thy pardon from the bonds of Thy displeasure and

released by Thy benefaction from the ties of Thy justice!

Surely if Thou dost that, my God, Thou wilt do it to one who does not

deny deserving Thy punishment

or acquit himself from merit for Thy vengeance.

Do that, my God, for one

whose fear of Thee is greater than his craving from Thee,

whose hopelessness of deliverance is firmer than his hope for salvation!

Not that his hopelessness is despair,

nor that his expectation is deluded.

No, rather his good deeds are few among his evil deeds and

his arguments are frail in face of everything due from his acts.

But Thou, my God, art worthy that

the righteous not be deluded concerning

Thee

and the sinners not lose hope in Thee,

for Thou art the All-mighty Lord who

holds back His bounty from none and

takes His full right from no one.

High exalted is Thy mention above those mentioned!

Holy are Thy names beyond those described!

Spread is Thy favor among all creatures!

Thine is the praise for that, O Lord of the worlds!

I have earned,

display not what I have hidden,

expose not what I have covered over,

weigh not my works on the scales of fairness, and

make not my tidings known to the eyes of the crowd!

Conceal from them everything whose unfolding would shame me and

roll up before them all which would join me to disgrace with Thee

Ennoble my degree through Thy good pleasure,

perfect my honor through Thy forgiveness,

rank me among the companions of the right hand,

direct me to the roads of the secure,

place me in the throng of the triumphant, and

through me let the sessions of the righteous thrive!126 Amen, Lord of the worlds!

not extinguished before the witnesses, 137 and a guidepost of deliverance, so that

he who repairs straight way to its prescription will not go astray and

he who clings to its preservation's handhold will not be touched by the hands of disasters.

O Allah, since Thou hast

given us help to recite it and

made smooth the roughness of our tongues through the beauty of its expression,

PLACE US AMONG THOSE WHO

observe it as it should be observed,

serve Thee by adhering in submission to the firm text of its verses, and

seek refuge in admitting both its ambiguous parts and the elucidations of its clear signs

O Allah, Thou

sent it down upon Thy prophet Muhammad (Allah bless him and his household) in summary form

inspired him with the science of its wonders to complement it,

made us the heirs of its knowledge as interpreters, 138 made us to surpass him who is ignorant of its knowledge, and

gave us strength over it to raise us above those not able to carry it.

O Allah, just as Thou hast

appointed our hearts as its carriers and

made known to us through Thy mercy its nobility and excellence,

so also bless Muhammad, its preacher, and his Household, its guardians, and

place us among those who confess that it has come from Thee, lest

doubt about attesting to it assail us,

or deviation from its straightforward path shake us

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and

make us one of those who

hold fast to its cord,

seek haven from its ambiguities in its fortified stronghold,

rest in the shadow of its wing,

find guidance in the brightness of its morning,

follow

the shining of its disclosure,

acquire light from its lamp, and

beg not guidance from any other

O Allah, just as

through it Thou hast set up Muhammad as a guidepost to point to Thee and

through his Household Thou hast made clear Thy good pleasure's roads to Thee,

so also bless Muhammad and his Household and

make the QURAN

our mediation to the noblest stations of Thy honor,

a ladder by which we may climb to the place of safety,

a cause for our being repaid with deliverance at the Plain of Resurrection, and

a means whereby we may reach the bliss of the House of Permanence

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

lessen for us through the QURAN the weight of heavy sins,

give to us the excellent qualities of the pious, and

make us follow the tracks of those who stood before Thee in the watches of the night and the ends of the day, 139 such that Thou purifiest us from every defilement through its purification and

makest us to follow the tracks of those

who have taken illumination from its light

and whom expectation has not distracted from works, cutting them off through its delusions' deceptions!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and

APPOINT THE QURAN FOR US

an intimate in the shadows of nights and

a guardian against the instigations of SATAN and confusing thoughts,

for our feet an obstruction from passing to acts of disobedience,

for our tongues a silencer without blight preventing a plunge into falsehood,

for our limbs a restrainer from committing sins, and

for the scrutiny of heedfulness rolled up in heedlessness an unroller,

such that Thou attachest to our

hearts the understanding of the QURAN's wonders and its restraining similitudes which immovable mountains in all their solidity were too weak to carry!140

seize them from behind the veils of unseen things,

letting loose at them from the bow of destinies the arrows of the terror of lonesome separation, and

mixing for them from sudden death a cup poisoned to the taste; and

when departure and release for the hereafter come close to us,

works become collars around the necks, 144 and the graves become the haven until the appointed time of the Day of Encounter!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

make blessed for us the arrival at the house of decay and the drawn out residence between the layers of the earth,

appoint the graves, after separation from this world, the best of our way stations,

make roomy for us through Thy mercy the narrowness of our tombs, and

disgrace us not among those present at the Resurrection through our ruinous sins!

Through the QURAN have mercy upon the lowliness of our station at the standing place of presentation to Thee,

make firm the slips of our feet during the shaking of the bridge across hell on the day of passage over it,

illuminate the darkness of our graves before the Uprising, and

deliver us from every distress on the Day of Resurrection and from the hardships of terrors on the Day of Disaster!

Whiten our faces on the day when the faces of wrongdoers are blackened145 during the Day of Regret and Remorse,

appoint love for us in the breasts of the faithful, and

make not life for us troublesome!

O Allah, bless Muhammad, Thy servant and Thy messenger, just as He

delivered Thy message,

executed Thy command,

and counseled Thy servants!

O Allah, on

the Day of Resurrection make our Prophet (Thy blessings be upon him and his Household)

the nearest of the prophets to Thee in seat,

the ablest of them before Thee with intercession,

the greatest of them with Thee in measure, and

the most eminent of them with Thee in rank!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad,

ennoble his edifice,

magnify his proof, make

weighty his balance,

accept his intercession,

bring near his mediation, 146 whiten his face, complete his light, and raise his degree! Make us live according to his SUNNA, make us die in his creed, take us on his road, make us travel his path, place us among the people who obey him, muster us in his band, lead us to up his pool, 147 and give us to drink of his cup!

And bless Muhammad and his Household, with a blessing through which Thou wilt take him to the most excellent of Thy good, Thy bounty, and Thy generosity for which he hopes!

Thou art Possessor of boundless mercy and generous bounty.

O ALLAH, REPAY HIM FOR

Thy messages which he delivered,

Thy signs which he passed on,

the good counsel he gave to Thy servants, and

the struggle he undertook in Thy way,

with the best Thou hast repaid any of

Thy angels brought nigh and

Thy prophets sent out and chosen!

And upon him and his Household, the good, the pure, be peace, Allah's mercy, and His blessings!

thee,

appointed thee one of the signs of His kingdom and

one of the marks of His authority, and

humbled thee through

increase and decrease,

rising and setting,

illumination and eclipse.

In all of this thou art

obedient to Him, prompt toward His will.

Glory be to Him!

How wonderful is what He has arranged in thy situation!

How subtle what He has made for thy task!

He has made thee the key to a new month for a new situation.

So I ask Allah,

my Lord and thy Lord,

my Creator and thy Creator,

my Determiner and thy Determiner,

my Form-giver and thy Form-giver,

that He bless Muhammad and his Household and

appoint thee a crescent

of blessings not effaced by days and

of purity not defiled by sins;

a crescent of security from blights and

of safety from evil deeds; a crescent of

auspiciousness containing no misfortune,

of prosperity accompanied by no adversity,

of ease not mixed with difficulty,

of good unstained by evil; a crescent

of security and faith,

favor and good-doing,

safety and submission!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

place us among

the most satisfied of those over whom the crescent has risen,

the purest of those who have looked upon it,

the most fortunate of those who have worshiped Thee under it;

give us the success during [the new month] to repent,

preserve us within it from misdeeds,

guard us therein from pursuing disobedience to Thee,

allot to us within it thanksgiving for Thy favor,

clothe us during it in the shields of well-being, and

complete for us Thy kindness by perfecting therein obedience to Thee!

Surely Thou art All-kind, Praiseworthy.

And bless Muhammad and his Household, the good, the pure.

and placed us among the people of praise,

that we might be among the thankful for His beneficence and

that He might recompense us for that with the recompense of the good-doers!

And praise belongs to Allah who

showed favor to us through His religion,

singled us out for His creed, and

directed us onto the roads of His beneficence,

in order that through His kindness we might travel upon them to His good pleasure,

a praise which He will accept from us and through which He will be pleased with us!

And praise belongs to Allah who appointed among those roads His month,

the month of RAMAZ''AAN,

the month of fasting,

the month of submission,

the month of purity,

the month of putting to test,

the month of standing in prayer,

(in what the QURAN was sent down as guidance to the people, and as signs of the Guidance and the Separator!)149 He clarified its excellence over other months by the many sacred things and well-known excellencies which He placed therein,

for He made unlawful in it what He declared lawful in others to magnify it,

He prohibited foods and drinks in it to honor it, and

He appointed for it a clear time

which He (majestic and mighty is He) allows not to be set forward and

accepts not to be placed behind.

Then He made one of its nights surpass the nights of a thousand months and named it the Night of Decree;

(in it the angels and the Spirit descend by the leave of their Lord upon every command),

a peace150 constant in blessings until the rising of the dawn upon whomsoever He will of

His servants according to the decision He has made firm.

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

inspire us with

knowledge of its excellence,

veneration of its inviolability, and

caution against what Thou hast forbidden within it,

and help us to fast in it by our restraining our limbs from acts of disobedience toward Thee and our employing them in that which pleases Thee, so that

we lend not our ears to idle talk and

hurry not with our eyes to diversion,

we stretch not our hands toward the forbidden and

stride not with our feet toward the prohibited,

our bellies hold only what Thou hast made lawful and

our tongues speak only what Thou hast exemplified,

we undertake nothing but what brings close to Thy reward and

pursue nothing but what protects from Thy punishment!

Then rid all of that from

the false show of the false showers and

the fame seeking of the fame seekers,

lest we associate therein anything with Thee or

seek therein any object of desire but Thee!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

in it make us attend to the appointed moments of the five prayers within

the bounds Thou hast set,

the obligations Thou hast decreed,

the duties Thou hast assigned, and

the times Thou hast specified; and

in the prayers make us alight in the station of

the keepers of their stations,

the guardians of their pillars,

their performers in their times,

as Thy servant and Thy messenger set down in his SUNNA (Thy blessings be upon him and his Household) in their bowings, their prostrations, and all their excellent acts,

with the most complete and ample ritual purity and

the most evident and intense humility!

Give us success

in this month to

tighten our bonds of kin with devotion and gifts,

attend to our neighbors with bestowal and giving,

rid our possessions from claims,

purify them through paying the alms,

go back to him who has gone far from us,

treat justly him who has wronged us,

make peace with him who shows enmity toward us

(except him who is regarded as an enemy in Thee and for Thee, for he is

the enemy whom we will not befriend,

the party whom we will not hold dear), and

seek nearness to Thee through blameless works which will purify us from sins and

preserve us from renewing faults,

so that none of Thy angels will bring for Thee the kinds of obedience and sorts of nearness-seeking unless they be less than what we bring!151 O Allah, I ask Thee

by the right of this month

and by the right of him who worships Thee within it

from its beginning to the time of its passing,

whether angel Thou hast brought nigh to Thee,

prophet Thou hast sent,

or righteous servant Thou hast singled out,

that Thou bless Muhammad and his Household,

make us worthy of the generosity Thou hast promised

make incumbent for us what Thou hast made incumbent for those who go to great lengths in obeying Thee, and

place us in the ranks of those who deserve through Thy mercy the highest elevation!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

TURN US ASIDE FROM

deviation in professing Thy Unity,

falling short in magnifying Thee,

doubt in Thy religion,

blindness toward Thy path,

heedlessness of Thy inviolability, and

being deceived by Thy enemy, the accursed SATAN!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household, and

when in

every night of this month's nights Thou hast necks which Thy pardon will release and Thy forgiveness disregard,

place our necks among those necks and

place us among the best folk and companions of this our month!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

efface our sins along with the effacing of its crescent moon, and

make us pass forth from the ill effects of our acts with the passing of its days,

until it leaves us behind, while within it Thou hast

purified us of offenses and

rid us of evil deeds!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household, and

should we go off to one side in this month, set us a right;

should we swerve, point us straight; and

should Thy enemy SATAN enwrap us, rescue us from him!

O Allah,

fill this month with our worship of Thee,

adorn its times with our obedience toward Thee,

help us during its daytime with its fast, and in its night with prayer and

pleading toward Thee,

humility toward Thee,

and lowliness before Thee,

so that its daytime may not bear witness against our heedlessness, nor its night against our neglect!

O Allah,

make us like this in the other months and days as long as Thou givest us life, and

place us among Thy righteous servants,

(those who shall inherit Paradise, therein dwelling forever), 152 those who give what they give, while their hearts quake, that they are returning to their Lord), 153 those (who vie in good works, outracing to them!)154 O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household

in every time, in all moments, and

in every state,

to the number that Thou hast blessed whomsoever Thou hast blessed

and

to multiples of all that, through multiples which none can count but Thee!

Surely Thou art Accomplisher of what Thou desirest.

Thy names),

(Repent toward Allah with unswerving repentance! It may be that Thy Lord will acquit you of your evil deeds and will admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow,

(upon the day when Allah will not degrade the Prophet and those who have faith along with him, their light running before them and of their right hands, and they say: 'Our Lord, complete for us our light, and forgive us! Surely Thou art powerful over everything.)156 What is the excuse of him who remains heedless of entering that house after the opening of the door and the setting up of the pointer?

It is Thou who hast raised the price against Thyself to the advantage of Thy servants, desiring

their profit in their trade with Thee,

their triumph through reaching Thee and their increase on account of Thee,

for Thou hast said (blessed is Thy Name and high art Thou exalted),

(whoso brings a good deed shall have ten the like of it, and

those brings an evil deed shall only be recompensed the like of it).157 Thou hast said, (The likeness of those who expend their wealth in the way of Allah is as the likeness of a grain of corn that sprouts seven ears, in every ear a hundred grains; so Allah multiplies unto whom He wills).158 Thou hast said: (Who is he that will lend to Allah a good loan, and He will multiply it for him manifold?)159 And Thou hast sent down in the QURAN similar verses on the multiplying of good deeds.

It is Thou who hast

pointed them through Thy speech from Thy Unseen and Thy encouragement in which lies their good fortune toward that which - hadst Thou covered it from them -

their eyes would not have perceived,

their ears would not have heard, and

their imaginations would not have grasped, for Thou hast said,

( Remember Me, and I will remember you be thankful to Me, and be you not thankless towards Me!)160 Thou hast said, ( If you are thankful, surely I will increase you, but if you are thankless, My chastisement is surely terrible); 161 And Thou hast said, (Supplicate Me, and I will respond to you; surely those who wax too proud to worship Me shall enter GAHENNAM utterly abject).

Hence Thou hast named supplicating Thee 'worship'

and refraining from it 'waxing proud', and

Thou hast threatened that the refraining from it would yield entrance into GAHENNAM in utterLY abject.162 So they remember Thee for Thy kindness,

they thank Thee for Thy bounty,

they supplicate Thee by Thy command, and

they donate for Thee in order to seek Thy increase;

in all this lies

their deliverance from Thy wrath and

their triumph through Thy good pleasure.

Were any creature himself to direct another creature to the like of that to which Thou Thyself hast directed Thy servants, he would be

described by beneficence

qualified by kindness, and

praised by every tongue.

So to Thee belongs praise

as long as there is found a way to praise Thee and

as long as there remains for praising words by which Thou may be praised and meanings which may be spent in praise!

O He who shows Himself praiseworthy

to His servants through beneficence and bounty, flooding them with kindness and graciousness

How much Thy favor has been spread about among us,

Thy kindness lavished upon us, and

Thy goodness singled out for us!

THOU HAST GUIDED US TO

Thy religion which Thou hast chosen,

Thy creed with which Thou art pleased, and

Thy path which Thou hast made smooth, and

Thou hast shown us proximity to Thee and arrival at Thy generosity!

O Allah, among the choicest of those duties and the most special of those obligations Thou hast appointed the month of Ramadan, which Thou hast

singled out from other months,

chosen from among all periods and eras, and

preferred over all times of the year through

the QURAN and the Light which Thou sent down within it,

the faith which Thou multiplied by means of it,

the fasting which Thou obligated therein,

the standing in prayer which Thou encouraged at its time, and

the Night of Decree which Thou magnified therein, the night which is better than a thousand months.163 Through it Thou hast preferred us over the other communities and

through its excellence Thou hast chosen us to the exclusion of the people of the creeds.

We fasted by Thy command in its daylight,

we stood in prayer with Thy help in its night,

presenting ourselves by its fasting and its standing to the mercy which Thou hast held up before us, and

we found through it the means to Thy reward.

And Thou art full of what is sought from Thee,

munificent with what is asked of Thy bounty, and

near to him who strives for Thy nearness.

This month stood among us in a

standing place of praise,

accompanied us with the companionship of one approved, and

profited us with the most excellent profit of the world's creatures.

Then it parted from us at the completion of its time, the end of its term, and the fulfillment of its number.

So we bid farewell to it with the farewell of one

whose parting pains us,

whose leaving fills us with gloom and loneliness, and

to whom we have come to owe

a safeguarded claim,

an observed inviolability,

a discharged right.

We say:

Peace be upon thee,

O greatest month of Allah!

O festival of His friends!

Peace be upon thee,

O most noble of accompanying times!

O best of months in days and hours!

Peace be upon thee, month in which

expectations come near

and good works are scattered about!

all affairs!

Peace be upon thee, thou

whose companionship is not disliked, thou

whose friendly mixing is not blamed!

Peace be upon thee, just as thou

hast entered upon us with blessings and

cleansed us of the defilement of offenses!

Peace be upon thee -

Thou art not bid farewell in annoyance

nor is thy fasting left in weariness!

Peace be upon thee,

object of seeking before thy time,

object of sorrow before thy passing!

Peace be upon thee -

How much evil was turned away from us through thee!

How much good flowed upon us because of thee!

Peace be upon thee and upon the Night of Decree which is better than a thousand months!164 Peace be upon thee -

How much we craved thee yesterday!

How intensely we shall yearn for thee tomorrow!

Peace be upon thee and

upon thy bounty which has now been made unlawful to us and

upon thy blessings gone by which have now been stripped away from us!

O Allah,

we are the people of this month, Through it Thou hast ennobled us

and given us success because of Thy kindness, while the wretched are ignorant of its time. Made unlawful to them is its bounty because of their wretchedness.

Thou art the patron of the knowledge of it by which Thou hast preferred us, and its prescribed practices to which Thou hast guided us.

We have undertaken, through Thy giving success, its fasting and its standing in prayer, but with shortcomings, and

we have performed little of much.

O Allah, so to Thee belongs praise,

in admission of evil doing

and confession of negligence, and

to Thee belongs remorse firmly knitted in our hearts

seeking of pardon sincerely uttered

by our tongues.

Reward us, in spite of the neglect that befell us in this month, with a reward through which

we may reach the bounty desired from it and

win the varieties of its craved stores!

Make incumbent upon us Thy pardon for our falling short of Thy right in this month and

make our lives which lie before us reach the coming month of Ramadan!

Once Thou hast made us reach it,

help us perform the worship of which Thou art worthy,

cause us to undertake the obedience which Thou deservest, and

grant us righteous works that we may fulfill Thy right in these two months of the months of time.165 O Allah, as for

the small and large sins which we have committed in this our month,

the misdeeds into which we have fallen, and

the offenses which we have earned

purposefully or in forgetfulness,

wronging ourselves thereby

or violating the respect due to others,

bless Muhammad and his Household,

cover us over with Thy covering,

pardon us through Thy pardoning

place us not before the eyes of the gloaters because of that,

stretch not toward us the tongues of the defamers, and

employ us in that which will alleviate and expiate whatever Thou disapprovest from us within it through

Thy clemency which does not run out, and

Thy bounty which does not diminish!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household,

redress our being afflicted by our month, 166 bless us in this day of our festival and our fast-breaking,

make it one of the best of days that have passed over us,

the greatest in attracting Thy pardon, and the most effacing toward sins, and

forgive us our sins,

both the concealed and the public!

O Allah,

with the passing of this month make us pass forth from our offenses,

with its departure make us depart from our evil deeds,

and appoint us thereby among its

most felicitous people,

the most plentiful of them in portion, and

the fullest of them in share!

O Allah, when any person

observes this month as it should be observed,

safeguards its inviolability as it should be safeguarded,

attends to its bounds as they should be attended to

fears its misdeeds as they should be feared,

or seeks nearness to Thee with any act of nearness-seeking which makes incumbent upon him Thy good pleasure

give to us the like [of that]167 from Thy wealth bestow it upon us in multiples through Thy bounty,

for Thy bounty does not diminish,

Thy treasuries do not decrease but overflow,

the mines of Thy beneficence are not exhausted, and

Thy bestowal is the bestowal full of delight!

O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household and

write for us the like of the wages of him who fasted in it or worshiped Thee within it until the Day of Resurrection!

O Allah,

we repent to Thee in our day of fast-breaking, which Thou hast appointed

for the faithful a festival and a joy and

for the people of Thy creed a time of assembly and gathering,

from every misdeed we did,

ill work we sent ahead,

or evil thought we secretly conceived,

the repentance of one who does not harbor a return to sin and

who afterwards will not go back to offense,

an unswerving repentance rid of doubt and wavering.

So accept from us, be pleased with us, and fix us within it!

O

Allah, provide us with

fear of the threatened punishment and

yearning for the promised reward,

so that we may find

the pleasure of that for which we supplicate Thee

the sorrow of that from which we seek sanctuary in Thee!

And place us with Thee among the repenters,

those upon whom Thou hast made Thy love obligatory and

from whom Thou hast accepted the return to obeying Thee!168 O Most Just of the just!

O Allah,

show forbearance toward our fathers and our mothers and all the people of our religion,

those who have gone and those who will pass by, until the Day of Resurrection!

O Allah, bless our prophet Muhammad and his Household, as Thou hast blessed Thy angels brought nigh,

bless him and his Household, as Thou hast blessed Thy prophets sent out,

bless him and his Household, as Thou hast blessed Thy righteous servants - and

better than that, O Lord of the worlds! - a blessing

whose benediction will reach us,

whose benefit will attain to us, and through which

our supplication may be granted!

Thou art the most generous of those who are beseeched,

the most sufficient of those in whom confidence is had,

the most bestowing of those from whom bounty is asked, and

Thou art powerful over everything!169

not those who implore Him!

He who slaps not the brow of the people of boldness toward Him with rejection!

O He who collects the little that is given to Him and shows gratitude for the paltry that is done for Him!

O He who shows gratitude for the small and rewards with the great!

O He who comes close to him who comes close to Him!

O He who invites to Himself him who turns his back on Him!

O He who changes not favor and rushes not to vengeance!170 O He who causes the good deed to bear fruit so that He may make it grow, and

overlooks the evil deed so that He may efface it!

Hopes turn back with needs fulfilled short of the extent of Thy generosity,

the cups of requests fill up with the overflow of Thy munificence, and

attributes fill apart without reaching Thy description.

For to Thee belongs the highest highness above everything high, and

the most glorious majesty beyond every majesty

Everything majestic before Thee is small,

everything eminent beside Thy eminence vile!

Those who reach other than Thee are disappointed,

those who present themselves to other than Thee have lost,

those who stay with other than Thee have perished,

and those who retreat - except those who retreat to Thy bounty - are desolate!

Thy door is open to the beseechers,

Thy munificence free to the askers,

Thy help near to the help-seekers!

The expectant are not disappointed by Thee,

those who present themselves despair not of Thy bestowal,

the forgiveness-seekers become not wretched through Thy vengeance!

Thy provision is spread among those who disobey Thee,

Thy clemency presents itself to

those hostile toward Thee,

Thy habit is beneficence toward the evildoers, and

Thy wont is to spare the transgressors,

so much so that

Thy lack of haste deludes them from returning, and

Thy disregard bars them from desisting!

Thou actest without haste toward them so that they will come back to Thy command and

Thou disregardest them, confident in the permanence of Thy kingdom,

so Thou sealest him who is worthy of it with felicity, and

Thou abandonest him who is worthy of it to wretchedness!

All of them come home to Thy decree,

their affairs revert to Thy command;

Thy authority grows not feeble through their drawn out term,

Thy proof is not refuted by the failure to hurry after them.

Thy argument is established, never refuted,

Thy authority fixed, never removed.

Permanent woe belongs to him who inclines away from Thee,

forsaking disappointment to him who is disappointed by Thee, and

the most wretched wretchedness to him who is deluded about Thee!

How much he will move about in Thy chastisement!

How long he will frequent Thy punishment!

How far his utmost end from relief!

How he will despair of an easy exit!

(All of this) as justice from Thy decree (Thou art not unjust in it!), and

equity from Thy judgment (Thou dost not act wrongfully against him!).

Thou supported the arguments,

tested the excuses,

began with threats,

showed gentleness with encouragement,

struck similitudes,

made long the respite,

delayed, while Thou art able to hurry, and

acted without haste, while Thou art full of quick accomplishment!

NOT BECAUSE OF

incapacity is Thy slowness,

feebleness Thy giving respite,

heedlessness Thy showing restraint,

dissemblance Thy waiting!

BUT THAT

Thy argument be more conclusive,

Thy generosity more perfect,

Thy beneficence more exhaustive,

Thy favor more complete!

All of

this has been and always was, is and ever will be.

Thy argument is greater than that its totality be described,

Thy glory more elevated than that it be limited in its core,

Thy favor more abundant than that its entirety be counted,

Thy beneficence more abundant than that thanks be given for its least amount!

Speechlessness has made me fall short of praising Thee,

restraint has made me powerless to glorify Thee,

and the most I can do is admit to inability,

not out of desire, my God, but out of incapacity.

So here I am: I repair to Thee by coming forward,

and I ask from Thee good support

So bless Muhammad and his Household,

hear my whispered words,

grant my supplication,

seal not my day with disappointment,

slap not my brow by rejecting my request, and

make noble my coming from Thee and

my going back to Thee!

Surely Thou art not constrained by what Thou desirest,

nor incapable of what Thou art asked!

Thou art powerful over everything, 171 and 'There is no force and no strength save in Allah, the All-high, the All-mighty'!172

Thou,

the Generous, the Generously Bestowing,

the All-mighty, the Mightily Exalted,

the Magnificent, the Magnificently Magnified.

Thou art Allah, there is no god but Thou,

the All-high, the Sublimely High, the Strong in prowess

Thou art Allah, there is no god but Thou,

the All-merciful, the All-compassionate,

the All-knowing, the All-wise.

Thou art Allah, there is no god but Thou,

the All-hearing, the All-seeing,

the Eternal, the All-aware.

Thou art Allah, there is no god but Thou,

the Generous, the Most Generous,

the Everlasting, the Most Everlasting.

Thou art Allah, there is no god but Thou,

the First before every one,

the Last after every number.

Thou art Allah, there is no god but Thou,

the Close in His highness,

the High in His closeness.

Thou art Allah, there is no god but Thou,

Possessor of radiance and glory,

magnificence and praise.

Thou art Allah, there is no god but Thou.

Thou hast brought forth the things without root,

formed what Thou hast formed without exemplar, and

riginated the originated things without imitation.

It is Thou

who hast ordained each thing with an ordination, 180 eased each thing with an easing, 181 and governed everything below Thyself with a governing.182 It is Thou

whom no associate helps with Thy creation and

no vizier aids in Thy command.

Thou hast no witness and no equal.

It is Thou

who willed, and what Thou willed was unfailing,

who decreed, and what Thou decreed was just,

who decided, and what Thou decided was fair.

IT IS THOU

whom place does not contain,

before whose authority no authority stands up, and

whom no proof or explication can thwart.

IT IS THOU

who hast counted everything in numbers, 183 appointed for everything a term, and ordained everything with an ordination. IT IS

THOU before whose selfness imaginations fall short, before whose HOWNESS understandings have no incapacity, and the place of whose WHERENESS eyes perceive not.184 IT IS THOU who hast no bounds, lest Thou be bounded, who art not exemplified, lest Thou be found, who dost not beget, lest Thou be begotten.185 IT IS THOU

with whom there is no opposite, lest it contend with Thee,

who hast no equal, lest it vie with Thee,

who hast no rival, lest it resist Thee.

IT IS THOU

who art He who began, devised,

brought forth, originated, and

made well all that He made.

Glory be to Thee!

How majestic is Thy station!

How high Thy place among the places!.

How cleanly Thy Separator cleaves with the truth!186 Glory be to Thee!

The Gentle - how gentle Thou art!

The Clement - how clement Thou art!

The Wise - how knowing Thou art!

Glory be to Thee!

The King - how invincible Thou art!

The Munificent - how full of plenty Thou art!

The Elevated how - elevated Thou art!

Possessor of radiance and glory,

magnificence and praise!

Glory be to Thee!

Thou hast stretched forth Thy hand with good things,

and from Thee guidance has come to be known,

so he who begs from Thee religion or this world will find Thee.

Glory be to Thee!

Whatever passes in Thy knowledge is subjected to Thee,

all below Thy Throne are humbled before Thy mightiness, and

every one of Thy creatures follows Thee in submission.

Glory be to Thee!

Thou art 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 Thee!

Thy path is smooth ground,

Thy command right

guidance, and

Thou art a living, eternal refuge.

Glory be to Thee!

Thy word is decisive,

Thy decree unfailing,

Thy will resolute.

Glory be to Thee!

None can reject Thy wish,

none can change Thy words.187 Glory be to Thee!,

Out-dazzling in signs,

Creator of the heavens,

Author of the spirits!

To Thee belongs praise, a praise that will be permanent with Thy permanence!

To Thee belongs praise, a praise everlasting through Thy favor!

To Thee belongs praise, a praise that will parallel Thy benefaction!

To Thee belongs praise, a praise that will increase Thy good pleasure!

To Thee belongs praise, a praise along with the praise of every praiser and

a thanksgiving before which falls short the thanksgiving of every thanks-giver;

a praise which is suitable for none but Thee and

through which nearness is sought to none but Thee;

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 Thy Book; 188 a praise which will counterbalance Thy glorious Throne and

equal Thy elevated Footstool;

a praise whose reward with Thee will be complete and

whose recompense will comprise every recompense;

a praise whose outward conforms to its inward, and

whose inward conforms to correct intention;

a praise with whose like no creature has praised Thee

and whose excellence none knows but Thou;

a praise in which he who strives to multiply Thy 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 Thou hast created and

tie together all which Thou wilt afterwards create;

a praise than which no praise is nearer to Thy word and

than which none is greater from any who praise Thee;

a praise whose fullness will obligate increase through Thy generosity and

to which Thou wilt join increase after increase as graciousness from Thee;

a praise that will befit the generosity of Thy face and

meet the might of Thy majesty!

My Lord, bless Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad,

the distinguished, the chosen,

the honored, the brought nigh,

with the most excellent of Thy blessings,

benedict him with the most complete of Thy benedictions, and

have mercy upon him with the most enjoyable of Thy mercies!

My Lord, bless Muhammad and his Household with a fruitful blessing,

more fruitful than which there is no blessing!

angels, Thy prophets, Thy messengers, and those who obey Thee,

comprise the blessings of Thy servants, JINN or mankind, and those worthy of Thy response, and

bring together the blessings of every one of the kinds of Thy creatures which Thou hast sown and authored!

My Lord, bless Muhammad 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 Thee and everyone below Thee and

will bring forth with all that a blessing

with which Thou wilt multiply those blessings

and increase them through the recurrence of days with an increasing in multiples which none can count but Thou!

My Lord, bless the best of his Household, those whom Thou hast

chosen for Thy command,

appointed the treasurers of Thy knowledge,

the guardians of Thy religion,

Thy vicegerents in Thy earth, and

Thy arguments against Thy servants,

purified from uncleanness and defilement through a purification by Thy desire,190 and made the mediation to Thee191 and the road to Thy Garden! My Lord, bless Muhammad and his Household with a blessing which

makes plentiful Thy gifts and generosity,

perfects for them Thy bestowals and awards, and

fills out their share of Thy kindly acts and benefits!

My Lord, bless him 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 Thy Throne and all below it,

the amount that fills the heavens and all above them,

the number of Thy earths and all below and between them, a blessing that will

bring them near to Thee

in proximity,

please Thee and them,

and be joined to its likes forever!

O Allah, surely Thou hast confirmed Thy religion in all times with an Imam whom Thou hast

set up as a guidepost to Thy servants and a lighthouse in Thy lands,

after his cord has been joined to Thy cord!

Thou hast appointed him the means to Thy good 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!192 So 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, so inspire Thy guardian193 to give thanks for that in which Thou hast favored him, inspire us with the like concerning him, grant him an authority from Thee to help him, 194 open for him an easy opening, 195 aid him with Thy mightiest pillar,

brace up his back, 196 strengthen his arm, 197 guard him with Thy eye, defend him with Thy safeguarding, help him with Thy angels, and assist him with Thy most victorious troops!198 Through him establish Thy Book, Thy bounds, Thy laws,

and the norms of Thy Messenger's SUNNA (Thy blessings, O Allah, be upon him and his Household),

bring to life the guideposts of Thy religion, deadened by the wrongdoers,

burnish the rust of injustice from Thy way,

sift the adversity from Thy road,

eliminate those who deviate from Thy path, and

erase those who seek crookedness in Thy straightness!

Make his side mild toward Thy friends,

stretch forth his hand over Thy

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 Thee and Thy Messenger (Thy blessings, O Allah, be upon him and his Household).

O Allah, and bless the friends (of the Imams) ,

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, 199 the followers of their Imamate,

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 Those art Ever-turning, All-compassionate200 and the Best of forgivers, and place us with them in the Abode of Peace201, through Thy mercy,

O Most Merciful of the merciful!

O Allah, this is the Day of' A'rafa,

a day which Thou hast made noble, given honor, and magnified.

Within it Thou hast spread Thy mercy,

showed kindness through Thy pardon, and

made plentiful Thy giving, and

by it Thou hast been bounteous toward Thy servants.

O Allah, I am Thy servant whom

Thou favored before creating him and after creating him. Thou

madest him one of those whom Thou guided to Thy religion,

gavest success in fulfilling Thy right,

preserved through Thy cord,

included within Thy party, and

directed aright to befriend Thy friends and show enmity to Thine enemies.

Then Thou commanded him, but he did not follow Thy commands,

Thou restricted Him, but he did not heed Thy restrictions,

Thou prohibited

him from disobedience toward Thee,

but he broke Thy command by doing what Thou hadst prohibited,

not in contention with Thee, nor to display pride toward Thee; on the contrary,

he was helped in that by Thy enemy and his enemy. So he went ahead with it

knowing Thy threat,

hoping for Thy pardon,

and relying upon Thy forbearance,

though he was the most obligated of Thy servants - given Thy kindness toward him - not to do so.

Here I am, then, before Thee,

despised, lowly, humble,

abject, fearful,

confessing the dreadful sins with which I am burdened and the great offenses that I have committed,

seeking sanctuary in Thy forgiveness,

asking shelter in Thy mercy, and certain that

no sanctuary-giver will give me sanctuary from Thee and

no withholder will hold me back from Thee.

and

I have sought nearness to Thee through that without seeking nearness through which none gains nearness to Thee.

Then I followed all this with

repeated turning toward Thee,

lowliness and abasement before Thee,

opinion of Thee, and

trust in what is with Thee;

and to that I coupled hope in Thee, since the one who hopes in Thee is seldom disappointed!

I asked Thee 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!

O He who does not hurry the evildoers

nor restrain those living in ease!202 O He who shows kindness through releasing the 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 Thee as one insolent!

I am he who disobeyed Thee with forethought!

I am he who hid myself from Thy servants and blatantly showed myself to Thee!203 I am he who was awed by Thy servants and felt secure from Thee!

I am he who dreaded not Thy penalty and

feared not Thy 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 Thou hast distinguished among Thy creation and

by him whom Thou hast chosen for Thyself!

By the right of him whom Thou hast selected

from among Thy creatures and

by him whom Thou hast picked for Thy task!

By the right of him the obeying of whom Thou hast joined to obeying Thee, and

by him the disobeying of whom Thou hast made like disobeying Thee!

And by the right of him whose friendship Thou hast bound to Thy friendship

and by him whose enmity Thou hast linked to Thine enmity!

Shield me in this day of mine, by that through which Thou shieldest

him who prays fervently to Thee while disavowing and

him who seeks refuge in Thy forgiveness while repenting!

Attend to me with that through which Thou attendest to the people of obedience toward Thee, proximity to Thee, and rank with Thee!

Single me out, as Thou singlest him out who

fulfills Thy covenant,

fatigues himself for Thy sake alone, and

exerts himself in Thy good pleasure!

TAKE ME NOT TO TASK FOR

my neglect in respect to Thee,

my transgressing the limit in Thy bounds, and

stepping outside Thy ordinances!

Draw me not on little by little by granting me a respite, 204 like the drawing on little by little of him who withholds from me the good he has by not sharing with Thee 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 Thou hast

employed the devout,

enthralled the worshipers, and

rescued the remiss!

Give me refuge from that which will

keep me far from Thee,

come between me and my share from Thee, and

bar me from that which I strive for in Thee!

Make easy for me

the road of

good deeds toward Thee;

racing to them from where Thou hast commanded,

and coveting them as Thou desirest!

Efface me not along with those whom Thou effacest for thinking lightly of what Thou hast promised!

Destroy me not with those whom Thou destroyest for exposing themselves to Thy hate!

Annihilate me not among those whom Thou annihilatest for deviating from Thy roads!

Deliver me from the floods of trial,

save me from the gullets of affliction, and

grant me sanctuary from being seized by respite!205 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 Thou art not pleased!

Let me not lose heart in expecting from Thee, lest I be overcome by despair of Thy mercy!

Grant me not that which I cannot endure, lest Thou weighest me down with the surplus of Thy love which Thou loadest upon me!

Send me not from Thy hand, the sending of him

who possesses no good,

toward whom Thou hast no need, and

who turns not back [to Thee]!

Cast me not with the casting of him who has

fallen from the eye of Thy regard and

been wrapped in degradation from Thee!

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 Thou hast afflicted the ranks of Thy servants and handmaids and

make me reach the utmost degrees of him

about whom Thou art concerned,

towards whom Thou showest favor, and

with whom Thou art

pleased,

so that Thou lettest him live as one praiseworthy and

takest him to Thee 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 Thee from doing that which alone makes Thee pleased with me!206 Root out from my heart the love of this vile world, which keeps from everything which is with Thee, bars from seeking the mediation to Thee, 207 and distracts from striving for nearness to Thee!

Embellish for me solitude in prayer whispered to Thee by night and by day!

Give me a preservation which will

bring me close to dread of Thee,

cut me off from committing things made unlawful by Thee, and

spare me from captivation by dreadful sins!

ignorant are heedless of Thy boons, and

inspire me to laud what Thou hast done for me and

confess to what Thou hast conferred upon me!

Place my beseeching Thee above the beseeching of the beseechers and

my praise of Thee above the praise of the praisers!

Abandon me not with my neediness for Thee,

destroy me not for what I have done for Thee, 208 and slap not my brow with that with which Thou slappest the brow of those who contend with Thee,

for I am submitted to Thee.

I know that the argument is Thine, and that

Thou art closest to bounty,

most accustomed to beneficence,

worthy of reverent fear,

and worthy of forgiveness,209 that Thou art closer to pardoning than to punishing, and that Thou art nearer to covering over than to making notorious! Let me live an agreeable life that will tie together what I want and reach what I love while I not bring what Thou dislikest and not commit what Thou hast prohibited; and make me die the death of him whose light runs before him and on his right hand!210 Abase me before Thyself and

exalt me before Thy creatures,

lower me when I am alone with Thee and

raise me among Thy servants,

free me from need for him who has no need of me

and increase me in neediness and poverty toward Thee!

Give me refuge from

the gloating of enemies,

the arrival of affliction,

lowliness and suffering

Shield me in what Thou seest 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 Thou desirest for a people a trial or an evil, deliver me from it, for I seek Thy shelter; and

since Thou hast not stood me in the station of disgrace in this world of Thine, stand me not in such a station in the next world of Thine!

Couple for me

the beginnings of Thy kindnesses with their ends

and the ancient of Thy benefits with the freshly risen!

Prolong not my term with a prolonging through which my heart will harden!211 Strike me not with a striking that will take away my radiance!212 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,

BUT MAKE ME

stand in awe of Thy threat,

take precautions against Thy leaving no excuses213 and Thy warning, and tremble at the recitation of Thy verses!

Fill my night with life by keeping me

awake therein for worshiping Thee,

solitude with vigil for Thee,

exclusive devotion to reliance upon Thee,

setting my needs before Thee, and

imploring that Thou wilt

set my neck free from the Fire and

grant me sanctuary from Thy chastisement, within which its inhabitants dwell!

Leave me not blindly wandering in my insolence214 or inattentive in my perplexity for a time, 215 MAKE ME NOT an admonition to him who takes admonishment, a punishment exemplary for him who takes heed, a trial for him who observes, devise not against me along with those against whom Thou devisest, replace me not with

another, change not my name, 216 transform not my body, 217 appoint me not

a mockery for Thy creatures,

a laughing-stock for Thyself,

a follower of anything but Thy good pleasure,

a menial servant for anything but avenging Thee!

LET ME FIND

the coolness of Thy pardon

and the sweetness of Thy mercy,

Thy repose, Thy ease, and

the garden of Thy bliss!218 Let me taste, through some of Thy boundless plenty, the flavor of being free for what Thou lovest and striving in what brings about proximity with Thee and to Thee, and give me a gift from among Thy gifts! Make my commerce profitable219 and my return without loss, 220 fill me with fear of Thy station,

make me yearn for the meeting with Thee, and

allow me to repent with an unswerving repentance

along with which Thou lettest no sins remain, small or large, and