Praise belongs to God who guided us to His praise
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 God 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 God
who appointed among those roads His month,
the month of Ramadan,
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 which the Qur’an was sent down
as guidance to the people,
and as clear signs
of the Guidance and the Separator!175
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 peace176 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 God,
bless Muhammad and his Household,
inspire us
with knowledge of its excellence,
veneration of its inviolability,
and caution against what You have forbidden within it,
and help us to fast in it
by our restraining our limbs
from acts of disobedience toward You
and our employing them
in that which pleases You,
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 You have made lawful
and our tongues speak only
what You have exemplified,
we undertake nothing but
what brings close to Your reward
and pursue nothing but
what protects from Your 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 You
or seek therein any object of desire but You!
O God,
bless Muhammad and his Household,
in it make us attend
to the appointed moments of the five prayers within
the bounds You have set,
the obligations You have decreed,
the duties You have assigned,
and the times You have 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 Your servant and Your messenger set down in his Sunna
(Your 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 You and for You,
for he is the enemy whom we will not befriend,
the party whom we will not hold dear),
and seek nearness to You through blameless works
which will purify us from sins
and preserve us from renewing faults,
so that none of Your angels will bring for You
the kinds of obedience
and sorts of nearness-seeking
unless they be less than what we bring!177
O God,
I ask You by the right of this month
and by the right of him who worships You within it
from its beginning to the time of its passing,
whether angel You have brought nigh to You,
prophet You have sent,
or righteous servant You have singled out,
that You bless Muhammad and his Household,
make us worthy of the generosity
You have promised Your friends,
make incumbent for us
what You have made incumbent
for those who go to great lengths in obeying You,
and place us in the ranks of those
who deserve through Your mercy the highest elevation!
O God,
bless Muhammad and his Household,
turn us aside from
deviation in professing Your Unity,
falling short in magnifying You,
in Your religion,
blindness toward Your path,
heedlessness of Your inviolability,
and being deceived by Your enemy, the accursed Satan!
O God,
bless Muhammad and his Household,
and when in every night of this month’s nights
You have necks
which Your pardon will release
and Your forgiveness disregard,
place our necks among those necks
and place us among
the best folk and companions
of this our month!
O God,
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 You have purified us of offenses
and rid us of evil deeds!
O God,
bless Muhammad and his Household,
and should we go off to one side in this month,
set us aright;
should we swerve,
point us straight;
and should Your enemy Satan enwrap us,
rescue us from him!
O God,
fill this month with our worship of You,
adorn its times with our obedience toward You,
help us during its daytime with its fast,
and in its night with prayer and pleading toward You,
humility toward You,
and lowliness before You,
so that its daytime may not bear witness
against our heedlessness,
nor its night against our neglect!
O God,
make us like this in the other months and days
as long as You give us life,
and place us among Your righteous servants,
those who shall inherit Paradise,
therein dwelling forever,178
those who give what they give,
while their hearts quake,
that they are returning to their Lord,179
those who vie in good works,
outracing to them!180
O God,
bless Muhammad and his Household
in every time, in all moments, and in every state,
to the number that You have blessed whomsoever
You have blessed
and to multiples of all that, through multiples
which none can count but You!
Surely You are Accomplisher of what You desire.