Praise belongs to God, Lord of the worlds!
O God,
to You belongs praise!
Originator of the heavens and the earth!
Possessor of majesty and munificence!
Lord of lords!
Object of worship of every worshiper!
Creator of every creature!
Inheritor of all things!201
There is nothing like Him,202
knowledge of nothing escapes Him,203
He encompasses everything,204
and He is watchful over everything.205
You are God,
there is no god but You,
the Unique, the Alone,
the Single, the Isolated.
You are God,
there is no god but You,
the Generous, the Generously Bestowing,
the All-mighty, the Mightily Exalted,
the Magnificent, the Magnificently Magnified.
You are God,
there is no god but You,
the All-high, the Sublimely High,
the Strong in prowess.
You are God,
there is no god but You,
the All-merciful, the All-compassionate,
the All-knowing, the All-wise.
You are God,
there is no god but You,
the All-hearing, the All-seeing,
the Eternal, the All-aware.
You are God,
there is no god but You,
the Generous, the Most Generous,
the Everlasting, the Most Everlasting.
You are God,
there is no god but You,
the First before every one,
the Last after every number.
You are God,
there is no god but You,
the Close in His highness,
the High in His closeness.
You are God,
there is no god but You,
Possessor of radiance and glory,
magnificence and praise.
You are God,
there is no god but You.
You have brought forth the things without root,
formed what You have formed without exemplar,
and originated the originated things without limitation.
It is You
who have ordained each thing with an ordination,206
eased each thing with an easing,207
and governed everything below Yourself with a governing.208
It is You
whom no associate helps with Your creation
and no vizier aids in Your command.
You have no witness and no equal.
It is You
who willed,
and what You willed was unfailing,
who decreed,
and what You decreed was just,
who decided,
and what You decided was fair.
It is You
whom place does not contain,
before whose authority no authority stands up,
and whom no proof or explication can thwart.
It is You
who have counted everything in numbers,209
appointed for everything a term,
and ordained everything with an ordination.
It is You
before whose selfness imaginations fall short,
before whose how-ness understandings have no capacity,
and the place of whose where-ness eyes perceive not.210
It is You
who have no bounds,
lest You be bounded,
who are not exemplified,
lest You be found,
who do not beget,
lest You be begotten.211
It is You
with whom there is no opposite,
lest it contend with You,
who have no equal,
lest it vie with You,
who have no rival,
lest it resist You.
It is You
who are He who began, devised,
brought forth, originated,
and made well all that He made.
Glory be to You!
How majestic is Your station!
How high Your place among the places!
How cleanly Your Separator cleaves with the truth!212
Glory be to You!
The Gentle – how gentle You are!
The Clement – how clement You are!
The Wise – how knowing You are!
Glory be to You!
The King – how invincible You are!
The Munificent – how full of plenty You are!
The Elevated – how elevated You are!
Possessor of radiance and glory,
magnificence and praise!
Glory be to You!
You have stretched forth Your hand with good things,
and from You guidance has come to be known,
so he who begs from You religion or this world
will find You.
Glory be to You!
Whatever passes in Your knowledge is subjected to You,
all below Your Throne are humbled before Your mightiness,
and every one of Your creatures follows You in submission.
Glory be to You!
You are not sensed, nor touched,
nor felt, nor beguiled,
nor held back, nor challenged,
nor kept up with, nor resisted,
nor deceived, nor circumvented.
Glory be to You!
Your path is smooth ground,
Your command right guidance,
and You are a living, eternal refuge.
Glory be to You!
Your word is decisive,
Your decree unfailing,
Your will resolute.
Glory be to You!
None can reject Your wish,
none can change Your words.213
Glory be to You,
Bedazzling in signs,
Creator of the heavens,
Author of the spirits!
To You belongs praise,
a praise that will be permanent with Your permanence!
To You belongs praise,
a praise everlasting through Your favor!
To You belongs praise,
a praise that will parallel Your benefaction!
To You belongs praise,
a praise that will increase Your good pleasure!
To You belongs praise,
a praise along with the praise of every praiser
and a thanksgiving before which falls short
the thanksgiving of every thanksgiver;
a praise which is suitable for none but You
and through which nearness is sought to none but You;
a praise which will make permanent the first [bounty]
and call forth the permanence of the last;
a praise which will multiply through recurrence of times
and increase through successive doublings;
a praise which the guardians will not be able to number
and which exceeds what the writers number in Your Book;214
a praise which will counterbalance Your glorious Throne
and equal Your elevated Footstool;
a praise whose reward with You will be complete
and whose recompense will comprise every recompense;
a praise whose outward conforms to its inward,
and whose inward conforms to correct intention;
a praise with whose like no creature has praised You
and whose excellence none knows but You;
a praise in which he who strives to multiply Your praise
will be helped
and he who draws the bow to the utmost in fulfilling it
will be confirmed;
a praise which will
gather all the praise which You have created
and tie together all which You will afterwards create;
a praise than which no praise is nearer to Your word
and than which none is greater from any who praise You;
a praise whose fullness will obligate increase
through Your generosity
and to which You will join increase after increase
as graciousness from You;
a praise that will befit the generosity of Your face
and meet the might of Your majesty!
My Lord,
bless Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad,
the distinguished, the chosen,
the honored, the brought nigh,
with the most excellent of Your blessings,
benedict him
with the most complete of Your benedictions,
and have mercy upon him
with the most enjoyable of Your mercies!
My Lord,
bless Muhammad and his Household
with a fruitful blessing,
more fruitful than which there is no blessing!
Bless him
with a growing blessing,
more growing than which there is no blessing!
And bless him
with a pleasing blessing,
beyond which there is no blessing!
My Lord,
bless Muhammad and his Household
with a blessing
which will please him
and increase his good pleasure!
Bless him
with a blessing
which will please You
and increase Your good pleasure toward him!
And bless him
with a blessing
through other than which You will not be pleased for him,
and for which You see no one else worthy!
My Lord,
bless Muhammad and his Household
with a blessing which will
pass beyond Your good pleasure,
be continuous in its continuity
through Your subsistence,
and never be spent,
just as Your words will never be spent!215
My Lord,
bless Muhammad and his Household
with a blessing which will
tie together the blessings of
Your angels, Your prophets, Your messengers,
and those who obey You,
comprise the blessings of Your servants,
jinn or mankind,
and those worthy of Your response,
and bring together the blessings
of every one of the kinds of Your creatures
which You have 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 You
and everyone below You
and will bring forth with all that
a blessing
with which You will multiply those blessings
and increase them through the recurrence of days
with an increasing in multiples
which none can count but You!
My Lord,
bless the best of his Household,
those whom You have
chosen for Your command,
appointed the treasurers of Your knowledge,
the guardians of Your religion,
Your vicegerents in Your earth,
and Your arguments against Your servants,
purified from uncleanness and defilement
through a purification by Your desire,216
and made the mediation to You217
and the road to Your Garden!
My Lord,
bless Muhammad and his Household
with a blessing which
makes plentiful Your gifts and generosity,
perfects for them Your bestowals and awards,
and fills out their share of Your kindly acts and benefits!
My Lord,
bless 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 Your Throne and all below it,
the amount that fills the heavens and all above them,
the number of Your earths and all below and between them,
a blessing that will bring them near to You in proximity,
please You and them,
and be joined to its likes forever!
O God,
surely You have confirmed Your religion in all times
with an Imam whom You have set up
as a guidepost to Your servants
and a lighthouse in Your lands,
after his cord has been joined to Your cord!
You have appointed him the means to Your 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!218
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 God,
so inspire Your guardian219 to give thanks
for that in which You have favored him,
inspire us with the like concerning him,
grant him an authority from You to help him,220
open for him an easy opening,221
aid him with Your mightiest pillar,
brace up his back,222
strengthen his arm,223
guard him with Your eye,
defend him with Your safeguarding,
help him with Your angels,
and assist him with Your most victorious troops!224
Through him
establish Your Book, Your bounds, Your laws,
and the norms of Your Messenger’s Sunna
(Your blessings, O God,
be upon him and his Household),
bring to life the guideposts of Your religion,
deadened by the wrongdoers,
burnish the rust of injustice from Your way,
sift the adversity from Your road,
eliminate those who deviate from Your path,
and erase those who seek crookedness in Your straightness!
Make his side mild toward Your friends,
stretch forth his hand over Your enemies,
give us
his clemency, his mercy,
his tenderness, his sympathy,
and make us
his hearers and obeyers,
strivers toward his good pleasure,
assistants in helping him and defending him,
and brought near through that to You
and Your Messenger
(Your blessings, O God,
be upon him and his Household).
O God,
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,225
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 You are Ever-turning, All-compassionate226
and the Best of forgivers,
and place us with them in the Abode of Peace,227
through Your mercy,
O Most Merciful of the merciful!
O God,
this is the Day of ‘Arafa,
a day which You have made noble, given honor, and magnified.
Within it You have spread Your mercy,
showed kindness through Your pardon,
and made plentiful Your giving,
and by it You have been bounteous toward Your servants.
I am Your servant whom You favored before creating him
and after creating him.
You made him one of those whom You
guided to Your religion,
gave success in fulfilling Your right,
preserved through Your cord,
included within Your party,
and directed aright to befriend Your friends
and show enmity to Your enemies.
Then You commanded him,
but he did not follow Your commands,
You restricted Him,
but he did not heed Your restrictions,
You prohibited him from disobedience toward You,
but he broke Your command by doing what You had prohibited,
not in contention with You,
nor to display pride toward You;
on the contrary, his caprice228 called him
to that which You had set apart and cautioned against,
and he was helped in that by Your enemy and his enemy.
So he went ahead with it
knowing Your threat,
hoping for Your pardon,
and relying upon Your forbearance,
though he was the most obligated of Your servants –
given Your kindness toward him –
not to do so.
Here I am, then, before You,
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 Your forgiveness,
asking shelter in Your mercy,
and certain that
no sanctuary-giver will give me sanctuary from You
and no withholder will hold me back from You.
So act kindly toward me,
just as You act kindly
by Your shielding him who commits sins,
be munificent toward me,
just as You are munificent
by pardoning him who throws himself before You,
and show kindness to me,
just as it is nothing great for You to show kindness
by forgiving him who expectantly hopes in You!
Appoint for me in this day an allotment
through which I may attain
a share of Your good pleasure,
and send me not back destitute
of that with which Your worshipers return
from among Your servants!
Though I have not forwarded
the righteous deeds
which they have forwarded,
I have forwarded the profession of Your Unity
and the negation from You
of opposites, rivals, and likenesses,
I have come to You by the gateways
by which You have commanded
that people come,
and I have sought nearness to You
through that without seeking nearness through which
none gains nearness to You.
Then I followed all this
with repeated turning toward You,
lowliness and abasement before You,
opinion of You,
and trust in what is with You;
and to that I coupled hope in You,
since the one who hopes in You
is seldom disappointed!
I asked You with the asking of one
vile, lowly,
pitiful, poor,
fearful, seeking sanctuary;
all that in fear and pleading
seeking refuge and asking shelter,
not presumptuous through the pride of the proud,
nor exalting myself with the boldness of the obedient,
nor presumptuous of the intercession of the interceders.
For I am still the least of the least
and the lowliest of the lowly,
like a dust mote or less!
O He who does not hurry the evildoers
nor restrain those living in ease!229
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 You as one insolent!
I am he who disobeyed You with forethought!
I am he who hid myself from Your servants
and blatantly showed myself to You!230
I am he who was awed by Your servants
and felt secure from You!
I am he who dreaded not Your penalty
and feared not Your severity!
I am the offender against himself!
I am the hostage to his own affliction!
I am short in shame!
I am long in suffering!
By the right of him whom You have distinguished
among Your creation
and by him whom You have chosen
for Yourself!
By the right of him whom You have selected
from among Your creatures
and by him whom You have picked
for Your task!
By the right of him the obeying of whom You have joined
to obeying You,
and by him the disobeying of whom You have made
like disobeying You!
And by the right of him whose friendship You have bound
to Your friendship
and by him whose enmity You have linked
to Your enmity!
Shield me in this day of mine,
by that through which You shield
him who prays fervently to You
while disavowing
and him who seeks refuge in Your forgiveness
while repenting!
Attend to me
with that through which You attend to the people of
obedience toward You,
proximity to You,
and rank with You!
Single me out,
as You single him out who
fulfils Your covenant,
fatigues himself for Your sake alone,
and exerts himself in Your good pleasure!
Take me not to task for
my neglect in respect to You,
my transgressing the limit in Your bounds,
and stepping outside Your ordinances!
Draw me not on little by little by granting me a respite,231
like the drawing on little by little
of him who withholds from me the good he has
by not sharing with You in letting favor down upon me!
Arouse me from
the sleep of the heedless,
the slumber of the prodigal,
and the dozing of the forsaken!
Take my heart to that in which You have
employed the devout,
enthralled the worshipers,
and rescued the remiss!
Give me refuge from that which will
keep me far from You,
come between me and my share from You,
and bar me from that which I strive for in You!
Make easy for me
the road of good deeds toward You,
racing to them from where You have commanded,
and coveting them as You desire!
Efface me not along with
those whom You efface
for thinking lightly of what You have promised!
Destroy me not with
those whom You destroy
for exposing themselves to Your hate!
Annihilate me not among
those whom You annihilate
for deviating from Your roads!
Deliver me from the floods of trial,
save me from the gullets of affliction,
and grant me sanctuary from being seized by respite!232
Come between me and the enemy who misguides me,
the caprice which ruins me,
and the failing which overcomes me!
Turn not away from me
with the turning away in wrath
from one with whom You are not pleased!
Let me not lose heart in expecting from You,
lest I be overcome by despair of Your mercy!
Grant me not that which I cannot endure,
lest You weigh me down
with the surplus of Your love which You load upon me!
Send me not from Your hand,
the sending of him who possesses no good,
toward whom You have no need,
and who turns not back [to You]!
Cast me not with the casting of him who has
fallen from the eye of Your regard
and been wrapped in degradation from You!
Rather take my hand [and save me] from
the falling of the stumblers,
the disquiet of the deviators,
the slip of those deluded,
and the plight of the perishers!
Release me from that with which You have afflicted
the ranks of Your servants and handmaids
and make me reach the utmost degrees of him
about whom You are concerned,
towards whom You show favor,
and with whom You are pleased,
so that You let him live as one praiseworthy
and take him to You as one felicitous!
Collar me with the collar of abstaining from that which
makes good deeds fail
and takes away blessings!
Impart to my heart restraint before
ugly works of evil
and disgraceful misdeeds!
Divert me not
by that which I cannot reach except through You
from doing that which alone makes You pleased with me!233
Root out from my heart the love of this vile world,
which keeps from everything which is with You,
bars from seeking the mediation to You,234
and distracts from striving for nearness to You!
Embellish for me solitude
in prayer whispered to You
by night and by day!
Give me a preservation which will
bring me close to dread of You,
cut me off from committing things made unlawful by You,
and spare me from captivation by dreadful sins!
Give me purification from the defilement of disobedience,
take away from me the filth of offenses,
dress me in the dress of Your well-being,
cloak me in the cloak of Your release,
wrap me in Your ample favors,
and clothe me in Your bounty and Your graciousness!
Strengthen me with Your giving success
and Your pointing the right way,
help me toward righteous intention,
pleasing words,
and approved works,
and entrust me not to my force and my strength
in place of Your force and Your strength!
Degrade me not on the day You raise me up to meet You,
disgrace me not before Your friends,
make me not forget remembering You,
take not away from me thanking You,
but enjoin it upon me in states of inattention
when the ignorant are heedless of Your boons,
and inspire me to
laud what You have done for me
and confess to what You have conferred upon me!
Place my beseeching You above the beseeching of the beseechers
and my praise of You above the praise of the praisers!
Abandon me not with my neediness for You,
destroy me not for what I have done for You,235
and slap not my brow with that with which
You slap the brow of those who contend with You,
for I am submitted to You.
I know
that the argument is Yours,
that You are closest to bounty,
most accustomed to beneficence,
worthy of reverent fear,
and worthy of forgiveness,236
that You are closer to pardoning
than to punishing,
and that You are 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 You dislike
and not commit what You have prohibited;
and make me die the death of him
whose light runs before him and on his right hand!237
Abase me before Yourself
and exalt me before Your creatures,
lower me when I am alone with You
and raise me among Your servants,
free me from need for him who has no need of me
and increase me in neediness and poverty toward You!
Give me refuge from
the gloating of enemies,
the arrival of affliction,
lowliness and suffering!
Shield me in what You see from me,
the shielding of him who
would have power over violence
had he no clemency,
and would seize for misdeeds
had he no lack of haste!
When You desire for a people a trial or an evil,
deliver me from it,
for I seek Your shelter;
and since You have not stood me in the station of disgrace
in this world of Yours,
stand me not in such a station
in the next world of Yours!
Couple for me the beginnings of Your kindnesses with their ends
and the ancient of Your benefits with the freshly risen!
Prolong not my term with a prolonging
through which my heart will harden!238
Strike me not with a striking
that will take away my radiance!239
Visit me not with
a meanness that will diminish my worth
or a decency 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 Your threat,
take precautions against Your leaving no excuses240
and Your warning,
and tremble at the recitation of Your verses!
Fill my night with life by keeping me awake therein for
worshipping You,
solitude with vigil for You,
exclusive devotion to reliance upon You,
setting my needs before You,
and imploring that You will
set my neck free from the Fire
and grant me sanctuary from Your chastisement,
within which its inhabitants dwell!
Leave me not
blindly wandering in my insolence241
or inattentive in my perplexity for a time,242
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 You devise,
replace me not with another,
change not my name,243
transform not my body,244
appoint me not
a mockery for Your creatures,
a laughing-stock for Yourself,
a follower of anything but Your good pleasure,
a menial servant for anything but avenging You!
Let me find
the coolness of Your pardon
and the sweetness of
Your mercy,
Your repose,
Your ease,
and the garden of Your bliss!245
Let me taste,
through some of Your boundless plenty,
the flavor of
being free for what You love
and striving in what brings about proximity
with You and to You,
and give me a gift from among Your gifts!
Make my commerce profitable246
and my return without loss,247
fill me with fear of Your station,
make me yearn for the meeting with You,
and allow me to repent with an unswerving repentance
along with which You let no sins remain,
small or large,
and leave no wrongs, open or secret!
Root out rancor toward the faithful from my breast,248
bend my heart toward the humble,
be toward me as You are toward the righteous,
adorn me with the adornment of the Godfearing,
appoint for me
a goodly report249 among those yet to come
and a growing remembrance among the later folk,
and take me to the plain of those who came first!250
Complete the lavishness of Your favor upon me,
clothe me in its repeated generosities,
fill my hand with Your benefits,
drive Your generous gifts to me,
make me the neighbor of the best of Your friends
in the Gardens which You have adorned for Your chosen,
and wrap me in Your noble presents
in the stations prepared for Your beloveds!
Appoint for me
a resting place with You
where I may seek haven in serenity,
and a resort to which I may revert
and rest my eyes,
weigh not against me my dreadful misdeeds,
destroy me not on the day the secrets are tried,251
eliminate from me every doubt and uncertainty,
appoint for me a way in the truth from every mercy,
make plentiful for me the portions of gifts
from Your granting of awards,
and fill out for me the shares of beneficence
from Your bestowal of bounty!
Make my heart trust in what is with You
and my concern free for what is Yours,
employ me in that in which You employ Your pure friends,
drench my heart with Your obedience when intellects are distracted,
and combine within me
independence, continence,
ease, release,
health, plenty,
tranquility, and well-being!
Make not fail
my good deeds
through my disobedience that stains them
or my private times of worship
through the instigations of Your trial!
Safeguard my face from asking
from anyone in the world,
and drive me far from begging
for that which is with the ungodly!
Make me not an aid to the wrongdoers,
nor their hand and helper in erasing Your Book!
Defend me whence I know not with a defense
through which You protect me!
Open toward me the gates of Your repentance, Your mercy,
Your clemency, and Your boundless provision!
Surely I am one of those who beseech You!
And complete Your favor toward me!
Surely You are the best of those who show favor!
Place the rest of my life in the hajj and the ‘umrah
seeking Your face,
O Lord of the worlds!
And may God bless Muhammad and his Household, the good, the pure, and peace be upon him and them always and forever!