“Recite: In the Name of thy Lord who created, created Man of a blood-clot. Recite: And thy Lord is the Most Generous, who taught by the Pen, taught Man that he knew not.” — Holy Qur’an, Sura al-Alaq, 96:1-5, translation by A.J. Arberry.
An Egyptian calligraphy of the first lines of Sura Al-Alaq (The Clot) – the 96th sura of the Holy Qur’an. Verses 1-5 of the sura form the first revelation received by Prophet Muhammad at the Cave of Hira. Photo: Wikipedia.
Compiled and prepared by Abdulmalik Merchant
Publisher/Editor, Simerg
Laylat al-Qadr is the auspicious night during the month of Ramadhan when the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.s.) first received the revelation of the Holy Qur’an, thereby conferring upon him the mantle of Prophethood at the age of forty. The following verse from the Holy Qur’an describe the loftiness of this night:
“Lo! We revealed it on the Night of Power. What will convey unto you what the Night of Power is! The Night of Power is better than a thousand months. The angels and the spirit descend therein, by the permission of their Lord, with all decrees. Peace it is until the rising of the dawn.” — 94:5
The Shia Ismaili Muslims observe Laylat al-Qadr on the 23rd night of Ramadan, in keeping with traditions received through Hazrat Ali (a.s.) and Hazrat Bibi Fatimah (a.s.), and the Imams of the Fatimid dynasty. It is a night of special prayers of supplication to thank God for His Blessings, to petition Him for the forgiveness of our sins, to plead for things for ourselves and our families, and to pray for others. In the Qur’anic verse, 40:60, God says: “Your Lord has said: Supplicate Me and I will respond to you.” A tradition of the Prophet speaks of supplication as the weapon of the man of faith, the centrepole of religion and the light of the heavens and the earth. When the first Shia Imam Hazrat Ali was asked which speech was the best in God’s eyes, he replied: “A great amount of dhikr (remembrance of God), pleading and supplication.” His great grandson, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a.s.) said: “God loves nothing better than that His servants ask from Him.”
As we mark Laylat al-Qadr, we bring you a selection of supplications attributed to Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin (a.s.), who succeeded Imam Husayn (a.s.) after he was martyred in the Battle of Karbala. Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin’s severe illness at the time of the battle disabled him from bearing arms, and moreover Imam Husayn had also refused him to take part in the battle as he was to be the next Imam.
Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin is known as the ‘Ornament of the Worshipers’ and ‘the Imam of the Carpet’ because of the time he spent in prayer. His prayers and supplications have been brought together under the title The Prayers of Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin or As-Sahifa Al-Sajjadiyya, and are impressive for their spirit of devotion.
A SELECTION OF SUPPLICATIONS OF IMAM ZAYN AL-‘ABIDIN
O God,
bless Muhammad and his Household,
respond to my supplication, come near my call,
have mercy on my pleading,
listen to my voice
O God,
take to Yourself, from my soul
what will purify it. And leave for my soul
which will set it right, for surely,
my soul will perish unless you protect it.
O God,
bless Muhammad and his Household,
clothe me in Thy well-being,
wrap me in Thy well-being,
fortify me through Thy well-being,
honour me with Thy well-being,
free me from need through Thy well-being,
donate to me Thy well-being,
bestow upon me Thy well-being,
spread out for me Thy well-being,
set Thy well-being right for me,
and separate me not from Thy well-being
in this world and the next!
O God, I ask pardon from Thee for
the person wronged in my presence
whom I did not help,
the favour conferred upon me
for which I returned no thanks,
the evildoer who asked pardon from me
and whom I did not pardon,
the needy person who asked from me
and whom I preferred not over myself,
the fault of a believer which became evident to me
and which I did not conceal,
and every sin which presented itself to me
and which I failed to avoid.
O God,
bless Muhammad and his Household.
Ward away [evil] from me, by Your gentleness,
feed me through Your favor,
reform me through Your generosity,
heal me through Your goodness,
shade me in Your shelter,
and wrap me in Your pleasure,
and give me success to reach
the most guided of affairs
when affairs confuse me.
O Reliever of worry!
O Remover of grief!
O Merciful in this world and the next
and Compassionate in both!
Bless Muhammad and his Household,
relieve my worry,
and remove my grief!
O God,
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 great!
O God,
bless Muhammad and his Household
and make this
the most fortunate day we have known,
the most excellent companion we have accompanied,
and the best time in which we have lingered!
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!
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!
O God,
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!
O God,
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!
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!
God, lower before them [my parents] 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 God,
thank them for my upbringing,
reward them for honouring me,
and guard them as they guarded me in my infancy!
O God,
I ask from Thee the best in Thy knowledge,
so bless Muhammad and his Household
and decree for me the best!
O Reliever of worry!
O Remover of grief!
O Merciful in this world and the next
and Compassionate in both!
Bless Muhammad and his Household,
relieve my worry,
and remove my grief!
O God,
bless Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad,
take my soul while it is firm in sincerity,
cut off my need for this world,
make my desire for what is with Thee
become a yearning to meet Thee,
and give me true confidence in Thee!
O God,
some rise in the morning
having trust or hope in other than Thee.
I rise in the morning,
and Thou art my trust and my hope in all affairs,
so decree for me those which are best in outcome
and deliver me from misguiding trials,
O Most Merciful of the merciful!
O God, O He Who
singled out Muhammad and his Household for honour,
appointed them the heirs to the prophets,
sealed with them the executors and the Imams,
taught them the knowledge of what has been
and what remains to be,
and made the hearts of the
people incline toward them!
Bless Muhammad and his Household, the pure,
and act toward us with that of which Thou art worthy
in religion, in this world, and in the next world!
Thou art powerful over everything.
Date posted: June 26, 2016.
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The material for this reading was compiled from the following sources:
- Hazrat Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq, Ilm, Volume 8, Number 1 (July – November 1982).
- https://www.al-islam.org/sahifa-al-kamilah-sajjadiyya-imam-zain-ul-abideen/supplications.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Sahifa_al-Sajjadiyya.
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