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THE
PRAYERS AND SUPPLICATIONS OF GOD’S MESSENGER
God’s
Messenger prayed to God at every step he took. When we look
through the books of Tradition (Hadith), we see that he never
neglected prayer in any situation. Prayer is, as mentioned
before, a mystery of servanthood to God, and God’s Messenger
is the foremost in servanthood, so far so that in the
declaration of faith - I bear witness there is no god but God; I
also bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger -
first we declare that he is a servant and then a Messenger.
Whatever he intended to do, he referred it to God through
prayer.
God is
‘the Creator of us and whatever we do’. Although we should
take necessary precautions and follow precedents in order to
accomplish things in this material world, where the principle of
‘cause and effect’ has a special place, we should never
forget that everything ultimately depends on God to come into
existence. So, action and prayer should be combined in
everything we do. This is also what is required by our belief in
the Unity of God.
As with
every virtue, God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and
blessings, was the foremost in the knowledge of God, and
therefore in love of, and paradoxically, fear of Him. He was
perfectly conscious that everything, from the smallest to the
greatest, depends on God Almighty for its existence and
subsistence. Whatever God wills, happens: When He wills a thing,
His command is to say to it ‘Be’, and it is (Ya
Sin, 36.82). God has made the existence of things and the
operation of the universe dependant upon ‘laws’ and the
fulfillment of prerequisites. Fully aware of this fact, God’s
Messenger never failed to do what he had to do, and then,
combining action with prayer, left the result to God with
absolute confidence in Him. The supplications he made have been
transmitted to us. When we read them, we see that they contain
deep meaning and accord exactly with the circumstances he made
them in. They reflect profound belief, deep sincerity, absolute
submission and complete confidence.
For
example, he advises us:
When
you go to bed, do wudu’ as you do before daily
prayers and say this prayer:
O
God! I have, in hope (of Your Mercy) and fear (of Your
wrath), submitted myself to You, referred my affairs to
You, and taken refuge in You. There is no refuge, nor
source of safety from Your wrath, except You. I have
believed in the Book You sent down, and the Prophet you
raised.1
Without
sins, a soul is like a polished mirror or a white piece of
cloth. Sins are dirt covering the soul. In order to clean the
soul of dirt, that is, in order to purify it of sins, one should
turn to God in repentance and ask for His forgiveness. The
following is one of the prayers which the Prophet said in order
to ask for God’s forgiveness, although he himself was sinless,
and advised us to say:
O
God! Put between me and errors a distance as great as that
which you put between east and west! O God! Clean me of my
errors as a white garment is cleaned of dirt!2
The words
used and the comparisons made in this prayer are so meaningful
that their explanation may fill a whole volume.
The
following are some more examples of his supplications, as
precise and comprehensive as the others:
O
God! I ask You for the whole of good, including what is at
hand and what is deferred; what I already know and what I do
not know. I take refuge in You from every evil, including
what is at hand and what is deferred; what I already know
and what I do not know.3
O
God! There is nothing to hinder what You will grant, nor
anything to grant what You hinder! No wealthy one can do us
good, as wealth belongs to You.4
O
God! I have not told everything, nor have I taken an oath,
nor have I made a vow, nor have I done anything, which You
did not previously will. Whatever You willed, it is, and
whatever You did not will, it is not. There is no strength
nor power save with You, and You are indeed All-Powerful
over everything. O God! Whatever prayer I have said, let it
be for whomever You have mercy for, and whatever curse I
have called down, let it be for whomever You have called
down curses upon. Surely You are my Guardian in this world
and the Hereafter. Make me die as a Muslim and include me
among the righteous.5
O
God! I ask You for content after misfortune, a peaceful life
after death, the pleasure of observing Your Face, and a
desire to meet You. I take refuge in You from wronging
others and from being wronged, from showing animosity and
being subject to animosity, and from erring or committing
unforgivable sins.6
...If
You leave me to myself, then you have left me to weakness,
neediness, sinfulness and erring. I do not depend but on
Your Mercy, so forgive all of my sins, for none but You can
forgive sins; accept my repentance, for You are the
Oft-Relenting and the All-Compassionate.7
O
God! You deserve most to be mentioned and none but You
deserve to be worshipped. You are more helpful than anyone
whose help may be sought, and more affectionate than every
ruler, more generous than anyone who may be asked for
something, and more generous than anyone else who gives. You
are the Monarch, having no partners, and the Unique One
having no like. Everything is perishable except You. You are
never obeyed but by Your leave, and never disobeyed but
within Your knowledge. When somebody obeys You, You reward
him; but when someone disobeys You, You forgive him. You
witness everything, nearer to it than any other witness; and
protect everything, nearer to it than any other protector.
You ordained the acts of men and determined their time of
death. You know what is in every mind, and secrets are
manifest to You. The lawful is what You have made lawful,
and the forbidden is what You have forbidden. The religion
is what You have laid down, and the commandment is what You
have decreed. The creation is Your creation, and the
servants are Your servants. You are God, the All-Clement,
the All-Compassionate, I ask You, for the sake of the light
of Your Face, by which the heavens and earth were
illuminated, and for the sake of every right belonging to
You, and for the sake of those who ask of You, to forgive me
just in this morning and just in this evening, and to
protect me, by Your Power, from Hellfire.8
O
God! I seek refuge in You from any knowledge which gives no
benefit, and from a heart that fears You not, and from a
soul not satisfied, and from prayer that cannot be answered.9
O
God! I ask You for steadfastness in my affairs; I ask you
for resolution in guidance; I ask You for gratitude for Your
bounties and acceptable service to You; I ask You for a
truthful tongue and a sound heart; and I seek refuge in You
from the evil of what You know, and I ask You for the good
of what You know, and I ask for Your forgiveness for what
You already know. Surely You are the Knower of the Unseen.10
O
God! I ask You to enable me to do good and refrain from
vices, and to love the poor, and to forgive me and have
mercy on me, and, when You will people’s deviation and
dissensions and disorder in public life, make me die before
taking part in that disorder. I also ask You for Your love
and the love of whom You love, and the love of the acts
which will make me nearer to Your love.11
O
God! I ask You for the good in the beginning and in the end,
and in its most comprehensive form with its beginning and
result, and its manifest and secret kinds, and for the
highest rank in Paradise.12
O
God! Help me remember You, thank You, and worship You most
properly.13
O
God! I ask You for guidance, fear of You, chastity and
independence of others.14
O
God! Bring all of our affairs to a good conclusion, and
protect us from disgrace and ignominy in the world and from
being tormented in the Hereafter!15
The
Prophet teaches us another comprehensive supplication:
O
God! We ask You for the whole of good for which Your Prophet
Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, asked You, and we
seek refuge in You from every evil from which Your Prophet
Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, sought refuge in
You.16
Prayer
constituted an important aspect of the Prophet’s life. All the
supplications quoted, together with many others which he said
before going to bed, after waking up, while getting dressed or
undressed, on seeing the new moon or witnessing a lunar or solar
eclipse, when a storm broke up or a cloud appeared, before
starting on or returning from a journey, and in times of drought
or heavy rain, etc., have all become keys in the hands of the
great saints like Abu Hasan al-Shadhili, Ahmad Badawi, Ahmad
Rifa‘i and ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, to knock on the door of
God’s Mercy. This shows that he is the foremost in prayer, and
that he is the greatest of the Prophets.
1. Bukhari, “Da‘awat,”
6; Muslim, “Dhikr,” 56.
2. Bukhari, “Edhan,”
89; Muslim, “Masajid,” 147.
3. I. Hanbal, Musnad,
6.147.
4. Bukhari, “Edhan,”
155; Muslim, “Salat,” 205; Abu Dawud, “Salat,” 139.
5. I. Hanbal, Musnad,
5.191.
6. Nasa’i, “Sahw,”
62; I. Hanbal, 5.191.
7. I. Hanbal, 5.191.
8. Haythami, Majma‘
al-Zawa’id, 10.117.
9. Muslim, “Dhikr,”
73; Abu Dawud, “Witr,” 32.
10. Tirmidhi, “Da‘awat,”
23; Nesa’i, “Sahw,” 61.
11. Tirmidhi, “Tafsir
al-Qur’an,” 39; Imam Malik ibn Anas, Muwatta’,
“Qur’an,” 73.
12. Hakim, Mustadrak,
1.520.
13. Ibid., 1.499.
14. Ibn Ma’ja, “Du‘a,”
2; Muslim, “Dhikr,” 72; Tirmidhi, “Da‘awat,” 73.
15. I. Hanbal, 4.181; Hakim, 3.591.
16. Tirmidhi, “Da‘awat,”
89.
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