Concise Supplications for Worldly Needs and the Hereafter

“Say, ‘O Lord, make me fear You as if I see You and help me to be pious before You, do not make me miserable because of my energy to disobey You, chose me for Your determination, bless me with Your measure so I will not love the delay of that which You have hastened and the quickening of what You have delayed. Make me self reliant, benefit me from my hearing, and eyes and make them inherent in me, support me against those who have done injustice to me, and show me Your power in it, O Lord, and make it a delight to my eyes.”’

“I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘O Lord, assist me in the horror of the Day of Judgment, take me out of this world safely, pair me up with the beings having intensely white and deep black eyes ( hur al- ‘ Ayn ) suffice me my needs, the needs of my dependents and the needs of people and include me in Your kindness among Your virtuous servants.’”

“O Lord, I plead to receive from You (my share of) all good which Your knowledge encompasses, I seek protection with You against all evil which is encompassed by Your knowledge, O Lord, I plead before You for good health from You in all of my affairs, I seek protection with You against losses in this world and the torment of the next life.”

“(I begin) in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, O the One who manifests the good things, hides the bad ones, does not rip apart the covering from me (my privacy), O magnanimous in pardoning, O the One who overlooks faults with grace, whose forgiveness is vast, whose hands are wide open with kindness, who is the companion of every whisperer, the end receiver of complaints, who honorably pardons, the great provider of favors, the initiator of bounties before a recipient would deserve it, O Lord, O Master, O Guardian, O Rescuer, grant al-Salat (favors) upon Muhammad and his family, and I plead before You not to place me in the fire.’”

“O Lord, You are my trustee in every distressful condition. You are my hope in all suffering, You are for me in all of my problems, (You are) my trustee and my resources. How many were the distressful conditions wherein the heart weakened, patience ran thin, people near left out and the enemies rejoiced all matters were exhausted? You assisted me in the matters that I had brought before You and complained about them to You, turning away from everyone besides You and You changed it into happiness, removed the hardships and sufficed it (in its removal). You are the patron of all blessings, the provider of all help, the end of all interests, all praise belongs to You a great deal and thanks to You in addition.”

"Say, ‘O Lord, I plead before You through Your Glory, Beauty and Magnanimity to provide me such and such help,’ one should mention one’s wishes.”

“Abu al-Hassan (a.s.) once said to me, ‘Say very often, “O Lord, do not place me among those whose belief is temporary and do not take me out of shortcomings.” I (the narrator) then asked, ‘I know who the people of temporary belief are, but what is the meaning of, ‘Do not take me out of shortcomings?’ The Imam said, ‘In every good deed you may perform just for the sake of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, you should feel within yourself as falling far short; all people in their deeds between them and Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, fall far short from perfect.’”

“Abu Ja’far (a.s.) has said, ‘Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, forgave a man from the village by two words with which he pleaded before Allah. He said, O Lord, if You punish me, it is because I deserve it and if You forgive me it is worthy of You (Your greatness) and (for this) Allah granted him forgiveness.’”

“O the One who guided me to His Ownself and humbled my heart due to its affirming His existence, I plead before You for peace and belief in this world and in the hereafter.”

“Once I saw Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.) praying in the vicinity of al-Ka’bah in the night. He prolonged in standing so much so that he would lean on his right leg once and then on the left leg. Then I heard him saying with a crying voice, ‘O my Master, will You punish me while there is Your love in my heart? If You will do so You will be placing me together with the people with whom, just for Your sake, I had been enemies all along.’”

“I would listen to Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) praying and what he insisted upon most when pleading before Allah was “throught right and virtue” of the five Holy personalities: the Messenger of Allah, Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib, Fatimah al-Zahra, al-Hassan and al-Husayn, recipients of divine supreme covenant. (For example saying, ‘O Lord, throught Muhammad and so and so grant me this and that.’)

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) had instructed us with this supplication to read on Fridays: ‘O Lord, I have relied on Your help in my needs and I have arrived before You on the day of my poverty and destitution. Today I rely on Your forgiveness more than on my deeds; Your mercy is more vast than my sins. Take all of my needs in Your hands; You have power over all of them. They cause no burden for You and I am desperately needy. 1 have never received any good from anyone except You and no one has ever diverted any evil from me except You. I do not have any hope in anyone for my worldly or the affairs of the hereafter except from You, nor do I have any hope in anyone for my day of desperation when people leave me in the hole (the grave) dug for me and I am being left to You, O Lord, with my poverty.’”

“Once I said to Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) ‘Please, pray to Allah for us.’ The Imam said, ‘O Lord, give them truthfulness in their words (Hadith), safe keeping of their trust and punctuality for prayer, O Lord, they are the most deserving, among Your creatures, of Your favors, O Lord, grant them favors.’”

“Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) would say, ‘O Lord, oblige me with the ability to place my trust in You and leave my affairs in Your hands, agree with Your measures, submit to Your command so that I do not love the hastening of what You have delayed or the delay of what You have hastened, O Lord of the worlds.’”

“I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, his hands raised to the sky, ‘O Lord, do not ever leave me to myself, not even for a blinking of an eye, no less or more than that,’ and immediately with this tears flowed down on both sides of his beard. He then turned to me and said, ‘O ibn Ya’fur, Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, left Yunus son of Mathew to his own self for less than a blinking of an eye and that sin came to take place.’ I then asked, ‘May Allah keep you well, did he reach disbelief in it?’ The Imam said, ‘No, but dying in such a condition is destruction.’”

“Once Jibril (Gabriel) came to the Holy Prophet and said, ‘Your Lord says to you, “When you like to worship Me a day or night a true worshipping, raise your hands to Me and say, ‘O Lord, all praise belongs to You, the eternal praise with Your eternity, all praise belongs to You, a great unending deal of praise except by Your knowledge, all praise belongs to You, beyond the limits of all limits except by Your wish and will, all praise belongs to You, a great deal of praise for whose speaker nothing is enough reward except Your happiness, all praise belongs to You, all praise, all favors, all pride, all beauty, all the light, all the majesty, all the might, all greatness, all the world, all the hereafter, all the night, all the day, all the creatures and all good is in Your hand and to You all matters return, its apparent and hidden. “O Lord, all praise belongs to You, the praise for ever, Your trial is well done. Your tribute is glorious, Your bounties are delightful. Your determination is just, Your gifts are generous. Your rewards are handsome and You are the Lord of those on earth and the Lord of those in the heavens. O Lord, all praise belongs to You, a praise in the mighty seven, all praise belongs to You, in the well-stretched earth, all praise belongs to You, to the capability of the servants, all praise belongs to You, to the fill of the lands, all praise belongs to You in the mountains firmly standing, all praise belongs to You in the night when it becomes dark, all praise belongs to You in the day when it is bright, all praise belongs to You, in the hereafter and in the one before, all praise belongs to You, in the, al-Mathani (name of Chapter One of the Holy Quran) and the great Quran. I testify that Allah is free of all defects, I speak of His praise and all of the earth is in His control. On the Day of Judgment the heavens will be folded by His right hand. I testify that You are pure of all defects, our Lord, the Most High, the Most Blessed, the Most Holy, You have created all things by Your power, subdued all things by Your majesty. You are high above all things by Your highness, You are dominant over all things by Your power, You have invented all things by Your wisdom and knowledge, You have commissioned the messengers with Your books and guided the virtuous people by Your permission, supported the believing people with Your victory. You reign the creatures by Your authority, no one deserves to be worshipped except You alone and You have no partner. We do not worship anyone other than You, we do not ask for help from anyone other than You and we do not incline to anyone other than toward You, You are the One before Whom we complain, the end of our hope, our Lord and our owner.’”

“Once Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) on his own initiation said to me, ‘O Mu’awiyah, bear in mind that a man once came to Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) complaining of the delay for the answer to his prayer. Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) asked, “Why do you not pray with the quick for acceptance supplication (prayer quickly accepted)?” The man then said, ‘Please tell me what that supplication is?’ The Imam told him to say, ‘O Lord, I plead before You through Your great name, the greatest one, the glorious one, the magnanimous one, the one treasured and hidden, the light of the truth, and the clear authority in the argument. It is a light with light, a light from a light, a light in a light, a light over a light, a light above all lights, a light that illuminates all darkness, crumbles down all hardships, all condemned devils and every hardheaded tyrant. (It is such) a light that the earth cannot hold and the sky cannot not withstand. With it every frightened person feels secure, every magician’s magic will turn invalid, and the transgression of every transgressor, the envy of every envier will turn ineffective. Due to its greatness the ocean splits open, the ships sail in safety when the angel speak with it, the waves will have no way to it and that is Your greatest of great, glorious of glorious name, the great light with which You have named Yourself and with it You have established Your power over Your Throne. I turn to You through Muhammad and his family and I plead before You to grant al-Salat (favors) upon Muhammad and his family, to provide me help in such and such of my needs. (One then should mention his wishes)”’

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) dictated this supplication to me and it is of universal benefit for this and the hereafter. Say after thanking and praising Allah: “O Lord, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the Forbearing, the Magnanimous, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the Majestic, the Wise, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the One and only, the Conqueror, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the King, the Compeller, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the Merciful, the Forgiver, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, Whose retribution is most intense, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the Great, the Most High, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, The Hearer, the Seeing, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the Defender, the Most Powerful, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the Lenient, the Appreciator, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the Praiseworthy, the Glorious, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the Forgiving, the Loving, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the Compassionate, the Obliging, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the Forbearing, the recompensing. You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the Generous, the Exalted, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the One, the Only, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the Unseen, the Ever Present, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the Apparent and Hidden, You are Allah, no one deserves to be worshipped except You, Who has the knowledge of all things. Your light is complete. You guide, You extend Your hand and give, O our Lord, Your face is the Most Honorable face, Your direction is the best direction. Your gift is the best gift and the most pleasant. When You, our Lord, are obeyed You appreciate, when You are disobeyed You forgive whoever You will. You answer the helpless and remove evil, accept repentance, and ignore sins. Your gifts cannot be matched and Y our bounties cannot be counted. The words of praising people cannot reach (the limits of) Your praise. “O Lord, grant al-Salat (favors) upon Muhammad and his family, grant them happiness quicker, grant them joy, comfort and delight. Make me feel the test of their happiness; destroy their enemies, among the Jinn and human beings. Confer upon us goodness in this world and in the hereafter and protect us against the fire, make us of those who will suffer no fear and sadness and make me of those who exercise patience and place their trust in their Lord, keep me steadfast with the solid word in this life and in the hereafter, bestow upon me blessings in life and in death, on the Day of Judgment, resurrection, reckoning, the balance and in the horrors of the Day of Judgment, keep me safe on the bridge, help me pass over it, grant me beneficial knowledge, true certainty, piety, restraint from worldly things, fear of You and concern that make me reach Your success, will not take me away from You, make me loveable and not hated, receiving support, not betrayed, and grant me all the good of this and the hereafter that I know or that which I do not know, protect me against all evil in its entirety, that which I know and that which I do not know.’”

“Once I said to Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) ‘Will you instruct me with a special supplication?’ The Imam said, ‘Yes, I will do so, say, “O the One, the Glorious, the Only, O self-sufficient. Who has not given birth to anyone and is not born from anyone and Who has no partner, O Majestic, O Magnanimous, O Compassionate, O Obliging, O Hearer of supplications, O the Most Generous of those who are asked for help, O the Best of those who give, O Allah, O Allah, O Allah, You have said, ‘Noah pleaded before Us for help and We are the best to answer.’ “Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) then said, ‘The Messenger of Allah would say, “Yes, indeed. You are the best Who answers, the best to be called for help, and the best to plead with, I plead before You through the light of Your face, through Your majesty, Your power, Your might, I plead before You through Your kingdom, through Your formidable coats of arm and Your community, the members of Your community all of them, through Muhammad (a.s.) and the successors after Muhammad to grant al-Salat (favors) upon Muhammad and his family and provide me help in such and such matters.” (One should mention one’s wishes).”’

“Once I asked Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) to instruct me with a supplication with which I can pray to Allah. The Imam agreed and told me to say, ‘O the One who is my hope in all that is good, O the One whose anger is not feared (in certain cases) in every mistake, O the One who grants a great deal for very little, O the One who gives to whoever asks Him for help out of compassion and kindness, O the One who gives to those who do not even ask for help and do not even know Him, grant al-Salat (favors) upon Muhammad and his family, bestow upon me for my plea all the good of the world and the hereafter; what You have given me already is not just a little and increase for me from Your vast generosity, O the Magnanimous One.’”

“O Lord, raise the degree of my knowledge upwards, do not allow any enemy or envier to become covetous of me, protect me standing, sitting, awake or sleeping. O Lord, forgive me, favor me, guide me to Y our straight path, save me from the heat of hell, shake off of me my liabilities and sins and make me of the best of best of the world.”

“I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘(O Allah) grant mercy upon me in the matters for which I do not have the ability to remain patient.’”

“I asked him to instinct me with a supplication. He asked, ‘Why do you not pray with the supplication of pleading before Allah for help?’ I (the narrator) then asked, ‘What is the supplication of pleading before Allah for help?’ The Imam said say, ‘O Lord, the Lord of the seven heavens and all that is in between, the Lord of the great Throne, Lord of Jibril (Gabriel), Michael and Israfeil, Lord of the great Quran, and Lord of Muhammad, the last of the prophets, I plead before You through that with which You keep the heavens, with which You keep the earth, with which You disperse the gatherings and place together what is scattered, with which You provide sustenance to the living, with which You keep the counts of sands, the weight of the mountains and the measurement of the oceans.’ Then ask Allah’s al-Salat (favor) for Muhammad and his family and ask for help and insist pleading before Allah for help.’”

“O Lord, fill my heart with love for You, concern about You, affirmation of and belief in Your existence, fear from You and longing toward You, O Glorious, O Magnanimous. O Lord, make me love meeting You, and such meeting to be good, mercy, and full of blessings, join me with the virtuous and do not leave me behind with the wicked ones. Join me with the virtuous of the past and those to come, lead me on the path of virtuous ones, assist me against my soul by that with which You assist the virtuous ones against their souls, do not turn me in the evil from which You want to rescue me, O Lord of the worlds. I plead before You for a belief free of timing before meeting You, with which You will keep me living, cause me to die, and raise me up with it when You will resurrect me. Free my heart from showing off, desire for popularity, and doubt in Your religion. “O Lord, give me victory in Your religion, energy to worship, understanding of Your creatures, support me twice with Your kindness (in this life and hereafter), brighten my face with Your light, make me interested in what is with You, cause me to die in Your way and in Your religion, the religion of Your Messenger. “O Lord, I seek protection against laziness, old age, cowardice, stinginess, carelessness, hardheartedness, weakness, and destitution. I seek protection with You, O Lord against a soul that does not become satisfied, the heart that does not become humble, the supplication that is not heard, and the prayer (formal) that does not yield any benefit. I seek protection with You for myself, my family, and my children against condemned Satan. “O Lord, no one can protect me against Y ou, I do not find any place to hide from You, do not humiliate me and do not throw me in perdition and in torment. I plead before You to keep me to remain steadfast in Your religion, affirm Your book, and follow Y our messenger. “O Lord, speak of me with Your mercy and do not speak of me with my sins, accept from me (my good deeds), increase for me from Your generosity; I am interested toward You. O Lord, make my reward for speaking and sitting to be Your happiness with me, make my deeds and supplication purely for You, make my reward paradise through Y our mercy, place me together with all I pleaded for before You and increase for me through Your favor; I am greatly interested toward You. O Lord, the stars have disappeared, eyes have gone to sleep, You are living and guarding, the dark night cannot disappear from You nor the starry skies or the well-stretched earth, the choppy ocean, or the darkness upon darkness. You send mercy upon whomever You will among Your creatures; You know the secret glance of the eyes and what the hearts conceal. I testify to what You have testified for yourself, to what Your angels have testified, and people of knowledge have testified that no one deserves to be worshipped except You, the Majestic, the Wise. Whoever does not testify to what You have testified for yourself. Your angels have testified, and people of knowledge have testified, then write my testimony in place of their testimony. O Lord, You are the Peace, and from You is peace. I plead before You, O the Owner of glory and magnanimity to set my neck free of the fire.’”

“Once abu Dharr came to the Messenger of Allah while Jibril (Gabriel) was, in the form of Dihyah al-Kalbi (one of the companions of the Holy Prophet), in a private meeting with the Messenger of Allah. When he saw them he turned away from them and did not want to disrupt their conversation. Jibril (Gabriel) said, ‘O Muhammad this was abu Dharr passed by us and did not offer us the greeting of peace, had he done so we would have responded to his greeting. O Muhammad, he has a supplication with which he prays, and is well-known among the inhabitants of the heaven. When I will ascend ask him about it.’ “When Jibril (Gabriel) left, abu Dharr came to the Holy Prophet and the Messenger of Allah said to him, ‘O abu Dharr what stopped you from offering us the greeting of peace when you passed by?’ He said, ‘O Messenger of Allah I thought the person with you was Dihyah al-Kalbi in a private meeting for something of your affairs.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘That was Jibril (Gabriel), O abu Dharr and he said, “Had he (abu Dharr) offered us the greeting of peace we would have responded to his greeting.’’ When abu Dharr learned that it was Jibril (Gabriel) he, Allah knows well, how deeply he regretted his not offering the greeting. The Messenger of Allah asked, ‘What is the supplication with which you pray? Jibril (Gabriel) has informed me that you have a prayer whereby you implore and it is well-known in heaven’ He said, ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah, I say, “O Lord, I plead before You for peace and belief in You, affirmation of Your prophet, well-being and safety from all misfortunes, to be thankful for the well-being and safety and free of want from the people.’”

“I acquired this supplication from abu Ja’far, Muhammad ibn Ali (a.s.). Abu Ja’far (a.s.) would call it al-Jami’ (comprehensive supplication): “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, I testify that no one deserves to be worshipped except Allah alone, Who has no partner and I testify that Muhammad is His servant and messenger. I believe in Allah, in all of His messengers, in all that He has revealed to all the messengers, that the promise of Allah is true, meeting Him is true, Allah has spoken the truth, and the messengers have preached. “All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds, all glory belongs to Allah whenever anyone glorifies Allah, the way Allah loves to be glorified, all praise belongs to Allah whenever anyone praises Allah in the way Allah loves to be praised, no one deserves to be worshipped except Allah whenever anyone expresses this declaration and testimony as Allah loves to be spoken of as such, Allah is greater than can be described, whenever anyone speaks of Allah as such and as Allah loves to be spoken of as such. “O Lord, I plead before You for the opening of virtue and good and its end, its pleasures and benefits, its blessings and what I know of as well as what I do not know of and my memory has fallen short to keep them. “O Lord, plan for me the means of knowing it (good and virtue), open for me its doors, cover me with the blessings of Y our kindness, oblige me with protection against slipping away from Your religion, cleanse my heart from doubt, do not allow the immediate issue of living of this life divert my attention away from the rewards of the next life, engage my heart in saving what You will not accept my ignorance of it. Humble my tongue for all virtuous deeds, cleanse my heart from showing off, do not allow it (showing off) running in my joints, but making my deeds stand pure. “O Lord, I seek protection with You against the evil of all kinds of indecency, the apparent and the hidden, its carelessness and all of whatever the condemned Satan wants to involve me in, whatever a hostile ruler wants from me, which Your knowledge encompass and You have the power to divert away from me. “Lord I seek protection with You against the encounters of Jinns and human beings, their anger, evil altercations, evil plots, sinful exposures of the Jinn and human beings that may cause me to slip away from my religion, may ruin my hereafter, harm me in my living or an incident of misfortune from them that I may not have the power to deal with, or patience to bear. Do not cause me to suffer such things, O Lord, and its hardships that may prevent me from speaking of You and divert me away from Your worship. You are the protector, the defender, and the savior from all such things. I plead before You O Lord, for comfort in my living as long as You will allow me to live, a living with which I will be able to obey You and earn Your happiness with me, and move thereby to the house of life tomorrow. Do not provide me a sustenance that may cause me to transgress, do not afflict me with a poverty that gives me misery due to constraint, grant me a share good enough for my hereafter, a living that is vast, pleasing, and delightful in my worldly life. Do not make the world a prison for me, or departing it a sorrowful to me, provide me protection against its trials and tribulations. Make my deeds in it acceptable, and my efforts appreciated. “O Lord, whoever intends evil against me, plan against him similarly, whoever plots against me, plan against him and protect me the concern of that which has causes me concern, plot against whoever plots against me; You are the best devisor, cause blindness to the eyes of the unbelievers, oppressors, rebellious ones and enviers against me. “O Lord, send upon me comfort and calm from You and dress me up with Your protective coat of arms, save me with Your safe guarding cover, beautify me with Your well-being, good and beneficial health. Make my words and deeds true. Grant me blessings in my children, my family and my property. “O Lord, forgive me for whatever I have done before, whatever I will do, whatever I neglected, did intentionally, out of laziness, openly or secretly. O the Most Merciful of all merciful ones.’”

“Say, ‘O Lord, increase my sustenance, prolong my life, forgive my sins and make me of those whom You employ to support Your religion and do not replace me by others.’”

“O the One who appreciates the very little and pardons a great deal, who is forgiving and merciful, forgive my sins, the pleasures of which are gone and the consequences have remained.”

Ya’qub ibn Shu’ayb from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) who has said the following: “O light, O Holy, O the First of the beings in the beginning, O the Last of the beings of the later times, O the Beneficent, O the Merciful, forgive my such sins that change the bounties, forgive my such sins that bring in misfortunes, forgive my such sins that crush the protections, forgive my such sins that send down evil conditions, forgive my such sins that assist the enemy, forgive my such sins that hasten destruction, forgive my such sins that cut off hope, forgive my such sins that darken the space, forgive my such sins that remove the cover and grace, forgive my such sins that repulse the prayer and forgive my such sins that turn away the rain from the sky.”

“Say, ‘O my asset in my pain and suffering, O my companion in my severe hardships, O my benefactor, and O my abundant rain fall whenever I may desire.’ “The Imam said that of the supplications of Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) is the following: ‘O Lord, You have written down the consequences, know the news, have information about the secrets, You have taken over the place between us and (our) hearts, thus, secrets are public to You and the hearts have over flown (with desire to come to you). Your command upon a thing, whenever You will, is only Your saying, ‘Be,’ it then comes into existence, say through Your kindness to Your obedience to enter in all and every part of my parts and do not depart from me until I will meet You, and say through Your kindness to disobedience to You to move out of all and every part of my parts and do not ever approach me thereafter until I will meet You, provide me sustenance in this world but make me live with a reduced amount and do not isolate me whenever I desire it, (sustenance) O the Beneficent one.’”

“Once Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) gave me this supplication: ‘All praise belongs to Allah, the Owner, and worthy of praise, the end and the location of all praise. Those who believe in His Oneness have achieved purity, those who worship Him have found guidance, those who obey Him have triumphed and those who have sought His protection have found security. O Lord, O possessor of generosity and glory, beautiful praise and thanks, I plead before You like one who has humbled himself before You with his neck, rubbed his nose on the ground before You, as well as his face, humiliated his soul before You, whose tears have flooded for fear from You, and have continued flowing, who has confessed to his sins before You, his blunders have disgraced him before You, his crimes have made him shunned in Your presence, his power has weakened before You, his resources have diminished, his means of trickery are cut off, all falsehood has disappeared from him, his sins have forced him to lowly positions before You, and to humble himself before You, and to beg You for help. I plead before You like the plea of one who is more desirous in pleading before You than the one pleading as above, who prays before You like him and begs for help more intensely than him. “O Lord, favor the destitution of my expression, humility of my position, my seat and humility before You with my neck. O Lord, I plead before You for guidance against straying, understanding against blindness and intelligence against transgression. O Lord, I plead before You to help me praise You the most in comfort, bear beautiful patience in hardships, the best thanks to You whenever it is the occasion to thank and submission in the doubtful conditions. I plead before You for power to obey You, weakness in disobedience, for the ability to flee to You from You, and to seek nearness to You, so that, O Lord, I seek Your happiness, give preference to doing what makes You happy with me even though it may anger the people, while I seek Your satisfaction. “O Lord, who can I hope if You do not have kindness for me, or who cares for me if You keep me far away, or whose forgiveness benefits me, if You punish me, or whose gifts should I hope for if You deprive me of Your gifts, or who can have honor for me in his hands if You degrade me, whose degrading of me can harm me if You honor me. “O Lord, how bad are my deeds, how obnoxious are my acts, how brutal is my heart, how lengthy are my (worldly) yearnings, how short is my life that has made it so daring to disobey my creator! “O Lord, how good is Your trial for me, how manifest are Your bounties upon me! Your bounties upon me have become so much that I cannot even count them. My thanks to You for the preferences that You have given to me, in the joy for the bounties, is so little that 1 have subjected myself to punishment. I have forgotten speaking of You, have indulged in ignorance after knowledge, crossed over from justice to transgression, from virtuous deeds to sin and to fleeing for fear and sorrow. How small and little are my virtuous deeds compared to my numerous sins, how many and great are my sins compared to the small size of my structure, and weak limbs! “O Lord, how lengthy are my (worldly) hopes in my short life, how short is my life in my lengthy hopes, how hideous is my inside and my outside! O Lord, I have no ground if argued, no excuse to find excuses, no gratitude if I would be tried or if I am favored unless You assist me to be grateful for the favor You have done to me. “O Lord, how light will be my balance tomorrow if You will not make it weigh heavy! How reckless is my tongue if You do not keep it in place! How black is my face if You do not whiten it! O Lord, how would I deal with my sins of the past that have crushed my limbs! O Lord, how can I seek worldly desires and weep for failing to achieve them but do not weep while my regrets for disobedience have intensified and my transgression has gone to the extremities! O Lord, the worldly motives prompted me and I quickly responded, and relied upon them willingly. The motives for the gains of the hereafter prompted me but I lingered and delayed to respond and to move faster to them like the fast moving to the worldly motives, its worthless vanities, smashed up beyond use materials and its fast disappearing mirage. “O Lord, You have frightened and encouraged me and have argued against me to prove me a slave and have sufficed me in my sustenance, but I felt secure from Your warning and lagged behind in acting upon Your encouragement, did not trust Your guarantee, and took Your argument lightly. “O Lord, change my feeling of security from Your warning in this world into fear, my procrastination into zeal and zest and my taking Your argumentation against me lightly into serious concern and anxiety and then make me to be happy with the share of sustenance that You have assigned for me, O Magnanimous, O Magnanimous, I plead before You through Your great name so You be happy (with me) when You are angry, I beg for relief in pain and suffering, light in darkness, and understanding in the confusion of tribulation. “O Lord, make my shield against sins formidable, my position in paradise high, my deeds all accepted, my virtuous deeds to come in multiples and pure. I seek protection with You against all misfortune, the apparent and hidden, against overeating and overdrinking, against the evil of what I know and that which I do not know. I seek protection with You against my buying ignorance at the cost of knowledge, harshness at the cost of forbearing, injustice at the cost of justice, cutting off good relations with relatives at the cost of maintaining good relations with relatives, intolerance at the cost of exercising patience, straying at the cost of guidance and disbelief at the cost of belief.”’ Ibn Mahbub has narrated from Jamil ibn Salih that he has narrated that Ali ibn Salih had a similar supplication and at the end he has added, “Amin, O Lord, of the worlds.”

“Say this prayer, ‘O Lord, I plead before You for Your favor that cannot be achieved except with Your happiness, for (Your help to) come out of all disobedience that cannot happen without Your approval, for (Your help to) enter into all that makes You happy, for safety from all dangers, for departure from all major sins that have happened from me, willingly or have slipped out mistakenly, or have passed in my mind due to satanic induction. “I plead before You to place fear in me that can keep me within the limits of Your approval, shatter away from me all lustful evil thoughts that have passed in my desires, that have made my opinion slip away to crossover Your lawful limits. I plead before You, O Lord, to take the best that You know, and ignore all the evil that You find or mistakes that I had no knowledge of or did have the knowledge thereof. “I plead before You for increased sustenance, restraining to suffice with basic needs, coming out of confusing conditions with clearly stated instructions, correctness in evidence, truth in all circumstances, yielding to justice for people against or for my soul, dealing humbly in yielding to justice in all circumstances of anger and contentment, avoiding small or greater degrees of transgression in my words or deeds, completion of Your bounties in all things, and thankfulness to You for it so You are content with happiness. “I plead before You for guidance in all the good choices wherein choices exist and are easy to achieve not that which is hard to achieve. O Magnanimous, O Magnanimous, O Magnanimous, open for me the door to the fact in which there is well being (of the body and spirit) and relief, open for me its door and ease it off to leave. If You may determine for any of Y our creatures to overpower me then hold and seize him by his hearing, his eyes, tongue, and hand, seize him from his right, left, behind, front and before him and prevent him from reaching me with evil. Your neighbor is well protected, glorious is the praise of Your face, and no one deserves to be worshipped except You. You are my Lord, and I am Your slave and servant. O Lord, You are my hope in all pains. You are my hope in all hardships, in all troubles that befall me, on You I depend and Y ou are my resources. How many are the pains that weaken the heart, diminish in it the means, bring rejoice for the enemy, and exhaust the resources. I present them before You, complain to You against it, come to You of all things so You provide me relief and suffice me against it (such pains), thus, You are my benefactor of all the bounties with me, the appropriator of all of my needs, and the end of all of my desires. All praise belongs to You a great deal and (I am) thankful to You in addition.’”

“Say, ‘O Lord, I plead before You, to grant me such words as those of repenting people and their deeds, the light of the prophets and their truthfulness, salvation of the fighters for Your cause and their rewards, thankfulness of the chosen ones and their good advice, actions of those who speak of You and their certainty, belief of the scholars and their deep understanding, worship of the concerned people and their humility, the judgment of the experts in the law (Shari’ a) and their discipline, worries of the pious people and their interest (in religion), the affirmation of the believing people and their trusting (Allah) and the hope of the virtuous people and their good deeds. “O Lord, I plead before You grant me a reward as that granted to those who thank (You), the position of those very near to (You) and the friendship of the prophets. O Lord, I plead before You to grant me a fear like that of the people who act for Your sake, the acts of those who fear You, the humility of those who worship You, the certainty of those who place their trust in You and the trust of the believing people with You. O Lord, You know my needs without being taught, and You are capable of helping without being burdened. You are the One Whom no pleading person can overcome verbally, or anyone can find faults with or anyone can exhaust His praise. O Lord, You are as You say and above what we say. O Lord, provide me immediate relief, great rewards, and beautiful covering. O Lord, You know that in doing injustice to myself and transgressing against it I did not take anyone as Your opposition, partner, companion, or a child. “O the One whom pleading cannot confuse, nothing can preoccupy in listening to one from listening to the other, seeing one from seeing the other and the insistence of insisting people cannot tire Him. I plead before You to provide me relief in this hour from the sources I except or from that which I do not expect; You bring to life the bones that have turned to ashes; You have power over all things. O the One to whom my thanks had been very little but He has not deprived me, my sins were monstrous but He has not disgraced me. He found me in sins but did not encounter me. He created me for what He has created me but I have acted against what He has created me for. What a great owner are You O my Master! What a despicable slave am I! You have found me, You are the best of finders O Lord! What a despicable thing am 1 to look for! It is Your slave, the son of Your slave and the son of Your female slave before You to deal with as You will. O Lord, the voices have silenced, movements have calmed down, every loving one has sought privacy with his beloved, and I have sought privacy with You. You are the beloved to me, make the privacy that 1 have sought with You my freedom from the fire. O the One above whom there is no person of knowledge more praiseworthy. O the One below whom there is no creature barred to reach Him. O the First before all things, O the Last after all things. O the One who has no elements, O the One for whom there is no end for annihilation, O the One of perfect attributes, O the most lenient of providers, O the One who communicates with all languages and is spoken to as well, O the One whose forgiveness had been there from long before, whose hold is stern, whose kingdom is solid, I plead before You through Your name with which You faced Moses, O Allah, O the Beneficent, O the Merciful, O the One, no one deserves to be worshipped except You. O Lord, You are Selfsufficient, I plead before You to bestow al-Salat (favors) upon Muhammad and his family and admit me in paradise.”

“Once I asked al-Rida (a.s.) to instruct me with a concise supplication. The Imam instructed me to say, ‘O the One who has guided me to His Own self and has humbled my heart with its affirmation of His existence, I plead before You for peace and belief.”’

“Once a man came to Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) and said, ‘O Amir al- Mu’minin, I inherited a property but did not give even one dirham in obedience to Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy. I thereafter made an earning and did not spend anything in obedience to Allah. Instruct me with a supplication that can replace for me things of the past, and what I have done be forgiven as well as what I may do.’ The narrator has said that the Imam told him, ‘Say.’ The man asked, ‘What should I say, O Amir al-Mu’minin?’ “The Imam said, ‘Say as I say, “O my light in all darkness, O my comfort in all dreadful conditions, O my hope in all painful matters, O my trust in every hardship, O my guide in all straying conditions. You are my guide, when all guidance of guides is cut off but Your guidance remains. Whoever You guide does not stray off the right path. You granted me favors and made it delightful. You provided me sustenance in abundance, You fed me and made my food best, Y ou bestowed upon me and made it the best gift without my deserving it by means of my deeds but initiated from You due to Your magnanimity and generosity. I found strength from Your magnanimity to disobey You, I gained power from Your sustenance but I disappointed You, 1 ruined my life in what You disliked, my daring against You, my committing what You had forbidden, my entering in things You prohibited, did not prevent You from turning to me with Your generosity, Your forbearance did not hold You back from doing favors to me even if I returned to sin and disobedience to You, You always turn back with generosity and bounty but 1 always sin. How magnanimous You are to those who confess before You to their sins! “How majestic You are to those who humble themselves before You! Before Your magnanimity I confess my sins and for Your majesty I humble myself before You. It now is all up to You what You will do to me in Your magnanimity and with my confessing my sins before You for Your majesty and my begging respectfully, I plead before You to deal with me the way it is worthy of You not according to what I deserve.’”