The Words to Say When the Month of Ramadan is About to Begin

“Abu Ja’far (a.s.), has said, ‘The Messenger of Allah, upon seeing the crescent of the month of Ramadan, would turn toward the Ka‘bah, raise his hands and say, “O Lord, make it (new moon) a month of peace, belief, safety, submission to the will of Allah, good health with rain, abundant sustenance and without illnesses. O Lord, grant us the opportunity to fast during this month, perform salat (prayer) and recite the Holy Quran. O Lord, give it to us with safety, take it back from us with safety, and grant us protection therein.’””

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘In the first night of the month of Ramadan say the following: “O Lord of the month of Ramadan and the One who has revealed the Holy Quran! This is the month of Ramadan when You have revealed the Holy Quran. You have revealed in it clear signs for guidance and discernment. O Lord, grant us the opportunity to fast in this month and assist us to perform salat (prayer). O Lord, keep it safe for us, keep us safe therein, and take it back from us with ease and forgiveness. O Lord, in Your determination and measures of the inevitable matters and Your discernment of the matters of wisdom, during the night of al-Qadr (destiny), the determinations that will not be changed or altered, please write my name with those who perform Hajj around Your respected House. Please write my name with the names of those whose efforts are appreciated, whose sins are forgiven and bad deeds remedied. In Your measures and determination, please grant me long life and abundantly lawful sustenance.’””

“Say the following prayer in the month of Ramadan to welcome the year. Whoever says this prayer, expecting reward for it (from Allah), and with sincerity, no illness or crisis will affect his religion or his body and Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, will protect him against all evil that may come in that year. ‘O Lord, I plead before You for help through Your name to which all things are close. I plead before You for help through Your kindness, which encompasses all things, through Your majesty with which You have subdued all things, through Your greatness before which all things express humbleness. I plead before You for help through Your power, before which all things are submissive, through the compelling power with which You are dominant over all things, and I plead before You for help through Your knowledge, which encompasses all things. O Light, O Holy, O the First before all things, O Ever Living after all things, O Allah, O Beneficent, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause and forgive my sins that change bounties. Forgive my sins, which bring upon me misfortune. Forgive my sins, which cutoff hope. Forgive my sins, which help enemies to dominate me. Forgive my sins because of which my prayers are rejected. Forgive my sins because of which I deserve to suffer by (heavenly) descending afflictions. Forgive my sins, which stop the rain from coming down from the sky. Forgive my sins, which uncover my privacy. Forgive my sins, which hasten the coming of destruction upon me. Forgive my sins, which make me regret; forgive my sins, which destroy innocence; and dress me with Your invincible shield at which no one is able to aim. Grant me protection against things of which I am afraid in the nights and days of the coming year. “0 Allah, Lord of the seven skies and seven earths and all that are between them, and Lord of the great Throne, Lord of seven (verses) read twice, Lord of the great Quran, Lord of Israfil, Michael, Gabriel and Lord of Muhammad and his family, master of the messengers, the seal of the prophets. I plead before you through Yourself and through that which is Your name. O the Great One who grants great favors and repels all difficulties, gives all appreciable matters, increases the virtuous matters because of very little deeds and a great many things, You do whatever You like. O powerful One, O Allah, O Beneficent, O Merciful, I plead before You to grant salawat (favors and compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause). Dress me during the remaining days of this year with Your covering. Dress my face with Your light, make me loveable through Your love, make me reach a status that will please You and Your honor and grace, Your appreciable favors of the best things with You and of the best rewards You bestow upon anyone of Your creatures. Dress me with good health from You. O the One before whom complaints are presented, I plead before You; O the One who is present during all secret conversations, I plead before You; O the One who has knowledge of all secret matters. O the One, who (has the power which) repels everything of the misfortune that You want to repel. I plead before You, O the One who forgives with grace. I plead before You, O the One who ignores shortcomings with goodness. Make me die as followers of the religion of Ibrahim and his discipline and in the religion of Muhammad following his noble tradition. Make me die in the best form of death. Make me die loving Your friends and as an enemy of Your enemies. “0 Allah, make me to stay away, during this year, from every deed, word or action that takes me away from You. O Allah, attract me toward every deed, word or action that takes me closer to You during this year. O Merciful, the Beneficent, stop me from doing every deed, act or saying any word whereby I fear harmful consequences and Your disliking, thereby turning Your face from me, and thereby I suffer a decrease in favors I can receive from You, O compassionate and merciful. “0 Allah, make me in the remaining days of this year to live in Your protection, neighborhood and shelter. Dress me with good health from You. Make Your grace to encompass me. Your neighborhood is valuable. Praise of Your face is glorious and no one besides You deserves worship. “ 0 Allah, make me a follower of the righteous people who lived before, of Your friends, and join me with them. Make me submissive to those who spoke the truth about You. I seek refuge with You, O my Lord, against being encompassed by my sins, my injustice, my excessive behavior against my soul, my following my desires and my lustful behavior which become a barrier between me and Your kindness, Your pleasure and thus I become forgotten in Your sight, exposed to Your displeasure and being despised. “ 0 Allah, grant me the opportunity to do such virtuous deeds with which You will be pleased and lead me closer to You in salvation. “ 0 Allah, just as you protected Your prophet, Muhammad (SAW), against fear from Your enemy, provided him ease, relieved him of his sadness, made your promise to come true for him, and Your appointment to take place. O Allah, in the same way protect me against frightening matters in this year and the misfortunes, illnesses, crisis, evils, sadness and financial constraints therein. Make me reach and enjoy through Your kindness perfect health, complete and continuous good health and bounties before me up to the time of my death. I appeal before You as one who has done injustice to himself and confessed his sins, and I appeal before You to forgive my sins in the past that Your keepers have listed and Your honorable scribes have counted against me. O Allah, grant me safety against sins in the remaining time of my life up to the time of my death. O Allah, O Beneficent, grant salawat (favors and compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause), and grant me my appeals for which I have expressed great hope before You. You have commanded me to appeal before You and have promised to grant my wishes.”’

narrated to us ‘Amr ibn Shimr who has said the following: “I heard abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), say the following. ‘’Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.), when seeing the crescent of the month of Ramadan facing the direction of Makkah, would say, “O Lord, make it (new moon) a month of peace, belief, safety, submission to the will of Allah, good health with rain, abundant sustenance and without illnesses. O Lord, grant us the opportunity to fast during this month, perform salat (prayer) and recite the Holy Quran. O Lord, give it to us with safety, take it back from us with safety and grant us protection therein.’””

“Abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), when looking at the crescent of the month of Ramadan would say, “0 Allah, bring it (the month of Ramadan) upon us with peace and submission (to Your will), certainty, belief, virtue and good opportunity for whatever You love and consent with.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that when the month of Ramadan begins, say this, ‘O Allah, the month of Ramadan has begun and You have made it obligatory upon us to fast during this month. You have revealed Your book in it as guidance for people, as the most clear guidance and means of discernment (between right and wrong). O Allah, help us to fast during this month. O Allah, accept it from us, grant us protection therein, receive it back from us with ease and good health. You have power over all things, O most Merciful, most Beneficent.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), would say this prayer during the month of Ramadan, ‘O Allah, I seek help from You and ask You for my needs. There are those who ask people for their needs, but I ask only You for my needs. You are (the only Lord). You have no partners. I ask You through Your generosity and Your pleasure to grant salawat (favors and compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause). Make it possible for me this year to visit Your respected House to perform a virtuous, accepted Hajj performed clean and purely for You. Make my eyes delighted and my position raised. Grant me the opportunity to control my eyes, my private parts from unlawful activities, and to stay away from unlawful matters, so that no other thing will be more preferable to me than obedience to You, humbleness before You, to act upon what You love, to stay away from what You dislike and whatever you have prohibited. Make this possible for me with ease and comfort and in good health. Grant me the ability to thank You for Your bounties You have given me. I appeal to You to make my death one of being murdered for Your cause, under the banner of Your prophet along with Your friends. I appeal before You to do away through me with Your enemies and the enemies of Your messenger. I appeal before You to grant me honor by humiliating whoever of Your creatures You like, but not through humiliating of any of Your friends. O Allah, make me to follow the path of Your messenger. Allah is sufficient for me in whatever Allah wants.”’

“Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.), would say this prayer every day during the month of Ramadan, ‘O Allah, this is the month of Ramadan and the month of fasting. It is the month of prayer and repentance. It is the month of forgiveness and mercy. It is the month of freedom from hellfire, and the month to gain Paradise. O Allah, give it to me and accept it from me, help me in it with the best of Your help. Grant me the opportunity during this month to obey You. Provide me with time to worship You, pray to You and recite Your book. Grant me in this month great blessings, good consequences, good health to my body and abundant sustenance. (O Allah,) suffice me in what is important to me, accept my prayers and make my wishes come true. O Allah, remove from me during this month slumbering, laziness, lack of interest, lack of energy, hard heartedness, negligence and being deceived. O Allah, keep me from illnesses, disease, anxiety, sadness, incidents, sicknesses, mistakes and sins. Keep away from me evil things, disgrace, strenuousness, misfortune, tiredness and exhaustion; You hear all prayers. O Allah, grant me protection against Satan, the condemned one by stoning, and against his temptations and whispers, evil words and expressions, seductions, evil plans, cunning and wicked devices, falsehopes, deceptions, misleading, chaotic deeds of his helpers on foot, his partners, helpers, followers, friends, his associates, friends, companions, and all of his evil plans. O Allah, grant me the opportunity to complete fasting therein, to achieve my wishes to worship during the nights therein, to complete what will please You. Grant me patience, belief, certainty and expectation of good rewards from You during this month. Accept this from us with many multiples and great reward. O Allah, grant me the ability to strive, to work hard with energy and vitality, to pray wholeheartedly, to repent with interest and fear, to express great concerns tenderheartedly with truthfulness and fear of You and having hope in You, to leave matters with You and trust You. (O Allah, help us to) refrain (stay away from sins) from prohibited matters with virtuous words, accepted efforts, high degree deeds, and accepted prayers; do not allow anything to come between us and any such matters in the form of incidents, illnesses, anxieties, and sadness through Your mercy, O most Merciful and most Beneficent.’”

“’Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.), has said, ‘When you see the crescent of the month of Ramadan, say this without fail, “O Allah, I appeal before You for the best of this month, its relief, light, support, blessings, cleanliness and sustenance. I appeal before You for all the good in it and thereafter. I seek refuge with You against the evil therein and thereafter. O Allah, send it to us with peace, belief, protection, Islam, blessings and good opportunities to do what You love and approve.’”