66- O God, this is the Day of 'Arafa, a day which Thou hast made noble, given honour, and magnified. Within it Thou hast spread Thy mercy, showed kindness through Thy pardon, and made plentiful Thy giving, and by it Thou hast been bounteous toward Thy servants.
67- I am Thy servant whom Thou favoured before creating him and after creating him. Thou madest him one of those whom Thou guided to Thy religion, gavest success in fulfilling Thy right, preserved through Thy cord, included within Thy party, and directed aright to befriend Thy friends and show enmity to Thine enemies.
68- Then Thou commanded him, but he did not follow Thy commands, Thou restricted Him, but he did not heed Thy restrictions, Thou prohibited him from disobedience toward Thee, but he broke Thy command by doing what Thou hadst prohibited, not in contention with Thee, nor to display pride toward Thee; on the contrary, his caprice30 called him to that which Thou hadst set apart and cautioned against, and he was helped in that by Thy enemy and his enemy. So he went ahead with it knowing Thy threat, hoping for Thy pardon, and relying upon Thy forbearance, though he was the most obligated of Thy servants - given Thy kindness toward him - not to do so.
69- Here I am, then, before Thee, 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 Thy forgiveness, asking shelter in Thy mercy, and certain that no sanctuary-giver will give me sanctuary from Thee and no withholder will hold me back from Thee.
Here I am, then, before Thee, 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 Thy forgiveness, asking shelter in Thy mercy, and certain that no sanctuary-giver will give me sanctuary from Thee and no withholder will hold me back from Thee.
70- So act kindly toward me, just as Thou actest kindly by Thy shielding him who commits sins, be munificent toward me, just as Thou art munificent by pardoning him who throws himself before Thee, and show kindness to me, just as it is nothing great for Thee to show kindness by forgiving him who expectantly hopes in Thee!
71- Appoint for me in this day an allotment through which I may attain a share of Thy good pleasure, and send me not back destitute of that with which Thy worshipers return from among Thy servants!
72- Though I have not forwarded the righteous deeds which they have forwarded, I have forwarded the profession of Thy Unity and the negation from Thee of opposites, rivals, and likenesses, I have come to Thee by the gateways by which Thou hast commanded that people come, and I have sought nearness to Thee through that without seeking nearness through which none gains nearness to Thee.
73- Then I followed all this with repeated turning toward Thee, lowliness and abasement before Thee, good opinion of Thee, and trust in what is with Thee; and to that I coupled hope in Thee, since the one who hopes in Thee is seldom disappointed!
74- I asked Thee 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.
75- 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!31
O He who shows kindness through releasing the stumblers and gratuitous bounty through respiting the offenders!
76- I am the evildoer, the confessor, the offender, the stumbler!
77- I am he who was audacious toward Thee as one insolent!
78- I am he who disobeyed Thee with forethought!
So act kindly toward me, just as Thou actest kindly by Thy shielding him who commits sins, be munificent toward me, just as Thou art munificent by pardoning him who throws himself before Thee, and show kindness to me, just as it is nothing great for Thee to show kindness by forgiving him who expectantly hopes in Thee!
79- I am he who hid myself from Thy servants and blatantly showed myself to Thee!32
80- I am he who was awed by Thy servants and felt secure from Thee!
81- I am he who dreaded not Thy penalty and feared not Thy severity!
82- I am the offender against himself!
83- I am the hostage to his own affliction!
84- I am short in shame!
85- I am long in suffering!
86- By the right of him whom Thou hast distinguished among Thy creation and by him whom Thou hast chosen for Thyself! By the right of him whom Thou hast selected from among Thy creatures and by him whom Thou hast picked for Thy task! By the right of him the obeying of whom Thou hast joined to obeying Thee, and by him the disobeying of whom Thou hast made like disobeying Thee! And by the right of him whose friendship Thou hast bound to Thy friendship and by him whose enmity Thou hast linked to Thine enmity! Shield me in this day of mine, by that through which Thou shieldest him who prays fervently to Thee while disavowing and him who seeks refuge in Thy forgiveness while repenting!
87- Attend to me with that through which Thou attendest to the people of obedience toward Thee, proximity to Thee, and rank with Thee!
88. Single me out, as Thou singlest him out who fulfils Thy covenant, fatigues himself for Thy sake alone, and exerts himself in Thy good pleasure!
89- Take me not to task for my neglect in respect to Thee, my transgressing the limit in Thy bounds, and stepping outside Thy ordinances!
90- Draw me not on little by little by granting me a respite,33 like the drawing on little by little of him who withholds from me the good he has by not sharing with Thee in letting favour down upon me!
91- 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 Thou hast employed the devout, enthralled the worshipers, and rescued the remiss! Give me refuge from that which will keep me far from Thee, come between me and my share from Thee, and bar me from that which I strive for in Thee! Make easy for me the road of good deeds toward Thee, racing to them from where Thou hast commanded, and coveting them as Thou desirest!
92- Take my heart to that in which Thou hast employed the devout, enthralled the worshipers, and rescued the remiss!
93- Give me refuge from that which will keep me far from Thee, come between me and my share from Thee, and bar me from that which I strive for in Thee!
94- Make easy for me the road of good deeds toward Thee, racing to them from where Thou hast commanded, and coveting them as Thou desirest!
95- Efface me not along with those whom Thou effacest for thinking lightly of what Thou hast promised!
96- Destroy me not with those whom Thou destroyest for exposing themselves to Thy hate!
97- Annihilate me not among those whom Thou annihilatest for deviating from Thy roads!
98- Deliver me from the floods of trial, save me from the gullets of affliction, and grant me sanctuary from being seized by respite!34
Destroy me not with those whom Thou destroyest for exposing themselves to Thy hate! Annihilate me not among those whom Thou annihilatest for deviating from Thy roads! Deliver me from the floods of trial, save me from the gullets of affliction, and grant me sanctuary from being seized by respite!34
99- Come between me and the enemy who misguides me, the caprice which ruins me, and the failing which overcomes me!
100- Turn not away from me with the turning away in wrath from one with whom Thou art not pleased!
101- Let me not lose heart in expecting from Thee, lest I be overcome by despair of Thy mercy!
102- Grant me not that which I cannot endure, lest Thou weighest me down with the surplus of Thy love which Thou loadest upon me!
103- Send me not from Thy hand, the sending of him who possesses no good, toward whom Thou hast no need, and who turns not back [to Thee]!
104- Cast me not with the casting of him who has fallen from the eye of Thy regard and been wrapped in degradation from Thee! 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!
105- Release me from that with which Thou hast afflicted the ranks of Thy servants and handmaids and make me reach the utmost degrees of him about whom Thou art concerned, towards whom Thou showest favour, and with whom Thou art pleased, so that Thou lettest him live as one praiseworthy and takest him to Thee as one felicitous!
106- Collar me with the collar of abstaining from that which makes good deeds fail and takes away blessings!
107- Impart to my heart restraint before ugly works of evil and disgraceful misdeeds!
108- Divert me not by that which I cannot reach except through Thee from doing that which alone makes Thee pleased with me!35
109- Root out from my heart the love of this vile world, which keeps from everything which is with Thee, bars from seeking the mediation to Thee,36 and distracts from striving for nearness to Thee!
110- Embellish for me solitude in prayer whispered to Thee by night and by day!
111- Give me a preservation which will bring me close to dread of Thee, cut me off from committing things made unlawful by Thee, and spare me from captivation by dreadful sins!
112- Give me purification from the defilement of disobedience, take away from me the filth of offenses, dress me in the dress of Thy well-being, cloak me in the cloak of Thy release, wrap me in Thy ample favours, and clothe me in Thy bounty and Thy graciousness!
113- Strengthen me with Thy giving success and Thy 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 Thy force and Thy strength!
Degrade me not on the day Thou raisest me up to meet Thee, disgrace me not before Thy friends, make me not forget remembering Thee, take not away from me thanking Thee, but enjoin it upon me in states of inattention when the ignorant are heedless of Thy boons, and inspire me to laud what Thou hast done for me and confess to what Thou hast conferred upon me!
114- Degrade me not on the day Thou raisest me up to meet Thee, disgrace me not before Thy friends, make me not forget remembering Thee, take not away from me thanking Thee, but enjoin it upon me in states of inattention when the ignorant are heedless of Thy boons, and inspire me to laud what Thou hast done for me and confess to what Thou hast conferred upon me!
115- Place my beseeching Thee above the beseeching of the beseechers and my praise of Thee above the praise of the praisers!
116- Abandon me not with my neediness for Thee, destroy me not for what I have done for Thee,37 and slap not my brow with that with which Thou slappest the brow of those who contend with Thee, for I am submitted to Thee. I know that the argument is Thine, that Thou art closest to bounty, most accustomed to beneficence, worthy of reverent fear, and worthy of forgiveness,38 that Thou art closer to pardoning than to punishing, and that Thou art nearer to covering over than to making notorious!
117- Let me live an agreeable life that will tie together what I want and reach what I love while I not bring what Thou dislikest and not commit what Thou hast prohibited; and make me die the death of him whose light runs before him and on his right hand!39
118- Abase me before Thyself and exalt me before Thy creatures, lower me when I am alone with Thee and raise me among Thy servants, free me from need for him who has no need of me and increase me in neediness and poverty toward Thee!
119- Give me refuge from the gloating of enemies, the arrival of affliction, lowliness and suffering! Shield me in what Thou seest 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!
120- When Thou desirest for a people a trial or an evil, deliver me from it, for I seek Thy shelter; and since Thou hast not stood me in the station of disgrace in this world of Thine, stand me not in such a station in the next world of Thine!
121- Couple for me the beginnings of Thy kindnesses with their ends and the ancient of Thy benefits with the freshly risen! Prolong not my term with a prolonging through which my heart will harden!40 Strike me not with a striking that will take away my radiance!41 Visit me not with a meanness that will diminish my worth or a deficiency that will keep my rank unknown!
122- 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 Thy threat, take precautions against Thy leaving no excuses42 and Thy warning, and tremble at the recitation of Thy verses!
123- Fill my night with life by keeping me awake therein for worshipping Thee, solitude with vigil for Thee, exclusive devotion to reliance upon Thee, setting my needs before Thee, and imploring that Thou wilt set my neck free from the Fire and grant me sanctuary from Thy chastisement, within which its inhabitants dwell!
124- Leave me not blindly wandering in my insolence43 or inattentive in my perplexity for a time,44 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 Thou devisest, replace me not with another, change not my name,45 transform not my body,46 appoint me not a mockery for Thy creatures, a laughing-stock for Thyself, a follower of anything but Thy good pleasure, a menial servant for anything but avenging Thee!
125- Let me find the coolness of Thy pardon and the sweetness of Thy mercy, Thy repose, Thy ease, and the garden of Thy bliss!47 Let me taste, through some of Thy boundless plenty, the flavour of being free for what Thou lovest and striving in what brings about proximity with Thee and to Thee, and give me a gift from among Thy gifts!
126- Make my commerce profitable4 and my return without loss,49 fill me with fear of Thy station, make me yearn for the meeting with Thee, and allow me to repent with an unswerving repentance along with which Thou lettest no sins remain, small or large, and leavest no wrongs, open or secret!
127- Root out rancour toward the faithful from my breast,50 bend my heart toward the humble, be toward me as Thou art toward the righteous, adorn me with the adornment of the godfearing, appoint for me a goodly report51 among those yet to come and a growing remembrance among the later folk, and take me to the plain of those who came first!52
128- Complete the lavishness of Thy favour upon me, clothe me in its repeated generosities, fill my hand with Thy benefits, drive Thy generous gifts to me, make me the neighbour of the best of Thy friends in the Gardens which Thou hast adorned for Thy chosen, and wrap me in Thy noble presents in the stations prepared for Thy beloveds!
129- Appoint for me a resting place with Thee 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,53 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 Thy granting of awards, and fill out for me the shares of beneficence from Thy bestowal of bounty!
Make my heart trust in what is with Thee and my concern free for what is Thine, employ me in that in which Thou employest Thy pure friends, drench my heart with Thy obedience when intellects are distracted, and combine within me independence, continence, ease, release, health, plenty, tranquillity, 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 Thy trial! Safeguard my face from asking from anyone in the world, and drive me far from begging for that which is with the ungodly!
130- Make my heart trust in what is with Thee and my concern free for what is Thine, employ me in that in which Thou employest Thy pure friends, drench my heart with Thy obedience when intellects are distracted, and combine within me independence, continence, ease, release, health, plenty, tranquillity, and well being!
131- Make not fail my good deeds through my disobedience that stains them or my private times of worship through the instigations of Thy trial! Safeguard my face from asking from anyone in the world, and drive me far from begging for that which is with the ungodly!
132- Make me not an aid to the wrongdoers, nor their hand and helper in erasing Thy Book! Defend me whence I know not with a defense through which Thou protectest me! Open toward me the gates of Thy repentance, Thy mercy, Thy clemency, and Thy boundless provision! Surely I am one of those who beseech Thee! And complete Thy favour toward me! Surely Thou art the best of those who show favour!
133- Place the rest of my life in the hajj and the 'umra seeking Thy 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!
30. As indicated in note 77, 'caprice' denotes any desire opposed to the divine guidance.
31. This may be an allusion to 17:16.
32. Allusion to 4:108: They hide themselves from men but hide themselves not from God.
33. Allusion to 7:182: We will draw them on little by little from whence they know not; and I grant them respite - surely My guile is firm.
Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq says: 'When God desires good for a servant who commits a sin, He causes the sin to be followed by a punishment so that he remembers to ask forgiveness. But when He desires evil for a servant who commits a sin, He causes the sin to be followed by a favour so that he forgets to ask forgiveness and persists in the sin. This is indicated by God's words We draw them on little by little from whence they know not. (Sayyid ''Alikhan)
34. Cf. above, 47.90.
35. In other words: Do not allow me to become diverted from the worship and obedience which please Thee by my seeking after the things of this world, which come only through Thee.
36. Allusion to 5:35: O you who have faith fear God and seek the mediation to Him. Cf. note 172.
37. The commentator suggests that this is an allusion to the principle enunciated in 18:103-104: Say: Shall I tell you who will be the greatest losers in their works? Those whose striving goes astray in the present life while they think that they are working good deeds .
38. 75:56
39. Reference to 66:8: Upon the day when God will not degrade the Prophet and those who believe with him their light running before them and on their right hands.
40. Allusion to 19:75: Say: Whoever is in error, let the All-merciful prolong his term for him!....
41. Cf. above, 47.60, where mention is made of the 'radiance' of the Imam.
42. Cf. the following hadith: 'God has left no excuses for him who has reached sixty or seventy years of age. God has left him no excuses, no excuses!' (Ahmad II, 275). See also Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon s.v. i'dhar.
43. Reference to 7:186: Whomsoever God leads astray no guide has he; He leaves them in their insolence blindly wandering.
44. Reference to 23:54: So leave them in their perplexity for a time.
45. The commentator offers three possible interpretations: remove not my name from the register of the felicitous, writing it in the register of the wretched; change my name not for the worse, after it had been an elevated name; change not the name by which Thou hadst named us before (alluding to the Qur'anic verse: He named you Muslims aforetime and in this [22:78]). The meaning thus becomes: Name me not an unbeliever after Thou hast named me a Muslim.
46. The commentator explains this to mean: Transform it not through an affliction in this world or through making it ugly in the next.
47. Reference to 56:88-9: Then if he be of those brought nigh to the Throne, there shall be repose and ease, and a garden of bliss.
48. Allusion to 2:16: Those are they who have bought error at the price of guidance, and their commerce has not profited them.
49. Reference to 79:6-12: Upon the day when the first blast shivers,... They shall say, 'What, are we being restored as we were before?... That then is a return with loss!'
50. Allusion to 15:47: We shall root out all rancour that is in their breasts (cf. 7:43).
51. 26:84, part of a prayer of Abraham.
52. The commentator sees this as a reference to the first Muslims, as in 9:100: And the foremost, the first, who are the Emigrants and the Helpers, and those who followed them in good-doing - God will be well-pleased with them...; He has prepared for them gardens... The 'plain' of the first is the place where they are brought together at the Resurrection.
53. 86:9
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