1- O He from whom is not concealed news of the aggrieved!
2- O He who has no need to be told about them by the witnessing of the witnesses!
3- O He who whose help is near to the wronged!
4- O He whose aid is far from the wrongdoers!
5- Thou knowest, my God, how so-and-so, son of so-and-so, has harmed me in that which Thou hast forbidden, and how he has violated me in that which Thou hast prohibited, showing thereby ingratitude toward Thy favour upon him and delusion concerning what Thou hast denied him.
6- O God, so bless Muhammad and his Household, keep my wrongdoing enemy from wronging me through Thy strength, blunt his blade toward me through Thy power, and assign to him a diversion in that which is close to him and the inability to reach his enemy!
Thou knowest, my God, how so-and-so, son of so-and-so, has harmed me in that which Thou hast forbidden, and how he has violated me in that which Thou hast prohibited, showing thereby ingratitude toward Thy favour upon him and delusion concerning what Thou hast denied him. O God, so bless Muhammad and his Household, keep my wrongdoing enemy from wronging me through Thy strength, blunt his blade toward me through Thy power, and assign to him a diversion in that which is close to him and the inability to reach his enemy!
7- O God, bless Muhammad and his Household, let the wrongdoer not find it easy to wrong me, give me good help against him, preserve me from the like of his acts, and place me not in the like of his situation!
8- O God, bless Muhammad and his Household, and assist me with an immediate assistance that will heal my rage toward him and redeem my fury toward him!
9- O God, bless Muhammad and his Household, compensate me for his wronging me with Thy pardon and replace his evil action toward me with Thy mercy, for every detested thing less than Thy anger is slight and every disaster next to Thy rancour indifferent!
10- O God, just as Thou hast made me detest being wronged, so also protect me from doing wrong!
11- O God, I complain to no one but Thee, and I seek help from no ruler other than Thee - how could I? So bless Muhammad and his Household, join my supplication to response, and unite my complaint with change!
12- O God, tempt me not with despair of Thy just treatment and tempt him not with feeling secure from Thy disapproval, lest he persist in wronging me and constrain me in my rights.2 Let him soon recognize what Thou hast promised the wrongdoers3 and let me recognize Thy promised response to the distressed!4
13- O God, bless Muhammad and his Household, give me success in accepting Thy decrees for me and against me, make me pleased with what Thou takest for me and from me, guide me to that which is most upright and employ me in that which is safest!
give me refuge from evil desire and the impatience of the greedy, and form in my heart the image of Thy reward which Thou hast stored away for me and the repayment and punishment which Thou has prepared for my disputant! Make this a cause of my contentment with what Thou hast decreed and my trust in what Thou hast chosen!
14- O God, if the best for me with Thee lies in delaying the taking to task for my sake of him who has wronged me and in refraining from vengeance toward him until the Day of Decision and the Gathering of Disputants, then bless Muhammad and his Household, strengthen me from Thee with true intention and lasting patience,
15- give me refuge from evil desire and the impatience of the greedy, and form in my heart the image of Thy reward which Thou hast stored away for me and the repayment and punishment which Thou has prepared for my disputant! Make this a cause of my contentment with what Thou hast decreed and my trust in what Thou hast chosen!
16- Amen, Lord of the worlds! Thou art of bounty abounding and Thou art powerful over everything.
1. A case can be made for translating the word dhalim (wrongdoer) in the context of the present supplication as 'oppressor' or 'tyrant', especially if we read the text as expressing the Imam's relationships with the Umayyad authorities. However, the word dhulm along with its derivatives is an important and frequently used term in the Qur'an, and only the Qur'anic context can provide us with a reliable insight into the way the word must have been understood by Zayn al-'Abidin and his contemporaries.
In the Qur'an, it is obvious that terms like 'oppression' and 'tyranny', with their narrow political connotations, cannot begin to do justice to the wide range of meanings included in the primary Qur'anic significance, since oppression is merely one of many forms of human 'wrongdoing', an English term which is sufficiently vague and concrete to render the Qur'anic idea rather closely.
According to the Qur'an, the basic meaning of dhulm is to deny the reality of God and the truth of His revelation and then to transgress the bounds, limits, laws, and statutes He has set down. This Qur'anic concept can clearly be perceived in such typical verses as the following:
Who does greater wrong than he who bars God's places of worship, so that His Name be not rehearsed in them, and strives to destroy them? (2:114);
Who does greater wrong than he who conceals a testimony received from God? (2:140);
Whosoever transgresses the bounds of God - those are the wrongdoers (2:229);
And the unbelievers - they are the wrongdoers (2:254);
Whoso judges not according to what God has sent down - they are the wrongdoers (5:45);
Who does greater wrong than he who forges against God a lie, or cries lies to His signs? (7:37, 10:17);
Who does greater wrong than he who, being reminded of the signs of his Lord, turns away from them? (18:57, 32:22);
None denies Our signs but the wrongdoers (29:49);
Do not associate others with God; to associate others with God is a mighty wrong (31:13);
And whoso repents not, those - they are the wrongdoers (49:1l);
Whoso trespasses the bounds of God has done wrong to himself (65:1).
In most of the cases in which the Imam employs the term in the Sahifa, the Qur'anic context is clear, and this is sufficient reason to maintain consistency of translation in the present supplication, where 'oppression' might also be a valid translation. (For uses of the term in obvious Qur'anic contexts, cf. 1.12, 4.8, 8.4, 12.7, 12.11, 16.31, 24.11, 31.7, 37.8, 39.9, 42.16, 45.9, 45.47, 47.62, 47.132, 48.15, 51.14, 60.3, 63.8, 71.5; contexts which suggest 'oppression' as a valid rendering include 20.7, 51.4, 68.1). The term dhulm is often used as the opposite of 'adl or 'justice'; the Sahifa also provides a few instances where 'injustice' would translate the term well, such as 22.13 (where it is used as a synonym for jawr, translated there as 'injustice'), 25.11, 44.l0.
2. Some editions read yuhadirani for yuhasirani. The translation then becomes: 'and overcome me in my rights.'
3. Allusion to such Qur'anic verses as: We shall surely destroy the wrongdoers (14:13); We have prepared for the wrongdoers a painful chastisement (25:37)
4. Again reference to 27:62: He who responds to the distressed when he supplicates Him, and removes the evil.
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