A Probe Into the History of Ashura

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A Probe Into the History of Ashura Author:
Publisher: Islamic Seminary Publications
Category: Imam Hussein

A Probe Into the History of Ashura
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A Probe Into the History of Ashura

A Probe Into the History of Ashura

Author:
Publisher: Islamic Seminary Publications
English

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Chapter 15: Arrival of Imam Husayn in Karbala

On Thursday, the 2nd of Muharram 61 A.H. Imam Husayn camped at a place in the region of Naynava called Karbala. On the following day Umar bin Sad bin Abi Waqqas Zohari reached there from Kufa with 4000 soldiers and encamped opposite the camp of Imam.

Sad belonged to the family of Bani Zohra bin Kilab of the tribe of Quraysh and was a near relative of Lady Amina, mother of the Holy Prophet. Umar's father Sad bin Abi Waqqas was one of the five persons who embraced Islam, in the beginning of the Holy Prophet's mission, owing to their acquaintance with Abu Bakr. He is well-known in the history of Islam and in connection with the Islamic conquests.

Umar bin Sad sent someone to the Imam enquiring of him as to why he had come to Iraq. The Imam said in reply: "The Iraqis themselves sent letters to me inviting me to come. Now if you do not like my coming I am prepared to return to the Hijaz".

Ibn Sad wrote a letter to Ibn Ziyad and informed him of what the Imam had said. Ibn Ziyad said: "Now that he has been caught in our clutches he hopes to escape and return to the Hijaz. There is now no question of showing indulgence and no way is open for him". Further he wrote to Ibn Sad: "I have carefully read your letter and understood what you have written. Tell Husayn bin Ali that he and all his companions should take oath of allegiance to Yazid. When this has been done we shall take some decision about them".

Soon after Ibn Sad received another letter from Ibn Ziyad asking him to prevent Husyan and his companions from utilizing water and not to allow them to drink even a drop of it. Umar immediately dispatched 4000 men under the command of Amr bin Hajjaj to stand between Imam Husayn and the river Euphrates and to check the use of water by the Imam and his companions. This event took place three days before the martyrdom of the Imam.

The Imam asked Ibn Sad to see him. They met at night at a place situated between the camps of the two armies and had protracted discussions. When Umar bin Sad returned to his camp he wrote a letter to Ibn Ziyad saying: “Allah has extinguished the flames of war. We have reached an agreement and the matter has been settled according to the national interests. Husayn bin Ali is now prepared to return to the Hijaz or to proceed to some Islamic frontier". In order to make Ibn Ziyad agree to his suggestion he also added a lie justified by its motive.

Ibn Ziyad cooled down and was impressed by the suggestions made by Ibn Sad. However, Shimr bin Zil Jawshan, who was present there said: "You are making a mistake. You should make the most of this opportunity and now that you have gained control over Husayn bin Ali, you should not let him go, because you will not get such an opportunity again".

Ibn Ziyad said: "You are right. You should, therefore, go to Karbala personally and deliver this letter to Ibn Sad telling him that Husayn and his companions should surrender unconditionally, and then he (Ibn Sad) should send them to Kufa, and failing that he should fight with them. If Ibn Sad is not agreeable to this and is not prepared to fight with Husayn bin Ali, you

yourself should assume the command of the army and cut off his (Ibn Sad's) head and send it to me".

Then he wrote a letter to Ibn Sa'd saying: "I have not sent you to behave leniently toward Husyan Ibn Ali and to intercede with me for him and to make his life secure. Now you should note that if he himself (i.e. Husayn) and his friends surrender, you should send them to me, and if they decline to do so, you should attack and kill them and mutilate' their bodies i.e. cut off their ears and noses, for they deserve this treatment. And if Husayn bin Ali is killed you should make the horses trample upon his chest and back because he is a cruel, quarrelsome and ungrateful man.

This does not mean that I wish to hurt him after his death. However, I have pledged my word that if I kill him I shall get him trampled upon by the horses. Now if you act according to my directions I shall reward you, but if you do not act as you have been advised, you should hand over charge of the army to Shimr bin Zil Jawshan, who has been given necessary instructions by me".

When Ibn Ziyad wrote this dangerous letter and gave it to Shimr, Ummul Banin's nephew (brother's son) Abdullah bin Abil Mihal bin Hizam was also present. He stood up and said: "O Emir! My cousins Abbas, Abdullah, Ja'far and Uthman, sons of Ali bin Abi Talib have come with their brother. If possible you may please write a letter of security for them' '. Ibn Ziyad replied: "All right".

What a great difference there is between the thinking and assessment of the two parties! The cousin of Abi Fazal renders, in his own opinion, a great service to his cousins (aunt's sons) and obtains a letter of security for them from Ibn Ziyad. But the question is: Will they make use of this letter and go away deserting their brother, master and Imam?

When the slave of Abdullah brought the said letter of security to Karbala and called the sons of Ummul Banin and said to them: "Your cousin Abdullah has sent a letter of security for you". He was perhaps thinking that on hearing this, the sons of Ummul Banin would become extremely happy. However, the sons of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib replied to him with one voice: "Convey our greetings to our cousin and tell him that we do not stand in need of security from Ibn Ziyad. Divine Security is better than the security granted by the son of Sumayya".

When Shimr reached Karbala he delivered Ibn Ziyad's letter to Umar Sad and they exchanged views. Eventually Umar Sad agreed to carry out the Emir's orders himself. Shimr was related to the mother of these young men (Abbas and his three brothers) and, therefore, announced that they had been granted security. However, he received the same reply.

Then Umar Sad mounted his horse, occupied a place in front of his army and said: "O riders of Allah! Mount, and be it known to you that your place is in Paradise". Strangely enough this is the same expression which was uttered by the Holy Prophet in a battle when he invited his companions to defend Islam, and Ibn Sad uttered the same words on the 9th of Muharram against the son and the right successor of the Holy Prophet and his sons and dear ones.

At this moment the Imam was sitting in front of his tent, with a sword in his hand and had gone to sleep with his' head resting on his knees. Suddenly the uproar of the army approached nearer and nearer. Lady Zaynab ran to her brother in a state of perplexity and said: "Brother! Don't you hear the uproar of the enemy army which has reached near? The Imam raised his head from his knees and said: “Just now I saw the Holy Prophet in a dream and he told me that I was going to him. On hearing this Zaynab slapped her own face and said: "How sad it is for me!" The Imam said: "Sister! Don't be sad. Be tranquil. Allah will bless you".

In the meantime Abbas bin Ali arrived, submitted a military report, and said: "My master! The enemy has reached. What is to be done?" The Imam stood up and said: "My brother Abbas! May my life be sacrificed for you. Mount your horse, go and ask them as to why they have launched an attack at this time and what new development has taken place".

Abbas approached the enemy army accompanied by twenty horse-men including Zuhayr bin Qayn and Habib ibn Mazahir Asadi and enquired from them about the reason for their sudden attack. They replied: "We have received orders from our Emir that either you should surrender immediately or we should fight against you". Abbas said: "Don't be in a hurry. Let me go to the Imam and inform him of the position".

While Abbas went and informed Imam Husayn of the matter, his companions remained in front of the enemy forces and counseled them. Imam Husayn said to his brother: "Go back to them and, if possible, obtain extension of time from them till tomorrow morning, so that tonight we may offer prayers to Allah and make supplications and seek His forgiveness. Allah knows that I love to offer prayers, to recite the Qur'an, to make supplications and to ask His forgiveness".

Somehow they granted respite to the Imam and his friends till the following morning. The Imam also availed of this short opportunity and prepared himself for martyrdom. He tested his companions once again so that if anyone had been ignorant of the result of the rising, he should come to know that the Imam had no way before him except martyrdom and sacrifice, and whoever had not stayed on with a view to meeting martyrdom should go away and vacate the field of sacrifice for those noble persons who did not care for their lives.

Imam Zaynul Abidin Ali bin Husayn, the fourth Imam, who had accompanied his father during this journey, says: "My father called his companions after sunset and addressed them. Although I was ill I went there to hear his speech". It should be kept in mind that this speech was delivered by a person, who had less than a hundred supporters with him and was encircled by more than 20,000 men of the enemy and had been given extension of time till the following morning only.

The Holy Imam knew very well that he could not agree to surrender and take the oath of allegiance and tolerate the ignoble persons. He also knew that the enemy would not leave him alone and the matter would not be settled without fighting and in the circumstances his own martyrdom as well as that of his companions at the hands of the Iraqis, who had gathered to kill

him, was certain. In spite of all this he spoke to his companions with perfect composure and confidence.

He pointed out to them that the following day was the day of martyrdom, and insisted upon them that each one of them should hold the hand of one of the members of his family and get out of trouble, and then they could go to their respective cities, so that Allah might grant them relief, because the enemies were after him only, and, after having overpowered him, they would have nothing to do with anyone else.

Chapter 16: Imam’s Sermon on the Night of Ashura

The Imam commenced his speech thus: "I thank Allah to the best of my ability and praise Him during the time of weal and woe. A Lord! I thank You because You have honored us by means of Prophet hood taught us the Qur'an, made us comprehend the religion and its commandments, granted us eyes, ears and hearts; kept us free from the pollution of polytheism and then enabled us to thank You for Your blessings. It is a fact that I am not aware of any companions more faithful and honest than my companions and any relatives more righteous and kind than my relatives. May Allah grant all of you a good reward. I think that the day of our fighting with this army has arrived. I permit all of you to go away. You are free to depart without any restriction and should take advantage of the darkness of night".

This speech has been quoted by Shaykh Mufid, Tabari, Abul Faraj and Ibn Athir, but none of them has written that any companion of the Imam went away on this occasion. Those who had to go had already departed on the way when the news about the martyrdom of Muslim bin Aqil, Hani, Qays bin Mashar and Abdullah bin Yaqtar was received. The Divine Hand had already driven away the cowardly persons from the Holy Imam.

The great historians have recorded nothing after the Imam's speech of the Ashura night except the self-sacrifice and steadfastness of the companions of the Imam. All of them write that when the Imam finished his speech and he insisted that they should leave him and escape trouble, his brothers, sons, nephews (sons of his brothers) and the sons of Abdullah bin Ja'far led by Abbas bin Ali said first of all with one voice: "Should we go away to live after you? We pray to Allah that the time may not come when you may be killed and we may remain alive".

Then the Imam turned to the descendants of Aqil and said: "O children of Aqil! It is sufficient that Muslim has been killed. You are now free to go away". They replied: "Allah be praised! If we leave our chief and the best of our cousins and go away and do not fight along with him with arrows, spears and swords and do not know how he and his friends have fared with the enemy, what will the people say? We swear by Allah that we shall do no such thing. On the contrary we shall sacrifice the lives and property of our family in the path of Allah and render you assistance, and shall fight along with you so that we may also acquire the honor of martyrdom. What a shame to live the life which is without you!"

Then Muslim bin Awsaja got on his feet and said: "If we withdraw our support from you and leave you alone what excuse shall we put forward before Allah? I swear by Allah that I shall not go away and shall not leave you. I shall thrust my spear in the chest of your enemies and shall quench the thirst of my sword with their blood as far as possible. And when there are no arms left in my hand to fight with, I shall shower stones upon them. By Allah we shall not leave you, so that Allah may see that in the absence of His Prophet we have honored the rights of his son.

By Allah, even if I come to know that I shall be killed and then burnt in fire and shall be brought to life again and eventually my ashes will be scattered in the air and I die and become alive in this way seventy times, even then I shall not leave you till I lay down my life for your sake. Then

why should I not do so when I am going to be killed only once and will thereafter be honored, happy and exalted, forever".

When the speech of Muslim bin Awsaja came to an end, Zuhayr bin Qayn Bajali stood up. He was the same man, who was at one time an enemy of Imam Husayn, remained away from him on the route to Iraq, and did not at all wish to meet him. Allah, however, willed that Zuhayr should meet martyrdom in His path in the company of Imam Husayn so that he might be honored for ever and his good and glorious name should illuminate the history of the tragedy of Ashura.

He commenced his speech thus: "By Allah, I wish that I am killed and then brought to life and then killed once again and this act should be repeated a thousand times and this becomes the means of Allah protecting you and the young men of your family, and all of you remain alive".

Others also expressed similar views. The Imam invoked Divine blessings for them and returned to his tent.

Imam Sajjad says: "During the night preceding the day on which my father was martyred I was ill and my aunt Zaynab was nursing me. My father had at that time retired into his own tent and only Jaun bin Jaun, the former slave of Abuzar Ghifari was with him. Jaun was setting my father's sword right and my father was reciting some couplets. He repeated these poetic verses twice or thrice and I understood what he was saying andwhat he meant by it. By reciting these verses he referred to the inconstancy and unkindness of the world, which at times smiles like a kind friend, and enchants the people with its pleasing countenance and one feels that the circumstances will always be favorable.

However, it suddenly changes its attitude and becomes unkind and unfaithful. It makes bitter with its poison the life which had once been sweet like honey. It drives away the friends, about whom one thinks that they would remain friendly forever and boasts of their friendship and devotion when the circumstances are favorable; rather it makes most of those friends stand before one in the shape of blood-thirsty and war-like enemies.

No one knows what is going to happen tomorrow, and when he is going to be deprived of the glory, strength and security which has been bestowed upon him. Who is the person, who has not lost the game during his life, and where is the powerful man, whose strength has not been damaged by the vicissitudes of events?

By reciting these verses the Imam meant to say that on the following day many magnanimous persons would meet martyrdom. It is not possible for any person to make someone else take his place to face the events of time. The end of the matter is in the hands of Allah. Every living being must traverse this path. It was not only he and his companions who were faced that day with the unfavorable time. On the contrary the world at one time assumes the same countenance against everyone.

The fourth Imam says: "I understood that my father meant to inform us of his martyrdom, and tears almost choked me, but I controlled myself. I realized that a calamity was about to fall. However, my aunt Zaynab also heard what I had heard, and as she was a woman, and the women are tender-hearted by nature, and lose patience, she could not control herself. She got

up suddenly and went before her brother without wearing a veil and said: "Oh! That I should become brotherless! I wish that I had died earlier. O successor of the deceased and O the refuge of the survivors! It is today that I am going to be left without mother, father and brother". On seeing his sister in a distressed condition Imam Husayn said: "Sister! Be patient lest Satan should make you lose your self-control".

It may be said that these words of the Imam were a lesson for his sister, which prepared her to face the difficult situations in Kufa and Damascus later. It was Zaynab who had to assume the leadership of this movement from the time of the Imam's martyrdom till the return of Ahlul Bayt to Madina, and by means of this lesson the Imam was entrusting this Divine trust to her. The Imam said: "Dear sister! Be patient lest Satan should make you lose your self-control".

In other words he said: 'Recognize yourself and do not forget your personality and the importance which you enjoy in this great movement. The task which you have to perform is not easier than that which I can perform, and you can discharge your duty only by means of greatness of soul and spirituality which you have acquired and inherited from your parents, Ali and Fatima.

If you lose patience today because you have received a hint that your brother will be martyred or you have heard some touching verses, how will you endure the events of tomorrow? At the same time how will you be able to deliver speeches in the bazaars of Kufa and the Islamic capital (i.e. Damascus) with perfect composure, and say what remains to be said, and bring to light what is hidden, and disclose the deceitful acts of the enemies of Ahlul Bayt and apprise the people of true facts in the center of the caliphate and government of the descendants of Abu Sufyan, and frustrate their unjust propaganda by delivering speeches?'

The Imam in his brief speech gave a significant lesson to his sister. Tears came in his eyes and he said: "Sister! What am I to do? You can see with what condition I am faced and what a large army has gathered to kill me". Zaynab also uttered some touching words and became unconscious.

Chapter 17: Imam Husayn consoles Lady Zaynab

Imam Husayn made her sister recover her senses and repeatedly requested her to remain patient and persevering. He said:

"Dear sister, be tranquil and patient. It is not that only the inhabitants of the world die. Those in the heavens do not also continue to live. Everything dies except the Almighty, Who has created the people with His power, and will one day bring them to life again, whereas He Himself is Unique. Dear sister! My grandfather was better than me. My father was better than me. My mother and brother were better than me. It is necessary for every Muslim to follow the Prophet of Allah". After these consolatory remarks the Imam said: "Dear sister! I administer an oath to you that you will follow my advice. Do not tear your dress on account of my suffering, do not scratch your face and do not lament".

The night of Ashura came to an end - the night which will never come again in the history of mankind, because the great personalities who had prepared themselves during that night for martyrdom in the path of Allah and were waiting for the morning to repay their debt to the Holy Prophet and Imam Ali cannot make their appearance once again. How can time reproduce such personalities when the conditions in which they appeared and attained so much perfection cannot be repeated.

The night of Ashura and the eleventh night of Muharram can be repeated only if another Qur'an is revealed once again and a prophet as great as the Last Prophet is appointed to the prophetic mission and a father like Ali and a mother like Fatima come into existence, and an atmosphere like that of Ahlul Bayt is present in the world.

That night can reappear only if the conditions are like those in which the seventeen young men of the family of Bani Hashim could return, men, about whom the Imam said that they were matchless on the face of the earth, and the means for the appearance of men like Habib ibn Mazahir Asadi and other companions of the Holy Imam come into existence.

That night can come again only if Islam is threatened by the dangers which it had to face in those days from Bani Umayya, and all the favorable and unfavorable conditions which prevailed in the year 61 A.H. come into existence once again.

Chapter 18: Morning of Ashura

During the night of Ashura the Imam and his companions offered prayers, sought Divine forgiveness, and made supplications. The night eventually came to end and the morning of their day of glory arrived. It has been written by Shaykh Mufid in his book entitled al-Irshad and by Tabari in his Tarikh that after dawn prayers the Imam arrayed his companions, out of whom thirty two were mounted and forty were on foot. He entrusted the command of the right wing to Zuhayr bin Qayn and that of left wing to Habib ibn Mazahir and also entrusted the standard to his brother Abbas.

Umar bin Sad also arrayed his forces in the morning of that day. He entrusted the command of the right wing to Amr bin Hajjaj Zubaydi, the left wing to Shimr bin Jawshan, the mounted soldiers to Azra bin Qays Ahmadi and the infantrymen to Shith bin Rabie and gave the standard in the hand of his slave.

On the day of Ashura the Imam addressed the people, and delivered speeches a number of times. However, he commenced the day with supplication and every time before he addressed the enemy he sought strength and guidance from Allah. All the invocations and addresses of the Imam are couched in highly eloquent and expressive language. He addressed the soldiers of the enemy army with a perfectly calm and composed mind as if all of them were his friends and devotees and had gathered together to assist him, although he knew very well that after these addresses those very people would attack him with 30,000 spears and kill him.

These speeches were being delivered by an orator, who was thirsty and did not have even a drop of water to moisten his lips. He was an orator, who knew that after a short time his women and children would be made captives by his impudent and sworn enemies. He was an orator, who had not eaten any food and was also thirsty, although on the day of Ashura he did not complain about hunger on account of his lofty character and patience and mentioned thirst only.

Imam Sajjad has said: "The son of the Prophet's daughter was killed when he was thirsty and hungry".

It is really surprising that an orator, who is hungry and thirsty, should speak before thousands of enemies who are ready to kill him. Though there are numerous causes of his anxiety and uneasiness, yet he speaks in such a way that whatever he says is eloquent and expressive. He speaks with perfect peace of mind and courage. Whatever he says is firm and logical. He seldom expresses helplessness and broken-heartedness.

As his companions are killed and the place around him becomes vacant his speech becomes all the more eloquent, and he displays more courage and greater peace of mind. Where can one find such an orator in the history of mankind -a helpless and friendless orator, whose speech is not affected by the prevailing conditions and who is perfectly calm and composed, although there is nothing to mitigate his anxiety and mental disturbance.

Chapter 19: Supplication of Imam in the Morning of Ashura

In the morning of the day of Ashura the horsemen of the enemy launched an attack on the ranks of the Imam. The Imam raised his hands in prayer and said: "O Lord! I depend on you in every affliction and am hopeful of Your blessing in every hardship. In every difficulty with which I am faced, You are my only remedy and resort.

There have been many embarrassments which weakened my heart and no remedy for it was available. The friends did not assist me and the enemies rejoiced at my misfortune. However, when I ceased to seek assistance from everyone except You and sought the remedy only from You, You provided me solace and relief and removed the difficulty. Every blessing and goodness reaches us from You and everything should be sought from You only".

Chapter 20: Sermon of Imam to the Army of Yazid

Then the Imam mounted his camel and addressed the people with a very loud voice, which could be heard by most of them:

"O people of Iraq! Listen to me and do not make haste to kill me so that I may tell you what I must, and appraise you of the reason for my coming to Iraq. If you accept my excuse, believe in what I say, and behave towards me fairly, you will level for yourselves the path of prosperity, and then you will have no reason to kill me. And even if you do not accept my excuse and deviate from the path of justice, you must ponder over the pros and cons of the matter before you kill me, and should not undertake such a delicate task rashly and without deliberation. My supporter is the Almighty Allah Who has revealed the Qur'an. Allah guards His deserving slaves".

When the Imam's speech reached this stage, he heard the wails and lamentations of his sisters and daughters, who were hearing him. Thereupon he said to his brother Abbas and his son Ali: "Go and silence these women, because hereafter they will have to weep much". When the voice of the ladies of the Holy and impeccable family was no longer heard the Imam praised Allah and invoked blessings for the angels and the prophets.

He spoke in more eloquent and expressive words than any orator, who had existed before him, or would come after him, and said to the people of Kufa: "O people! Identify me and see who I am. Then you will come to your senses and reproach yourselves. You should reflect carefully whether it is permissible for you to kill me and to disregard the reverence due to me.

"Am I not the son of your Prophet's daughter? Is the wasi (vicegerent) of your Prophet and his cousin and the first person, who expressed belief in Allah and confirmed what was brought by His Prophet, not my father? Is the Doyen of Martyrs Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib not the uncle of my father? Is the martyr Ja'far bin Abu Talib who has two wings and flies with Allah's angels not my uncle?

Have you not heard that the Holy Prophet has said about me and my brother: "These two sons of mine are the chiefs of the young men of Paradise". If you think that whatever I am saying is true so much the better. I swear by Allah that I know Allah hates the liars, and I have never told a lie. And even if you do not believe in my words and refute me, there are still some companions of the Holy Prophet amongst you who, when asked, will apprise you of the facts.

Ask Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari, Abu Sa'id Khudari, Nahl bin Sadi, Zayd bin Arqam or Anas bin Malik, so that they may tell you that they have heard these words from the Holy Prophet about me and my brother. Is this tradition itself not sufficient to restrain you from killing me? If you are doubtful about this tradition can you doubt even this that I am the son of your Prophet's daughter? I swear by Allah that between East and West there is no son of the daughter of a Prophet except me either amongst you or amongst others.

"You should tell honestly whether I have killed anyone from amongst you so that you may take revenge! Is it that I have appropriated your wealth and you are claiming it? Have I injured you for which you have risen to

compensate?" None of them, however, came forward to give a reply to what the Imam said.

He was, therefore, obliged to call some of them by their names and addressed them in these words: "O Shabath bin Rabie, Hajjar bin Abjar, Qays bin Ashath and Yazid bin Harith! Did you yourselves not write letters to me saying: "The fruits have become ripe and the lands are green and fresh and the soldiers of Iraq are ready to sacrifice their lives for you and you should, therefore, proceed to Iraq as early as possible?"

Tabari writes that in reply to the Imam they said: "We did not write any letter and are not aware of what you are saying." Truly speaking it is the height of meanness and foul play that the same persons who invited their Imam by means of a large number of letters and had signed those letters, were replying to him with utmost impudence that they had neither written any letters to him nor invited him!

Here we introduce to the readers one of those mean persons so that they may come to know to what extent one can go on account of worldliness and lack of will-power. They appear before the people in one guise today and in another guise tomorrow. One day they draw their swords for the sake of Allah and on another day against Him. If they are friends of Ali on one day they become his enemies on the following day. One day they kill Imam Husayn and on another day they claim to be the avengers of his murder.

Shabath bin Rabie i.e. the very person who was the Commander of the Iraqi army on the day of Ashura and one of the killers of the Imam was at one time the mu'azzin of Sajah and he accepted this office when he claimed to be a prophet in the tribe of Bani Tamim. However, when Sajah was disgraced he embraced Islam. He had also a hand in the murder of Uthman. Then he became one of the followers of Ali. Later he revolted against Ali, became one of his opponents and joined the Khawarij. After some time he left the Khawarij also and went in seclusion.

In 61 A.H. he participated in killing Imam Husayn and his companions with great savagery. Afterwards when Mukhtar bin Abi Ubayd Thaqafi rose to avenge the murder of Imam Husayn, he (Shabath) who himself was one of the murderers of the Imam joined Mukhtar as an avenger of the Imam's murder. Later he became the chief of Kufa police. He had a hand also in the murder of Mukhtar bin Abi Ubayd. He died in about 80 A.H.

How can those persons who do not have the least moral sense benefit from the celestial spirit of Husayn bin Ali and how can their untalented and corrupt souls receive any reflection of the sublime soul of the infallible Imam.

The Imam continued his address till he said: "By Allah I will not swear allegiance to these people like weak and mean persons and will not flee the battlefield like slaves while fighting against the rascals. I seek refuge in Allah from the mischief of you people and of every arrogant person who does not believe in the Day of Judgment".

In the meantime the preliminaries of the battle began to take place gradually. Umar bin Sad drew his bow, shot an arrow towards the companions of Imam Husayn and said: "You should bear witness before Ibn

Ziyad (the governor) that I have started the battle earlier than everyone else".

Severe fighting continued till about noon. Most of the companions of the Imam were killed. The Imam offered the noon prayers along with his surviving companions in the form of emergency prayer (Salatul Khawf) i.e. he offered two rakats. The fighting continued after the prayers till all the young men of Bani Hashim were killed. They met martyrdom one after the other. Even young children and sucklings had also the honor of being martyred. Gradually the moment arrived which changed the course of the history of Islam and recorded the honor of martyrdom for them in the pages of history. It is definitely so and there is no tragedy like the tragedy of Imam Husayn.

The exact number of the persons who were martyred on the day of Ashura is not known. It is usually said that seventy two persons were martyred with Imam Husayn. Tabari writes that seventy two companions of the Holy Imam were martyred. Shaykh Mufid writes that Amr bin Sad sent the head of Imam Husayn to Ibn Ziyad on the very day of Ashura and ordered the heads of his companions and Ahlul Bayt to be severed from their bodies and these heads were seventy' two in number.

Furthermore, in the homage (Ziyarat) which has been quoted in Iqbal of Sayyid bin Tawus the names of 72 martyrs of Karbala have been mentioned. This Ziyarat, the date of issue of which is 252 A.H. from the sacred region of Samarra (Iraq), must have been issued by Imam Hasan Askari and not by Imam Mahdi because in that year i.e. 252 A.H. Imam Mahdi was not born and his father Imam Hasan Askari remained alive for another eight years i.e. till 260 A.H. In this Ziyarat the names of seventeen members of the family of Bani Hashim followed by the names of fifty five other companions of the Imam have been mentioned.

In fact it is necessary to study the performance of these seventy two persons more minutely so that we may understand how this small group could bring this marvelous and eternal movement into existence. If Imam Husayn and his companions had a worldly motive and had they been killed like ordinary persons in order to achieve a material objective it would not have been possible for them to acquire such greatness in the world.

Moreover, the very shape of this movement shows that it was not a material rising tainted by worldly and personal motives. The importance which this movement acquired in the history of Islam, rather in the history of the world, was for those very reasons which have already been mentioned and explained i.e. the conditions of the world of Islam of that time had cast a responsibility on the Imam. He assessed that he must rise and sacrifice his life, as the safety of Islam depended upon his rising.

Chapter 21: Negative Attitude towards the Tragedy of Karbala

Imam Husayn rose for the sake of a sublime object. It was not his object that Yazid should cease to wield authority and instead of him he himself should come at the helm of affairs. In other words he had no personal grudge against Yazid. He supported truth in whatever shape it made its appearance and opposed falsehood whether it was headed by Yazid or someone else.

These seventy two persons, whose number becomes seventy three with the addition of the Imam himself, rose so that religion might continue to live in history, and if it had not been so they would not have achieved the result from their grand sacrifice. They did not rise so that their sins might be forgiven. Their case was quite different from those who commit sins throughout their lives. They were different from those persons who accumulate wealth by unlawful means and then purify themselves by paying a visit to Karbala or Makkah.

They even endow a part of this unlawful wealth so that Allah may over- look the balance amount. These seventy two persons were mostly neither sinners nor debtors. The leader of this movement was the infallible Imam and had not committed any sin throughout his life. The young men of the Bani Hashim family were pious persons and enjoyed an impeccable position. The companions of the Imam were also distinguished persons of their time in the matter of piety.

Did the martyrs, as many persons imagine, met martyrdom so that they might become a haven for the sinners of the ummah? In other words if the Muslims or Shi'ah before the martyrdom of Imam Husayn committed sins with anxiety and concern they may feel relieved, commit sins with impunity, deceive the people in any manner they like and may not feel any fear of accountability before Allah and of Divine punishment, because Imam Husayn was martyred to intercede for the sinners.

The Imam met martyrdom so that the sins of the ummah might be forgiven. The people committed sins in the past and will continue to commit sins in future and the Imam made atonement for their sins. Jesus was crucified and the Christian sinners were relieved. Imam Husayn was also killed and guaranteed the salvation of the sinners of the ummah!

We seek refuge in Allah! This explanation and this way of thinking which may perhaps be preferred by most of the common people is exactly opposed to the real object of the Imam in this movement. He rose so that the people might fear Allah more, be on their guard more from the consequences of sin, which they have to endure in this world and in the Hereafter and pay more attention to the performance of their religious duties. He rose to eliminate sin, to restrain the people from doing unlawful things and to revive the spirit of piety in their hearts.

He rose to enjoin the people to do good and to restrain them from evil, to forestall corruption and sins, to strengthen the fear of Allah in their hearts and to draw their attention to Him so that the teachings provided by the Holy Qur'an might be put into practice in the Muslim ummah. Consequently it should be a nation which does not tell lies, does not commit treachery, is

honest in whatever it does, is brave and courageous, does not worship anyone except Allah, does not submit to anything except truth, and does not tolerate anything except law and reasonable words.

The Imam was not killed so that he might tell the people: After my martyrdom there is no need to tell the truth, to be honest, to worship, to acquire lawful property, to refrain from unlawful acts and to have regard for the rights of the people'.

The Imam did not say: 'I have been killed so that my supporters may remain immune from inconveniences and commit sins throughout their lives with perfect peace of mind'. This way of thinking is shameful for the Muslims and pains the sacred souls of the martyrs, who laid down their lives struggling in the path of Allah against sin and impiety. It is not at all possible that a man should be distant from Allah and close to the Imam, and may displease Allah and please the Imam; and may set aside a part of his sins for the Imam so that Allah may not call him to account.

Those people who think on these lines not only betray Islam and the spirit of the movement of Imam Husayn but it may be said that with the capital of the martyrdom of the Imam they have set up an organization of their own against the things declared lawful and unlawful by Allah and the reward and punishment prescribed by Him.

How unlucky is the Muslim, who does not offer prayers or observe fast or respect the rights of the people or does unlawful things or earns his livelihood by means of usury or other unlawful occupations, and then imagines happily that he is a disciple of Imam Husayn. Such a Muslim should be asked: "Why do you claim to be a disciple of Imam Husayn when neither you like his deeds nor he liked yours? He spoke the truth and you tell lies. He was honest and you commit treachery.

He asked for extension of time during the night of Ashura so that he might spend that night in offering prayers, supplications, asking Divine forgiveness and reciting the Qur'an, whereas your nights are spent mostly in committing sins and doing undesirable things. He sacrificed in the path of Allah everything which he possessed whereas you cannot dispense with even a small coin for the sake of Allah.

Many persons claim to be the disciples of Imam Husayn and this is due to the fact that they have not recognized him properly and think that they can win his favor by means of usual homages, greetings and compliments. They are exactly like most of the persons who await the appearance of the Imam of the time and do not know that the appearance of the Imam is not profitable for them and the Imam of their imagination will not appear at all, as the Imam who will appear will not distribute money and posts among his disciples.

A person who has a true concept of Prophethood and Imamate does not get involved in such errors and does not attribute anything to the Prophet and Imam opposed to the Divine organization. He knows that the greatness of the Prophet and the Imam is based on obedience to Allah and one cannot benefit from the Prophet and the Imam except through obedience to the Almighty.

In spite of all the hardships on the day of Ashura and the fact that the enemies did not agree to postpone fighting for a few moments for the performance of prayers, Imam Husayn offered noon prayers in congregation while fighting was still in progress and made two of his companions namely Zuhayr bin Qayn Bajali and Sa'id bin Abdullah Hanafi stand before him so that they might counteract the attacks of the enemies and enable the Imam to offer his prayers. How can such an Imam be willing that instead of offering prayers one may simply mourn his martyrdom and abandon necessary duties relying on his intercession and favor and commit unlawful acts?

Mourning for the Imam should make the people understand religion. It should bring them nearer to Allah and keep them away from sin. It should make them love religion all the more and revive the spirit of monotheism in them. They should realize that the gatherings held to mourn the martyrdom of Imam Husayn can please Allah and become the means of reward in the Hereafter only when they take place within the limits of obedience to the Almighty Allah and do not consist of falsehood and unlawful acts, because Allah cannot be worshipped by means of sin, and unlawful things cannot be made the basis of worship.

It is so, because Allah accepts only that act which is performed within the limits of piety. It reforms human soul and takes him to a higher spiritual stage. It is not possible that a good deed is done and it has no effect on the soul of man. It is the effect of a good deed which appears in the shape of spiritual reward in the Hereafter and unless a deed has a good effect on human soul it is meaningless to say that it carries spiritual reward.

Similarly unless a deed has bad effect on human soul it is meaningless to say that it carries punishment in the Hereafter. Those persons who apparently do good deeds, but do not have the least effect on their souls and do not reform them are sadly mistaken. They remain at the same spiritual stage and still think that they have acquired abundant spiritual reward.

Good deeds should provide food for spiritual faculties to man and should I improve and reform his inner self. They should eradicate base, motives from their mind and should develop good morals in their place and strengthen them. In case good deeds do not produce good effects it should be concluded that the deeds in question were not really good and were not performed properly. For it so happens very often that, contrary to what is imagined, such deeds have bad effects on human soul.

Allah says:

Whoever desires to meet his Lord should strive to do good deeds. (Surah al-Kahf, 18:110).

Fatima’s Characteristics

Fatima az-Zahra’ (a.s.) was different from all women in her high qualities and noble characteristics that took her to the highest rank of virtue and perfection. She was an example of her father’s morals and mentality. She resembled him in his deep faith in Allah the Almighty, asceticism, and refraining from pleasures of this life. Here, we talk about some of Fatima’s characteristics:

Infallibility

Fatima (a.s) was infallible, and this is an indisputable fact. Allah had purified her from every sin and every defect, and endowed her with all virtues to make her an example for all the women of the world. She was an ideal example in faith, worship, chastity, purity, charity, and kindness to the poor and the deprived.

Proofs on her infallibility

1. The verse of purification; Allah has said, (Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House, and to purify you a (thorough) purifying. 33:33 ).

The People of the House (the Ahlul Bayt) were Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn (a.s.).[55]

The verse clearly proves the infallibility and purity of these persons from every sin and vices. Allah had chosen these people to be examples for His people and guides to His obedience and pleasedness. It is impossible for Allah to give sinners or guilty people this gift.

Infallibility, in its concept, definitely would not be far from the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) who were the centers of knowledge and wisdom in Islam. For forty years, I have researched and written books on them, but I could find a slip neither in their sayings nor in their doings. Even their enemies, who were full of grudge against them, did not mention any fault or any bit of deviation about them.

Imam Ali (a.s.) says, ‘By Allah, if I am given the seven districts with all that under their skies to disobey Allah in a bran of a grain of barley that I deprive it of a mouth of a locust, I will never do.’

This far extent of piety in the imams is the very infallibility that the Shia believe to be in their imams. Anyhow, Fatima (a.s) was one of the fourteen infallible members of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.).

2. The Prophet (a.s.) made all his nation, through his repeated sayings, know that Fatima (a.s) was a part from him, and that whatever pleased her would please him and whatever displeased her would displease him. That she was a part from the Prophet (a.s.) means that she was infallible since the Prophet (a.s.) was infallible.

3. The true traditions that were transmitted from the Prophet (a.s.) confirmed that Allah would be pleased for the pleasure of Fatima (a.s) and would be displeased for her displeasure. These traditions mean that Fatima (a.s) had reached a degree of faith and piety that would take her to the same rank of the infallible prophets who sincerely obeyed Allah and knew Him as He was.

4. The Prophet (a.s.) compared his progeny to the Book of Allah as in the mutawatir (successive) tradition of “ath-Thaqalayn”, and since the Book of Allah is infallible from any falseness, so are the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.); otherwise, the Prophet (a.s.) would not compare them to the Book of Allah. Fatima (a.s) was at the head of the pure progeny of the Prophet (a.s.) and was the mother of all the infallible imams (except Imam Ali) whom Allah had purified from all uncleanness.

Charity to the poor

Fatima (a.s) was charitable and too kind to the poor and the deprived. She, her husband, and her two sons were meant by these Qur’anic verses, (And they give food out of love for Him to the poor, the orphan, and the captive. We only feed you for Allah’s sake; we desire from you neither reward nor thanks. 76:8-9 ).

Fatima (a.s) milled wheat and barley for her poor neighbors who were unable to do that. She carried water to her weak neighbors who could not get water.

On the night of her wedding, Fatima (a.s) had a new dress on. When she knew that a young woman from the Ansar[56] could not find a dress to put on, she took off the dress of her wedding and gave it to that young woman. Fatima (a.s) turned away from every material pleasure and preferred the satisfaction of Allah to everything. Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari said,

‘Once, the messenger of Allah (a.s.) led us in offering the Asr (afternoon) Prayer, and when he offered the nafila (a supererogatory prayer), he sat in the qibla and people sat around him. A very old man came complaining of hunger and saying, ‘O prophet of Allah, I am hungry. Feed me! And I am naked (have no clothes). Clothe me!’

The Prophet (a.s.) asked the old man to go to the house of his (the Prophet) daughter Fatima (a.s). The old nomad man went to Fatima’s house and from behind the door he greeted her and said, ‘O daughter of Muhammad, I am naked and hungry. Would you please comfort me, may Allah have mercy on you?’

Fatima (a.s) herself was in neediness, and she found nothing to give to the man except a sheepskin that her sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn slept on. The old man did not like it and he gave it back to her. Then, Fatima (a.s) took a necklace, which was a present from her cousin Fatima bint Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib, off her neck and gave it to the man.

The old man took the necklace and went back to the Prophet (a.s.) saying to him, ‘Fatima gave me this necklace and said to me, ‘Sell it! May Allah recompense you with good for it.’

The Prophet (a.s.) cried and said, ‘And how does Allah not recompense you with good for it while the daughter of Muhammad, the principal of the daughters of Adam, has given it to you?’

Ammar bin Yasir asked the Prophet (a.s.), ‘O messenger of Allah, do you permit me to buy this necklace?’

The Prophet (a.s.) said, ‘Buy it, Ammar! If the human beings and the jinn participate in it, Allah will not punish them with Fire.’

Ammar said, ‘O Sheikh (old man), how much is the necklace?’

The old man said, ‘I sell it for a meal of bread and meat, a Yemeni garment that I cover my private parts and offer prayer for my Lord with, and a dinar that takes me to my family.’

Ammar said to him, ‘I give you twenty dinars, two hundred dirhams, a Yemeni garment, my camel to take you to your family, and a meal of wheat bread and meat.’

The old man said, ‘O man, how generous you are!’ He left delightedly saying, ‘O Allah, there is no god but You. O Allah, give Fatima what no eye has ever seen and no ear has ever heard of.’

Ammar perfumed the necklace with musk, enveloped it in Yemeni garment, and gave it one of his slaves saying to him, ‘Take this necklace to the messenger of Allah (a.s.) and you will be his.’

When the slave took the necklace to the Prophet (a.s.), the Prophet (a.s.) asked him to take it to Fatima (a.s) who took it and set the slave free. The slave smiled. Fatima (a.s) asked him what made him smile and he said,

‘What made me smile was the great blessing of this necklace. It satiated a hungry one, clothed a naked one, made a poor one rich, freed a slave, and then returned to its owner.’[57]

Asceticism

Fatima (a.s) led an ascetical life, and lived in satisfaction away from the worldly pleasures like her father the Prophet (a.s.) and her husband Imam Ali (a.s.) who had divorced this world and been abstinent from its pleasures.

When these verses (And surely Hell is the promised place of them all. It has seven gates; for every gate there shall be a separate party of them.15, 43-44 ) were revealed to the Prophet (a.s.), he cried too much and his companions cried for his crying though they did not know why he cried. One of the companions went to Fatima (a.s) who was milling barley and reciting, (and whatever is with Allah is better and more lasting. 28:60 ). He greeted and told her about the crying of her father. She wrapped herself with a ragged cloak that was sewed with palm-tree leaves and went to the meeting of her father. When Salman saw her, he said, ‘How sorrowful! The daughters of Caesar and Khosrau are in sarcenet while the daughter of the messenger of Allah wears a ragged wool cloak.’

Fatima (a.s) came to the Prophet (a.s.) and told him what Salman said, and then she said, ‘By Him Who has sent you with the truth, I and Ali since five years have nothing but a sheepskin. We give food on it to our camel in the day and in the night we sleep on it, and our pillow is from leather filled with palm-tree fibers.’ Then she asked her father about the reason of his crying and he told her about the revelation of those verses. She said, Woe and woe unto whoever enters Fire.’[58]

Anas bin Malik said, ‘Once, Fatima came to the Prophet (a.s.) and said, ‘O messenger of Allah, I and ibn Abi Talib (Imam Ali) have no bed except a sheepskin. We sleep on it, and give food to our camel on it in the day.’

The Prophet (a.s.) said to her, ‘My daughter, be patient! Moses son of Imran lived with his wife for ten years and she had no bed except an aba.’[59]

Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari said, ‘Once, the Prophet (a.s.) saw his daughter Fatima in a ragged garment while milling with her hand and suckling her child. His eyes shed tears and he said, ‘O my daughter, bear the bitterness of this life for the sake of the sweetness of the afterlife…’

She declared her satisfaction by saying, ‘Praise be to Allah for His favors and thanks to Him for His blessings…’[60]

Fatima (a.s) lived a very simple life with no pleasures or any kind of luxury. In her conducts, she showed the real picture of Islam and gave Muslim woman lessons of satisfaction with what Allah had determined for man.

Fatima (a.s) abstained from all desires of life in food, clothes, and others and she turned sincerely to Allah and preferred pleasing Him to everything else.

Chastity and veiling

Fatima (a.s) was the highest example in chastity, honor, and veiling for all Muslim women.

Imam Ali (a.s.) said, ‘Once, a blind man asked permission to visit Fatima (a.s), but she asked him to stay behind a screen. The messenger of Allah (a.s.) asked Fatima (a.s), ‘Why did you screen him though he is blind and could not see you?’

She said, ‘He could not see me, but I could see him.’

The Prophet (a.s.) said, ‘I witness that you are a part from me.’[61]

Once, Imam Ali (a.s.) asked Fatima (a.s), ‘When is woman closer to her Lord?’

She said, ‘When she keeps to her house…’

Imam Ali (a.s.) offered her answer to the Prophet (a.s.) who said, ‘She is true. Fatima is a part from me.’[62]

Veil is beauty and honor for woman. Whenever woman adorns herself with chastity, she will be in a highest position and most honorable rank besides gaining admiration of the all. But if woman is unveiled and unchaste, she will be worthless in the society and no one will appreciate her. The veil and chastity of Fatima (a.s) is a high example that every woman who wants to live regardable and honorable in the society.

Deep faith

Definitely, no one can suspect the unequaled faith and worship of Fatima (a.s). She spent most of her days and nights in worshipping.

Imam al-Hasan (a.s.) said, ‘Some night, I saw my mother Fatima (a.s) in her mihrab bow and prostrate (offer prayers) until the light of morning appeared. I heard her praying Allah for the believing men and the believing women and mentioning them by the name. She prayed Allah for them too much, but without praying for herself. I said to her, ‘Why do you not pray Allah for yourself mother?’

She said, ‘O my son, the neighbor (first) and then the house…’[63]

Al-Hasan al-Basri said about Fatima (a.s), ‘No one in the umma worshipped Allah more than Fatima (a.s). She offered prayers in the night until her feet swelled.’[64]

It was transmitted from Fatima (a.s) her saying, ‘Whoever raises his true worship to Allah, Allah will send down to him the best of his benefit.’[65]

Fatima (a.s) assigned the last hours of the day of Fridays for Allah the Almighty. In the last ten days of Ramadan, Fatima (a.s) spent all the night in worshipping and supplicating, and she encouraged all those in her house to spend the night in worshipping and supplicating. Her feet swelled because of her long standing before Allah the Almighty.[66]

Devotedness

Fatima (a.s) devoted herself to Allah and resorted to Him totally in all of her affairs. This was clear in her du’as.

Her du’a on turning to Allah

Fatima (a.s) often supplicated Allah with this du’a,

“O Allah, by Your knowing of the unseen and Your power over the creation, make me live if You know that life is better to me, and make me die if You know that death is better to me.

O Allah, I ask You for loyalty, and for the fear of You in pleasure and in anger, and for economy in wealth and poverty.

O Allah, I ask You for incessant bliss, and ask You for ceaseless delight, and ask You for satisfaction with fate, and ask You for a good life after death, and ask You for the looking at Your Face, and the eagerness to Your meeting without a harming distress or a dark sedition.

O Allah, adorn us with adornment of faith, and make us guided and guides, O You the Lord of the worlds!”[67]

Her du’a on resorting to Allah

She recited in this du’a,

“O Allah, make me satisfied with what You have given to me, honor me and give me good health as long as You make me live, forgive me and have mercy on me when You make me die.

O Allah, do not afflict me with asking for what You have not determined for me, and whatever You have determined for me make it easy and accessible.

O Allah, reward my parents for me and whoever has done me a favor with the best of reward.

O Allah, take me to what You have created me for, do not make me busy with what You have already secured to me, do not punish me while I ask You to forgive me, and do not deprive me while I beg You.

O Allah, make me humble to myself, make Your standing great to me, and inspire me with Your obedience and the doing of what pleases You and avoiding what displeases You, O You the most Merciful of the merciful.”[68]

Her du’a of tasbih[69]

Fatima (a.s) recited in this du’a,

“Glory be to Him Who has shone with might and power.

 Glory be to Him Who has hidden in seven heavens that no eye can see.

Glory be to Him Who has lowered creatures with death and honored Himself with life.

Glory be to Him Who remains and everything else perishes.

Glory be to Him Who has chosen praise to Himself and accepted it.

Glory be to the Ever-living, the Omniscient.

Glory be to the Forbearing, the Honorable.

Glory be to the Most High, the Great.

Glory be to Allah and by His praise.”[70]

Her du’a on an important thing

Fatima (a.s) supplicated Allah with du’a for relieving griefs and fulfilling needs:

“By Yaseen and the Wise Qur'an, and by Taha and the Great Qur'an, O You, Who is able to fulfill all needs of requesters, Who know what is there inside conscience, O You Who cheer up the distressed, Who relieve the grieved, O You Who is merciful to the old, Who nourish infants, O You Who do not need expression, have blessings on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad!”[71]

Her du’a for making things easy

“O Allah the Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Great Throne, our Lord and the Lord of everything, the Revealer of the Torah, the Bible, and the Qur'an, the Splitter of grains and stones, I seek Your protection from everything that You will pull down.

You are the First that nothing was before You, and You are the Last that nothing will be after You. You are the Evident that there is nothing above You, and You are the Hidden One that there is nothing below You. Pay for me the debt and save me from poverty!”[72]

Her du’a for healing

“In the name of Allah the Light, in the name of Allah the light of Light, in the name of Allah a light on light, in the name of Allah Who is the Manager of affairs, in the name of Allah Who has created the light from the light, praise be to Allah Who has created the light from the light, and sent down the light on the mountain in a recorded Book, in a spread parchment, in a determined measure, on a happy prophet.

Praise be to Allah Who is with glory mentioned, with pride is known, for better or for worse is thanked, (O Allah) and have blessing on our master Muhammad and on his pure progeny!”[73]

Her du’a in morning and evening

“O You the Ever-living, the Eternal, by Your mercy I ask for help; so help me and do not let me be deceived by my self for a twinkle of an eye at all, and repair all my affairs!”[74]

Her du’a at sleeping

“Praise be to Allah the Sufficer, glory be to Allah the Highest. Allah is sufficient to me and enough. What Allah wills he fulfils. Allah hears whoever calls upon Him. There is no escape from Allah, and no shelter beyond Allah. (Surely I rely on Allah, my Lord and your Lord; there is no living creature but He holds it by its forelock; surely my Lord is on the right path. 11:56 ). (Praise be to Allah, Who has not taken unto Himself a son, and Who has no partner in the Sovereignty, nor has He any protecting friend through dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence. 17:111 ).”[75]

Fatima (a.s) supplicated Allah on every day of the week with a special du’a. The following are her du’as of the week days:

Her du’a of Saturday

“O Allah, open to us the treasures of Your mercy, and give us, O Allah, a mercy that You torture us after it neither in this life nor in the afterlife, give us from Your wide favor a halal (lawful), good livelihood, do not make us in neediness, do not make us need other than You, make us more grateful to You, and make us more in need to You and satisfied and abstinent with You than any other than You.

O Allah, enrich us in this life. O Allah, we seek Your protection from turning Your face away from us in a case where we look forward to You in it!

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and give us what You like, and make it strength to us in what You like, O You the Most Merciful of the merciful!”

Her du’a on Sunday

“O Allah, make the first of my this day prosperity, the middle of it, righteousness, and the last of it success!

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and make us from those who turn to You and You receive them, and rely on You and You satisfy them, and beg You and You are Merciful to them…”

Her du’a on Monday

“O Allah, I ask You for strength in worshipping You, insight in Your Book, and understanding in Your commands.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and do not make the Qur'an barren with us, the straight path crooked, and Muhammad (blessings of Allah be on him and on his progeny) averting from us!”

Her du’a on Tuesday

“O Allah, make the inadvertence of people as a mention to us, and make their mention as gratitude to us, and make the good we say by our tongues as a true intention in our hearts.

O Allah, Your forgiveness is greater than our sins, and Your mercy is more hopeful than our deeds.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and lead us rightly to the good deeds and right doings…”

Her du’a on Wednesday

“O Allah, guard us by Your eye that does not sleep, by Your shelter that is beyond reach, and by Your great attributes. O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and his progeny, and keep for us what if other than You keeps, it will be lost, and cover for us what if other than You covers, it will be exposed, and make all that obedient to us, for You are the Hearing of du’a, Near, Responder…”

Her du’a on Thursday

“O Allah, I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity, and the doing of what You like and please.

O Allah, I ask You from Your might for our weakness, from Your richness for our poverty, and from Your patience and knowledge for our ignorance.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and assist us in thanking, mentioning, obeying, and worshipping You by Your mercy, O You the Most Merciful of the merciful.”

Her du’a on Friday

“O Allah, make us the nearest of those who come near to You, the best of those who turn to You, and the most successful of those who ask and supplicate You.

O Allah, make us from those who as if they see You until the Day of Resurrection when they will meet You, and do not make us die except on Your satisfaction.

O Allah, make us from those who are sincere to You in their deeds, and the most beloved to You from among all Your people.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and forgive us with definite forgiveness that we do not commit an error after it, nor do we engage in a sin or an offence.

O Allah, bless Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad with growing, continuous, pure, successive, recurrent blessing by Your mercy, O You the Most Merciful of the merciful.”[76]

You can easily see in these du’as the essence of Islam and the true faith in Allah that Fatima (a.s) had.

Her amulet

Fatima (a.s) sought the protection of Allah through this amulet that was written in it:

“In the name of Allah, O You the Ever-living, the Eternal, by Your mercy I ask for help; so help me and do not let me be deceived by my self for a twinkle of an eye at all, and repair all my affairs!”[77]

Tasbih of Fatima (a.s)

After every prayer Fatima (a.s) offered, she recited the tasbih that the Prophet (a.s.) had taught her only. Ameerul Mo'minin Imam Ali (a.s.) said,

“Fatima was the most beloved one to her father. The quern had affected her hands. She carried water with the skin until it affected her neck. She swept the house until her clothes became dusty. She set fire under the cooking pot until her clothes darkened with smoke. She suffered some harm because of that. One day, we heard that some slaves were brought to the Prophet (a.s.). I said to Fatima, ‘You could go to your father asking him for a servant to help you.’ She went to her father but found him busy. She felt shy to ask him and then she came back. On the second day, the Prophet (a.s.) came to Fatima’s house and asked her why she had come to him the day before, but she felt shy to tell him. I said, ‘By Allah, I shall tell you O messenger of Allah. She milled with the quern until her hands were affected, carried water with the skin until her neck was affected, swept the house until her clothes became dusty, and set fire under the cooking pot until her clothes darkened. We were informed that some slaves or servants were brought to you, and so I said to her to ask you for a servant.’

The Prophet (a.s.) said, ‘Shall I tell you about what is better than what you ask me for? When you go to bed, you recite thirty-four takbirs, thirty-three tasbihs, and thirty-three tahmids.[78] This is better for you than a servant.”[79]

The Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) paid too much attention to this tasbih. They taught it to their sons and daughters as an educational method and spiritual nourishment. Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, ‘We teach our children the memorizing of this tasbih and reciting it after prayer and at sleeping.’

Reciting this tasbih is a kind of glorification of Allah. Fatima (a.s) loyally practiced this tasbih and heartily kept on it since the moment when her father had taught it to her. She went to the tomb of her uncle, the eternal martyr Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib, took a handful of soil from his tomb, and made the beads of her rosary by which she practiced this tasbih called as the “tasbih of Fatima”. Muslims imitated her in taking rosaries to glorify Allah with. When Imam al-Husayn (a.s.) was martyred, the Shia made their rosaries from the soil of Kerbala where the imam was buried to practice with them the “tasbih of Fatima”. They also made, and still make, from the soil of Kerbala small dried pieces to prostrate on them in the prayers. Many traditions were transmitted from the infallible imams about the preference of this soil.

Fatima’s worship

The happiest times Fatima (a.s) had were the times when she communicated with her Lord in prayer. When she offered the prayer, her heart traveled high to the Divine Sphere, and her body shook out of the fear of her Lord.

After each prayer, Fatima (a.s) devotedly supplicated her Lord with some du’as. The following are some of those du’as:

Her du’a after the Dhuhr (noon) Prayer

When Fatima (a.s) finished the Dhuhr Prayer, she recited this du’a,

“Glory be to the Glorious, High, Sublime One. Glory be to the One of the great honor. Glory be to the One of the eternal, superior sovereignty.

Praise be to Allah by Whose blessing I have reached what I have had of the knowledge of Him, the doing for Him, the turning to Him, and the obeying of His command, and praise be to Allah Who has made me not deny anything of His Book, and not confused in anything of His affair, and praise be to Allah Who has guided me to His religion, and not made me worship anything else than Him.

O Allah, I ask You for the saying and the doing of repentants, the rescue and reward of mujahidin, the faith and reliance of believers, ease at death, and security at reckoning.

O Allah, make death the best absentee I am waiting for, and the best visitor that visits me, and endow me at the coming of death, at its attacking, at its pangs, and when the soul comes down from between the clavicles, and when it reaches the throat, and at my leaving this world, and at that moment when I have no power over any good or harm to myself, nor distress or ease, (endow me) with a mercy from Your mercy, and a share from Your contentment, and a good tiding from Your honor, before You take my life and make the Angel of Death dominate over my soul, with a good tiding from You!

O my Lord, there is no one other than You that pleases by it (mercy and good tiding) my bosom, satisfies my soul, delights my eye, makes my face beams with joy, my complexion shine, my heart feel safe, and all my body rejoice at it that all those who see me from Your creation and hear about me from Your people envy me it. You make by it the agonies of death easy for me, relieve me from its grief, alleviate its severity, save me from its trouble, take away from me its grief and regret, keep me from its sorrow and sedition, protect me from its evil and the evil of that which comes to its (death) people, and endow me by it with its good and the good of that which comes with it and the good of that which will come after it.

And then if You make me die and take my soul, make my soul among the successful souls, and my spirit among the good spirits, and my body among the purified bodies, and make my deeds among the accepted deeds, and then grant me in my grave in the earth, and the place of my shield where my flesh is entombed, and my bone is buried, and I am left alone helplessly exiled by the land and deserted by people, and when I miss Your mercy, and need my good deeds, and meet what I have done for my afterlife and done in the days of my life, (grant me) a success from Your mercy, and a gleam from Your light, and a confirmation from Your honor with the firm word in this worldly life and in the hereafter, You cause the unjust to go astray and do what You pleases. Then bless my resurrection and reckoning when the ground is split to me and people abandon me, the cry befalls me, the gust frightens me, and You resurrect me after death and send me for reckoning. Send with me, O my Lord, a light from Your mercy moving before me and on my right hand to reassure me with it, make my heart steadfast (with it), show my excuse, honor my face, confirm my speech, declare my proof, take me to the firm handhold of Your mercy, and put me in the high rank of Your paradise, and grant me the companionship of Muhammad Your slave and messenger in the highest rank of the Paradise, and its best virtue, best gift, and most successful aspiration with those upon whom You have bestowed favors from among the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, and a goodly company are they.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad the last of the prophets, and on all the prophets and the messengers, and all the angels, and on his good, pure progeny, and on all the imams of guidance; Amen, O Lord of the worlds.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad as You have guided us by him, have blessing on Muhammad as You have had mercy on us by him, have blessing on Muhammad as You have preferred us by him, have blessing on Muhammad as You have honored us by him, have blessing on Muhammad as you have enlightened us by him, and have blessing on Muhammad as You have saved us from a brink of an abyss of Fire.

O Allah, honor his face, exalt his rank, make his authority prevail, perfect his light, make his scales heavy, confirm his proof, grant him until he is pleased, make him get to the high degree and means in the Paradise, take him to the praised position that You have promised him, make him the best of prophets and messengers to You in rank and means, make us follow him, give us to drink from his cup, make us get to his pond, resurrect us in his company, make us die on his religion, make us follow his paths, and carry out his Sunna being not abased, regretful, doubtful, or apostate.

O You, that Your door is opened for Your suppliants, and Your screen is raised for those who hope for You, O You, the Coverer of bad things, and Healer of wounded hearts, do not expose me in the stand of the (Day of) Resurrection with sins, and do not turn Your honored face away from me from among people.

O You, the aim of the distressed poor, and the Healer of broken bones, forgive me my great sins and what expose my inners, clean my heart from the burden of errors, and grant me with good preparedness for the coming of death.

O You the Most Generous of the generous, and the utmost hope of the begging ones, You are my Lord; You have opened to me the door of supplication and repentance, so do not close before me the door of acceptance and responding, and save me by Your mercy from Fire, put me up in the abodes of the Gardens, make me cling to the firmest handhold, make my end a happy one, and make me live with peace.

O Most Gracious, Most Perfect, Most Glorious, Most Lofty, do not let an enemy or envier rejoice at my misfortune, and do not let an oppressive ruler overpower me nor a mutinous devil, by Your mercy O the Most Merciful of the merciful, and there is no power save in Allah, the Most High, the Most Great, and may Allah have blessing and peace on Muhammad and his progeny.”[80]

Her du’a after the Asr Prayer

After the Asr (afternoon) Prayer, Fatima (a.s.) supplicated Allah with the following du’a:

“Glory be to Him Who is aware of what the hearts (minds) obtain! Glory be to Him who knows the exact count of sins! Glory be to Him Who nothing in the earth or in the heaven is unknown to him! Praise be to Allah Who has not made me ungrateful to His blessings, nor a denier to His favor. All good is from Him and He is the most fittest for it! Praise be to Him for His irrefutable authority over all that He has created from those who obey and do not obey Him. If He shows mercy, it is from His favor, and if He punishes, it is for what people themselves have committed, and Allah wills no injustice to His creatures.

Praise be to Allah the most high in place, of most exalted erection, of strongest pillars, of most glorious authority, most greatest position, of clear proof, the Beneficent, the Merciful, the Giver, the Benefactor.

Praise be to Allah Who has hidden from every creature that sees Him by the truth of Deity, and the power of Oneness; so sights cannot comprehend Him, nor can news include Him. No measurement can measure Him, and no mind can imagine Him because He is the Almighty Sovereign.

O Allah, verily You see my place, hear my speech, know of my affairs, know what there is inside my soul, and nothing of my affairs is hidden to You. I have come to You offering my request, asking You for my need, beseeching You for my demand, and asking You due to poverty and neediness, meanness and distress, and misery and wretchedness.

You are the Lord Who is Generous of forgiveness; You can find another than me to punish him, but I cannot find another than You to forgive me. You can do without my punishment, but I cannot do without Your mercy. I beg You by my need to You and Your doing without me, and by Your power over me and my weakness before You to make my this supplication receive a response from You, and my this standing receive a mercy from You, and my this request receive a success. (O my Lord) whatever difficulty I fear, make it easy to me, and whatever failure I fear, afford it to me, and whoever from all the creatures intends evil to me, defeat him; Amen O the Most Merciful of the merciful. (O my Lord) make easy to me what I fear its severity, and relieve me from what I fear its distress, and make easy to me what I fear its hardship, Amen O the Lord of the Worlds!

O Allah, take self-deceit, hypocrisy, haughtiness, oppression, envy, weakness, doubtfulness, faintness, illnesses, diseases, treason, cunning, trickery, calamity, and corruption off my hearing and sight, and guide me to what You like and please, O the Most Merciful of the merciful.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad and forgive my sin, cover my defect, calm down my fear, relieve my distress, suffice my poverty, make easy my need, pardon my slip, gather me with my family, and save me from all what may distress me; what is unknown to me, known to me, and all what I fear from You, O the Most Merciful of the merciful!

O Allah, I have entrusted my affairs to You, delivered my back to You, and handed over my self to You with all what I have committed against it out of fear and desire, and You are the Generous One that do not let down hope and do not disappoint supplication, so I ask You by the right of Your friend Abraham, and Your speaker (with) Moses, and Your soul Jesus, and Your choice and prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) not to keep Your Face away from me until You accept my repentance and forgive my errors, O the Most Merciful of the merciful!

O Allah, make my revenge on him who has oppressed me and give victory on him who has feuded me. O Allah, do not make my trial be in my faith, and do not make the worldly life be my foremost interest or the end of my knowledge!

O Allah, better my faith which is the protection of my affairs, and better my life in which my living is, and better my afterlife in which my resurrection will be there, and make life to me a growth in every good, and make death a relief to me from every evil!

O Allah, You are the Most Pardoner and You love pardoning, so pardon me!

O Allah, make me live if You know that life is better to me, and make me die if death is better to me. I ask for (granting me) fearing You in absence and presence, and fairness at anger and satisfaction, and I ask You for (making me practice) economy in poverty and wealth, and I ask You for a bliss that does not cease, and delight that does not stop, and I ask You for satisfaction after (Your) judgment, and I ask You for the pleasure of the looking at Your Face.

O Allah, I ask You to guide me to my best affairs, and seek Your protection from the evil of my soul. O Allah, I have done wrong and been unjust to myself, so forgive me for that no one forgives sins except You. O Allah, I ask You to hasten Your hale to me, give me patience toward Your trial, and take me out of this life to Your mercy.

O Allah, I ask You, Your angels, the carriers of Your Throne, and all there is in the heavens and the earth to witness that You are Allah and there is no god but You alone with no partner, and that Muhammad is Your slave and messenger. O You, Who had been before the existence of anything, Who are the Creator of everything, and Who will exist after when there will be nothing existing.

And I ask You that praise is to You that there is no god but You, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

O Allah, to Your mercy I have raised my sight, and to Your bounty I have stretched my hand, so do not prevent me while I am begging You, and do not punish me while I am asking You to forgive me. O Allah, forgive me for You are aware of me, and do not punish me for You are powerful over me by Your mercy, O the Most Merciful of the merciful.

O Allah, the One of the vast mercy and the availing, exalting, and purifying prayer, bless the best one of Your people to You, the most beloved one of them to You, and the most prominent of them to You; Muhammad, Your slave and messenger, who has been preferred with the virtues of (being) the means, with the noblest, most perfect, most exalted, greatest, and the best blessings that You have ever blessed a messenger of You and a trustee with Your revelation by.

O Allah, as You have closed (ended) by him (Prophet Muhammad) blindness, and opened by him guidance, make the methods of his ways brilliance to us, and the proofs of his authority as means to us by which we come to You.

O Allah, praise be to You inasmuch as the seven heavens and their layers, and inasmuch as the seven earths and what there is between them, and inasmuch as the Throne of our Generous Lord and the scales of our Forgiving Lord, and inasmuch as the words of our Mighty Lord, and inasmuch as the Paradise and the Fire, and inasmuch as the number of soil, water, and all what is seen and what is not seen.

O Allah, make Your blessings, benediction, favor, forgiveness, mercy, pleasedness, peace, remembrance, light, honor, bounty, and good on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad as You had benediction, blessing, and mercy on Abraham and the progeny of Abraham, You are Praised, Glorious.

O Allah, give Muhammad the great means and the most benefic of Your reward in the end until You honor him on the Day of Resurrection, O the Lord of guidance.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and on all of Your angels, prophets, and messengers. Peace be on Gabriel, Michael, Israfel, the carriers of the Throne, Your Archangels, the noble recorders (angels), the close angels, and peace be on all of Your angels.

Peace be on our father Adam and our mother Eve, and peace be on all the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, and peace be on all the messengers, and praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds, and there is no power save in Allah, the Most High, the Most Great.”[81]

Her supplication after the Maghrib (sunset) Prayer

“Praise be to Allah Who sayers cannot come at His praise, and praise be to Allah Who counters cannot count His bounties, and praise be to Allah Who strivers cannot perform what He deserves.

There is no god but Allah, the First and the Last, and there is no god but Allah the Apparent and the Hidden, and there is no god but Allah the Giver of life and the Maker of death.

Allah is Most Great of Might, and Allah is Most Great of Everlastingness.

Praise be to Allah Who knowers cannot come at His knowledge nor do the ignorant disparage His patience, nor can praisers come at His praise, nor can depicters depict His features, nor can creatures well describe Him.

Praise be to Allah, the Possessor of Dominion and Kingdom, of Might and Invincibility, of Honor and Glory, of Majesty and Magnificence, of Dignity and Beauty, of Power and Might, of Might and Strength, of Bounty and Dominance, of Favor and Influence, of Justice and Truth, of Creation and Exaltedness, of Sublimity and Grandeur, of Virtue and Wisdom, of Richness and Generosity, of Giving and Preventing, of Patience and Knowledge, of Irrefutable Argument, Ample Bounty, good, beautiful praise, gracious blessings, the King of the Life and the Afterlife, of the Paradise and the Fire and what there is in them, was He blessed and exalted.

Praise be to Allah Who knows the secrets of the unseen, and is aware of what hearts earn. There is no escape or runaway from Him.

Praise be to Allah the Lofty in His dominion, the Glorious in His place, the Predominant in His Kingdom, the Powerful in His seizing, the High above His Throne, the Aware of His creation, the Doer of whatever He wills by His knowledge. Praise be to Allah by Whose words the firmamental heavens have been erected, the plain earths have been fixed, the firm mountains have been set upright, the pollinating winds have been blown, the clouds have moved in the sphere of the sky, the seas have restrained at their boundaries, the hearts have been afraid of Him, and lords have submitted to his deity. Blessed You are, O the Counter of rain drops and tree leaves, and the Reviver of dead bodies for Resurrection.

Glory be to You the Lord of Glory and Honor for whatever You do to the poor stranger when he comes to You resorting, calling for help, and for whatever You do to him who lodges in Your yard, looks forward to Your content, and resorts to You, and he kneels before You complaining to You of what is not unknown to You. O my Lord, let my chance in my supplication not be deprivation, and my share in what I hope from You not be disappointment!

O You Who had existed, is existing, and will exist as He has still been over every soul with what it has earned. O You Who has made the days of life to elapse, its months to change, and its years to turn while You are Everlasting that neither do times wear You out, nor do ages change You.

O You Whom each day with You is new and each sustenance with You is ready for the weak, the strong, and the severe. You have divided sustenance between the creatures and equaled the ant with the sparrow.

O Allah, if residing narrows to people, we seek Your protection from the narrowness of residence. O Allah, if the Day of Resurrection is prolonged to criminals, shorten that day to us as (the period) between a prayer and another. O Allah, if the sun becomes close to the skulls and there is between it and the skulls a measure of one mile and its heat is increased to the heat of ten years, we ask You to shade us with clouds, and erect for us pulpits and chairs to sit on and people get free in the place, Amen O the Lord of the Worlds.

I ask You, O Allah, by these praises to forgive me, pardon me, dress me with hale in my body, and safety in my religion.

I ask You and I am sure of Your response to my request, and I call upon You and I know of Your listening to my call, so listen to my supplication and do not end my hope, do not repel my praising, and do not disappoint my supplication. I am in need of Your content and I am poor to Your forgiving. I ask You and I am not desperate of Your mercy, and I call upon You and I am not safe from Your wrath.

O my Lord, respond to me and favor me with Your pardon, and make me die while I am Muslim, and join me to the righteous. O my Lord, do not prevent Your favor from reaching me O All Gracious, and do not entrust me to my self forlornly, O All Compassionate.

O my Lord, extend mercy, at the separation of lovers, to my dying, and at the quiet of the grave to my loneliness, and at the wild of (the day of) Resurrection to my forlornness, and before You standing for reckoning to my destitution.

O my Lord, I ask You to rescue me from Fire, so rescue me! O my Lord, I seek Your protection from Fire, so protect me! O my Lord, I resort to You from Fire, so take me away (from it)! O my Lord, I seek Your mercy out of my distress, so have mercy on me! O my Lord, I ask You to forgive me what I have been ignorant of, so forgive me! O my Lord, supplication has taken me forth for the need to You, so do not disappoint me, O You the Generous One of favors, charity, and pardoning!

O my Lord, Beneficent, Merciful, respond to my call from among the suppliants to You, and pity, from among the weepers, my tear, and make in the meeting with You, on the day when I leave this world, my relief, and cover among the dead, O the Great Hoped One, my defect, and pity me at the going alone to my hole (grave), You are my hope, the place of need, and the Knower of what I want in directing my request.

O the Provider of needs, provide my need! To You is the complaint and You are the Helper and the Hoped One. I escape to You from sins, so receive me, and I resort from Your justice

to Your forgiveness, so apprehend me, and I resort to Your pardon from Your punishment, so protect me, and I hope Your mercy against Your punition, so save me, and I want the closeness to You by Islam, so approach me (to You), and from the great horror keep me safe, and in the shadow of Your Throne shade me, and two portions of Your mercy grant to me, and from this world safe protect me, and from darkness to light take me out, and on the Day of Resurrection honor me and with easy reckoning reckon with me, and do not expose me with my hidden defects, and against Your trials make me patient, and as You had kept impurity and unchastity away from Yousuf (Joseph), keep it away from me, and whatever I cannot bear do not burden me with, and to the Abode of Peace guide me, and by the Qur'an benefit me, and by the true saying fix me, and from the cursed Satan save me, and by Your power, might, and dominance protect me, and by Your patience, knowledge, and vast mercy deliver me, and in Your Garden of Paradise house me, and with the looking at Your face endow me, and to Your prophet Muhammad join me, and from devils, their followers, and from the evil of every evildoer rescue me!

O Allah, and my enemies and whoever intends evil against me if they come by land, coward their brave, scatter their gathering, blunt their weapons, hamstring their mounts, afflict them with storms and thunderbolts forever until You put them into Fire, degrade them from their forts, and make us dominate over them, Amen O the Lord of the Worlds.

O Allah, bless Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad with a blessing with which bear witness the first ones of the righteous, the master of the messengers, the last of the prophets, the leader of good, and the key of mercy.

O Allah, the Lord of the Inviolable House and the inviolable month, the Lord of the Sacred Monument, the Lord of the Pillar and the Temple (of Abraham), and the Lord of consecration and the breaking of consecration, send to the soul of Muhammad from us the greeting and peace.

Peace be on you O messenger of Allah. Peace be on you O the trustee of Allah. Peace be on You O Muhammad son of Abdullah. Peace be on you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. He is, as You have described him, to the believers most kind and merciful.

O Allah, give him (Muhammad) the best of what he has asked You for, and the best of what You have been prayed for him, and the best of what is prayed for him until the Day of Resurrection, Amen O the Lord of the Worlds.”[82]

Her supplication after the Isha (evening) Prayer

Glory be to Him that everything is humble to His greatness. Glory be to Him that everything is low to His glory. Glory be to Him that everything submits to His command and dominance. Glory be to Him that all affairs with their reins are subdued to Him.

Praise be to Allah Who does not forget whoever remembers Him. Praise be to Allah that whoever calls upon Him is not disappointed. Praise be to Allah Who suffices whoever relies on Him.

Praise be to Allah the Raiser of the heaven, the Leveler of the earth, the Blocker of seas, the Piler of mountains, the Creator of living beings, the Maker of trees, the Splitter of springs of the ground, the Manager of affairs, the Driver of clouds, the Guider of winds, water, and fire from the bottoms of the earth rising in the space, and the Downer of hot and cold, by Whose blessing good deeds are completed, and by thanking Him increases are deserved, and by Whose command the heavens have been established, and by Whose glory mountains have stabilized, beasts in the deserts and birds in nests are glorifying.

Praise be to Allah the Highest of ranks, the Revealer of signs, the Great in blessings, the Coverer of defects, the Accepter of good deeds, the Pardoner of errors, the Reliever of distresses, the Giver of blessings, the Responder to prayers, the Reviver of the dead, and the god of whatever in the earth and the heavens.

Praise be to Allah for every praise and remembrance, every thanking and patience, every prayer and zakat, every reverence and worship, every happiness and blessing, every increase and mercy, every bounty, honor, and obligation, every joy and distress, every grief and ease, every calamity and affliction, every ease and difficulty, every wealth and poverty, and in any case and at any occasion and time, and in any abode, resort, and residence.

O Allah, I am resorting to You, so shelter me, and I am seeking Your

protection, so protect me, and asking for Your assistance, so assist me, and calling for Your help, so help me, and praying You, so respond to me, and asking You for forgiveness, so forgive me, seeking Your victory, so render victory to me, and asking You for guidance, so guide me, and relying on You alone, so suffice me, and seeking refuge with You, so house me, and clinking to Your covenant, so save me, and depending on You, so suffice me, and make me in Your protection, guard, refuge, shelter, watch, security, sanctum, safety, under Your shadow, and under Your wing.

(O Allah) make on me a protective shield from You, and make Your guard, watch, security, and protection from behind and before me, and on my right, my left, from above, under, and around me so that no one from the creatures can reach me with evil and harm. There is no god but You. You are the All-Gracious, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of Glory and Honor.

O Allah, suffice me against the envy of enviers, the wronging of wrongdoers, the plotting of plotters, the cunning of cunning ones, the tricks of trickers, the assassination of assassinators, the backbiting of backbiters, the injustice of the unjust, the oppression of oppressors, the aggression of aggressors, the despise of despisers, the frowning of frowners, the attack of attackers, the stinginess of the stingy, the unfairness of the unfair, the erring of the erring ones, the slander of slanderers, the talebearing of talebearers, the magic of magicians, devils, and Satan, and the oppression of rulers, and the evil of all people.

O Allah, I ask You by Your retained, good, pure name by which the heavens and the earth have been set, to which darkness has shone and the angels have glorified, and from which hearts are afraid, and necks have submitted, and by which You have revived the dead, (I ask You) to forgive me every error I have committed in the darkness of night and in the light of day intendedly or inattentively, secretly or openly, and to endow me with certainty, guidance, light, knowledge, and understanding so that I fulfill Your Book, follow what You have made lawful, refrain from what You have made unlawful, carry out Your obligations, and fulfill the Sunna of Your Prophet Muhammad.

O Allah, join me to the righteous of those who had passed away, make me from the righteous of those who have remained, and end my deeds with the best of them, You are Forgiving, Merciful.

O Allah, if my age ends, the days of my life elapses, and it is inevitable for me to meet You, I ask You O Most Kind to give me from the Paradise an abode that the first ones and the last ones envy me it.

O Allah, accept my praising, and pity my beseeching and my confession against myself, for I have made You hear my voice from among the suppliants, and my devotion among the devotees, my praising among the speakers, and my glorifications among the praisers, and You are the Responder to the distressed, the Assistant of those who ask for assistance, the Helper of the desirous, the Resort of the runners away, the Succorer of the believers, and the Pardoner of sinners, and may Allah have blessings on the bringer of good tidings and the warner, and the shining lantern (Prophet Muhammad), and on all the angels and the prophets.

O Allah, the Expander of the expanded things, the Creator of the high (heavens), the Molder of hearts on their natures; the happy and unhappy ones, make the noblest of Your blessings, the greatest of Your benedictions, and the most honorable of Your greetings on Muhammad Your slave, messenger, and trustee over Your revelation, the undertaker of Your authority, the defender of Your sanctum, the announcer of Your command, the declarer of Your signs, and the fulfiller of Your vow.

O Allah, grant him (Muhammad) for every virtue of his virtues, attribute of his attributes, state of his states, and a position of his positions in which You have seen Muhammad a helper to You, patient with Your bitter trials, an enemy to whoever has feuded You, a supporter to whoever has supported You, faraway from what You have hated, and a caller for what You have liked, (grant him) with favors from Your reward, and special gifts from Your gifts and preference by which You honor his affair and exalt his rank with the achievers of Your justice and the defenders of Your sanctum, until no sublimity, splendor, mercy, and glory remain but You grant to Muhammad, and take him to the highest of ranks and most exalted of positions, Amen O the Lord of the worlds.

O Allah, I entrust You with my religion, soul, and all Your bounties on me. O Allah, make me in Your protection, security, glory, and guard. Glorious is the resorter to You, sublime is Your praise, sanctified are Your attributes, and there is no god but You. Sufficient to me You are in prosperity and misfortune, ease and distress, and Most Excellent is He Whom we rely on.

O our Lord, on You we have relied, to You we have turned, and to You is the returning. O our Lord, do not make us a lure to those who have disbelieved, and forgive us, You are the Mighty, Wise.

O our Lord, turn away from us the punishment of hell, surely the punishment thereof is a lasting anguish. Surely, it is an evil abode, and an evil place to rest in. Our lord, decide between us and our people with truth, and You are the best of deciders.

Our Lord, we have believed; therefore, forgive us our sins, and remit from us our evil deeds, and make us die with the righteous. Our Lord, and grant us what You have promised us by Your messengers, and disgrace us not on the day of resurrection; surely You do not fail to perform the promise.

Our Lord, do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord, do not lay on us a burden as You did lay on those before us. Our Lord, do not impose upon us that which we have not the strength to bear, and pardon us and grant us protection and have mercy on us, You are our Patron, so help us against the unbelieving people.

Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter, and save us from the chastisement of the fire, and may Allah have blessing and peace on our master Muhammad the Prophet and on his pure progeny.”[83]

Fatima’s Characteristics

Fatima az-Zahra’ (a.s.) was different from all women in her high qualities and noble characteristics that took her to the highest rank of virtue and perfection. She was an example of her father’s morals and mentality. She resembled him in his deep faith in Allah the Almighty, asceticism, and refraining from pleasures of this life. Here, we talk about some of Fatima’s characteristics:

Infallibility

Fatima (a.s) was infallible, and this is an indisputable fact. Allah had purified her from every sin and every defect, and endowed her with all virtues to make her an example for all the women of the world. She was an ideal example in faith, worship, chastity, purity, charity, and kindness to the poor and the deprived.

Proofs on her infallibility

1. The verse of purification; Allah has said, (Allah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from you, O people of the House, and to purify you a (thorough) purifying. 33:33 ).

The People of the House (the Ahlul Bayt) were Ali, Fatima, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn (a.s.).[55]

The verse clearly proves the infallibility and purity of these persons from every sin and vices. Allah had chosen these people to be examples for His people and guides to His obedience and pleasedness. It is impossible for Allah to give sinners or guilty people this gift.

Infallibility, in its concept, definitely would not be far from the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) who were the centers of knowledge and wisdom in Islam. For forty years, I have researched and written books on them, but I could find a slip neither in their sayings nor in their doings. Even their enemies, who were full of grudge against them, did not mention any fault or any bit of deviation about them.

Imam Ali (a.s.) says, ‘By Allah, if I am given the seven districts with all that under their skies to disobey Allah in a bran of a grain of barley that I deprive it of a mouth of a locust, I will never do.’

This far extent of piety in the imams is the very infallibility that the Shia believe to be in their imams. Anyhow, Fatima (a.s) was one of the fourteen infallible members of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.).

2. The Prophet (a.s.) made all his nation, through his repeated sayings, know that Fatima (a.s) was a part from him, and that whatever pleased her would please him and whatever displeased her would displease him. That she was a part from the Prophet (a.s.) means that she was infallible since the Prophet (a.s.) was infallible.

3. The true traditions that were transmitted from the Prophet (a.s.) confirmed that Allah would be pleased for the pleasure of Fatima (a.s) and would be displeased for her displeasure. These traditions mean that Fatima (a.s) had reached a degree of faith and piety that would take her to the same rank of the infallible prophets who sincerely obeyed Allah and knew Him as He was.

4. The Prophet (a.s.) compared his progeny to the Book of Allah as in the mutawatir (successive) tradition of “ath-Thaqalayn”, and since the Book of Allah is infallible from any falseness, so are the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.); otherwise, the Prophet (a.s.) would not compare them to the Book of Allah. Fatima (a.s) was at the head of the pure progeny of the Prophet (a.s.) and was the mother of all the infallible imams (except Imam Ali) whom Allah had purified from all uncleanness.

Charity to the poor

Fatima (a.s) was charitable and too kind to the poor and the deprived. She, her husband, and her two sons were meant by these Qur’anic verses, (And they give food out of love for Him to the poor, the orphan, and the captive. We only feed you for Allah’s sake; we desire from you neither reward nor thanks. 76:8-9 ).

Fatima (a.s) milled wheat and barley for her poor neighbors who were unable to do that. She carried water to her weak neighbors who could not get water.

On the night of her wedding, Fatima (a.s) had a new dress on. When she knew that a young woman from the Ansar[56] could not find a dress to put on, she took off the dress of her wedding and gave it to that young woman. Fatima (a.s) turned away from every material pleasure and preferred the satisfaction of Allah to everything. Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari said,

‘Once, the messenger of Allah (a.s.) led us in offering the Asr (afternoon) Prayer, and when he offered the nafila (a supererogatory prayer), he sat in the qibla and people sat around him. A very old man came complaining of hunger and saying, ‘O prophet of Allah, I am hungry. Feed me! And I am naked (have no clothes). Clothe me!’

The Prophet (a.s.) asked the old man to go to the house of his (the Prophet) daughter Fatima (a.s). The old nomad man went to Fatima’s house and from behind the door he greeted her and said, ‘O daughter of Muhammad, I am naked and hungry. Would you please comfort me, may Allah have mercy on you?’

Fatima (a.s) herself was in neediness, and she found nothing to give to the man except a sheepskin that her sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn slept on. The old man did not like it and he gave it back to her. Then, Fatima (a.s) took a necklace, which was a present from her cousin Fatima bint Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib, off her neck and gave it to the man.

The old man took the necklace and went back to the Prophet (a.s.) saying to him, ‘Fatima gave me this necklace and said to me, ‘Sell it! May Allah recompense you with good for it.’

The Prophet (a.s.) cried and said, ‘And how does Allah not recompense you with good for it while the daughter of Muhammad, the principal of the daughters of Adam, has given it to you?’

Ammar bin Yasir asked the Prophet (a.s.), ‘O messenger of Allah, do you permit me to buy this necklace?’

The Prophet (a.s.) said, ‘Buy it, Ammar! If the human beings and the jinn participate in it, Allah will not punish them with Fire.’

Ammar said, ‘O Sheikh (old man), how much is the necklace?’

The old man said, ‘I sell it for a meal of bread and meat, a Yemeni garment that I cover my private parts and offer prayer for my Lord with, and a dinar that takes me to my family.’

Ammar said to him, ‘I give you twenty dinars, two hundred dirhams, a Yemeni garment, my camel to take you to your family, and a meal of wheat bread and meat.’

The old man said, ‘O man, how generous you are!’ He left delightedly saying, ‘O Allah, there is no god but You. O Allah, give Fatima what no eye has ever seen and no ear has ever heard of.’

Ammar perfumed the necklace with musk, enveloped it in Yemeni garment, and gave it one of his slaves saying to him, ‘Take this necklace to the messenger of Allah (a.s.) and you will be his.’

When the slave took the necklace to the Prophet (a.s.), the Prophet (a.s.) asked him to take it to Fatima (a.s) who took it and set the slave free. The slave smiled. Fatima (a.s) asked him what made him smile and he said,

‘What made me smile was the great blessing of this necklace. It satiated a hungry one, clothed a naked one, made a poor one rich, freed a slave, and then returned to its owner.’[57]

Asceticism

Fatima (a.s) led an ascetical life, and lived in satisfaction away from the worldly pleasures like her father the Prophet (a.s.) and her husband Imam Ali (a.s.) who had divorced this world and been abstinent from its pleasures.

When these verses (And surely Hell is the promised place of them all. It has seven gates; for every gate there shall be a separate party of them.15, 43-44 ) were revealed to the Prophet (a.s.), he cried too much and his companions cried for his crying though they did not know why he cried. One of the companions went to Fatima (a.s) who was milling barley and reciting, (and whatever is with Allah is better and more lasting. 28:60 ). He greeted and told her about the crying of her father. She wrapped herself with a ragged cloak that was sewed with palm-tree leaves and went to the meeting of her father. When Salman saw her, he said, ‘How sorrowful! The daughters of Caesar and Khosrau are in sarcenet while the daughter of the messenger of Allah wears a ragged wool cloak.’

Fatima (a.s) came to the Prophet (a.s.) and told him what Salman said, and then she said, ‘By Him Who has sent you with the truth, I and Ali since five years have nothing but a sheepskin. We give food on it to our camel in the day and in the night we sleep on it, and our pillow is from leather filled with palm-tree fibers.’ Then she asked her father about the reason of his crying and he told her about the revelation of those verses. She said, Woe and woe unto whoever enters Fire.’[58]

Anas bin Malik said, ‘Once, Fatima came to the Prophet (a.s.) and said, ‘O messenger of Allah, I and ibn Abi Talib (Imam Ali) have no bed except a sheepskin. We sleep on it, and give food to our camel on it in the day.’

The Prophet (a.s.) said to her, ‘My daughter, be patient! Moses son of Imran lived with his wife for ten years and she had no bed except an aba.’[59]

Jabir bin Abdullah al-Ansari said, ‘Once, the Prophet (a.s.) saw his daughter Fatima in a ragged garment while milling with her hand and suckling her child. His eyes shed tears and he said, ‘O my daughter, bear the bitterness of this life for the sake of the sweetness of the afterlife…’

She declared her satisfaction by saying, ‘Praise be to Allah for His favors and thanks to Him for His blessings…’[60]

Fatima (a.s) lived a very simple life with no pleasures or any kind of luxury. In her conducts, she showed the real picture of Islam and gave Muslim woman lessons of satisfaction with what Allah had determined for man.

Fatima (a.s) abstained from all desires of life in food, clothes, and others and she turned sincerely to Allah and preferred pleasing Him to everything else.

Chastity and veiling

Fatima (a.s) was the highest example in chastity, honor, and veiling for all Muslim women.

Imam Ali (a.s.) said, ‘Once, a blind man asked permission to visit Fatima (a.s), but she asked him to stay behind a screen. The messenger of Allah (a.s.) asked Fatima (a.s), ‘Why did you screen him though he is blind and could not see you?’

She said, ‘He could not see me, but I could see him.’

The Prophet (a.s.) said, ‘I witness that you are a part from me.’[61]

Once, Imam Ali (a.s.) asked Fatima (a.s), ‘When is woman closer to her Lord?’

She said, ‘When she keeps to her house…’

Imam Ali (a.s.) offered her answer to the Prophet (a.s.) who said, ‘She is true. Fatima is a part from me.’[62]

Veil is beauty and honor for woman. Whenever woman adorns herself with chastity, she will be in a highest position and most honorable rank besides gaining admiration of the all. But if woman is unveiled and unchaste, she will be worthless in the society and no one will appreciate her. The veil and chastity of Fatima (a.s) is a high example that every woman who wants to live regardable and honorable in the society.

Deep faith

Definitely, no one can suspect the unequaled faith and worship of Fatima (a.s). She spent most of her days and nights in worshipping.

Imam al-Hasan (a.s.) said, ‘Some night, I saw my mother Fatima (a.s) in her mihrab bow and prostrate (offer prayers) until the light of morning appeared. I heard her praying Allah for the believing men and the believing women and mentioning them by the name. She prayed Allah for them too much, but without praying for herself. I said to her, ‘Why do you not pray Allah for yourself mother?’

She said, ‘O my son, the neighbor (first) and then the house…’[63]

Al-Hasan al-Basri said about Fatima (a.s), ‘No one in the umma worshipped Allah more than Fatima (a.s). She offered prayers in the night until her feet swelled.’[64]

It was transmitted from Fatima (a.s) her saying, ‘Whoever raises his true worship to Allah, Allah will send down to him the best of his benefit.’[65]

Fatima (a.s) assigned the last hours of the day of Fridays for Allah the Almighty. In the last ten days of Ramadan, Fatima (a.s) spent all the night in worshipping and supplicating, and she encouraged all those in her house to spend the night in worshipping and supplicating. Her feet swelled because of her long standing before Allah the Almighty.[66]

Devotedness

Fatima (a.s) devoted herself to Allah and resorted to Him totally in all of her affairs. This was clear in her du’as.

Her du’a on turning to Allah

Fatima (a.s) often supplicated Allah with this du’a,

“O Allah, by Your knowing of the unseen and Your power over the creation, make me live if You know that life is better to me, and make me die if You know that death is better to me.

O Allah, I ask You for loyalty, and for the fear of You in pleasure and in anger, and for economy in wealth and poverty.

O Allah, I ask You for incessant bliss, and ask You for ceaseless delight, and ask You for satisfaction with fate, and ask You for a good life after death, and ask You for the looking at Your Face, and the eagerness to Your meeting without a harming distress or a dark sedition.

O Allah, adorn us with adornment of faith, and make us guided and guides, O You the Lord of the worlds!”[67]

Her du’a on resorting to Allah

She recited in this du’a,

“O Allah, make me satisfied with what You have given to me, honor me and give me good health as long as You make me live, forgive me and have mercy on me when You make me die.

O Allah, do not afflict me with asking for what You have not determined for me, and whatever You have determined for me make it easy and accessible.

O Allah, reward my parents for me and whoever has done me a favor with the best of reward.

O Allah, take me to what You have created me for, do not make me busy with what You have already secured to me, do not punish me while I ask You to forgive me, and do not deprive me while I beg You.

O Allah, make me humble to myself, make Your standing great to me, and inspire me with Your obedience and the doing of what pleases You and avoiding what displeases You, O You the most Merciful of the merciful.”[68]

Her du’a of tasbih[69]

Fatima (a.s) recited in this du’a,

“Glory be to Him Who has shone with might and power.

 Glory be to Him Who has hidden in seven heavens that no eye can see.

Glory be to Him Who has lowered creatures with death and honored Himself with life.

Glory be to Him Who remains and everything else perishes.

Glory be to Him Who has chosen praise to Himself and accepted it.

Glory be to the Ever-living, the Omniscient.

Glory be to the Forbearing, the Honorable.

Glory be to the Most High, the Great.

Glory be to Allah and by His praise.”[70]

Her du’a on an important thing

Fatima (a.s) supplicated Allah with du’a for relieving griefs and fulfilling needs:

“By Yaseen and the Wise Qur'an, and by Taha and the Great Qur'an, O You, Who is able to fulfill all needs of requesters, Who know what is there inside conscience, O You Who cheer up the distressed, Who relieve the grieved, O You Who is merciful to the old, Who nourish infants, O You Who do not need expression, have blessings on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad!”[71]

Her du’a for making things easy

“O Allah the Lord of the seven heavens and Lord of the Great Throne, our Lord and the Lord of everything, the Revealer of the Torah, the Bible, and the Qur'an, the Splitter of grains and stones, I seek Your protection from everything that You will pull down.

You are the First that nothing was before You, and You are the Last that nothing will be after You. You are the Evident that there is nothing above You, and You are the Hidden One that there is nothing below You. Pay for me the debt and save me from poverty!”[72]

Her du’a for healing

“In the name of Allah the Light, in the name of Allah the light of Light, in the name of Allah a light on light, in the name of Allah Who is the Manager of affairs, in the name of Allah Who has created the light from the light, praise be to Allah Who has created the light from the light, and sent down the light on the mountain in a recorded Book, in a spread parchment, in a determined measure, on a happy prophet.

Praise be to Allah Who is with glory mentioned, with pride is known, for better or for worse is thanked, (O Allah) and have blessing on our master Muhammad and on his pure progeny!”[73]

Her du’a in morning and evening

“O You the Ever-living, the Eternal, by Your mercy I ask for help; so help me and do not let me be deceived by my self for a twinkle of an eye at all, and repair all my affairs!”[74]

Her du’a at sleeping

“Praise be to Allah the Sufficer, glory be to Allah the Highest. Allah is sufficient to me and enough. What Allah wills he fulfils. Allah hears whoever calls upon Him. There is no escape from Allah, and no shelter beyond Allah. (Surely I rely on Allah, my Lord and your Lord; there is no living creature but He holds it by its forelock; surely my Lord is on the right path. 11:56 ). (Praise be to Allah, Who has not taken unto Himself a son, and Who has no partner in the Sovereignty, nor has He any protecting friend through dependence. And magnify Him with all magnificence. 17:111 ).”[75]

Fatima (a.s) supplicated Allah on every day of the week with a special du’a. The following are her du’as of the week days:

Her du’a of Saturday

“O Allah, open to us the treasures of Your mercy, and give us, O Allah, a mercy that You torture us after it neither in this life nor in the afterlife, give us from Your wide favor a halal (lawful), good livelihood, do not make us in neediness, do not make us need other than You, make us more grateful to You, and make us more in need to You and satisfied and abstinent with You than any other than You.

O Allah, enrich us in this life. O Allah, we seek Your protection from turning Your face away from us in a case where we look forward to You in it!

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and give us what You like, and make it strength to us in what You like, O You the Most Merciful of the merciful!”

Her du’a on Sunday

“O Allah, make the first of my this day prosperity, the middle of it, righteousness, and the last of it success!

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and make us from those who turn to You and You receive them, and rely on You and You satisfy them, and beg You and You are Merciful to them…”

Her du’a on Monday

“O Allah, I ask You for strength in worshipping You, insight in Your Book, and understanding in Your commands.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and do not make the Qur'an barren with us, the straight path crooked, and Muhammad (blessings of Allah be on him and on his progeny) averting from us!”

Her du’a on Tuesday

“O Allah, make the inadvertence of people as a mention to us, and make their mention as gratitude to us, and make the good we say by our tongues as a true intention in our hearts.

O Allah, Your forgiveness is greater than our sins, and Your mercy is more hopeful than our deeds.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and lead us rightly to the good deeds and right doings…”

Her du’a on Wednesday

“O Allah, guard us by Your eye that does not sleep, by Your shelter that is beyond reach, and by Your great attributes. O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and his progeny, and keep for us what if other than You keeps, it will be lost, and cover for us what if other than You covers, it will be exposed, and make all that obedient to us, for You are the Hearing of du’a, Near, Responder…”

Her du’a on Thursday

“O Allah, I ask You for guidance, piety, chastity, and the doing of what You like and please.

O Allah, I ask You from Your might for our weakness, from Your richness for our poverty, and from Your patience and knowledge for our ignorance.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and assist us in thanking, mentioning, obeying, and worshipping You by Your mercy, O You the Most Merciful of the merciful.”

Her du’a on Friday

“O Allah, make us the nearest of those who come near to You, the best of those who turn to You, and the most successful of those who ask and supplicate You.

O Allah, make us from those who as if they see You until the Day of Resurrection when they will meet You, and do not make us die except on Your satisfaction.

O Allah, make us from those who are sincere to You in their deeds, and the most beloved to You from among all Your people.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and forgive us with definite forgiveness that we do not commit an error after it, nor do we engage in a sin or an offence.

O Allah, bless Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad with growing, continuous, pure, successive, recurrent blessing by Your mercy, O You the Most Merciful of the merciful.”[76]

You can easily see in these du’as the essence of Islam and the true faith in Allah that Fatima (a.s) had.

Her amulet

Fatima (a.s) sought the protection of Allah through this amulet that was written in it:

“In the name of Allah, O You the Ever-living, the Eternal, by Your mercy I ask for help; so help me and do not let me be deceived by my self for a twinkle of an eye at all, and repair all my affairs!”[77]

Tasbih of Fatima (a.s)

After every prayer Fatima (a.s) offered, she recited the tasbih that the Prophet (a.s.) had taught her only. Ameerul Mo'minin Imam Ali (a.s.) said,

“Fatima was the most beloved one to her father. The quern had affected her hands. She carried water with the skin until it affected her neck. She swept the house until her clothes became dusty. She set fire under the cooking pot until her clothes darkened with smoke. She suffered some harm because of that. One day, we heard that some slaves were brought to the Prophet (a.s.). I said to Fatima, ‘You could go to your father asking him for a servant to help you.’ She went to her father but found him busy. She felt shy to ask him and then she came back. On the second day, the Prophet (a.s.) came to Fatima’s house and asked her why she had come to him the day before, but she felt shy to tell him. I said, ‘By Allah, I shall tell you O messenger of Allah. She milled with the quern until her hands were affected, carried water with the skin until her neck was affected, swept the house until her clothes became dusty, and set fire under the cooking pot until her clothes darkened. We were informed that some slaves or servants were brought to you, and so I said to her to ask you for a servant.’

The Prophet (a.s.) said, ‘Shall I tell you about what is better than what you ask me for? When you go to bed, you recite thirty-four takbirs, thirty-three tasbihs, and thirty-three tahmids.[78] This is better for you than a servant.”[79]

The Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) paid too much attention to this tasbih. They taught it to their sons and daughters as an educational method and spiritual nourishment. Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, ‘We teach our children the memorizing of this tasbih and reciting it after prayer and at sleeping.’

Reciting this tasbih is a kind of glorification of Allah. Fatima (a.s) loyally practiced this tasbih and heartily kept on it since the moment when her father had taught it to her. She went to the tomb of her uncle, the eternal martyr Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib, took a handful of soil from his tomb, and made the beads of her rosary by which she practiced this tasbih called as the “tasbih of Fatima”. Muslims imitated her in taking rosaries to glorify Allah with. When Imam al-Husayn (a.s.) was martyred, the Shia made their rosaries from the soil of Kerbala where the imam was buried to practice with them the “tasbih of Fatima”. They also made, and still make, from the soil of Kerbala small dried pieces to prostrate on them in the prayers. Many traditions were transmitted from the infallible imams about the preference of this soil.

Fatima’s worship

The happiest times Fatima (a.s) had were the times when she communicated with her Lord in prayer. When she offered the prayer, her heart traveled high to the Divine Sphere, and her body shook out of the fear of her Lord.

After each prayer, Fatima (a.s) devotedly supplicated her Lord with some du’as. The following are some of those du’as:

Her du’a after the Dhuhr (noon) Prayer

When Fatima (a.s) finished the Dhuhr Prayer, she recited this du’a,

“Glory be to the Glorious, High, Sublime One. Glory be to the One of the great honor. Glory be to the One of the eternal, superior sovereignty.

Praise be to Allah by Whose blessing I have reached what I have had of the knowledge of Him, the doing for Him, the turning to Him, and the obeying of His command, and praise be to Allah Who has made me not deny anything of His Book, and not confused in anything of His affair, and praise be to Allah Who has guided me to His religion, and not made me worship anything else than Him.

O Allah, I ask You for the saying and the doing of repentants, the rescue and reward of mujahidin, the faith and reliance of believers, ease at death, and security at reckoning.

O Allah, make death the best absentee I am waiting for, and the best visitor that visits me, and endow me at the coming of death, at its attacking, at its pangs, and when the soul comes down from between the clavicles, and when it reaches the throat, and at my leaving this world, and at that moment when I have no power over any good or harm to myself, nor distress or ease, (endow me) with a mercy from Your mercy, and a share from Your contentment, and a good tiding from Your honor, before You take my life and make the Angel of Death dominate over my soul, with a good tiding from You!

O my Lord, there is no one other than You that pleases by it (mercy and good tiding) my bosom, satisfies my soul, delights my eye, makes my face beams with joy, my complexion shine, my heart feel safe, and all my body rejoice at it that all those who see me from Your creation and hear about me from Your people envy me it. You make by it the agonies of death easy for me, relieve me from its grief, alleviate its severity, save me from its trouble, take away from me its grief and regret, keep me from its sorrow and sedition, protect me from its evil and the evil of that which comes to its (death) people, and endow me by it with its good and the good of that which comes with it and the good of that which will come after it.

And then if You make me die and take my soul, make my soul among the successful souls, and my spirit among the good spirits, and my body among the purified bodies, and make my deeds among the accepted deeds, and then grant me in my grave in the earth, and the place of my shield where my flesh is entombed, and my bone is buried, and I am left alone helplessly exiled by the land and deserted by people, and when I miss Your mercy, and need my good deeds, and meet what I have done for my afterlife and done in the days of my life, (grant me) a success from Your mercy, and a gleam from Your light, and a confirmation from Your honor with the firm word in this worldly life and in the hereafter, You cause the unjust to go astray and do what You pleases. Then bless my resurrection and reckoning when the ground is split to me and people abandon me, the cry befalls me, the gust frightens me, and You resurrect me after death and send me for reckoning. Send with me, O my Lord, a light from Your mercy moving before me and on my right hand to reassure me with it, make my heart steadfast (with it), show my excuse, honor my face, confirm my speech, declare my proof, take me to the firm handhold of Your mercy, and put me in the high rank of Your paradise, and grant me the companionship of Muhammad Your slave and messenger in the highest rank of the Paradise, and its best virtue, best gift, and most successful aspiration with those upon whom You have bestowed favors from among the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, and a goodly company are they.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad the last of the prophets, and on all the prophets and the messengers, and all the angels, and on his good, pure progeny, and on all the imams of guidance; Amen, O Lord of the worlds.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad as You have guided us by him, have blessing on Muhammad as You have had mercy on us by him, have blessing on Muhammad as You have preferred us by him, have blessing on Muhammad as You have honored us by him, have blessing on Muhammad as you have enlightened us by him, and have blessing on Muhammad as You have saved us from a brink of an abyss of Fire.

O Allah, honor his face, exalt his rank, make his authority prevail, perfect his light, make his scales heavy, confirm his proof, grant him until he is pleased, make him get to the high degree and means in the Paradise, take him to the praised position that You have promised him, make him the best of prophets and messengers to You in rank and means, make us follow him, give us to drink from his cup, make us get to his pond, resurrect us in his company, make us die on his religion, make us follow his paths, and carry out his Sunna being not abased, regretful, doubtful, or apostate.

O You, that Your door is opened for Your suppliants, and Your screen is raised for those who hope for You, O You, the Coverer of bad things, and Healer of wounded hearts, do not expose me in the stand of the (Day of) Resurrection with sins, and do not turn Your honored face away from me from among people.

O You, the aim of the distressed poor, and the Healer of broken bones, forgive me my great sins and what expose my inners, clean my heart from the burden of errors, and grant me with good preparedness for the coming of death.

O You the Most Generous of the generous, and the utmost hope of the begging ones, You are my Lord; You have opened to me the door of supplication and repentance, so do not close before me the door of acceptance and responding, and save me by Your mercy from Fire, put me up in the abodes of the Gardens, make me cling to the firmest handhold, make my end a happy one, and make me live with peace.

O Most Gracious, Most Perfect, Most Glorious, Most Lofty, do not let an enemy or envier rejoice at my misfortune, and do not let an oppressive ruler overpower me nor a mutinous devil, by Your mercy O the Most Merciful of the merciful, and there is no power save in Allah, the Most High, the Most Great, and may Allah have blessing and peace on Muhammad and his progeny.”[80]

Her du’a after the Asr Prayer

After the Asr (afternoon) Prayer, Fatima (a.s.) supplicated Allah with the following du’a:

“Glory be to Him Who is aware of what the hearts (minds) obtain! Glory be to Him who knows the exact count of sins! Glory be to Him Who nothing in the earth or in the heaven is unknown to him! Praise be to Allah Who has not made me ungrateful to His blessings, nor a denier to His favor. All good is from Him and He is the most fittest for it! Praise be to Him for His irrefutable authority over all that He has created from those who obey and do not obey Him. If He shows mercy, it is from His favor, and if He punishes, it is for what people themselves have committed, and Allah wills no injustice to His creatures.

Praise be to Allah the most high in place, of most exalted erection, of strongest pillars, of most glorious authority, most greatest position, of clear proof, the Beneficent, the Merciful, the Giver, the Benefactor.

Praise be to Allah Who has hidden from every creature that sees Him by the truth of Deity, and the power of Oneness; so sights cannot comprehend Him, nor can news include Him. No measurement can measure Him, and no mind can imagine Him because He is the Almighty Sovereign.

O Allah, verily You see my place, hear my speech, know of my affairs, know what there is inside my soul, and nothing of my affairs is hidden to You. I have come to You offering my request, asking You for my need, beseeching You for my demand, and asking You due to poverty and neediness, meanness and distress, and misery and wretchedness.

You are the Lord Who is Generous of forgiveness; You can find another than me to punish him, but I cannot find another than You to forgive me. You can do without my punishment, but I cannot do without Your mercy. I beg You by my need to You and Your doing without me, and by Your power over me and my weakness before You to make my this supplication receive a response from You, and my this standing receive a mercy from You, and my this request receive a success. (O my Lord) whatever difficulty I fear, make it easy to me, and whatever failure I fear, afford it to me, and whoever from all the creatures intends evil to me, defeat him; Amen O the Most Merciful of the merciful. (O my Lord) make easy to me what I fear its severity, and relieve me from what I fear its distress, and make easy to me what I fear its hardship, Amen O the Lord of the Worlds!

O Allah, take self-deceit, hypocrisy, haughtiness, oppression, envy, weakness, doubtfulness, faintness, illnesses, diseases, treason, cunning, trickery, calamity, and corruption off my hearing and sight, and guide me to what You like and please, O the Most Merciful of the merciful.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad and forgive my sin, cover my defect, calm down my fear, relieve my distress, suffice my poverty, make easy my need, pardon my slip, gather me with my family, and save me from all what may distress me; what is unknown to me, known to me, and all what I fear from You, O the Most Merciful of the merciful!

O Allah, I have entrusted my affairs to You, delivered my back to You, and handed over my self to You with all what I have committed against it out of fear and desire, and You are the Generous One that do not let down hope and do not disappoint supplication, so I ask You by the right of Your friend Abraham, and Your speaker (with) Moses, and Your soul Jesus, and Your choice and prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) not to keep Your Face away from me until You accept my repentance and forgive my errors, O the Most Merciful of the merciful!

O Allah, make my revenge on him who has oppressed me and give victory on him who has feuded me. O Allah, do not make my trial be in my faith, and do not make the worldly life be my foremost interest or the end of my knowledge!

O Allah, better my faith which is the protection of my affairs, and better my life in which my living is, and better my afterlife in which my resurrection will be there, and make life to me a growth in every good, and make death a relief to me from every evil!

O Allah, You are the Most Pardoner and You love pardoning, so pardon me!

O Allah, make me live if You know that life is better to me, and make me die if death is better to me. I ask for (granting me) fearing You in absence and presence, and fairness at anger and satisfaction, and I ask You for (making me practice) economy in poverty and wealth, and I ask You for a bliss that does not cease, and delight that does not stop, and I ask You for satisfaction after (Your) judgment, and I ask You for the pleasure of the looking at Your Face.

O Allah, I ask You to guide me to my best affairs, and seek Your protection from the evil of my soul. O Allah, I have done wrong and been unjust to myself, so forgive me for that no one forgives sins except You. O Allah, I ask You to hasten Your hale to me, give me patience toward Your trial, and take me out of this life to Your mercy.

O Allah, I ask You, Your angels, the carriers of Your Throne, and all there is in the heavens and the earth to witness that You are Allah and there is no god but You alone with no partner, and that Muhammad is Your slave and messenger. O You, Who had been before the existence of anything, Who are the Creator of everything, and Who will exist after when there will be nothing existing.

And I ask You that praise is to You that there is no god but You, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.

O Allah, to Your mercy I have raised my sight, and to Your bounty I have stretched my hand, so do not prevent me while I am begging You, and do not punish me while I am asking You to forgive me. O Allah, forgive me for You are aware of me, and do not punish me for You are powerful over me by Your mercy, O the Most Merciful of the merciful.

O Allah, the One of the vast mercy and the availing, exalting, and purifying prayer, bless the best one of Your people to You, the most beloved one of them to You, and the most prominent of them to You; Muhammad, Your slave and messenger, who has been preferred with the virtues of (being) the means, with the noblest, most perfect, most exalted, greatest, and the best blessings that You have ever blessed a messenger of You and a trustee with Your revelation by.

O Allah, as You have closed (ended) by him (Prophet Muhammad) blindness, and opened by him guidance, make the methods of his ways brilliance to us, and the proofs of his authority as means to us by which we come to You.

O Allah, praise be to You inasmuch as the seven heavens and their layers, and inasmuch as the seven earths and what there is between them, and inasmuch as the Throne of our Generous Lord and the scales of our Forgiving Lord, and inasmuch as the words of our Mighty Lord, and inasmuch as the Paradise and the Fire, and inasmuch as the number of soil, water, and all what is seen and what is not seen.

O Allah, make Your blessings, benediction, favor, forgiveness, mercy, pleasedness, peace, remembrance, light, honor, bounty, and good on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad as You had benediction, blessing, and mercy on Abraham and the progeny of Abraham, You are Praised, Glorious.

O Allah, give Muhammad the great means and the most benefic of Your reward in the end until You honor him on the Day of Resurrection, O the Lord of guidance.

O Allah, have blessing on Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and on all of Your angels, prophets, and messengers. Peace be on Gabriel, Michael, Israfel, the carriers of the Throne, Your Archangels, the noble recorders (angels), the close angels, and peace be on all of Your angels.

Peace be on our father Adam and our mother Eve, and peace be on all the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous, and peace be on all the messengers, and praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds, and there is no power save in Allah, the Most High, the Most Great.”[81]

Her supplication after the Maghrib (sunset) Prayer

“Praise be to Allah Who sayers cannot come at His praise, and praise be to Allah Who counters cannot count His bounties, and praise be to Allah Who strivers cannot perform what He deserves.

There is no god but Allah, the First and the Last, and there is no god but Allah the Apparent and the Hidden, and there is no god but Allah the Giver of life and the Maker of death.

Allah is Most Great of Might, and Allah is Most Great of Everlastingness.

Praise be to Allah Who knowers cannot come at His knowledge nor do the ignorant disparage His patience, nor can praisers come at His praise, nor can depicters depict His features, nor can creatures well describe Him.

Praise be to Allah, the Possessor of Dominion and Kingdom, of Might and Invincibility, of Honor and Glory, of Majesty and Magnificence, of Dignity and Beauty, of Power and Might, of Might and Strength, of Bounty and Dominance, of Favor and Influence, of Justice and Truth, of Creation and Exaltedness, of Sublimity and Grandeur, of Virtue and Wisdom, of Richness and Generosity, of Giving and Preventing, of Patience and Knowledge, of Irrefutable Argument, Ample Bounty, good, beautiful praise, gracious blessings, the King of the Life and the Afterlife, of the Paradise and the Fire and what there is in them, was He blessed and exalted.

Praise be to Allah Who knows the secrets of the unseen, and is aware of what hearts earn. There is no escape or runaway from Him.

Praise be to Allah the Lofty in His dominion, the Glorious in His place, the Predominant in His Kingdom, the Powerful in His seizing, the High above His Throne, the Aware of His creation, the Doer of whatever He wills by His knowledge. Praise be to Allah by Whose words the firmamental heavens have been erected, the plain earths have been fixed, the firm mountains have been set upright, the pollinating winds have been blown, the clouds have moved in the sphere of the sky, the seas have restrained at their boundaries, the hearts have been afraid of Him, and lords have submitted to his deity. Blessed You are, O the Counter of rain drops and tree leaves, and the Reviver of dead bodies for Resurrection.

Glory be to You the Lord of Glory and Honor for whatever You do to the poor stranger when he comes to You resorting, calling for help, and for whatever You do to him who lodges in Your yard, looks forward to Your content, and resorts to You, and he kneels before You complaining to You of what is not unknown to You. O my Lord, let my chance in my supplication not be deprivation, and my share in what I hope from You not be disappointment!

O You Who had existed, is existing, and will exist as He has still been over every soul with what it has earned. O You Who has made the days of life to elapse, its months to change, and its years to turn while You are Everlasting that neither do times wear You out, nor do ages change You.

O You Whom each day with You is new and each sustenance with You is ready for the weak, the strong, and the severe. You have divided sustenance between the creatures and equaled the ant with the sparrow.

O Allah, if residing narrows to people, we seek Your protection from the narrowness of residence. O Allah, if the Day of Resurrection is prolonged to criminals, shorten that day to us as (the period) between a prayer and another. O Allah, if the sun becomes close to the skulls and there is between it and the skulls a measure of one mile and its heat is increased to the heat of ten years, we ask You to shade us with clouds, and erect for us pulpits and chairs to sit on and people get free in the place, Amen O the Lord of the Worlds.

I ask You, O Allah, by these praises to forgive me, pardon me, dress me with hale in my body, and safety in my religion.

I ask You and I am sure of Your response to my request, and I call upon You and I know of Your listening to my call, so listen to my supplication and do not end my hope, do not repel my praising, and do not disappoint my supplication. I am in need of Your content and I am poor to Your forgiving. I ask You and I am not desperate of Your mercy, and I call upon You and I am not safe from Your wrath.

O my Lord, respond to me and favor me with Your pardon, and make me die while I am Muslim, and join me to the righteous. O my Lord, do not prevent Your favor from reaching me O All Gracious, and do not entrust me to my self forlornly, O All Compassionate.

O my Lord, extend mercy, at the separation of lovers, to my dying, and at the quiet of the grave to my loneliness, and at the wild of (the day of) Resurrection to my forlornness, and before You standing for reckoning to my destitution.

O my Lord, I ask You to rescue me from Fire, so rescue me! O my Lord, I seek Your protection from Fire, so protect me! O my Lord, I resort to You from Fire, so take me away (from it)! O my Lord, I seek Your mercy out of my distress, so have mercy on me! O my Lord, I ask You to forgive me what I have been ignorant of, so forgive me! O my Lord, supplication has taken me forth for the need to You, so do not disappoint me, O You the Generous One of favors, charity, and pardoning!

O my Lord, Beneficent, Merciful, respond to my call from among the suppliants to You, and pity, from among the weepers, my tear, and make in the meeting with You, on the day when I leave this world, my relief, and cover among the dead, O the Great Hoped One, my defect, and pity me at the going alone to my hole (grave), You are my hope, the place of need, and the Knower of what I want in directing my request.

O the Provider of needs, provide my need! To You is the complaint and You are the Helper and the Hoped One. I escape to You from sins, so receive me, and I resort from Your justice

to Your forgiveness, so apprehend me, and I resort to Your pardon from Your punishment, so protect me, and I hope Your mercy against Your punition, so save me, and I want the closeness to You by Islam, so approach me (to You), and from the great horror keep me safe, and in the shadow of Your Throne shade me, and two portions of Your mercy grant to me, and from this world safe protect me, and from darkness to light take me out, and on the Day of Resurrection honor me and with easy reckoning reckon with me, and do not expose me with my hidden defects, and against Your trials make me patient, and as You had kept impurity and unchastity away from Yousuf (Joseph), keep it away from me, and whatever I cannot bear do not burden me with, and to the Abode of Peace guide me, and by the Qur'an benefit me, and by the true saying fix me, and from the cursed Satan save me, and by Your power, might, and dominance protect me, and by Your patience, knowledge, and vast mercy deliver me, and in Your Garden of Paradise house me, and with the looking at Your face endow me, and to Your prophet Muhammad join me, and from devils, their followers, and from the evil of every evildoer rescue me!

O Allah, and my enemies and whoever intends evil against me if they come by land, coward their brave, scatter their gathering, blunt their weapons, hamstring their mounts, afflict them with storms and thunderbolts forever until You put them into Fire, degrade them from their forts, and make us dominate over them, Amen O the Lord of the Worlds.

O Allah, bless Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad with a blessing with which bear witness the first ones of the righteous, the master of the messengers, the last of the prophets, the leader of good, and the key of mercy.

O Allah, the Lord of the Inviolable House and the inviolable month, the Lord of the Sacred Monument, the Lord of the Pillar and the Temple (of Abraham), and the Lord of consecration and the breaking of consecration, send to the soul of Muhammad from us the greeting and peace.

Peace be on you O messenger of Allah. Peace be on you O the trustee of Allah. Peace be on You O Muhammad son of Abdullah. Peace be on you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. He is, as You have described him, to the believers most kind and merciful.

O Allah, give him (Muhammad) the best of what he has asked You for, and the best of what You have been prayed for him, and the best of what is prayed for him until the Day of Resurrection, Amen O the Lord of the Worlds.”[82]

Her supplication after the Isha (evening) Prayer

Glory be to Him that everything is humble to His greatness. Glory be to Him that everything is low to His glory. Glory be to Him that everything submits to His command and dominance. Glory be to Him that all affairs with their reins are subdued to Him.

Praise be to Allah Who does not forget whoever remembers Him. Praise be to Allah that whoever calls upon Him is not disappointed. Praise be to Allah Who suffices whoever relies on Him.

Praise be to Allah the Raiser of the heaven, the Leveler of the earth, the Blocker of seas, the Piler of mountains, the Creator of living beings, the Maker of trees, the Splitter of springs of the ground, the Manager of affairs, the Driver of clouds, the Guider of winds, water, and fire from the bottoms of the earth rising in the space, and the Downer of hot and cold, by Whose blessing good deeds are completed, and by thanking Him increases are deserved, and by Whose command the heavens have been established, and by Whose glory mountains have stabilized, beasts in the deserts and birds in nests are glorifying.

Praise be to Allah the Highest of ranks, the Revealer of signs, the Great in blessings, the Coverer of defects, the Accepter of good deeds, the Pardoner of errors, the Reliever of distresses, the Giver of blessings, the Responder to prayers, the Reviver of the dead, and the god of whatever in the earth and the heavens.

Praise be to Allah for every praise and remembrance, every thanking and patience, every prayer and zakat, every reverence and worship, every happiness and blessing, every increase and mercy, every bounty, honor, and obligation, every joy and distress, every grief and ease, every calamity and affliction, every ease and difficulty, every wealth and poverty, and in any case and at any occasion and time, and in any abode, resort, and residence.

O Allah, I am resorting to You, so shelter me, and I am seeking Your

protection, so protect me, and asking for Your assistance, so assist me, and calling for Your help, so help me, and praying You, so respond to me, and asking You for forgiveness, so forgive me, seeking Your victory, so render victory to me, and asking You for guidance, so guide me, and relying on You alone, so suffice me, and seeking refuge with You, so house me, and clinking to Your covenant, so save me, and depending on You, so suffice me, and make me in Your protection, guard, refuge, shelter, watch, security, sanctum, safety, under Your shadow, and under Your wing.

(O Allah) make on me a protective shield from You, and make Your guard, watch, security, and protection from behind and before me, and on my right, my left, from above, under, and around me so that no one from the creatures can reach me with evil and harm. There is no god but You. You are the All-Gracious, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of Glory and Honor.

O Allah, suffice me against the envy of enviers, the wronging of wrongdoers, the plotting of plotters, the cunning of cunning ones, the tricks of trickers, the assassination of assassinators, the backbiting of backbiters, the injustice of the unjust, the oppression of oppressors, the aggression of aggressors, the despise of despisers, the frowning of frowners, the attack of attackers, the stinginess of the stingy, the unfairness of the unfair, the erring of the erring ones, the slander of slanderers, the talebearing of talebearers, the magic of magicians, devils, and Satan, and the oppression of rulers, and the evil of all people.

O Allah, I ask You by Your retained, good, pure name by which the heavens and the earth have been set, to which darkness has shone and the angels have glorified, and from which hearts are afraid, and necks have submitted, and by which You have revived the dead, (I ask You) to forgive me every error I have committed in the darkness of night and in the light of day intendedly or inattentively, secretly or openly, and to endow me with certainty, guidance, light, knowledge, and understanding so that I fulfill Your Book, follow what You have made lawful, refrain from what You have made unlawful, carry out Your obligations, and fulfill the Sunna of Your Prophet Muhammad.

O Allah, join me to the righteous of those who had passed away, make me from the righteous of those who have remained, and end my deeds with the best of them, You are Forgiving, Merciful.

O Allah, if my age ends, the days of my life elapses, and it is inevitable for me to meet You, I ask You O Most Kind to give me from the Paradise an abode that the first ones and the last ones envy me it.

O Allah, accept my praising, and pity my beseeching and my confession against myself, for I have made You hear my voice from among the suppliants, and my devotion among the devotees, my praising among the speakers, and my glorifications among the praisers, and You are the Responder to the distressed, the Assistant of those who ask for assistance, the Helper of the desirous, the Resort of the runners away, the Succorer of the believers, and the Pardoner of sinners, and may Allah have blessings on the bringer of good tidings and the warner, and the shining lantern (Prophet Muhammad), and on all the angels and the prophets.

O Allah, the Expander of the expanded things, the Creator of the high (heavens), the Molder of hearts on their natures; the happy and unhappy ones, make the noblest of Your blessings, the greatest of Your benedictions, and the most honorable of Your greetings on Muhammad Your slave, messenger, and trustee over Your revelation, the undertaker of Your authority, the defender of Your sanctum, the announcer of Your command, the declarer of Your signs, and the fulfiller of Your vow.

O Allah, grant him (Muhammad) for every virtue of his virtues, attribute of his attributes, state of his states, and a position of his positions in which You have seen Muhammad a helper to You, patient with Your bitter trials, an enemy to whoever has feuded You, a supporter to whoever has supported You, faraway from what You have hated, and a caller for what You have liked, (grant him) with favors from Your reward, and special gifts from Your gifts and preference by which You honor his affair and exalt his rank with the achievers of Your justice and the defenders of Your sanctum, until no sublimity, splendor, mercy, and glory remain but You grant to Muhammad, and take him to the highest of ranks and most exalted of positions, Amen O the Lord of the worlds.

O Allah, I entrust You with my religion, soul, and all Your bounties on me. O Allah, make me in Your protection, security, glory, and guard. Glorious is the resorter to You, sublime is Your praise, sanctified are Your attributes, and there is no god but You. Sufficient to me You are in prosperity and misfortune, ease and distress, and Most Excellent is He Whom we rely on.

O our Lord, on You we have relied, to You we have turned, and to You is the returning. O our Lord, do not make us a lure to those who have disbelieved, and forgive us, You are the Mighty, Wise.

O our Lord, turn away from us the punishment of hell, surely the punishment thereof is a lasting anguish. Surely, it is an evil abode, and an evil place to rest in. Our lord, decide between us and our people with truth, and You are the best of deciders.

Our Lord, we have believed; therefore, forgive us our sins, and remit from us our evil deeds, and make us die with the righteous. Our Lord, and grant us what You have promised us by Your messengers, and disgrace us not on the day of resurrection; surely You do not fail to perform the promise.

Our Lord, do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord, do not lay on us a burden as You did lay on those before us. Our Lord, do not impose upon us that which we have not the strength to bear, and pardon us and grant us protection and have mercy on us, You are our Patron, so help us against the unbelieving people.

Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter, and save us from the chastisement of the fire, and may Allah have blessing and peace on our master Muhammad the Prophet and on his pure progeny.”[83]


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