| 1 |
O God,
O He whom the depiction of the
describers
fails
to describe! |
| 2 |
O
He beyond whom passes not
the
hope of the hopers! |
| 3 |
O
He with whom is not lost
the
wage of the good-doers! |
| 4 |
O
He who is the ultimate object
of
the fear of the worshipers! |
| 5 |
O
He who is the utmost limit
of
the dread of the godfearing! |
| 6 |
This
is the station of him
whom
sins have passed from hand to hand.
Offenses' reins have led him
on,
and
Satan has gained mastery over him.
He fell short of what Thou
hast commanded
through
neglect
and
he pursued what Thou hast prohibited
in
delusion, |
| 7 |
like
one ignorant of Thy power over him
or
one who denies the bounty of Thy beneficence toward him,
until, when the eye of
guidance was opened for him
and
the clouds of blindness were dispelled,
he reckoned that through which
he had wronged himself
and
reflected upon that in which he had opposed his Lord.
He saw his vast disobedience
as vast
and
his great opposition as great. |
| 8 |
So turned to Thee,
hoping
in Thee
and
ashamed before Thee,
and he directed his beseeching
toward Thee,
having
trust in Thee.
He repaired to Thee in his
longing
with
certitude
and
he went straight to Thee in fear
with
sincerity.
His longing was devoid of
every object of longing but Thee,
and
his fright departed from every object of fear but Thee. |
| 9 |
So he stood before Thee pleading,
his eyes turned toward the
ground in humbleness,
his
head bowed before Thy might in lowliness;
he revealed to Thee in
meekness
those
secrets of his which Thou knowest better than he;
he numbered for Thee in
humility
those
sins of his which Thou countest better than he;
he sought help from Thee
before
the dreadful into which he has fallen
in
Thy knowledge
and
the ugly which has disgraced him
in
Thy judgement:
the
sins
whose
pleasures have turned their backs
and
gone
and
whose evil consequences have stayed
and
stuck fast. |
| 10 |
He will not deny Thy justice, my God,
if
Thou punishest him,
nor will he consider Thy
pardon great
if
Thou pardonest him and hast mercy upon him,
for Thou art the Generous Lord
for
whom the forgiveness of great sins
is
nothing great! |
| 11 |
O God,
so here I am:
I have come to Thee
obeying
Thy command
(for
Thou hast commanded supplication)
and
asking the fulfilment of Thy promise,
(for
Thou hast promised to respond)
Thou
hast said,
Supplicate
Me and I will respond to you.127 |
| 12 |
O God,
so bless Muhammad and his
Household,
meet me with Thy forgiveness
just
as I have met Thee with my confession,
lift me up from the fatal
infirmities of sins
just
as I have let myself down before Thee,
and cover me with Thy covering
just
as Thou hast shown no haste to take vengeance on me! |
| 13 |
O God,
make firm my intention to obey
Thee,
strengthen my insight in
worshipping Thee,
give me the success of works
which
will wash away the defilement of offenses,
and take me when Thou takest
me
in
the creed of Thy prophet Muhammad
(upon
him be peace). |
| 14 |
O God,
I repent to Thee in this my
station from
my
sins,
great
and small,
my
evil deeds,
inward and outward,
my
lapses,
past
and recent,
with the repentance of one who
does not
tell
himself that he might disobey
or
secretly think that he might return to an offense. |
| 15 |
Thou hast said, my God,
in
the firm text of Thy Book,
that
Thou acceptest repentance from Thy servants,128
pardonest
evil deeds,129
and
lovest the repenters,130
so accept my repentance
as
Thou hast promised,
pardon
my evil deeds
as
thou hast guaranteed,
and
make obligatory toward me Thy love
as
Thou hast stipulated! |
| 16 |
To Thee, my Lord, belongs
my stipulation
that
I will not return
to
what is disliked by Thee,
my guarantee
that
I will not go back
to
what Thou blamest,
and my covenant
that
I will stay away
from
acts of disobedience to Thee. |
| 17 |
O God,
Thou knowest better what I
have done,
so
forgive me what Thou knowest
and
turn me through Thy power to what Thou lovest! |
| 18 |
O God,
counted against me are
claims
that stay in my memory
and
claims that I have forgotten,
while all of them remain in
Thy
eye that does not sleep
and
Thy knowledge that does not forget!
So compensate their owners,
lighten
their load upon me,
lift
up their weight from me,
and
preserve me from approaching their like! |
| 19 |
O God,
but I can not be faithful to
my repentance
without
Thy preservation,
nor can I refrain from
offenses
without
Thy strength.
So strengthen me with a
sufficient strength
and
attend to me with a defending preservation! |
| 20 |
O God,
if any servant repents to
Thee,
while
in Thy knowledge of the Unseen he
will
break his repentance
and
return to his sin and offense,
I
seek refuge in Thee lest I be like that!
So make this my repentance
a
repentance
after
which I will need no repentance
and
a repentance
which
will obligate the erasing of what has gone by
and
safety in what remains! |
| 21 |
O God,
I ask pardon from Thee for my
ignorance,
and
I ask Thee to disregard my evil acts!
So join me to the shelter of
Thy mercy
through
graciousness
and cover me with the covering
of Thy well-being
through
bounteousness! |
| 22 |
O God,
I repent to Thee from
everything opposed to Thy will
or
far from Thy love
-
the thoughts of my heart,
the
glances of my eye,
the
tales of my tongue -
with a repentance through
which each bodily part will by itself
stay
safe from ill consequences with Thee
and
remain secure from Thy painful penalties
feared
by transgressors! |
| 23 |
O God,
so have mercy on
my
being alone before Thee,
the
pounding of my heart in dread of Thee,
the
trembling of my limbs in awe of Thee!
My sins, my God, have stood me
in the station
of
degradation in Thy courtyard.
If I remain silent,
none
will speak for me;
if I seek an intercessor,
I
am not worthy for intercession. |
| 24 |
O God,
bless Muhammad and his
Household,
make Thy generosity intercede
for my offenses,
follow up my evil deeds with
Thy pardon,
repay me not with the
punishment that is my proper repayment,
spread over me Thy
graciousness,
wrap me in Thy covering,
and do with me what is done
by
a mighty man,
when a lowly slave pleads to him
and he shows him mercy,
or
a rich man,
when a poor slave submits himself
and he raises him to wealth! |
| 25 |
O God,
I have no protector against
Thee,
so
let Thy might be my protector!
I have no intercessor with
Thee,
so let Thy bounty be my intercessor!
My offenses have set me
quaking,
so
let Thy pardon give me security! |
| 26 |
Not all that I have said rises up from
my
ignorance of my evil footsteps
or
forgetfulness of my blameworthy acts in the past,
but in order that Thy heaven
and those within it
and
Thy earth and those upon it
may hear the remorse which I
have professed to Thee
and
the repentance through which I have sought asylum with Thee. |
| 27 |
Then perhaps one of them, through Thy mercy,
may show mercy upon my evil situation
or be seized by tenderness for my evil state.
There may come from him for my
sake
a supplication to which Thou givest ear
more than to my supplication
or an intercession surer with Thee
than my intercession
through
which I may be delivered from Thy wrath
and attain to Thy good pleasure! |
| 28 |
O God,
if remorse is a repentance
toward Thee,131
then I am the most remorseful of the remorseful!
If refraining from
disobedience is a turning back to Thee,
then
I am the first of those who turn back!
If praying for forgiveness
alleviates sins,
surely I am one of those who pray for Thy forgiveness! |
| 29 |
O God,
as Thou hast commanded
repentance
and guaranteed acceptance,
as Thou hast urged
supplication,
and promised to respond,
so also bless Muhammad and
his Household,
accept my repentance,
and return me not to the returning place
of disappointment in Thy mercy!
Surely Thou art Ever-turning
toward the sinners,
All-compassionate132 toward the offenders who turn back! |
| 30 |
O God,
bless Muhammad and his
Household
just as Thou hast guided us by him!
Bless Muhammad and his
Household
just as Thou hast rescued us through him!133
Bless Muhammad and his
Household,
with a blessing that will intercede for us
on the Day of Resurrection,
the
day of neediness toward Thee!
Thou art powerful over
everything,134
and
that is easy for Thee! |