His Supplication in Abasing himself

His Supplication in Abasing himself before God (Mighty and Majestic is He)


1 My Lord,
           my sins have silenced me,
                     and my words have been cut off.
           I have no argument,
           for I am the prisoner of my own affliction,
                     the hostage to my works,
                     the frequenter of my own offense,
                     the confused in my intended way,
                     the thwarted.
2            I have brought myself to a halt
                     in the halting place of the abased sinners,
                     the halting place of the wretched and insolent,
                     those who think lightly of Thy promise.
3            Glory be to Thee!
                     What insolence I have insolently shown toward Thee!
                     What delusion with which I have deluded myself!
4 My Master,
           have mercy on
                     my falling flat on my face
                     the slipping of my foot,
           grant me
                     my ignorance through Thy clemency,
                     and my evildoing through Thy beneficence,
           for I admit my sin
                     and I confess my offense:
           Here are my hand and my forelock!
                     I am resigned to retaliation against my soul!
           Have mercy on
                     my white hair,
                     the depletion of my days,
                     the nearing of my term,
                     my frailty,
                     my misery,
                     and the paucity of my stratagems!
5            My Master,
                     and have mercy upon me when
                               my trace is cut off from this world,
                               my mention is effaced among the creatures,
                               and I join the forgotten, like the forgotten ones!
6            My Master,
                     and have mercy upon me at the change of my form and state when
                               my body decays,
                               my limbs are scattered,
                               and my joints are dismembered!
                     O my heedlessness toward what was wanted from me!
7            My Master,
                     have mercy upon me at my mustering and uprising
                     and on that day, appoint
                               my standing place
                                         with Thy friends,
                               my place of emergence
                                         with Thy beloveds,
                               and my dwelling
                                         in Thy neighbourhood!
                     O Lord of the worlds!