BB00159: Prayer for Shaykh Muhammad Rida

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

O God! Thou art God, Creator of the heavens and earth, and Ordainer of night and day. There is no God but Thee, Lord of all the worlds. O my God! How can my lips move in Thy remembrance when my heart is filled with weakness and deficiency in praising Thee?

O my God! As Thou art in Thine essence, no thing can know Thee and no servant can describe Thee, for Thy very Being transcends all utterance, and Thy Reality evidences separation and distinction. There is no God but Thee. I bear witness to Thee in this Book as Thou bearest witness unto Thyself before all things. There is no God but Thee, alone, without partner. Thou hast ever been, and nothing existed with Thee, and now Thou art as Thou wert, and nothing exists with Thee.

If I say “Thou art Thou,” verily it is but sin upon sin. If I say “No, no,” it is but negation upon negation. If I say “He is He,” verily it is but creation upon creation. And if I say “Glory be unto Thee, glory be unto Thee,” verily it is but servant upon servant. Glory be unto Thee! No thing can glorify Thee, nor can any servant sanctify Thee, for sanctification itself is but a word of separation, and glorification shall be gathered on the Day of Resurrection nigh unto conjunction.

Glory be unto Thee! Glory be unto Thee! I worship Thee as Thou art worthy to be worshipped, and I proclaim Thy unity even as Thou bearest witness unto Thyself. There is no God but Thee, Lord of all the worlds.

I bear witness that Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family, was Thy servant whom Thou didst choose through Thy knowledge, approve for Thy mystery, select for Thy revelation, elect for Thy message, and establish as the station of Thy authority in fulfillment and decree. For Thou hast ever been beyond association with created things and description by the loftiest heights of innovation. And Thou, as Thou art, art as Thou sayest:

“Vision comprehendeth Him not, but He comprehendeth all vision, and He is the Subtle, the All-Informed.”

And I bear witness to the Successors of Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family, as Thou didst bear witness to their rights before the creation of the heavens and earth, in such wise that none knoweth them save Thee, and none can describe them but Thee. For from the light of Thine essence hast Thou created them, from the flashing rays of Thy oneness hast Thou chosen them, from the holy splendor of Thy Self-Sufficiency hast Thou approved them, from the radiance of Thy bounty hast Thou selected them, and from the rays of the sun of Thy unity hast Thou elected them to a station whereat all things fall short, all submit to their sovereignty, hearts are drawn to the mystery of their proof, celestial spheres move in the kingdom of the Throne and heavens by their leave, the Throne is established upon the waters through their name, heaven sends down its blessings through their existence, the Spirit and angels descend upon them in every condition due to their loftiness, the ships sail by their grace, the seas surge at their mention, the earth is sustained by their guardianship, trees in lands and mountains put forth leaves through their holiness, trees bear fruit through the blessing of their deeds, gardens of delight spring forth from the earth through the works of their followers, rivers flow through the earth from the sorrow of their hearts, and pearl-bearing trees grow in the depths of the seas through the blessing of the water that flows from their eyes.

All this, O my God, was from Thy grace regarding their rights. Glory be unto Thee! There is no God but Thee. None knoweth them save Thee. Glory be unto Thee and exalted art Thou above what they describe!

Therefore, I beseech Thee, O my God, to send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad in the atmosphere of the cloud-white realm, then in the grasp of the divine realm, then on the throne of might, then in the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. Verily Thou art the Beloved of the worlds.

O God! I beseech Thee to send Thy blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad on Mount Hadith, then in the Dome of Time, then in the Land of Justice, then in the blessed spot where the Tree called out “O Moses! Verily I am God, the Lord of the worlds.” O God! I beseech Thee to send Thy blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad in the tidings of the ancients, then in the tidings of the holy ones above the perception of the cherubim, then in the tidings of those brought nigh above the perception of the spiritual ones, then in the tidings of the latter ones. Verily Thou art God, the Master of the worlds.

O God! I beseech Thee to send Thy blessings upon Muhammad in the pillar of fire, then in the clouds of light, then above the Ark of the Testimony, then in the depths of the Most Hidden Sea. Verily Thou art God, the Ultimate Goal of the mystics.

O God! I beseech Thee to send Thy blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad among the Messengers, then among the Prophets, then among the truthful ones, then among the worshippers. Verily Thou art God, the Companion of them that have recognized Thy unity.

O God! I beseech Thee to send Thy blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad in the scrolls of the Prophets, then in the books of the latter ones, then in the tablets of those brought nigh, then in the psalms of the sincere ones. Verily Thou art God, the Lord of the worlds.

O my God! I cannot reckon their praise nor do I know a single letter of their virtues. Therefore, O God, bless them as they deserve and grant them peace according to their deeds. I testify that those among the people who warred against them are Thy enemies. They shall have no protector in the Hereafter save the fire, and they are the infidels.

O my God! How can I testify before Thee concerning the blessed leaf from the sacred Tree after Thou hast inspired me with the wisdom of Thy knowledge regarding them, that existence hath appeared through them and is concealed in them and points to them, and that none can comprehend them save Thee alone, Who hast no partner? Therefore, O my God, bless them as Thou art. Verily Thou art the Generous, the All-Wise.

O my God! The paths of detachment before Thee are open, and the gate of inaccessibility before Thee is raised high. Grant me, O my God, the perfection of Thy love and Thy good-pleasure, and attract our hearts through the attraction of Thy light, O Proof, O All-Glorious One! Send down upon me Thy sweet savors in the watches of the night and the ends of the day through Thy bounty, O Bestower!

O my God! I have no deed worthy of meeting Thee, and I know of a certainty that were I to live as long as the world endureth, I could not perform any deed worthy of that, for the station of the servant hath never been worthy of nearness to Thy presence except through Thy grace. Thy mercy hath encompassed me, and Thy bounty hath surrounded me. Glorified art Thou! There is no God but Thee. Raise me up unto Thee and honor me with tranquility in Thy presence and comfort me with Thyself alone. There is no God but Thee, for if Thou desirest good for a servant, Thou dost erase from around his heart every remembrance and condition save Thy remembrance alone, and if Thou desirest for a servant, on account of what his hands have wrought before Thee contrary to truth, evil, Thou dost try him with the afflictions of this world and the next that he may be occupied therewith and forget Thy remembrance.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! I seek refuge in Thee from being among those who believe not in Thee and hope not for Thy meeting and fear not Thy days and are not apprehensive of Thy justice and are not assured of Thy bounty and think of Thee as thought those who disbelieved before. Glory be to Thee and exalted art Thou! None knoweth how Thou art except Thee alone, Who hast no partner.

O my God! How can I mention my misdeeds before Thee when my good deeds are sins in Thy sight? I am ashamed to mention any of them, so how much more to mention my misdeeds which I have committed against Thee!

Glorified art Thou, O my God! If Thou wert to make all that Thou hast created and wilt create into a fire wherein naught but Thy fire would be mentioned, and if Thou wert to cause my body to grow, through Thy power, to a size beyond which, by Thy might, there could be no greater, and if Thou wert to cast me alone therein, and prolong for me in every state of being a torment greater than which no knowledge before me can encompass—even then I would deserve this as recompense for my good deeds before Thy face, how much more then for my evil deeds were Thou to exact retribution from me!

Glorified, glorified art Thou! Thou art, Thou art my Lord, there is none other God but Thee! Thou art praised in Thy deeds and obeyed in Thy inspirations. None can question Thy doings, while Thou dost question all concerning their deeds. Alas, alas, when Thou hast now inspired me with that torment, my heart cries out in my inmost being:

“Alas, alas, would that I had died before this and been a thing forgotten, utterly forgotten!”

Thou art the best witness that my whole being shudders, my inner self trembles, and my limbs quake at the severity of Thy judgment. I know not whether Thou desirest to inspire me with Thy grace in the face of that torment, or to frighten me with Thy power and Thy deeds.

Glorified art Thou! Far be it from any to think that Thou wouldst punish me with any of Thy wrath, nor do I witness in Thy mighty inspirations, even in the station of fear, aught but the rising of the sun of Thy mercy and bounty, that my heart might be at peace, my inner being might find rest, and my outward self might gain Thy good-pleasure.

Glorified, glorified art Thou! I seek Thy intercession with Thee, and hope in Thy grace and beneficence before Thee, and I implore Thy forgiveness for all that Thy knowledge encompasses. Thou art God, the Creator of all things, and Thou dost forgive, when Thou willest, all things. Thou art verily the All-Bountiful, the All-Wise. Glorified art Thou, my Lord, above what I have committed before Thee, and I say by Thy decree: All praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.