Supplication in Hardship
O God, Thou hast charged me concerning myself with that which belongs more to Thee than to me.
Thy power over it and over me is greater than my power,
so give me in myself what will make Thee pleased with me
and take for Thyself Thy good pleasure in my self's well-being!
O God, I have no endurance for effort, no patience in affliction,
no strength to bear poverty. So forbid me not my provision
and entrust me not to Thy creatures, but take care of my need alone and Thyself attend to sufficing me!
Look upon me and look after me in all my affairs,
for if Thou entrustest me to myself, I will be incapable before myself
and fail to undertake that in which my best interest lies.
If Thou entrustest me to Thy creatures, they will frown upon me,
and if Thou makest me resort to my kinsfolk, they will refuse to give to me;
if they give, they will give little and in bad temper,
making me feel long obliged and blaming me much.
So through Thy bounty, O God, free me from need, through Thy mightiness, lift me up,
through Thy boundless plenty, open my hand, and with that which is with Thee, suffice me!
O God, bless Muhammad and his Household,
rid me of envy, encircle me against sins,
make me abstain from things unlawful, give me not the boldness of disobedient acts,
assign me love for that which is with Thee and satisfaction with that which comes to me from Thee,
bless me in that which Thou providest me, that which Thou conferrest upon me,
and that through which Thou favourest me, and make me in all my states
safeguarded, watched, covered, defended, given refuge, and granted sanctuary!
O God, bless Muhammad and his Household
and let me accomplish everything which Thou hast enjoined upon me or made obligatory for me toward Thee, in one of the ways of Thy obedience,
or toward one of Thy creatures, though my body be too frail for that, my strength too feeble,
my power not able to reach it, and my possessions and what my hand owns not encompass it, and whether I have remembered it or forgotten it.
It, my Lord, is among that which Thou hast counted against me while I have been heedless of it in myself.
Let me perform it through Thy plentiful giving and the abundance which is with Thee
- for Thou art Boundless, Generous - so that nothing of it may remain against me,
lest Thou wouldst wish to settle accounts for it from my good deeds
or to compound my evil deeds on the day I meet Thee, my Lord!
O God, bless Muhammad and his Household
and provide me with desire to serve Thee for the sake of my state in the hereafter,
such that I know the truthfulness of that [desire] in my heart,
be dominated by renunciation while in this world,
do good deeds with yearning,
and remain secure from evil deeds in fright and fear!
And give me 'a light whereby I may walk among the people' (ref.6:122), be guided in the shadows,
and seek illumination in doubt and uncertainty!
O God, bless Muhammad and his Household
and provide me with fear of the threatened gloom
and yearning for the promised reward, such that I may find the pleasure of that for which I supplicate Thee
and the sorrow of that from which I seek sanctuary in Thee!
O God, Thou knowest what will set my affairs right in this world and the next,
so be ever gracious toward my needs!
O God, bless Muhammad and Muhammad's Household
and provide me with what is Thy right when I fall short in thanking Thee
for that through which Thou hast favoured me in ease and difficulty, health and sickness,
such that I may come to know in myself repose in satisfaction
and serenity of soul in that which Thou hast made incumbent upon me
in whatever states may occur: fear and security,
satisfaction and displeasure, loss and gain!
O God, bless Muhammad and his Household
and provide me with a breast safe from envy,
such that I envy none of Thy creatures and in anything of Thy bounty
and such that I see none of Thy favours toward any of Thy creatures
in religion or this world, well-being or reverential fear,
plenty or ease, without hoping for myself better than it
through and from Thee alone, who hast no associate!
O God, bless Muhammad and his Household
and provide me with caution against offenses
and wariness against slips in this world and the next
in the state of satisfaction and wrath,
such that I may remain indifferent toward that which enters upon me from the two states,
work toward Thy obedience, and prefer it and Thy good pleasure over all else in both friends and enemies.
Then my enemy may stay secure from my wrongdoing and injustice
and my friend may despair of my inclination and the bent of my affection.
Make me one of those who supplicate Thee with sincerity in ease
with the supplication of those who supplicate Thee with sincerity in distress!
Verily Thou art Praiseworthy, Glorious.