Supplication and Litany

Ablution is recommended and preferable at all times, but special emphasis is placed on being in a state of ablution when reciting the Quran, praying and supplicating, going to sleep or eating, visiting holy sites, entering a mosque, and in the hours before dawn.

Sincere seeking of refuge in God and wholehearted surrender to Him are the secret of an intimate retreat with the Beloved, the Comforter of hearts. Love of this world sharpens Satan’s hearing and paves the way for his influence; rising above attachment to the world deafens his ears and blinds his eyes. Call upon God on the frequency of perfect sincerity.

The rank of the “Hidden Name” is higher than that of the “Greatest Name,” and even the “Chosen Name.” The term *ism musta’thir* derives from the root ء-ث-ر, meaning “share,” “remnant,” or “grace,” and conveys the sense of something held exclusively and reserved. The full reality of these Names is disclosed to God alone and belongs to the realm of the “Absolute Unseen.”

A deferred need is being nurtured in God’s unseen treasuries, and God knows the best time and way to fulfill it. Impatience reflects a lack of trust in divine wisdom. Expand your capacity to receive this great blessing.

Our sense of time passing in certain emotional states depends on the intensity of our emotional and nervous-system responses, our heart rate, and the focus of our thoughts; it has nothing to do with time itself contracting or expanding. The noble verse «لا تأسوا علی ما فاتکم و لا تفرحوا بما آتاکم» should not be interpreted superficially. It carries particular allusions, including the oppression suffered by the Ahl al-Bayt (AS) and the rule of tyrants.

After remembering a particular deceased person, it is better also to offer a general prayer for all deceased believers, so that the reward reaches everyone without diminishing the reward of the person specifically remembered. Prayers such as «اللهم و اعمم بذلک من شهد لک بالربوبیة...» are recommended for this purpose.

To truly know God through God Himself means that knowledge of Him is a decisive proof from God, placed within human nature. By their own free choice, people choose between acknowledging this knowledge and denying it. Knowledge comes from God; acknowledgment is the servant’s acceptance.

The Divine names “Yā Ṭāhī, Yā Dharr, Yā Ṭamnah, Yā Ṭanāb, Yā Ṭanāt,” recommended for treating headaches, are said to mean the One who purifies from illness, the Creator of the particles of life, the Soother of pain, the steadfast rope of deliverance, and the One who answers swiftly. These names hold a lofty place with God, and through their blessing He removes headaches from the Shi‘a.

The phrase “O Support of those who have no support” in the Jawshan Kabir supplication means: O You upon whom all beings depend, for apart from their connection to You, they have no true standing, worth, stability, identity or character of their own. These words are a confession of complete trust in and reliance upon God, the only true source of support in existence.

In the words of Imam Sajjad (AS), khusūf means being swallowed up and disappearing. In Supplication 27 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, he asks God to destroy and erase the lands of the polytheists. The Quran also conveys this meaning by referring to the people of Lot and Korah being swallowed up by the earth, as well as to the moon’s eclipse on the Day of Resurrection.

Human resolve is a decision and a pledge of the heart, whose fulfilment depends on God’s will and decree. God’s all-prevailing power means that all created beings are utterly subject to Him. No resolve can be carried through without God’s permission; any resolve made without awareness of this truth is a sign of presumption.

To resolve difficulties with a temporary marriage and gain the bride’s brother’s consent, it is recommended to recite Prayers 1, 2, 3, 8 and 17 of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya with sincere devotion. It is also recommended to recite the seventy-part prayer of repentance attributed to Imam Ali (AS), and to recite Surat al-Fil and Surat al-Kawthar one hundred times, dedicating the reward to Lady Fatima al-Zahra (SA).

In Imam Husayn’s (AS) Supplication of ʿArafah, we read: “Is there any manifestation in anything other than You that You do not have, so that it could be a means by which You are manifested?” The answer is that nothing bears witness to the sun except the sun’s own light. All that exists owes its existence to God, and everything in the universe is a sign of God and a witness to Him. God Himself guides us to Him.

To benefit from the blessing of our days, we must align ourselves with the divine will through obedience, sincere worship, and remembrance of God. Time is a sign of God, the Eternal without beginning or end, and through it we can attain knowledge of God and the meeting with Him.