notifications_active Weekly Meshkat-e Noor Session: Thursdays at 20:30 at Haj Reza Mosque
Hello,
What special qualities did the prayer of Prophet Jonah (AS) have that made it one of the best-known invocations for having one’s prayers answered in Islamic culture?
َّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ
The prayer of Prophet Jonah (AS), mentioned in the Qur’an, has become one of the most renowned prayers associated with an answer to supplication because of its distinctive qualities. Offered in his deepest distress and accompanied by an admission of wrongdoing, it brings together the affirmation of God’s oneness, glorification of Him, and a plea for help. Numerous narrations emphasise the importance and effects of this intimate prayer, describing it as a key to drawing near to God and the most beautiful supplication of those who repent.
This dhikr is a verse from the Qur’an!
A dhikr in which supplication and entreaty surge.
A dhikr that is, in effect, a prayer already answered.
It is at once a declaration of God’s oneness, a glorification of Him, a cry for help, and an admission made in utter distress.
The dhikr and answered prayer of one of the great prophets.
Hadiths on the importance and effects of this intimate prayer.
The special place this prayer holds in the Ghufayla prayer.
This intimate prayer is like a key to communion with the Beloved.
The most beautiful intimate prayer of those who turn in repentance.
This passage is part of the supplication transmitted in the intimate prayer of the Master of Martyrs (AS) on the day of ʿArafah, and complements it.
The experience of those whose prayers are answered.
And more ...
َ لا إِلهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الْمُسْتَغْفِرِينَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الْوَجِلِينَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الرَّاجِينَ الرَّاغِبِينَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ السَّائِلِينَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الْمُهَلِّلِينَ الْمُسَبِّحِينَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ رَبِّي وَ رَبُّ آبَائِيَ الْأَوَّلِين
*Iqbāl al-Aʿmāl* (old edition), vol. 1, p. 345
عَنِ الصَّادِقِ ع قَالَ: عَجِبْتُ لِمَنْ فَزِعَ مِنْ أَرْبَعٍ كَيْفَ لَا يَفْزَعُ إِلَى أَرْبَعٍ عَجِبْتُ لِمَنْ خَافَ كَيْفَ لَا يَفْزَعُ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ- حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَ نِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ فَإِنِّي سَمِعْتُ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ يَقُولُ بِعَقَبِهَا فَانْقَلَبُوا بِنِعْمَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَ فَضْلٍ لَمْ يَمْسَسْهُمْ سُوءٌ وَ عَجِبْتُ لِمَنِ اغْتَمَّ كَيْفَ لَا يَفْزَعُ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ- لا إِلهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ سُبْحانَكَ إِنِّي كُنْتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
فَإِنِّي سَمِعْتُ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ يَقُولُ بِعَقَبِهَا- وَ نَجَّيْناهُ مِنَ الْغَمِّ وَ كَذلِكَ نُنْجِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَ عَجِبْتُ لِمَنْ مُكِرَ بِهِ كَيْفَ لَا يَفْزَعُ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ- وَ أُفَوِّضُ أَمْرِي إِلَى اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَصِيرٌ بِالْعِبادِ فَإِنِّي سَمِعْتُ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ يَقُولُ بِعَقَبِهَا- فَوَقاهُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئاتِ ما مَكَرُوا وَ عَجِبْتُ لِمَنْ أَرَادَ الدُّنْيَا وَ زِينَتَهَا كَيْفَ لَا يَفْزَعُ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ- ما شاءَ اللَّهُ لا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ فَإِنِّي سَمِعْتُ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ يَقُولُ بِعَقَبِهَا- إِنْ تَرَنِ أَنَا أَقَلَّ مِنْكَ مالًا وَ وَلَداً. فَعَسى رَبِّي أَنْ يُؤْتِيَنِ خَيْراً مِنْ جَنَّتِكَ وَ عَسَى مُوجِبَةٌ ..
*Al-Amālī* (al-Ṣadūq), text, p. 6
Hishām ibn Sālim and Muḥammad ibn Ḥumrān both relate from Imam al-Ṣādiq (AS) that he said:
“I am amazed at someone who fears four things: why does he not seek refuge in four things?
I am amazed at someone who is afraid: why does he not seek refuge in the words of God: «حسبنا اللَّه و نعم الوكيل»—‘God is enough for us, and what an excellent guardian He is’? For I heard God say afterwards: «آنها به نعمت و فضلى از خدا منتقل شدند و هيچ بدى به آنها نرسيد»—‘They returned with blessings and bounty from God, and no harm touched them.’
And I am amazed at someone who is distressed: why does he not seek refuge in the words of God: «لا اله الّا انت سبحانك انى كنت من الظالمين»—‘There is no god but You. Glory be to You! I was indeed among the wrongdoers.’ For I heard God say afterwards: «ما او را اجابت كرديم و او را از غم نجات داديم و اين چنين مؤمنان را نجات مىدهيم»—‘We answered him and delivered him from distress. Thus do We deliver the believers.’
And I am amazed at someone who is caught in a plot or deception: why does he not seek refuge in the words of God: «و افوّض امرى الى اللَّه ان اللَّه بصير بالعباد»—‘I entrust my affairs to God; indeed, God sees His servants.’ For I heard God say afterwards: «پس خدا او را از بدىهاى آنچه مكر كردند حفظ كرد»—‘So God protected him from the evil of their schemes.’
And I am amazed at someone who seeks the world and its adornments: why does he not seek refuge in the words of God: «ما شاء اللَّه لا قوة الا بالله»—‘What God wills comes to pass; there is no power except through God’? For I heard God say, of someone who declares: «اگر مرا مىبينى كه مال و فرزندم از تو كمتر است اميد است كه خداوند بهتر از باغ تو به من بدهد»—‘Though you see that I have less wealth and fewer children than you, perhaps my Lord will give me something better than your garden.’ In this verse, «عسى»—‘perhaps’—conveys certainty.”