The Supplication of Abi Hamza al-Thumali is narrated from Imam Sajjad (as) and is one of the most precious and well-known of prayers, enjoying a high status amongst great scholars. Abi Hamza al-Thumali, the narrator of this beautiful du'a, was one of the prominent students of Imam Zayn al-'Abidin (a) and this du'a has been named after him.-‘Misbah al-Mutahajjid’
سَيِّدِي أَنَا ٱلصَّغِيرُ ٱلَّذِي رَبَّيْتَهُ
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O my Master! I am the little that You have brought up
I am the ignorant that You have taught
I am the straying that You have guided
I am the humble that You have given rise
I am the afraid that You have given security,I am the hungry that You have satiated,I am the thirsty that You have watered
I am the naked that You have dressed,I am the poor that You have given affluence,I am the weak that You have strengthened,I am the lowly that You have given might
I am the ill that You have cured,I am the beggar that You have donated
I am the sinner that You have covered
I am the guilty that You have excused
I am the valueless that You have evaluated
I am the helpless that You have backed
and I am the expelled that You have boarded
I am, O my Lord, the one who has not felt ashamed of You in secrets
and the one who has not considered Your watching over him in the public
I am the committer of the grave transgressions
I am the one who challenged his Master
I am the one who disobeyed the All-great of the heavens
I am the one who has given bribes violating the laws of the All-lofty Lord
I am the one who has been delighted for committing such sins
I am the one who, although You have respited, has not cared
I am the one whom, although You have covered him, has not felt ashamed
who committed so many acts of disobedience that he has violated (all terms)
and who, although You have disregarded, has not minded
So, out of Your forbearance have You given me respite
You have concealed (my faults) with Your untouchable concealment as if You have been unaware of my acts
You have not applied to me the punishments of committing acts of disobedience (to You) as if You are ashamed to face me
O my God, as I disobeyed You, I have never denied Your Lordship
have never belittled your ordains
have never wished for exposing myself to Your chastisement
and have never disparaged Your threat
Nevertheless, sins showed themselves desirable before me, my self-commended to me
my whim overwhelmed me
my impudence helped me accordingly
and I have been deceived by Your covering that You have laid on me
So, I have exerted efforts in violating Your orders and disobeying You
Now, who can ever save me from Your chastisement
Tomorrow, who can save me from the hands of my rivals
وWhose rope will I catch if You cut off the rope between You and me
Shame on me for my evildoings that Your Book has recorded
Had it not been for Your generosity, the breadth of Your mercy
and Your warning me against being desperate—the matters that I hopefully depend on, I would have despaired whenever I remember my sins
O Greatest Besought Who has been ever besought
O Most Favorable Hoped
O Allah! I beseech You in the name of the liability of Islam
I rely upon You in the name of the sanctity of the Qur’an
in the name of my love for the Prophet; the Ummi (inhabitant of Mecca), the Qurayshite, the Hashemite, the Arab, the Tuhamite, the Meccan, and the Madanite, I hope for proximity to You. So, do not disturb my familiarity with faith and do not make my reward the same as reward given to those who serve one other than You
Certainly, some people outwardly declared the faith so that they could prevent their blood from being shed. However, they attained their goals. We have believed in You by heart and tongue so that You may excuse us. Hence, make us attain our goals, make firm our hope for You in our hearts, make not our hearts to deviate after You have guided us aright, and grant us from Your mercy. Surely, You are the most liberal Giver
By Your Majesty I swear, O my Lord, even if You chide me, I shall never leave Your Door and I shall never stop flattering You. This is because I have full acquaintance with Your (indescribable) generosity and bounty. To whom may a servant go save to his Lord? To whom may a mortal resort save to his Creator? O my God, even if You tie me with chains, deprive me of the stream of Your bounties in the presence of people
divulge all my scandalous acts before the eyes of all Your servants
order me to Hell
and prevent me from communicating the Pious ones
(in spite of all that) I will never stop hoping for You
I will never stop expecting Your pardon, and Your love will never exit my heart. I never forget Your graces that I enjoy
and You’re having concealed my defects in the worldly abode
O my Master, (please) expel love for the world out of my heart
join me with the Divinely-chosen Prophet and his Household
the choicest of Your creatures and the seal of the Prophets
Muhammad, blessings of Allah be on him and on his Household
Move me to the rank of repentance with You
help me weep for myself after I have come upon the last of my age
being in the manner of those who despair of any self-decency
Who is then worse than I am
when I, such being my case, will be taken to a grave
that I have neither paved for my long stay
nor furnished with righteous deed for my extended abode
Why should I not weep
while I do not know what my destiny will be?And while I notice that my self is cheating me
my days are deceiving me,and the wings of death are fluttering over my head
So, why should I not weep?I weep for my soul’s departing my body
I weep for the darkness of my grave.I weep for the narrowness of my vault
I weep for Munkar and Nakir (the two angels interrogating in graves) being interrogating me
I weep for my coming out of my grave (on the Resurrection Day) naked, humiliated,carrying my burdens on my back, distributing my sights to my right and my left
Behold! The creatures will each be engaged with matters other than mine.Every man that day will have concern enough to make him heedless of others
Many faces on that day shall be bright, laughing, joyous. And many faces on that day, on them shall be dust. Darkness, and humiliation shall cover them.O my Master, on You I depend and rely.In You I put my hope and faith.To Your mercy I hang.You direct Your mercy towards whomsoever You like
and You guide, out of Your honoring, whomsoever You will
So, all praise be to You for You have purified my heart from polytheism.All praise be to You for You have made my tongue express utterly.How can I praise You properly while my tongue is too short to do so
How can I please You while the extent of my efforts is too short to do so
What extent can my tongue reach if compared to the limitless extent of thanking You?What amount can my efforts reach if compared to the limitless amount of Your graces and favors
O my God! It is certainly Your benevolence that has given me hope.It is my thanks to You that have granted approval for my deeds. O my Master, for You do I desire
You do I fear
and to You do I look forward
It is my hope that has driven me towards You
To You, O my One and Only God, do I direct my determination
Towards what You have in possession are my desires directed
For You is the ultimate of my hope and fear
With You have I become familiar
To You have I submitted my hand.To the rope of obedience to You have I extended my fears
O my Master, only through mentioning You have my heart lived.Only through my confidential conversations with You have I cooled the pains of my fear
So, O my Master! O my Trusty Patron! O Ultimate Hope
Separate me from my transgressions which prevent me from adhering to the obedience to You
I only pray You on account of my eternal faith in You
and my desire for Your mercy and kindness
that You have made incumbent upon Yourself
So, the whole affair is Yours alone. There is no partner with You at all
All the creatures are dependent upon You and are in Your grip
All things are submissive to You
Blessed be You, O Lord of the worlds
O my God, have mercy on me when my argument is proven nil
when my tongue can no longer find any answer
and when my mind scatters as soon as You start interrogating me
So, O my great hope, do not forsake me when my need terribly increases
do not reject me on account of my ignorance
and do not stop conferring upon me on account of my lack of patience
Grant me for I am poor.Have mercy upon me for I am weak
O my Master, on You do I rely and lean
You are my hope, and in You do I have faith
To Your mercy do I attach myself
In Your courtyard do I dwell
On account of Your benevolence do I declare my request
With Your generosity, O my Lord, do I begin my prayers
With You do I desire for meeting my needs
Through Your wealth do I settle my poverty
Under the shade of Your pardon do I stand
Towards Your benevolence and generosity do I raise my sight
I persistently look for Your favors
so, do not let the flames of the Fire consume me while You are my ultimate hope
and do not embed me in the deep black abyss while You are the delight of my eyes
O my Master, do not thwart my idea about Your grace and favors
for in You I trust. Do not deprive me of Your rewards, for You best know my poverty
O my God, if my death is drawing near while my deeds have not yet drawn me near You, then let my confession of having committed sins be my means of justification
O my God, if You forgive, then who is worthier than You in forgiveness
And if You punish, then who is fairer than You in judgment
Have mercy on my misery in this world, on my grief at the time of death, on my loneliness in the grave, on my lonesomeness in the underground hole
and on my humiliating situation when I shall be resurrected for account before You
Forgive my deeds that have been concealed from the other human beings
make permanent for me that on account of which You have covered my faults
have mercy on me when I am thrown on the death bed turned over at the hands of my dear ones
do a favor to me when I am laid on the table of the dead bathroom turned over at the hands of my righteous neighbors
act kindly towards me when I am carried while my relatives hold the edges of my coffin
be generous with me when I am carried, alone, to my hole, have mercy on my loneliness in that (new) dwelling so that I will not feel at ease with anyone other than You. O my Master, if You leave me for myself, I will certainly perish
O my Master, to whom will I resort if You do not overlook my slips
To whom will I run for help if I miss Your care for me in my stay (in grave)
To whom will I refer if You do not relieve my grief
O my Master! Who will be with me
Who will have mercy on me if You do not
Whose favor will I expect if I miss Your favors on the day of my neediness
To whom will I flee from my sins when my deadline comes
O my Master, do not punish me while I please You hopefully
O my God, (please do) give success to my expectations
and dispel my fear
As for my numerous sins, I hope for nothing other than Your pardon
O my Master, I am asking You for things that I do not deserve
and You are verily the worthiest of being feared and the worthiest of forgiving
So, forgive me and dress me, out of Your relief, a garment covering all my defects
and forgive them for me so that I will not be responsible for them
Verily, you are the Lord of eternal favoring, great pardon, and liberal exoneration
O my God, you make Your flowing graces reach those who never pray You and those who deny Your Lordship
So, O my Master, what should You do to those who pray You and believe undoubtedly that You manage all creation and all affairs
Blessed by You and Exalted Be You, O Lord of the worlds
O my Master, I, your servant, am standing at Your door owing to neediness
am knocking at it suppliantly
So, do not turn Your generous Face away from me
Accept that which I utter, for I have prayed using this supplication
hoping that You will not reject me since I have full awareness of Your kindness and mercifulness. O my God, it is You Whom is never disturbed by any suppliant
and Whose kingdom is never decreased owing to donations.You are as exactly as You describe Yourself and is above all that which we say
O Allah, I beseech You for comely patience
immediate relief, truthful wording, and splendid reward
I pray You, O Lord, for all goodness
be it known by me or unknown
I pray You, O Allah, for the goodness that Your righteous servants have besought from You
O All-Excellent One that is asked
O most benevolent of those who may give
(Please do) respond to my request as regards myself, my family
my parents, my children, my comrades, and my brothers-in-faith
Bless my living, manifest my integrity, set aright all my affairs, and include me with those whom You decide to live long, whose deeds are righteous
those for whom You have perfected Your favors, those with whom You are pleased
and those whom You have granted comfortable life with permanent pleasure
reputable honor, and perfect contentment
Verily, you do whatever You will, while none else can ever do what one wills
O Allah, give me exclusively the grace of private mention of You
do not let any of the things by which I seek Your nearness
in the hours of the night and the ends of the days
take the form of ostentation, showing off, pretension, or insolence. Include me with the humble ones
O Allah, grant me affluent means of livelihood, security in my homeland
delight in my family, property, and children, permanence of Your graces, healthy body, strong physique, and sound faith
Dedicate my affairs to the obedience to You and to Your Messenger
Muhammad—Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Household—as long as You give me life
Make me one of the most rewarded servants of You
in each and every item of goodness that You have descended and You will descend during the month of Ramadan
and at the Destiny Night
as well as all that which You decide to descend throughout the year, including mercy that You spread, good health with which You adorn, misfortune that You repel
good deeds that You admit, and evildoings that You excuse
Bestow upon me with pilgrimage to Your Holy House in this year plus all years
grant me prosperous sustenance out of Your limitless bounty, dismiss, O my Master, all evils from me,help me settle my debts as well as my evildoings so that I will be saved from their liabilities
save me from the hearings and sights of my enemies, those who envy me, and those who intend to oppress me ,back me against them, give delight to my eye and joy to my heart, grant me relief and exit against my grief and misery ,make all those who intend evil to me, among all Your creatures, be under my feet, protect me against the evil of Satan, the evil of the ruling authority, and the consequences of my evildoings, purify me from all my sins, save me from Hellfire on account of Your pardon, allow me to enter Paradise on account of Your mercy, marry me off the Paradisiacal women on account of Your grace, and join me to Your righteous intimate servants—Muhammad and his Household, the purified, the immaculate, and the pious. May Your peace, mercy, and blessings be upon their bodies and souls. O my God and my Master, I swear by Your Mighty and Your Glory, if You will interrogate me for my sins, I will demand with Your pardon. If You interrogate me for my meanness, I will demand with Your kindness.If You order me to Hellfire, I will tell all the inhabitants therein that I love You.O my God and Master, if you forgive only Your intimate servants and those who obey You, to whom then will the sinful resort? If You honor none but those who act loyally to You, then whose shelter will the evildoers seek? O my God, if You decide to put me in Hellfire, this will definitely please Your enemies! But if You decide Paradise for me, then this will certainly please Your Prophet!And I—by Allah I swear it—know for sure that the pleasure of Your Prophet is more favorable for You than the pleasure of Your enemies. O Allah, I pray You for filling my heart with love for You, with fear of You, with belief in Your Book, with faith in You,with dread from You, and with eagerness to You. O Lord of Glory and Honor, (please do) make me love meeting You, (please do) love my meeting and make my meeting You entail comfort, relief, and honoring. O Allah, join me with the righteous ones among the past generations, include me with the righteous ones of this generation, guide me to the path of the righteous ones, help me against myself in just as You help the righteous ones control themselves, seal my deed with the best of it, decide Paradise as the reward of my deeds on account of Your mercy, help me manage the good things that You have endowed upon me, make me firm, O Lord, and do not make me return to evildoing after You have saved me from it. .O Lord of the worlds! O Allah, I beseech You for faith that does not stop until I meet You. As long as You grant me lifetime, (please do) connect me to that faith, and when You decide to grasp my soul, make me carry that faith with me. When You resurrect me, make me carry it with me. Release my heart from showing off, suspicion, and pretension in the affairs of Your religion so that my deed will be purely intended for Your sake. O Allah, grant me discerning awareness in Your religion, understanding of Your laws, insight in Your knowledge, two folds of Your mercy, and piety that impedes me from disobeying You. Make my face glitter on account of Your light, make me desire for nothing but that which You hold, and when I die, make me die following Your Path and carrying the principles of Your Prophet—
Allah’s blessings be upon him and his Household. O Allah, I seek Your protection against laziness, failure, grief, cowardice, stinginess, inattentiveness, brutality, poverty,neediness, destitution, and against all misfortunes and all shameful deeds, whether open or secret. I seek Your protection against having unsatisfied self, insatiate stomach,fearless heart, unanswered prayers, and futile deed. I ask You, O Lord, to guard myself, my religion, my properties, and all that which You have granted me against Satan the accursed. Verily, you are the All-hearing, the All-knowing. O Allah, none can ever save me against You and I can never find any shelter against You. So, (please) do not make anything that brings about Your punishment control over me, do not let me lead myself to perdition, and do not make me deserve the painful chastisement. اO Allah, accept from me, grant me reputation, elevate my rank, exonerate my offenses, do not refer to me with my faults, let the reward of my sessions, my utterance, and my prayer be Your pleasure and Paradise .Give me, O Lord, all that which I have asked for from You and grant me more favor, for I seek none but You, O Lord of the worlds! O Allah, you have ordered us in Your book that we should overlook those who wrong us. We have thus wronged ourselves; so, forgive us, for You are worthier of forgiveness than we are. You have ordered us not to reject any beggar being on our doors. Here I am begging You; so, do not reject me; rather, respond to my need. You have ordered us to act nicely to those under our authorities. We are surely under Your authority; so, release us from Hellfire. O my Shelter whenever I am aggrieved!O my Aid whenever hardships hit me! To You have I resorted. With You have I sought refuge and haven. To none save You shall I ever resort. From none save You shall I ever seek for relief. So, (please do) aid me and relieve my hardship.O He Who accepts the little (deed) and overlooks the much (wrong)!Accept my little (deed) and overlook my much (wrong). O Allah, I pray You for faith that covers my heart and for honest conviction so that I will believe that nothing will inflict me save that about which You have already known. Make me be satisfied with my livelihood that You have decided for me.O most Merciful of all those who show mercy
Refrences
1 Tusi’s Misbah, 582-598. Iqbal, 67-76, thence in Bihar, xcv, 82-92, b 6, h 2. Kafami’s Misbah, 588. Balad, 205
