Supplication of the 4th Imam
.....
THE SUPPLICATION OF
IMAM ZAYNUL ABIDIN (AS)
FOR
HIS OWN PARENTS (PBUH)
1. "O God, bless Muhammad, Thy slave and Thy
Messenger. and his Household, the pure, and single them out for the best of
Thy blessings, Thy mercy, Thy benedictions, and Thy Peace! "
2. “And single out my parents, O God, for honor with
Thee and blessings from Thee, O Most Merciful of the merciful! ”
3. "0 God, bless Muhammad and his Household, teach
me through inspiration knowledge of everything incumbent upon me toward
them, and gather within me knowledge of all that completely! Then make me
act in accordance with what Thou hast inspired me and give me the success to
put into practice the knowledge Thou hast shown to me, lest I fail to act
according to something. Thou hast taught me or my limbs feel too heavy to
perform that with which Thou hast inspired me!”
4. "0 God, bless Muhammad and his Household, as
Thou hast ennobled us through him, and bless Muhammad and his Household, as
Thou hast made incumbent upon us rights toward the creatures because of
him!"
5. "0 God, fill me with awe of my parents, the awe
one has toward a tyrannical sovereign, and let me be devoted to them, with
the devotion of a compassionate mother! Make my obedience and devotion to
them more gladdening to my eyes than sleep to the drowsy and more refreshing
to my heart than drink to the thirsty, so that I may prefer their
inclination to my inclination, set their satisfaction before my
satisfaction, make much of their devotion to me though it be little, and
make little of my devotion to them though it be great.”
6. "0 God, lower before them l1ly voice, make
agreeable to them my words, make mild before them my temper, make tender
toward them my heart and turn me in to their kind companion, their loving
friend !"
7. "O God. thank them for my upbringing, reward
them for honoring me, and guard them as they guarded me in my infancy!"
8. "O God. and whatever harm has touched them from
me, detested thing has reached them from me, or right of theirs which has
been neglected by me, allow it to alleviate their sins. raise them in their
degrees. and add to their good deeds! O He Who changes evil deeds into
manifold good deeds!"
9. "O God, whatever word through which they have
transgressed against me, act through which they have been immoderate with
me. right of mine which they have, left neglected, or obligation toward me
in which they have fallen short, I grant it to them and bestow it upon them,
and I beseech Thee to remove from them its ill consequence, for I do not
accuse them concen1ing myself. find them slow in their devotion toward me,
or dislike the way they have attended to my affairs, my Lord !"
10. "They have rights against me which are more
incumbent, precedence in beI1eflcence toward me that is greater: and
kindness toward me that is mightier than that I should settle accounts with
justice or repay them with equivalents. Mere then, my God, would be their
long occupation with bringing me up? Mere the hardship of their toil in
taking care of me? Mere the stinting of themselves to provide me with
plenty?”
11. "What an idea! I can never discharge their
right against me, fulfill my obligations toward them, or accomplish the duty
of serving them. So bless Muhammad and his Household and help me. O Best of
those Whose help we seek! Give me success, O Most Guiding of those Whom we
beseech! Place me not among the people of disrespect to fathers and mothers
on the day when every soul will be repaid for what it has earned: they sha1l
not be wronged.”
12. “O God, bless Muhammad, his Household, and his
progeny and single out my parents for the best which Thou hast singled out
for the fathers and mothers of Thy faithful servants, O Most Merciful of the
merciful!"
13. "O God, let me not forget to remember them
after my ritua1 prayers, at every time throughout my night, and in each of
the hours of my day!”
14. "O God, bless Muhammad and his Household,
forgive me through my supplication for my parents, forgive them through
their devotion toward me With unfailing forgiveness. be well pleased With
them through my intercession for them With resolute good pleasure, and make
them reach through Thy generosity the abodes of safety!”
15. "O God, if Thy forgiveness reaches them first,
make them my intercessors, and if Thy forgiveness reaches me first, make me
their intercessors, so that we may gather together through Thy gentleness in
the house of Thy generosity and the place of Thy forgiveness and mercy!
Verily Thou art Possessor of abounding bounty and ancient kindness, and Thou
art the Most Merciful of the merciful!"
But no where in the whole world can such moving and
poignant scenes be seen of the love of children for their father as in the
battlefield of Kerbala. In the battle of Kerbala, the nephews and the sons
of Imam Husain (AS) were vying With each other to Win the aureole of
martyrdom. Each of them wanted to become an oblation for Imam Husain before
anyone else. His nephew, Qasim, was twelve years old. He was asked how did
he find death. He said {when it comes to defend his uncle): "Sweeter
than honey!"
Though some of these boys were very young, no one among
them ever complained of thirst or hunger. Each of them came to Imam Husain,
turned a radiant and smiling face toward him, sought his permission to go
into the battlefield. If he gave his permission, the boy's face lit up with
happiness. He went and fought and was killed. The other boys, still in the
camp, envied him. Mothers were finding it difficult to restrain them. Each
of them wanted to outdo the others.
These boys - the nephews and sons of Imam Husain
-understood what was happening around them. They had full knowledge of the
causes and the nature of the conflict between Imam Husain and Yazid. Each of
them was fully conscious of his own mission, and each of them carried it out
splendidly. One of them was Ali Akbar, the son of Imam Husain. He was at
this time 18 years old. When the caravan of Imam Husain was approaching
Kerbala, it encamped in a village called Zabala for rest. Imam Husain fell
asleep. Suddenly he woke up and recited the Qur’anic verse: "WE
ARE FOR GOD AND TOWARD HIM IS OUR RETURN."
Ali Akbar was standing nearby and he heard his father's
exclamation. He asked his father: "Are we not in the right, and are our
enemies not in the wrong?" His father said: "Yes, my son. We are
in the right. II Ali Akbar said: 'If that's so, then death has no terrors
for us. " He moved toward death sooner than death could move toward
him. And in that act he won immortality!
A
Women's role as a mother has especial sanctity......
Dr. Sir Muhammad Iqbal was the poet-philosopher of
Indo-Pakistan. He was also a catalyst in the renaissance of the Muslims in
the twentieth century .He says that as a creator, a mother ranks next only
to God Himself. She brings new life into the world, and that act -the act of
bringing new life into the world - involves sacrifice. In bringing new life
into the world, she risks her own life. Thus the act of creating new life
calls for sacrifice on her part. She is, therefore, doubly entitled to love
and esteem. Next to God Himself, one owes more to one's mother than to
anyone else in this world. The act of giving birth involves supreme
self-sacrifice on her part, But this is not the only act of self-sacrifice.
She sacrifices all her comforts for her child, and if necessary, will Part
with her life itself for its sake. A child can never repay his mother's
debt. One thing that is priceless in the world, is the love of a mother.
There is nothing that can substitute for a mother's love.
It should also be pointed out that what makes the acts
of creating and sacrifice possible for her, is love. Her love for her child
is the most sacrosanct love, and ranks second only to her love for God
Himself!
Islam commands Muslim boys and girls to show genuine
love and affection for their parents. This is one of the Qur’anic
imperatives. They must show respect for the wishes of their parents and must
obey them. The only occasion when children must not obey their parents is
when and if the latter (the parents) ask them to disobey God. Obedience to
God comes before everything in the life of a Muslim.
Even from a "pragmatic" and a
"temporal" standpoint, it is in the interests of boys and girls to
obey their parents. They cannot have better friends in the whole world than
their parents. Parents love nothing more than to see the happiness and
prosperity of their own children.
They identify themselves with the success of their
children. They take pride in the achievements of their children. Children
can bring honor and glory to their parents. Conversely. if the children are
depraved, they can ruin the reputation and the life of their parents.
We seek God's refuge from ever deviating into error.
May it please God that we live only in obedience to His collu11andments
received through His Messenger, Muhammad Mustafa(S). May it please God in
His boundless mercy that we invariably put His pleasure ahead of our own
pleasure.
We invoke the blessings of God upon our Guide and
Leader in this world and in the Hereafter, Prophet Muhammad and his holy
progeny. They put in our hands the key to success in the two worlds.
