Al-Kafi · Hadith 35

The Book of Supplication · Concise Supplications for Worldly Needs and the Hereafter · Volume 2, book 2, chapter 60, Hadith 35

Original Arabic text

35 - علي بن أبي حمزة، عن بعض أصحابه، عن أبي عبد الله (عليه السلام) أن رجلا أتى أمير المؤمنين (عليه السلام) فقال: يا أمير المؤمنين كان لي مال ورثته ولم أنفق منه درهما في طاعة الله عز وجل ثم أكتسب منه مالا فلم أنفق منه درهما في طاعة الله فعلمني دعاء يخلف علي ما مضى ويغفر لي ما عملت أو عملا أعمله، قال: قل: قال: وأي شئ أقول يا أمير المؤمنين؟ قال: قل كما أقول: " يا نوري في كل ظلمة ويا أنسي في كل وحشة ويا رجائي في كل كربة ويا ثقتي في كل شدة ويا دليلي في الضلالة أنت دليلي إذا انقطعت دلالة الادلاء فإن دلالتك لا تنقطع ولا يضل من هديت أنعمت علي فأسبغت ورزقتني فوفرت وغذيتني فأحسنت غذائي وأعطيتني فأجزلت بلا استحقاق لذلك بفعل مني ولكن ابتداء منك لكرمك وجودك فتقويت بكرمك على معاصيك وتقويت برزقك على سخطك وأفنيت عمري فيما لا تحب فلم يمنعك جرأتي عليك وركوبي لما نهيتني عنه ودخولي فيما حرمت علي أن عدت علي بفضلك ولم يمنعني حلمك عني وعودك علي بفضلك وإن عدت في معاصيك فأنت العواد بالفضل وأنا العواد بالمعاصي فيا أكرم من أقر له بذنب وأعز من خضع له بذل لكرمك أقررت بذنبي ولعزك خضعت بذلي فما أنت صانع بي في كرمك وإقراري بذنبي وعزك و خضوعي بذلي افعل بي ما أنت أهله ولا تفعل بي ما أنا أهله ".

Published English translation

35. Ali ibn abu Hamza has narrated from certain individuals of his people from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) who has said the following: “Once a man came to Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) and said, ‘O Amir al- Mu’minin, I inherited a property but did not give even one dirham in obedience to Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy. I thereafter made an earning and did not spend anything in obedience to Allah. Instruct me with a supplication that can replace for me things of the past, and what I have done be forgiven as well as what I may do.’ The narrator has said that the Imam told him, ‘Say.’ The man asked, ‘What should I say, O Amir al-Mu’minin?’ “The Imam said, ‘Say as I say, “O my light in all darkness, O my comfort in all dreadful conditions, O my hope in all painful matters, O my trust in every hardship, O my guide in all straying conditions. You are my guide, when all guidance of guides is cut off but Your guidance remains. Whoever You guide does not stray off the right path. You granted me favors and made it delightful. You provided me sustenance in abundance, You fed me and made my food best, Y ou bestowed upon me and made it the best gift without my deserving it by means of my deeds but initiated from You due to Your magnanimity and generosity. I found strength from Your magnanimity to disobey You, I gained power from Your sustenance but I disappointed You, 1 ruined my life in what You disliked, my daring against You, my committing what You had forbidden, my entering in things You prohibited, did not prevent You from turning to me with Your generosity, Your forbearance did not hold You back from doing favors to me even if I returned to sin and disobedience to You, You always turn back with generosity and bounty but 1 always sin. How magnanimous You are to those who confess before You to their sins! “How majestic You are to those who humble themselves before You! Before Your magnanimity I confess my sins and for Your majesty I humble myself before You. It now is all up to You what You will do to me in Your magnanimity and with my confessing my sins before You for Your majesty and my begging respectfully, I plead before You to deal with me the way it is worthy of You not according to what I deserve.’”

Narrator and transmission

See the transmission information preserved in the original source text.

Attributed scholarly assessments

Allamah Baqir al-Majlisi: موثق

Mirʾāt al-ʿUqūl fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl (2/472)

Assessment transcribed from the source's named scholar and reference. No new grading or consensus is asserted; differing entries remain separate.

Shaykh Baqir al-Behbudi: Catalogue non-inclusion note (not an authenticity grade)

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Kāfī

Source records non-inclusion in this scholar's selection; this is not itself a weak or authentic grade.

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