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Tahajjud Prayer - Salat al-Layl - Namaz e Shab
Collection of supplications (Duas), prayers, and moral reflections attributed to Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (a.s.),
اِلٰهِيْ كَمْ مِنْ مُوْبِقَةٍ حَلُمْتَ عَنْ مُقَابَلَتِهَا بِنِقْمَتِكَ
Ilahi kam min moobiqatin halumta an muqabalatiha bi-niqmatik
My God, how many destructive sins have occurred where You showed forbearance instead of meeting them with Your punishment,
وَكَمْ مِنْ جَرِيْرَةٍ تَكَرَّمْتَ عَنْ كَشْفِهَا بِكَرَمِكَ
Wa kam min jareeratin takarramta an kashfiha bi-karamik
And how many crimes were committed which You generously concealed through Your noble grace.
اِلٰهِيْ اِنْ طَالَ فِيْ عِصْيَانِكَ عُمْرِيْ
Ilahi in taala fee isyanika umree
My God, even if my lifespan was long in Your disobedience,
وَ عَظُمَ فِيْ الصُّحُفِ ذَنْبِيْ
Wa azuma fis-sohufi dhanbee
And my sins grew vast within the record of deeds,
فَمَا اَنَا مُؤَمِّلٌ غَيْرَ غُفْرَانِكَ
Fama ana mu'ammilun ghayra ghufranik
I harbor no hope for anything other than Your forgiveness,
وَ لَا اَنَا بِرَاجٍ غَيْرَ رِضْوَانِكَ
Wa la ana bi-rajin ghayra ridwanik
Nor do I wish for anything other than Your good pleasure.
اِلٰهِيْ اُفَكِّرُ فِيْ عَفْوِكَ فَتَهُوْنُ عَلَيَّ خَطِيْئَتِيْ
Ilahi ufakkiru fee afwika fatahoolu alayya khatee'atee
My God, when I reflect upon Your pardon, my sins seem small to me,
ثُمَّ اَذْكُرُ الْعَظِيْمَ مِنْ اَخْذِكَ فَتَعْظُمُ عَلَيَّ بَلِيَّتِيْ
Thumma adhkurul azeema min akhdhika fata'zumu alayya baliyyatee
Yet when I recall the severity of Your retribution, my affliction appears immense.
اٰهٍ اِنْ اَنَا قَرَاْتُ فِيْ الصُّحُفِ سَيِّئَةً اَنَا نَاسِيْهَا وَ اَنْتَ مُحْصِيْهَا
Ahin in ana qara'tu fis-sohufi sayyi'atan ana nasiyaha wa anta muhseeyaha
Ah, what grief if I read a sin in the scrolls that I have forgotten while You have recorded it,
فَتَقُوْلُ: خُذُوْهُ
Fataqoolu: Khudhooh
And You command: "Seize him!"
فَيَا لَهٗ مِنْ مَأْخُوْذٍ لَا تُنْجِيْهِ عَشِيْرَتُهٗ
Fa ya lahoo min ma'khoodhin la tunjeehi asheeratuh
O how helpless is that captive whom his own kin cannot rescue,
وَ لَا تَنْفَعُهٗ قَبِيْلَتُهٗ
Wa la tanfa'uhu qabeelatuh
Nor can his tribe benefit him,
يَرْحَمُهُ الْمَلَأُ اِذَا اُذِنَ فِيْهِ بِالنِّدَاءِ
Yarhamuhul mala'u idha udhina feehi bin-nida'
Pitied by the gathering when the call for his judgment is announced.
اٰهٍ مِنْ نَارٍ تُنْضِجُ الْاَكْبَادَ وَ الْكُلٰى
Ahin min narin tundijul akbada wal-kula
Ah, what grief from a fire that consumes the livers and the kidneys,
اٰهٍ مِنْ نَارٍ نَزَّاعَةٍ لِلشَّوٰى
Ahin min narin nazza'atin lish-shawa
Ah, what grief from a fire that strips away the scalp and flesh,
اٰهٍ مِنْ غَمْرَةٍ مِنْ لَهَبَاتٍ لَظٰى
Ahin min ghamratin min lahabatin laza
Ah, what grief from being submerged beneath the blazing flames of hellfire.
About Sahifa Alawiyyah
Abdullah bin Saleh Samahiji collected the supplications of Hazrat Ameerul Momineen Ali Ibne Abi Talib (a.s.) and named the collection: Sahifa Alawiyyah.
Other scholars also compiled their collections of Duas related from Imam Ali (a.s.) but the collection that became most popular was that of Abdullah bin Saleh. It had 160 Duas.
Sahifa Alawiyyah was first published in 1305 A.H. (1887 A.D.) from Bombay. Then from Majma’ al-Bahrayn Press, Ludhiana and after this in 1311 A.H. (1893 A.D.) from Tehran. The fourth time it was published from Nizami Press, Lucknow with translation and commentary in 1371 A.H. (1951 A.D.). But it is regretful that it did not mention the sources.
The supplications of Sahifa Alawiyyah can be broadly divided into two sections. The expression of Allah’s slaveship and the entreaties of the supplicant. Each of the supplications is a masterpiece of the expression of ones helplessness before the grandeur of the Almighty and only a personality like Imam Ali (a.s.) could have composed such Duas.
The present English Version is based on the Urdu translation of Sahifa Alawiya by Maulana Sayyid Murtuza Husain Lakhnavi, republished by Hyderi Kutub Khana.
Text, translation and recitation from Duas.org
