فَبِعِزَّتِكَ ياسَيِّدِي وَمَوْلايَ اُقْسِمُ صادِقاً ، لَئِنْ تَرَكْتَنِي ناطِقاً لاَضِجَّنَّ إِلَيْكَ بَيْنَ أَهْلِها ضَجِيجَ الامِلِينَ وَلاَصْرُخَنَّ إِلَيْكَ صُراخَ المُسْتَصْرِخِينَ
O' my Lord! By Thy honour truly do I swear that, if Thou wilt allow my power of speech to be retained by me in the hell, I shall amongst its inmates cry out bewailingly unto Thee like the cry of those who have faith in Thy kindness and compassion
وَلاَبْكِيَنَّ عَلَيْكَ بُكأَ الفاقِدِينَ وَلاُنادِيَنَّكَ أَيْنَ كُنْتَ ياوَلِيَّ المُؤْمِنِينَ ، ياغايَةَ اَّمالِ العارِفِينَ ياغِياثَ المُسْتَغِيثِينَ ، ياحَبِيبَ قُلوُبِ الصّادِقِين وَيا إِلهَ العالَمينَ
And I shall bemoan for Thee (for being deprived of nearness to Thee) the lamentation of those who are bereaved, and I shall keep on calling unto Thee: “Where art Thou o' Friend of the believers! O' (Thou who art) the last hope and resort of those who acknowledge Thee and have faith in Thy clemency and kindness; o' Thou who art the helper of those seeking help! O' Thou who art dear to the hearts of those who truly believe in Thee! And o' Thou who art the Lord of the universe.”
Heart felt words are these to manifest the anguish and sorrow of a believer who, while not resenting the justice meted out to him by Allah in casting him into the hell, nevertheless deplores the fact that he has been separated from Allah's Grace and Mercy. Appropriate phrases such as these for the purpose of supplication can only be learnt from a true Imam who knows the proper method of approach to Allah.
We have instances of similar words employed by Imam Zainul Abidin (‘a) in the Du'a which he taught Abu Hamza Thamali to recite in the early dawn of the holy month of Ramadhan. One of the passages reads-”My Lord! If Thou wilt cast me into fire, it will only delight Thy enemies but if Thou wilt cause me to enter paradise it will delight Thy Prophet and by Allah I am aware that the joy of Thy Prophet is more beloved to Thee than the joy of Thy enemies.”
Another passage of the Du'a reads: My God! My Lord! I swear by Thy Honour and Majesty, if Thou seeks (to punish me) for my sins, I shall seek Thy Forgiveness; if Thou seeks to reprove me for my blames, I shall seek from Thee Thy Generosity; If Thou wilt cast me into the fire, I shall inform its denizens of my love for Thee.”
أَفَتُراكَ سُبْحانَكَ ياإِلهي وَبِحَمْدِكَ تَسْمَعُ فِيها صَوتَ عَبْدٍ مُسْلِمٍ سُجِنَ فِيها بِمُخالَفَتِهِ وَذاقَ طَعْمَ عَذابِها بِمَعْصِيَتِهِ ، وَحُبِسَ بَيْنَ أَطْباقِها بِجُرْمِهِ وَجَرِيرَتِهِ وَهُوَ يَضجُّ إِلَيْكَ ضَجِيجَ مُؤَمِّلٍ لِرَحْمَتِكَ وَيُنادِيكَ بِلِسانِ أَهْلِ تَوْحِيدِكَ ، وَيَتَوَسَّلُ إِلَيْكَ بِرُبُوبِيَّتِكَ
My Lord! Glory and praise be to Thee, wouldst Thou (wish) to be seen (disregarding) the voice of a Muslim bondman, incarcerated therein (the hell) for his disobedience and imprisoned within its pits for his evildoings and misdeeds, crying out to Thee the utterance of one who has faith in Thy mercy and calling out to Thee in the language of those who believe in Thy unity and seeking to approach Thee by means of Thy epithet “the Creator, the Nourisher, the Accomplisher and the Protector of the entire existence”?
“Afaturaka” is composed of interrogative article “Aa” the conjunction “Fe” and the word “Turaka” meaning “thou be seen” and every effort has been made to render the complex Arabic passage comprehensible by the addition of a couple of words in brackets, without omitting any of the original words. This passage represents a humble reasoning, submitted with all humility, by a fallible creature to invoke the mercy of the Creator.
The word “Rububiyyataka” is difficult to render accurately in English, “Rabb” has been frequently used in the Qur'an and translated by most translators into English as “Lord” but the word is very comprehensive and means also “Nourisher”, “Fosterer”, “Accomplisher” and “Protector”, when used in respect of Allah, it covers all these meanings and means “The Author and the Originator of all the existence.”
يامَوْلايَ فَكَيْفَ يَبْقى فِي العَذابِ وَهُوَ يَرْجوُ ماسَلفَ مِنْ حِلْمِكَ ؟
My Lord! Then how could he remain in torments when he hopefully relies upon Thy past forbearance, compassion and mercy?
Indeed. Allah has himself drawn attention to these attributes in the following verses of the Holy Qur'an:
“Announce (O' Muhammad) unto my slaves that verily I am Forgiving, Merciful.” (15:49).
Allah is not the Lord of Vengeance but of Mercy. In Verse.
6:54 of the Holy Qur'an, He says:
“Your Lord hath prescribed for Himself Mercy.” (Malbubi).
أَمْ كَيْفَ تُؤْلِمُهُ النَّارُ وَهُوَ يَأْمَلُ فَضْلَكَ وَرَحْمَتَكَ ؟ أَمْ كَيْفَ يُحْرِقُهُ لَهِيبُها وَأَنْتَ تَسْمَعُ صَوْتَهُ وَتَرى مَكانَهُ ؟
أَمْ كَيْفَ يَشْتَمِلُ عَلَيْهِ زَفِيرُها وَأَنْتَ تَعْلَمُ ضَعْفَهُ ؟ أَمْ كَيْفَ يَتَقَلْقَلُ بَيْنَ أَطْباقِها وَأَنْتَ تَعْلَمُ صِدْقَهُ ؟ أَمْ كَيْفَ تَزْجُرُهُ زَبانِيَتُها وَهُوَ يُنادِيكَ يارَبَّاه ؟
And how can the fire cause him suffering when he hopes for Thy grace and mercy and how can its roaring flames char him when Thou hearest his voice and sees his plight? And how can he withstand its roaring flames when Thou knowest his frailness? And how can he be tossed about between its layers when Thou knowest his sincerity? And how can the guards of hell threaten him when he calls out to Thee?
أَمْ كَيْفَ يَرْجُو فَضْلَكَ فِي عِتْقِهِ مِنْها فَتَتْرُكُهُ فِيها ؟
“My Lord”, and how would Thou abandon him therein (the hell) when he has faith in Thy grace to set him free?
هَيْهاتَ ! ما ذَلِكَ الظَنُّ بِكَ ، وَلا المُعْروفُ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ ، وَلامُشْبِهٌ لِما عامَلْتَ بِهِ المُوَحِّدِينَ مِنْ بِرِّكَ وَإِحْسانِكَ !
Alas! That is not the concept (held by us) of Thee nor has Thy grace such a reputation nor does it resemble that which Thou hast awarded by Thy kindness and generosity to those who believe in Thy unity
guys, i'm your boss.
