The prayer of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq
Photo: Men praying on a boat on their to way to Jeddah port during Ottoman Empire (1901).
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The Emissary of God (may God bless him and grant him peace)
taught Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq to say:
O God, verily I ask You,
by Muḥammad, Your Prophet,
and Abraham, Your Friend,
and Moses, Your Interlocutor,
and Jesus, Your Word and Spirit;
and by the Torah of Moses,
the Gospel of Jesus,
the Psalms of David,
and the Furqān¹ of Muḥammad (the peace of God be
upon them all!);
by each revelation You revealed,
or by each decree You decreed,
or by each petitioner to whom You gave,
or by each rich man whom You impoverished,
or by each poor man whom You enriched,
or by each strayer whom You guided;
and I ask You, by Your Name which You revealed to Moses
(upon whom be peace);
and I ask You, by Your Name by which You disseminated the
provisions of the servants;
and I ask You, by Your Name which You laid upon the earth and
this became established;
and I ask You, by Your Name which You laid upon the heavens
so that they were lifted up;
and I ask You, by Your Name which You laid upon the
mountains, so that they were made stable;
and I ask You, by Your Name by which Your Throne was
raised up;
and I ask You, by Your Name, which is holy, pure, one, eternal,
and unique, which is revealed in
Your Book from You and from the illuminating Light
[al-nūr al-mubīn];
and I ask You, by Your Name which You laid upon the day,
so that it was light, and which You laid upon the night, so that it
was darkened;
and I ask You, by Your magnificence and splendour, and by the
Light of Your Noble Face,
to grant me the Qur’ān and the knowledge of it,
and to blend it with my flesh, my blood, my ear, and my eye,
and to utilize my body through it by Your might and Your power.
Verily there is no might and no power save in You.
O Most Compassionate of the compassionate!
(The prayer of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq)
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Source and Recommended Reading:
'Al-Ghazali on Invocations and Supplications: Book IX of the Revival of the Religious Sciences'
By Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali (Author), Koji Nakamura (Translator)
Purchase Book:
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Description:
Written by Abu Hamid Ghazali in the 11th century, The Revival of the Religious Sciences is one of the most authoritative texts in Islamic religious literature. Offering a deeper understanding of Islam and its practices, this record contains the only English translation of an essential section from this magnum opus. Admired for the author s analytical approach and detailed exploration of the psychological and spiritual effects of prayer, this compendium will not only interest academics, but also Muslims who wish to recite the prayers in the original Arabic.
"The best thing of its kind I have ever seen . . . exactly the kind of thing I have wanted for years to put into the hands of students."
(Charles Adams, professor, McGill University, on 'Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence')
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