VIRTUES OF THE "EFFECTIVE VENERATION"

Twelfth: Al-Barqi, through an authenticated narration, reported Imam al-Sadiq(a.s.) as saying, “Whoever repeats ten times the following statement after accomplishing his prayer and before moving his knees from their position, Almighty Allah will erase forty million of his sins, record for him forty million rewards, and he will be regarded as having recited the Holy Qur’an entirely twelve times.” The Imam (a.s.) then turned his face towards the reporter and said, “As to me, I do not move my knees before I repeat this statement one hundred times. As to you, you may say it ten times only.”

The statement is the following:

I bear witness that there is no god save Allah,

One and Only and having no associate with Him (in Godhead);

He is the One God,

the Unique, the Besought of all,

and He has taken to Himself neither a wife nor a son.

Very much more merits have been reported for uttering this statement of professing Almighty Allah being the One and Only God (i.e. Tahlil), especially after the dawn (fajr) and Evening Prayers and at sunrise and sunset.

Thirteenth: Al-Kulayni, Ibn Baabwayh, and others have reported through authentic chains of authority that Imam al-Sadiq(a.s.) said, “Archangel Gabriel came to Prophet Joseph (a.s.) who was in the prison and taught him to say the following supplicatory prayer after each prayer:

O Allah, cause all my affairs to arrive at a relief and a way out

and give me sustenance from whence I expect

and from whence I do not expect.

Fourteenth: It is mentioned in the book of al-Balad al-Amin that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) said, “He who wishes that Almighty Allah will not stop him on the Resurrection Day for the evil deeds that he has done and that Almighty Allah will not open his record of deeds, may say this supplicatory prayer after every ritual prayer:

O Allah, Your forgiveness is more hopeful for me than my deeds

and Your mercy is more expansive than my sin.

O Allah, if my sin has been too grave in Your sight,

then Your amnesty is graver than my sin.

O Allah, if I do not deserve receiving Your mercy,

then Your mercy is worthy of reaching and including me,

because it has covered all things;

[let that be] out of Your mercy, O most Merciful of all those who show mercy!

Fifteenth: Al-Kaf’ami reports that a man complained to the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) about his ailment and poverty. The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) therefore taught him to say the following statement after the obligatory prayers:

I put my trust in the Ever-living (Lord) Who never dies.

All praise is due to Allah, Who has not taken a wife or a son

and Who has not a partner in the kingdom,

and Who has not a helper to save Him from disgrace;

and magnify Him with all magnificence.

According to another report, the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) said, “Whenever a tribulation afflicted me, Archangel Gabriel would come to me and instruct me to say these words.”

According to other validly reported traditions, this doxology (zikr) may be repeated for fending off evil inspirations, settling debts, and saving from poverty.

According to other traditions, the following statement precedes the doxology (zikr) involved:

There is neither might nor power except with

Sixteenth: In his book of al-Muqni’ah, Shaykh al-Mufid has mentioned the following supplicatory prayer to be said after every prayer:

O Allah, (please) make us benefit by knowledge,

adorn us with forbearance,

beautify us with wellbeing,

and honor us with piety.

Surely, my guardian is Allah, Who revealed the Book,

and He guards the righteous ones.