DUA AL SABAH

The Supplication of the Morning, as reported from Imam Ali(a.s.).

In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful.

O Allah, O He Who extended the morning's tongue in the speech of its dawning,

dispatched the fragments of the dark night into the gloom of its stammering,

made firm the structure of the turning spheres in the measure of its display,

and beamed forth the brightness of the sun through the light of its blazing!

O He Who demonstrates His Essence by His Essence,

transcends from congeniality with His creatures,

and is exalted beyond conformity with His qualities!

O He Who is near to the passing thoughts of opinions,

far from the regards of eyes,

and knows what will be before it comes to be!

O He Who has put me at ease in the cradle of His security and sanctuary,

awakened me to the favors and kindness that He has bestowed upon me,

and held back from me the claws of evil with His hand and His authority!

Bless, O Allah, the guide to You in the darkest night,

who, of Your ropes, clings to the cord of the longest nobility,

whose pure lineage evident at the summit of stout shoulders,

and whose feet were entrenched in spite of slippery places in ancient time.

And [bless] his household, the good, chosen, and pious.

Open for us, O Allah, the leaves of the morning's door

with the keys of mercy and prosperity!

Clothe me, O Allah, with the most excellent robes of guidance and righteousness!

Plant, O Allah, through Your tremendousness, the springs of humility in the watering place of my heart!

Cause to flow, O Allah, through fear of You, tears of moaning from the corners of my eyes!

Chastise, O Allah, the recklessness of my clumsiness with the reins of contentment!

My God, if mercy from You does not begin with fair success for me,

then who can take me to You upon the evident path?

If Your deliberateness should turn me over to the guide of hope and wishes,

then who will annul my slips from the stumbles of caprice?

If Your help should forsake me in the battle against the soul and Satan,

then Your forsaking will have submitted me to where there is hardship and deprivation.

My God, do You see that I have only come to You from the direction of hopes,

or clung to the ends of Your cords when my sins have driven me from the house of union?

So what an evil mount upon which my soul has mounted-its caprice!

Woe upon it for being seduced by its own opinions and wishes!

Destruction be upon it for its audacity toward its Master and Protector!

My God, I have knocked upon the door of Your mercy with the hand of my hope,

fled to You seeking refuge from my excessive caprice,

and fixed the fingers of my love to the ends of Your cords.

So pardon, O Allah, the slips and errors I have committed,

and release me from the foot-tangling of my robe,

for You are my Master, my Protector, my Support and my Hope,

and You are the object of my search and my desire in my ultimate end and stable abode.

My God, how could You drive away a poor beggar who seeks refuge in You from sins, fleeing?

How could You disappoint one seeking guidance who repairs to Your threshold, running?

How could You reject a thirsty man who comes to Your pools to drink?

Never! For Your pools are full in the hardship of drought,

Your door is open for seeking and penetration,

and You are the goal of requests and the object of hopes.

My God, these are the reins of my soul I have bounded with the ties of Your will.

These are the burdens of my sins I have averted with Your pardon and mercy.

These are my misleading caprices I have referred to the threshold of Your gentleness and kindliness.

So, make this morning of mine, O Allah, descend upon me with the radiance of guidance

and safety in religion and this world!

And [make] my evening a shield against the deception of enemies

and a protection against the destructive blows of caprice!

Verily, You have power to do what You will!

You give the kingdom to whom You will,

seize the kingdom from whom You will,

exalt whom You will,

and abase whom You will.

In Your hand is the good

and You are powerful over all things.

You make the night to enter into the day,

make the day to enter into the night,

bring forth the living from the dead,

bring forth the dead from the living,

and provide whomsoever You will without measure!

There is no god but You!

Glory be to You, O Allah, and Yours is the praise!

Who knows Your measure and yet does not fear You?

Who knows what You are and yet does not stand in awe of You?

Through Your power, You have joined disparate things,

through Your gentleness, You have cleaved apart the daybreak,

through Your generosity, You have illumined the dark shrouds of night,

made waters, sweet and salt, flow forth from hard shining stones,

sent dawn out of rain- clouds water cascading,

and appointed the sun and the moon a blazing lamp for the creatures

without experiencing in that which You originated either weariness or effort.

So, O He Who is alone in might and subsistence

and dominates His slaves with death and annihilation,

(please) bless Muhammad and his household, the god-fearing,

answer my supplication, hear my call,

and actualize through Your favor my hope and desire.

O Best of those who are called to remove affliction

and object of hope in difficulty and ease!

I have stated my need to You; so, do not reject me despairing of Your exalted gifts.

O All-generous! O All- generous! O All- generous!

By Your mercy, O Most Merciful of the merciful!

May Allah bless the best of His creatures,

Muhammad, and his entire Household!

Then you should prostrate yourself and say:

My God, my heart is veiled,

my soul is deficient,

my intelligence is defeated,

my caprice is prevalent,

my obedience is little,

my disobedience is much,

and my tongue confesses of sinning;

so, what am I to do?

O He Who covers defects!

O He Who knows the unseen!

O He Who removes troubles!

Forgive my sins, all of them,

in the name of the sacredness of Muhammad and the household of Muhammad!

O All-forgiver! O All- forgiver! O All- forgiver!

By Your mercy, O Most Merciful of the merciful!

‘Allamah al-Majlisi has mentioned this supplication in the two sections of supplications and ritual prayer in his famous book of Bihar al-Anwar. He has also recorded it at the end of the section of ritual prayer with commentary and explanation. He adds,

“Although this is one of the famous supplications, I have not found it in the authoritative books except the book of al-Misbah by Sayyid Ibn Baqi - may Allah be pleased with him.”

He then says,

“It is well-known that this supplication should be said after the obligatory Fajr Prayers. Yet, Sayyid Ibn Baqi has specified the time after the supererogatory (mustahab / nafilah) (mustahab / nafilah) prayer of the morning as the best time of saying this supplication. However, either of these times may be chosen.”