When you decide to go on a journey, you are advised to observe fasting on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and to begin your journey on Saturday, Tuesday, or Thursday. Avoid traveling on Mondays, Wednesdays, and before noon on Fridays. Also, avoid traveling on the third, fifth, thirteenth, sixteenth,( ) twenty-first, twenty-fourth, and twenty-fifth of each month. Avoid traveling when the moon wanes and when it is in Scorpion. When one has to travel on such days and conditions, it is necessary to say the supplicatory prayers of travel and to give alms. It is narrated that one of the companions of Imam al-Baqir (‘a) visited him to bid him farewell, for he would go on a journey. Advising him, the Imam (‘a) said, “When he would travel for settling his affairs, my father, ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn (‘a), used to buy his safety from Almighty Allah with any possible amount of alms. He used to give alms when he put his leg on the stirrup of his riding animal. When he returned from a journey peacefully, he would praise and thank Almighty Allah by means of giving alms.” Unfortunately, the man violated the advice of Imam al-Baqir (‘a); therefore, he died during the journey. When he was informed about this, Imam al-Baqir (‘a) said, “Had he accepted the advice, he would have been saved.”
Before beginning a journey, you are required to bathe yourself, gather your family members, offer a two unit prayer, pray Almighty Allah for your good, praise and thank Him, invoke His blessings upon the Holy Prophet and his Household, and say the following:
اَللّٰهُمَّ اِنِّيْۤ اَسْتَوْدِعُكَ الْيَوْمَ نَفْسِيْ
وَ اَهْلِيْ وَ مَالِيْ وَ وُلْدِيْ
وَ مَنْ كَانَ مِنِّيْ بِسَبِيْلٍ
اِلشَّاهِدَ مِنْهُمْ وَ الْغَاۤئِبَ
اَللّٰهُمَّ احْفَظْنَا بِحِفْظِ الْاِيْمَانِ وَ احْفَظْ عَلَيْنَا
اَللّٰهُمَّ اجْعَلْنَا فِيْ رَحْمَتِكَ
وَ لَا تَسْلُبْنَا فَضْلَكَ
اِنَّاۤ اِلَيْكَ رَاغِبُوْنَ
اَللّٰهُمَّ اِنَّا نَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنْ وَعْثَاۤءِ السَّفَرِ
وَ سُوْۤءِ الْمَنْظَرِ فِيْ الْاَهْلِ وَ الْمَالِ وَ الْوَلَدِ
فِيْ الدُّنْيَا وَ الْاٰخِرَةِ
اَللّٰهُمَّ اِنِّيْۤ اَتَوَجَّهُ اِلَيْكَ هٰذَا التَّوَجُّهَ
طَلَبًا لِمَرْضَاتِكَ وَ تَقَرُّبًا اِلَيْكَ
فَبَلِّغْنِيْ مَاۤ اُؤَمِّلُهُ وَ اَرْجُوْهُ
فِيْكَ وَ فِيْۤ اَوْلِيَاۤئِكَ
يَاۤ اَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِيْنَ۔
O Allah, I, on this day, beseech You to accept as trusts my self, my family members, my property, my sons, and every one who is under my custody— the present and the absent. O Allah, (please do) protect us with the protection of faith and surround us with Your care. O Allah, (please do) include us with Your mercy and do not divest us of Your favors, for we do desire for You. O Allah, we do seek Your safeguard against troubles of traveling, disappointing objectives, and bad result in my family members, property, and sons in this world as well as the world to come. O Allah, I am turning my face towards You in this way seeking Your pleasure and seeking nearness to You. O Allah, (please) help me achieve my aim and attain my hope in You and in Your Saints. O most Merciful of all those who show mercy!
اَللّٰهُمَّ اِلَيْكَ وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِيْ
وَ عَلَيْكَ خَلَّفْتُ اَهْلِيْ وَ مَالِيْ وَ مَا خَوَّلْتَنِيْ
وَ قَدْ وَثِقْتُ بِكَ فَلَا تُخَيِّبْنِيْ
يَا مَنْ لَا يُخَيِّبُ مَنْ اَرَادَهُ
وَ لَا يُضَيِّعُ مَنْ حَفِظَهُ
اَللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلٰى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ اٰلِهِ
وَ احْفَظْنِيْ فِيْمَا غِبْتُ عَنْهُ
وَ لَا تَكِلْنِيْۤ اِلٰى نَفْسِيْ
يَاۤ اَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِيْنَ۔
You may then bid your family members farewell and stand up. At the door of your house, you may say the (famous) Tasbih al-Zahra’ litany and recite Surah al-Fatihah and Ayah al-Kursi in front of you, on your right side, and on your left side. You may then say this supplicatory prayer:
اَللّٰهُمَّ اِنِّي اشْتَرَيْتُ بِهٰذِهِ الصَّدَقَةِ سَلَامَتِيْ
وَ سَلَامَةَ سَفَرِيْ وَ مَا مَعِيَ
اَللّٰهُمَّ احْفَظْنِيْ وَ احْفَظْ مَا مَعِيَ
وَ سَلِّمْنِيْ وَ سَلِّمْ مَا مَعِيَ
وَ بَلِّغْنِيْ وَ بَلِّغْ مَا مَعِيَ
بِبَلَاغِكَ الْحَسَنِ الْجَمِيْلِ۔
O Allah, to You am I turning my face and with You do I keep my family members, my property, and everything with which You have allowed me to behave. I have trusted in You; so, do not disappoint me. O He Who saves those who trust in Him from disappointment and does not give up those whom He safeguards. O Allah, (please do) send blessings upon Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad, watch over all that from which I am absent, and do not refer my. affairs to myself, O most Merciful of all those who show mercy.
You may then recite Surah al-Tawhid eleven times, Surah al-Qadr, Ayah al-Kursi, Surah al-Falaq, and Surah al-Nas, and then pass your hand over your entire body, give alms as much as possible, and say the following:
O Allah, I am purchasing, with this alms, my safety and the safety of my journey and my possessions. O Allah, (please do) safeguard me and whatever is with me, save me and whatever is with me, and observe me and whatever is with me with Your excellent, pleasant care.
اَللّٰهُمَّ هٰذِهِ طِيْنَةُ قَبْرِ الْحُسَيْنِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ
وَلِيِّكَ وَ ابْنِ وَلِيِّكَ
اِتَّخَذْتُهَا حِرْزًا لِمَا اَخَافُ وَ مَا لَاۤ اَخَافُ
You may also take with you an almond stick. The Holy Prophet (s) is reported to have said:
لَا قُوَّة َاِلَّا بِاللهِ
Whoever goes on a journey, takes with him an almond stick, and recites the following verses, Almighty Allah will secure him from all beasts, all thieves, and all diseases until he returns home. He will be also accompanied by seventy-seven successive angels asking Almighty Allah to forgive him. These verses are as follows:
And when he turned his face toward Midian, he said, “Peradventure, my Lord will guide me in the right road.” And when he came unto the water of Midian, he found there a whole tribe of men, watering. And he found apart from them two women keeping back their flocks. He said, “What ails you?” The two said, “We cannot give our flocks to drink until the shepherds return from the water; and our father is a very old man.” So, he watered their flock for them. Then he turned aside into the shade, and said, “My Lord! I am needy of whatever good You send for me.” Then, there came unto him one of the two women, walking shyly. She said, “Lo! My father bids you that he may reward you with a payment for that you did water (the flock) for us.” Then, when he came unto him and told him the whole story, he said, “Fear not! You have escaped from the wrongdoing folk.” One of the two women said, “O my father! Hire him! For the best man that you can hire is the strong, the trustworthy.” He said, “Lo! I fain would marry you to one of these two daughters of mine on condition that you hire yourself to me for the term of eight years. Then if you complete ten, it will be of your own accord, for I would not make it hard for you. Allah willing, you will find me of the righteous.” He said, “That is settled between you and me. Whichever of the two terms I fulfill, there will be no injustice to me, and Allah is Surety over what we say.”
It is also recommended that you, at journeys, put a turban and roll it to the lower jaw so as to escape stealth, drowning, and burning. You may also take an amount of the soil of Imam al-Husayn’s tomb (turbat al-husayn) with you, saying:
O Allah, this soil from the tomb of al-Husayn, peace be upon him, Your saint and the son of Your saint, I have taken with me as refuge against whatever I fear and whatever I do not fear.
You may also take with you rings whose stones are made of agate and turquoise. It is more preferable to take with you a ring whose stone is made of yellow agate with the following inscription on one side:
Only what Allah wills will come to pass! There is no strength save in Allah! I implore Allah’s forgiveness.
And on the other side, the following is inscribed:
