Prayer for Repentance
Abdul Latif Al-Juhari states:
The supplicant called out, and we answered his call,
Our souls yearn for His guiding light.
Oh servant, burdened by every sin,
Seek Allah’s guidance to set your path right.
Approach the door of Allah and you shall find,
Welcoming arms echoing in the heavens.
He is generous, never disappointing a servant,
Who reaches out to Him in humility.
How generous is Allah with His grace towards us,
His right hand grants all that He has decreed.
He is patient, not hastening in punishment,
If ignorance has cast us in its thrall.
The purity of a servant may falter in sins,
And yet he does not seek refuge in the One who calls.
To acquire love and satisfaction until,
The light overflows, illuminating all who see.
He encompasses with kindness, granting favor,
Purifying him from sin with His mist.
He extends a gentle hand of mercy,
Embracing even those who disobey.
How can the Most Merciful show generosity to a servant,
Who loves Allah and hopes for His forgiveness?
Blessed is the Lord of the universe, truly,
Life flourishes with the blessings He bestows.
O Lord, if my sins are numerous
Abo Nawas declares:
O Lord, if my sins are great in number,
Then I know Your forgiveness is greater still.
If only the righteous hope for Your mercy,
Then who is it that calls upon You, the sinner?
I call upon You, my Lord, as You have commanded,
With humility, what hope is there for my hand that has faltered?
I have no intercessor except for my hope,
And in Your generous pardon, I submit.
My God, do not punish me
Abo Al-Attahiyah expresses:
My God, do not punish me, for I confess,
To what I have done in my life.
With no strategy but my hope,
For Your pardon if You choose to forgive and grant me mercy.
How many times have I stumbled among the people,
And yet You possess grace and generosity over me.
When I reflect on my remorse,
I bite my fingers and grind my teeth.
People think well of me, yet I perceive,
I am among the worst of humanity unless You pardon me.
I grow mad with the allure of worldly pleasures,
And spend my time wishing and wanting.
And burdens weigh heavily upon me,
As if I have been summoned to it; as if I am trapped.
If only I were sincere in my renunciation of it,
I would have turned my back upon its people.
If you find yourself alone in the dark
Abo Al-Attahiyah admonishes:
If you ever find yourself alone in time, do not say,
“I am alone,” but say instead, “I am being watched.”
And do not assume that Allah overlooks the past,
Nor that what is hidden escapes His sight.
We revel in life until transgressions mount,
Each sin following the other like shadows.
Oh, how I wish that Allah would forgive what has passed,
And permit our repentance so we might return.
As the century in which you lived has ended,
And you are left in a time that feels foreign.
Indeed, a man who has journeyed for fifty pilgrimages,
Is close to his source of sustenance.
Your kin, who whispered of affection to you,
Are not the ones beneath the soil as kin.
So, repay graciously the efforts made, for indeed,
You will be rewarded, as loans are of various kinds.
O soul, repent
Abo Dawood Al-Nabrawi states:
O soul, repent, for death has come upon us,
And resist desires, for they have always led us astray.
Have you not seen how death lays hold of us,
Snatching us as it courses through the ranks of the living?
Each day bears witness as we bury the dead,
Finding in their demise the marks of our own mortality.
Is the repentance of one with such sins valid?
Abo Alaa Al-Maari questions:
Is the repentance of one caught in sin valid,
Or one whose color is stained by sin?
Misery has been decreed upon a young man in this life,
And fate will certainly reach him as prescribed.
If you chide a man, he may not heed your words,
You will find him among those who refuse to change.
Seeking sustenance through this time and its trials,
As if they possess ranks and positions therein.
When my heart hardened and my paths narrowed
Imam Al-Shafi’i shares:
And when my heart became hardened and my paths narrowed,
I made hope my ladder to Your forgiveness.
My sin became great, and when I compared it,
With Your forgiveness, my Lord, Your mercy appeared greater.
You have always been forgiving of sin, and You have not ceased,
To be generous and merciful.
Had it not been for You, no worshipper would withstand,
How could he, after You led Adam astray?
May Allah bestow glory upon the penitent; surely,
His eyes overflow with tears from deep yearning.
He stands when darkness covers the night,
Overwhelmed by the intensity of fear and dread.
He speaks clearly while remembering his Lord,
And otherwise, among people, he is silent.
He recalls the days of his youth,
And all he committed during that ignorance.
He becomes a companion of worry throughout his day,
In brotherhood with those who share secrets at night.
He says, “O my beloved, you are my only wish and desire,”
What more could the hopeful seek than You?
Are You not the One who nurtured and guided me,
And You have continued Your grace upon me?
Perhaps the One who is full of grace will forgive my slips,
And cover my transgressions, both past and present.
O Allah, when will You repent for us?
Abo Al-Attahiyah wonders:
O Allah, when will the day come for Your repentance?
For your misdeeds have colored your tragedy.
Do you not see that every morning is a call,
Urging you onward, just as the evening bids you farewell?
Have you not noticed that each day you face,
You meet the reflection of an impending doom?
By Your life, the wind does not blow without,
Your name being declared in the blustery call.
O Allah, why do you seem ignorant of my past sins,
And why do those around see no faults in their actions?
I have seen people in plenty, yet few are honest,
And they are all, by God, worthy of praise and blame.
I do not declare all people as faults encapsulated,
But certainly, the Divine is all-giving and beyond compare.
Our Lord, removed from every shortcoming,
And far from sending away those who ask of Him.
The sinner returns with a significant sin
Al-Busiri notes:
A sinner returns with a heavy sin,
Embarrassed, he chastises himself and laments.
Why are his tears not mingled with blood,
As he grieves over the stains of his youth?
The world tricked him, but had he remained wise,
He wouldn’t have dabbled in or played with it.
He became embroiled in defiance of his God,
While resting comfortably within His blessings.
He seeks Allah’s forgiveness for his wrongs,
While his heart races with excitement for more.
He stirs his limbs, indulging in desires,
As if he is moved by his own recklessness.
He is caught up in the arena of life’s finality,
As if that arena is merely a playground.
His paths narrow, there remains no escape for him,
Except to find refuge within the noble sanctuary.
Cut off from all the means by his deeds,
Yet by his hope, he seeks the divine connection.
With hope in the esteem of the Chosen One,
It seems that he draws near with his sins.
He knows that standing at His door is a path,
A door where forgiveness for sins is tested.
May blessings be upon him; indeed, my aspirations,
In His generosity exceed all that I could seek.
Why shouldn’t I be ambitious when I stand before Him,
With pages stained and my hair grayed?
And the Mahdi who erases wrongs, who counts,
Only focuses on the faults he has made.
Good news for those humble in spirit,
As He honors the sincere hearts and minds.
In beauty lies his essence as Adam praised,
And his speech dignifies the lineages of the Arabs.
The source of every virtue and its guide,
To his excellence, indeed all beings owe their gratitude.
Take from his ocean of bounty, for the waters are endless,
And his sun sets not, shining radiant all the time.
For every traveler from his guidance seeks the way,
And every souls quenched with his nourishment.
For every eye that gazes upon him, there shines a moon,
And for every heart touched by him, there’s a lion.
His knowledge and praises illuminate the worlds,
And in it, existence is filled with light and fragrance.
Allah granted him perfection, and indeed,
Other than Him, there is nothing as such granted.
The veil is lifted, and rather notably,
His knowledge transcends all external experience.
He dwells near where others simply cannot,
Proximity to him surpasses the distance.
He approaches steadily, no one can rival his elegance,
As he gently claims what is rightfully his.
He missed the notation and indication of his grace,
So heed what you’ll hear and write thereafter.
Trust in what you have been taught, for there exists,
Among people, both believers and deniers.
And listen to the virtues of the beloved, for indeed,
In beauty, they surpass all else to be admired.
Well-grounded in virtuous behavior,
Yet when it comes to judgment, he pleases God while harboring anger.
His words heal the hearts, for he provides a cure,
Sometimes bitterly, yet at times delightfully sweet.
So take joy in glorifying his presence,
And relish the abundance of his kindness.
Even the earth quakes with joy at his approach,
As it welcomes him like an old friend.
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