Al-Iftitah Supplication
Who is the author of **Dua al-Iftitah**, and what is its content?
At the beginning of this supplication, it is advised to start praising Allah with gratitude and acknowledgment of His blessings. Towards the end, it enumerates various difficulties and seeks Allah's help in resolving them, emphasizing hope in Allah in all circumstances.
- Dua al-Iftitah** is a supplication with a reliable chain of narration from **Imam Mahdi (AS)**, who recommended that Shia Muslims recite it every night during the month of **Ramadan**. This supplication has been narrated by **Muhammad ibn Uthman**, the second deputy of Imam Mahdi (AS) during the **Minor Occultation**, and is found in important sources, including **Tahdhib al-Ahkam**, one of the **Four Books of Shia Hadith**.
Dua al-Iftitah is said to have two main themes: the remembrance and reinforcement of Islamic beliefs. The primary themes of this supplication include the recognition of Allah, praise and glorification of Him, enumerating His attributes—especially His mercy, forgiveness, and generosity—and acknowledging His blessings.
Chain of Narration
Most Shia scholars and prominent figures have accepted the attribution of this supplication to Imam Mahdi (AS) and have spoken in its favor, though some doubts have been raised.[1]
Dua al-Iftitah was narrated from Imam Mahdi (AS) by **Muhammad ibn Uthman**, the second deputy during the **Minor Occultation**. The first to narrate this supplication was **Shaykh Tusi** (d. 460 AH) in two of his books, including **Tahdhib al-Ahkam**[2], one of the **Four Books of Shia Hadith**, and **Misbah al-Mutahajjid**.[3][4]
After Shaykh Tusi, **Sayyid ibn Tawus**, a Shia scholar of the 7th century AH, narrated Dua al-Iftitah with a chain of narration from **Muhammad ibn Uthman**, the second deputy of Imam Mahdi (AS). This supplication is among the supplications recorded in a book that **Muhammad ibn Uthman** gave to his nephew.[5] Sayyid ibn Tawus narrated this supplication from **Ibn Abi Qurrah**[6], whose book is no longer available, but Shia jurists have frequently cited it in their works.[7]
Dua al-Iftitah has also been narrated by **Al-Kaf'ami** in **Al-Misbah**[8] and **Al-Balad al-Amin**[9], **Allama Majlisi** in **Zad al-Ma'ad**[10], and **Shaykh Abbas Qumi** in **Mafatih al-Jinan**.[11]
Time of Recitation
Shaykh Tusi, in both **Tahdhib**[12] and **Misbah al-Mutahajjid**[13], stated that this supplication should be recited every night of the month of Ramadan. Sayyid ibn Tawus also recommended reciting this supplication during the nights of the blessed month of Ramadan.[14]
Imam Mahdi (AS) wrote to the Shia that they should recite Dua al-Iftitah every night of the month of Ramadan. The angels listen to the supplication and seek forgiveness for the one who recites it.[15]
Content and Virtues
Dua al-Iftitah is said to have two main themes: the remembrance and reinforcement of Islamic beliefs.[16] In explaining this supplication, it is said that from the beginning, we learn to start praising Allah with gratitude and acknowledgment of His blessings.[17] Towards the end, it enumerates various difficulties and seeks Allah's help in resolving them, emphasizing hope in Allah in all circumstances.[18]
- Misbah Yazdi**, a Shia scholar, described Dua al-Iftitah as "one of the most appropriate and profound supplications," containing lofty themes. He believed that the content of this supplication teaches the supplicant the etiquettes to observe and the matters to focus on during supplication.[19]
Text of the Supplication
{{Collapsible|O Allah, I begin Your praise with gratitude, and You are the One who guides to correctness through Your favor. I am certain that You are the Most Merciful of the merciful in situations requiring forgiveness and mercy, and the Most Severe in punishment in situations requiring retribution and vengeance, and the Greatest in grandeur in situations requiring majesty and greatness.
O Allah, You have permitted me to call upon You and ask of You, so listen, O All-Hearing, to my praise, and respond, O Most Merciful, to my call, and forgive, O Most Forgiving, my missteps. For how many times, O my Lord, have You relieved my distress, removed my worries, forgiven my missteps, spread Your mercy, and broken the chains of calamity?
All praise is due to Allah, who has not taken a spouse nor a child, "and there is no partner for Him in His dominion, nor is there any protector for Him out of weakness. And magnify Him with due magnification." All praise is due to Allah with all His praises, for all His blessings. All praise is due to Allah, who has no adversary in His dominion, nor any contender in His command. All praise is due to Allah, who has no partner in His creation, nor any equal in His greatness.
All praise is due to Allah, whose command and praise are widespread among creation, and whose glory is manifest through generosity, and whose hand is outstretched with bounty. He whose treasures are not diminished, and whose abundance of giving only increases Him in generosity and kindness. Indeed, He is the All-Mighty, the Bestower.
O Allah, I ask of You a little from much, despite my great need for it, while You are eternally free from need of it, and it is much to me, but it is easy and simple for You.
O Allah, Your forgiveness of my sins, Your overlooking of my errors, Your pardon of my injustices, Your covering of my ugly deeds, and Your forbearance of my many crimes, despite my mistakes and intentional sins, have made me hopeful to ask of You what I do not deserve from You, that which You have provided me from Your mercy, and shown me from Your power, and made known to me from Your responsiveness. Thus, I call upon You with assurance, and I ask of You with familiarity, without fear or dread, relying on You in what I have sought from You. If my request is delayed, I blame You out of ignorance, though perhaps what is delayed is better for me, for You know the outcomes of all matters. I have not seen a generous master more patient with a vile servant than You are with me, O Lord. Indeed, You call me, and I turn away from You, and You show affection to me, and I show hostility to You, and You extend kindness to me, and I do not accept from You, as if I have a right over You! Yet, none of this prevents You from showing me mercy, kindness, and favor through Your generosity and magnanimity. So, have mercy on Your ignorant servant, and bestow upon him the abundance of Your kindness, for You are the Most Generous, the Most Kind.
All praise is due to Allah, the Owner of the kingdom, the Controller of the ships, the Subduer of the winds, the Splitter of the dawn, the Judge of the religion, the Lord of the worlds. All praise is due to Allah for His forbearance after His knowledge, and all praise is due to Allah for His forgiveness after His power, and all praise is due to Allah for His long patience in His anger, while He is capable of what He wills.
All praise is due to Allah, the Creator of creation, the Extender of provision, the Splitter of the dawn, the Possessor of majesty and honor, grace and blessings, who is far yet not unseen, and near, witnessing the secret conversations. Blessed and Exalted is He. All praise is due to Allah, who has no rival to oppose Him, nor any equal to resemble Him, nor any supporter to assist Him. He has subdued the mighty with His might, and the great have humbled themselves before His greatness. Thus, He achieves with His power what He wills.
All praise is due to Allah, who answers me when I call upon Him, covers every flaw of mine while I disobey Him, magnifies His blessings upon me while I do not thank Him. How many pleasant gifts He has given me, and how many great fears He has protected me from, and how many delightful joys He has shown me. Thus, I praise Him with gratitude, and I remember Him with glorification. All praise is due to Allah, whose veil is not torn, whose door is not closed, whose beggar is not turned away, and whose hopeful is not disappointed.
All praise is due to Allah, who reassures the fearful, saves the righteous, raises the oppressed, humbles the arrogant, destroys kings and replaces them with others. All praise is due to Allah, the Breaker of the tyrants, the Destroyer of the oppressors, the Catcher of the fugitives, the Punisher of the wrongdoers, the Responder to the call of the distressed, the Fulfiller of the needs of the seekers, the Reliance of the believers. All praise is due to Allah, from whose fear the heavens and their inhabitants tremble, the earth and its dwellers quake, and the seas and those who swim in their depths surge.
"All praise is due to Allah, who has guided us to this, and we would not have been guided if Allah had not guided us." All praise is due to Allah, who creates and is not created, provides and is not provided for, feeds and is not fed, causes the living to die and the dead to live, and He is the Ever-Living who does not die. In His hand is all good, and He has power over all things.
O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad, Your servant, Your messenger, Your trusted one, Your chosen one, Your beloved, Your selected one from Your creation, the keeper of Your secret, the conveyer of Your messages, with the best, most beautiful, most complete, purest, most abundant, most pleasant, most pure, most excellent, and most numerous blessings, mercy, and peace that You have sent upon any of Your servants, prophets, messengers, chosen ones, and honored ones from Your creation.
O Allah, send blessings upon Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, the successor of the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds, Your servant, Your guardian, the brother of Your messenger, Your proof over Your creation, Your great sign, the great news, and send blessings upon the truthful, pure Fatimah, the leader of the women of the worlds, and send blessings upon the two grandsons of mercy, the two Imams of guidance, Hasan and Husayn, the leaders of the youth of Paradise, and send blessings upon the Imams of the Muslims: Ali ibn al-Husayn, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ja'far ibn Muhammad, Musa ibn Ja'far, Ali ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn Ali, Ali ibn Muhammad, Hasan ibn Ali, and the rightly guided successor, the Mahdi, Your proofs over Your servants and Your trustees in Your lands, with abundant and everlasting blessings.
O Allah, send blessings upon the guardian of Your command, the awaited Qa'im, the expected justice, and surround him with Your close angels, and support him with the Holy Spirit, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, make him the caller to Your book, the establisher of Your religion, appoint him as Your successor on earth as You appointed those before him, establish his religion that You have approved for him, replace his fear with security, so that he worships You without associating anything with You.
O Allah, grant him honor and grant honor through him, help him and grant victory through him, help him with a mighty victory, and grant him an easy conquest, and appoint for him from Yourself a supporting authority. O Allah, manifest through him Your religion and the tradition of Your Prophet, so that nothing of the truth remains hidden out of fear of any of the creation. O Allah, we eagerly seek from You a noble state through which You honor Islam and its people, and humiliate hypocrisy and its people, and make us among those who call to Your obedience and lead to Your path, and grant us through it the dignity of this world and the hereafter. O Allah, what You have made known to us of the truth, enable us to bear it, and what we have fallen short of, grant us attainment of it.
O Allah, through him, mend our disarray, unite our division, heal our rift, increase our small number, honor our humiliation, enrich our poverty, settle our debts, compensate our poverty, fill our gaps, ease our difficulties, brighten our faces, free our captives, fulfill our requests, fulfill our promises, answer our call, grant us our requests, and through him, fulfill our hopes in this world and the hereafter, and grant us more than we desire, O Best of those asked, and Most Generous of givers. Through him, heal our chests, remove the anger from our hearts, and guide us to the truth in what is disputed, by Your permission. Indeed, You guide whom You will to a straight path. And through him, grant us victory over Your enemies and our enemies, O God of truth, Amen.
O Allah, we complain to You of the absence of our Prophet, Your blessings be upon him and his family, the occultation of our guardian, the multitude of our enemies, the smallness of our numbers, the severity of the trials upon us, and the oppression of time against us. So, send blessings upon Muhammad and his family, and help us in this with a victory from You that You hasten, a relief that You grant, a support that You honor, a just authority that You manifest, a mercy from You that envelops us, and a well-being from You that clothes us, by Your mercy, O Most Merciful of the merciful.[20] Template:End collapsible
References
- ↑ Qaraati, Mohsen, *Explanation of Dua al-Iftitah*, Qom, Mo'oud Cultural Foundation, 1392 SH, p. 12.
- ↑ Shaykh Tusi, *Tahdhib al-Ahkam*, researched by Hasan Musawi Khurasan, Tehran, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah, 4th edition, 1407 AH, vol. 3, pp. 108–110.
- ↑ Shaykh Tusi, Muhammad ibn Hasan, *Misbah al-Mutahajjid wa Silah al-Muta'abbid*, Beirut, Al-A'lami Foundation, 1998 CE, pp. 402–404.
- ↑ Qaraati, *Explanation of Dua al-Iftitah*, 1392 SH, p. 12.
- ↑ Ibn Tawus, Ali ibn Musa, *Iqbal al-A'mal*, Tehran, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah, 2nd edition, 1409 AH, vol. 1, p. 58.
- ↑ Ibn Tawus, *Iqbal al-A'mal*, vol. 1, p. 58.
- ↑ Qaraati, *Explanation of Dua al-Iftitah*, 1392 SH, p. 14.
- ↑ Al-Kaf'ami, Ibrahim ibn Ali al-Amili, *Al-Misbah fi al-Ad'iyah wa al-Salawat wa al-Ziyarat*, Beirut, Al-A'lami Foundation for Publications, 1994 CE, pp. 770–773.
- ↑ Al-Kaf'ami, Ibrahim ibn Ali al-Amili, *Al-Balad al-Amin wa al-Dur' al-Hasin*, Beirut, Al-A'lami Foundation for Publications, 1418 AH/1997 CE, pp. 271–274.
- ↑ Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir, *Zad al-Ma'ad*, Beirut, Al-Alami Publishing, 1423 AH/2003 CE, pp. 86–89.
- ↑ Qumi, Shaykh Abbas, *Mafatih al-Jinan*, Tehran, Markaz Nashr Farhangi Raja, 1369 SH, p. 321.
- ↑ Shaykh Tusi, *Tahdhib al-Ahkam*, 1407 AH, vol. 3, p. 108.
- ↑ Shaykh Tusi, *Misbah al-Mutahajjid wa Silah al-Muta'abbid*, 1998 CE, vol. 2, p. 577.
- ↑ Sayyid ibn Tawus, *Iqbal al-A'mal*, 1409 AH, vol. 1, p. 58.
- ↑ Majlisi, *Zad al-Ma'ad - Miftah al-Jinan*, 1423 AH, p. 86.
- ↑ Modarresi, Sayyid Muhammad Taqi, *Supplication: The Ascension of the Believers and the Path of Life*, Qom, Mohibban al-Husayn (AS), 1379 SH, p. 98.
- ↑ Qaraati, *Explanation of Dua al-Iftitah*, 1392 SH, p. 19.
- ↑ Qaraati, *Explanation of Dua al-Iftitah*, 1392 SH, p. 136.
- ↑ Misbah Yazdi, Muhammad Taqi, Explanation of Selected Passages from Dua al-Iftitah, Official Website of Ayatollah Misbah Yazdi. Accessed: 1401 AH.
- ↑ Qumi, Shaykh Abbas, *Complete Mafatih al-Jinan*, Asoudeh, n.d., n.p., pp. 179–182.