The Whispered Prayers 8 – Abdur Rahman’s Corner
Peace, one and all…
In this whispered prayer, the Imam explores devotion.
May the hearts of the lovers be opened.
“Glory be to You! How narrow are the paths for him whom You have not guided! How plain the truth for him whom You have guided on his way! My Allah, so make us travel on the roads that arrive at You and set us into motion on the paths nearest to reaching You! Make near for us the far, and make easy for us the hard and difficult! Join us to Your servants, those who hurry to You swiftly, knock constantly at Your door, and worship You by night and by day, while they remain apprehensive in awe of You! You have purified their drinking places, taken them to the objects of their desire, granted their requests, accomplished their wishes through Your bounty, filled their minds with Your love, and quenched their thirst with Your pure drink. Through You have they reached the pleasure of whispered prayer to You, and in You have they achieved their furthest goals.
O He who comes toward those who come toward Him and grants gifts and bestows bounty upon them through tenderness! He is compassionate and clement toward those heedless of His remembrance and loving and tender in drawing them to His door! I ask You to place me among those of them who have the fullest share from You, the highest station with You, the most plentiful portion of Your love, and the most excellent allotment of Your knowledge, for my aspiration has been cut off from everything but You and my desire has turned away toward You alone. You are my object, none other; to You alone belongs my waking and my sleeplessness. Meeting You is the gladness of my eye, joining You the wish of my soul. Toward You is my yearning, in love for You my passionate longing, in clinging toward You my fervent craving.
Your good pleasure is the aim I seek, vision of You my need, Your neighborhood my request, nearness to You the utmost object of my asking. In whispered prayer to You I find my repose and my ease. With You lies the remedy of my illness, the cure for my burning thirst, the coolness of my ardor, the removal of my distress. Be my intimate in my loneliness, the releaser of my stumble, the forgiver of my slip, the acceptor of my repentance, the responder to my supplication, the patron of preserving me from sin, the one who frees me from my neediness! Cut me not off from You! and keep me not far from You! O my bliss and my garden! O my this world and my hereafter! O Most Merciful of the merciful!”