Nad 'Ali Supplication

Nād ʿAlī Supplication (Arabic: دعاء ناد عليّ) consists of two supplications in praise of Imam 'Ali (a), which begins with the phrase “nad ʿali mazhar al-ʿajaʾib” (Call ʿAli, the manifestation of wonders). It is said that the supplication was heard by the Prophet (s) during the Battle of Uhud from the hidden world.

The minor Nad ʿAli supplication is short. It says that every sorrow can go away with the blessings of the Prophet’s prophethood and Imam ʿAli’s guardianship. Al-'Allama al-Majlisi has cited the supplication in his book, Bihar al-anwar, without citing its sources. Books have been written in interpretation of this supplications.

The calligraphy of the first phrase of Nad ʿAli supplication

The major Nad ʿAli supplication has themes similar to those of the minor Nad ʿAli supplication, but it is much lengthier.

Minor Nad ʿAli

According to an exposition of the collection of poems attributed to Imam ʿAli (a) by the Shafi'i scholar of the tenth/sixteenth century, Maybudi Yazdi, during the Battle of Uhud the Prophet (s) heard the following from the hidden world: “Call ʿAli, the manifestation of wonders, you find him your help in plights, every sorrow and distress will go away, with your guardianship, O ʿAli.” In the book, Farhang-i ghadir, by Jawad Muhaddithi, these sentences are cited with an addendum: “Call ʿAli, the manifestation of wonders, you find him your help in plights, every sorrow and distress will go away, with your prophethood, O Muhammad, with your guardianship, O ʿAli.”

Maybudi Yazdi’s account is cited by al-Allama al-Majlisi in his Bihar al-anwar and by Mirza Muhammad Taqi Sipihr in his Nasikh al-tawarikh. However, Bihar al-anwar does not point to the source of the supplication. Yadullah Duzduzani, a fifteenth/twenty first century jurist, believes that the supplication does not have a valid source, although it is permissible to recite it in the hope for divine rewards.

Taqi al-Din Ibrahim al-Kafʿami, a Shiite scholar of the fifteenth/twenty first century, says in his Misbah that he saw the above phrases with al-Shahid al-Awwal’s handwriting, adding that they were recited for finding the lost and fugitive slaves. In his Mustadrak al-wasa'il, al-Muhaddith al-Nuri cites this from Misbah. Allama Tihrani quotes Sayyid Hashim Haddad as saying that if one recites “Call Ali, who is Manifestor of wonders, Thou shall surely find him helper in your difficulties, All grief and Sorrows will disappear, By Thee by Thy tremendousness O! Lord, By Thee by Thy Apostleship O! Muhammad, By Thee by Thy granted Power & Authority of Wail, O! Ali, O Ali, O! Ali,” 110 times a day, and does this for three consecutive days, he will be given whatever he asks God.

With a slight modification in its last phrase, the minor Nad ʿAli supplication is inscribed in the Congregational Mosque of Bijapur (Vijayapura) in southern India. The supplication is also inscribed in Ahmednagar Castle in India.

Major Nad ʿAli

ʿAllama Majlisi cites the text of the major Nad ʿAli supplication in his Zad al-ma'ad.

Relevant Works

Books and essays have been written about Nad ʿAli supplication and its effects and features, including a Persian book under “Sharh Nad ʿAli mazhar al-ʿajaʾib…,” kept in the Library of Ayatollah Marʿashi Najafi in Qom.

In his catalogue of the manuscripts of Shiite hadiths and hadith sciences, Ali Sadra'i Khu'i lists books in exposition of Nad ʿAli supplication.