Supplication of Abu Hamza

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This article is an introduction to the Supplication of Abu Hamza; to read its text see text:Supplication of Abu Hamza.
Supplication of Abu Hamza
SubjectAttributes of God, God-wariness, Day of Judgement
Hadith-Based/Non-Hadith-BasedHadith-Based
Issued byImam al-Sajjad (a)
NarratorAbu Hamza al-Thumali
Shi'a sourcesMisbah al-mutihajjidIqbal al-a'malal-Balad al-aminZad al-ma'ad
MonographsAl-Jawhara l-'aziza fi sharh du'a' Ibn Hamza
TimeAt dawn in the Month of Ramadan


Prayer

Supplication of ʾAbū Ḥamza al-Thumālī (Arabic: دعاء أبي حمزة الثمالي) is a Du'a narrated from Imam al-Sajjad (a) by Abu Hamza al-Thumali. The supplication, rich in spiritual teachings and highly eloquent in its wording, is the longest Du'a to be recited at dawn in the Month of Ramadan. Several commentaries of this supplication have been written.

Title

Abu Hamza al-Thumali, a companion of Imam al-Sajjad (a), Imam al-Baqir (a) and Imam al-Sadiq (a),[1] narrated this supplication from Imam al-Sajjad (a); hence, the supplication is widely known by his name.[2]

Authenticity

In his Iqbal al-a'mal, Sayyid b. Tawus quotes from Harun b. Musa al-Talla'ukbari who narrated through Hasan b. Mahbub's chain of narration, from Abu Hamza, that: "in the Month of Ramadan, Imam al-Sajjad (a) spent the greater part of each night praying; and at dawn, he recited this supplication."[3]

This supplication has been narrated by: al-Shaykh al-Tusi in Misbah al-mutihajjid,[4] al-Kaf'ami in al-Balad al-amin[5] and al-Misbah,[6] al-Majlisi in Zad al-ma'ad[7] and Bihar al-anwar,[8] and Shaykh Abbas Qummi in Mafatih al-jinan.[9]

Contents

An Excerpt from the Supplication of Abu Hamza

"O' my Lord! You have brought me up with Your favors and goodness since I was young and raised me as I grew older. So, O' the One who brought me up in this life with His benevolence, bounties, and blessings and guided me to His forgiveness and generosity in the hereafter:

My knowledge [of You], O' my Master, guides me to You and my love [of You] is my intercessor to You. So I trust my guidance because of Your guidance and am comfortable with my intercessor because of Your intercession.

I pray to You, O' my Master, with a tongue that has been paralyzed by its sins. O' my Lord, I confide to You with a heart that has been doomed by its mischief.

I pray to You, O' my Lord, frightened but wishful, hopeful but fearful. If I contemplate my sins, O' my Lord, I become scared, but when I remember Your generosity I yearn (for your pardon).

So if You forgive, You are the Most Merciful, and if You punish, You have not unjustly judged"

The supplication begins with, "O my Lord! Do not discipline me by means of your punishment," and ends with, "make me content with whatever you have provided me with, O the Most Merciful of all!"

This supplication contains sublime teachings expressed in a very eloquent manner. It demonstrates to us the purest mindset and method for sincere repentance and invocation. The darkness of the grave and the hardships of the Day of Judgment are vividly described, the necessity for obedience to the Prophet (s) and his progeny (a) is emphasized, and major divine blessings are recounted.

Among the things requested for in this Du'a are abundant bounties, the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, protection from evil and ruthless rulers, purification from vices, and relief from laziness, disappointment, and distress.

Manner of Recitation

The supplication of Abu Hamza al-Thumali is usually recited during the nights or dawns of the month of Ramadan, either individually or in gatherings.

Translation and Commentaries

Several commentaries have been written on this supplication:

  • Commentary on the supplication of Abu Hamza by Shaykh Muhammad Ibrahim Sabziwari
  • Commentary on the supplication of Abu Hamza by Mawla Muhammad Taqi Isfahani Ha'iri
  • Commentary on the supplication of Abu Hamza by Sayyid Husayn b. Ja'far Musawi Khwansari
  • Commentary on the supplication of Abu Hamza by Sayyid Mir Mu'iz al-Din b. Mir Masih Istahbanati
  • Tuhfat al-a'izza by Shaykh Aqa Shamili Shirazi
  • Al-Jawhara al-'aziza fi sharh du'a Abi Hamza by Sayyid Abu l-fadl al-Husayni
  • 'Ishq va Rastegari by Ahmad Zumurrudian Shirazi
  • The text and commentary of the supplication of Abu Hamza by Muhammad 'Ali Khaza'ili which was published in 1429/2008

External Links

Notes

  1. Khazāʾilī, Matn wa sharḥ wa tafsīr-i duʾā-yi Abū Ḥamza al-Thumālī, p. 25.
  2. Khazāʾilī, Matn wa sharḥ wa tafsīr-i duʾā-yi Abū Ḥamza al-Thumālī, p. 25.
  3. Ibn Ṭāwūs, Iqbāl al-aʿmāl, p. 324-345.
  4. Ṭūsī, Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid, p. 405-416.
  5. Kafʿamī, al-Balad al-amīn, p. 288-299.
  6. Kafʿamī, al-Miṣbāḥ, p. 781-797.
  7. Majlisī, Zād al-maʿād, p. 92-103.
  8. Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 95, p. 82.
  9. Qummī, Mafātīḥ al-jinān, under the Abu Ḥamza al-Thumālī supplication.

References

  • Ibn Ṭāwūs, ʿAlī b. Mūsā. Iqbāl al-aʿmāl. Beirut: Aʿlamī, 1417 AH.
  • Kafʿamī, Ibrāhīm b. ʿAlī al-. Al-Balad al-amīn wa l-dirʿ al-ḥaṣīn. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1418 AH.
  • Kafʿamī, Ibrāhīm b. ʿAlī al-. al-Miṣbāḥ fī l-adʿīyat wa l-ṣalawāt wa l-zīyārāt. Qom: Dār al-Raḍī, 1405 AH.
  • Khazāʾilī, Muḥammad ʿAlī. Matn wa sharḥ wa tafsīr-i duʾā-yi Abū Ḥamza al-Thumālī. Qom: Ibtikār-i Dānish, 1387 Sh.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Zād al-maʿād. Beirut: Aʿlamī, 1423 AH.
  • Qummī, Shaykh ʿAbbās. Mafātīḥ al-jinān. Tehran: Markaz-i Nashr-i Farhangī-yi Rajāʾ, 1369 Sh.
  • Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-. Miṣbāḥ al-mutahajjid. Beirut: Aʿlamī, 1418 AH.