Jump to content

Ya 'Aliyyu ya 'Azim Supplication

Priority: c, Quality: c
From wikishia
Ya 'Aliyyu ya 'Azim Supplication
Subjectteachings on God, the Ramadan month, the Quran, the Night of Decree, and the manners of supplication
Hadith-Based/Non-Hadith-BasedHadith-Based
Issued byImam al-Sadiq (a) and Imam al-Kazim (a)
Shi'a sourcesIqbal al-'amal • Misbah al-Kaf'ami • Zad al-ma'ad
TimeAfter the obligatory prayers in Ramadan


The supplication Yā ʿAlīyyu Yā ʿAẓīm is one of the well-known prayers of the Ramadan month, recommended to be recited after the daily prayers. For this reason, Shia communities often recite it collectively after their prayers. This supplication is narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (a) and Imam al-Kazim (a) in the books Iqbal al-A'mal, Misbah al-Kaf'ami, and Zad al-Ma'ad. It contains teachings on God, the Ramadan month, the Quran, the Night of Decree, and the manners of supplication.

Place

The supplication Ya 'Aliyyu Ya 'Azim is regarded as having profound and elevated themes, according to Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi.[1] As narrated by 'Allama Majlisi (d. 1110/1699) in Zad al-Ma'ad from Imam al-Sadiq (a) and Imam al-Kazim (a), this supplication is recommended to be recited after each obligatory daily prayer during the month of Ramadan.[2] For this reason, Shia communities often recite it collectively after their daily prayers. This supplication can have a transformative impact on an individual's understanding of God, the significance of Ramadan, the Quran, the Night of Decree, and the manners of reciting supplications.[3]

Chains of Transmission

The supplication Ya 'Aliyyu Ya 'Azim was first narrated by Sayyid Ibn Tawus (d. 664/1266) in his book Iqbal al-A'mal, attributing it to Imam al-Sadiq (a) and Imam al-Kazim (a).[4] It was later recorded by al-Kaf'ami (d. 905/1499-1500) in Misbah[5] and by 'Allama Majlisi (d. 1110/1699) in Zad al-Ma'ad.[6] However, the version found in Misbah differs slightly from those in Iqbal al-A'mal and Zad al-Ma'ad. For instance, the phrase: "Wa hādhā shahrun ‘aẓẓamtahu wa karramtahu wa sharraftahu wa faḍḍaltahu ‘ala al-shuhūr" appears in Iqbal al-A'mal and Zad al-Ma'ad,[7] whereas in Misbah, it is recorded as: "Wa hādhā shahrun sharraftahu wa ‘aẓẓamtahu wa karramtahu wa faḍḍaltahu ‘ala al-shuhūr."[8] Additionally, the phrase: "Yā ‘Alīyyu yā ‘Aẓīm yā Ghafūru yā Raḥīm..."[9] appears in the old manuscript of Iqbal al-A'mal as: "Yā ‘Alīyyu yā ‘Aẓīm yā Ghafūru yā Shakūru yā Raḥīm..."[10]

Content

According to Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi, each passage of the supplication Ya 'Aliyyu Ya 'Azim conveys a distinct message.[11] He explains that the opening section focuses on divine attributes and the understanding of God, while the following passage highlights the virtues of the month of Ramadan. Other teachings embedded in this supplication, as noted by Makarim Shirazi, include references to the three types of guidance in the Quran, the superiority of the Night of Decree over a thousand months, and instructions on the etiquette of supplication.[12]

Text and Translation of the Supplication

Text
Text and Translation
Translation

يَا عَلِيُّ يَا عَظِيمُ

يَا غَفُورُ يَا رَحِيمُ

أَنْتَ ٱلرَّبُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ

ٱلَّذِي لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ

وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ

وَهٰذَا شَهْرٌ عَظَّمْتَهُ وَكَرَّمْتَهُ

وَشَرَّفْتَهُ وَفَضَّلْتَهُ عَلَىٰ ٱلشُّهُورِ

وَهُوَ ٱلشَّهْرُ ٱلَّذِي فَرَضْتَ صِيَامَهُ عَلَيَّ

وَهُوَ شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِي أَنْزَلْتَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنَ

هُدَىً لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ

وَجَعَلْتَ فِيهِ لَيْلَةَ ٱلْقَدْرِ

وَجَعَلْتَهَا خَيْراً مِنَ الفِ شَهْرٍ

فَيَا ذَا ٱلْمَنِّ وَلاَ يُمَنُّ عَلَيْكَ

مُنَّ عَلَيَّ بِفَكَاكِ رَقَبَتِي مِنَ ٱلنَّارِ فِي مَنْ تَمُنُّ عَلَيْهِ

وَأَدْخِلْنِي ٱلْجَنَّةَ

بِرَحْمَتِكَ يَا أَرْحَمَ ٱلرَّاحِمِينَ

يَا عَلِيُّ يَا عَظِيمُ
O Most High! O All-great!
يَا غَفُورُ يَا رَحِيمُ
O All-forgiving! O All-merciful!
أَنْتَ ٱلرَّبُّ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
You are the All-great Lord
ٱلَّذِي لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌ
like Whom there is nothing,
وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلْبَصِيرُ
and He is the All-hearing, the All-aware
وَهٰذَا شَهْرٌ عَظَّمْتَهُ وَكَرَّمْتَهُ
This is a month that You have glorified, ennobled,
وَشَرَّفْتَهُ وَفَضَّلْتَهُ عَلَىٰ ٱلشُّهُورِ
honored, and preferred to the other months.
وَهُوَ ٱلشَّهْرُ ٱلَّذِي فَرَضْتَ صِيَامَهُ عَلَيَّ
It is the month that You imposed upon me to observe fasting in it.
وَهُوَ شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ ٱلَّذِي أَنْزَلْتَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنَ
It is the month of Ramadan during which You revealed the Qur'an
هُدَىً لِلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِنَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ وَٱلْفُرْقَانِ
as guidance for people, clear proofs on true guidance, and distinction (between the right and the wrong)
وَجَعَلْتَ فِيهِ لَيْلَةَ ٱلْقَدْرِ
and You have decided it to be more favorable that one thousand months
وَجَعَلْتَهَا خَيْراً مِنَ الفِ شَهْرٍ
If You repell me from Your side, in whom shall I seek refuge?
فَيَا ذَا ٱلْمَنِّ وَلاَ يُمَنُّ عَلَيْكَ
So, O Lord of graces! None can ever do favor to You!
مُنَّ عَلَيَّ بِفَكَاكِ رَقَبَتِي مِنَ ٱلنَّارِ فِي مَنْ تَمُنُّ عَلَيْهِ
please, do me a favor by releasing me from the Fire and by including me with those to whom You do this favor
وَأَدْخِلْنِي ٱلْجَنَّةَ
and allow me to enter Paradise
بِرَحْمَتِكَ يَا أَرْحَمَ ٱلرَّاحِمِينَ
on account of Your mercy. O most Merciful of all those who show mercy!

O Most High! O All-great!

O All-forgiving! O All-merciful!

You are the All-great Lord

like Whom there is nothing,

and He is the All-hearing, the All-aware

This is a month that You have glorified, ennobled

honored, and preferred to the other months

It is the month that You imposed upon me to observe fasting in it

It is the month of Ramadan during which You revealed the Qur'an

as guidance for people, clear proofs on true guidance, and distinction (between the right and the wrong)

You decided the Grand Night to be in it

and You have decided it to be more favorable that one thousand months

So, O Lord of graces! None can ever do favor to You!

please, do me a favor by releasing me from the Fire and by including me with those to whom You do this favor

and allow me to enter Paradise

on account of Your mercy. O most Merciful of all those who show mercy!

🌞
🔄
➖
➕


Notes

  1. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Kulliyāt-i mafātīḥ-i nuwīn, p. 716.
  2. ↑ Majlisī, Zād al-maʿād, p. 84.
  3. ↑ Explanation of the "Ya 'Aliyyu ya 'Azim" Supplication from the perspective of Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi (Persian).
  4. ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Iqbāl bi-l-aʿmāl al-ḥasana, vol. 1, p. 80.
  5. ↑ Kafʿamī, Miṣbāḥ al-Kafʿamī, p. 630.
  6. ↑ Majlisī, Zād al-maʿād, p. 84.
  7. ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Iqbāl bi-l-aʿmāl al-ḥasana, vol. 1, p. 80; Majlisī, Zād al-maʿād, p. 84.
  8. ↑ Kafʿamī, Miṣbāḥ al-Kafʿamī, p. 630.
  9. ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, al-Iqbāl bi-l-aʿmāl al-ḥasana, vol. 1, p. 80.
  10. ↑ Ibn Ṭāwūs, Iqbāl al-aʿmāl, vol. 1, p. 24.
  11. ↑ Explanation of the "Ya 'Aliyyu ya 'Azim" Supplication from the perspective of Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi (Persian).
  12. ↑ Explanation of the "Ya 'Aliyyu ya 'Azim" Supplication from the perspective of Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi (Persian).

References

  • Ibn Ṭāwūs, ʿAlī b. Mūsā. Iqbāl al-aʿmāl. 2nd edition. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1409 AH.
  • Ibn Ṭāwūs, ʿAlī b. Mūsā. Al-Iqbāl bi-l-aʿmāl al-ḥasana. Edited by Jawād Qayyūmī. Qom: Daftar-i Tablīghāt-i Islāmī, 1376 Sh.
  • Kafʿamī, Ibrāhīm b. ʿAlī al-. Miṣbāḥ al-Kafʿamī. Qom: Dār al-Raḍī, 1405 AH.
  • Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Zād al-maʿād. Edited by ʿAlā al-Dīn Aʿlamī. Beirut: Muʾassisat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1423 AH.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Kulliyāt-i mafātīḥ-i nuwīn. 4th edition. Edited by Aḥmad Qudsī and Saʿīd Dāwūdī. Translated to Farsi by Muḥammad Riḍā Ḥamidī & Masʿud Makārim. Qom: Madrasa Imām ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (a), 1395 Sh.
  • شرح دعای «يَا عَلِيُّ يَا عَظِيمُ» از منظر آیت الله العظمی مکارم شیرازی (Explanation of the "Ya 'Aliyyu ya 'Azim" Supplication from the perspective of Ayatollah Makarim Shirazi (Persian)). Accessed: 2025/03/12.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikishia.net/w/index.php?title=Ya_%27Aliyyu_ya_%27Azim_Supplication&oldid=193896"
Trigger Icon