He prayeth for excellence in morals and conduct

O Lord: bless Mohammad and his ?l (family), and advance my faith to the greatest perfection. And let my belief be the most excellent of beliefs. And cause my motive to be the best of resolutions and my conduct

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the best of ascetic.

O Lord! Prosper my good resolutions. And establish my belief in Thee 1 And reform with Thy power what has become corrupted in me. 2

O Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family), and grant to satisfy 3 me in that, the care for which keeps me engaged. And cause me to perform those deeds concerning which Thou wilt question me to-morrow, 4

And let my days be spent in that work for which Thou hast

1. That is confirm my belief in Thy boundless power to reward the righteous and to punish the wicked in this world or the next.

2. So that it may turn out acceptable to Thee.
3. Lit,-Do for me that etc.
4. i.e. the Day of judgement.

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created me, 5

And make me independent and provide me amply with Thy sustenance, And do not let me be tempted by arrogance wealth) .

6

(caused

And let me be honoured, but do not let me fall a prey to pride.

And cause me to adore Thee, and do not let my adoration be spoiled with conceit.

And issue from my hands goods to mankind and do not let it be undone with reproaches. 7

And give me excellent morals, and save me from boasting. 5. i.e. Thy service.

6. According to another reading `by sight'; i.e. do not let me be tempted to see forbidden things.

7. Lit expression of obligations with which I may happen to re- proach the recipient.

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O Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) and do not exalt me to any rank among men, unless Thou hast lowered me to an equal degree, in my own sight.

And create for me no outward request, unless Thou hast created for me an equal amount of humiliation in my spirit. O Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) and favour me with a righteous direction which I may not change (for another) and a right path from which I may not go astray, and a well-guided motive which I may not doubt:

And let me live as long as my life is useful in serving Thee. So when my life becomes a pasture for Satan be pleased to call me back to Thee; before Thy wrath advances towards me or Thy anger is fixed upon me.

O Lord: leave in me no culpable habit unreformed and no blame-worthy blemish unamended, and no imperfect

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excellence without bringing it to perfection. O Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) and substitute for me love in place of the enmity of the hostile, and friendship for the envy of the rebellious, and confidence for distrust of the virtuous, and kindness for the hatred of those that are near, and benevolence to kindred for their disobedience;

and assistance for desertion of the near (relations) ; and sincerity of regard for the love of the ceremoniously polite, and, good behaviour for the expulsion of associates, and sweetness of peace for the bitterness of fear of tyrants.

O Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family), and let me have power over him who has oppressed me, and am argument against him who quarrelled with me and victory over him who bore me ill-well. And grant me an artifice against him who deceived me, and power over him, who overpowered me, and make false the charge of him who impeached me, and relieve me from

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him who threatened me.

And give me grace to obey him who directed me to the right path and follow him who guided me (to it).

O Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) and give me grace that I may behave with sincere good-will to him who was insincere to me, and reward with goodness him who forsake me, and repay bounteously him who disappointed me, and compensate with reunion him who separated me from him and make me to differ from him who did backbite me by speaking well of him; and to return thanks for good and overlook evil.

O Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) and adorn me with the qualities of the righteous, and clothe me with the dress of the pious, spreading justice and restraining anger and quenching the fire of ill-will and reuniting the scattered and making up the differences between men, and pub- lishing goodness and hiding blemishes and lenience

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of temper 1 and bending the knee of humility 2 and beauty of conduct, calmness of disposition and agreeableness of (social) intercourse, and advancing towards excellence; and adopting generosity and for-bearing rebuke and showing kindness to the unworthy; and speaking the truth though difficult, and underrating personal good, however great, of words or deeds; and over estimating personal evil, how-ever small, of speech or act.

And grant the fulfilment of these wishes along with continual worship of Thee and attachment to the community of the faithful and let me withdraw from those who start invocations, and act upon self-invented judgement.

O Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) and confer on me Thy most abundant sustenance when I grow old and infuse in me Thy most righteous strength when I be

1. Nature.
2. i.e. behaving towards others with humility and treating them with respect.

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fatigued.

And do not allow me to grow lazy so as to keep away from Thy worship, and do not let me blind to Thy path nor allow me to indulge in what is contrary to Thy love. Nor join him who has separated himself from Thee, nor let me keep aloof from him who has joined unto Thee.

O Lord! let me get strength from Thee in necessity, and apply to Thee, in need, and humbly entreat Thee in poverty and do not let me be tempted to ask help of any other than Thee, when I am afflicted, nor to humbly entreat any other than Thee when in need, nor to, supplicate another besides Thee, when in fear, lest I should deserve, thereby, to be forsaken, rejected and despised by Thee, 0 most Merciful! O Lord! let what Satan introduces into my heart, of desires, suspicion and envy, be a cause for remembrance of

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Thy greatness, contemplation of Thy power, and become plans against Thy enemy; and let what he makes my tongue utter of indecent words nonsense raving abuse, false evidence, back-biting of an absent true-believer, or reviling one who is present, and other things similar to these, be a speech in praise of Thee and an utterance of a eulogy to Thee, an absorption in Thy glory, a thanks-giving for Thy favour, an acknowledgement of Thy goodness and an enumeration of Thy blessings.

O Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family), and do not let me be oppressed while Thou hast power toward off trouble from me, nor let me, oppress others whilst Thou hast authority to restrain me, nor go astray whilst it is possible for Thee to guide me, nor grow poor whilst Thou hast power to prosper me, nor grow rebellious 1 whilst my independence is from Thee.

1. Indigent according to another reading.

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O Lord! seeking Thy forgiveness have I come, and at Thy pardon do I aim, and Thy forbearance do I long for, and in Thy kindness do I trust, and I have not with me what would entitle me to Thy forgiveness, nor (is there) in my actions what would make me deserve Thy pardon; I have nothing save Thy grace when I pass judgement upon my-self, therefore, bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) and be kind upon me.

O Lord! make me speak with righteousness; and suspire me with piety, and give me grace for what is most pure, and employ me in what is more praise-worthy. O Lord! make me walk the most exemplary path, let me live and die believing in Thee.

O Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) and bless me with frugality, and let me be of the people of righteousness; and of the guides to virtue, and of the pious servants, and grant me salvation at the last day and safety on the expected doomsday.

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Lord! exact for Thyself from my soul what-ever may purify it, and preserve those motives for my soul that may perfect it; for verily my soul is liable to come to ruin, unless Thou preserve it.

Lord! Thou art my shelter if I grow sad, and Thou art my resource if I am in need and unto Thee I cry for help, when deeply afflicted and with Thee is recompense for what is lost, and reformation for what is corrupted, and alteration for what Thou disapprovest.

Therefore, favour me with security before calamity and bounty before begging (for it) and right direction before error and spare me from bearing the unpleasant doings of Thy creatures, and grant me peace on the day of resurrection and favour me with handsome guidance.

Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) and word off (evil) from me with Thy grace, and nourish me with Thy blessing and reform me with Thy graciousness and cure me with Thy goodness and hide me in the shelter

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of thy mercy and clothe me with Thy approbation, and help me, when matters grow difficult about me, (to choose) the most righteous of them, and when actions become dubious (to select) the purest of them and when Thy creeds conflict, (to adopt) the most praiseworthy of them.

O Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) and crown me with sufficiency and adorn me with the grace of Thy love, 1 and grant me true guidance and do not try me with prosperity and confer on me the beauty of comfort and do not make my life a succession of trials, and do not reject my prayer with repulsion; for, I do not recognize any as Thy rival, and I do not call upon any as Thy equal.

O Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) and restrain me from extravagance and preserve my subsistence from waste and increase my possessions by giving blessing 1. Authority.

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therein and let me walk along the path of benevolence; whatever I spend my (wealth) .

2

in Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) and spare me the pain of earning, and give me livelihood without measure so that search (after it) may not have to bear the evil consequences of earning (wealth) by unfair means, Lord! therefore grant me by Thy power what I desire and protect me with Thy glory from what I fear.

Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) and guard my honour with prosperity and do not disgrace my dignity with poverty, lest I beg of those who receive their living from Thee, and ask favour of the wicked and be tempted, thereby, to praise him who giveth me, and fall in to disparaging him who denieth me; while, Thou art above all of them the 2. Guidance.

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master of Bounty and Refusal.

Lord! bless Mohammad and his AI (family) and give me accuracy in worship, and happiness in piety, and knowledge in practice, and chastity in beneficence.

Lord! let my term of existence end with Thy pardon, and verify my conduct 3 in expecting Thy mercy, and make it easy for me to win Thy approbation, and let in all circumstances my actions be good Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) and remind me to adore Thee in times of neglect, and employ me in serving Thee in the days of leisure (intermission), and indicate for me an easy path to Thy love so that I may obtain the good of this world and hereafter.

Lord! bless Mohammad and his ?l (family) more than Thou 3. Hope, according to another reading.

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didst bless any of Thy creatures before him, and more than Thou wilt bless any one after him, and give us that which is good in this world and the next, and graciously, protect me from torment of the Fire.