Sahifat as-Sajjadiyya - Supplication 44 (Prayer for Ramadan)

Praise belongs to God who guided us to His praise 

and placed us among the people of praise

that we might be among the thankful for His beneficence

and that He might recompense us for that

with the recompense of the good-doers!

And praise belongs to God who showed favor to us through His religion

singled us out for His creed

and directed us onto the roads of His beneficence

in order that through His kindness we might travel upon them

to his good pleasure

a praise which He will accept from us and through which He will be pleased with us!

And praise belongs to God who appointed among those roads His month

the month of Ramadan

the month of fasting

the month of submission

the month of purity

the month of putting to test

the month of standing in prayer

in which the Qur'an was sent down as a guidance to the people

and as clear signs of the Guidance and Separator!

He clarified its excellence over other months

by the many sacred things and well-known excellencies

which He placed therein

for he made unlawful in it what He declared lawful in others to magnify it

He prohibited foods and drinks in it to honor it

and he appointed for it a clear time which He (Majestic and Mighty is He)

allows not to be set forward

and accepts not to be placed behind

Then He made one of its nights surpass the nights of a thousand months

and named it the Night of Decree;

in it the angels and the Spirit descend

by leave of their Lord upon every command

a peace constant in blessings

until the rising of the dawn

upon whomsoever He will of His servants

according to the decision He has made firm

O God, bless Muhammad and his Household

inspire us with knowledge of its excellence

veneration of its inviolability

and caution against what Thou hast forbidden within it

and help us to fast in it

by our restraining our limbs

from acts of disobedience toward Thee

and our employing them in that which pleases Thee

so that we lend not our ears to idle talk 

and hurry not with our eyes to diversion

we stretch not our hands toward the forbidden

and stride not with our feet toward the prohibited

our bellies hold only what Thou hast made lawful

and our tongues speak only what Thou hast exemplified

we undertake nothing but what brings close to Thy reward

and pursue nothing but what protects from Thy punishment!

Then rid all of that from the false show of the false showers

and the fame-seeking of the fame-seekers

lest we associate therein anything with Thee

or seek therein any object of desire but Thee!

O God, bless Muhammad and his Household

in it make us attend to the appointed moments of the five prayers within

the bounds Thou hast set, the obligations Thou hast decreed

the duties Thou hast assigned and the times Thou hast specified

and in the prayers make us alight in the station of the keepers of their stations

the guardians of their pillars, their performers in their times

as Thy servant and Thy Messenger set down in his sunnah 

(Thy blessings be upon him and his Household)

in their bowings, their prostrations, and all their excellent acts

with the most complete and ample ritual purity

and the most evident and intense humility!

Give us success in this month to tighten our bonds of kin with devotion and gifts

attend to our neighbors with bestowal and giving

rid our possessions from claims

purify them through paying the alms

go back to him who has gone far from us

treat justly him who has wronged us

make peace with him who shows enmity toward us

(except him who is regarded as an enemy in Thee and for Thee

for he is the enemy whom we will not befriend, the party whom we will not hold dear)

and seek nearness to Thee through blameless works which will purify us from sins

and preserve us from renewing faults

so that none of Thy angels will bring for Thee 

the kinds of obedience and sorts of nearness-seeking unless they be less than what we bring!

O God, I ask Thee by the right of this month

and by the right of him who worships Thee within it

from its beginning to the time of its passing

whether angel Thou hast brought nigh to Thee

prophet Thou has sent or righteous servant Thou hast singled out

that Thou bless Muhammad and his Household

make us worthy of the generosity Thou hast promised Thy friends

make incumbent for us what Thou hast made incumbent

for those who go to great lengths in obeying Thee

and place us in the ranks of those who deserve through Thy mercy the highest elevation!

O God, bless Muhammad and his Household,

turn us aside from deviation in professing Thy Unity,

falling short in magnifying Thee in Thy religion

blindness toward Thy path, heedlessness of Thy inviolability

and being deceived by Thy enemy, the accursed Satan!

O God, bless Muhammad and his Household

and when in every night of this month's nights

Thou hast necks which Thy pardon will release

and Thy forgiveness, disregard

place our necks among those necks and place us among the best folk 

and companions of this our month!

O God, bless Muhammad and his Household

efface our sins along with the effacing of its crescent moon

and make us pass forth from the ill effects of our acts

with the passing of its days until it leaves us behind

while within it Thou hast purified us of offenses and rid us of evil deeds!

O God, bless Muhammad and his Household

and should we go off to one side in this month, set us aright;

should we swerve, point us straight; and should Thy enemy Satan enwrap us

rescue us from him!

O God, fill this month with our worship of Thee

adorn its times with our obedience toward Thee

help us during its daytime with its fast

and in its night with prayer and pleading toward Thee

humility toward Thee and lowliness before Thee

so that its daytime may not bear witness against our heedlessness

nor its night against our neglect!

O God, make us like this in the other months and days

as long as Thou givest us life and place us among Thy righteous servants

those who shall inherit Paradise, therein dwelling forever

those who give what they give while their hearts quake

that they are returning to their Lord

those who vie in good works, outracing to them!

O God, bless Muhammad and his Household

in every time, in all moments, and in every state

to the number that Thou hast blessed whomsoever Thou hast blessed

and to multiples of all that, through multiples

which none can count but Thee!

Surely Thou art Accomplisher of what Thou desirest.

(ameen)

Examine The Examination

In the Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful

"Blessed be He in Whose hands is Dominion: and He over all things hath Power― He Who created Death and Life, that He may try which of you is best in deed: and He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving" [Qur'an 67:1-2]

In this verse of the Holy Qur'an, Allah (swt) says He creates death and life; two universal principles within the cosmos, to set up an examination of the finite time between these two universal states of being, existing and non-existing. Notice how He mentions death before mentioning life, this is fascinating because when we examine the contents of the entire observable universe we see that life is very rare in comparison to the non-living matter. It's important to remember that although matter exists it does not necessarily live. A dead body exists but is no longer living, for example.

Life indeed is rare in the universe, and death is the inevitable end of all things but they themselves are a means to the end or purpose behind which God created them - to test His creatures in their works, deeds or actions. This test has qualitative ranking and is not judged on purely numerical scoring. God knows that a numerical score of ones deeds would result in statistically skewed results where numerous groups of creatures would score high, median, and low based on certain deeds but would not necessarily reflect the true merit (or lack thereof) of those deeds given the context and circumstances in which they were performed, if deeds translated strictly to a numerical value. Rather, God tries us in quality because it is qualitative distinction that will really separate the classes of merits. [See Ch. 56, Surah Waqi'ah] And God, in that distinction of qualitative judgment, is merciful. "He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving" [67:2]

If life is meant to be a test or examination, then we should study the elements of examinations in general to understand the real truths about this life, afterall, if the true purpose of being is to undergo this examination of deeds then the resulting phenomena associated with examinations will be the hallmarks and truths of life itself. We will see if this is true. So let us begin our inquiry into what constitutes examination, testing, trials and the like by asking ourselves a few questions first. 

When we say we have an examination (exam, short) test or trial, what physical behaviors, emotional thoughts, and spiritual practices are associated with that stressful time-frame? The most obvious characteristic of testing is the aspect of inquiry, or asking of questions that will lead to answers. Every age group has questions about life, and each is profound for the time of development. The child asks, "who can I trust?" The teen asks "is this what I believe to be my identity?" The adult asks, "have I lived a meaningful life?" Each question is necessary, each answer as well if one is to live an informed life. Next we can say that one undergoing an exam or about to undergo one is likely anxious for good results. And are we not anxious in life for good results in nearly everything? The answer is obviously, 'yes.' We can also say that an examinee has sensibly prepared for the exam and that the anxiety he/she faces is dependent somewhat upon his/her degree of preparation. In other words, preparation is a key element in successfully passing an exam with good results. We can add to this by saying that one who prepares thoroughly differs in mindset from one who does not prepare, and that the former may have a degree of faith in his/her preparation over the doubts of the latter for the lack thereof in preparation. This we see commonly in the worldly life as well as preparation, training, and hard work not only becomes a source of reward but a source of comfort, security, and meaning for the one who achieves it. These people do not feel as anxious as those who do not prepare do, fear and doubt in expecting good results is something they need not experience. It comes down to trust or faith in their knowledge and belief in a good outcome that gives hope to the prepared ones. Another thing we notice about examinees is the tension, stress, and fatigue they experience as a result of that heightened state of demand where their minds and bodies must give them more to perform at higher levels. This too, is the central element of life, as expectations create demands that push our bodies and minds to their limits, resulting in fatigue, breakdowns, and tensions of all kinds. Further if we look at testing conditions, we see that the examinee is more or less isolated from others. In this world we are each born alone and die alone, set in our graves alone; companionship does not hide this fact for "companionship" is merely the presence of other students in the testing room- you are still left to take the exam yourself, so too in life. Testing conditions also have more stringent rules during examination times, this is to prevent cheating or unlawful advantages during testing and is a way to give every student a fair chance at passing the exam. The same can be said about life, as religious and civil laws are principles meant for creating justice within society and for allowing everyone the chance to be good, moral, and productive citizens of their states and countries. Another element to examine is the brevity of duration and discomfort that all tests share in common compared to non-testing states. Indeed, if we ponder not too excessively, we can already see that life is fleeting and is short, always presenting us with choices between lesser or greater discomforts. Finally, every test has a range of material that is being tested, presented within a certain format to help draw the correct answers from the examinee. Similarly, life tests a range of human 'material' if you will- our patience, generosity, forbearance, acceptance, tolerance, kindness, anger, jealousy, and in a nutshell, our humanity. 

These are just some of the analogous similarities between examinations and life in general. If one contemplates deeper they will find more interesting parallels and fundamental truths about life. To me, this is a valid argument for the case that life itself is a divine test and the heavens and earth are a testing ground to that effect. The biggest thing to realize is that one's faith plays one of the most crucial roles along with their preparation, in determining a good result on the exam. This is why in religion we are told to both have faith and good deeds because you can still feel good about the exam but fail if you didn't prepare well enough or still fail if you prepared but have no faith or confidence in your answers. The final aspect of examination that hasn't yet been mentioned is the desire to finish quickly and celebrate in relief once the testing is over. We all know that feeling of being among the last few students left in the room, finishing up that exam, anticipating the end, submitting the paper and walking out relieved regardless of any faith, preparation, confidence or lack thereof beforehand. The very same can also be said about life, since life is a test, we should be happy to finish our exam when our time comes, submit our papers with hope regardless of how much we did for the exam and just leave the rest up to merciful grading and prayer. And "He is the Exalted in Might, Oft-Forgiving" [Ibid]