Qiyamu ‘l-Layl (Night Vigil)
One should get up at least one hour before Fajr since it is at this time that the gate of the Mercy of God, Who is Powerful and Sublime, is opened and the time when the great shaykhs look at their murīds. One should get up and perform ablution and perform two cycles (rak`ats) of Tahīyyatu `l-wudu and then stand up, facing the Qiblah and ask that God, Exalted and Glorious, to purify oneself from the anger of one’s ego (nafs) and, with this intention, one should then recite Yā Halīm 100 times, and then one should seek protection from one’s external and internal enemies, and from both heavenly and earthly misfortune, reciting Yā Hafīzh 100 times.
Whoever wishes to reach the station of the People of Determination must keep up these practices. Our shaykhs tell us about the importance of this time and its virtues, saying: “If a person gets up one hour before Fajr and does nothing, not even praying, not even making tasbīh, but gets up to drink something, such as coffee or tea, or eat a morsel of food, then he must also be raised with the vigilant people (ahlu `s-sahar).”
Salātu ’n-Najāt
Salātu ’n-Najāt, the Prayer of Salvation, is prayed according to the following steps:
In the first rak`at read Sūratu ’l-Fātihah as usual. |
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This is followed by reading the Verse of the Throne (2:255) and (3:18-19), and (3:26-27). |
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Āyatu ’l-Kursī
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آيةُ الكُرْسي البقرة 255:2
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صدق الله العَظيمُ |
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God! There is no god but he – the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. his are all things in the heavens and God speaks the Truth. |
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Chapter 3, Verse 18-19
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سورة آل عمران 18-19
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God bears witness that there is no god but he—and the angels and men of knowledge—upholding justice; there is no god but he, the Mighty, the Wise. The religion with God is Islam. |
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Chapter 3, Verse 26-27Qul ’illāhumma Mālik al-mulki. Tu’tī ’l-mulka man tasha’u wa tanzi`u’l-mulka mimman tashā’u wa tu`izzu man tashā’u wa tudhillu man tashā’u, bi yadika ’l-khayr, innaka `alā kulli shay’in qadīr. Tūliju ’l-layla fī ’n-nahāri wa tūliju nahāra fī ’l-layl, wa tukhriju ’l-hāyya mina’l-mayyiti, wa tukhriju ’l-mayyita mina ’l-hāyy, wa tarzuqu man tashā’u bi ghayri hisāb. |
سورة آل عمران 26-27
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Say: O God, Master of the Kingdom, You give the Kingdom to whom You will, and seize the Kingdom from whom You will, You exalt whom You will, and You abase whom You will; in Your hand is all good; Verily You are over all things Powerful. You make the night to enter into the day, and You make the day to enter into the night, You bring forth the living from the dead, and You bring forth the dead from the living, and You provide for whomsoever You will without reckoning. |
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In the second rak`at, read the Fātihah. |
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Sūratu ’l-Ikhlāš (11 times). |
سورة الاخلاص (11 مرات) |
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After completing the taslīm (final salām right and left), go into prostration with the intention of asking God to rid your heart of all envy. |
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دعاءYā Rabbī, kamā tākulu ’n-nāru ’l-hataba hākadha yākulu `amalīyy jamī`an al-hasadu mu’tasila fīyya. Yā Rabbī khallišnī minhu wa khallišnī mina ’l-ghadabi ’n-nafsānī wa min nafsi ’t-tifli ’l-madhmumati wa mina ’l-akhlāqi ’dh-dhamīma yā Rabbī wa baddil akhlāqī ila akhlāqin hamīdatin wa af`ālin hasana. |
دعاء يا رَبِّي كما تأكُلُ النارُ الحَطَبَ هَكَذا الحَسَدُ المُتَأصِّلُ فيِّ |
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O my Lord! Just as fire consumes firewood, in the same way the envy which is rooted in me consumes all my actions. Purify me, O my Lord, from it and purify me, too, from the anger of my ego. Rid me as well, O my Lord, of the blameworthy ego of the child and reprehensible manners. And, O my Lord, change all my manners to laudable manners and into good actions. |
متى tasbīħ is recited |
Šalātu ’t-Tasbīħ
It is narrated that Ibn Abbas use to pray Šalāt at-tasbīħ every Jumū`ah.[1] |
Šalātu ’t-Tasbīħ, the Prayer of Glorification, consists of four ركعات prayed with a taslīm at the end of the fourth rak`at, as our Shaykhs do it. Sūratu ’l-Fātiħah and two Sūratu ’l-Ikhlās are recited in the first and third raka`ats, and Sūratu ’l-Fātiħah and one Sūratu ’l-Ikhlās are recited in the second and fourth. The tasbīħ which is recited during this prayer is:
Subħānallāhi wa ’l-ħamdulillāhi wa lā illāha ill-Allāh wallāhu akbar. |
سبحان الله والحمد لله ولا إله إلا الله والله أكبر |
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Glory be to God! Praise be to God! There is no god but God, and God is Greatest. | ||
At the end of every set of 10 or 15 tasbīħs the Imam adds: wa lā ħawla wa lā quwwata illa billāhi ’l-`Alīyyi ’l-`Āzhīm. |
و لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله العليّ العظيم |
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There is no power and no strength save in God, the Most High, the Great. | ||
The total number of tasbīħs recited is 300, with 75 in each rak`at. Also, the tasbīħs is added to the regular parts of the prayer. We have observed the Shaykh using the following method: | ||
متى tasbīħ is recited |
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Before reciting Sūratu ’l-Fātiħah in the first rak`at. | 15 | |
After reciting Sūratu ’l-Fātiħah and two Sūratu ’l-Ikhlās. | 10 | |
After each takbīr except during julūs. | 10 |
[1] Abu Dawud, Bin Majah, Ibn Kuzaymah and al-Hakim narrated it. It is in al-Iraqi’s recension whom al-Aqili and others graded sound.