Salat-i-Kabir (The Great Prayer)

This should be recited once in every twenty-four hours.

He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

The one praying should stand, facing towards God, and when they have risen and are standing in their place, they should look to the right and left as if awaiting the mercy of their Lord, the Compassionate, the Merciful, then say:

“O God of Names, and Creator of the Heavens, I ask You, by the dawns of Your exalted and sublime mysteries, to make my prayer a fire that burns away the veils that have prevented me from witnessing Your beauty and a light guiding me to the ocean of Your union.”

Then, raising their hands in supplication to the Almighty God, they should say:

“O Goal of the world and Beloved of nations, You see me turning towards You, severed from all else but You, holding fast to Your cord, by whose movement the realms of existence were set in motion. O Lord, I am Your servant, the son of Your servant, standing present before Your will and command. I seek nothing but Your good pleasure. I ask You, by the ocean of Your mercy and the sun of Your bounty, to do with Your servant what You love and desire. By Your sanctified might, beyond all mention and praise, whatever appears from You is the aim of my heart and the beloved of my soul. O my God, my God, do not look at my hopes and deeds, but rather at Your will, which encompasses the heavens and the earth, and at Your greatest Name. O Sovereign of nations, I seek only what You will, and I love only what You love.”

Then, prostrating, they should say:

“Glory be to You, beyond description with the attributes of any other than You or recognition with the knowledge of anyone but You.”

Then, standing, they should say:

“O Lord, make my prayer the fountain of life, so that through it, my essence may endure by the continuity of Your sovereignty, and I may remember You in every world of Your worlds.”

Then, raising their hands again in supplication, they should say:

“O You, by whose separation hearts and souls melt, and by the fire of Your love, those in the lands are set ablaze. I ask You by Your Name, through which You subdued the horizons, that You do not withhold from me what is with You, O Master of all peoples. O Lord, You see the stranger hurrying to their highest homeland, under the shade of the domes of Your grandeur and near the mercy of Your proximity. The disobedient has set out for the ocean of Your forgiveness, the lowly towards the carpet of Your might, and the poor towards the horizon of Your riches. You have dominion over what You will. I bear witness that You are the praised in Your deeds, the obeyed in Your judgments, and the chosen in Your command.”

Then, raising their hands and exclaiming “Allahu Akbar” three times, they should bow in reverence to the Almighty God, saying:

“O my God, You see my soul trembling within my limbs and my body out of longing for Your worship and yearning for Your remembrance and praise. It testifies to what was attested by the tongue of Your command in the dominion of Your utterance and the power of Your knowledge. O Lord, I desire to ask You at this station for all that is with You to affirm my poverty and exalt Your bounty and wealth, to manifest my weakness and reveal Your power and might.”

Then, standing once more, raising their hands in supplication, they should say:

“There is no god but You, the Mighty, the Bestower. There is no god but You, the Judge in the beginning and the return. O my God, my God, Your pardon has emboldened me, Your mercy has strengthened me, Your call has awakened me, and Your grace has raised me up and guided me to You. Were it not for this, what would I have of my own to stand at the door of the city of Your proximity or to turn towards the lights shining from the horizon of the sky of Your will? O Lord, You see the poor one knocking at the door of Your bounty, the perishing one seeking the fountain of eternal life from the hands of Your generosity. You have the command in all things, O Master of Names, and I am resigned and content. O Creator of the heavens.”

Then, raising their hands three times, they should say:

“God is greater than every great thing.”

Then, prostrating, they should say:

“Glory be to You, for the supplications of the near ones cannot ascend to the sky of Your proximity, nor can the birds of the hearts of the sincere reach the courtyard of Your gate. I bear witness that You are sanctified beyond attributes and exalted beyond names. There is no god but You, the Exalted, the Most Glorious.”

Then, sitting, they should say:

“I bear witness to what all things and the supreme assembly and the highest paradise bear witness to, and beyond that, the tongue of greatness from the horizon of the Most Glorious, that You are God, there is no god but You, and the one who has appeared is the concealed secret and the hidden mystery, by whom the Káf is joined to its foundation, the Nún. I bear witness that he is what is written by the Supreme Pen and mentioned in the books of God, the Lord of the Throne and the dust.”

Then, standing upright, they should say:

“O God of existence and Sovereign of the unseen and the seen, You see my tears and my sighs, and You hear my cries and my wails and the yearning of my heart. By Your might, my sins have distanced me from drawing near to You, and my transgressions have barred me from entering into Your sacred precincts. O Lord, Your love has worn me out, Your absence has destroyed me, and Your distance has burned me. I ask You by the place where Your feet have walked in this wilderness, and by the ‘Here I am, Here I am’ of Your chosen ones in this expanse, and by the fragrances of Your revelation and the breezes of the dawn of Your appearance, that You ordain for me the visitation of Your beauty and the deeds that conform to what is in Your book.”

Then, exclaiming “Allahu Akbar” three times, they should bow in reverence and say:

“Praise be to You, O my God, for You have enabled me to mention and praise You, and You have made me aware of the dawning place of Your signs. You have made me submissive to Your lordship, humble before Your divinity, and confessing to what was spoken by the tongue of Your greatness.”

Then, standing, they should say:

“O my God, my God, my disobedience has weighed down my back, and my heedlessness has ruined me. Whenever I think about the evil of my actions and the goodness of Yours, my liver melts and the blood boils in my veins. Your beauty, O Goal of the world, causes the face to shy away from turning towards You, and the hands of hope blush to be raised to the sky of Your generosity. You see, O my God, my tears preventing me from remembering and praising You, O Lord of the Throne and the dust. I ask You by the signs of Your dominion and the secrets of Your power that You deal with Your friends as befits Your bounty, O Sovereign of existence, and as befits Your grace, O Ruler of the unseen and the seen.”

Then, exclaiming “Allahu Akbar” three times, they should prostrate and say:

“Praise be to You, O our God, for what You have revealed to us that draws us near to You and bestows upon us every good You have sent down in Your books and scriptures. O Lord, we ask You to protect us from the armies of doubts and illusions. You are the Mighty, the All-Knowing.”

Then, raising their head and sitting, they should say:

“I bear witness, O my God, to what Your chosen ones have borne witness to, and I confess what the inhabitants of the highest paradise and the supreme assembly and those who circle around Your mighty Throne have confessed. Dominion and sovereignty belong to You, O God of all worlds.”