Sheikh Salman al-Oadah

My Lord! I praise You, as indeed You are most worthy of all praise. I extol You for Your infinite goodness. 

I thank You for everything You have given me. Equally, I thank You for everything You have withheld from me, for You know best what is good for me. 

O Allah! I ask You to incline my heart to helping the weak, oppressed, and displaced. Bless me to never be one with the oppressors, wrongdoers, tyrants, or liars. 

My Lord! I ask You to bless me to speak the truth, whether I am content or angry. Let me always be just, whether I have wealth or am in poverty. Let me fear You in everything I do, whether openly or in secret. Inspire me to say the words that will earn me Your grace, and never let me say what displeases You. Let me never say anything that will be injurious to anyone You love. 

O Allah! Whatever You enable me to say, grant me to speak truly, sincerely, and with a good result. 

O Allah! I seek refuge with You from ever speaking falsehood, or ever covering up an injustice, or ever being deceived in my faith. 

O Allah! Whatever You inspire me to say, let my intention in saying it be to please You, my purpose to exalt You, and my hope to draw nearer to You. Let my ultimate objective be to use what You have given me in a way that You love. 

O Allah! Let me be in the company of Your righteous servants who say: “My Lord, because of how much You have blessed me, I will never be a helper to those who perpetrate crimes.” [Sūrah al-Qasas: 17] 

O Allah! I pray that the day never comes when I will come to the defense of falsehood, promote sin, or work to further my own vested interests. Protect me from bigotry, ignorance, and misguidance. 

O Allah! You know I am sometimes unable to find the right words to say what needs to be said. When I interpret or analyze things, I sometimes get it wrong. Sometimes I say something, but cannot live up to what I say. I appeal to Your clemency and mercy that You conceal my faults and my fear of people. 

I know that I sometimes say something to benefit a neighbor, fellow citizen, colleague or petitioner but hold my tongue when it comes to some equally worthy soul, fearing the consequences. So I ask You, my Lord, to grant me the wisdom and insight to see the truth for what it is, to recognize falsehood for what it is, and to know what to say and how to say it. Pardon my stumbling heart and stuttering tongue. I beseech Your grace to grant me discernment, resolve and uprightness, and to safeguard me from sin. 

My Lord! Make me a believer upholding justice, a witness for You, whether it be against kinfolk or strangers, my friends or my enemies, my parents or my children, or even against my own self. This is truly very difficult except for those whom You choose to make it easy. 

O Allah! I seek refuge with You that I shall ever be needy while You enrich me, or that I shall ever be led astray while Your guidance is always there for me, or that I shall ever be brought low while Your might supports me, or that I should ever be treated unjustly though Yours is the authority, or that I should ever be persecuted though all affairs are under Your command. 

O Allah! Grant me an open heart, an enlightened soul and a resolute mind that will help me do good unto others as You would have me do, so I can give succor to the weak, the downtrodden, the dispossessed, and the grief-stricken. Let this be my life’s comfort, my heart’s contentment, and my time’s preoccupation. 

My Lord! Let my soul share what I have with those who are needy. Bless me in what You give me. Protect me from the trials You place in life. Make me love those of Your servants who are good, and bless me to have their love. Let us all be among the righteous, since You are the Lord of all that is good.

Sheikh Salman al-Oadah
Source: en.islamtoday.net (Apr.30, 2013)