The following
information has been
excerpted from Al-Ghunya
li-Taalibi Tareeq al-Haqq
by
Hazrat
Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him); translated from the
Arabic by Haaji
Muhtar Holland into
Sufficient Provision for
Seekers of the
Path of Truth.
(Al-BazPublishing,
Inc., Florida, 1997).
Shaykh
Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him) is Sultan-ul-Awliya, i.e.
Crown of the Saints
and most erudite scholar of the Islamic tradition, and the fountainhead of the
Qadri Spiritual
Order. He was born in the Iranian
district of Gilan, south of the Caspian Sea, in 470 Hijri
(1077-8 CE). Having lived a life of extreme piety, sacrifice, service, and
devotion to Allah Almighty
and His Messenger , he passed onto the
Realm of Divine Beatitude on the 11th of Rabi-uth-Thani, 561
Hijri (1166 CE).
He rests in
the city of
Baghdad, Iraq. His
blessed mausoleum
is a place of pious visitation from devotees around the world.
The intent
of this brief document is to bring to the attention of our readers the great
spiritual benefits of
these blessed nights
and days, and
to encourage them
to derive these
benefits by practicing
the prescribed acts of worship.
In the Name
of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful
Prayers and
Peace upon His Noble Messenger
THE SPECIAL
PRAYER OF THE FIRST FRIDAY NIGHT OF RAJAB
The
Holy Prophet Muhammad said that whoever
fasts on the
first Thursday of
Rajab and
then prays
the following prayer
between Maghrib and
Isha, i.e on
the eve of
Friday (i.e on
Laylatul
Raghaib):
• 12 cycles in sets of two reciting Surah
Al-Qadr (i.e. Inna anzalnahu fi laylatil Qadr) three
times and
Surah Al-Ikhlas (i.e.
Qul huwa Allahu
ahad) 12 times,
and recites Darood
Shareef 70
times at the end of each of the 2 cycles and then recites some special prayers
(found in
the Ghunya), Allah
Almighty forgives all his or her sins even if they are like the foam on the
ocean, the grains of desert
sand, the weight of the mountains, the drops of rain, or the leaves of trees.
In addition,
intercession
is accepted from 700 members of this person’s family on the Day of Judgment.
This prayer will
come in the
form of a
person to the deceased
when he or she is
in the grave and congratulate them
saying that they
have been granted
freedom from every
hardship [in the Hereafter].
The deceased person will ask who this person is mentioning that he or she has
not seen a
person more handsome,
nor heard a
voice more sweet
nor smelt a
person more fragranced.
Upon this the person will respond that he is this [Rajab] prayer that the
person had done and had
come to take
care of his
or her needs
and be his
or her companion
in their loneliness and
time of anxiety
[in the Barzakh].
Furthermore when the
trumpet is blown
this prayer will
be a shade on the deceased in the Plain of Hashr and good news to the performer
of this prayer
that Allah Almighty does not overlook any good deed.
THE SPECIAL
30 CYCLES PRAYER OF RAJAB
Hazrat
Shaykh Abdul Qadri Jilani further
relates a Hadeeth in his famous book Ghunya that the Holy
Prophet Muhammad saw
the crescent for
the month of
Rajab and said
that if a believing
Muslim man or woman performs 30 cycles of ritual prayer reciting in each cycle
after Surah
Al-Fatiha:
• Surah Al-Ikhlas (i.e. Qul huwa Allahu
ahad) three times, and
• Surah Al-Kafirun (Qul ya ayyuhal kafirun)
three times,
then Allah Almighty will
forgive all their
sins, grant them the
reward of fasting
for an entire month, their
name will be
included amongst the
praying people of
the upcoming year, everyday as
many good deeds will be written down for them as the rewards earned by a martyr of Badr,
and everyday they will receive the reward of one year of worship, and be increased
in 1000 ranks.
Further more if someone fasts & prays the entire month, they will be freed
from the fire of
hell and Paradise will be made incumbent upon them, and they will also be
blessed with nearness to
Allah Almighty. The Holy Prophet said
that these above mentioned benefits were related to
Him by Hazrat Jibreel alayhis salaam
who further said that this prayer differentiates between the
disbelievers, hypocrites and
the believers as
the hypocrites don’t
perform this prayer. When
the Holy Prophet was asked about the
method of performing this prayer He said that
10 cycles should be performed in the beginning of Rajab, 10 cycles in the
middle and
10 cycles
at the end. At the end of each 10 cycles, the following supplications should be
made:
At the end
of the first 10 cycles raise your hand and say the following words and rub your
face:
La
ilahha illa Llahu Wahdahu
La sharika Lahu
Lahu l-mulku Wa lahu
l-hamdu Yuhyi wa
yumitu WaHuwa Hayyun la yamut Bi-yadihi l-khair Wa Huwa
ala kulli shai in Qadeer Allahumma la mani’a li-ma aataita wa la mu’tiya li-ma mana’ta wa la
yanfa’u dhal-jaddi minkal-jadd
[There is no god except Allah, Alone. No partner has He. To Him belongs the kingdom and to Him belongs the praise. He brings to life and causes death, while He is Ever-Living and never dies. All goodness is in His Hand, and He is Powerful over all things. O Allah, no one can withhold what You have given, and no one can give what You have withheld, nor will the worldly fortune of the possessor of such fortune profit him, if he does not obtain the fortune that comes from You [in the hereafter].
At the end
of the second 10 cycles raise your hand and say the following words and rub
your face:
La
ilaha illa Llahu
Wahdahu La sharika
Lahu Lahu l-mulku
Wa lahu l-hamdu
Yuhyi wa yumitu
Wa Huwa Hayyun la yamut Bi-yadihi l-khair Wa
Huwa ala kulli shai in Qadeer Ilahan
Wahidan Ahadan Samadan Fardan Witra La yattakhidhu sahibatan
Wa la walada
[There is no god except Allah, Alone. No partner has He. To Him belongs the kingdom and to Him belongs the praise. He brings to life and causes death, while He is Ever-Living and never dies. All goodness is in His Hand, and He is Powerful over all things. (I worship Him) as God, Single, One, Everlasting, Alone, Unique. He takes unto
Himself neither female consort nor son.]
At the end
of the last 10 cycles raise your hand and say the following words and rub your
face:
La
ilaha illa Llahu
Wahdahu La sharika
Lahu Lahu l-mulku
Wa lahu l-hamdu
Yuhyi wa yumitu
Wa Huwa Hayyun la yamut Bi-yadihil-khair Wa Huwa
ala kulli shai in Qadeer Salla Llahu ala Sayyidina Muhammadin wa ala alihit-tahirin La hawla Wala
quwwata Illa bi Llahi l-Aliyyi l-Azim
[There is no god except Allah, Alone. No partner has He. To Him belongs the kingdom and to Him belongs the praise. He brings to life and causes death, while He is Ever-Living and never dies. All goodness is in His Hand, and He is Powerful over all things. May Allah bless Sayyidina Muhammad and the pure members of his family. There is neither any power nor any strength except with Allah, the Most High, the Almighty.]
After
reciting the above, one should entreat Allah Almighty for our needs and our
prayers will be
accepted, insha Allah. Allah Almighty will make 70 ditches between the one who
performs this prayer
and hell, each
ditch being as
wide as the
distance between the
earth and the sky. Allah Almighty
will also grant
the reward of
1000 cycles for
each cycle performed,
freedom from the
fire of hell will
be written, and
the walk over
the Pul Sirat will
be made easy,
insha Allah.
After relating this Hadeeth, the Holy Prophet went into prostration and began to weep out of deep
gratitude for the immense blessings associated with this prayer.
