“I am hopeless and despairing. I have traveled every path I knew; I have turned to everyone I know; but none of them could help me. I regret only that I placed my hope in their assistance. After all, they are just human beings, much like me…”
Surely, you too have experienced moments like this, to varying degrees, in your life. But truly, who should one place hope in during such times? When facing such moments, to whom should one turn for help? Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) answers these questions in his supplication:
“O God, the One who gives when His servant asks, the One who fulfills desires when one hopes for what is with You, the One who draws His servant closer when they turn to Him, the One who covers the sins of His servant when they openly sin, and the One who suffices His servant when they place their trust in Him.
O Lord, who can enter Your presence and ask for Your hospitality, and You do not welcome them? Who can descend to Your door, hoping for Your mercy and bounty, and You do not bestow Your kindness upon them? O God, is it fitting that I return from Your door in despair, when I know no master other than You, who is renowned for grace and kindness? How could I hope in anyone other than You, when all goodness and blessings are in Your hands? And how could I place my hope in anyone other than You, when creation and the order of existence are under Your command?
Should I lose hope in You, when You have given me what I did not ask for out of Your grace and generosity? Or how could You make me in need of someone like myself, when I have clung to the rope of Your mercy? O You whose devotees have found happiness in Your mercy and forgiveness, and those seeking vengeance have not been damned by Your wrath.
O God, how can I forget You, when You have always remembered me? And how can I be heedless of You, when You are always mindful of my condition? O God, I have clung to the hem of Your mercy, and I have laid out my hopes in front of You to receive Your grace. So, O God, purify me with the sincerity of my monotheism and make me one of Your chosen servants.
O You to whom every refugee turns, and upon whom everyone relies for their desires! O You, the best of those whom one can hope in, and the most generous of those to whom one can turn for requests.
O God, the One who never sends a beggar away from His door empty-handed and never allows the one who seeks His favor to be disappointed. O You, whose door is always open to those who request, and whose threshold is never closed to those who hope.
O God, I beseech You by Your grace and kindness, bestow upon me enough of Your bounty that my sight becomes illuminated, enough of Your mercy to calm my heart with hope in Your presence, and enough certainty to make the hardships of this world easy for me. Remove the veils of blindness from the eyes of my heart by Your loving-kindness, O the Most Merciful of the merciful!”
Indeed! How can we forget Him, when He always keeps us in His sight? How can we be heedless of Him, when He is always watching over our condition? [1]
(Taken from the book “An Analysis of the Life of Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him)”, authored by the late Hujjat al-Islam Baqir Sharif al-Qurashi (with some additions)) [2].
Footnotes:
[1]This supplication is famously known as “Munjat al-Rajeen” and is among the fifteen supplications of Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him). It is considered one of his significant works.
[2] The Persian translation of the above text was taken from the translation of the mentioned book by Mr. Mohammad Reza Ataei.