ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Manifestations of the All-Merciful Foreword In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful All Praise belongs to Allāh, Lord of the Worlds, and the good outcome belongs to the pious; may Allāh bless His chosen elite ones, the choicest from among those whom He favors - the manifestation of His kindness to the world, namely Muhammad (s) and his Pure Progeny (as).

In the Qur’ān, Allāh (swt) says: “When My servants ask about Me, I am indeed close to them. I listen to the prayer of every supplicant, when he calls on Me.” ( al-Qur’ān 2:186) In this day and age of strife, perplexity and confusion, it is all the more necessary that we ‘call’ on Allāh (swt) to protect us from the trials and tribulations of the modern era. The supplications taught to us by the A’immah (as) are indeed the best way to call upon Allāh (swt).

While it is true that ritualistic recitations of supplications taught to us by the A’immah (as) have always been a significant part of our program of worship ( ‘ibādah ), on a daily basis, we hardly ever pause to ponder upon the profound pronouncement we utter by way of the Du‘ā.

The Blessed Prophet (s) has said, “Allāh does not answer the supplication of a heedless heart,” and what that thought in mind, the present volume, Manifestations of the All-Merciful , by Shaykh Muhammad Khalfan, is a welcome addition to the corpus of literature on the commentaries of the commonly recited supplications as this work goes beyond the translation and a brief explanation of the words of the Du‘ā. This volume is a wonderful exposition of the richness of such supplications.

I recall, vividly, some four years ago, during the blessed month of Ramadān, receiving by way of e-mail from Shaykh Khalfan, a regular dose of the commentary on the verses of this Du‘ā, highly recommended for the month of Ramadān. Each day I eagerly looked forward to his inspiring e-mail, elaborating the deep meanings contained within each word of this Du‘ā.

Subsequently, the Tabligh Section of Dar-es-Salaam Jama’at, under the able leadership of Al-Hājj Mehboob Somji published the work in book form. I am so very pleased to be writing this forward for this second edition, which has encapsulated the full commentary of all fifteen verses of the Du‘ā.