My works have destroyed me...

My works have destroyed me, my caprice has ruined me, my passions have deprived me. 8- So I ask Thee, my Master, the asking of him whose soul is diverted by his drawn out expectations, whose body is heedless because of the stillness of his veins,[^3] whose heart is entranced by the multitude of favours done for him, whose reflection is little concerning that to which he is coming home; 9- the asking of him whom false expectation has overcome, caprice has entranced, and this world has mastered, and over whom death has cast its shadow; the asking of him who makes much of his sins and confesses his offense; the asking of him who has no Lord but Thou, no friend besides Thee, no one to deliver him from Thee, and no asylum from Thee except in Thee.[^4] 10- My God, I ask Thee by Thy right incumbent upon all Thy creatures, by Thy mighty name with which Thou commanded Thy messenger to glorify Thee, and by the majesty of Thy generous face, which ages not, nor changes, nor alters, nor passes away, that Thou blessest Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad, that Thou freest me from need for all things through worshipping Thee, that Thou distractest my soul from this world through fear of Thee, and that Thou turnest me back toward Thy abundant generosity through Thy mercy!

11- To Thee I flee, Thee I fear, from Thee I seek aid, in Thee I hope, Thee I supplicate, in Thee I seek asylum, in Thee I trust, from Thee I ask help, in Thee I have faith, in Thee I have placed my confidence, and upon Thy munificence and Thy generosity I rely. [^1]: Allusion to 35:28: Only those of His servants fear God who have knowledge. [^2]: Reference to 29: 57: Every soul shall taste death, then unto Us you shall be returned.

[^3]: The commentator suggests that the 'stillness of his veins' alludes to the health of his body, which in turn brings about comfort and ease, making him heedless of God and the next world. [^4]: Another allusion to the Prophet's supplication; cf. 48.13. Previous…