“O Mighty! O Invincible! Keep away from us the evil of the unjust.”
أيها المستطيل بالبغي أقصر طالما طأطأ الزمان الرؤوس
وتذكر قول الإله تعالى: إن قارون كان من قوم موسى
إذا ظلم المرء فاصبر له فبالقرب يقطع منه الوتين
فقد قال ربك وهو القوي وأملي لهم إن كيدي متين
مارماني رام وراح سليما من قديم عناية الله جندي
كم بغت دولة عليّ وجارت ثم زالت وتلك عقبى التحدي
“O You whose mighty kingdom never becomes less,
We hope to take asylum in divine largesse.”
The thrones of time shall pass away,
As Egypt, Babylon and Tyre;
Earth’s mighty cities all decay,
And kings and conquerors expire.
The Prayer of The Oppressed
For oppression’s victims everywhere, whose only weapon is earnest prayer.
Guard yourselves against oppression and so protect your souls from the cry of the oppressed; for surely no barrier exists between the cry of the oppressed and God — even if that cry should come from an atheist.
Reckon not that God is heedless of the oppressors; rather He defers their punishment to a day in which eyes roll over and intellects evanesce.
It is not that you should invoke the wrath of God upon an oppressor, but rather the essence of this affair is that you should implore God to guide the oppressor that he might leave his tyranny and redress the wrongs he has committed or beg the forgiveness of those whom he has wronged. Surely, that God should guide one lost soul due to your prayers should be worth more to you than all that the sun rises upon.
The Prayer of The Oppressed (al-Du’a al-Nasiri)
Photograph by: Mikhail Evstafiev.
Arabic Text with English Translation.
Transliteration with English Translation.
Audio Recording of the Du’a al-Nasiri.
About The Prayer of the Oppressed:
The power of this prayer of Imam Muhammad al-Dar’i lies in its simplicity, its purity, and its sincere supplication. It is essentially a plea to God that our transgressions be overlooked, that divine mercy be bestowed upon us, that social justice be restored in spite of us, that wrongs be righted, and that righteousness reign once again in our lands, so that the destitute may no longer be in need, the young may be educated, the animals’ purpose fulfilled, rain restored, and bounties poured forth. It is a plea to be freed from the aggression of foreigners in lands over which they have no right – a plea much needed in our modern world, rampant as it is with invasions and territorial occupations. Ultimately, it asks not that our enemies be destroyed, but simply that their plots, and the harm they cause, be halted. Its essence is mercy, which in turn is the essence of the Messenger of God, Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him: “And We have only sent you as a mercy to all the worlds.”
The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ once said to us,
“Help your brother, the oppressor and the oppressed.”
We asked, “O Messenger of God, we understand how we can help one oppressed, but how should we help one who is oppressing?”
“By stopping him from oppressing others,” he replied.
— Imam Al-Bukhārī’s hadith collection.
