ANECDOTE OF THE SUPPLICATION OF ALAWI MISRI

The honourable Sayyid Razi ud deen Ali bin Taoos writes in his book ‘Muhaj ud Da’waat’ that:

            I found the supplication of Alawi Misri in an old book, whose writer introduces himself as Husain bin Ali and claims to have written the book in Shawwal, 396 Hijri. The author mentions the authority of this supplication in the following way:

            It is a supplication taught by our Master, Imam Mahdi (A.S.), to one of his Shias who was entangled by severe oppression, in his dream, and Allah brought about relief for him and killed his enemy.

            Sayyid says: the supplication known as the supplication of Alawi Misri is recited for every difficult and important work.

            Sayyid bin Taoos narrates this supplications in two ways and says: Abul Hasan Ali bin Hammad Basari said: Abu Abdullah Husain bin Mohammad Alawi reported to me that: Mohammad bin Ali Alawi Misri narrated for me that: “I was suffering from deep sorrow and misery by the hands of a ruler, such that it engaged all my thoughts making me severely frightened. I had no hopes of evading from this situation.

            I went to Iraq for the visitation of my leaders and forefathers (peace be upon them) and took refuge in them and their graves, and took shelter in that place away from the great calamity that could reach me due to that person. I stayed there for fifteen days in such a condition that I used to pray, weep and mourn day and night, until the Riser of the time and the Guardian of Allah (peace be upon him) came near me in a state between sleep and awareness. He made himself apparent for me and said: “My son, do you fear so and so person”?

            I replied: “Yes, he has intended to do so and so with me and I have turned towards my master and leaders (peace be upon them) to express my grievances before them so that they deliver me from his evil.”

            His holiness said: “Why don’t you call upon Allah, who is your Lord and the Lord of your fathers, through the supplications recited by my forefathers, the prophets (peace be upon them), at the time of difficulty and entanglements for attaining deliverance from those difficulties.”

            I asked: “Tell me how they supplicated so that I can supplicate in the same manner”?

            His holiness replied: “When the eve of Friday arrives, wake up and perform Ghusl. Then offer your prayer and after performing the prostration of gratification (Sajda e Shukr), while you are sitting in the upright position, recite this supplication with humility and lamentation.

            Mohammad bin Ali said: “His holiness came to me continuously for five nights and repeated this supplication for me until I memorized it, and he stopped his comings on the eve of Friday; thus I woke up and performed Ghusl, then changed my clothes and perfumed myself. Then offered the night prayer and on completion, called upon Allah by reciting this supplication sitting in an upright position.

            Like all the other nights, his holiness came to me on the eve of Saturday also and said: “O’ Mohammad, your prayer has been accepted and your enemy is killed; when you finished your supplication, Allah send down his death upon him”.

            Mohammad bin Ali said: “When dawn arrived, I had no sorrows but of departing from my Masters (peace be upon them) and returning to a place which I had fled from. After travelling some distance, I witnessed the messenger of my sons who came to me with their letters in which they had written, ‘the man from whom you evaded organized a sitting in which he gathered a group of people, after they ate and drank and dispersed, he slept with his slaves on that place.

            In the morning, no movement or sensation was felt or heard from his body; they removed the veil from his face and found out that he was slaughtered from the back of his neck and his blood is flowing. This incident occurred on the eve of Friday and nobody knows who did it? My sons requested me to return home as soon as possible.

            When I reached home and asked them about the time of this incident, I found that it happened exactly after I finished the recitation of that supplication.[1]

---