The ( ar, دعاء كميل, ) is a supplication () attributed to
Ali ibn Abi Talib (), the fourth
Rashidun caliph
, image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png
, caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs
, birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia
, known_for = Companions of ...
(), the first
Shia Imam
In Shia Islam, the Imamah ( ar, إمامة) is a doctrine which asserts that certain individuals from the lineage of the Islamic prophet Muhammad are to be accepted as leaders and guides of the ummah after the death of Muhammad. Imamah further ...
, and the cousin and son-in-law of the
Islamic prophet Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
. It has been transmitted on the authority of
Kumayl ibn Ziyad (), a close associate of Ali. This contains esoteric teachings about divine mercy and repentance, and remains popular especially among
Shia Muslims
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...
.
About
Kumayl ibn Ziyad was a prominent nobleman in
Kufa
Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf a ...
,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
. He was outspoken against the
Rashidun caliph
, image = تخطيط كلمة الخلفاء الراشدون.png
, caption = Calligraphic representation of Rashidun Caliphs
, birth_place = Mecca, Hejaz, Arabia present-day Saudi Arabia
, known_for = Companions of ...
Uthman
Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic prop ...
() and was consequently exiled to
Hims
ar, حمصي, Himsi
, population_urban =
, population_density_urban_km2 =
, population_density_urban_sq_mi =
, population_blank1_title = Ethnicities
, population_blank1 =
, population_blank2_t ...
in
Syria. Soon after the
assassination of Uthman in 656
CE, he joined the new caliph
Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...
in
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the second-holiest city in Islam, and the capital of the ...
as one of his close associates. Later he was appointed by Ali as the governor of Hit, north of Kufa, where he prevented an early incursion by
Mu'awiya
Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
, the rebellious governor of Syria. Kumayl also fought alongside Ali in the
Battle of Siffin
The Battle of Siffin was fought in 657 CE (37 AH) between Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth of the Rashidun Caliphs and the first Shia Imam, and Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the rebellious governor of Syria. The battle is named after its location ...
in 657 against Mu'awiya. Some years after the
assassination of Ali
Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Rashidun Caliph and first Shia Imam, was assassinated on 26 January 661 by a Kharijite named Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Amr ibn Muljam al-Muradi at the Great Mosque of Kufa, located in present-day Iraq. Ali died from ...
in 661, Kumayl participated in the abortive revolt of
Ibn al-Ash'ath
Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath ( ar, عبد الرحمن بن محمد بن الأشعث, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad ibn al-Ashʿath; died 704), commonly known as Ibn al-Ash'ath after his grandfather, was a prominent Arab nobl ...
in 700 against the
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
viceroy
al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf and was executed by him circa 708 for his role in the rebellion and for his continued devotion to Ali.
The is quoted on the authority of Kumayl, who is said to have learned this from Ali. In turn, Ali may have attributed the to
Khidr
Al-Khidr () ( ar, ٱلْخَضِر, al-Khaḍir), also transcribed as al-Khadir, Khader, Khidr, Khizr, Khazer, Khadr, Khedher, Khizir, Khizar, is a figure described but not mentioned by name in the Quran as a righteous servant of God possessing g ...
, a figure, likely a prophet, who is described but not named in the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
. Indeed, Ali often referred to Khidr as 'his brother', claiming Khidr appeared to him assuming the form of different people. Among
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mo ...
scholars, the is quoted by
al-Tusi Al-Tusi or Tusi is the title of several Iranian scholars who were born in the town of Tous in Khorasan. Some of the scholars with the al-Tusi title include:
* Abu Nasr as-Sarraj al-Tūsī (d. 988), Sufi sheikh and historian.
*Aḥmad al Ṭūsī ( ...
() in his , by
Ibn Tawus () in his , and by
Sharif al-Murtada (). The is also featured in , a widely-circulated collection of s compiled by the Shia scholar
Abbas Qomi
Abbas Qomi ( fa, عباس قمی) also known as ''Mohaddith Qomi'' ( fa, محدث قمی) was a Shia scholar, historian, and hadith narrator. He wrote books, including Mafatih al-Janan.
Biography
Abbas Qomi was born in 1877 (1294 AH) in Qom, ...
(). There are several commentaries concerning this , some of which are listed by the Shia jurist
Agha Bozorg Tehrani
Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Mohammed Mohsen Razi (محمد محسن بن علي بن محمد رضا الطهراني النجفي), popularly known as Agha (Aqa) Bozorg Tehrani () (11 Rabi-I 1293 – 13 Zul-Hijjah 1389 AH /7 April 1876 – 20 February ...
() in his . The was translated to English by the philosopher and academic
William Chittick
William C. Chittick (born 29 June 1943) is an American philosopher, writer, translator and interpreter of classical Islamic philosophical and mystical texts. He is best known for his work on Rumi and Ibn 'Arabi, and has written extensively on the ...
. Especially among Shia Muslims, the remains popular, recited every Thursday night, and on mid-
Shaban
Shaʽban ( ar, شَعْبَان, ') is the eighth month of the Islamic calendar. It is called as the month of "separation", as the word means "to disperse" or "to separate" because the pagan Arabs used to disperse in search of water.
The fiftee ...
. The invocation of this is said to be useful for "protecting the evil of enemies, for opening the gates of one's daily bread and for the forgiveness of sins."
Content
Divine mercy
Perpetual and constant remembrance of God is highlighted in this , a passage of which reads, "
God!Make all my time, in the night and the day, inhabited by Your remembrance." The benefits of this remembrance are explained in another passage of the , "O He whose name is a remedy and whose invocation () is the cure."
The is also rich with esoteric teachings, chief among them the concept of , which might be translated from
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
as 'loving mercy and compassion'. The begins, "O God! I ask You by your mercy () 'which embraces all things'," which alludes to verse 7:156 of the Quran, or verses 6:12 and 6:54 of the Quran, according to which, God has 'inscribed' on His self the principle of mercy. A few verses later, the continues, "by Your names, which have filled the foundations of all things." Together, these two verses of the supplication imply that the defining quality of all divine names is mercy, suggests the Islamic author
Reza Shah-Kazemi
Reza Shah-Kazemi (b. 1 June 1960 ᴄᴇ) is an author who specializes in comparative mysticism, Islamic Studies, Sufism and Shi'ism. He is the founding editor of the ''Islamic World Report'' and currently a research associate at the Institute of ...
. As this mercy fills the foundations of all things, he continues, anything that lacks mercy is only temporary and transient. For Shah-Kazemi then, a central message of the is that there is hidden mercy even in the outwardly most absurd happenings, a mercy which would be revealed to most people only when the "veil" is lifted at death. Another verse of the supplication reads, "My far-fetched hopes have held me back from my true gain," echoing other statements attributed to Ali, including, "Most shattered minds have been felled by lightning bolts of covetous desires."
Repentance
Having invoked the mercy of God, the then appeals to this mercy, "O God! I find no forgiver of my sins, no concealer of my ugly acts, no transformer () of my ugly acts into beautiful ones, but You." The last part is an allusion to verse 25:70 of the Quran, "God will transform their ugly acts into beautiful ones," a divine promise to those who repent and act virtuously afterward. The continues,
This refusal to despair from the mercy of God is also evident in another saying attributed to Ali, "The one who truly understands () among all those who understand is the one who never makes people despair of the mercy of God." A few other passages from the follow below after minor edits.
See also
Footnotes
References
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External links
{{Authority control
Shia Islam
Islamic terminology
Islamic prayer
Shia prayers