Supplications for Sustenance

“Once I asked Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) to instruct me with a supplication for sustenance and he taught me one. 1 had not found anything else as attracting sustenance as this. The Imam said, ‘Say O Lord, grant me out of Your vast magnanimity, lawful and pure sustenance, that is vast, lawful, pure and sufficient for this world and the hereafter in large quantities, pleasant in nutrition with out toiling or being obliged by any of Your creatures except for its being the extra from Your vast generosity; You have said, “. . . ask Allah from His munificence. . . .” (4: 32), from Your munificence I ask sustenance and from Your charity I beg and from Your wealthy hand I plead to receive help.’”

“Once I said to Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) ‘Sustenance has been delayed.’ He became angry and then told me to say, ‘O Lord, You have undertaken to provide me sustenance and the sustenance of every walking being, O the best to beg from, O the best provider, O the best to plead to, O the best hope, do for me so and so’ . . . mention your wish in place of ellipsis.’”

“Once one of the companions of the Holy Prophet delayed and when he came, the Messenger of Allah asked, ‘What caused you to delay?’ He replied, ‘Illness and poverty.’ He then said, ‘Should I teach you a supplication with which Allah will remove illness and poverty from you?’ He said, ‘Yes, O the Messenger of Allah, please do so.’ The Messenger of Allah told him to say, ‘There are no means and no power without Allah, the Most High, the Most Great, I place my trust before the living One Who does not die, all praise belongs to Allah Who has not taken anyone as His companion or a child, Who has no partner in His kingdom, and there has never been any supporter for Him against humiliation, and speak of His greatness a great deal.’ “The narrator has said that very shortly thereafter the man came to the Holy Prophet saying, ‘O Messenger of Allah, He has removed from me illness and poverty.’”

“When pleading for sustenance in the obligatory prayer during prostration say, ‘O the best to plead to, O the best provider, grant me and my family sustenance from Your vast munificence; You are the Great, the Generous.’”

“Once I complained to Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) for (lack of) help and asked him to instruct me with a supplication to plead for sustenance and he instructed me with a supplication and thereafter I did not grow to be needy again. The Imam told me to, after the night prayer while in prostration say, ‘O the best to call for help and the best to plead to, O provider of vastest charity, O the best hope, grant me sustenance vastly from Your sustenance and find the means of sustenance for me, You have power over all things.’”

“Once a man came to the Holy Prophet and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I am a person with a family, indebted and my condition has turned into difficulty. Instinct me with a supplication with which I can pray to Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, so He will grant me sustenance to pay my debts and help my family.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘O servant of Allah, complete a Wuzu properly, then make a two Rak’at prayer performing complete Ruku ’ and prostration then say, “O the Exalted one, O the only One, O Munificent (eternal), I have turned to You through Muhammad your Prophet, the Prophet of blessings. O Muhammad, O Messenger of Allah, I ask through you from Allah, your Lord and my Lord and the Lord of all things, to grant al-Salat (favors) upon Muhammad and his family, and beg You for a noble relief from Your relief, an easy felicity, a vast sustenance, to place together my chaotic conditions, pay my debts and help my family.

“The Messenger of Allah had taught this supplication: ‘O Provider to the needy, O Sympathizer with the destitute, O Guardian of the believing people, O Possessor of strong power, grant al-Salat (favors) upon Muhammad and his family, grant me sustenance, good health and suffice me in that which concerns me.’”

“I heard abu al-Hassan (a.s.) saying, ‘Once abu Ja’far (a.s.) looked upon a man who was saying, “O Lord, I plead before You for lawful sustenance.” Abu Ja’far (a.s.) said to him, ‘You are asking the sustenance of the prophets, say, “O Lord, I plead before You for lawful sustenance from You that is vast and pure.’”

“Once I said to al-Rida (a.s.) ‘May Allah keep my soul in service for your cause. Pray to Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, to grant me lawful sustenance.’ The Imam said, ‘Do you know what lawful sustenance is?’ I said, ‘That which we earn and is pure.’ The Imam said that Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.) would say, ‘Lawful sustenance is the sustenance of the chosen ones.’ The Imam then instructed me to say, ‘I plead before You for Your vast sustenance.’”

“Say, ‘O Lord, expand my sustenance, grant me a long life, make me of those through whom you provide support for Your religion and do not replace me by the others.’”

“O Allah, O Allah, O Allah, I plead before Y ou through those whose right before You is great. Grant al-Salat (favors) upon Muhammad and his family, confer upon me to act according to what You have instructed me of the knowledge of Your right and expand for me the constraint in Your sustenance.’”

“Once I said to Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) ‘Our sustenance has been delayed.’ The Imam was angered and told me to say, ‘O Lord, You have undertaken to provide me sustenance, and to all walking beings, O the best to call for help, O the best to plead with, O the best of charity providers, O the best of hope bestow upon me such and such, . . . mention your wish in place of ‘such and such’.’”

“Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.) would pray and plead before Allah for help with this supplication: ‘O Lord, I plead before You for good means of living with which I may gain power for all of my needs and continue my life to the next life, but not so affluently with which I may rebel, or such constraints that make me miserable. Expand for me Your lawful sustenance, and increase for me Your generous favor, a delightful bounty, and a charity for me without being obliged. Do not cause me to be held back from paying thanks for Your bounties due to abundance of the same, its attractive beauty and its plentifulness, nor such constraint that toiling for it would reduce my deeds, and its worries fill up my chest (mind). Bestow upon me, O Lord, self-sufficiency from Your evil creatures and a means with which I can gain Your pleasure. I seek protection with You O Lord, against the evil of this world and the evil that is therein, do not make the world a prison for me, or departing it a sorrow. Take me out of its trials and tribulations, while You are happy with me, and my deeds accepted, to the house of life, the dwelling of the virtuous people. Replace for me the vanishing worldly bounties with the bounties of the eternal house. O Lord, I seek protection with You against its constraints, shaky conditions, the attacks of its devils, rulers, its troubles and against the rebelliousness of those who rebel against me in this world. O Lord, plan against those who plot against me, decide against those who transgress against me, turn of no effect that edge of which one may have established against me, divert away from me the flame of the blazing fire that is fueled against me, suffice me the plots of the evil planners, holding back away from me the spies of the unbelievers. Suffice me to cope with the worries for whom I am worried, repulse away from me the evils of the envious ones and grant me protection against such evils with calm and dress me up with Your formidable coat of arms, hide me in Your protective shelter, correct my condition, justify my words by my deeds, bestow upon me blessings in my family and belongings.’”