Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah — Volume 1Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
ReligionIslamic
Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah — Volume 1
Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
Arabian Peninsula -- Description and travel
[p.329] evil)! O Prince! O Ruler! O ancient of Benefits! O Omniscient!
O Thou who givest when asked, and who aidest when Aid is required,
accept this our Visitation, and preserve us from Dangers, and make easy
our Affairs, and broaden our Breasts, (gladden our hearts), and receive
our Prostration, and requite us according to our good Deeds, and turn
not against us our evil Deeds, and place not over us one who feareth
not Thee, and one who pitieth not us, and write Safety and Health upon
us and upon Thy Slaves, the Hujjaj (pilgrims), and the Ghuzzat
(fighters for the faith), and the Zawwar[FN#62] (visitors to the tomb),
and the Home-dwellers and the Wayfarers of the Moslems, by Land and by
Sea, and pardon those of the Faith of our Lord Mohammed One and All!"
>From the Southern wall we returned to the "Apostle's Window," where we
recited the following tetrastich and prayer:-
"O Mustafa! verily, I stand at Thy door,
A man, weak and fearful, by reason of my sins:
If Thou aid me not, O Apostle of Allah!
I die-for, in the world there is none generous as Thou art!"
"Of a Truth, Allah and His Angels bless the Apostle! O Ye who believe,
bless Him and salute Him with salutation![FN#63] O Allah! verily I
implore Thy Pardon and supplicate Thine Aid in this World as in the
next! O Allah! O Allah! abandon us not in this Holy Place to the
consequences of our Sins without pardoning them, or to our Griefs
without consoling them, or to our Fears, O Allah! without removing
them. And Blessings and Salutation to Thee, O Prince of Apostles,
Commissioned (to preach the word), and laud be to Allah, the Lord of
the (three) Worlds!"
We turned away from the Hujrah, and after gratifying
[p.330] a meek-looking but exceedingly importunate Hindi beggar, who
insisted on stunning me with the Chapter Y, S.,[FN#64] we fronted
Southwards, and taking care that our backs should not be in a line with
the Apostle's face, stood opposite the niche called Mihrab Osman. There
Hamid proceeded with another supplication. "O Allah! (three times
repeated), O Safeguard of the Fearful, and Defender of those who trust
in Thee, and Pitier of the Weak, the Poor, and the Destitute! accept
us, O Beneficent! and pardon us, O Merciful! and receive our Penitence,
O Compassionate! and have Mercy upon us, O Forgiver!-for verily none
but Thou canst remit Sin! Of a Truth Thou alone knowest the hidden, and
veilest Man's Transgressions: veil, then, our Offences, and pardon our
Sins, and broaden our Breasts, and cause our last Words at the Supreme
Hour of Life to be the Words, ‘There is no god but Allah,[FN#65] and
our Lord Mohammed is the Apostle of Allah!' O Allah! cause us to live
according to this Saying, O thou Giver of life; and make us to die in
this Faith, O thou Ruler of Death! And the best of Blessings and the
completest of Salutations upon the sole Lord of Intercession, our Lord
Mohammed and His Family, and His Companions One and All!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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