A quiet companion of supplications from Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn, Zayn al-‘Abidin (ع), for the moments when the heart needs the right words and cannot find them.
أَلَا بِذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ ٱلْقُلُوبُ
Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.
— Qur'an · Surah ar-Ra'd 13:28
When the noise of the day grows loud, a single quiet dhikr can return the heart to stillness.
O He through whom the knots of dreaded things are untied, O He by whom the sharpness of hardships is blunted… in You I have placed my hope, so do not disappoint me.
Imam al-Sajjad (ع) does not begin by listing the trial. He begins by remembering the One who unties knots. The heart loosens before the request is even spoken.
Original to Ahlulbayt Path · inspired by the supplications of Imam al-Sajjad (ع)
Sit quietly tonight. Place a hand on your chest and say: 'O He through whom knots are untied, untie this one too.'
O God, You have entrusted my soul with affairs that I cannot bear without Your help. So bless Muhammad and his household, and be for me a helper, and shield me from sorrow.
He calls his sighing 'breath', the worry has become as constant as breathing. The remedy is not to silence the breath, but to let dhikr become breath instead.
Original to Ahlulbayt Path · inspired by the supplications of Imam al-Sajjad (ع)
When the worry rises, breathe in slowly and whisper: 'Hasbiya Allah', Allah is enough for me. Three times. Then return to your task softly.
O God, no one reaches a limit in thanking You without earning from Your goodness another thanks to render, and however much we are grateful, You remain more deserving still.
Imam (ع) shows that even our gratitude is a gift. There is no shame in feeling small before Allah; there is rest in it.
Original to Ahlulbayt Path · inspired by the supplications of Imam al-Sajjad (ع)
Name three quiet mercies of today, a sip of water, a kind glance, an unanswered fear. Whisper Alhamdulillah for each, slowly.
إِلٰهِي أَلْبَسَتْنِي الْخَطَايَا ثَوْبَ مَذَلَّتِي، وَجَلَّلَنِي التَّبَاعُدُ مِنْكَ لِبَاسَ مَسْكَنَتِي
My God, sins have clothed me in the garment of my own lowliness… so cover me with the garment of Your forgiveness, and clothe me in the abundant robes of Your pardon.
O God, if remorse for sin is repentance, then I, by Your might, am among the remorseful. If asking forgiveness for offenses is a release, then to You I am one of those who ask.
His forgiveness is older than your wound. The Name 'al-Ghaffar' was His before you ever turned away.
Original to Ahlulbayt Path · inspired by the supplications of Imam al-Sajjad (ع)
Wash your hands slowly with the intention of returning. Let the water be a small ablution of the heart, even outside salah.
O God, sustain me from where I expect and from where I do not expect. Open for me the doors of Your provision in a way that does not weigh upon my faith or my self-worth.
He does not ask for abundance. He asks for sustenance that does not damage the heart. Provision that arrives gently is itself a mercy.
Original to Ahlulbayt Path · inspired by the supplications of Imam al-Sajjad (ع)
Before checking accounts, prices, or messages of money, pause and say: 'Allah is the Provider. My task is only the asking.'
O God, the affair has worn me, and the way has narrowed before me. Make for me, from where I do not see, a relief, and from where I cannot reach, a release.
Notice, even at the floor of his hardship, he says: 'If You are not angry, I do not care.' The wound becomes bearable when the relationship is intact.
Original to Ahlulbayt Path · inspired by the supplications of Imam al-Sajjad (ع)
Place your forehead on the ground, even briefly, even on your prayer mat folded small, and let the body do what words cannot: surrender.
إِلٰهِي إِنْ كَانَ قَلَّ زَادِي فِي الْمَسِيرِ إِلَيْكَ، فَلَقَدْ حَسُنَ ظَنِّي بِالتَّوَكُّلِ عَلَيْكَ
O He whose name is the cure, and whose remembrance is the healing… do not cut off my hope from You, even when my deeds turn away from You.
O God, single out my parents from among Your servants for the best of what You have prepared for the parents of believing men and women. Reward them for me with the most beautiful reward.
He asks not only to be good to them, but to be the answer to their prayers. To become the proof that their tiredness was not wasted.
Original to Ahlulbayt Path · inspired by the supplications of Imam al-Sajjad (ع)
Send a short message, make a short call, or, if they have passed, recite Surah al-Fatihah for them now. Do not wait for the right moment.
O God, be kind to me through the survival of my children, the soundness of their bodies, and the uprightness of their hearts. Make them righteous, God-fearing, seeing, hearing, obedient to You.
He asks not for impressive children, he asks for upright, sound, soft-hearted ones. The first gift to a child is a parent who prays this du‘a.
Original to Ahlulbayt Path · inspired by the supplications of Imam al-Sajjad (ع)
Tonight, place your hand on your child's head (or on the empty pillow, if they are far) and whisper this du‘a in your own words.
إِلٰهِي مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي ذَاقَ حَلَاوَةَ مَحَبَّتِكَ فَرَامَ مِنْكَ بَدَلًا، وَمَنْ ذَا الَّذِي أَنِسَ بِقُرْبِكَ فَابْتَغَىٰ عَنْكَ حِوَلًا
My God, who can taste the sweetness of Your love and then desire another? Who can know the closeness of Your presence and then seek a substitute?
My God, the eyes have slept and the stars have set, and You, the Living, the Self-Subsisting, neither slumber nor sleep. So look upon a slave at Your door.
O God, give me a patience that does not break, a certainty that does not waver, and a contentment that does not depend on what reaches me of this world.
Patience here is not gritted teeth. It is the quiet trust that the One distributing gifts has not forgotten you.
Original to Ahlulbayt Path · inspired by the supplications of Imam al-Sajjad (ع)
When you catch yourself comparing, gently say: 'Allah has not forgotten my share.' Then return your eyes to your own path.
My God, You are the companion of every solitary one, the friend of every stranger. So be the companion of my solitude, and the friend of my heart, when no one else remains.
Translations are gently compiled from trusted classical and Shia repositories of Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, including the renderings of W. C. Chittick (Muhammadi Trust), the al-Islam.org library, and Ahlulbayt-rooted commentaries. Where wordings differed, the gentler and more faithful rendering was preferred. Where a passage was uncertain, it was quietly left out.
Soft suggestions to keep walking quietly, at your own pace.