Lesson for the day #4

Midnight Prayer

 

Divine, the stars in your sky have dimmed.

All the eyes of your creatures have been closed.

The voices of your servants and your livestock have been silenced.

The kings have locked all the palace gates.

The guards had gone around blocking anyone who wanted to convey a wish or ask for help. While You, duhai Ilahi, Dzat yang Hidup dan Mandiri.

Not the slightest bit of drowsiness and sleep touches You.

Nothing bothers you in the slightest.

The gates of Your heaven are always wide open for anyone who asks You.

Your storehouses are never closed.

The gates of Your mercy are never barred.

Your various gifts are never withheld from anyone who asks for them. But it is always pouring out.

You, the Divine, the Most Generous Being. You never reject a beggar from the community of believers who ask You. And You never hide yourself from anyone who longs for You.

No…! For the sake of your might and majesty.

No one can dispose of their needs except You.

Nor can anyone fulfill it except You.

My God

Indeed, You have seen for yourself my position and the humiliation of my position before You. You know all my secrets,

monitor all the contents of my heart and whatever is best for the affairs of the hereafter and my world.

My God

When I remember death, its gripping terror, and my fate before You, I lose my appetite and drink; dry my saliva, anxious my heart on my bed; and it’s hard to close your eyes.

How can a person who is anxious to sleep feel like a deadly malakul lurking in the alleys night and day. In fact, how can a rational person fall asleep while the malakul maut never sleeps, either night or day, and continue to lurk his life at night or at any time…?

 

(Imam Ali Zainal Abidin, found in the book Miftah al-Jannat)