ḤADĪTH OF THE DAY

“ When the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon Him, used to stand in prayer, (1) he would say, "I have turned my face toward he who created the heavens and the earth, inclining toward truth, and I am not one of those who associate others with God. Truly, my prayer and my rites to sacrifice, my living and my dying, are for God, the Lord of the worlds. (2) He has no partner. And this I have been commanded, and I am the first [among you] of the Muslims. O God, You are the Sovereign; there is no god but You. You are my Lord and I am your bondsman. (3) I have wronged myself but I have acknowledged my sin, so forgive me all my sins - surely, no one forgives sins but You. Guide me to the most beautiful of character, for no one does so but You; and avert from me the most vile of character, for no one does so but You. I respond to your call and commit to it. All good is in Your hands and evil is not attributed to You. To you I owe my existence, and to you I strive. Blessed and Exalted are You. I seek Your forgiveness and I turn in repentance to You." When he bowed down, he would say, "O God, to You I have bowed; in You I have believed; and to You I have submitted. Humbled before you are my hearing, my sight, my bones and my sinews." When he rose [from bowing], he would say, "O God, our Lord, to You is praise filling up the heaven, filling up the earth, filling up whatever is in between them, and filling up all that You will, beyond that." When he prostrated, he would say, "O God, to You I have prostrated; in You I have believed; and to You I have submitted. My face has prostrated to the One who has created it, fashioned it and brought forth its faculties of hearing and sight - so blessed is God, the best of creators." Thereafter he would say, and this would be one of the last things he would say between the tashahhud (4) and the greeting, "O God, forgive me my sins that have already passed and those that are still to occur, those that I have committed secretly and those that I have committed publicly, my excesses, and what You are more aware of than me. You are the Expediter and You are the Delayer; there is no God but You." Footnotes: (1): i.e. after entering the state of prayer. (2): Mankind, angels and all creation. (3): Masculine pronouns are generally used in Arabic as a means for referring to both men and women when the meaning is left general and is not otherwise specified. (4): An invocation that is recited in the middle and at the end of prayer, while sitting. ”