ḤADĪTH OF THE DAY

“ The Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, said, "Indeed, God has angels roaming the earth, in addition to those that record people's deeds. When they find people remembering God (1), they call out to each other, ‘Hurry to what you have been seeking!' So they come, and form circle upon circle around them extending to the lowest heaven (3). Then, God asks them, 'What were my bondsmen (2) doing when you left them?' They reply, 'We left them praising You, glorifying You and remembering You.'" The Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, continued, "He asks, ‘Did they see Me?' They reply, 'No.'" He said, "He asks, 'What if they saw Me?'" He said, "They reply, 'If they saw You, they would praise you more, glorify you more, and remember you more.'" He said, "He then, asks, 'What are they asking for?' They reply, 'They are asking for Paradise.'" He said, "He asks, ‘Did they see it?' They reply, 'No.' He asks, ‘What if they saw it?'" He said, "They reply, 'If they saw it, they would ask for it with more persistence and aspire to it with more devotion" He said, "He then, asks, 'What are they seeking refuge from?' They reply, 'They are seeking refuge from Hell.'" He said, "He asks, 'Did they see it?' They say, 'No.' He asks, ‘ًWhat if they saw it?' They reply, 'If they saw it, they would flee it with more resolve, fear it with more intensity, and seek refuge from it with more persistence.'" He said, "He, then, says, 'I hold you witnesses that I have forgiven them.' They say, '[But] among them is a wrong-doer, who did not intend to join them, but came to get something he needed.' He replies, 'Those are the people whose companions never suffer.’” Footnotes: (1) A devotional practice that focuses on feeling God's presence in the different facets of life. It includes several kinds like practical evoking (obeying God's commandments), verbal evoking (supplications, praising, glorifying and exalting God), and evoking by the heart (meditation). (2) The heaven which forms the sky of this world. (4) 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. ”

Sunan at-Tirmithiy كتاب الدعوات باب منه [ وجهت وجهى للذى فطر السموات والأرض حنيفا ]

حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِىٍّ الْخَلاَّلُ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْوَلِيدِ الطَّيَالِسِىُّ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ أَبِى سَلَمَةَ وَيُوسُفُ بْنُ الْمَاجِشُ ونِقَالَ عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ حَدَّثَنِى عَمِّى وَقَالَ يُوسُفُ أَخْبَرَنِى أَبِى حَدَّثَنِى الأَعْرَجُ عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِى رَافِعٍ عَنْ عَلِىِّ بْنِ أَبِى طَالِبٍ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم كَانَ إِذَا قَامَ إِلَى الصَّلاَةِ قَالَ وَجَّهْتُ وَجْهِىَ لِلَّذِى فَطَرَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ إِنَّ صَلاَتِى وَنُسُكِى وَمَحْيَاىَ وَمَمَاتِى لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَبِذَلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ الْمَلِكُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ أَنْتَ رَبِّى وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِى وَاعْتَرَفْتُ بِذَنْبِى فَاغْفِرْ لِى ذُنُوبِى جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ لاَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ وَاهْدِنِى لأَحْسَنِ الأَخْلاَقِ لاَ يَهْدِى لأَحْسَنِهَا إِلاَّ أَنْتَ وَاصْرِفْ عَنِّى سَيِّئَهَا لاَ يَصْرِفُ عَنِّى سَيِّئَهَا إِلاَّ أَنْتَ لَبَّيْكَ وَسَعْدَيْكَ وَالْخَيْرُ كُلُّهُ فِى يَدَيْكَ وَالشَّرُّ لَيْسَ إِلَيْكَ أَنَا بِكَ وَإِلَيْكَ تَبَارَكْتَ وَتَعَالَيْتَ أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْكَ. فَإِذَا رَكَعَ قَالَ اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ رَكَعْتُ وَبِكَ آمَنْتُ وَلَكَ أَسْلَمْتُ خَشَعَ لَكَ سَمْعِى وَبَصَرِى وَعِظَامِى وَعَصَبِى. فَإِذَا رَفَعَ قَالَ اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّنَا لَكَ الْحَمْدُ مِلْءَ السَّمَاءِ وَمِلْءَ الأَرْضِ وَمِلْءَ مَا بَيْنَهُمَا وَمِلْءَ مَا شِئْتَ مِنْ شَىْءٍ بَعْدُ. فَإِذَا سَجَدَ قَالَ اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ سَجَدْتُ وَبِكَ آمَنْتُ وَلَكَ أَسْلَمْتُ سَجَدَ وَجْهِى لِلَّذِى خَلَقَهُ فَصَوَّرَهُ وَشَقَّ سَمْعَهُ وَبَصَرَهُ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ. ثُمَّ يَقُولُ مِنْ آخِرِ مَا يَقُولُ بَيْنَ التَّشَهُّدِ وَالتَّسْلِيمِ اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِى مَا قَدَّمْتُ وَمَا أَخَّرْتُ وَمَا أَسْرَرْتُ وَمَا أَعْلَنْتُ وَمَا أَسْرَفْتُ وَمَا أَنْتَ أَعْلَمُ بِهِ مِنِّى أَنْتَ الْمُقَدِّمُ وَأَنْتَ الْمُؤَخِّرُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ. قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ.
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."
(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.