Friday, April 24, 2009

Salawat Nariah/Tarfrijiyah

Bismillah.

Let me tell you a story about this wonderful salawat, how it landed in my heart.

Surely we acquire knowledge from books, listening to our guru or observing the surroundings but know that in reality, it is Allah the Murobbi who inspires, teaches and plants the seed of knowledge in our hearts.

I have learned to cherish this salawat because of the way it was inspired to me. After my father, Ismail, passed away in 1995, I fell into a state of severe depression and chaos. Lights of healing gradually appeared two years later when my mother and I went for umrah. I went there as someone who was very ignorant about religion hoping for guidance from Allah s.w.t. Due to inadequate understanding of pilgrimage rites and ibadah in general, the quality of my umrah, in my opinion, was way below acceptable and Allah knows best of the poor state of my soul. The only simple zikr I knew and recited was: 'Ya Halimu, Ya Aleemu, Ya Aleeyu, Ya Azeem'.

I would sit on the staircase facing Baitullah and lost myself in deep sadness for my inadequacies. Coming back from umrah I was, sadly, still in the state of ignorant as there were no traces of hidayah outwardly. But somehow, inwardly I became attached to a little du'a book, a book which had been in my possession for many years (though hardly touched). It went on for several days that each time I flipped the book, I saw Salawat Tafrijiyah. Although it appeared to be difficult at first, I felt a strong urge to read and by the grace of God, eventually memorized it, Alhamdulillah.

This was an important achievement for a faqir like me because it was not only my first salawat but a much-needed consolation for the umrah tarnished by ignorance. To this day I look back with humility at how badly lacking I was and I pray that if there were any benefits I could reap from my first pilgrimage, let it be my being istiqamah in reciting Salawat Tafrijiyah. Ameen...Ameen Ya Allah.

And I seek solace in the words of one venerable woman saint Rabiatul Adawiyah who says, 'The best of all karamah is in being istiqamah.'

Please, please let us all learn this salawat by heart and be istiqamah with it.

أللّهُمَّ صَلِّ صَلَاةً كَامِلَةً وَسَلِّمْ سَلَامًا تَامًّا عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدِ الّذِي تَنْحَلُّ بِهِ الْعُقَدُ وَتَنْفَرِجُ بِهِ الْكُرَبُ وَتُقْضَى بِهِ الْحَوَائِجُ وَتُنَالُ بِهِ الرَّغَائِبُ وَحُسْنُ الْخَوَاتِمِ وَيُسْتَسْقَى الْغَمَامُ بِوَجْهِهِ الْكَرِيْمِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ فِيْ كُلِّ لَمْحَةٍ وَنَفَسٍ بِعَدَدِ كُلِّ مَعْلُوْمٍ لَكَ

'O Allah, send complete salutation and send perfect peace upon Sayyidina Muhammad,
with whom ceases all that binds,
and ends all sadness,
and fulfills all wishes,
and attains all desires,
and ends with goodness,
and causes the pouring of rain,
by his generous countenance,
and upon his family and his companions,
as much as a glance of an eye
and every breath that is made
that is in Your Knowledge.'
___________________________________________
Credits: Arabic script from bahrusshofa.blogspot. English translation from islaminus.blogspot

No comments:

Post a Comment