Fortress of the Muslim
Fortress of the Muslim
حصن المسلم
“O Allah, protect him from the punishment of the grave.”
And if he says, “O Allah, make him one who has gone ahead and a stored reward for his two parents, and an intercessor whose intercession is accepted. O Allah, make their scales heavy through him and increase their rewards through him. Join him with the righteous believers, place him in the care of Ibrāhīm, and protect him, by Your mercy, from the punishment of the blazing Fire. Give him in exchange a home better than his home and a family better than his family. O Allah, forgive our predecessors, our children who have preceded us in death, and those who have preceded us in faith,” that is good.
“To Allah belongs what He took, and to Him belongs what He gave. Everything has with Him an appointed term, so let her be patient and seek reward.” If he says, “May Allah magnify your reward, grant you comfort in your grief, and forgive your deceased,” that is good.
Translation notes
"إن لله ما أخذ وله ما أعطى . وكل شيء عنده بأجل مُسمى ... فلتصبر ولتحتسب " وإن قال : "أعظم الله أجرك ، وأحسن عزاءك وغفر لميتك" فحسن
The Arabic uses a feminine singular imperative; the witness renders it as a general instruction.
Should the feminine singular grammar be preserved in English, or rendered as a general instruction?
In the name of Allah, and according to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah.
O Allah, forgive him. O Allah, make him steadfast.
Translation notes
اللَّهُمَّ ثَبِّتْهُ
The witness renders thabbit as ‘strengthen him’; the Arabic more directly asks that he be made firm or steadfast.
Should thabbit be rendered as ‘make him steadfast’ or as ‘strengthen him’?
Peace be upon you, people of these dwellings, among the believers and Muslims. If Allah wills, we will join you. We ask Allah to grant well-being to us and to you.
Translation notes
وَإِنّا إِنْ شاءَ اللهُ بِكُـمْ لاحِقـون،
The witness includes an additional bracketed supplication asking mercy for the first and last of them; this sentence is absent from the Arabic source text.
Should the witness-only bracketed supplication be excluded from the translation?
O Allah, I ask You for its good, and I seek refuge in You from its evil.
O Allah, I ask You for its good, the good within it, and the good with which it was sent. I seek refuge in You from its evil, the evil within it, and the evil with which it was sent.
Glory be to Him whom the thunder glorifies with His praise, and the angels out of awe of Him.
O Allah, send us rain that brings relief, wholesome and abundant, beneficial and not harmful, promptly and not belatedly.
Translation notes
غَيْـثاً مُغيـثاً مَريئاً مُريـعاً
The Arabic uses a string of related adjectives whose shades include relief, wholesome quality, and abundance; the witness compresses them to ‘abundant rain’.
Which concise English equivalents best preserve the individual qualities in the Arabic wording?
O Allah, give water to Your servants and Your livestock, spread Your mercy, and revive Your dead land.
O Allah, grant us beneficial rain.
Translation notes
صَيِّـباً نافِـعاً
The witness supplies ‘rain clouds’ in parentheses; the Arabic says ṣayyib, meaning rain or rainfall, and does not specify clouds.
Should the witness’s explanatory ‘rain clouds’ be included?
O Allah, let it be around us and not upon us. O Allah, let it fall on the mounds and hills, the bottoms of the valleys, and the places where trees grow.
Allah is the Greatest. O Allah, bring it upon us with security and faith, safety and Islam, and success in what You love and are pleased with, our Lord. Our Lord and your Lord is Allah.
The thirst is gone, the veins are moist, and the reward is assured, if Allah wills.
O Allah, I ask You by Your mercy, which encompasses all things, to forgive me.
When one of you eats, let him say, “In the name of Allah.” If he forgets at the beginning, let him say, “In the name of Allah at its beginning and its end.”
When Allah provides someone with food, let him say: “O Allah, bless it for us and feed us with something better than it.” When Allah gives someone milk to drink, let him say: “O Allah, bless it for us and give us more of it.”