The Prayer of Need

"If you are afflicted with a grave matter, give charity during the day to sixty needy people, with each receiving half a sa' of the Prophet’s (sw) measure from dates, wheat, or barley. At night, during the last third of the night, perform a ritual bath (ghusl), then wear the simplest clothing that one in your care wears, but ensure you have a waist wrapper on. Pray two units of prayer (rak'ahs) in which you recite Surah Al-Ikhlas (the Unity) and ‘Qul ya-ayyuhal kaafirun’ (Surah al-Kafirun). When you place your forehead on the ground in the last rak’as prostration, glorify, sanctify, and praise Allah (swt), then remember your sins, confessing by name what you know and generally admitting what you do not know. Raise your head, and when you place your forehead on the second prostration, seek Allah’s (swt) guidance 100 times, saying, 'O’ Allah (swt), I seek Your guidance by Your knowledge.' Then invoke Allah (swt) with whatever of His names you wish, saying, 'O’ One who existed before all things, O’ Creator of all things, O’ One who remains after all things, do for me such-and-such.' In every prostration, lower your knees to the ground and lift your waist wrapper, exposing them. Place the wrapper behind you between your buttocks and thighs. I hope that your need will be fulfilled, Allah (swt) willing. Begin with prayers upon the Prophet and his household, may Allah’s (swt) blessings be upon them all."

"If you have an important need from Allah (swt), the Mighty and Majestic, then fast for three consecutive days—Wednesday, Thursday, and Jumu’ah. On Jumu’ah, if Allah (swt) wills, perform a ritual bath (ghusl), wear a new garment, and go to the highest part of your house. Pray two units (rak'ahs) there, and then raise your hands toward the sky and say: 'O’ Allah (swt), I have come to Your court because of my recognition of Your Oneness and Your Self-Sufficiency, and I know that no one can fulfil my need except You. O’ my Lord (azj), I have also realized that whenever Your bounty upon me increases, my neediness towards You becomes more severe. A particular concern has befallen me (mention your specific need here), and You, in Your knowledge, are fully aware of it without being taught, capable of removing it without effort. I ask You by the Name that You placed upon the mountains so that they crumbled, upon the heavens so that they split, upon the stars so that they scattered, and upon the earth so that it spread forth. I ask You by the truth that You have placed with Muhammad and the Imams (as), and by naming them up to the last one, to bless Muhammad and his family, and to fulfil my need, make what is difficult for me easy, and relieve me of its burden. If You fulfil it, then all praise is due to You. If You do not fulfil it, then all praise is due to You without injustice in Your decree, without accusation in Your judgment, and without departure from Your justice.' Then, place your cheek upon the ground and say: 'O’ Allah (swt), Yunus ibn Matta (Prophet Jonah), Your servant, called upon You from within the belly of the whale, and You answered him. I am also Your servant, calling upon You, so answer me.' Abu Abdullah (as) then said: 'Whenever I had a need, I would recite this supplication, and I would return with my need fulfilled.'"

"When one of you falls ill, he calls for the physician and pays him. When someone has a need from a ruler, he bribes the gatekeeper and gives him. However, if one of you is struck by an overwhelming concern and turns to Allah (swt), the Exalted, purifies himself (performs ablution), gives charity (whether small or large), then enters the mosque, prays two units (rak'ahs) of prayer, praises and glorifies Allah (swt), and invokes blessings upon the Prophet and his family (as), then says: 'O’ Allah (swt), if You cure me of my illness, or return me safely from my journey, or protect me from what I fear of such and such (mentioning the specific concern),' Allah (swt) would grant him that. This is the binding oath, and it is what Allah (swt), the Blessed and Exalted, has made incumbent upon one as an expression of gratitude."

Hadith.1545 - When Ali ibn al-Hussain (as) was troubled by a matter, he would wear two of his roughest and coarsest garments, then stand for two units of prayer in the last part of the night. When he reached the last prostration (Sujood), he would glorify Allah (swt) one hundred times, praise Allah (swt) one hundred times, declare the oneness of Allah (swt) (La ilaha illAllah (swt)) one hundred times, and magnify Allah (swt) (Allahu Akbar) one hundred times. Then, he would acknowledge all of his sins — everything he remembered, he would confess before Allah (swt), the Blessed and Exalted, during his prostration; what he could not recall, he would acknowledge in general. Thereafter, he would supplicate to Allah (swt), the Mighty and Majestic, while placing his knees on the ground.

Hadith.1546 - Yunus ibn Ammar reported: I complained to Imam Jafar ibn Muhammad Al-Sadiq (as) about a man who was harming me. Imam (as) said: "Pray against him." I replied: "I have already prayed against him." Imam (as) said: "Not like that. Instead, refrain from sins, fast, pray, and give charity. Then, in the last part of the night, perform ablution thoroughly, stand up and pray two units (rak'ahs). While in prostration, say: 'O’ Allah (swt), so-and-so (mention his name) has harmed me. O’ Allah (swt), weaken his body, cut off his influence, shorten his lifespan, and hasten this upon him this year.'" He said: I did so, and it wasn't long before he perished.

I had a significant dispute with a man from Medina. I went to Imam Jafar ibn Muhammad Al-Sadiq (as) and mentioned the matter to him and asked: "Teach me something that might make Allah (swt) return my right to me." Imam (as) said: "If you want to deal with your enemy, then pray two or four rak'ahs between the grave and the pulpit (of the Prophet (sw) in Medina), or if you wish, pray in your house. Ask Allah (swt) for assistance, and take whatever you can afford and give it as charity to the first needy person you encounter." He said: I did what he commanded, and Allah (swt) resolved the matter in my favour and returned my land to me.

"I entered Imam Jafar ibn Muhammad Al-Sadiq (as) and said: 'May I be your ransom, I have composed a supplication.' Imam (as) said: 'Leave aside your composition; if a matter befalls you, then seek help from the Messenger of Allah (sw) by praying two rak'ahs, dedicating them to the Messenger of Allah (sw).' I asked: 'How should I do this?' Imam (as) said: 'Perform ghusl (ritual purification), pray two rak'ahs, beginning them as you would begin a prescribed prayer (with the opening takbir and intention), and recite the tashahhud as you would in the obligatory prayer. When you finish the tashahhud and say the salutation (Tasleem), say: "O’ Allah (swt), You are Peace, and from You comes peace, and to You returns peace. O’ Allah (swt), send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and convey my greetings of peace to the soul of Muhammad and the family of Muhammad. Peace be upon them, and the mercy and blessings of Allah (swt). O’ Allah (swt), these two rak'ahs are a gift from me to Your Messenger (sw). So reward me for them with what I hope and expect from You through Your Messenger, O’ Guardian of the believers." Then prostrate (sujud) and say: "O’ Ever-Living, O’ Self-Sustaining, O’ Living One who does not die, O’ Living One, there is no god but You, O’ Possessor of Majesty and Honor, O’ Most Merciful of the merciful," forty times. Then place your right cheek on the ground and say it forty times. Then place your left cheek and say it forty times. Then raise your head, stretch out your hands, and say it forty times. Then bring your hands to your neck and hold your index finger while saying it forty times. Then take hold of your beard with your left hand, weep, or pretend to weep, and say: "O’ Muhammad, O’ Messenger of Allah (sw), I complain to Allah (swt) and to you about my need. I complain to your rightly guided family about my need. Through you, I turn to Allah (swt) in my need." Then prostrate and say: "O’ Allah (swt), O’ Allah (swt)," until you are out of breath. Then say: "Send blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and do for me (such and such)." Abu Abdullah (as) said: 'I guarantee by Allah (swt), the Mighty and Majestic, that his need will be fulfilled before he rises.'"

"He should pray two rak'ahs and recite in one of them 'Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad' (Surah Al-Ikhlas) a thousand times, and in the other rak'ah he should recite it once, then ask for his need."