Salāt ul-Hāja — ’The Prayer of Need’ from al-Shawkānī’s ‘Tuhfah ul-Dhākirīn’

From ‘Tuhfat ul-Dhākirīn’ of Imām al-Shawkānī — his commentary on ‘Hisn ul-Hasīn min Kalām Sayyid il-Mursalīn’.

This is taken from within the section of “Salāwāth Mansūsāt” or prayers, which have textual support — i.e. instructed from the Prophet ﷺ, and then further under the sub-heading of: “Salat ud-Durrī wal-Hāja” - or The Prayer of Need .

It states:

“Hadith number 253: Make wudu, and pray two rakah (cycles) of prayer and then make the following supplication: “Allahumma innī as’aluka, wa atawajjahu ilyaka bi-Nabīyyika Muhammad (ﷺ) Nabī-ul-Rahma, Yā Muhammad innī atawajjahu bika ilā Rabbī fī hājatī hazihi lituqdā lī, Allahumma fashaf-fi-hu fī — O Allāh! Verily I ask you, and turn to you through your Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) the Prophet of Mercy, O Muhammad verily I turn towards my Lord through you to my Lord in this need of mine, to fulfill it, O Allāh, let him intercede in this!”

This hadith has been extracted by al-Tirmidhī, al-Hākim in his Mustadrak and al-Nasā’ī, as stated by the author (musannif) may Allāh have mercy on him, and it is from the hadīth of Uthman bin Hunayf may Allāh be pleased with him. He said a blind man came to the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ and said: “O Messenger of Allah Supplicate for me!” He ﷺ said: “If you wish, I will pray for you, but if you wish, you have been patient, and this is better for you”. He said: “Supplicate”: The Messenger ﷺ instructed him to make Wudū, and to make a perfect Wudū – al-Nasā’ī’s narration adds in some of the pathways (turuq) to make Wudū and pray two Rakah and then the supplication as mentioned in al-Tirmidhī as stated by the author from the statement “O Allāh I ask you…”. It was also extracted by Ibn Māja , and al-Hākim in his mustadrak who stated that it is sahīh (authentic) according to the criterion of the two shaykhs (Imām Muslim and Imām Bukhāri) and his narration had the addition: so he supplicated with this Du’ā and he arose and was able to see. al-Tirmidhī said the Hadīth is Hasan Sahīh (good and authentic) gharīb (singular in chain) and we know this narration through this channel only from the Hadīth of Abū Jā’far and that is not al-Khatmī!, al-Nasā’ī is alone in mentioneing the prayer, but al-Tabarāni also extracted and mentions the same in some of his reports (turuq). The hadīth is authentic (sahīh), it was also authenticated by Ibn Khuzaymah, and these and other Imāms have authenticated this narration.* In the narration there is dalīl (evidence) of the permissibility of Tawassul (taking a means) through the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ to Allāh Azza wa-Jal with the firm belief (I’tiqad) that the only active agent (Fā’il) is Allāh subhānahu wa’ta’āla, for verily He alone is the giver and the preventer, what He wishes, is, and what He does not wish, never can be.”

End of Quote

• A repetition of a sentence occurs here in the published text.

Page 170, [2002 2nd edition], al-Imām al-Allāma Muhammad bin Alī al-Shawkānī, edited by Zahīr Shafīq al-Kābī, Dār al-Kitāb ul-Arabī, Beirut-Lebanon.