The Story Behind the Du’a
One of the early Sufi scholars, Yahya bin Muaz -may Allah have mercy on him-, would recite the following du’a:
THE DU’A OF YAHYA BIN MUAZ
O Divine! How can I fear You, when You are the Generous (Karim)? How can I not fear You, when You are the Almighty (Aziz)?
O Divine! With what face do I make supplication to You, being a sinful servant? How can I not, when You are Allah, the Lord of generosity?
O Divine! What a gracious Lord You are, allowing Your servant to sin. You feel bashful because of Your generosity!
O Divine! You desire that I love You, while You have no need for me. Then how can I not desire that You love me, when I am in complete need of You with all aspects of my being?
O Divine! I am a stranger, and Your remembrance is also strange. I have become familiar with it; the stranger becomes familiar with his companion.
My Lord! The most delightful grace in my heart is hoping from You, my Rabb. The sweetest words on this sinful person’s tongue are Your praise, and the most beloved time for this wretched, criminal servant is being in Your presence (didar).
O Divine! I have no merit to enter Paradise. Nor do I have the strength to endure Hell. Now, the matter rests with Your grace. When they say on the Day of Judgment, “What did you bring?” I will say: – O Lord! I could only bring tangled hair and beard, old clothes, a world’s worth of sorrow, and heaps upon heaps of shame from this worldly prison. Wash me with the water of mercy, clothe me in new garments, and do not ask me for anything!
O Allah! Do not make us among those who supplicate with their bodies while their hearts flee. O You who are most precious to us! Do not render us worthless in Your sight!