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The Sheltering Cave of Ramadan

The prayer we should make as we enter the month of Ramadan is the prayer spoken by the People of the Cave who were sincere, who chose to go into seclusion from the world and seek the Face of their Lord.

Our Ramadan is this cave for us.

This is the prayer of the People of the Cave and the spirit with which we should enter Ramadan:

“Rabbana aatina min ladunka rahmah wa hayyi’ lana min amrina rashada.”

This prayer is saying:

‘Our Lord, closer to us than ourselves,

taking care of us,

Nourisher of our souls,

Cultivator of our consciousness!

Give us from You a sense of belonging,

Reclaim us and affirm our sense of belonging to You,

And give us maturity, good solutions, and tawfiq, success, and firmness in the endeavours that we are embarking upon.

Another prayer we should also say when starting important actions, projects, and seasons - as well as during and after, is this prayer God has given to the Prophet to recite:

“Rabbi adkhilni mudkhala sidqin wa akhrijni mukhraja sidq, Waj'alli min ladunka sultanan naseera.”

'My Lord, closer to me than myself,

Nourisher of my soul,

Caretaker of my heart,

Allow me to enter this matter with sincerity-

Allow me to exit this matter with sincerity-

And give us, from Your Power, the success to experience all of this matter with sincerity.’

This prayer can also be understood in this way:

'My Lord, closer to me than myself,

Nourisher of my soul,

Caretaker of my heart,

Allow me to embark on this project, action, or season in my life

With an attitude of investing all the gifts You have given me,

Giving it all I’ve got-

Pouring my heart and my best self into it.

And allow me to entrust the process and the results to You completely,

Not seeking any credit for myself, nor getting anxious about how things go,

Relinquishing all desire to be the master in control;

And give us, from Your Power, the success to do all of this with sincerity.’

Say these prayers as often as you can.

Shaykh Hamdi Ben Aissa

— (via islamicrays)