Tahajjud and Istikhara
Tahajjud
Narrated Ibn Abbas:
When the Prophet got up at night to offer the Tahajjud prayer, he used to say: Allahumma lakal-hamd. Anta qaiyimus-samawati wal-ard wa man fihinna. Walakal-hamd, Laka mulkus-samawati wal-ard wa man fihinna. Walakal-hamd, anta nurus-samawati wal-ard. Walakalhamd, anta-l-haq wa wa’duka-l-haq, wa liqa’uka Haq, wa qualuka Haq, wal-jannatu Han wan-naru Haq wannabiyuna Haq. Wa Muhammadun, sallal-lahu’alaihi wasallam, Haq, was-sa’atu Haq. Allahumma aslamtu Laka wabika amantu, wa ‘Alaika tawakkaltu, wa ilaika anabtu wa bika khasamtu, wa ilaika hakamtu faghfir li ma qaddamtu wama akh-khartu wama as-rartu wama’a lantu, anta-l-muqaddim wa anta-l-mu akh-khir, la ilaha illa anta (or la ilaha ghairuka). (O Allah! All the praises are for you, You are the Holder of the Heavens and the Earth, And whatever is in them. All the praises are for You; You have the possession of the Heavens and the Earth And whatever is in them. All the praises are for You; You are the Light of the Heavens and the Earth And all the praises are for You; You are the King of the Heavens and the Earth; And all the praises are for You; You are the Truth and Your Promise is the truth, And to meet You is true, Your Word is the truth And Paradise is true And Hell is true And all the Prophets (Peace be upon them) are true; And Muhammad is true, And the Day of Resurrection is true. O Allah ! I surrender (my will) to You; I believe in You and depend on You. And repent to You, And with Your help I argue (with my opponents, the non-believers) And I take You as a judge (to judge between us). Please forgive me my previous And future sins; And whatever I concealed or revealed And You are the One who make (some people) forward And (some) backward. There is none to be worshipped but you . Sufyan said that ‘Abdul Karim Abu Umaiya added to the above, ‘Wala haula Wala quwata illa billah’ (There is neither might nor power except with Allah).
Istikhara
The Prophet (p.b.u.h) used to teach us the way of doing Istikhara (Istikhara means to ask Allah to guide one to the right sort of action concerning any job or a deed), in all matters as he taught us the Suras of the Quran. He said, "If anyone of you thinks of doing any job he should offer a two Rakat prayer other than the compulsory ones and say (after the prayer): — ‘Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi’ilmika, Wa astaqdiruka bi-qudratika, Wa as’alaka min fadlika al-’azlm Fa-innaka taqdiru Wala aqdiru, Wa ta’lamu Wala a’lamu, Wa anta ‘allamu l-ghuyub. Allahumma, in kunta ta’lam anna hadha-l-amra Khairun li fi dini wa ma’ashi wa’aqibati amri (or ‘ajili amri wa’ajilihi) Faqdirhu wa yas-sirhu li thumma barik li Fihi, Wa in kunta ta’lamu anna hadha-lamra shar-run li fi dini wa ma’ashi wa’aqibati amri (or fi’ajili amri wa ajilihi) Fasrifhu anni was-rifni anhu. Waqdir li al-khaira haithu kana Thumma ardini bihi.’ (O Allah! I ask guidance from Your knowledge, And Power from Your Might and I ask for Your great blessings. You are capable and I am not. You know and I do not and You know the unseen. O Allah! If You know that this job is good for my religion and my subsistence and in my Hereafter–(or said: If it is better for my present and later needs)–Then You ordain it for me and make it easy for me to get, And then bless me in it, and if You know that this job is harmful to me In my religion and subsistence and in the Hereafter–(or said: If it is worse for my present and later needs)–Then keep it away from me and let me be away from it. And ordain for me whatever is good for me, And make me satisfied with it). The Prophet added that then the person should name (mention) his need.
UNESCO Award for Dr. SM Haq
July 14, 2011 by TMO · Leave a Comment
DAWN
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO on its 50th Commemorative Anniversary, held on 22nd June 2011 at the UNESCO Headquarters, Paris , awarded Professor Dr. S.M.Haq of Pakistan a Commemorative Medal for his outstanding contributions to the program activities of the Commission in Ocean Science and Services.
Dr. Haq is the first Pakistani to have received this award from the IOC of UNESCO.
Dr. Haq’s involvement in the IOC program and activities dates back to 1961, when he, at the invitation of the IOC/ Scientific Committee of Oceanic Research (SCOR) of ICSU, participated in its meeting held in Delhi to finalize the arrangements for the launching of the International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE ; 1960-65) with IOC as the coordinating body.
As part of Pakistan’s participation in the IIOE activity, Dr. Haq, with the support of the University of Karachi and in close cooperation with and support of the Directorate of Hydrography of the Pakistan Navy, led oceanographic cruises, consisting of a team of young national scientists, on board the P.N.S. Zulfiquar, covering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The data collected during the cruises were later incorporated in the Indian Ocean Atlas, published by the IOC.
Serving as Head of the Capacity Building program activities of the IOC, (1978-1990) Dr. Haq was responsible for the introduction and implementation of a wide range of measures to enhance marine science capacity of a number of coastal and island states of the Caribbean, Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and East and West African coasts. These activities were timely, considering the adoption by the international community of the final text of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS : : 1982) and, later, the provisions adopted by the UN Conference on Environment for Development (UNCED : 1992), which triggered national interest world-wide for marine sciences in new and extended areas of national jurisdictions offshore.
The overall result of these contributions was seen in the progressive involvement of developing countries in regional and global scientific program as well as their increased awareness of the importance of coastal and ocean sciences in the context of national development.
Born in Hyderabad (India) and educated at the Osmania University, Dr. Haq immigrated to Pakistan in 1954. He is now a US citizen, residing permanently in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dr. Haq obtained his Ph.D. in 1960 in Marine Science from the Marine Science Centre of University of N. Wales. He was a post-doctoral Fulbright Fellow at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Mass., (1963-65) and a recipient of the post-doctoral Nuffield award at the Marine Biological Association of the U.K. (1973). His scientific work covered the vast areas of the Irish Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Western Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean as part of his research studies. He Published numerous scientific pares in international journals, including as joint editor of a book on “Coastal Management imperative for Maritime Developing Nations,” published by the Kluwer Academic Publishers of the Netherlands.
At the national level (Pakistan), Dr. Haq served as the founder-director of the Institute of Marine Biology at the University of Karachi, 1970-78. He was a member of the Pakistan Delegation to the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1976), where he made important contributions to the negotiating text dealing with the role of Marine Scientific Research in the New Ocean Regime.
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