Some of the sages have related particular devotional practices for the last Wednesday of Ṣafar, involving voluntary prayer, Qur’anic recitation, and supplication. Several such practices are preserved in the devotional traditions of Tarīm and elsewhere.
These are voluntary devotional practices transmitted from some of the sages. They should not be treated as obligatory or as established Prophetic practices. As with other voluntary prayers, do not perform them during the prohibited times for nafl prayer — in particular, after Fajr until sunrise, and after ʿAṣr until sunset.
A Simple Practice: Six Rakʿahs and a Duʿāʾ
If you would like to do something simple, pray six rakʿahs of voluntary (nafl/mustaḥabb) prayer:
- In the first rakʿah, recite Āyat al-Kursī after Sūrat al-Fātiḥah.
- In the remaining five rakʿahs, recite Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ after Sūrat al-Fātiḥah.
- After completing the six rakʿahs, recite the following duʿāʾ.
The duʿāʾ:
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ بِأَسْمَائِكَ الْحُسْنَى، وَبِكَلِمَاتِكَ التَّامَّاتِ، وَبِحُرْمَةِ نَبِيِّكَ سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ ﷺ، أَنْ تَحْفَظَنِي وَأَنْ تُخَفِّفَنِي وَأَنْ تُعَافِيَنِي مِنْ بَلَائِكَ، يَا دَافِعَ الْبَلَايَا، يَا مُفَرِّجَ الْهَمِّ، وَيَا كَاشِفَ الْغَمِّ، اكْشِفْ عَنِّي مَا كَتَبْتَ عَلَيَّ فِي هَذِهِ السَّنَةِ مِنْ هَمٍّ أَوْ غَمٍّ، إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ. وَصَلَّى اللهُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا.
Translation:
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
O Allah, I ask You by Your Beautiful Names, Your Perfect Words, and by the honour of Your Prophet, our master Muḥammad ﷺ, to protect me, to lighten [my burdens], and to grant me well-being from Your tribulation. O Repeller of tribulations, O Reliever of worry, O Disperser of grief: remove from me whatever You have decreed for me in this year of worry or sorrow. Surely, You have power over all things.
May Allah send blessings and abundant peace upon our master Muḥammad, and upon his Family and Companions.
(This form of the duʿāʾ combines the wording as it is used in this simple six-rakʿah practice with the closely related version supplicated in Shaykh al-Dayrī’s Mujarrabāt, below — where it appears in a shorter form after a different prayer.)
The Fuller Practice (from the ʿAlawī Tradition of Tarīm)
The following fuller practice is described as customary among some of the sayyids of the Bā ʿAlawīs in Tarīm and elsewhere. One should recite it with the intention of protection, sufficiency, and repelling calamities from oneself, one’s children, and whoever one wishes to protect — from harm to self, wealth, or otherwise.
1. Sūrat al-Falaq, with introductory verse and duʿāʾ
Before reciting the surah, one says the following verse:
فَاللَّهُ خَيْرٌ حَافِظًا وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ
“So Allah is the best of guardians, and He is the Most Merciful of the merciful.” (Qur’an 12:64)
And before that, one says:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أُقَدِّمُ إِلَيْكَ بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ وَأَوْلَادِي وَأَهْلِ دَائِرَتِي (ومن أراد ذكرهم)
“O Allah, I present before You myself, my children, and the people of my household” — and whoever wishes may name others here.
Then one recites, beginning with:
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَقِ ﴿١﴾ مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ ﴿٢﴾ وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ ﴿٣﴾ وَمِن شَرِّ النَّفَّاثَاتِ فِي الْعُقَدِ ﴿٤﴾ وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ ﴿٥﴾
“In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Say: I seek refuge in the Lord of daybreak, from the evil of that which He created, and from the evil of darkness when it settles, and from the evil of the blowers [of malice] in knots, and from the evil of an envier when he envies.” (Sūrat al-Falaq, 113:1–5)
And after the surah, one again says, as before:
فَاللَّهُ خَيْرٌ حَافِظًا وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ
“So Allah is the best of guardians, and He is the Most Merciful of the merciful.”
2. Repeating This Facing Six Directions
One then says: “and from my right, and from my left, and from their oaths” (وعن يميني وعن يساري وعن أيمانهم), and recites Sūrat al-Falaq and the above verse while turning to face the right side. One then does likewise, in turn, facing the remaining five of the six total directions — left, front, back, above, and below — reciting each time exactly as done facing the right, and moving continuously between them without pause.
Then one says:
وَمُحِيطًا بِي وَبِهِمْ
“…and encompassing me and them.”
…and recites the surah and the verse once more.
3. The Seven-Times Supplication
After this, one supplicates with the following duʿāʾ, seven times:
اللَّهُمَّ يَا كَافِيَ الْبَلَاءِ اكْفِنَا الْبَلَاءَ قَبْلَ نُزُولِهِ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ (٧ مرات)
“O Allah, O Sufficer against calamity, spare us calamity before it descends from the sky.” (×7)
4. The Seven Verses of Peace (Salām)
Likewise, one recites the following seven Qur’anic verses of peace (salām) — each repeated three times — intending safety for oneself and for whoever is mentioned first. It is said that in this lies a treasure of success and joy — that these verses be written down and washed off with water, and that water then be drunk.
The first:
سَلَامٌ قَوْلًا مِن رَّبٍّ رَّحِيمٍ
“Peace, a word from a Merciful Lord.” (36:58)
The second:
سَلَامٌ عَلَى نُوحٍ فِي الْعَالَمِينَ إِنَّا كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ إِنَّهُ مِن عِبَادِنَا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“Peace be upon Noah among the worlds. Indeed, thus do We reward the doers of good. Indeed, he was of Our believing servants.” (37:79–81)
The third:
سَلَامٌ عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ إِنَّهُ مِن عِبَادِنَا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“Peace be upon Abraham. Thus do We reward the doers of good. Indeed, he was of Our believing servants.” (37:109–111)
The fourth:
سَلَامٌ عَلَى مُوسَى وَهَارُونَ إِنَّا كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ إِنَّهُمَا مِن عِبَادِنَا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“Peace be upon Moses and Aaron. Indeed, thus do We reward the doers of good. Indeed, both of them were of Our believing servants.” (37:120–122)
The fifth:
سَلَامٌ عَلَى إِلْ يَاسِينَ إِنَّا كَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي الْمُحْسِنِينَ إِنَّهُ مِن عِبَادِنَا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“Peace be upon Elias. Indeed, thus do We reward the doers of good. Indeed, he was of Our believing servants.” (37:130–132)
The sixth:
سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُم طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ
“Peace be upon you; you have been good, so enter it, abiding therein forever.” (39:73)
The seventh:
سَلَامٌ هِيَ حَتَّىٰ مَطْلَعِ الْفَجْرِ
“Peace it is, until the emergence of dawn.” (97:5)
The source states that whoever performs this — بِذَلِكَ حُفِظَ وَسَلِمَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ (“by doing this he will, God willing, be protected and kept safe”) — will be granted safety, along with whoever is included among those enclosed within his intention and mention. (Summarized from al-Fuyūḍāt al-ʿArshiyyah, on the virtues and words of Ḥabīb ʿUmar bin al-Ḥabashī — may God benefit us through him in both worlds. Vol. 2, pp. 33–34.)
It is likewise reported from Ḥabīb ʿAydarūs (mentioned above) that one should recite the opening and closing of Imām al-Nawawī’s Ḥizb on this very day.
A Note from Shaykh al-Dayrī’s Mujarrabāt (Tried and Tested Remedies)
Shaykh al-Dayrī relates a benefit mentioned by some People of Spiritual Knowledge and Attainment: that every year, 323,000 calamities descend, and this occurs on the last Wednesday of Ṣafar — making it the hardest day of the year. Whoever, on that day, prays four rakʿahs — reciting in each rakʿah, after Sūrat al-Fātiḥah: Sūrat al-Kawthar once, Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ seventeen times, and the two Sūrahs of Refuge (al-Falaq and al-Nās) five times each — and then, after the final tasleem, supplicates with the following duʿāʾ, will, by Allah’s generosity, be protected from all the calamities that descend that day, their harm not befalling him until the year’s end:
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، وَصَلَّى اللهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، اللَّهُمَّ يَا شَدِيدَ الْقُوَى يَا شَدِيدَ الْمِحَالِ، يَا عَزِيزُ ذَلَّتْ لِعِزَّتِكَ جَمِيعُ خَلْقِكَ، اكْفِنِي مِنْ جَمِيعِ خَلْقِكَ يَا مُحْسِنُ يَا مُجَمِّلُ يَا مُنْعِمُ يَا مُكْرِمُ، يَا مَنْ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ ارْحَمْنِي بِرَحْمَتِكَ يَا أَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ، اللَّهُمَّ بِسِرِّ الْحَسَنِ وَأَخِيهِ، وَجَدِّهِ وَأَبِيهِ وَأُمِّهِ وَبَنِيهِ، اكْفِنِي شَرَّ هَذَا الْيَوْمِ وَمَا يَنْزِلُ فِيهِ، يَا كَافِيَ الْمُهِمَّاتِ، يَا دَافِعَ الْبَلِيَّاتِ: فَسَيَكْفِيكَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ، وَحَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ، وَلَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيمِ، وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
“In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and may Allah exalt and send peace and blessings upon our master Muḥammad and upon his family and companions.
O Allah, O Possessor of Might, O Possessor of Severe Strength, O Severe in Punishment [in dealings], O Mighty One before whose might all creation has been humbled — spare me from all of Your creation, O Most Excellent, O Most Beautiful, O Most Bountiful, O Most Generous, O You besides Whom there is no god, have mercy on me by Your mercy, O Most Merciful of the merciful.
O Allah, by the secret of al-Ḥasan and his brother, and his grandfather, his father, his mother, and his sons, spare me the evil of this day and whatever descends within it, O Sufficer of important matters, O Repeller of calamities: ‘Then Allah will suffice you against them, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing’ (2:137), and Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Disposer of affairs, and there is no power nor strength except by Allah, the Exalted, the Great, and may Allah exalt our master Muḥammad and his family and his companions and grant them peace.”
A related six-rakʿah practice is also given in Shaykh al-Dayrī’s Mujarrabāt, although its arrangement differs from the practice described above under “A Simple Practice.” Whoever wishes to add more may complete six rakʿahs, reciting in the first pair the Fātiḥah and Āyat al-Kursī, and in the second pair Sūrat al-Ikhlāṣ, doing likewise in each pair. Upon finishing with the tasleem, one should send blessings on the Prophet ﷺ in any form, then supplicate with the duʿāʾ given above under “A Simple Practice” (this is a closely related form of the supplication given earlier).
Some of the righteous have mentioned that one who continuously recites Sūrat Yā-Sīn on this day repeats, upon reaching the words of the Almighty — the same verse given as the first of the seven verses of Salām above:
سَلَامٌ قَوْلًا مِّن رَّبٍّ رَّحِيمٍ
“Peace, a word from a Merciful Lord” (36:58)
— three hundred and thirteen times.
Closing supplications
Then one supplicates, saying:
اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَاةً تُنْجِينَا بِهَا مِنْ جَمِيعِ الْأَهْوَالِ وَالْآفَاتِ، وَتَقْضِي لَنَا بِهَا جَمِيعَ الْحَاجَاتِ، وَتُطَهِّرُنَا بِهَا مِنْ جَمِيعِ السَّيِّئَاتِ، وَتَرْفَعُنَا بِهَا أَعْلَى الدَّرَجَاتِ، وَتُبَلِّغُنَا بِهَا أَقْصَى الْغَايَاتِ مِنْ جَمِيعِ الْخَيْرَاتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ وَبَعْدَ الْمَمَاتِ.
“O Allah, send blessings upon our master Muḥammad — a blessing by which You save us from all fears and afflictions, by which You fulfill for us all our needs, by which You purify us from all sins, by which You raise us to the highest ranks, and by which You bring us to the utmost of all good things in this life and after death.”
Then one says:
اللَّهُمَّ اصْرِفْ عَنَّا شَرَّ مَا يَنْزِلُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ، وَمَا يَخْرُجُ مِنَ الْأَرْضِ، إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ، وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
“O Allah, turn away from us the evil of what descends from the sky and what emerges from the earth; indeed, You are capable of all things, and may Allah, the Exalted, send blessings upon our master Muḥammad and upon his family and companions and grant them peace.”
Finally, one supplicates for both this world and the next, asking Allah the Exalted for well-being (ʿāfiyah) and safety (salāmah).
May Allah bless you all, protect us from tribulation and calamity, and grant us well-being in this life and the next.
