Intentions for Attending a Gathering of Khayr [1] from Habib Sa’ad Al-Aydarus’ Book of Intentions

1. To conserve one’s time
2. To follow the command of the Prophet ﷺ
3. So that Allah will not miss you where He has commanded you to be
4. To draw closer to Allah, the Majestic
5. To purify your inward
6. To increase the number [attending such gatherings]
7. To be in a good state if death were to descend upon you
8. To be attached to the people of virtue
9. To defeat Satan, the nafs, passions and all desires for base things
10. To imitate the angels
11. To raise one’s degree with Allah, Most High

[1] The word “khayr” in Arabic means good or goodness. A majlis of khayr is a gathering of goodness established upon, and in accordance with, the Qur’an and the Sunnah and in which sacred ‘ilm is taught, studied, practised and encouraged or the name of Allah is remembered.

نيات حضور مجلس الخير

   نويت حفظ الوقت وامتثال أمر الحبيب صلى الله عليه وسلم ، وألا يفقدني الله حيث أمرني ، والتقرب إلى الله عزوجل وتصفية باطنه ، وتكثير سوادهم وأن أكون على حال طيبة إذا نزل عليّ الموت ، والارتباط بأهل الخير والتغلب على الشيطان والنفس والهوس والدنيه ، ومشابهة الملائكة ، ورفع درجته عند الله تعالى

Intentions for Visiting the Shuyukh taken from Habib Sa’ad Al-Aydarus’ Book of Intentions

1. To benefit from them in both religious and worldly matters

2. To fulfil the following command of the Prophet:

” جالسوا الكبراء “

“Be in the company of the great ones.”

3. To attain from them (i.e. from being in their presence) the mercy that descends upon them

4. To obtain a gaze i.e. nazrah (نظرة) from them by which Allah will rectify your state and all of your affairs [1]

5. Intend to be in the gathering of the righteous

6. Intend that Allah may purify your heart

7. Intend that Allah will bring you together (with the shaykh) inwardly, as He has brought you together outwardly

[1] The gaze (نظرة) of the ulama’, who are established in ‘ilm and men who have arrived at the hallowed precincts, is a beneficial theriac. If one of them gazes at a truthful man he can, by the light of his inner eye, discover the aptitude and competence of the sincere man to receive Allah’s special gifts. There then comes into his heart love for the genuine aspirant and via the inner eye he gazes at him with the gaze of love. Such [elite] are amongst the soldiers of Allah, the Exalted, and they thus confer, through their gaze, sublime states [to people] and raise their stations. What does a rejecter reject of Allah’s Power? Indeed Allah, Transcendent and Exalted be He, in the same way as He has given some snakes (known as al-Silanah) [the power to destroy man by a mere look], He has also given the power of the gaze to some of His elect servants such that when they gaze at a sincere seeker, they accord him a state and a life [an eternal life of the heart, is what is meant here says Al-Habib Abd ar-Rahman bin Mustafa al-Aydarus]. And it was the custom of our Shaykh, may Allah bestow mercy upon him, to walk round Masjid al-Khif at Mina looking at the faces of the people. When he was asked about this he would say, ‘Allah has indeed servants who when they gaze at a person, it accords him bliss (sa’adah).

نيات زيارة الشيوخ

  نويت الاستفادة منه في دينه ودنياه ، وامتثال أمر الحبيب صلى الله عليه وسلم في قوله : ” جالسوا الكبراء ” ، وأن ينال من الرحمة التي تنزل عليهم ، وأن ينال نظره منه يصلح الله له حاله كله ، وينوي أن يجالس الصالحين ، وأن يطهر الله قلبه ، وأن يربط مابينه في الباطن كما ربطه في الظاهر

Intentions for Invoking the Salawat and Salam upon the Prophet ﷺ taken from Habib Sa’ad Al-Aydarus’ Book of Intentions, which reproduced Imam Al-Haddad’s Niyyat of Invoking Salawat and Salam upon the Prophet ﷺ

Allahumma, I intend by my invocation of Salawat and Salam upon the Prophet ﷺ to conform with Your command, to comply with Your book, and to follow the Sunnah of Your Prophet Muhammad ﷺ out of love for him ﷺ, longing for him ﷺ and in exaltation of what is due to him ﷺ; to honour him ﷺ because he ﷺ is deserving of it; so accept this from me, by Your Favour and Kindness, and remove the veil of heedlessness from my Heart and make me from amongst Your righteous servants.

Allahumma, increase him ﷺ in honour in addition to the honour You have already conferred upon him ﷺ, and increase him ﷺ in glory to supplement the glory You have already given to him ﷺ, and elevate his ﷺ rank among the ranks of the Messengers, and his ﷺ degree among the degrees of the Prophets.

I ask You for Your Pleasure and for Paradise, O Lord of the worlds; and for contentment in the religion, in this world, and in the hereafter; and to die whilst living in accordance with the Book, the Sunnah and the Jamà’ah, and by the testimony of faith, without changing or altering it.

And forgive me for what I have committed, by Your Favour and Kindness towards me. Indeed, You are the Forgiver and the Merciful. And bestow Salawat and Salam upon our master Muhammad ﷺ and his Family and Companions and give them peace.

اللهم إني نويت بالصلاة على النبي امتثالاً لأمرك ، وتصديقاً لكتابك واتباعاً لسنة نبيك محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم ومحبة فيه وشوقاً وتعظيماً لحقه ، وشرفاً له وكونه أهلاً لذلك فأقبلها مني بفضلك وإحسانك وأزل حجاب الغفلة عن قلبي ،واجعلني من عبادك الصالحين

اللهم زده شرفاً على شرفه الذي أوليته وعزاً على عزه الذي أعطيته ، وأعلي مقامه في مقامات المرسلين ودرجته في درجات النبيين ، أسألك رضاك والجنة يارب العالمين مع العافية في الدين والدنيا والآخرة ، والموت على الكتاب والسنة والجماعة وكلمة الشهادة من غير تبديل وتغيير

واغفر لي ماارتكبته بفضلك وإحسانك عليّ إنك أنت التواب الرحيم وصلى الله على سيدنا محمد وآله وصحبه وسلم