In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful.
“Allah bears witness that there is no god but He, and (so do) the angels and those possessed of knowledge, maintaining His creation with justice; there is no god but He, the Mighty, the Wise. Surely, the (true) religion with Allah is Islam.”
I, a feeble servant, sinful, disobedient, needy, and ignoble, testify to my Benefactor, Creator, provider of my sustenance, and my Honourer; just as He has testified to Himself and the angels have testified to Him, so have those possessed with knowledge amongst His servants, that there is no god save Him, the Lord of bounties, favours, generosity, and kindness.
He is Omnipotent, Eternal, All-knowing, Everlasting, Ever-living, One and Only, Self-existent, Endless, All-hearing, All-Seeing, Willing, Discriminating, All-aware, and eternally Besought of all.
He is worthy of all these attributes, and He, characterized by all these sublime attributes, was All-powerful prior to the existence of might and power, and All-knowing before the origination of knowledge and reason.
He has always been the Authority when there was neither sovereignty nor wealth. He has been always Glorious under all circumstances. His Being is before all. His Remaining will be after all endings without any extinction or disappearance. He is self-Sufficient at the beginning and at the end and All-independent inwardly and outwardly.
There is no injustice in His judgment, nor is there unfairness in His management, nor is there unfairness in His administration, nor is there any escape from His sovereignty, nor is there any shelter against His firm grip, nor is there any salvation from His punishment. His mercy overtakes His Wrath. None can escape Him when He summons.
He covers all logics for His obligatory decrees, treats absolutely equally the weak and the noble, makes capable to carry out His commands, and makes easy to abstain from His prohibitions. He does not make obedience a burden but according to one’s real capacity.
All glory be to Him! How manifest is His generosity! How sublime is His standing! All glory be to Him! How magnificent is to seek Him! How splendid are His favours!
He has sent the Prophets in order to show His justice, and appointed successors [for the Prophets] in order to make known His munificence and grace.
He has made us of the community of the Chief of Prophets, the most favourable of His saints, the best of His elite ones, and the most sublime of the pure ones; that is Muhammad, may Allah send blessings and benedictions upon him and his Household.
We therefore believe in him, in all that to which he has called us, in the Quran which He revealed to him, and in his successor Ali, appointed by him on the day of Ghadeer, and identified in clear words: “This is Ali”. I testify that there are pious Imams and righteous successors, after the chosen Messenger, from Ali, the subduer of infidels. After him, his eldest son, Hasan bin Ali, thereafter his brother, Husayn, the grandson of the Messenger of Allah, obedience unto whom is the will of Allah; then Ali, the adorer of Allah (A’abid), then Muhammad, the treasure of knowledge (Baaqir), then Ja’far, the truthful (S’aadiq), then Moosa the sagacious (Kaaz’im), then Ali the devoted (Riz’aa), then Muhammad the pious (Taqiyy), then Ali the pure (Naqiyy), then Hasan the gatherer (A’skariyy), Then comes the Argument, Successor, Assumer, Awaited, Well-guided, and Expected on account of whose existence, this world is kept in existence, on account of whose blessing the created beings are provided sustenance, and on account of whose existence the earth and the sky are kept in firmness. Through him, Allah shall fill the earth with equity and justice after it will be filled with inequity and injustice.
I also bear witness that their words are decisive arguments; to comply with their orders is obligatory, the obedience to them is commissioned [by Allah]; to love them is necessary and pre-ordained, and to pattern after them will definitely achieve salvation, but to oppose them will definitely bring about destruction. They are, moreover, the chiefs of all the inhabitants of Paradise, the intercessors on the Judgment Day, and, undoubtedly, the leaders of the inhabitants of the earth, and the best of the satisfied Successors [of the Prophets].
I also bear witness that death is certain, the interrogation by Munkar and Nakeer in the grave is certain, the raising of the dead is certain, the final assemblage is certain, the Discriminating Bridge is certain, the Scales [of deeds] is certain, the calling into account is certain, the record book [of deeds] is certain, Paradise is certain, Hellfire is certain, the Hour [of resurrection] will certainly come, without any dispute, and Allah shall raise up those who are in graves.
O Allah, in Your favour do I put my hope, Your generosity and mercy do I expect confidently. I have no single deed by which I deserve Paradise, nor do I have any act of obedience [to You] due to which I deserve Your pleasure; except that I believe in Your Oneness and Your Justice and I hope for Your benevolence and Your favour.
I thus seek the Prophet and his Household, Your most-beloved ones, to intercede for me before You; and You are verily the most Generous of all those who treat generously and the most Merciful of all those who show mercy.
May Allah send blessings to Our Prophet, Muhammad and upon all of his Household, the pure and immaculate, and send upon them many many benedictions. There is no might and no power except with Allah, the All-high, the All-great.
O Allah! O most Merciful of all those who show mercy, I am depositing with You this faith of mine and my firmness on this belief; and You are the ever-best of all those who keep deposits. You have commanded us to keep safe deposits that are put with us; so, (please) keep for me this deposit to give it back to me at the time of my death and at the time of the interrogation of Munkar and Nakeer; [I beseech You] in the name of Your mercy; O most Merciful of all those who show mercy.
O Allah, I seek Your protection against deviation at the hour of death. O Allah, O most Merciful of all those who show mercy, I am depositing with You this faith of mine and my firmness on this belief; and You are the ever-best of all those who keep deposits. You have commanded us to keep safe deposits that are put with us; so, (please) keep for me this deposit to give it back to me at the time of my death