Chapter VIII: Music and Ecstasy
are, When you entrust to God, entrust, everything to Him and not a particular thing. The result of entrustment of a particular thing is found in the following story. A certain man with his son came to Hazrat Omar at the time of distribution of money among the people. Hazrat Omar said to him : The appearance of the boy is exactly like yours. I have never found such similarity. The man said : O Commander of the faithful, I am narrating his story to you . When he was in his mother's womb, I was in a journey.
When starting, I said to his mother : I am entrusting the child in your womb to God. Then I went abroad . When I returned , I saw that my wife has died. When I went to her grave, I found a fire burning over her grave. 1 asked the people : Why is the fire ? They said : This is the grave of your wife. Every night, we are seeing this fire . I dug her grave and found a lamp burning there and this child was playing with the lamp, Then, I heard a voice from heaven : You have entrusted this child to Me. Had you entrusted his mother also to Me, you would have found her after your return.
(4) Pray Istikhara prayer before starting. A man came to the Prophet and said : I have made vow for a journey but I have written a death instruction . Tell me with whom I shall keep it — with my son, father or brother ? The Prophet said : If a man prays four rakats in his house before starting on a journey he, cannot leave a better thing than it. He shall pray these four rak'ats after putting on his dress of journey reciting therein chapter Ikhlas and then say : O God, I am seeking . Thy nearness by this prayer.
So make this prayer as my successor for my family and property.
Then the prayer becomes his successor in place of his family and property and guards round his house till he returns.
(5) Recite this invocation at the door of the house at the time of coming out for journey. In the name of God, I depend on God and there is no might and strength except in God. O Lord, I seek refuge to Thee that I may not be misguided and that I may misguide nobody, that I may not slip and that I may not make another slip, that I may not oppress or I may not be oppressed ; that I may not make nobody ignorant or that nobody may make me ignorant. When you walk on, say : God, I have come out with Thy help, on Thee I depend, I consider Thee as my protector and to Thee I turn my face. O God, you are my object of trust and you are my hope. You are sufficient for what troubles me and what
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you know of me. It is glory to live in Thy neighbourhood, Thy presence is sufficient . There is no deity but Thee. O God, increase my- God-fear , pardon my sins, guide me towards good wherever I go.