[salat al-’utaqa’ fi Shawwal]
Excerpted from Ghunya al-Talibin li-Tariq al-Haqq
As for the ritual prayer of those who are emancipated [from the Fire of Hell] in [the month of] Shawwal [salat al-’utaqa’ fi Shawwal], we learn from a traditional report, transmitted [by a chain of reliable authorities] from Anas [ibn Malik]* (may Allah be well pleased with him), that Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) once said:
“If someone performs eight cycles of ritual prayer [raka’at] in the month of Shawwal, either during the night or during the day-reciting in each cycle the Opening Sura of the Book [Fatihat al-Kitab] [one time] and “Qul Huwa’llahu Ahad [Say: ‘He is Allah, One!’]” fifteen times-and if, when he has finished performing his ritual prayer [salat], he glorifies Allah [sabbaha] seventy times, and invokes Allah’s blessing upon the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) seventy times — by Him who sent me as a Prophet bearing the Truth [bi’l-Haqqi Nabiyyan], no servant [of the Lord] will perform this ritual prayer [salat], without Allah causing the fountains of wisdom [yanabi’ al-hikma] to well up in his heart, and causing his tongue to speak with wisdom, and showing him both the sickness of this world and the cure for that sickness.
By Him who sent me as a Prophet bearing the Truth [bi’l-Haqqi Nabiyyan], if someone performs this ritual prayer [salat], exactly as I have just described it, that person will not raise his head from his final prostration [sujud] until Allah has granted him forgiveness, and if he dies, he will die as a martyr [shahid] to whom forgiveness has been granted.
Nor will any servant [of the Lord] perform this ritual prayer [salat], in the course of a journey, without Allah making it smooth and easy for him to travel and arrive at his intended destination. If he is burdened with debt, Allah will settle his debt. If he is needy, Allah will satisfy his needs.
By Him who sent me as a Prophet bearing the Truth [bi’l-Haqqi Nabiyyan], no servant [of the Lord] will perform this ritual prayer [salat], without Allah (Exalted is He) granting him — for every letter [harf] and every verse [aya] [of his Qur’anic recitation] –a makhrafa in the Garden of Paradise.”
Someone asked: “And what is this makhrafa, O Messenger of Allah?” So he went on to explain (Allah bless him and give him peace):
“[The term makhrafa is applied to] orchards in the Garden of Paradise, through which the rider may travel for a hundred years without passing beyond the shade of just one of the trees that grow there.”
ISNAD FOR THE HADITH as provided by Shaikh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, may Allah be pleased with him: This report was conveyed to us by Shaikh Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn al-Banna’, on the authority of his father, Shaikh Abu ‘Ali ibn Ahmad ibn ‘Abdi’llah ibn al-Banna’, who cited the following chain of transmission [isnad]: Abu ‘Abdi’llah al-Husain ibn ‘Umar al-’Allaf — Abu ‘l-Qasim al-Qadi [the Judge] — Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Siddiq — Ya’qub ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman — Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ja’far al-Marwazi — ’Ali ibn Ma’ruf — Muhammad ibn Mahmud — Yahya ibn Shubaib-Hamid — Anas [ibn Malik] (may Allah be well pleased with him) — the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).
