The Prayer of the Bedouin (�al�t al-A`r�b�) ( Baqiyatus salehat)

In his book of Jam�l al-Usb�`, Sayyid Ibn ��w�s has reported the following story from Shaykh al-Tal`akbar� through his own chain of authority that is connected to Zayd ibn Th�bit:

One day, a man from the Bedouins stood up before the Holy Prophet (�) and said, “May Allah accept my father and mother as ransoms for you, O Allah’s Messenger. We live in the desert away from al-Mad�nah and it is unfeasible for us to present ourselves every Friday before you. I therefore want you to teach me an act, which collects the rewards of performing the Friday Prayers so that, when I leave for my people, I will teach them to do it.”

The Holy Prophet (�) said:

When the daylight rises up, you should offer a two-unit prayer. In the first unit, you may recite S�rah al-F�ti�ah once and repeat S�rah al-Falaq seven times. In the second unit, you may recite S�rah al-F�ti�ah once and repeat S�rah al-N�s seven times. When you accomplish the prayer (by saying the tasl�m statement), you may recite �yah al-Kurs� seven times. After that, you should stand up to offer eight units of prayer with two tasl�m statements. After every couple of units, you may sit (for a while) but do not say the tasl�m statement. When you accomplish offering four units of prayer, you should say the tasl�m statement and then stand up for offering the other four units as same as you have just done. In each unit, you may recite S�rah al-F�ti�ah once, S�rah al-Na�r once, and S�rah al-Taw��d twenty-five times. If you accomplish these four units, you may say the tashahhud and tasl�m statements and repeat the following supplicatory prayer seven times:

You can now mention what you need.

Repeat the following litany seventy times:

Then say the following:

I swear by Him Who has sent me and chosen me in truth, I will certainly guarantee Paradise for any believer, man or woman, who offers this prayer as exactly as I have explained. Moreover, he who offers this prayer will not leave his place before Almighty Allah has forgiven his and his parents sins, given him the reward of every individual who performed a prayer in all regions of Muslims, recorded for him the reward of every individual in the east and the west of the earth who observed fasting and offered prayers on that day, and given him rewards that no eye could ever saw and no ear could ever heard.

In his book of Mi�b�� al-Mutahajjid, al-��s� has explained this prayer, yet he has not mentioned the aforesaid supplicatory prayer; rather, he said that when you finish the prayer, you may repeat the following statements seventy times:

The Dedication Prayer

The Infallible Imams (`a) are reported to have said that a servant (of Allah) may offer eight units of prayer on Friday, separating each couple of units with the tasl�m statement. Four of these units may be dedicated to the Holy Prophet (�) while the other four units to Lady F��imah (`a).

On Saturday, other four units of prayer are offered and dedicated to Imam `Al� Am�r al-Mu'min�n (`a). Likewise, four units of prayer may be offered every day and dedicated to one of the Holy Imams respectively. Thus, on Thursday, four units are offered and dedicated to Imam Ja`far ibn Mu�ammad al-��diq (`a). On Friday, eight units of prayer are offered; four of them are dedicated to the Holy Prophet (�) and four to Lady F��imah (`a). On Saturday, four units of prayer are offered and dedicated to Imam M�s� ibn Ja`far al-K��im (`a). Likewise, four units of prayer may be offered every day and dedicated to one of the Holy Imams respectively. Hence, on Thursday, the four units of prayer are dedicated to Imam al-Mahd� the Patron of the Age, may Allah hasten his reappearance. The supplicatory prayer to be said between each couple of units is the following:

You should mention the name of the Imam to whom these units are dedicated.

You may now pray Almighty Allah for any thing you wish.