Dua Kumayl is NOT Authentic

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Dua Kumayl

Dua Kumayl is NOT Authentic

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

“Dua Kumayl” is a trademark supplication of the Twelver school, and it is popular to the extent that it perhaps is the most recited supplication known by Shi’ites today. Ironically, upon investigation, it turned out that even this renowned supplication has questionable origins roots. Shi’ite scholars, however, are never outspoken about this reality simply because it would be devastating to the masses.

Even some of the more outspoken reformers, such as Mohammad Asif Mohseni in his Mashra’at Al-Bihar (1/405), couldn’t openly dismiss and reject the ascription of this supplication to Amir Al-Mu’minin. When commenting on the 118 narrations of the first chapter in the twenty third volume of Bihar Al-Anwar, Mohseni said:

“The authentic reports in this chapter are: 8, 9, 18, 26, 27, 29, 31, 32, 34 in a version, 35, 37, 41, 46, 54, 58, 62, 63, 65, 67, 68, 74, 75, 76, 77 in a version, 84, 86 in a version, 90, and the 91st narration which is though to have come from ‘Ali (as).”

It is needless to say that Dua Kumayl is the 91st report in this chapter.

A few pages later, Mohseni proceeds to use even more doubtful language when explaining the report. Prior to explaining the text of of Dua Kumayl, he said: “Assuming it was uttered by ‘Ali, it would mean….”

This suspicious language drove us to look further into the personality known as Kumayl b. Ziyad in order to discern his reliability in Shi’te biographical sources.

The earliest Shi’ite biographical source to mention anything about Kumayl b. Ziyad is Rijal Al-Barqi. On page 59, the author refered to him as Kumayl b. Ziyad Al-Nakha’i. He listed him under a chapter titled: “The Companions [of Ali] from Yemen”. Nothing else is mentioned about this transmitter. It should also be noted that there is a difference of opinion regarding who is the actual author of Rijal Al-Barqi.

The second biographical source to mentioned Kumayl is Rijal Al-Tusi, which is a more authoritative book. Al-Tusi mentioned Kumayl b. Ziyad Al-Nakha’i on two occasions. He is listed under the chapers: “those who narrated from Ali” (p. 80) and “the companions of Al-Hasan b. Ali” (p. 95).

There is no other mention of Kumayl in any early authoritative Shi’ite biographical rijali sources. In other words, his reliability has not been endorsed, nor has it been negated. It is thus evident that Kumayl b. Ziyad was not a significant figure. It is also seems like his trademark “Dua Kumayl” only reached canon status around four centuries after his death, as one expect him to receive more attention from early Shi’ite biographical sources otherwise.

Dua Kumayl’s Chain of Transmission

The earliest and most reliable source that contains the isnads for Dua Kumayl is Al-Saduq’s Kamal Al-Deen 1/274-279. Al-Saduq listed the following chains of transmission for the supplication:

1- From my father, and Mohammad b. Al-Hasan, and Mohammad b. Ali Majilowaih, from Mohammad b. Abi Al-Qasim Majilowaih, from Mohammad b. Ali Al-Kufi Al-Qurashi Al-Muqri’, from Al-Nasr b. Muzahim Al-Minqari, from Omar b. Sa’ad, from Fudhail b. Khadeej, from Kumayl b. Ziyad.

2- From Mohammad b. Al-Hasan b. Ahmad b. Al-Waleed, from Mohammad b. Al-Hasan Al-Saffar, and Sa’ad b. Abdullah, and Abdullah b. Ja’afar Al-Himyari, from Ahmad b. Mohammad b. Eisa, and Ibrahim b. Hashim, from Abdulrahman b. Abi Najran, from Asim b. Humaid, from Abi Hamza Al-Thamali, from Abdulrahman b. Jundub, from Kumayl b. Ziyad Al-Nakha’i.

3- From Abdullah b. Mohammad b. Abdullah b. Mohammad b. Abdulwahab b. Nasr b. Abdulwahab Al-Qurashi, from Abi Bakr Mohammad b. Dawud b. Sulaiman Al-Nisapuri, from Musa b. Ishaaq Al-Ansari the judge of Ray, from Abu Nu’aym Dhirar b. Surad Al-Taymi, from Asim b. Humaid Al-Hannat, from Abi Hamza, from Abdulrahman b. Jundub Al-Fazzari, from Kumayl b. Ziyad.

4- From Ahmad b. Ziyad b. Ja’afar Al-Hamadani, from Ali b. Ibrahim b. Hashim, from his father, from Abdulrahman b. Abi Najran, from Asim b. Humaid, from Abi Hamza Al-Thamali, from Abdulrahman b. Jundub Al-Fazzari, from Kumayl b. Ziyad Al-Nakha’i.

5- From Abi Sa’eed Mohammad b. Al-Hasan b. Ali b. Mohammad b. Ahmad b. Ali b. Al-Salt Al-Qummi, from Mohammad b. Al-Abbas Al-Harawi, from Abi Abdullah Mohammad b. Ishaaq b. Sa’id Al-Sa’di, from Abi Hatim Mohammad b. Idrees Al-Hanthali Al-Razi, from Isma’il b. Musa Al-Fazzari, from Asim b. Humaid, from Abi Hamza Al-Thamali, from Abdulrahman b. Jundub, from Kumayl b. Ziyad Al-Nakha’i.

6- From Abu Ahmad b. Mohammad b. Ahmad Al-Sarraj Al-Hamadani, from Abi Ahmad Al-Qasim b. Abi Salih, from Musa b. Ishaaq Al-Qadhi Al-Ansari, from Abi Nu’aym Dhirar b. Surd, from Asim b. Humaid Al-Hannat, from Abi Hamza Al-Thamali, from Abdulrahman b. Jundub Al-Fazzari, from Kumail b. Ziyad.

7- From Abi Mohammad Bakr b. Ali b. Mohammad b. Al-Fadhl Al-Hanafi Al-Shashi, from Abi Bakr Mohammad b. Abdullah b. Ibrahim Al-Bazzar Al-Shafi’i, from Musa b. Ishaaq Al-Qadhi, from Dhirar b. Surad, from Asim b. Humaid Al-Hannat, from Abi Hamza Al-Thamali, from Abdulrahman b. Jundub Al-Fazzari, from Kumayl b. Ziyad Al-Nakha’i.

8- From Abi Al-Hasan Ali b. Abdullah b. Ahmad Al-Aswari, from Makki b. Ahmad b. Sa’dawaih Al-Bartha’ee, from Abdullah b. Mohammad b. Al-Hasan Al-Mashriqi, from Mohammad b. Idrees Abu Hatim, from Isma’il b. Musa Al-Fazzari, from Asim b. Humaid, from Abi Hamza Al-Thamali, from Thabit b. Abi Safiyyah, from Abdulrahman b. Jundub, from Kumayl b. Ziyad.

Note: Thabit b. Abi Safiyyah is Abu Hamza Al-Thamali.

9- From Abi Al-Hasan Ahmad b. Mohammad b. Al-Saqr Al-Sa’igh Al-Adl, from Musa b. Ishaaq Al-Qadhi, from Dhirar b. Surd, from Asim b. Humaid Al-Hannat, from Abi Hamza Al-Thamali, from Abdulrahman b. Jundub Al-Fazzari, from Kumayl b. Ziyad.

10- From Abi Mohammad Bakr b. Ali b. Mohammad b. Al-Fadhl Al-Hanafi Al-Shashi, from Abi Bakr Mohammad b. Abdullah [b.] Ibrahim Al-Bazzar Al-Shafi’i, from Bishr b. Musa Abu Ali Al-Asadi, from Abdullah b. Al-Haytham, from Abi Ya’qub Ishaaq b. Mohammad b. Ahmad Al-Nakha’i, from Abdullah b. Al-Fadhl b. Abdullah b. Abi Al-Hayyaj b. Mohammad b. Abi Sufyan b. Al-Harith b. Abdulmutalib, from Hisham b. Mohammad [b.] Al-Sa’ib Abu Munthir Al-Kalbi, from Abi Mikhnaf Lut b. Yahya from Fudhail b. Khadeej, from Kumayl b. Ziyad.

11- From my father, from Sa’ad b. Abdullah, from Ya’qoub b. Yazeed, from Abdullah b. Al-Fadhl b. Eisa, from Abdullah Al-Nawfili, from Abdullah b. Abdulrahman, from Hisham Al-Kalbi, from Abi Mukhnaf Lut b. Yahya, from Abdulrahman b. Jundub, from Kumayl b. Ziyad.

12- From Mohammad b. Ali Majilowaih, from his uncle Mohammad b. Abi Al-Qassim, from Mohammad b. Ali Al-Kufi, from Nasr b. Muzahim, from Abi Mukhnaf Lut b. Yahya Al-Azdi, from Abdulrahman b. Jundub, from Kumayl b. Ziyad Al-Nakha’i.

13- From Ja’afar b. Mohammad b. Masroor, from Al-Hussain b. Mohammad b. Amer, from his uncle Abdullah b. Amer, from Mohammad b. Abi Umair, from Aban b. Uthman Al-Ahmar, from Abdulrahman b. Jundub, from Kumayl b. Ziyad Al-Nakha’ee.

14- From Mohammad b. Musa Al-Mutawakil, from Mohammad b. Abi Abdullah Al-Kufi, from Mohammad b. Isma’il Al-Barmaki, from Abdullah b. Ahmad, from Abi Zuhair Abdulrahman b. Musa Al-Barqi, from Mohammad b. Al-Zayyat, from Abi Salih, from Kumail b. Ziyad.

Analysis of the Chains of Transmission

Though these redactions of Dua Kumayl may seem plentiful at first glance, they actually are only three hadiths. They are not independent, and most of these chains of transmission converge to a single transmitter.

To break things down, it is apparent that the common link in reports #2 – 9 and 11 – 13 is Abdulrahman b. Jundub Al-Fazzari. He  is the primary transmitter of Dua Kumayl, yet he was not mentioned in any early biographical sources. According to Al-Jawahiri, in Al-Mufid min Mu’jam Rijal Al-Hadith (p. 309), he us unknown.

Reports reports #1 and # 10 are transmitted through Fudhail b. Khadeej. He too was not mentioned in any early biographical sources, and he therefore is an obscure and unknown transmitter.

The final report is the most problematic of them all, since it contains three unknown transmitters, Abdulrahman b. Musa Al-Barqi, Mohammad b. Al-Zayyat, and Abu Salih.

Another noteworthy phenomenon in these reports is their conflicting transmission:

  • Reports #11 and #12 quote Lut b. Yahya transmitting the tradition from ‘Abdurrahman b. Jundub, while report #10 quotes him transmitting it from Fudhail b. Khadeej.
  • Report #1 quotes Nasr b. Muzahem transmitting the tradition from ‘Omar b. Sa’d, while report #12 quotes him transmitting it from Lut b. Yahya.

Summary

The inauthenticity of this supplication stems from a variety of defects in its transmission:

  1. All of its chains of transmission converge to Kumayl b. Ziyad, who is an obscure and unknown transmitter in early Shi’ite biographical sources.
  2. Reports #2-9 and #11-13 further converge to another unknown transmitter beneath Kumayl, ‘Abdurrahman b. Jundub.
  3. Reports #1 and #10 converge to Fudhail b. Khadeej beneath Kumayl, and he is unknown as well.
  4. Report #14 contains three consecutive unknown transmitters.
  5. Several redactions of this report, as presented above, conflict in their chains of transmission.
  6. The source of all of these reports is the forger, Al-Saduq Ibn Babuyah.

It is important to note that the aforementioned chains of transmission for Dua Kumayl very well may include other  factors that add to its weakness, however, we have pointed out the most obvious flaws in a concise fashion for the benefit of the readers.

Dua Kumayl

English Translation of the Fabricated Supplication Known as Dua Kumayl

In the Name of Allah, the All-merciful, the All-compassionate

O Allah, I ask You by Your mercy, which “..embraces all things” (7:156),

And by Your strength, through which You dominate all things,

And toward which all things are humble

And before which all things are lowly;

And by Your invincibility through which You overwhelm all things,

And by Your might, which nothing can resist;

And by Your tremendousness, which has filled all things;

by Your force, which towers over all things;

And by Your face, which subsists after the annihilation of all things,

And by Your Names, which have filled the foundations of all things;

And by Your knowledge, which encompasses all things;

And by the light of Your face, through which all things are illumined!

O Light! O All-holy!

O First of those who are first

And O Last of those who are last!

O Allah, forgive me those sins which tear apart safeguards!

O Allah, forgive me those sins which draw down adversities!

O Allah, forgive me those sins which alter blessings!

O Allah forgive me those sins which hold back supplication!

O Allah forgive me those sins which cut down hopes!

O Allah, forgive me those sins which draw down tribulation!

O Allah, forgive me every sin I have committed and every mistake I have made!

O Allah, verily I seek nearness to You through remembrance of You,

And I seek intercession from You with Yourself,

And I ask You through Your munificence to bring me near to Your proximity,

And to provide me with gratitude toward You

And to inspire me with Your remembrance.

O Allah, verily I ask You with the asking of a submissive, abased and lowly man to show me forbearance, to have mercy on me

And to make me satisfied and content with Your apportionment and humble in every state.

O Allah, I ask You with the asking of one whose indigence is extreme,

And who has stated to You in difficulties his need

And whose desire for what is with You has become great.

O Allah, Your force is tremendous, Your place is lofty,

And Your deception is hidden, Your command is manifest,

And Your domination is overwhelming, Your power is unhindered

And escape from Your governance is impossible.

O Allah, I find no forgiver of my sins,

No concealer of my ugly acts,

And no transformer of any of my ugly acts into good acts but You

There is no god but You!

Glory be to You, and Yours is the praise!

I have wronged myself,

And I have been audacious in my ignorance

And I have depended upon Your ancient remembrance of me and Your favour toward me.

O Allah! O my Protector!

How many ugly things You have concealed!

How many burdensome tribulations You have abolished!

And how many stumbles You have prevented!

And how many ordeals You have repelled!

And how much beautiful praise, for which I was unworthy, You have spread abroad!

O Allah, my tribulation is tremendous,

And my bad state is excessive,

And my acts are inadequate,

And my fetters have tied me down,

And my far-fetched hopes have held me back from my gain

And this world with its delusions, my own soul with its offences and my delay have deceived me.

O my Master! So I ask You by Your might not to let my evil works and acts veil my supplication from You,

And not to disgrace me through the hidden things You know of my secrets

And not to hasten me to punishment for what I have done in private:

My evil acts in secrecy and my misdeeds

And my continuous negligence and my ignorance

And my manifold passions and my forgetfulness.

And by Your might, O Allah, be kind to me in all states

And be gracious to me in all affairs!

My God and my Lord! Have I any but You from whom to ask removal of my affliction and regard for my affairs!

My God and my Protector! You put into effect through me a decree in which I followed the caprice of my own soul

And did not remain wary of adorning my enemy.

So he deluded me through my soul’s caprice and therein destiny favoured him

So, in what was put into effect through me in that situation, I transgressed some of Your statutes

And disobeyed some of Your commands.

So Yours is the argument against me in all of that

I have no argument in what Your destiny put into effect through me therein

nor in what Your decree and Your tribulation imposed upon me.

Now I have come to You, My God, after my shortcoming and my immoderation toward myself,

Proffering my excuse, regretful,

Broken, apologizing,

Asking forgiveness, repenting,

Acknowledging, submissive, confessing.

I find no place to flee from what occurred through me,

Nor any place of escape to which I may turn in my affairs,

Other than Your acceptance of my excuse and Your entering me into the compass of Your mercy.

O Allah, so accept my excuse,

Have mercy upon the severity of my affliction

And release me from the tightness of my fetters,

My Lord, have mercy upon the weakness of my body, the thinness of my skin and the frailty of my bones.

O Thou who gave rise to my creation, to the remembrance of me, to the nurture of me, to goodness toward me and to nourishment on me,

Bestow upon me for the sake of Your having given rise [to me] with generosity and Your previous goodness to me!

O Allah, my Master and my Lord!

Can You see Yourself tormenting me with Your fire after I have professed Your Unity

And after the knowledge of You my heart has embraced,

And the remembrance of You my tongue has constantly mentioned

And the love of You to which my mind has clung,

And after the sincerity of my confession and my supplication, humble before Your lordship?

Far be it from You! You are more generous than that You should squander him whom You have nurtured,

Or banish him whom You have brought nigh,

Or drive away him whom You have given an abode

Or submit to tribulation him whom You have spared and shown mercy.

Would that I knew, my Master, My God and my Protector,

Whether You will give the Fire dominion over faces fallen down prostrate before Your Tremendousness,

And over tongues voicing sincerely the profession of Your Unity and giving thanks to You in praise,

And over hearts acknowledging Your Divinity through verification,

And over minds encompassing knowledge of You until they have become humble

And over bodily members speeding to the places of Your worship in obedience and beckoning for Your forgiveness in submission.

No such opinion is held of You! Nor has such been reported – thanks to Your bounty — concerning You,

O All-generous! My Lord,

And You know my weakness before a little of this world’s tribulations and punishments,

And before those ordeals which befall its inhabitants,

Even though it is a tribulation and ordeal whose stay is short, whose subsistence is but little and, whose period is but fleeting.

So how can I endure the tribulations of the next world and the great ordeals that occur within it?

For it is a tribulation whose period is long, whose station endures and whose sufferers are given no respite,

Since it only occurs as a result of Your wrath, Your vengeance and Your anger,

And these cannot be withstood by the heavens and the earth.

O Master, so what about me?!

For I am Your weak, lowly, base, wretched and miserable slave.

My God! My Lord! My Master! My Protector!

For which things would I complain to You?

And for which of them would I lament and weep?

For the pain and severity of chastisement?

Or for the length and period of tribulation?

So if You take me to the punishments with Your enemies,

And gather me with the people of Your tribulation

And separate me from Your friends and saints,

Then suppose, My God, my Master, my Protector and my Lord that I am able to endure Your chastisement,

How can I endure separation from You?

And suppose that I am able to endure the heat of Your fire,

How can I endure not gazing upon Your generosity?

Or how can I dwell in the Fire while my hope is Your pardon?

So by Your might, my Master and my protector, I swear sincerely, if You leave me with speech,

I will lament to You from the midst of the Fire’s inhabitants with lamentation of the hopeful;

I will cry to You with the cry of those crying for help;

I will weep to You with the weeping of the bereft;

And I will call to You, Where art Thou, O Sponsor of the believers,

O Goal of the hopes of Your knowers,

O Aid of those who seek assistance,

O Friend of the hearts of the sincere

And O God of all the world’s inhabitants!

Can You see Yourself — Glory be to You My God, and Yours is the praise — hearing within the Fire the voice of a slave surrendered to

Imprisoned there because of his violations,

Tasting the flavour of its torment because of his disobedience,

And confined within its levels because of his sin and crime,

While he laments to You with the lament of one hopeful for Your mercy,

And calls to You with the tongue of those who profess Your Unity

And entreats You by Your lordship!

My Protector, so how should he remain in the chastisement, while he has hope for Your previous clemency?

Or how should the Fire cause him pain while he expects Your bounty and mercy?

Or how should its flames burn him, while You hear his voice and see his place?

Or how should its groaning encompass him, while You know his weakness?

Or how should he be convulsed among its levels, while You know his sincerity?

Or how should its keepers torture him while he calls out to You, “O Lord”?

Or how should he have hope of Your bounty in freeing him from it, while You abandon him within it?

Far be it from You! That is not what is expected of You,

Nor what is well-known of Your bounty,

Nor it is similar to the goodness and kindness Thou hast shown to those who profess Your Unity.

So I declare with certainty that were it not for what You have decreed concerning the chastisement of Your deniers

And what You have foreordained concerning the everlasting home of those who stubbornly resist,

You would make the Fire, all of it, coolness and safety,

And no one would have a place of rest or abode within it.

But You —holy are Your Names—hast sworn that You will fill it with the unbelievers,

Both Jinn and men together,

And that You will place those who stubbornly resist therein forever.

And You — majestic is Your eulogy— said at the beginning and were gracious through kindness as a favour,

“What? Is he who has been believer like unto him who has been ungodly? They are not equal” (32:18)

My God and my Master! So I ask You by the power You have apportioned

And by the decision which You have determined and imposed and through which You have overcome him toward whom it has been put into

That You forgive me in this night and at this hour

Every offence I have committed,

And every sin I have performed,

And every ugly thing I have concealed

And every folly I have enacted

Whether I have hidden or announced it,

Or I have concealed it or manifested it

And every evil act which You have commanded the Noble Writers to record,

Those whom You have appointed to watch over what appears from me

And whom You have made, along with my bodily members, witness against me.

And “You were Yourself the Watcher” (5:117) over me from behind them,

And the Witness of what is hidden from them

But through Your mercy You concealed it

And through Your bounty You veiled it.

[And I ask You] that You bestow upon me an abundant share of every good You send down,

Or kindness You confer,

Or goodness You unfold,

Or provision You spread out,

Or sin You forgive,

Or error You cover.

My Lord! My Lord! My Lord!

My God! My Master! My Protector! Owner of my bondage!

O He in whose hand is my forelock!

O He who knows my affliction and my misery!

O He who is aware of my poverty and indigence!

My Lord! My Lord! My Lord!

I ask You by Your Truth and Your Holiness

And the greatest of Your Attributes and Names,

That You make my times in the night and the day inhabited by Your remembrance,

And joined to Your service

And my works acceptable to You,

So that my works and my litanies may all be a single litany

And my occupation with Your service everlasting.

My Master! O He upon whom I depend!

O He to whom I complain about my states!

My Lord! My Lord! My Lord!

Strengthen my bodily members in Your service,

And fortify my ribs in determination

And bestow upon me earnestness in my fear of You

And continuity in my being joined to Your service

So that I may move easily toward You in the battlefields of the foremost

And hurry to You among the prominent

And desire fervently Your proximity among the fervently desirous

And move nearer to You with the nearness of the sincere

And fear You with the fear of those who have certitude

And gather with the believers in Your vicinity.

O Allah, whoever desires evil for me, desire [it] for him!

whoever deceives me-deceive him!

And make me one of the most excellent of Your slaves in Portion from You,

And the nearest of them in station to You

And the most elect of them in proximity to You.

For that cannot be attained except by Your bounty.

And grant generously to me through Your munificence,

And incline toward me with Your splendour

And protect me with Your mercy!

And make my tongue remember You without ceasing

And my heart enthralled by Your love!

And be gracious to me by answering me favourably,

And nullify my slips

And forgive my lapses!

For Thou hast decreed Your worship for Your servants

And commanded them to supplicate You

And assured them that they would be answered.

So toward You, my Lord, I have turned my face

And toward You, my Lord, I have extended my hand.

So by Your might, comply with my supplication

And make me attain my desires!

Do not severe my hopes of Your favours

And spare me the evil of my enemies from among the jinn and men!

O He, whose pleasure is quickly achieved!

Forgive him who owns nothing but supplication

For You do what You will.

O He whose Name is a remedy,

And whose remembrance is a cure,

And whose obedience is wealth!

Have mercy upon him whose capital is hope

And whose weapon is tears!

O Ample in blessings!

O Repeller of adversities!

O Light of those who are lonely in the darkness!

O Knower who was never taught!

Bless Muhammad and Muhammad’s household!

And do with me what is worthy of You!

And Allah bless His messenger and the holy Imams of his household

And give them abundant peace!

 

The translation of Dua Kumayl was taken from here.

… and praise be to Allah – the Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

41 Comments

  1. Kumayl Ibn Ziyad Nakha’i was a confidant amongst the companions of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (as) and his son Imam Hasan Mujtaba and this sublime Du’a was first heard from the beautiful, though anguished, voice of Imam Ali (as). This dua has been narrated in Mesbah al-Mutahajjid[1] of Shaykh Tusi, one of the greatest Shia scholars and author of Shia’s two trustworthy jurisprudential books. The book Mesbah al-Mutahajjid is one of the old and reliable sources. Shaykh Abbas Qommi, the author of Mafatih al-Jenan has quoted this supplication from the same book. Therefore, based on the recommendations, this supplication is recited on the night of the 15th of Sha’ban and on the eve of (i.e. evening preceding) every Friday with the intention of seeking divine forgiveness.
    This holy supplication is full of pleading, humbleness, and submission to the Almighty Creator. It has both mystical and moral contents and there is nothing contradictory to the religious beliefs of any Islamic sects that may require to be confirmed and authenticated. For this reason, the Wahabis of Saudi Arabia who are strict and rigid do not prevent public and open recitation of this supplication.
    Conclusively, this dua is valid and we recommend its recitation.

    [1] Tusi, Muhammad bin Hasan, Mesbah al-Mutahajjid, p. 844, Fiqh al-Shi’ah Institute, Beirut, 1411 A.H; Sayyid bin Tavoos, Iqbal al-A’mal, p. 706, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyah, Tehran, 1367 (1988).

    • Brother Syed, in regards to your comment. You have not provided any evidence that Kumayl was a “confidant” of Ali. Plus, the inclusion of the narration in Mesbah Al-Mutahajjid and Mafatih Al-Jenan does not make a narration authentic. Most importantly, Dua Kumayl does contradict the religious beliefs of most Islamic sects, since many versions of it include that Ali stated that the earth will not be left without a Qa’im (Imam).

      See these links for those variations here:
      http://alkafeel.net/islamiclibrary/hadith/kamal/kamal/16.html#64

      And here:
      http://www.haydarya.com/maktaba_moktasah/10/book_18/02.htm

      • The dua is beautifull and powerfull. It is authentic and I as well as a lot of other muslims, shia and sunni, vouch for it. Allahu Akbar!! May Allah accept our dua-e-kumayl. Aaaaameeen!

        • Mr. Shia, Please read the article and don’t just respond to the title. We proved through evidence it isn’t authentic, if you have counter-evidence present it. As for eloquence, Arabs at the time were very eloquent and they can easily fabricate a Dua like this or even better.

      • @ Twelver, you said “Most importantly, Dua Kumayl does contradict the religious beliefs of most Islamic sects, since many versions of it include that Ali stated that the earth will not be left without a Qa’im (Imam).”

        If Imam Ali stated that the word will never be left without an Imam, he was 100% correct. Or have you never heard of the Mahdi, Muhammad al Mehdi, the 12 Imam…

        • The Mahdi that you speak of is non-existent.

          Sunnis believe in a Mahdi that will come at the end of times, not in a Mahdi that has been hiding for over a thousand years.

  2. There is no need to do a PhD on this topic. Common sense tells us that when Allah is glorified, one should accept it with an open heart. When a prayer that just asks for forgiveness with humility is mentioned, one should not go around finding faults of other. Only Satan will do such a thing. Hope common sense prevails.

    • Anything can sound eloquent and religious, the books of Du`a’ are filled with such things, but not all are authentic and correctly attributed to certain people.

  3. dua kumayl touches the heart of many people. It is a amazing dua indeed.
    Surely the person who gives up the sins of this world and is in constant remembrance of God and hereafter, or / and wants God more then anything else in his / her life.
    If this person listen’s to dua kumayl, and other dua’s of ahlulbayt (as) (such as dua abu hamza thamali, dua arafah, dua jawshan kabeer, etc.) constantly, he will seek nearness to Allah very quickly then other people.
    Your intentions might be to verify the authenticity, but please don’t promote people to not to listen to this dua, as dua’s of ahlulbayt (as) are very powerful and touchful to the heart and soul.

    • Dear brother, why do you even assume that this is from the supplications of ahlulbayt in the first place?
      Please do not make assumptions. We all know that so many people have fabricated narrations, tales, and supplications to Ahlulbayt. How is this any different?

      • salaam brother, may the Lord do good to you and to all the viewers. It is very much understood from the way dua kumayl is written, that this dua can be from none but from Imam Ali (as). If you were to somehow deny that Dua Jawshan Kabeer was not from prophet Muhammad (saaw), then no one would believe you, as how can any ordinary man come up with 1001 praises of Allah that dua jawshan kabeer has. This goes the same with dua Arafat from Imam Hussain (as), everyone knows that only Imam Hussain (as) can say these types of words in dua Arafat. Anyway, with personal experience I know dua Kumayl strongly touches the heart and soul of people. I have heard people cry like I’ve never heard others cry like this before for the love of Allah just by listening to dua kumayl. This is why I will always believe dua kumayl is from Imam Ali (as), but we must respect everyone’s opinion.

        • As I said you obviously don’t read a lot of Arab literature as there’s A LOT of poetry and Duas that were extremely eloquent and beautiful yet that doesn’t mean they’re prophetic. I’ve read Du`a’ Kumayl in full Arabic and I am familiar with the eloquence and the vocabulary of those times, I assure you many people at the time of `Ali and after his time were more than capable of writing such a Du`a’.

          You can believe whatever you want at the end of the day as you said, but can you back up your belief with evidence is what really matters.

      • If you believe this Dua is not authentic and “many people have fabricated narrations, tales, and supplications” then why are there not so many different versions of it? There may be different chains of narrations but the Dua is still in its original text. As long the text of the material concerned is not altered, one may consider it authentic.

        • I can show you a lot of different versions of many fabricated reports, having different versions means nothing, any number of liars can make up hundreds of versions of whatever you want over a relatively short period of time.

    • Your logic tells you that all the companions of Ali and Hasan are reliable, and that companions of the Prophet peace be upon him are not?

  4. What if this Dua was not authored by Ali but was authored by Abu bakr, Umar or Uthman? What if Kumayl ibn Ziyad was not a companion of Ali but a companion of the latter people? Then would you have written such an article?

    Your logic tells that anything authored by the Ahlulbayt (AS) can be unreliable, distorted, twisted, fabricated or changed but not that of the companions. You say that many people at the time of `Ali and after his time were more than capable of writing such a Du`a. Then tell me those names, their du’as and their chain of narrations.

    • Sir, not only have I weakened a fake du’a attributed to Ali, but I have weakened merits attributed to Abu Bakr, Omar, and Uthman.

      Emotions have no place in this website. If you believe that this du’a is authentically attributed to Ali, then I expect academic proofs from you.

        • That’s easy, here’s a narration from Fada’il al-Siddiq by al-Maqdisi:

          عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ : إِنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَنِي أَنْ أَتَّخِذَ أَبَا بَكْرٍ وَالِدًا

          [(With his chain) from `Ali ibn abi Talib, The Messenger (saw) said: “Allah has ordered me to consider Aba Bakr in position of my father.”]

          If you check our book on the virtues of Abu Bakr in the link below, you will find that we did not include it since it’s a very weak report (Ibn Mujashi` is unknown).

          Link: http://twelvershia.net/2015/01/27/book-virtues-hazrat-abu-bakr/

      • Maa shaa Allaah! Keep up the good work which opens the eye of those who are seeking the truth!
        Certainly this is an excellent hobby, especially when it is compared to flogging and beaten yourself up and causing blood during Muharram time.

  5. Youre a Sunni …Of course it is discernible …Youre a load of rubbish . I know bcoz I am a Sunni myself. Yr a disgrace to mankind …let alone to the Sunni and muslim ummah …

  6. This is a Sunni site.
    Your so-called “proof” is fake and displays nothing but bughz and enmity towards the Shi’i faith and its esteemed Ulema.
    Even the fact that your website name is so misleading and sneaky demonstrates that your sole purpose is to spread lies and misinformation about Shi’i beliefs.
    Dua Kumail is 100% authentic and if even I presented you with a million proofs, you would refuse to accept each one.
    What a pathetic waste of time.

    • No need for a million proofs. We just request one.

      As for your suggestion about us being misleading, the very slogan of our site states that we refute Shia misconceptions.

  7. Salaamun. I find it perplexing that we assume a narration is authentic if the chain of transmission contains only the names of people considered reliable. What is to prevent falsification of chains of transmission? One might consider it more likely that a narrative has not been tampered with, if the chain of transmission includes problematical names.
    Source criticism, which may also have weaknesses of credibility, would suggest that the dua in question might not be authentic simply because there is no primary historical evidence for it.

    • Wa alaykum alsalam,

      If a chain is falsified, then the root of that falsification would be known. If that root is not known, then the narration is also declared weak due to anonymity. To fabricate a hadith is easy, but to not get caught doing it is another story.

  8. You delve so deeply into trying to prove that the supplication is not authentic, that you robbed yourself of the beauty of the text. You claim that the Arabs of the time were eloquent and could produce a text such as this or better. I challenge you to produce a dua or a set of verses, written at that time, that matches Du’a Kumayl in not only eloquence but depth of meaning, understanding of Tauhid, methodology of supplicating, etc. The bounties and blessings of this supplication are abundant and no amount of sophistry that you try to spin around it will bring down its value. It is a well-known fact that chains of narration will always be brought into question as far as the Shi’a are concerned especially during this time, a period when they were hunted, treated like outcasts, villified, and cast aside as lepers by the rulers of the time. Much has been lost in history because of this intellectual tyranny against the Aale Muhammad (AS) and jts followers.

    • Brother, all you have to do is read, I’m not going to bother looking them up for you just because you’re lazy, the books are filled with eloquence, just read the introductions of al-Baqillani for instance. If eloquence is what you seek then you can refer to Majmou` Rasaa’il ibn al-Jawzi to find sermons which he wrote that are more eloquent than those attributed to `Ali in Nahj-ul-Balaghah.

      Link to book: http://waqfeya.com/book.php?bid=10596

      Here’s an eloquent sermon for instance by an Arab in the sixth century, if a man in the sixth century can come up with such a great eloquent sermon (without dots I might add) then anybody in Koufah could have written a Du`a’ especially since the Arabs were more eloquent in the past.

      الحمد لله الواحد الأحد، وكل أحد سواه مطلع الأعداد، العادل الصمد، ولا والد ولا ولد، ملك وصور وحكم، ولا مساعد ولا إسعاد، وأمهل وأهلك أهل الرد والإلحاد، وسمك السماء ومسك ولا حامل ولا عماد، وسطح المهاد وأوسع ولا أوطار ولا وساد، وكل طامع حاد عما سمع حال حاله لما حاد، ولا وصول إلا لواله صد لأمل الوصال حلاوة الوساد، ولا ورد إلا الساهر وأورد طعم المورود مرار السهاد، إله وعد أهل السعادة أعلى محل وأكرم مراد، وهدى أهل الإهمال سوء المرصاد وهول المعاد، عالم سامع مدرك مسمع لا عمل لعامل إلا ما أراد، الملهد هالك والموحد مالك ومسلك السلامة سعادة الوراد، أحمده وأوحده حمدا أعده للأهوال الحداد، وأمدح رسوله أكرم العموم وأكرم الآحاد، سلام الله واصل ما لاح لامع وأدلهم سواد، مواصل صدور أهل الكمال والسداد، وسلم وكرم. وصلى على محمد المكرم .ـ

      I also would have dropped the Du`a’ of Kumayl simply because of its size, the Prophet (saw) always taught brief supplications nor was it from the habits of the Sahabah or Tabi`een to make very long supplications, let alone one which is a few pages long like Du`a’ Kumayl.

      This for example is a random section from a sermon by `Umar bin al-Khattab that I stumbled upon in Tareekh al-Tabari today, it’s eloquence easily matches that of anything in Nahj-ul-Balaghah if not exceeding much of it:

      فَلَوْ كُنْتُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ مُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مَحْرُومِينَ خَيْرَ الدُّنْيَا عَلَى شُعْبَةٍ مِنَ الْحَقِّ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِهَا ، وَتَسْتَرِيحُونَ إِلَيْهَا مَعَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ بِاللَّهِ وَدِينِهِ ، وَتَرْجُونَ بِهَا الْخَيْرَ فِيمَا بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ ، لَكَانَ ذَلِكَ ، وَلَكِنَّكُمْ كُنْتُمْ أَشَدَّ النَّاسِ مَعِيشَةً ، وَأَثْبَتَهُمْ بِاللَّهِ جَهَالَةً ، فَلَوْ كَانَ هَذَا الَّذِي اسْتَشْلاكُمْ بِهِ ، لَمْ يَكُنْ مَعَهُ حَظٌّ فِي دُنْيَاكُمْ غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ ثِقَةٌ لَكُمْ فِي آخِرَتِكُمُ الَّتِي إِلَيْهَا الْمَعَادُ وَالْمُنْقَلَبُ ، وَأَنْتُمْ مِنْ جَهْدِ الْمَعِيشَةِ عَلَى مَا كُنْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ ، أَحْرِيَاءُ أَنْ تَشُحُّوا عَلَى نَصِيبِكُمْ مِنْهُ ، وَأَنْ تَظْهَرُوهُ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ قَبْلَهُ ، مَا إِنَّهُ قَدْ جُمِعَ لَكُمْ فَضِيلَةُ الدُّنْيَا وَكَرَامَةُ الآخِرَةِ ، وَمَنْ شَاءَ أَنْ يُجْمَعَ لَهُ ذَلِكَ مِنْكُمْ ، فَأُذَكِّرُكُمُ اللَّهَ الْحَائِلَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ ، إِلا مَا عَرَفْتُمْ حَقَّ اللَّهِ ، فَعَمِلْتُمْ لَهُ ، وَقَسَرْتُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ عَلَى طَاعَتِهِ ، وَجَمَعْتُمْ مَعَ السُّرُورِ بِالنِّعَمِ خَوْفًا لَهَا وَلانْتِقَالِهَا ، وَوَجَلا مِنْهَا وَمِنْ تَحْوِيلِهَا ، فَإِنَّهُ لا شَيْءَ أَسْلَبُ لِلنِّعَمَةِ مِنْ كُفْرَانِهَا ، وَإِنَّ الشُّكْرَ أَمْنٌ لِلْغَيْرِ ، وَنَمَاءٌ لِلنِّعْمَةِ ، وَاسْتِيجَابٌ لِلزِّيَادَةِ ، هَذَا لِلَّهِ عَلَيَّ مِنْ أَمْرِكُمْ وَنَهْيِكُمْ وَاجِبٌ

  9. Well open your heart and mind. The dua is a miracle within its self. What makes you the judge and jury? So, the other Holy Imam’s if this dua isn’t authentic don’t you think they would of refuted it?
    Your trying to bring light to what? It sounds like your trying to bring doubt into this beautiful tradition.
    I have personal experiences of miraculous properties. I have experienced miracles while reading this dua and after reading it.
    If the other Imams approved this dua who are you to dis prove it are you closer to Allah than the Holy Imams the infallible ones.
    You are silly……..sounds like you have to much free time and Satan is playing with you. Suggestion get married have children and pray to Allah for forgivness. I will pray for you to Mr.12er. May Allah guide you to his light and away from destructive ignorance.

    • Bring an authentic narration that the Imams approved it. Otherwise, they never approved it let alone heard of it.

      (PS. I know a bunch of Christians who find miraculous properties when worshiping the cross)

  10. I find it so funny that you have such audacity as to frame yourself as a appreciator of Arab literature and call this and that ‘more eloquent’ than Nahjul-Balaghah, firstly it’s called “The Peak Of Eloquence” because people recognised a long time ago it’s superiority. For little over a century this book has been in use at Al-Azhar in rhetoric and literature studies precisely for this reason! Don’t get me wrong you are free to say “I like this better than that” just don’t try to pull the wool over people’s eyes.

    • It’s called the “peak of eloquence” since that’s what its author called it, why would we change the name of the man’s book? Secondly, know that eloquence is actually subjective for the most part.

      For example al-Tha`alabi called his book “Sihr-ul-Balaghah” or “The magic of eloquence” and you can see that from the great eloquence presented in the introduction of the man’s book:

      الحمد لله الذي لم يستفتح بأفضل من اسمه كلام ، ولم يستنجح بأحسن من صنعه مرام . الحمد لله الذي جعل الحمد مستحق الحمد حتى لا انقطاع ، وموجب الشكر بأقصى ما يستطاع . الحمد لله مانح الأعلاق ، وفاتح الأغلاق . الحمد لله إبداء وإعادة . الحمد لله معز الحق ومديله ، ومذل الباطل ومزيله . الحمد لله المبين أيده ، المتين كيده . الحمد لله ذي الحجج البوالغ والنعم السوابغ والنقم الدوامغ . الحد لله معز الحق وناصره
      سليل أكرم نبعة ، وقريع أشرف بقعة . جاء بأمته من الظلمات إلى النور ، وأفاء عليهم الظل بعد الحرور . محمد نبي الله وصفوته وخيرته من بريته ، مؤكد دعوته بالتأييد . ومفرد شريعته بالتأبيد ، خيرة الله من خلقه . وحجته في أرضه ، والهادي إلى حقه . والمنبه على حكمه ، والداعي إلى رشده . والآخذ بفرضه ، مبارك مولده ، سعيد مورده ، قاطعة حججه . سامية درجه ، ساطع صباحه . متوقد مصباحه ، مظفرة حروبه . ميسرة خطوبه ، قد أفرد بالزعامة وحده ، وحتم بأن لا نبي بعده ، نفصح بشعاره على المنابر . وبالصلاة عليه في المحاضر ، ونعمر بذكره صدور المساجد ، وتستوي في الانقياد لأمره حالتا المقر والجاحد ، آخر الأنبياء في الدنيا عصراً . وأولهم يوم الدين ذكراً ، وأرجحهم عند الله ميزاناً . وأوضحهم حجة وبرهاناً ، صدع بالرسالة ، وبلغ في الدلالة . ونقل الناس من طاعة الشيطان الرجيم ، إلى طاعة الرحمن الرحيم . أرسله الله للإسلام قمراً منيراً ، وقدراً على أهل الضلال مبيراً

  11. You know what the worst thing about the discussion is? The way it is being conducted is against the beautiful spirit of the Qur’aan and Muhammad (pbuh).

    The way this is being conducted is drawing us apart. Muslims, Shia, Sunni, Wahaabi, etc. alike should be united.

    The Qur’aan itself encourages Muslims to invite the other people of the book to “come to common terms”; so how about with our own muslims – “come to more common terms”!

    We can politely choose to disagree on such matters but keep up the beautiful of unity vision alive and strong as that is the spirit of the Qur’aan.

    We are supposed to conduct ourselves in this manner even with non-muslims as much as possible since the Qur’aan also says that all children of Adam are brothers.

    As for muslims, however, the bond should be very strong. Alas! it takes two hands to clap and for this to work, each party must put this beautiful and elegant vision at the forefront.

    Wouldn’t that force of elegant unity be a force to recon with. Add other non-muslim just humans to this and Lo and behold! we will have a Utopian society.

  12. Alas! A scholar on the net disputing the 14 centuries of scholarship with a ‘scholarly’ delusion of facts.

    If what is presented are the ‘facts’ that are supposed to convince believers of dua a kumayl that it is not authentic, then it is at best a pathetic attempt. Only his co- travelers will find such an attempt as scholarship.

    NO scholar of the school of Ahlul Bayt worth his name will give such a pretender a second look. They are too grand for such.

    So, use the net, get some cheap audience like us and continue to delude yourself of scholarship. After all it’s a free world. We shall meet in the hereafter and we shall see.

    Carry on, scholar.

    • Where’s the scholarly defense? I agree you guys are cheap but I disagree that the “school of Ahlul Bayt” you’re referring to has any actual “scholars”, heck I wouldn’t even call it a “school” you guys are no more than a “bunch”. You’d be surprised at how many fairy-tales your bunch believes in.

      • Why the breakdown in your decorum now? You made reasonable responses (not necessarily scholarly in nature) but i notice a departure in tone at this point. Criticism should be insult free. Rudeness usually reflect a lack of confidence in one’s point of view.

        • Well said mal.
          I have read the article with much interest and all the comments and have respect for all opinions. I appreciated the comments and work of the administrator which we all at least should reflect on.
          Yet the last comment really turned me off.
          It is now an hour before fajr of 21 Ramadan. I pray that Allah brings unity among us Muslims or we will destroy ourselves and each other.

          May Allah bring us all together in Jannah where there will be no more disputes. Ameen

  13. what i find extremely interesting is that not a single person had responded to the actual request for authenticity or proof that the twelver is requesting…..on the contrary the defences, skirting around the issue….negative and personal insults etc etc…..come on brothers! deal with the issue not the person…

  14. I come from both background of Shia and sunni and I am ever interested in research that would clarify disputed issues.

    I appreciate the work of the administrator and would read more of the comments on other issues.

    I only recommend to do all this great work with the spirit of brining unity rather that separation.

    The language makes a difference. I hope to so some of such work myself soon insha’Allah.

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