His Supplication in Seeking Pardon and Mercy

my burden! How many evildoers Thy mercy has overtaken! How many wrongdoers Thy pardon has embraced! 10- So bless Muhammad and his Householdand make me the model of him whom Thou hastaroused through Thy forbearancefrom the deadly infirmities of the Sendersand saved through Thy giving success from the tangled plights of the sinners, so that I may rise up freed by Thy pardon from the bonds of Thy displeasureand released by Thy benefaction from the ties of Thy justice! 11- Surely if Thou dost that, my God, Thou wilt do it to one who does notdeny deserving Thy punishmentor acquit himself from merit for Thy vengeance. 12- Do that, my God, for onewhose fear of Thee is greater than his craving from Thee, whose hopelessness of deliverance is firmer than his hope for salvation! Not that his hopelessness is despair, nor that his expectation is deluded. No, rather his good deeds are fewamong his evil deedsand his arguments are frailin face of everything due from his acts. 13- But Thou, my God, art worthy thatthe righteous not be deluded concerning Theeand the sinners not lose hope in Thee, for Thou art the All-mighty Lord whoholds back His bounty from noneand takes His full right from no one. 14- High exalted is Thy mention above those mentioned! Holy are Thy names beyond those described! Spread is Thy favour among all creatures! Thine is the praise for that, O Lord of the worlds! Hence I follow the interpretation of Sayid ‘Alikhan, who explains the text as follows: ‘The soul is pledged to fulfil the covenant which it has made with God. This covenant, for which it is held accountable when it is sent down into this world, is that it must return to God safe from His displeasure, having observed His commandments and avoided stepping outside His paths which He established through the tongue of the Messenger of God. If the soul fulfils its covenant, it emerges from the ties of its pledge and its recompense is multiplied, just as God has said: Whoso fulfils his covenant made with God, God will give him a mighty wage (48: 10). But if he breaks the covenant and commits that which has been prohibited, he remains a pledge to his works, just as God has said: Every soul shall be a pledge for what it has earned (74: 38). Hence in this verse the Imam asks his Lord to be kind to him by releasing his soul from its pledge and giving it to him. ’