بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Bismillāhir-rahmānir-rahīm
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
O Allah, You are Al-Basīr, the All-Seeing, and Al-Khabīr, the All-Aware. You know what I have put before You today, and You know it better than I know it myself. You know every hour, day, week, month and year I have spent upon it, every doubt that visited me, and every hope I carried in my heart. Nothing of it is hidden from You.
O Allah, if there is goodness in the Trials & Tribulations challenge — true goodness, lasting goodness, goodness that pleases You — then bless it, develop it, and bring it to fruition. Place Your barakah within it from its beginning to its end, and make every part of it a source of khayr in this world and the next.
O Allah, make my intentions pure. I know that ambition, ego, self-interest and ill-intent have all polluted this concept throughout its lifespan, from gestation to fruition. So I ask You, O Turner of Hearts, to purify it of every corrupt intention. Wash it clean of whatever is diseased within it.
Remove from it the nafs and replace it with ikhlās. Make it something You are not ashamed of, even if I am. If any part of it has its roots in showing off, or in arrogance, misguided intention, or in something I have not even noticed in myself, uproot it, O Allah, and plant something sound in its place.
O Allah, make it a cause of genuine good. Let it open hearts and cultivate empathy in all who encounter it and take part in it. Soften people through it. Make it a meeting point of compassion, where human beings are reminded of one another’s dignity and worth. Let no participant leave it smaller than when they arrived, but let each one leave with something of benefit be it a thought, a feeling, renewed commitment or expanded understanding.
O Allah, You are Al-Ghanī, the Self-Sufficient, and it is only through Your permission that wealth moves. Make the Trials & Tribulations challenge a means by which funds reach those who are in need — the poor, the overlooked, the suffering — and do not let that wealth be diverted, diminished, or corrupted along the way. Make it a clean sadaqah and let it carry the light of those who gave it all the way to those who receive it.
O Allah, let those who participate in this grow. Grow them as individuals, in character, patience, and self-knowledge. Grow them in faith, drawing them nearer to You, making them more conscious of You and more grateful to You. And grow them as communities, knitting people together, bridging distances, building the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood that this ummah so badly needs. Let no one emerge from it the same as they entered, except that the change is for the better.
O Allah, protect all who are involved in running the Trials & Tribulations challenge, and all who take part. Shield them from physical harm. Guard their minds from anxiety, distress, or psychological damage. Protect their spirits from confusion, doubt, or spiritual harm. Make the space it creates a safe space, in every dimension of what that means. Send Your angels to watch over every gathering that comes from it, and do not allow Shaytan to find any opening through which to corrupt what is intended for good.
O Allah, You know that this has occupied me for years. You know the weight of it, the obsession of it, the way it has returned to me again and again even when I tried to set it aside. I ask You: do not let all of that be wasted. Do not let it be a distraction that led nowhere, or worse, a trail that led somewhere harmful. Transform it. Take whatever of it is good and multiply it, and take whatever of it is my own confusion or ego or misguidance and burn it away. Let something of true value emerge from all these years of thinking.
O Allah, accept this from me. You are Al-Qabīl, the One who accepts. I am not worthy of acceptance, but You accept from whom You will, and Your mercy is wider than my unworthiness. Accept it despite my shortcomings, doubts, and mixed intentions. Make it something that counts in Your ledger, not only in the world’s estimation.
And O Allah, do not make me blameworthy on account of it. If I have made errors in developing it, forgive them. If I have claimed more than I should, humble me and correct me before it causes harm. Do not let me be a source of misguidance for myself, nor for anyone who takes this on after me, nor for anyone who participates in it. If it contains any seed of deviation — from Your straight path, sound knowledge, or the wellbeing of people — expose it to me clearly before it spreads, and give me the courage and the clarity to correct it.
O Allah, I place this before You as a servant places something before a King, not knowing whether it will be received or returned. I ask that You receive it. Correct what is in it. Bless what is sound. And let it be — in whatever form You decree — a means of good for Your creation and a source of reward in my account on the Day when all accounts are settled.
آمِينَ يَا رَبَّ الْعَالَمِينَ
Āmīn, yā Rabbal-‘ālamīn
Āmīn, O Lord of all the worlds.
