3

I was advised by an honourable person to chant the following:

Ya Allahu, Ya Rahmanu, Ya Rahim, Ya Rahmatallil Alamin, Ya Shafiul Mudhnibin.

But I want to verify its meaning first. First four phrases are familiar to me, but not the fifth.

What does shafiul mudhnibin mean? Can it be an attribute of or honourable address for Allah? If yes can you also show me how it is written in Arabic?

0

3 Answers 3

6

Due to the limitations of transliteration it's hard to tell exactly, but you're presumably asking about the Arabic phrase شفيع المذنبين (Shafi'u-l-Mudhnabin), which literally means the Intercessor of Sinners, as in someone who acts on the behalf of sinners (e.g. to defend them against the final judgement).

Shafi'u-l-Mudhnabin is a phrase that is sometimes used in reference to the prophet Muhammad, but I've never heard it used as an attribute of Allah Almighty, nor does it really make sense as such an attribute: It implies that He is going to intercede between the sinners and someone, but since Allah Himself would be the one who is actually judging the sinners, that means He'd be interceding between the sinners and Himself.

2
  • 2
    after knowing the correct term, i googled and found here that rahmatun li al-`alamin and shafi` al-mudhnibin are salutations to prophet, not Allah. Jun 14, 2016 at 6:36
  • 1
    as I am not a registered user, I can't upvote or mark it as accepted. thank you for the answer though Jun 14, 2016 at 6:42
4

This is a more correct transliteration of what you mean:
Ya Allahu يا الله,
Ya Rahmanu يا رَحْمَنُ or يا رَحْمَان,
Ya Rahim يا رَحِيمُ,
Ya Rahmatan يا رَحْمَةً lil-'Alamin لِلْعَالَمٍينَ,
Ya Shafi'a يا شَفِيعَ l-Mudhnibin المُذْنِبِينَ.

So the word Shafia can be found in the quran where it is translated as intercessor or mediate.

Al-Mudhnibin or Mudhnibon is a plural of Mudhnib المُذْنِبُ which is the person who committed a sin ذَنْبٌ see for example in the quran (40:3, 81:9 ...).

So the meaning would be "Oh intercessor of the sinners".

Due to the meaning شَفِيعٌ Shafi'a can't be a name of Allah, but could be used to reference the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).

Also Rahmatan lil 'Alamin refers mostly to our Messenger (Peace be upon him) because of the verse of surat al-Anbiya' (21:107).

On the other hand usually when referring to Allah one does say: Ya ghafir a-dhanb (as in surat ghafir (40:3)) or ya Ghafuru (يا غَفُورُ) ya Rahim (which are both names of Allah). And this is the most correct dua'.

I hope this was helpful.

And Allah knows best!

4
  • Yeah these are correct transliteration.
    – Syedah
    Jun 14, 2016 at 11:16
  • So we would pronounce Ya Rahmatal lil Aalameen because of " Laam" after Tanween.
    – Syedah
    Jun 14, 2016 at 13:39
  • 1
    @servant I have my doubts that this rule of tajweed applies for Arabic in general! I remember that a similar question has been on the former Arabic.SE, but the answers there where totally different and were a long way away from each other, so that i couldn't end up with a final conclusion, but a slight tendency towards the statement that tajweed rules don't apply for standard Arabic. But it would sound better of course!
    – Medi1Saif
    Jun 14, 2016 at 13:43
  • 1
    yeah you are right as tajweed is for qirat in particular and for supplications.it would not be must to follow,, not sure.
    – Syedah
    Jun 14, 2016 at 14:10
-1
  • The first three parts are correct to Addrees Allah using them.

  • The fourth may be used to Adress Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), for Allah you already mentioned, Ya Rahman, Ya Raheem so, these two comprise all meanings of mercy that belongs to Alllah subhanah wa tala, no other words can better describe his mercy, and that how Allah described himself in Surat Al-Fatiha, so the third part is not OK.

  • The fourth part seems to be a wrong spelling, it seems to be meant to be “shafiul mothnibeen ”, (شفيع المذنبيبن )and it means (Intercessor of the guilty), and that is supposed to be for prophet Mohammad, and even for Prophet Mohammad I do not see why to call him so, on the day of Judgement he will be the Intercessor for all people, and for believers too to enter Jannah so why shall someone limit that to the guilty, so the fourth part is not OK to address Allah with.

  • This is not a correct duaa, and there is nothing new in it except for mistakes, please remember no one is more honorable than prophet Mohammad, and no one knows Allah better than him, and no human will address Allah with better duaa than him, so focus on the treasures he left for us in Sunnah, and also what other messengers addressed Allah and mentioned in Quran, these are much more than you can count, use them.

Prayers the Prophet , peace be upon him mostly used

  1. (O Allah, our Lord! Give us that which is good in this life, that which is good in the Hereafter and save us from the torment of the Fire.)

  2. 'Anas narrated: "The Messenger of Allah (s.a.w) would often say: Ya Muqallibal-qulub, thabbit qalbi 'ala dinik('O Changer of the Hearts! Strengthen my heart upon Your Religion.)' (part of the hadith)

  3. Anas narrated that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Be constant with: ‘O Possessor of Majesty and Honor (Yā Dhal-Jalāli wal-Ikrām).’”
  4. Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) seldom left a gathering without supplicating in these terms: "Allahumma-qsim lana min khashyatika ma tahulu bihi bainana wa baina ma'sika, wa min ta'atika ma tuballighuna bihi jannataka, wa minal-yaqini ma tuhawwinu 'alaina masa-'ibad-dunya. Allahumma matti'na biasma'ina, wa absarina, wa quwwatina ma ahyaitana, waj'alhul-waritha minna, waj'al tharana 'ala man zalamana, wansurna 'ala man 'adana, wa la taj'al musibatana fi dinina, wa la taj'alid-dunya akbara hammina, wa la mablagha 'ilmina, wa la tusallit 'alaina man-la yarhamuna, (O Allah, apportion to us such fear as should serve as a barrier between us and acts of disobedience; and such obedience as will take us to Your Jannah; and such as will make easy for us to bear in the calamities of this world. O Allah! let us enjoy our hearing, our sight and our power as long as You keep us alive and make our heirs from our own offspring, and make our revenge restricted to those who oppress us, and support us against those who are hostile to us let no misfortune afflict our Deen; let not worldly affairs be our principal concern, or the ultimate limit of our knowledge, and let not those rule over us who do not show mercy to us)."

[At- Tirmidhi].

And many others....

7
  • 1
    Although i agree with your answer I'd like to remind you that we are all sinners, so the interceding might be explained this way. sunnah.com/urn/1343910 “Every son of Adam commits sin, and the best of those who commit sin are those who repent.’”
    – Medi1Saif
    Jun 14, 2016 at 7:18
  • 2
    Are we restricted on a form? I mean dua' is asking Allah, so what ever form is used -as far as there's no shirk Issue etc.- is fine. Yes there are prescribed dua' for example for the prayer, fast, hajj etc. and about any act from leaving a house to wearing clothes ... But if I want to ask Allah I do it the way I need or like maybe including some known forms or expressions. As else that would be just a copy paste dua'!
    – Medi1Saif
    Jun 14, 2016 at 7:40
  • 1
    Right, but did prophet use that form? Did companions use that form in duaa? My point is why do we come up with new attributes and prayers when we already have the best!!! It is here... sunnah.com/urn/516070
    – M.M
    Jun 14, 2016 at 7:45
  • 1
    Nothing in my argument about restriction, it's about leaving the best and the trusted, and come up with the less and entrusted,Any person can use his own words, and that is good because he understands them,notice the mentioned duaa, there is no way the person advised to use it knew the meaning, otherwise he would not advise to use it since it contains mistakes......So..... No restrictions and maximizing the gain is in following Sunnah.
    – M.M
    Jun 14, 2016 at 7:55
  • @M.M I guess you are missing these dua taught by Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him Himself اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ وَأَتَوَجَّهُ إِلَيْكَ بِنَبِيِّكَ مُحَمَّدٍ نَبِيِّ الرَّحْمَةِ sunnah.com/urn/1287330 sunnah.com/tirmidhi/48/209
    – Syedah
    Jun 14, 2016 at 11:00

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .