A Father’s Prayer for His Child
There is a prayer narrated in Makārim al-Akhlāq by Shaikh al-Tabarsi entitled: ‘A Father’s prayer for his child’ that has been recommended by some of the great contemporary authorities to be recited in order to improve the behavior of one’s children, and it is also encouraged for the mother to recite this prayer as well.
This prayer consists of four units (rak‘ah). In the first unit, after reciting Surah al-Hamd, the following verse should be recited ten times:
“Our Lord make us submissive to You and show us our ways of worship, and turn to us (mercifully); for surely You are the Oft-Returning, the Most Merciful.”1
In the second unit, after reciting Surah al-Hamd, the following verse should be recited ten times:
“My Lord! Make me a performer of the prayer, and of my offspring, (too): Our Lord! And accept my petition;” “Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents, and the believers on the Day when the reckoning shall come to pass.”2
In the third unit, after reciting Surah al-Hamd, the following verse should be recited ten times:
“…Our Lord! Grant us from our wives and our offspring the joy of our eyes, and make us for the pious ones (their) Imāms.”3
In the fourth unit, after reciting Surah al-Hamd, the following verse should be recited ten times:
“My Lord! Grant me that I may give thanks for Your favor which You have bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may do good which pleases You and do good to me in respect of my offspring; surely I turn to You, and surely I am of those who submit.”4
