A month or two ago, I was entering the masjid to teach sunday school and as always said the duaa:
اَللَّهمَّ افتحْ لي أَبوَابَ رَحمتِكَ
“God, Open for me the doors of your mercy.”
It struck me. deeply. That morning, after praying fajr I thought about my womb and the One who made it. I thought about the One who called himself the most merciful, by connecting mercy to maternity. In Arabic, the name of God “AL-RAHMAN” means “The Merciful” and the root of the word mercy- is “RHM” which means “womb.” As I entered the masjid, I was overwhelmed by receiving the glad tidings of the prayer that would get me through labor. “God, Open for me the doors of your mercy.” Open this mercy to the world. I prayed- Let me remember these words as I am in the pains of birthing. Let me breathe Mercy through this prayer as my body opens to deliver mercy. Let this child be mercy to the world, in the tradition of his teacher and master, Muhammad alayhisalaam.
I found it to be such an obvious prayer for a woman in labor, but have never heard of it used in this way. I know I will be calling on my Lord in many of His Divine attributes through that time- but Ya Rahman just seems like….the right one. Doesn’t it? Salawat on the Prophet bring such ease to the heart and so much so that I feel it will be a time of great repetition of those beautiful salutations and prayers. I pray that my heart and lips will find the right words to make this time in my life gentle, sweet, safe and fruitful…full of mercy and grace!
I’d love to hear of prayers that helped you through a time in your life. There are so many duaas for so many different parts of life that are encouraged as they are from the tradition and life of the Prophet. I would however like to hear of the prayers that came to you through your own inspiration….
love,
mona
Beautiful post. I pray Allah to grant you strength and an amazingly memorable birth experience. The duaa that got me through my natural births were: لا إله الاانت سبحانك اني كنت من الظالمين and when it got really intense: يا مغيث اغثني repeated throughout each contraction. Some women might think I’m crazy, but I think women are blessed to be able to experience the miraculous process of childbirth…so much love and life…especially if the process is unadultrated. It is like one of God’s miracles is happening right inside of you, you are the vehicle of that miracle, and through a woman’s amazing body, another being comes to life, if God wills of course.
For my natural birth experience i was advised to recite surah tariq..and it really helped me through contractions…the pain would subside when i recited it.. also reciting salawat. I was energised by dhikr throughout the labour Alhamdulillah and it really helped keep me going.