*♦Dikkat al Qadha and the /Bayt Al Tasht Kufa Qaza

إِنَّ اللهَ يَامُرُ بِٱلْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَ إِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَيَنْهَىٰ عَنِ ٱلْفَحْشَاءِ وَٱلْمُنكَرِ وَٱلْبَغْيِيَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ

innallaha yamuru bil'adle wal ehsan wa etae dhil-qurba wa yanha 'anil fahshae wal munkar wal baghy yaezukum la allakum tazakkarun.

Surely, Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good to others and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful.

Dikkat al Qadha (Seat of Judgment )and the Bayt Al Tasht(Place of the Washtub) The seat of judgment (dakkat al-qaza’) was a shop-like structure inside Masjid al-Kufah in which there was a bench that was used by Imam `Ali (as) for judging for 4 years. Next to this place, there was a short pillar on which the following holy verse was written :

يَا مَالِكِيْ وَ مُمَلِّكِيْ

ya maliki wa mumalliki

O He Who possesses me, He Who endows me with possessions,

Dakkat al-qaza' you may walk to dakkat al-qaza' and offer there a two-unit prayer, reciting in each unit Surah al-Fatihah and any other Surah you like to recite.
After accomplishment, you may say the famous Tasbih al-Zahra' litany and then say the following words:

وَ مُتَغَمِّدِيْ [مُعْتَمَدِيْ‏] بِالنِّعَمِ الْجِسَامِ

wa mutaghammidi bilnni`ami aljisami

and He Who encompasses me with enormous bounties

 

مِنْ غَيْرِ اسْتِحْقَاقٍ

min ghayri istihqaqin

albeit that I do not deserve them.

 

وَجْهِيْ خَاضِعٌ لِمَا تَعْلُوْهُ الْاَقْدَامُ

wajhi khazi`un lima ta`luhu al-aqdamu

My face is humble to what is overtopped by feet

 

لِجَلَالِ وَجْهِكَ الْكَرِيْمِ

lijalali wajhika alkarimi

due to the majesty of Your Noble Face.

 

لَا تَجْعَلْ هٰذِهِ الشِّدَّةَ وَ لَا هٰذِهِ الْمِحْنَةَ

la taj`al hadhihi alshshiddata wa la hadhihi almihnata

(Please) do not make this hardship and this ordeal

 

مُتَّصِلَةً بِاسْتِيْصَالِ الشَّأْفَةِ

muttasilatan bistisali alshsha'fati

to be continual until they lead to the extirpation of the root.

 

وَ امْنَحْنِيْ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ

wamnahni min fazlika

And (please) grant me from Your favor

 

مَا لَمْ تَمْنَحْ بِهِ اَحَدًا مِنْ غَيْرِ مَسْاَلَةٍ

ma lam tamnah bihi ahadan min ghayri mas'alatin

more than that which You have granted to any body who has not asked You to grant him.

 

اَنْتَ الْقَدِيْمُ الْاَوَّلُ

anta alqadimu al-awwalu

You are verily the Eternal and the First Lord

 

الَّذِيْ لَمْ تَزَلْ وَ لَا تَزَالُ

alladhi lam tazal wa la tazalu

Who has neither beginning nor end.

 

صَلِّ عَلٰى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ اٰلِ مُحَمَّدٍ

salli `ala muhammadin wa ali muhammadin

(please) send blessings upon Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad,

 

وَ اغْفِرْ لِيْ وَ ارْحَمْنِيْ

waghfir li warhamni

forgive me, have mercy on me,

 

وَ زَكِّ عَمَلِيْ وَ بَارِكْ لِيْ فِيْ اَجَلِيْ

wa zakki `amali wa barik li fi ajali

admit my deeds, bless my lifetime,

 

وَ اجْعَلْنِيْ مِنْ عُتَقَاۤئِكَ وَ طُلَقَاۤئِكَ مِنَ النَّارِ

waj`alni min `utaqa'ika wa tulaqa'ika min alnnari

and include me with those whom You release and pardon from Hellfire,

 

بِرَحْمَتِكَ يَاۤ اَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِيْنَ۔

birahmatika ya arhama alrrahimina

in the name of Your mercy, O most merciful of all those who show mercy.

 

اَللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي ذَخَرْتُ تَوْحِيدِي إِيَّاكَ

allahumma inni dhakhartu tawhidi iyyaka

O Allah, I save (the reward of) my submission to Your Oneness,

The place of the washtub (bayt al-tast) is the place where one of the wonderful episodes of Imam `Ali (as) occured:
While an unmarried girl was swimming in a pool, a leech could penetrate into her body to settle in her womb. This leech fed on the blood of that girl and thus grew up. Hence, the girl’s belly began to grow bigger and bigger that her brothers though that she was illegally pregnant. As they intended to kill their sister, they first provided the case before Imam `Ali (as) to decide about her. The Imam (as) ordered that a thick curtain should be erected in one of the sides of the mosque (Masjid al-Kufah) behind which the girl would sit. The Imam (as) then asked a famous midwife in al-Kufah city to check the girl. The answer of the midwife came as follows: “O Amir al-Mu'minin, this girl is pregnant. She carries a fetus in her womb.”
However, the Imam (as) ordered them to bring a washtub made of clay and he asked them to make that girl sit there. When the leech felt the stench of the clay, it sneaked out from where it had entered and it fell in the washtub. Thus, the innocence of the girl was proved.
According to other narrations, Imam `Ali (as) extended his hand and brought a piece of ice from the mountains of Syria and put it in the washtub, causing the leech to come out.
Order of devotional Acts in Masjid al-Kufah :
In this book, the order used is as followed by Sayyid Ibn Tawus, in his book of Misbah al-Za'ir, `Allamah al-Majlisi, in his book of Bihar al-Anwar, and Shaykh Khazir, in his book of al-Mazar.
At the place of the washtub, which is connected to the seat of judgment,
you may offer a two-unit prayer. When you finish the prayer and say the Tasbih statements, you may say the following words:

وَمَعْرِفَتِي بِكَ وَإِخْلاَصِي لَكَ

wa ma`rifati bika wa ikhlasi laka

my recognition of You, my sincerity to You,

 

وَإِقْرَارِي بِرُبُوبِيَّتِكَ

wa iqrari birububiyyatika

and my bearing witness of Your Godhead,

 

وَذَخَرْتُ وِلايَةَ مَنْ انْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ بِمَعْرِفَتِهِمْ مِنْ بَرِيَّتِكَ

wa dhakhartu wilayata man an`amta `alayya bima`rifatihim min bariyyatika

and I also save (the reward of) my loyalty to those with the recognition of whom You have bestowed upon me:

 

مُحَمَّدٍ وَعِتْرَتِهِ صَلَّىٰ ٱللهُ عَلَيْهِمْ

muhammadin wa `itratihi salla allahu `alayhim

namely, Muhammad and his Household, peace of Allah be upon them,

 

لِيَوْمِ فَزَعِي إِلَيْكَ عَاجِلاً وَآجِلاً

liyawmi faza`i ilayka `ajilan wa ajilan

(I save all that) to the day of my taking refuge with You, whether in this world or the Hereafter.

 

وَقَدْ فَزِعْتُ إِلَيْكَ وَإِلَيْهِمْ يَا مَوْلاَيَ

wa qad fazi`tu ilayka wa ilayhim ya mawlaya

Thus, I am now taking refuge with You, O my Master, and with them,

 

فِي هٰذَا ٱلْيَوْمِ وَفِي مَوْقِفِي هٰذَا

fi hadha alyawmi wa fi mawqifi hadha

on this day and on this very situation,

 

وَسَالْتُكَ مَا زَكَا مِنْ نِعْمَتِكَ

wa sa'altuka ma zaka min ni`matika

and I thus beg You for Your increasing bounties,

 

وَإِزَاحَةَ مَا اخْشَاهُ مِنْ نِقْمَتِكَ

wa izahata ma akhshahu min niqmatika

for removing from me Your chastisement that I fear,

 

وَٱلْبَرَكَةَ فِيمَا رَزَقْتَنِيهِ

walbarakata fima razaqtanihi

for blessing all the sustenance which You grant me,

 

وَتَحْصِينَ صَدْرِي مِنْ كُلِّ هَمٍّ

wa tahsina sadri min kulli hammin

and for immunizing my heart from receiving any grievous matter,

 

وَجَائِحَةٍ وَمَعْصِيَةٍ

wa ja'ihatin wa ma`siyatin

any calamity, or any act of disobedience to You,

 

فِي دِينِي وَدُنْيَايَ وَآخِرَتِي

fi dini wa dunyaya wa akhirati

regarding my religion, worldly life, and the Next Life.

 

يَا ارْحَمَ ٱلرَّاحِمِينَ

ya arhama alrrahimina

O most merciful of all those who show mercy.

 

 

 

 

Note the order of doing the recommended acts in Masjid al-Kufah according to the opinion of some scholars is that the acts to be done in the center of the mosque come directly after the acts at the fourth column. Hence, the acts of the seat of judgment and the place of washtub should be the last of all, which means that they are done after the accomplishment of the acts at the seat of Imam al-Sadiq (as) (dakkat al-sadiq).