The month of Shabaan ul kareem is attributed to RasulAllah (SA) who is the perfect embodiment of all that is good and noble in this world. (http://www.hikmaah.com/showartcl.asp?article=22)
SHERULLAH is The the month of Ibadat, of seeking the bounties of Allah - just ask with true valayat and ma'refat and HE is there to give many folds. Doa and munaja't are the two surest way of seeking from Allah.
In the Kitab 'Nafhaat Husnil Khulq' 1418 H (behtar akhlaq ni khusboo) a detail list of akhlaq mahmoodah (good) and akhlaq mazmooah (bad) are given. There are in all 152 akhlaq mahmoodah. Now how best to seek them is the question. It is only Awaliyah ul Kiram (SA) who are our True Guide. The Doa Makarim Al Akhlaq ( Bihori Kitab 2nd Part Pages 78 to 84)is the azeem ehsan of Imam Ali Zayn al Abedeen (SA) and for many years has been my personal favorite,and at every opportunity during Sherullah I find solace and joy in reciting it.
Al Jamea ut Saifiyah has also brought out a beautiful publication of the Doa with translation in lisan ul Dawat. I highly recommend to my young friends to acquire this publication.
I am indebted to Bhai Abdulkader Kagalwala for creating this video of my rendering of the English Translation of the supplication, and to Bhai Murtaza Attari for helping me with the download. With the help of my young friends, my long cherished desire, has been fulfilled.
There is much to be desired in my rendering, I am merely sharing my personal experience, with the hope that some good will materialize and keep flowing.I hope some one more competent than me, will do better justice. I had developed this unique rendering of the Doa by repeated recitation, and at times, I had felt spiritual bliss and ecstasy.
The translation of the Supplication has been done by William C. Chittick and published by The Muhammadi Trust of Great Britain & Ireland - London. Before clicking on the video I would like to inform that, it is of approx: 12 minutes duration, you have to bear with my voice for that long, I know many may tend to loose interest midway.
However, if you pit it against the hours and hours spent on watching movies or mindless internet serfing, which at times, leaves one exhausted and with no intellectual gain, I think it will do you a world of good during this month of Sehrullah, if you can patiently read the entire translation, it will surely make you aware of the beauty, the depth, the yearning, the spirituality of the Supplication.
My niyat is that after reading the translation, you will be motivated to recite the 2 rakats and the doa as contained in the Bihori kitab, during Layali Fadehla. If you are able to do so the efforts of my young friends, and my self will surely be rewarded.
Just a small note from you that you have recited the Doa Makarim Al Akhlaq in Arabic and prayed 2 rakats, will be a source of great satisfaction to me. The translation can also be downloaded as Google doc by copy paste on your browser.
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AUOrKa48emnMZGdydnA4dmJfMjhjbmZ6MnhnZg&hl=en