From three small slips soaked in rosewater to a forty-day prayer, families across social circles share old devotional tricks they say stop wandering eyes and bind husbands to home — here are the most-circulated ones.
One of the prayers included in Mafatih (The Keys to Paradise) for purifying a husband’s gaze and protecting the eye from infidelity is as follows:
English translation: “O God, cleanse my heart of hypocrisy, my deeds of ostentation, my tongue of lying, and my eye of treachery. For You know the treachery of the eyes and what the breasts conceal. O Lord, this is the station of the one who seeks refuge in You from the Fire; this is the station of the one who asks Your protection from the Fire; this is the station of the one who calls upon You to be saved from the Fire; this is the station of the one who flees to You from the Fire; this is the station of the one who confesses his sin to You, admits his fault and repents to his Lord; this is the station of the miserable, the poor; this is the station of the fearful who seeks refuge; this is the station of the sorrowful and distressed; this is the station of the saddened and overwhelmed; this is the station of the stranger and the drowning; this is the station of the lonely and bereft; this is the station of the one who finds no forgiver for his sin but You, no supporter for his weakness but You, and no reliever for his distress but You. O God, O Generous One, do not burn my face with the Fire after my prostration to You, nor disgrace me with anything other than Your favor; rather to You belongs praise, bounty and grace. Have mercy on me, O Lord, O Lord, O Lord.”
Another prayer is also recommended to bring a husband into better conduct and prevent his infidelity. This prayer causes the man to remain steadfast with his wife and prevents him from turning toward infidelity. Recite the following verse three times a day:
“And it is He who made for you the stars that you may be guided by them through the darknesses of land and sea. We have detailed the signs for a people who know.” (Qur’an — translated)
One of the tried prayers for making a husband obedient and submissive to his wife is given below; it should be recited once daily for forty days:
The narration is attributed to Ali ibn Musa ibn Tawus al‑Husayni in the book “Aman al‑Akhtar,” transmitted from the book of supplications of Saʿd ibn ʿAbd Allah with its chain of transmission. From Zurarah: he said, “I said to Abu ʿAbd Allah (ʿa): Teach me a supplication.” He said: “Indeed the best of supplication is what comes to your tongue.” And it is transmitted from the book of ʿAbd Allah ibn Ḥammad al‑Ansari on the authority of Abu ʿAbd Allah (ʿa) that a petitioner asked to be taught a prayer and he said, ‘Indeed the best of supplication is what you say with your tongue.’”
For someone who does not want his wife to commit adultery or choose another spouse, a dhikr (invocation) is recommended, known as the prayer for conjuring a husband’s affection. Whoever seeks to draw a husband’s love and strengthen the marriage should write the noble verse below on three small slips of paper with rosewater and saffron. Wash the first slip in water and make the husband drink it. Place the second slip under or inside the husband’s pillow, and keep the third slip with yourself. Note that the person must write the husband’s name and his mother’s name on the slips of the prayer.
The verse to be written: “Lā yaḥillu laka al‑nisā’u min baʿdu wa lā an tubaddila bihinna min azwājin wa law aʿjabaka ḥusnuhunna illā zawjatuka.”
English translation: “Women shall not be lawful for you thereafter, nor may you exchange them for other wives, even if their beauty pleases you—except your own wife.”
One of the prayers for preventing a man from being unfaithful to his wife is the prayer known as the 'man’s lock.' This prayer is for women who do not have sufficient trust in their husbands and are seeking a way to prevent their husbands from being unfaithful. Recite the following so your husband becomes locked to you forever and the likelihood of his infidelity is removed:
“Indeed there has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves; grievous to him whatever distresses you; zealous over you; to the believers, most kind and merciful. But if they turn away, say: ‘Sufficient for me is God; there is no god but He; in Him I place my trust; and He is the Lord of the Mighty Throne.’” (Qur’an — translated)
A different dhikr transmitted from the late Sheikh Rajab Ali Khayyat is said to prevent lechery and the desire for novelty:
“Lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā bi‑Allāh al‑ʿAliyy al‑ʿAẓīm. Yā Dā’im, yā Qā’im! Allāhumma laka al‑ḥamdu wa ilayka al‑mushtakā wa anta al‑mustaʿan, yā Zakiyy al‑ṭāhir min kulli āfah bi‑qudsihi yā khayra ḥabībīn wa maḥbūbīn! Ṣalli ʿalā Muḥammad wa āl Muḥammad.”
English translation: “There is no power and no strength except by God, the Most High, the Most Great. O Everlasting, O Sustainer! O God, to You belongs praise and to You I complain, and You are the One from whom help is sought; O Pure, the Cleanser from every affliction by His holiness, O best of beloveds and beloved ones! Blessings upon Muhammad and the Family of Muhammad.”
Prayers intended to cause women to distance themselves from a husband and to ward off the harassment of such individuals are among the supplications many women seek. Below are some of the most famous of them.
A prayer from Imam al‑Sajjad (ʿa) to repel women from a husband:
“Bismillāh wa billāh wa min Allāh wa ilā Allāh wa fī sabīl Allāh wa ʿalā millati Rasūl Allāh. Ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa ālihi. Allāhumma ilayka aslamtu nafsī wa ilayka wajjahtu wajhī wa ilayka alja’tu ẓahrī wa ilayka fawwaḍtu amrī. Allāhumma iḥfaẓnī bi‑ḥifẓi al‑īmān min bayna yadayya wa min khalfī wa ʿan yamīnī wa ʿan shimālī wa min fawqī wa min taḥtī wa adfaʿ ʿannī bi‑ḥawlik wa quwwatika fa‑innahu lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā bik.”
English translation: “In the name of God, by God, from God and unto God, in God’s cause and upon the faith of the Messenger of God. Blessings upon him and his family. O God, to You I have submitted my soul; to You I have directed my face; to You I have entrusted my back; to You I have delegated my affair. O God, protect me by the protection of faith from before me, from behind me, from my right, from my left, from above me and from beneath me, and repel from me by Your might and power—for there is no might and no power except by You.”
Another prayer attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) for repelling intrusive women from a husband should be recited three times, followed by reciting Sūrat al‑Ḥashr four times.
Prayers for purifying a husband's gaze and preventing infidelity.
