Ostad Elahi had translated a prayer by Hazrat-e Ali¹ from the original Arabic into Persian and Kurdish. For several months, he would sing it every day upon awakening. Later, he would quote certain verses of this prayer when playing the tanbur. Here, he sings an excerpt of it in its original Arabic version, interspersed with short invocations in Persian: “Ali jān, āmān” (O Beloved Ali, help me) in the Mansūrī mode (tchahārgāh dastgāh). The recording dates back to 1965 when Ostad was seventy years old. Below is a translation of a few of the verses:

Praise to You, benevolent and glorious Lord
You who knows all that is hidden and revealed
My Creator, my Refuge, my Support
It is You that I implore, in hardship and in fortune
No matter how great my failings, Your forgiveness is greater still
I have succumbed to temptation, now I am plagued by remorse
O God, hear my plea
For You know how miserable and destitute I am.

Chanted sequences of a deep lyrical character, to which the tanbur answers in kind, alternate throughout this piece with rhythmic sequences and a leitmotif (minor third). The combination of these various elements—rhythm, leitmotif, repetition of ornamented notes, and unfamiliar harmonies—produces a state of elation. The second section of this piece, a sort of Zang-e Shotorī followed by a stirring hymn or zekr (Ali Hū Hū . . .), inspires one with an irresistible movement.