Al-Sahifa al-sajjadiyya

Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya (lit. 'the scripture of al-Sajjad') is a collection of supplications.^[1] Regarded as a seminal work in Islamic spirituality,^[2] al-Sahifa has been praised as the epitome of Islamic spirituality and the answer to many of today's spiritual questions.^[3] The book is attributed to Ali al-Sajjad, the great-grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and an imam in Shia Islam, also known by the honorific title Zayn al-Abidin (lit. 'ornament of worshippers').^[4][1] Shia tradition holds al-Sahifa in great esteem, ranking it behind the Quran, the central text of Islam, and Nahj al-balagha, which is attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib, the first Shia imam and the grandfather of al-Sajjad.^[5] The book is known by various honorific names in Shia Islam, including "Sister of the Quran," "Gospel of the Holy Household," and "Psalms of Muhammad's Household."^[6] It is also revered by certain Sufi orders.^[7] Numerous commentaries have been written about al-Sahifa.^[4][8]

Supplication is the act of addressing God with one's praise, thanksgiving, hopes, and needs.^[9] Muslims often recite the supplications of their religious authorities, starting with Muhammad and, for the Shia, continuing with their imams.^[10] In particular, al-Sajjad likely composed al-Sahifa with the Muslim community in mind. The book, for instance, contains prayers for public occasions, such as Eid al-Fitr, and also a supplication for parents, in which al-Sajjad speaks as if his parents were still alive.^[11]

Al-Sahifa may be considered as a practical realization of the essential message of Islam, shahadah, that is, "there is no god but God," or simply, God is all and man is nothing. Thus among the themes of al-Sahifa are "There is no goodness but in God," "There is no patience without God's help," "There is no gratitude but through God," and their complements, "There is no evil but in me," "There is no impatience but in my own ego," and "There is no hate but in myself." Once the worshipper admits his inadequacies and sinfulness, he can abase himself before his Lord and ask for His generosity and forgiveness.^[12]

Al-Sahifa has been likened to a mosaic, every element of which corresponds to an element of the Quranic text.^[13] In particular, the predominance of mercy in the Quran is reflected in al-Sahifa,^[14] where al-Sajjad repeatedly takes refuge in God's mercy and its precedence over His wrath.^[15] He thus frequently asks God for forgiveness in al-Sahifa, and so did Muhammad in his prayers, even though both figures are regarded as infallible in Shia Islam.^[16] Both men likely repented with utmost sincerity,^[17] but their 'sins' were not willful disobedience of God.^[18] Rather they repeatedly asked God to conceal (istighfar) their inadequacies as limited human beings.^[19]

This emphasis of al-Sahifa on God's mercy mirrors the attitude of its author, al-Sajjad, who is reported to have said, "It is only strange if a person perishes as he perishes, given the scope of God's mercy."^[20] This attitude of al-Sajjad matches that of Muhammad, who suggested that the worshipper "should be firm and make his desire great, for what God gives is nothing great for Him."^[20] Yet God's wrath is always kept in view, for any hope in God's mercy should be accompanied by "refraining from arrogance, pulling aside from persistence [in sin], and holding fast to praying [for] forgiveness," as prescribed in passage 12:13 of al-Sahifa.^[21]

In al-Sahifa, al-Sajjad sometimes alludes to the injustices suffered by Muhammad's household, the Ahl al-Bayt.^[22] There are also cases in the book where al-Sajjad prays for the Muslim community (umma) and the rectification of their affairs, as well as soldiers guarding Muslim frontiers.^[23] Al-Sahifa might have initially been a sectarian booklet for the Shia.^[24] For instance, salutations to Muhammad and his family frequently appear in the book in defiance of Umayyad policies.^[25] In some supplications, al-Sajjad refers to imamate, a central tenet of Shia Islam.^[24]

Besides its spiritual dimension, al-Sahifa is also a source of Islamic teachings. Its prayer, "Blessing Upon the Bearers of the Throne," for instance, summarizes Islamic views about angels.^[2]

The attribution of al-Sahifa to al-Sajjad is often regarded as authentic,^[6] although parts of the books may have been artistically edited by others.^[26] In Shia tradition, the text is regarded as mutawatir, that is, handed down by numerous chains of transmission.^[6] The addenda were collected by the prominent Shia scholar Muhammad ibn Makki (d. 1385), while the munajat were popularized by Muhammad-Baqir Majlisi (d. c.1699), another leading Shia scholar.^[6]

Al-Sahifa was translated into Persian during the Safavid era. An English translation of the book, entitled The Psalms of Islam, is also available with an introduction and annotations by the Islamicist W.C. Chittick.^[1]

In addition to al-Sahifa, there are other collections of prayers attributed to al-Sajjad. The second al-Sahifa was compiled in 1643 by al-Hurr al-Amili, a renowned Shia scholar. The third al-Sahifa was collected by Afandi, a student of Majlisi. The fifth al-Sahifa by Muhsin al-Amin, a well-known contemporary Shia scholar, is the longest such collection and subsumes all other collections.^[27]

 

• And the heavens and their canopies praise Him, and the earth and its embroideries, and the mountains and their heights, and trees and their branches, and the seas and their monsters, and the stars in their rising, and the rains in their falling, and the wild beasts of the earth in their preying and their dens, and the fullness of the rivers and their ripples, and the sweetness and brackishness of waters, and the blasts of the winds and their roaring, and everything that may be described or heard.^[28]
• My worn mortal face is prostrate before Thine ever lasting, ever abiding Face. My face is prostrate, dust-soiled, before its Creator, and meet and right is this prostration. My face is prostrate before Him who created and formed it and pierced for it (the openings of) hearing and sight. Blessed be God, the Best of Creators. My miserable and lowly face is prostrate before the Mighty, the Glorious.^[29]
• My God, were it not incumbent on me too obey Thy command, I should have considered Thy transcendence too great for me to direct my invocation to Thee.^[30]
• My God, Thou hast created me, a body, and with it hast given to me instruments of obedience or disobedience, and hast appointed for me in my own nature a soul clamant for selfish ends, and after this Thou hast said to me, "Abstain, my servant!" Through Thee (only) can I guard my innocence. Keep me then from evil. Through Thee (only) can I be shielded from sin. Then do Thou keep me. ^[31]
• Our God and Lord and Master, if we weep until our eyelashes fall out, and wail till our voices fail us, and stand till our feet shrivel, and bow till our joints are dislocated, and prostrate ourselves till our eyeballs burst, and eat the dust of the earth all our lives long, and make mention of Thee till our tongues fail, we shall not thereby have earned the wiping out of one of our misdeeds.^[32]
• One of the generous acts of the noble is compassionate kindness to captives, and I am a captive through my crime, the captive of my criminality, bound by my own deeds.^[33]
• I ask Thee to have mercy on me, on my delicate skin, this slender frame which cannot endure the heat of Thy sun. How then will it endure the heat of Thy Fire? And when it cannot bear the voice of Thy thunder, how can it bear the voice of Thine anger?^[34]
• My God my sins do not harm Thee and Thy pardon does not impoverish Thee. Then forgive me what does not harm Thee and give me what Thou wilt not miss.^[35]
• [O God!] Act toward me with the forgiveness and mercy of which Thou art worthy! Act not toward me with the chastisement and vengeance of which I am worthy!^[15]
• [O God!] Have mercy on me, laid on my bed, when the hands of my loved ones turn me over. Have mercy on me, laid on the washing table, when compassionate neighbors wash my corpse. Have mercy on me, borne among, when my relatives hold the sides of my bier. Have mercy on me, in that dark house, on my homesickness, my strangeness, my solitude. For whom has the slave to show mercy to him save the Master?^[36]
• O Companion of every stranger, be the Companion of my strangeness in the grave. O second with every solitary one, have mercy on my solitude in the grave.^[37]

• Al-Risalah al-huquq (attributed to Ali al-Sajjad)
• List of Shia books