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'''Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya''' ({{lang-ar|الصحیفه السجادیه}}, {{IPA-ar|'sæħifætu 'sædʒæ:'diæ}}; "Scripture of Sajjad") is a book of ]s composed by ], the great-grandson of the Islamic Prophet ]. The book was composed after the ] (680 AD) and describes the relationship between man and God. Although the book is principally a collection of Islamic knowledge and thought in supplication form, it is said to have played an important part in the uprising against the ]. According to some scholars, al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is an example of the highest form of eloquence, and its contents have been described and explained in many books of commentary. The main part of the book is '']'' (considered to be authentic because a trail successive narrators of the story can be traced), but over the years a number of scholars have written addenda to it. Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is an important book for Shia Muslims and is also considered noteworthy by Sunni Muslims and Christians who have read it.
'''Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya''' ({{lang-ar|الصحیفه السجادیه}}, {{IPA-ar|'sæħifætu 'sædʒæ:'diæ}}; "Scripture of Sajjad") is a book of ]s composed by ], the great-grandson of the Islamic Prophet ]. The book was composed after the ] (680 AD) and describes the relationship between man and God. Although the book is principally a collection of Islamic knowledge and thought in supplication form, it is said to have played an important part in the uprising against the ]. According to some scholars, al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is an example of the highest form of eloquence, and its contents have been described and explained in many books of commentary. The main part of the book is '']'' (considered to be authentic because a trail successive narrators of the story can be traced), but over the years a number of scholars have written addenda to it. Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is an important book for Shia Muslims and is also considered noteworthy by Sunni Muslims and Christians who have read it.{{vague}}
Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya (Template:Lang-ar, Template:IPA-ar; "Scripture of Sajjad") is a book of supplications composed by Sajjad, the great-grandson of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. The book was composed after the Battle of Karbala (680 AD) and describes the relationship between man and God. Although the book is principally a collection of Islamic knowledge and thought in supplication form, it is said to have played an important part in the uprising against the Umayyads. According to some scholars, al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is an example of the highest form of eloquence, and its contents have been described and explained in many books of commentary. The main part of the book is mutawatir (considered to be authentic because a trail successive narrators of the story can be traced), but over the years a number of scholars have written addenda to it. Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is an important book for Shia Muslims and is also considered noteworthy by Sunni Muslims and Christians who have read it.
Background
Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is a collection of supplications and whispered prayers composed by Sajjad, the great-grandson of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad. The title "al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya" means "the book of Sajjad", Sajjad being the epithet of Ali ibn Husayn, the fourth ShiaImam.
Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya has several titles, such as “Sister of the Quran”, “Gospel of the Holy Household” and “Psalms of the Muhammad dynasty”, names which clearly indicate the importance of the book for Shia Islam. In the form of supplication, it expresses Islamic knowledge and thought and involves all aspects of individual, social, economical, political and cultural life. Reason, human feelings, emotions and conscience are all addressed by it.
Imam Sajjad composed al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya after the Battle of Karbala (680 AD). According to some researchers, circumstances at the time of the Umayyad Caliphate did not allow Imam Sajjad to speak explicitly and unambiguously. Not only did the regime not permit it, but the public, too, were unwilling to listen to his words. Imam Sajjad therefore used rich and meaningful supplications to reconstruct society and distribute Islamic knowledge.
It seems al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya -which was protected from government agents by Imam Sajjad’s sons and companions- was a sectarian and organisational booklet, which the access of the government agents to it make ineffective all Imam Sajjad's efforts.
Content
Many scholars see al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya as teaching theology in a personal and practical way, not in abstract language, and as indicating the relation between man and God in a way that can be universally understood. However, the book is not merely a conversation with God; in supplication form, it is also a collection of Islamic knowledge and thought. It emphasizes the wholeness of the world, both its physical and spiritual aspects, and addresses many moral and ethical issues. Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya also describes some scientific realities for which explanations had not yet been discovered. Most natural occurrence and laws of nature are mentioned in it; for example, it describes the changes of season and many other environmental changes.
According to some scholars, al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya exhibits the highest level of eloquence and purity to be found in Arabic literature after the Quran and Ali’s Nahj al-Balagha.
Strategical aspect
Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya was at the forefront of the uprising against the Umayyads. Salutations to Muhammad and his dynasty are repeated in most of its supplications, while the Umayyad Caliphate consistently tried to wipe out the name and memory of Muhammad and his family. In several supplications Imam Sajjad explains the concept of Imamate (leadership). He explains what Imamate means, who is allowed to be an imam (leader), and what the conditions of Imamate are, because the subject of prophet succession and the concept of Imamate were faced with serious challenge after Islamic prophet death and particularly after the Battle of Karbala. For protecting of Islamic territory, which was the result of endeavors of Islamic Prophet and his companion, Imam Sajjad in several supplications talks about important matters like jihad and martyrdom, the protection of borders, enjoining good and forbidding wrong, combat power, the powerlessness of enemies, awareness, military equipment, and so on. In expressing the ideas, virtues, attributes and characteristics of God's fighters, officials and border guards, he explains the true Islamic idea.
Authenticity
According to Shia tradition, Imam Sajjad collected his supplications and taught them to his family, particularly his sons, Muhammad al-Baqir and Zayd. These supplications were written down by others and the text over time became widely disseminated among all Shia. Specialists in the study of Hadith maintain that the text is mutawatir.
Addenda
A number of scholars have written addenda to al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya. These comprise supplications that are attributed to Imam Sajjad, but they do not exist in the main al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya. Some of these addenda are:
In his book, al-Tharia, Sheikh Agha Bozorg Tehrani has enumerated about 50 descriptions of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, while others have enumerated about 80 descriptions.
View of Sunni Muslim scholars
Oldest document from al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya
Some Sunni scholars have made statements about al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya. Ibn Shahr Ashoob says in his book Managhib: "When in Basra the conversation turned to the eloquence of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, an eloquent man said: 'Even I can write like that.' So he started to write, but he could not write any sentence, and died of shame."
In 1934, Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi sent to Cairo a version of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya for Sheykh Tantawy Juhari, a prominent Arab professor of philosophy from Alexandria, a Sunni scholar and author of many notable books. After taking delivery of the book, Sheyk Juhari wrote in response:
"I have studied this book with utmost care. I have gone through the invocations and supplications with searching eyes. I was stunned by the lofty meanings and deep sense contained therein. I was deeply impressed by the value and magnificence of these invocations. I wonder how the Muslims have all along been ignorant of such a valuable treasure. They have been in deep slumber for these centuries. They could not even feel that Allah has supplied them with such a precious store of knowledge. To the extent that I have been able to meditate over it, I notice that its words are above those of the created ones and below those of the creator."
It is noteworthy that some Sunni scholars, such as Qunduzi, have narrated parts of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya in their books. In his book Khasais al-A'emeh, ibn al-Jawzi (d. 1256 AD) wrote about the author of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya in this way:
"All Muslims are beholden to Ali ibn Husayn , ornament of worshippers, in orthography and phraseology, in quality of speaking and expressing needs in the presence of God. If His Excellency had not been attentive, Muslims would have known nothing of the right manner of speaking to Allah and expressing their needs to him. The Imam gave thought to people asking for forgiveness, showed them how to speak with God and how to pray for the rain of mercy, and when they were frightened by enemies how to seek refuge in God and ask him to eliminate the evil of enemies.”
Among modern-day Sunni scholars, Zaki Mubark, in the book Al-Tasawwuf al-Islami fi al-Adab wal-Akhlagh, considered that al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya was in some respects like the ChristianGospel, while noting that whereas the Gospel turns mankind’s heart towards Jesus Christ, al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya turns it towards to God. Sheykh Muhammad Sadiq Fahimi declared at the fourth International Congress of Imam Sajjad in 2014: "I recommend you to read al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, and if you do not understand the Quran more than before, then come and decapitate me."
View of prominent Christian figures
Philip Woolley, a professor and researcher from Germany, asked for a copy of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya to be sent to him after his friend, a Roman CatholicCardinal, saw the book in his library, studied part of it, and impressed with its novelty insisted on taking it away with him. When the Vatican Library in Rome received an English version of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, it said in its letter of acknowledgment: "This book contains great mystical themes, so we place it for researchers in the best position of the library." A leader of Germany's Social Democratic Party wrote to a friend, Professor Singler, saying: "This book had a profound impact on me and changed my view about Islam. I invite my friend to study this book", while in Poland, Christian Scientist Andre Kowski said of the book: "I am deeply impressed by the ideas of Imam Sajjad, whose noble thoughts are manifested on the pages of the book al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya. It is so attractive, to the extent that I feel this book has given me a complete sense of the mystical and divine."
Titles of the supplications
The original umber of supplications in al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya was 75, but only 54 of them have survived to this day; the rest have been lost throughout history. The titles of these supplication are as follows:
^ introduction, translated with an; Chittick, annotation by William C. (2000). The perfect book of Imam Zaynul-A'abideen A'li Ibnul-Husayn as-Sajjad : as'-S'ah'eefatul-kaamilatus-sajjaadeeyah = aṣ- Ṣaḥīfa al-kāmila as-saǧǧādīya (1. ed. ed.). Qum: Ansariyan Publ. ISBN9780946079568. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
Short Review on the performance of 33 years of Foundation of Islamic C.P.W. Qom: Foundation of Islamic C.P.W. 2010. pp. 13–14. ISBN964-91557-0-8.
Short Review on the performance of 33 years of Foundation of Islamic C.P.W (in Persian). Qom: Foundation of Islamic C.P.W. 2010. pp. 45–46. ISBN964-91557-0-8.
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