Our Shaykh, late Muhammad ‘Ali al-Tabrizi al-Mudarris, died 1373 A.

Our Shaykh, late Muhammad ‘Ali al-Tabrizi al-Mudarris, died 1373 A.H., quoted them from the book ‘al-Tuhfa al-Mahdiya’, printed in Tabriz, 1357 A.H., and these lines are the second part of the Divan of the Infallible, which he called ‘al-Durr al-Manthu’r’. He gave a hand written version with commentaries on the Divan of al-Sajjad, peace be on him, as a gift to our colleague, meritorious researcher, Murtada al-Mudarris al-Jahhar, who lived in Tehran fourteen years ago.

The version was written in the early years of the thirteenth century after Hijjra, and it has twenty nine stanzas written in al-Wafir meter. Each stanza has five lines ordered alphabetically, so the version has a hundred and forty five lines.

If ascribing some poetry to the Imam is right, then I think that the meanings of this poetry confirm his words, method, conduct, and guidance.” I (the author) firmly believe that this divan does no belong to Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin, peace be on him, not because of its insignificant meanings, but because of its many weak words.

Whoever reads al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiya of Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin and his excellent wise sayings finds that the Imam used the most magnificent and sweetest words and the most of them in attraction to the reader, for he (Zayn al-‘Abidin) was the most eloquent of the Arab community as well as the old sources have not mentioned the divan. Hence this divan was not composed by the Imam, peace be on him. I will mention some stanzas of the divan as proof of what I have mentioned.

Blessed is the Possessor of exaltation and magnificence. Unique is He in majesty and subsistence. He has made all the creatures equal in death, so they are the hostages of extinction. Our world, though we incline to it and provision therein is long, will come to an end. Truly inclination, out of vanities, to the Abode of Annihilation is part of toil. The world’s inhabitants will quickly depart from it, though they crave for residence (therein).

   He (Adam’s child) will soon leave the decorated palaces for the earthy abode (i.e. the grave). Therein he will be left forsaken, lonely, surrounded by the dimness of loneliness. The terror of muster will be the most horrible affair when the son of Adam is summoned to reckoning. He will find his good and evil deeds (written) in the book. It is time to supplying, if we have reason, and to taking a share of the remaining youth.

   The outcome of everything, which we collect densely, will be scattered.