ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Alone With the Beloved: the Words of ʿalī B. Al-Ḥusayn Inthe Ṣaḥīfa Sajjādiyya Chapter 1: Prologue For over thirteen centuries the Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiyya, lit. The Book of Sajjād, has been considered to be a literary work of great importance amongst Muslims, and a part of the Islamic literary inheritance.

According to Chittick (p.xv, 1988), the Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādiya (The Prayer Manual of Sajjād)1 is today one of the oldest prayer texts in the Islamic tradition. Attributed to have been authored by the great grandson of the Prophet Muḥammad; ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn (38-95/658-9-713-4), it has been part of the rich history of Islamic ritual.

It has also been part of the rich history of Islamic thought, holding a pivotal and essential position as a manual of prayers, particularly treasured within the Shīʿa Ithnā ʿAsharī (Twelver) school (hereafter referred to as the Shīʿi/Shīʿa)2 while its significance is still universally acknowledged among Muslims from other theological schools.

From early days, the prayers of Sajjād have become a part and parcel of the identity and lives of those who have used and drawn from it, becoming an essential part of Islamic spiritual life; Chittick describes it as “one of the deepest veins of Islamic spirituality” (Chittick, p. xivi, 1988).3 This vein can surely have been said to sustain and nourish the minds and souls of the Shīʿa communities in particular as much now as then, and possibly for Muslims in general.

Amongst the Shīʿa, the Ṣaḥīfa is considered in rank only after the Qur’ān and the Nahj al-Balāgha of ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (d. 40/661). Moreover it is a popular and well-established principle amongst the Shīʿa that the authorship of the words contained in the Ṣaḥīfa belongs to the great-grandson of Prophet Muḥammad himself, namely ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn - also known as Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn and Sajjād - who in the Shīʿa school of thought is considered to be the fourth Imam.

It could be stated that the study of Shīʿism has for the most part been a neglected branch of Islamic studies in the West. However, during the last few decades a select group of scholars have given considerable attention so particular areas within Shīʿi Islam. The forerunners in this group include Rudolph Strothmann (1877-1960), Louis Massignon (1883-1962) and Henry Corbin (1903-1978). More recently scholars like Etan Kohlberg, M.A Amir-Moezzi, Farhad Daftary, Moojan Momen, Ḥusain M.