After this we will elaborate on factors that are subordinate...

After this we will elaborate on factors that are subordinate to the above such as ethical, social and spiritual. Finally we will place the prayers of the Ṣaḥīfa into broad categories and genera in terms of the prayers recited spontaneously or being premeditated, highly spiritual or semi spiritual and rational, together with placing them in other lesser fundamental categories.

In our discussion on both the style and the content, we will, as far as possible, site from the broader Islamic spiritual literature in order to give a better understanding of why the Imam has employed his particular style and content. The Style of Supplications in terms of Content and Structure The style and contents of prayers within the Ṣaḥīfa generally transcend religious limitations and boundaries.

We cannot deny that both the style and the contents of the prayers are a product of the influence of Islam upon the Imam155 , yet there is a deep sense of humanness about the prayers that would appeal to any individual. The Imam’s approach is in the context of his ‘createdness’ and ‘creaturliness’ that is common across humanity.

In this sense he unhesitatingly displays his strengths and weaknesses, joys and sorrows, anxiety at situations beyond his control and a deep need for a God in Whom he confides and seeks support from. These are the psychological challenges that face all human beings in the course of their lives regardless of creed and culture.

The prayers in brief are what I term as ‘spiritual ethics’, designed to bring a state of wholesomeness within an individual and do not necessarily require an individual to profess faith in a particular belief or doctrine. With the exception of the Names of Allāh, personalities of Islam and references to eschatology, there is not much that would delineate these prayers as something particular to the Muslim.

On that note we notice that prayers generally are an ideal means to create that much needed moral common ground of discourse between people of different religious persuasions, however in particular the ethical-spiritual content within the prayers of the Ṣaḥīfa may even appeal to people of non-religious persuasion. In brief the language of the prayers within the Ṣaḥīfa in many instances is a human language with an appeal to humanity at large.

Having said this we can consider the style of the supplications within the Ṣaḥīfa in terms of both the structure and the contents.