Al-Muraqabat (book)

Al-Muraqabat (book)

Author	Mirza Jawad Maliki Tabrizi
Original title	المُراقبات
Language	Arabic
Subject	Ethics and mysticism
Published	1381/1962

Al-Murāqabāt (Arabic: المُراقبات lit: Observations) or A'māl al-sana (اعمال السَّنَه lit: actions of the year) is a book in Arabic written by Mirza Jawad Maliki Tabrizi. The topic of the book is about Muslims' ethics, purifying one's exterior and interior in mystical journey and instructions about observing the soul to achieve moral virtues and perfections for all the months of the year.

This book contains some points about some events in the history of Islam, the truth of the Qur'an, manners and conditions of supplication, bi'tha, Ghadir, wilaya, sincerity, secrets of hajj and Mubahala. This work has several translations. Allama Tabataba'i, the author of al-Mizan, has written an introduction for this book.

The Author

Main article: Mirza Jawad Maliki Tabrizi

Mirza Jawad Maliki Tabrizi (born in late thirteenth/nineteenth or the early fourteenth/twentieth century in Tabriz) was a Shi'a jurists, mystic and teacher of ethics in fourteenth/twentieth century. Asrar al-salat, Risala liqa Allah, and Persian gloss on Ghayat al-quswa are among his other works.. He passed away on Dhu l-Hijja 11, 1343 /July 3, 1925. He was buried in Shaykhan Cemetery in Qom..

Goal of Writing

Mirza Jawad Maliki Tabrizi mentioned the efforts of the wayfarer to correct his spiritual conditions, correct morals and strengthen his/her true faith as his goal in writing this book.

Name of the Book

The author has not explicitly mentioned the name of his book in the text, but in the introduction of the book, he has mentioned the terms "muraqabat" (observations), "a'mal" (actions) and "sana" (year) which comprise the famous name of the book. He wrote,

"To befriend and get along with the soul you need to observe the days of the year and follow the actions recommended once in a year. I write briefly in this regard and I will mention the most necessary observations."

Features

The important feature of al-Muraqabat is that its instructions for observations and spiritual journey are for all people and would benefit both mystics and common people, certain actions are considered for all days of the year and their fruits are mentioned with regards to observations. In his introduction to this book, Allama Tabataba'i considered it the best book about servitude and getting close to God and observations of the soul.

Content

In this work, a brief introduction about supplicating to God is mentioned which is followed by twelve chapters for the twelve months of the year. The first chapter begins with the month of Muharram and it continues to the twelfth chapter about the month of Dhu l-Hijja. In each month, it mentions the observations, some actions and the most important events of that month. At the end of the Book, one ending is given about endeavoring in acquiring sincerity, considering the meanings in the acts of worship and their hearts, etc.