Forty-seventh Supplication of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya

This article is an introduction to the Forty-seventh Supplication of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya; to read its text see text:Forty-seventh Supplication of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya.

Forty-seventh Supplication of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya

Other names	'Arafa Supplication by Imam al-Sajjad (a)
Subject	Divine names and attributes • Prayers to the Prophet Muhammad (s) • Asking for the needs
Hadith-Based/Non-Hadith-Based	Hadith-Based
Issued by	Imam al-Sajjad (a)
Narrator	Mutawakkil b. Harun
Shi'a sources	Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya
Time	day of 'Arafa

The forty-seventh supplication of al-Ṣaḥīfa al-Sajjādīyya (Arabic: الدعاء السابع والأربعون من الصحيفة السجادية), known as Imam Sajjad's ʿArafa Supplication, is a supplication transmitted from Imam al-Sajjad (a), recited on the day of 'Arafa. This is the longest supplication in al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, involving themes such as divine names and attributes, prayers for and greetings to Prophet Muhammad (s) and his Household (a) and Shias, as well as some moral virtues and vices of the soul. In this supplication, Imam al-Sajjad (a) refers to the confession to the position of the Prophet's Household, compliance with their commands, resort to their guardianship, and expectation of their government as characteristics of Shias.

The doctrines of the supplication are classified in terms of theology, greetings to the Prophet (s) and his household, Imams, confession to one's wrongdoings, and requests to God.

Doctrines

The forty-seventh supplication has been interpreted in books concerning mystical supplications and ʿArafa-related mysticism.

The forty-seventh supplication, known as Imam Sajjad's ʿArafa supplication, is a supplication in al-Sahifat al-Sajjadiyya, which is recited on the day of ʿArafa. In this supplication, Imam Zayn al-'Abidin (a) is concerned with the following themes: (1) monotheism, divine names and attributes, and praise of God; (2) prayers for Prophet Muhammad (s); (3) prayers for Infallible Imams (a); (4) prayers for followers of the Infallibles; (5) sins and sinfulness; (6) asking God for forgiveness; (7) ways of repentance to God; (8) Satan and his seductions; (9) death and an outline of the resurrection; (10) moral virtues and the vices of the human soul. According to Mamduhi Kirmanshahi, ʿArafa supplication is the longest supplication in al-Sahifat al-Sajjadiyya, which is mostly concerned with the mystical relation between God and His righteous servant.

The themes of ʿArafa supplication are classified into certain central topics:

Theology

• Praise is exclusively to God as the owner, director, and creator of the world
• God's encompassing power over the whole being
• Confession to God's oneness, highness, and greatness
• Severity of the divine revenge
• God's kindness, integrity, and omniscience
• God's being All-hearing and All-seeing
• God's eternality (being the First and the Last)
• God's glory and greatness
• God as the creator of all creatures
• The optimality of the world's creation
• God having no partner
• God's judgment being based on justice and fairness
• The magnificent order of the system of creation
• The incapacity of human reason for grasping God's essence
• Confession to God's oneness, without there being a power against His power
• The clarity of divine criteria of right and being
• Divine mercy and wisdom
• God's expansive munificence towards creatures
• The human guidance is exclusively in God's hand
• Humility of all creatures toward God
• God being undefeatable by creatures
• God's steadfast word and will
• The inevitability of divine providence
• The difference between praising God and praising others
• Proximity to God by gratefulness toward God
• Varieties of praising God: eternal and encompassing, equal to the divine throne and Kursi, with gratification, with blessing, with sincere intentions, etc.

Prayers for Muhammad (s) and his Household

In the second part of Imam Sajjad's ʿArafa supplication, prayers are sent to the Prophet (s), with a reference to types of greetings to him:

• Greetings and peace to Muhammad (s) and his Household
• The reason behind sending greetings to the Prophet (s) and his Household: gratefulness and thankfulness, revival of his name, and making a role-model
• Reference to the Prophet's ranking
• Types of greeting: increasing, with gratification, eternal, extensive and universal, innumerable.

The Imams

In third section of ʿArafa Supplication, Imam al-Sajjad (a) describes the Prophet's Household (a), prays for the Shias, and refers to their characteristics.

• Description of the Prophet's Household (a): enforcers of the divine command, treasurers of God's knowledge, protectors of religion, God's successors on the Earth, the proof for God's servants, means of guidance to God and purification from sins, refuges of people and believers, instances of the divine beauty.
• The expansive scope of Ahl al-Bayt's knowledge
• An infinite greeting to the Prophet (s) and his Household equal to the divine throne
• Reference to the position of the Prophet's Household (a): lights for finding the truth, ways to the divine satisfaction, and refuge of those who take refuge
• Obligation of obeying Ahl al-Bayt's commands.
• The Imams as purposes of creation
• The necessity of the existence of an infallible Imam in each period
• The Infallibles being supported by angels and divine armies
• Praise to God because of the existence of Infallible Imams (a)
• Necessity of the expansion of the Imam's power and the establishment of his government
• The different means deployed by the Imams to guide people toward God
• The obedience and help of the Infallibles as the means for proximity to God and the Prophet (s)
• Greetings to the lovers and followers of the Prophet's Household (a)
• The characteristics of the followers of Ahl al-Bayt (the Shiʿa): being pious, their repentance being accepted by God, and being in a position of security and immunity.

Confession to Wrongdoings

In this section, Imam al-Sajjad (a) points out the anomalies of the human soul, asking God for forgiveness.

• Reference to the virtues of the day of 'Arafa (the honored dignified day in which the gates of God's mercy are open to His servants)
• Complaints over one's condition to attract the divine mercy
• Prayers for being guided by God
• Self-knowledge as the main tenet of knowledge
• People's disobedience against divine commands
• Taking refuge to God's mercy from His punishment
• Asking for divine forgiveness
• Asking for God's greatest reward on the day of 'Arafa
• Acknowledgement of God's unity as a means to divine proximity
• Having good thoughts of God and seeking closeness to Him
• Confession to one's poverty toward God
• God's kindness and forgiveness toward sinners, and His refusal to punish them
• Types of confession to one's sins and wrongdoings (hidden sins and intentional sins)
• The consequence of being preoccupied with people and ignorance of God: pervasiveness of showoff (riyaʾ), ignorance, and weaker relation with God
• Confession to one's cruelty against oneself
• Distance from God as a repercussion of taking the divine rulings lightly
• Destruction as a sure consequence of deviation from the divine path
• The perils of leaving a person to their own devices
• Satan's variegated plots to misguide a man

Asking for the Needs

In the final section of the supplication, Imam al-Sajjad (a) swears by God's close servants and mentions his requests. Here are some of the requests:

• Supplication to God as giving life to one's heart
• Asking God out of fear and misery
• Asking for God's forgiveness through the intercession of the Prophet (s) and his Household
• Asking for God's protection and guardianship
• Asking for the rewards of those who keep their promises
• Asking for emancipation from the impacts of transgressing the divine boundaries
• Proximity to God as a supreme pleasure
• Asking for immunity from istidraj (gradual destruction)
• Asking for wakefulness from ignorance
• Asking for going on the path of the good
• Asking for avoidance of the divine wrath
• Asking for salvation from tests, trials, and calamities
• The desirability of avoiding Satan and the Commanding Soul (al-nafs al-ammara)
• Asking for freedom from troubles
• Not being disappointed of the divine mercy
• Asking God to conceal and cover one's shortcomings and faults
• Asking for physical health
• Righteous intentions as criterion for righteous deeds
• Asking for livelihood
• Asking for the eradication of the love for this world in one's heart
• Asking for the position of infallibility and supplication to God
• Prayers for purification from sins
• The opportunity for doing good deeds
• Thankfulness toward God as a factor in increasing divine bounties
• Asking for a pure life
• Asking for esteem among people and humility toward God
• Prayers for salvation from persecutions and evils
• Asking for bounties and avoidance of ignorance
• Asking for the position of fear and hope
• The opportunity for vigilance
• Taking refuge to God from rebellion and penalties
• Repentance as a profitable transaction with God
• Necessity of not holding grudges against others
• Asking for complete blessings
• Asking for a calm heart without any hesitations
• Asking for chastity, consolation, and full-fledged health
• Protection of one's reputation by not asking others to help with one's needs
• Asking for refusal to collaborate with the unjust
• Performance of hajj and 'umra as leading to the divine satisfaction
• Taking refuge to God as the only means for a peaceful life.

Commentaries

In the commentaries of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, such as Riyad al-salikin by Sayyid Ali Khan al-Madani,, Fi zilal al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya by Muhammad Jawad Mughniya, Riyad al-'arifin by Muhammad b. Muhammad al-Darabi, Afaq al-ruh by Muhammad Husayn Fadl Allah, the thirty-ninth supplication is explicated. The words used in the supplication is also elucidated in lexical commentaries such as Fayd Kashani's Ta'liqat 'ala l-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya and 'Izz al-Din al-Jaza'iri's Sharh al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya

There are Persian expositions of the supplication as monographs, as in Nahjwa-yi ʿarifana: sharhi bar duʿa-yi chihil wa haftum Sahifa Sajjadiyya (duʿayi ruz ʿArafa) [A mystical supplication: an exposition of the forty-seventh supplication of al-Sahifat al-Sajjadiyya (supplication of the day of ʿArafa)] by Sayyid Ahmad Sajjadi, and ʿIrfan ʿArafa: tarjuma wa sharḥ wa tafsir mawduʿi-yi duʿayi ʿArafa Imam Husayn (a) and Imam Sajjad (a) [Mysticism of ʿArafa: a translation and exposition and thematic exegesis of Imam al-Husayn’s and Imam al-Sajjad’s supplications of ʿArafa by Qadir Fadili.

The thirty-ninth supplication of al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya is expounded in such commentaries as Diyar-i ashiqan by Husayn Ansarian, Shuhud wa shinakht by Muhammad Hasan Mamduhi Kirmanshahi, Sharh wa tarjumi-yi Sahifi-yi Sajjadiyya by Sayyid Ahmad Fihri, in Persian.