Du'a Arafah ( ar, دعاء عرفة) is a

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

Muslim prayer (, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba with ...

first recorded by

Husayn ibn Ali Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...

, the third

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

. It is read and chanted by Shia Muslims every year on the second day of the

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried ...

day of Arafah The Day of Arafah ( ar, يوم عرفة, Yawm 'Arafah) is an Islamic holiday that falls on the 9th day of Dhu al-Hijjah of the lunar Islamic Calendar. It is the second day of both the Hajj pilgrimage and the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha. At d ...

, in the Arafat desert.

Authenticity

Several documents confirm the prayer. According to the ''Iqbal al-A'mal'',

Sayyed Ibn Tawus Sayyed Radhi ud-Deen Ali ibn Musa ibn Tawus al Hasani wal Husaini (1193-1266 AD) commonly called Sayyed Ibn Tawus () was a Shiite jurist, theologian, historian and astrologer. He was a descendant of Hasan ibn Ali through his father and a descendan ...

narrated the Arafah prayer from

Ja'far al-Sadiq Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...

, the sixth

, on the authority of Iyas, son of

Salamah ibn al-Akwa Salama ibn al-Akwaʿ ( ar, سَلَمَة بن الأكْوَع ) was one of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Name His full name is Salama ibn al-Akwaʿ al-Aslamī. Legacy He is one of the notable narrators of hadith. He is known f ...

through a chain of transmission.

Abbas Qumi Abbas Qomi ( fa, عباس قمی) also known as ''Mohaddith Qomi'' ( fa, محدث قمی) was a Shia scholar, historian, and hadith narrator. He wrote books, including Mafatih al-Janan. Biography Abbas Qomi was born in 1877 (1294 Hijri year, A ...

mentioned the prayer in his book entitled ''

Mafatih al-Janan ''Mafatih al-Jinan'' (''Keys to Heavens'') ''(Arabic :مفاتیح الجنان)'' by Sheikh Abbas Qumi is a Twelver Shi'a compilation of Qur'anic Chapters, Dua's, Taaqeebat&e-Namaz (acts of worship after Namaz), acts during Islamic months and d ...

''. Kaf'ami narrated the Arafah prayer in his ''al-Balad al-Amin'', but in these works the last folio is missing. The authenticity of this Du'a was reviewed in Shia references such as the ''Mesbah al-Zayer'' of

, the ''

Bihar al-Anwar ''Bihar al-Anwar'' ( ar, بِحَار ٱلْأَنْوَار, lit. ''Seas of Lights'') is a comprehensive collection of traditions (''ahadith'') compiled by Shia scholar Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi (d. 1110/1698), known as ''Allama Majlisi''. It is a h ...

'' of

Allama Majlisi Mohammad Baqer Majlesi (b. 1037/1628-29 – d. 1110/1699) ( fa, علامه مجلسی ''Allameh Majlesi''; also Romanized as: Majlessi, Majlisi, Madjlessi), known as Allamah Majlesi or Majlesi Al-Thani (Majlesi the Second), was a renowned and v ...

and the ''

Kitab al-Kafi ''Al-Kafi'' ( ar, ٱلْكَافِي, ', literally "''The Sufficient''") is a Twelver Shia hadith collection compiled by Muhammad ibn Ya'qub al-Kulayni. It is divided into three sections: ''Uṣūl al-Kāfī'', dealing with epistemology, theol ...

'' of Muhammad ibn Ya'qūb al-Kulaynī. One Sunni scholar,

Shadhili The Shadhili Order ( ar, الطريقة الشاذلية) is a tariqah or Sufi order of Sunni Islam founded by al-Shadhili in the 13th century and is followed by millions of people around the world. Many followers (Arabic ''murids'', "seekers") ...

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

master

Ibn Ata Allah Tāj al-Dīn Abū'l-Faḍl Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Karīm ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Isa ibn Hussein ibn ʿAṭā Allāh al-Judhami al-Iskandarī al-Shādhilī was an Egyptian Malikite jurist, muhaddith and the th ...

, studied this prayer.

Content

There has been discussion over how many people created this prayer. The sudden change of style in the last three or four pages of the prayer is evidence of an inconsistency. Although many Shia theologians and philosophers considered the second section as an "integral part" of the prayer, Allamah Majlesi, a theologian and jurisprudent of the

Safavids Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

period, suggests that the second part could have been added by one of the

shaykh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliteration of Arabic, transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonl ...

s on the basis of its being in accordance with the "taste of Sufis". Allamah Majlesi also argued that the second part was more probably added after the version by Ibn Tawus. In spite of this "reservation" by Majlesi, the whole prayer is included in standard prayer books and is recited regularly on different occasions due to it being consistent with "Shia spirituality". During the supplication, Imam

praises

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", an ...

. He bears witness that there is no god but Allah, and describes the return of all people to Allah after death. The steps of human creation until his death and the wonders of nature are described by explaining important issues in various branches of science. He suggests the weakness of human beings and the need for them to offer thanks to Allah who does not need their thanks. Some parts end with "peace be upon the prophet". In one part of the prayer, Husayn ibn Ali asks Allah to show him how to come closer to him and to aid in establishing a good relationship with Allah. He describes his neediness and asks Allah to help him to be patient in the face of adversity in the world and the hereafter. The Shia Imam believes that the blessings of Allah are infinite.

Manner of recitation

Muslims, especially during the

pilgrimage, recite the Arafah prayer in the Arafat desert from

Zuhr prayer The Zuhr prayer ( ar, صَلَاة ٱلظُّهْر ', "noon prayer") is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayer). As an Islamic day starts at sunset, the Zuhr prayer is technically the fourth prayer of the day.

Reception

The Arafah prayer plays an important role in

views. Several Shia

theologians Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the s ...

and scholars of the hadiths have referred to this prayer in their works, including

Mulla Sadra Ṣadr ad-Dīn Muḥammad Shīrāzī, more commonly known as Mullā Ṣadrā ( fa, ملا صدرا; ar, صدر المتألهین) (c. 1571/2 – c. 1635/40 CE / 980 – 1050 AH), was a Persian Twelver Shi'i Islamic mystic, philosopher, the ...

Mohsen Fayz Kashani ''Mul·lā'' "al-Muḥsin" "al-Fayḍ" al-Kāshānī (1598–1680; fa, ملا محسن فیض کاشانی) was an Iranian Twelver Shi'i Muslim, mystic, poet, philosopher, and muhaddith (died ''c''. 1680 ᴄᴇ). Life Mohsen Fayz Kashani was b ...

and Hajj Molla Hadi Sabzavari. Goodarzi, an ideologist and writer, wrote about the prayer in a book entitled "The Imam Hussein's good sermon". Also, "The light of Nahjul-Balaghe" by Sadeq Dawoodi explains this prayer.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links