TEHRAN – Yazd has been selected as Iran’s first city to represent the Capital of the Sahifeh Sajjadieh, a collection of prayers attributed to Imam Sajjad (AS), the fourth Imam of the Shia.

The choice has been made at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and was announced by the minister Seyyed Abbas Salehi in a meeting on Monday.

“The Sahifeh Sajjadieh is not a mere book,” Salehi said and added, “Many books have been written over history, but the Sahifeh Sajjadieh pays special regard to the spiritual aspects of man.”

MP Mohammad-Saleh Jokar, who represents Yazd at the Iranian parliament, also attended the meeting and said, “Today, we are proud that we are at the people’s service, reintroducing a book, which has been ignored over the years.”

“The Sahifeh Sajjadieh contains profound and valuable concepts, which can help settle many problems we face in modern life,” he noted.

Yazd Governor-General Mohammad-Ali Talebi said, “Yazd has a profound cultural background and has been called the ‘house of prayers’ for years, however, the growth due to modern urbanization has caused damage and we must rebuild it.” 

An English translation of the Sahifeh Sajjadieh by W.C. Chittick was published in London in 1988 under the title of “The Psalms of Islam”.

“This comprehensive book of prayer has been a mainstay of the practical dimension of religion, its living spirituality, for countless souls down through the ages,” Muhammadi Trust of Great Britain & Northern Ireland, the publisher of the book, wrote about it.

“It not only engages the deepest dimensions of the yearning of the seeker for God, it also contains penetrating insights into the psychology of the soul, acute observations of the nature of life in this world, and meditation upon the divine qualities and attributes.

“In addition, the book contains moral and ethical teachings -the ideal behavior of the Muslim in daily life, in relation to parents, children, friends and enemies - that are all the more compelling in being presented in the context of a dynamic relationship between the soul and its Creator.

“There is presented here, in fact, a veritable treatise on ‘human rights’ but linked to human and spiritual duties. Professor Chittick’s rendition of this classical text into fluent and elegant English stands as an indisputable masterpiece of translation.”

The book has also been translated into several other languages, including Spanish and Croatian.

Photo: Amir Chakhmaq Mosque, Yazd.

MMS/YAW