TEHRAN – Iranian religious scholar Allameh Mohammad-Taqi Jafari’s interpretation of the prayers of Imam Hussein (AS) in the Arafat Desert has been published in Urdu in Karachi, Pakistan.

“The Prayers of Imam Hussein (AS) in the Arafat Desert” have been translated into Urdu by Pakistani scholar Syed Kauser Abbas Musavi and published by Iran’s Cultural Center in Pakistan. 

Duaye Arafa is a Shia Muslim prayer first uttered by Imam Hussein (AS), the third Imam of the Shia. It is read and chanted by Shia Muslims every year on the second day of the Hajj, day of Arafah, in the Arafat desert.

The book was unveiled in an online program attended by Iran’s cultural attaché in Pakistan Bahram Kian, and several Pakistani scholars.

Kian said that Iran’s cultural office was planning to publish the book but it was not possible due to the outbreak of coronavirus, calling it a valuable book for the Muslims. 

Jawad Haider Hashmi, a scholar from the Department of Islamic Studies of the University of Karachi called the book a very precious task.

Author Muhammad Ali Syed also attending the ceremony said that the book is a precious gift that helps promote the culture of praying in the country. 

He noted that these books also help encourage the youth to learn more about the habit of praying in the world of today.

Mohammad-Taqi Jafari, known as Allameh Jafari, was a contemporary Iranian scholar, philosopher, speaker, jurist, Rumi expert and commentator on the Nahj-ul-Balaghah.

His mother gave him some preliminary lessons, the Holy Quran and the first rudiments of elementary school. 

After his primary studies in religious sciences in Tabriz, he went to Tehran for years to continue and after three years of religious studies he moved to Qom and then to Najaf; he later returned to Iran.

Among his great efforts are his reconcilement of the Shia theological school with the university and with the ancient and modern sciences. 

Knowing the languages of both the theological school and the university seminary, he has left a work of interest in both fields. After pouring over jurisprudence, philosophy, art and Islamic aesthetics in half a century of scientific activity and research, he has composed more than 100 volumes and treatises.

His most renowned works are his 15-volume “Interpretation and Criticism of Rumi’s Masnavi”, and his unfinished, 27-volume Translation and Interpretation of the Nahj-ul-Balaghah of Imam Ali (AS).

The Nahj-ul-Balaghah (“The Peak of Eloquence”) was compiled by Seyyed Razi (d. 1015). It has been translated into many languages, including English, French, Russian and Spanish.

These two major works by Allameh Jafari contain his principal thoughts and ideas in the fields of anthropology, sociology, moral ethics, philosophy and mysticism. 

Photo: Front cover of the book “The Prayers of Imam Hussein (AS) at the Arafat Desert” as interpreted by Iranian religious scholar Allameh Mohammad-Taqi Jafari.

RM/MMS/YAW