Selections from the Diwan of Shaykh Salih Al-Ja’fari: Volume 1

Title: Selections from the Diwan of Shaykh Salih Al-Ja’fari: Volume 1
Author: Shaykh Salih al-Ja'fari / Translated by Ahmad Ali al-Adani
ISBN: 9781838477653
Publisher: Imam Ghazali Institute

Languages: English translation with parallel Arabic texts

The illustrious Imam and erudite scholar of al-Azhar, Shaykh Salih al-Ja'fari, authored an extraordinary amount of poetry on many subjects. The Shaykh's poems comprise twelve volumes, which grouped according to their subject matter, ranging from the remembrance and glorification of Allah, advice for the one traversing the spiritual path to Allah, exalting the excellence of the Beloved ﷺ and the Ahl al-Bayt, and the virtues of the Path’s litanies and salawat.

This book contains selected poems from the first of those twelve volumes. These selections focus on the relationship between the shaykh and murid, as well as the virtues of the spiritual path. These poems were specifically selected by Shaykh Muhammad Salih al-Ja'fari, the grandson of Shaykh Salih al-Ja'fari. The core of these selected poems, just as in the shaykh’s poetry overall, are from the genre of what is known as madih (praise poetry), in praise of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Ahl al-Bayt.

Regarding the methodology of his father, Shaykh 'Abd-al-Ghani al-Ja'fari said the following:

"This door of spiritual openings, which our Shaykh traveled, is a clear opening, and whoever traverses it will arrive, and whoever arrives will be connected, and whoever is connected will see and witness, and whoever has witnessed, has intimate discourse, and becomes acquainted, and whoever becomes acquainted, is guided to the Muḥammadan Reality, thus he multiplies love by love. As he ﷺ has said: 'A man is with the one he loves.'"

These poems are truly transformative, both for the one who recites them and the one who listens, and represent acceptance and invitation to the presence of the Prophet and his household.

This bilingual edition contains the original fully-vowelized Arabic text with an easy-to-read English translation directly following each line, and has been designed for use in regular gatherings of remembrance.