The Authenticity of Ahlul Bayt Supplications:A Case Study on the Arafa Supplication

The Arafa supplication with its rhythmic text is a prayer in about 3200 words، eloquent in style and with only a few different versions with slight variances. The subject matter of this supplication is to confess to the sublimity and glory of God، before the worldly، tragic and unstable situation of man. In addition، the praying person praises God for his abundant mercies and invokes God''s bless and peace، as the man''s ultimate necessity، reminding himself of all the sufferings he has gone through in his life، since his pre mortal existence. The present body of the supplication comprises of a main layer common to all versions and an 800 word appendix appearing in some scriptures. The Arafa supplication attributed to Imam Hussein (d. 61 AH/ 681 CE) is a masterpiece of Shiite liturgical literature. However، the authenticity of this attribution has been a matter of disputes between medieval and modern Shiite scholars. This study applies textual criticism to question the probability of issuance of the text from Imam Hussein and from the discourses of the 1st Islamic century، and provides evidences suggesting the plausibility of its attribution to Imam Sadiq، a century later.