Constructing Verbal Sentences in the Supplication of Arafah Day for Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn (AS): A Syntactic Study

Abstract

Praise be to Allah, a praise that is befitting only for Him, and no one should be praised except Him. It is a praise that is continuous for the First and is called upon for the Last. It is a praise that multiplies over the passing of time and increases exponentially. O Lord, send blessings upon Muhammad and his pure family. After that, the Sajjadiyya Supplication represents a profound impact of Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him). It is a precious book that resembles its owner. It expresses the ideas that the Imam intended to present to society in order to be a means of spreading the teachings of the Quran and the manners of Islam. It is an innovative method of teaching that is not subject to suspicion or criticism. It is presented in the highest forms of Arabic literature. It carries the noble goals of the true religion and the deepest secrets of monotheism and prophethood. It is the most authentic way to teach the ethics of Prophet Muhammad. I have attempted, to the best of my humble ability, to read and contemplate the Sajjadiyya Supplication and explore its contents. It contains a vast amount of phrases and structures that deeply and accurately convey the context. This has led me to delve into the construction of Arabic sentences and clarify their impact on directing meaning. It is a semantic study within the limits of the sentence, according to the method of analyzing linguistic discourse, and clarifying its impact on the level of discourse and the change in its meanings through the use of different stylistic devices such as deletion, mention, negation, emphasis, shortening, repetition, command, prohibition, and astonishment. The supplications of the Sajjadiyya were a broad field for this study. It is a text that refuses to be read only once and refuses to end. I have selected one of its supplications, which is the supplication of the Day of Arafah, in which Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) addressed various topics, including the oneness and glorification of Allah. In it, we discover the Imam's perfect knowledge of Allah and the depth of his faith. He also criticizes deviant situations by reminding us of the status of Muhammad and his family (peace be upon them) as the remaining proof of Allah on earth. In his supplication, he calls for the construction of an Islamic personality at both the individual and social levels. Therefore, the research is titled "The Impact of Sentence Construction on Directing Meaning in the Supplication of the Day of Arafah by Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon him)." It is astonishing that the supplication contains all types of verbal sentences, as if it were a mini Sajjadiyya book. The research consists of two sections preceded by an introduction that discusses the definition of a sentence linguistically and terminologically, clarifying the difference of opinion among grammarians regarding whether a sentence and speech are synonymous or if there is a difference between them. The first section of the research explains the impact of sentence construction in directing the meaning of the supplication of the Day of Arafah, focusing on the impact of verbal sentence construction in directing the meaning of time, whether from the present to the past, from the present to the past, from the present to the future, or from the present to the future. It clarifies that the verb may deviate from its verbal temporal meaning to other meanings due to linguistic and semantic factors in the context of the supplication, thus changing the temporal meaning to another meaning. The section also discusses the confirmed verbal sentence, the negated verbal sentence, and the construct sentence in its two divisions. This is what I have attempted to present in these lines, acknowledging in advance any shortcomings and deficiencies. If there is any merit, it is from the grace of my Lord. Our final supplication is that all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all worlds.