The Supplication for the People of the Frontiers by Imam Zayn al-ʿAbidin

Given that the life of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) is the object of the researcher's attention—so that he may bring their method clearly to light, in order to follow their radiant conduct in building a good, civilized life, and in order to adopt positions in life that rest upon the principled foundation of a luminous history and upon the comprehensive balance for the life of the individual and of the community—for this cognitive purpose, by which a person completes his civilizational vision, it is necessary to study the instances in which striking positions of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) toward their reality became manifest. Among those positions are some whose harmony with the teachings of the Qurʾan and with the established values of the religion, whose foundations the Ahl al-Bayt (a) laid, is clearly evident; and among the positions are some that require research in order to know where they stand in relation to those values and the extent of their harmony with them, because of their obscurity or because of what, at first glance, appears to be a contradiction of the very basis of the values. Indeed, we may even say that research into those positions could lead to the conviction that they are a fabrication of the historical imagination and have no reality, should it be definitively established that they contradict the values of the religion and the spirit of the holy Sharia.

Research into the life of Imam Zayn al-ʿAbidin (a) is replete with a number of instances that require elucidation and reconciliation with the established religious values, in view of the crisis-ridden political reality, and in view of the thorny task that lay upon the Imam's shoulders, since he was a divine leadership whose responsibility was leading the community, whether it was in the seat of power or far from it. Among those matters is his well-known supplication contained in al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, called the Supplication for the People of the Frontiers, which begins with: “O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household, fortify the frontiers of the Muslims by Your might, support their defenders by Your strength, and make their gifts abundant from Your wealth. O Allah, bless Muhammad and his Household, increase their number, sharpen their weapons, guard their domain, defend their heartland, unite their gathering, and manage their affair”.. to the end of the supplication.

The problem in addressing this supplication can be summarized in the following research question: How can it be understood that the Imam (a) prays for the people of the frontiers when they were subordinate to an unjust authority with which he was at odds politically and religiously? How, then, can praying for them be understood in circumstances of deep political and doctrinal disagreement, which reached its peak in the era of Imam Zayn al-ʿAbidin (a)?!