The Orison and the Observance
The Spiritual Instruction of the Prophet Muḥammad and his Noble Descendants
A Parallel English-Arabic Text Compiled and Translated by Sayyid Amjad H. Shah Naqavi
Spirituality, supplication, and communion with God are fundamental to Islam. The teachings of the Prophet Muḥammad and his descendants – may God bless them – have been a central source of spiritual guidance for Muslims for over a thousand years. The Orison and the Observance: The Spiritual Instruction of the Prophet Muḥammad and his Noble Descendants, compiled and translated from a vast corpus of Islamic spiritual sources by the Dean of The Shīʿah Institute, Dr Sayyid Amjad H. Shah Naqavi, gathers the most profound glorifications, invocations, supplications, and petitions for the religious calendar in a single volume.
A collection of the most fundamental and timeless works in the Islamic spiritual tradition, The Orison and the Observance makes a unique genre of Arabic devotional literature available to a general readership for the first time in Dr Shah Naqavi’s masterful and authoritative translations. Dr Shah Naqavi draws upon the treasury of the House of Prophethood from the renowned compilations of some of the most important scholars and theologians in Islamic history, including al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī (d. 460/1067), al-Sayyid Ibn Ṭāwūs (d. 646/1266), and al-Shaykh al-Kafʿamī (d. 905/1499–1500), amongst others from modern times, such as al-Shaykh ʿAbbās al-Qummī (d. 1359/1941). Based upon a deep knowledge of and immersion in the distinctive linguistic, rhetorical, and affective dimensions of the Islamic spiritual tradition, as well as decades of study in Arabic philology, lexicography, etymology and grammar, The Orison and the Observance presents English translations which reflect, capture, and transmit the intimate register of communion with the divine so central to Islamic devotional literature and liturgy. Dr Shah Naqavi’s compilation and translation is a valuable contribution to the spiritual heritage of Islam and an indispensable resource for anyone with an interest in spirituality, gnosis, and prayer, and will be of lasting benefit to scholars and students, as well as general readers.