Mutawakkil bin Harun, a companion of Imam Baqir and Imam Sadiq (peace be upon them), narrates that during a meeting with Yahya bin Zayd (the grandson of Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him) upon returning from the pilgrimage, he informed him of the prophecy of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) regarding his martyrdom. At this point, Yahya bin Zayd asked me: “Have you written anything from my cousin?” I replied, “Yes.” He said: “Show me.” I then presented to him various pieces of knowledge that I had recorded from him. I then showed him a prayer that Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) had dictated to me, saying that his father, Imam Baqir (peace be upon him), had dictated it to him, and that it had been narrated as a prayer from his grandfather, Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him), from the complete supplications in the Sahifah Kamilah. Yahya looked at it until he had finished reading it.
Then he said: “Do you allow me to take a copy of it?” I replied, “O son of the Messenger of God! Are you asking for permission to take something that belongs to you?” Yahya said: “I will present to you now a copy of the complete prayer from what my father had preserved from his father, and he had instructed me to keep it away from the unworthy.”
Yahya then requested a bag, and from it, he brought out a sealed, locked Sahifah. He looked at the seal, kissed it, and wept. Then he broke the seal and unlocked it. He opened the Sahifah, placed it on his eyes, and rubbed it on his face, saying: “By God, O Mutawakkil, if it were not for the information you have told me regarding my being killed and hanged, I would certainly not have given you this Sahifah. But I know that the words of Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) are true, and he received them from his forefathers, and soon the truth of it will be revealed. Therefore, I feared that such knowledge would fall into the hands of the Umayyads and they would conceal it from people, hoarding it in their treasuries. So, take it and make sure it is preserved, and wait for the time when God will execute His judgment regarding me and these people. Then, this Sahifah, which is entrusted to you, will be passed on to my two cousins, Muhammad and Ibrahim.”[1]
Mutawakkil says: I took the Sahifah, and when Yahya bin Zayd was martyred, I went to Medina and visited Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him). I told him the story of Yahya, and he wept intensely for Yahya and said: “… Now, where is that Sahifah?” I said: “Here it is, this is the same Sahifah.” He opened it and said: “By God, this is the handwriting of my uncle Zayd, and the prayer of my grandfather, Ali bin Husayn (peace be upon him).” Then he said to his son: “O Isma’il! Stand up and bring the prayer that I instructed you to preserve.” Isma’il stood up and brought out a Sahifah, which seemed to be the same one that Yahya bin Zayd had given me. Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) kissed it, placed it on his eyes, and said: “This is the handwriting of my father, and the dictation of my grandfather (Imam Sajjad, peace be upon him), which was recorded in my presence.”
At this point, I said: “O son of the Messenger of God! If you deem it appropriate, shall I compare it with the Sahifah of Zayd and Yahya?” He gave me permission and said: “I deem you worthy of this task.” So I compared them, and I found that they were identical, with not even a single letter differing between them.
Mutawakkil says: Then Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) dictated to me the prayers of the Sahifah, which consisted of 75 chapters, 11 of which I forgot, and I preserved 64 chapters.
But is this truly just a book of supplications, or does it carry other messages as well?
(Taken from the introduction to the Sahifah Sajjadiyyah, translated by Hujjat al-Islam Gharviyan)
Footnote:
[1] Muhammad and Ibrahim are the sons of Abdullah bin Hassan bin Hassan bin Ali (peace be upon them).