“Love of the Prophet cures me of my selfish desires,
Guiding me to Allah’s pleasure, reaching the lofty heights of it and higher.
Love of the Prophet is īmān; and accompanying it—
Is the Prophet’s praise; the Dīn increases for those who commit!”
The Dīwān should therefore not be understood merely as a collection of devotional poems. It is a vast poetic treasury of spiritual teaching, remembrance, love and guidance. Through its verses, Sayyidī Shaykh Ṣāliḥ (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) instructs the murīd, awakens love, explains the path, calls the heart towards Allah and teaches the seeker how to understand the spiritual inheritance of the Jaʿfariyya Aḥmadiyya Muḥammadiyya Ṭarīqa which he founded.
The Twelve Volumes
Volumes 1–2 — The Shaykh, the Murīd and the Path
The opening volumes focus particularly on the relationship between the Shaykh and the murīd, together with the virtues, principles and spiritual realities of the ṭarīqa.
They contain guidance for the seeker concerning adab, companionship, spiritual training, steadfastness and the correct orientation towards the path.
These volumes help the murīd understand not only what he practises, but the spirit in which the path is to be walked.
Volumes 3–8 — al-Muḥammadiyyāt
Volumes three to eight are known as the Muḥammadiyyāt.
These volumes are devoted particularly to the praise and exaltation of our Master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, together with love and praise of his blessed Ahl al-Bayt (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum).
Here, the poetry of Sayyidī Shaykh Ṣāliḥ (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) gives expression to one of the defining features of his path:
abundant love and praise of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
For Sayyidī Shaykh Ṣāliḥ (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu), praise of the Prophet ﷺ was not merely poetic ornamentation.
- It was spiritual nourishment.
- It was a means of cultivating īmān.
- It was a means of disciplining the nafs.
And it was a means of drawing the heart towards Allah through love of His Beloved ﷺ.
Volumes 9–12 — al-Ilāhiyyāt
The final four volumes are known as the Ilāhiyyāt.
Their focus is the remembrance of Allah Most High, glorification of His Majesty and contemplation of His Divine Names and Attributes.
These volumes draw the seeker towards tawḥīd, servitude, dependence upon Allah and recognition of His absolute greatness.
If the Muḥammadiyyāt teach the heart to overflow with love of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, the Ilāhiyyāt direct that heart towards the One to Whom the Messenger ﷺ calls:
Allah Most High.
Poetry as Spiritual Tarbiya
The poetry of Sayyidī Shaykh Ṣāliḥ (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) is deeply connected to tarbiya — the spiritual cultivation of the murīd.
They place the principles of the path into language that can be memorised, recited and carried within the heart.
A teaching heard once may be forgotten. But a verse repeatedly recited can remain with a person for years.
This is one of the reasons poetry has occupied such an important place within the Islamic spiritual tradition.
The Dīwān transforms teaching into remembrance.
Qurʾān, Knowledge, Taqwā and Praise of the Prophet ﷺ
The Dīwān also reflects the wider spiritual methodology of Sayyidī Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Jaʿfarī (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu).
His path was founded upon:
the Qurʾān;
sacred knowledge;
taqwā;
and abundant praise of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
These are not separate themes scattered throughout the twelve volumes.
Together they form a single vision of spiritual life.
The seeker learns.
He remembers Allah.
He disciplines himself through taqwā.
He increases in love of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
And through all of this, he seeks the pleasure of Allah Most High.
A Living Part of the Jaʿfarī Inheritance
The Dīwān remains one of the great treasures of the spiritual and scholarly inheritance of Sayyidī Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Jaʿfarī (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu).
For the murīd of the Jaʿfariyya, it is not merely a historical record of the Shaykh’s poetry.
It is part of the living turāth of the path.
Its verses continue to be recited.
Its teachings continue to be studied.
Its praises continue to nourish love of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
And its counsel continues to guide seekers towards remembrance, sincerity, adab and steadfastness upon the path to Allah.
Download the Dīwān
The twelve volumes of the Dīwān of Sayyidī Shaykh Ṣāliḥ al-Jaʿfarī (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu) are available below in PDF format.
Read them as part of the spiritual inheritance of the Shaykh.
And above all, read them with the intention that their words increase remembrance of Allah Most High and love of our Master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
