Allaah Ta’aala says in the Qur’an, “Wamaa arsalna min Rasoolin illa be-lesaane Qaumehi” which means, ‘We haven’t sent any Prophet but in the language of his community who conversed with the people in their language in order to make them understand our message.’  Rasoolullaah (saws) was sent as the last Nabi of Allaah in the Arabian Peninsula where Arabic was the mother tongue of the Arab clans. Also, the word of Allaah, Qur’an-e-Kareem was revealed upon Rasoolullaah (saws) in Arabic language so that the people could understand the message of Allaah. Hence the mother language of Islaam is Arabic. The Mission of Allaah (Da’wat) of inviting the people to the Islaam after the death of Rasoolullaah (saws) continued in the same way during the time of A’immat-e-Taahereen (as) and Du’aat-e-Akrameen (as) – in the Arabic language. The scenario changed when the center of the Da’wat was about to shift from Southern Arabia (Yemen) to India in the mid of 10th century AH. As Rasoolullaah (saws) explained the Shari’at of Allaah to the people in their mother tongue, it was incumbent upon the Du’aat-e-Amjadeen and Mawaali-e-Taahereen (aq) to explain the principles of Shari’at to the people in the language which was prevalent in India. The mother language of al-Da’wat ul-Haadiyah i.e. Arabic got blended with the local languages as well as dialects and a new language eventually got evolved, developed and enhanced which had its base in Arabic but had the inclusions from the local languages. The inclusions were from Sanskrit, Gujarati, Urdu and Persian languages. The new blended language of India came to be known as Lisaan ud-Da’wat which is the legacy of the mumineen of Hind and Sindh. Though the mode of imparting the knowledge of Shari’at and principles to the mumineen changed but the basic learning and recitation of the Qur’an remained same – in the Arabic language. Also mumineen were encouraged to learn Arabic to get a clear idea and better understanding of the intricacies of Deen of Allaah.

Learning of the Arabic continued in the Indian Peninsula but was limited to the learned and knowledgeable mumineen who sought after acquiring the higher understanding of the Shari’at of Allaah. Mumineen also went to Arabia (Yemen) to get an edge over the Arabic language. Till the time of 37th Da’i-e-Mutlaq Saiyedna Shamsuddin Shaikhali saheb (aq), all the official matters of Da’wat was carried out in Arabic as well as Wa’az and Bayaanaat.  41st Da’i-e-Mutlaq Saiyedna Fakhruddin Jivabhai saheb (aq) has written ash’aar in his Deewaan-e-Haseen in 4 different languages i.e. Arabic, Persian, Urdu and Gujarati.  He used to do Majlis-e-‘Azaa of Maulaana Imaam Husain (as) in Moharram ul-Haraam in Zabaan-e-Faarsi (Persian).  But by the passing time the larger mass could not afford to learn all these languages. Hence some part of learning was imparted to the mumineen in their local languages. An integral part of imparting learning to the mass is to publish the basic principles and understanding of Islaam in the form of a book – better called as “Saheefah.”  Local language of mumineen of Gujarat being Gujarati, the first edition of Saheefah was published for the mumineen in Gujarati language during the time of 43rd ad-Da’i ul Mutlaq Saiyedna Yoosuf Nooruddin Saheb (aq) in 1378 AH. It was published as As-Saheefat ul-Alaviyah. It ran into various editions.

As the time passed, there was a need to revise and rewrite the old edition. This task was undertaken 3 yrs back. Under the guidance of Maazoon ud-Da’wat Haatim Zakiyuddin Saheb (dm) the rewriting of the Saheefah was done by Zaujah Faazelah of Maazoon Saheb Busaahebah Husbaanabu. The transliteration of the Arabic script of the Du’as was meticulously revised so that mumineen could correctly recite without any mistake of Makhraj. This latest edition of Gujarati Saheefah named as “As-Saheefat ut-Taiyebiyah” was released in all the Masaajid among the mumineen on 16th Ramazaan 1431 AH so that mumineen could take maximum advantage of it during the Layaali Faazelah. Insha-allaah the same Gujarati Saheefah will be rendered in Arabic in near future to cater to those mumineen who are used to recite Du'as in Arabic.

The final edition of Saheefah not only includes the chapters of previous editions of Saheefah but it has been upgraded as a mini and handy encyclopedia where mumineen can find the relevant Bayaanaat and description of all our customs and practices right from birth to death. It is beyond the limit of this article to enlist all the contents of the Saheefah. But it is true that this final edition of Saheefah will be useful to mumineen in every way. Some of the interesting new chapters are enlisted as under:

• An overview of the Pillars of Islaam (Da’aaim ul-Islaam).
• Detailed description of Tahaarat – Ritual purity.
• Description of different types of Namaaz like Namaaz of Traveler, Namaaz of the late comer, Namaaz of Eclipse, Namaaz of Fear, Namaaz of getting Rainfall, Namaaz of the fulfillment of wishes etc.
• All types of Du’as.
• Description of all Festivals from Moharram ul-Haraam to Zul Hijjat il-Haraam.
• Miscellaneous topics like Sadaqah, how to take Minnat, description of Aqeeqah, Nikaah, Iddat etc.
• How a mumin should lead an ldeal Life conforming to the Farmaan (obligation) of the Qur’an and Sunnah Mubaarakah of Rasoolullaah (saws).