The is a book of prayers and devotional observances. Among the religious traditions of humanity the Imami Shi'ah tradition within Islam is unmatched in its rich corpus of devotional texts (
du'a
and
ziyarah
literature) handed down from the original leaders of the faith, the Prophet Muhammad and the Imams of his family, the
Ahl al-Bayt
.The
Mafatih al-Jinan
is the most popular manual of Islamic devotional observances and prayer-texts by
Shaykh Abbas Qummi
, which draws its contents from well-known, reliable sources. As a manual of devotional literature, the
follows a long tradition established by the
Misbah al-Mutahajjid
of Shaykh Tusi (d. 460/1067) and followed up in the works of Sayyid Ibn Tawus (d. 664/1265), Kaf'ami (d. 905/1499) and others. Most of the contents of the
Mafatih
are drawn from these earlier works. Since its publication, the
has enjoyed an uncontested popularity among Farsi-speaking Muslims, and its Arabic and Urdu versions are widely used by the devout in the Arab world and the Indian subcontinent.
The Book consists of two parts. The first part consists of supplications and devotional observances which are performed daily, weekly and on special occasions pertaining to the different months of the Islamic calendar.
The second part pertains to the ziyarahs, or observances performed by pilgrims and visitors to the holy shrines at Medina, Najaf, Karbala, Kazimayn, Mashhad and other places.