Ali ibn al-Husayn al-Sajjad, also known as Zayn al-Abidin was the great-grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the fourth imam in Shia Islam, succeeding his father, Husayn ibn Ali, his uncle, Hasan ibn Ali, and his grandfather, Ali ibn Abi Talib.

Al-Sahifa al-sajjadiyya is a book of supplications attributed to Ali al-Sajjad, an imam in Shia Islam, and the great-grandson of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. The oldest prayer manual in Islam, al-Sahifa has been praised as the epitome of Islamic spirituality and the answer to many of today's spiritual questions. In particular, Shia tradition holds the book in great esteem, ranking it behind the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, and Nahj al-balagha, which is attributed to the first Shia imam, Ali ibn Abi Talib. Fifty-four supplications form the core of al-Sahifa, which often also includes an addenda of fourteen supplications and fifteen whispered prayers.