A Model of Moral Education Based on Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, the Treatise on Rights, and the Hadiths of Imam Sajjad (A.S.) and Its Philosophical Foundations

Abstract

This study aimed to extract and explain a comprehensive model of moral education based on Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, the Treatise on Rights, and the hadiths of Imam Sajjad (A.S.), and to identify its underlying philosophical foundations, objectives, principles, and educational methods. This qualitative study employed a descriptive-analytical approach. The research corpus consisted of the complete text of the 54 supplications of Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya, the Treatise on Rights, and other hadiths attributed to Imam Sajjad (A.S.). Purposive sampling was used to select passages containing moral and educational concepts. Data were collected through library research and systematic note-taking from authoritative primary sources and were analyzed in MAXQDA through open, axial, and selective coding. The trustworthiness of the findings was assessed using Lincoln and Guba’s qualitative criteria, reliance on authentic primary sources, contextual analysis, and consultation with experts in Qur’anic and Hadith sciences and Islamic education. The analysis revealed that Imam Sajjad’s model of moral education is structured around four interconnected dimensions: God-centeredness, self-dignity and spiritual honor, systematic organization of duties and obligations, and practical-social moral conduct. Its philosophical foundations were organized into four domains: ontology, anthropology, epistemology, and axiology. Educational objectives were identified at three levels: attaining divine proximity, cultivating individual dignity and inner purification, and establishing a justice-oriented and empathetic society. God-centeredness, balance, reciprocity between rights and duties, and gradual and continuous cultivation of virtues emerged as the principal educational principles. Supplication and prayer, self-monitoring and self-evaluation, respect for human dignity, and practical role modeling were identified as the major educational mechanisms. The proposed model conceptualizes moral education as an integrated system in which knowledge, spirituality, rights, responsibilities, and social conduct operate interactively. Through self-knowledge, purification of the soul, observance of reciprocal rights, and morally grounded action, the model directs individuals toward human perfection and divine proximity. It can therefore provide a conceptual framework for designing moral education programs in educational, cultural, and social settings.