Tumattiʿahu or Tumakkinahu?

In an interesting article on Duʿāʾ al-Faraj ¹, Sayyid Jaʿfar al-Ḥaydarī argues that the phrase:

«و تمتّعه فيها طويلا»

…in Duʿāʾ al-Faraj is most likely a copyist error (taṣḥīf) and is actually supposed to be:

«و تمكّنه فيها طويلا»

He bases his arguments on the following evidence:

1)      Shaykh al-Ṭāʾifah has mentioned the second version in his Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām (3:102).

2)      The above referenced version is exactly what has always been recited and continues to be recited today (unlike the version in al-Kafi which has some slight variances), except for the phrase in question.

3)      The second phrase is more like what is found in the Qurʾān, and in the sunnah.

Then, to affirm his claim, he discusses the difference in meaning and usage of these two terms (tumattiʿahū and tumakkinahū) both from the linguistic and Qurʾānic perspectives. After presenting numerous verses as examples, he concludes that the first version is not suitable and appropriate, especially in such a supplication.

While we do respect the scholarly approach taken by Sayyid al-Ḥaydarī, there is one very important point that he seems to have overlooked, and that is the absence of his version (containing tumakkinahū) in the numerous other sources that mention this supplication. In fact, Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām, which is essentially a book that deals with ḥadīth about legal issues and how to resolve contradicting narrations, is the only souce that quotes this version. Shaykh al-Ṭūsī himself quotes the more commonly recited version (i.e. tumattiʿahū) in his Miṣbāḥ al-Mutahajjid (2:631), which is actually a book of supplications and prayers. In addition, all the earlier and later scholars who quoted this supplication in their works used the common version. Therefore, the fact that Shaykh al-Ṭāʾifah has mentioned the second version in his Tahdhīb al-Aḥkām does not suffice to prove its correctness or even that the other version (which has even been recorded in earlier works) is the result of copyist error.

We should also consider that many eloquent scholars have recited this supplication and none of them have ever claimed that the last phrase of the supplication is out of place or inappropriate. Furthermore, Q11:3 which has also been quoted by the respected author, is a clear example of how tumattiʿahū may be used to provide a sound meaning to this last phase of Duʿāʾ al-Faraj. And Allah knows best.