ZIYARAH OF IMAM HUSAYN (A)

Because the general forms of Ziyarah of Imam al-Husayn (‘a) are numerous, we have to mention some several forms only.

FIRST FORM OF ZIYARAH

In his book of al-Kafi, Shaykh al-Kulayni has reported the following through his chain of authority from al-Husayn ibn Thuwayr:

Yunus ibn ²abyan, al-Mufazzal ibn ‘Umar, Abu-Salamah al-Sarraj, and I were sitting with Abu-’Abdullah Ja’far ibn Muhammad (al-Sadiq) and Yunus, the oldest among us, was our spokesman. “May Allah accept me as ransom for you,” Yunus expressed, “I usually attend the sessions of these people (i.e. the ‘Abbasid ruling authorities). What should I say then?” The Imam (‘a) instructed, “When you attend such sessions and mention us, you should say,

If you say so, you will gain the reward that you wish to gain or you will be allowed to return to this worldly life at the Return.”

I then spoke, “May Allah accept me as ransom for you! I very frequently mention (Imam) al-Husayn; what should I say then?” The Imam (‘a) instructed, “You should repeat the following statement three times:

Actually, greetings that are addressed to him always reach him whether they are said near him or from a remote place.

When Abu-’Abdullah (Imam al-Husayn) passed away, the seven heavens, the seven layers of the earth, whatever within them, whatever between them, all the inhabitants of Paradise and Hell from the various species of the creatures of our Lord, whatever can be seen, and whatever cannot be seen - all these wept for al-Husayn (‘a) except for three.”

“May Allah accept me as ransom for you!” I asked, “What are these three things?”

The Imam (‘a) answered, “The things that did not weep for him are al-Basrah, Damascus, and the family of ‘Uthman.”

I then asked, “May Allah accept me as ransom for you! When I intend to visit him, what should I say and what should I do?”

The Imam (‘a) instructed:

When you come to Abu-’Abdullah (al-Husayn), you should bathe yourself on the bank of the River Euphrates. You should then put on (ceremonially) pure clothes and walk barefooted, because you are in the sanctuary of Almighty Allah and His Messenger, uttering repeatedly statements of professing Almighty Allah being the Greatest (i.e. allahu-akbar), there being no god save Him (i.e. la-ilaha-illa-allahu), all glory being to Him (i.e. subhaha-allahi), and all veneration being to Him, and uttering the statement of invoking His blessings on the Holy Prophet and his Household (i.e. allahumma salli ‘ala muhammadin wa ali muhammadin) until you stop at the gate of the shrine. Then, you should say the following:

You should then walk for ten steps and stop again to repeat the following statement thirty times:

You should then move towards the tomb from the side of the Imam’s face having your face to be to the face of the Imam and the kiblah direction to be between your shoulders. You should then say the following:

You should then repeat the following words three times:

You should then repeat the following words three times, too:

You should then stand up and direct towards his son, ‘Ali, who is buried to the side of the Imam’s feet, and say the following words:

You should then stand up and point to the martyrs with your hand, may Allah be pleased with them, and say the following words:

You should then turn around and make the tomb of Abu-’Abdullah in front of you (i.e. stop behind the tomb) and offer a six-unit prayer. Thus, you have accomplished the visitation of Imam al-Husayn’s tomb. You may then leave, if you wish. (Here end the instructive words of Imam al-Sadiq)

This form of Ziyarah has been also reported by Shaykh al-Tusi, in Tahdhib al-Ahkam, and Shaykh al-Saduq, in man-la-yahzuruhul-faqih. Commenting on it, Shaykh al-Saduq says, “Although I have mentioned other forms of Ziyarah in my two books of al-Mazar and al-Maqtal, I have chosen this very form for this book, because it is the most authentically reported form; therefore, it covers what we need and meets the required terms.”