سلمة بن الخطاب

The Prophet (s.a.a.w.) said: Those who come to my Ziyārah during my life or after my death will be my neighbours on the Day of Judgment.

Muḥammad ibn ‘Ali, son of Ḥanafiyyah, used to go to the grave of Ḥasan ibn ‘Ali (a.s.) and recite (the following): Salām to you, O son of the Commander of the Believers and son of the first Muslim! And how can you be anything other than this, for you are the son of the (Prophet of) guidance, you are (the most) devoted to piety, and you are one of the five Asḥāb Al-Kisā (people of the cloak). You were fed by the hands of mercy, you were raised in the lap of Islam, and you were nursed from the bosom of faith. You were blessed when you were alive and you are blessed after your death, except that our souls are miserable in being separated from you. However, we do not have any doubts that you are alive. May Allāh’s Mercy be upon you. Then he would look at Ḥusain (a.s.) and say, “O Abā ‘Abdillāh! May Salām be upon Abī Muḥammad (Imam Ḥasan (a.s.))!”

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: The sacred boundary of the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.) is five parasangs from each of the four sides of the grave.

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) asked me, “O Sadīr! Do you perform the Ziyārah of the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.) once every day?” I replied, “May I sacrifice myself for you! No.” Imam (a.s.) said, “How negligent you people are!!! Do you perform his Ziyārah once every month?” I replied, “No.” Imam (a.s.) asked, “What about once every year?” I replied, “Sometimes.” Imam (a.s.) said: O Sadīr! How negligent you people are toward Ḥusain (a.s.)!!! Do you not know that Allāh has one million angels who are disheveled and covered with dust, who cry (over Ḥusain (a.s.)), and who perform his Ziyārah (at all times) and they never pause?! O Sadīr! How difficult is it for you to perform the Ziyārah of the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.) five times every Friday and once every day?! I replied, “May I sacrifice myself for you! There is a great distance between us and his grave.” Imam (a.s.) said: Go to the roof of your house, look to the right and left, raise your head toward the sky, and then try to face the direction of the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.) and say: Salām to you, O Abā ‘Abdillāh. Salām to you and (may) Allāh’s Mercy and Blessings be upon you. (By doing) so, a Zawrah will be registered for you. And Zawrah is the performance of a Hajj and an ‘Umrah. Sadīr added, “(After hearing this) there were times when I would perform this (Ziyārah) twenty times during the day.”

I asked Abā ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)), “Is praying in the Mosque of the Prophet (s.a.a.w.) the same as praying anywhere else in Madīnah?” Imam (a.s.) replied, “No. One Salāt (prayer) in the Mosque of the Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.) is equal to one thousand prayers elsewhere. However, praying anywhere else in Madīnah is just like praying in any other city.”

Abul Ḥasan (Imam Kāżim (a.s.)) asked me, “How do you say Salām to Abī ‘Abdillāh (Imam Ḥusain (a.s.))?” I replied: I recite (the following): Salām to you, O Abā ‘Abdillāh. Salām to you, O son of the Messenger of Allāh. I testify that you established prayers, gave charity, enjoined good, forbade evil, and called (the people) to the path of your Lord with wisdom and by giving good counsel. I testify that those who spilled your blood and breached your sanctity will be tormented and they are cursed “by [the] tongue of Dāwūd and ‘Ǐsā, son of Maryam. That is because they disobeyed and used to exceed the limits” (5:78). Imam (a.s.) said, “Yes. This (Ziyārah) is correct.”

He said: When you go to (the Ziyārah of the grave of) ‘Ali ibn Mūsā Al-Riďā (a.s.), recite (the following): O Allāh! Send Your blessing on ‘Ali ibn Mūsā Al-Riďā, the pleasant, the pious and pure Imam, Your Decisive Proof on those on earth and those under the dust, the truthful, and the martyr. (O Allāh! Send) an increasing, growing, purified, continuous, and a frequent blessing (on him) that is consecutive and greater than any of the blessings You have sent on any of Your friends.

The following should be recited next to the grave of Ḥamzah (a.s.): (s.a.a.w.) (s.a.a.w.) (s.a.a.w.) Salām to you, O uncle of the Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.) and the best of the martyrs. Salām to you, O Lion of Allāh and the Lion of His Messenger (s.a.a.w.). I testify that you fought in the way of Allāh the way (in which) Allāh should be fought for; (I testify that) you were loyal to Allāh and His Messenger (s.a.a.w.) and that you generously sacrificed yourself (for Allāh). You sought that which is with Allāh and (you) desired that which He has promised. After reciting the above, enter, and establish prayer but do not face the grave while you are praying. After you finish your prayers, fall to the grave and recite (the following): O Allāh! Send Your blessing on Muḥammad and his family. O Allāh! I have exposed myself to Your Mercy by clinging to the grave of the uncle of Your Prophet, may Your blessings be upon him and upon his family, so that You may protect me against Your Wrath, Your Vengeance, and Your Abhorrence; and (so that You may protect me) from slipping on the Day when there will be much clamour and humiliation, and every soul will be busy with that which it has brought forward (for itself), and every soul will try to defend (only) itself. (O Allāh!) If You include me in Your Mercy today, I shall not have any fear nor grief. However, if You decide to punish me, (You are) my Master who has power over His slave. O Allāh! Do not disappoint me today and do not send me back without fulfilling my needs, for I am clinging to the grave of the uncle of Your Prophet and I am seeking nearness to You through him, (and by doing so) I am seeking Your Pleasure and hoping for Your Mercy. Therefore, accept this (deed) from me and turn with Your Patience to my ignorance and with Your Kindness to the crimes which I have committed against myself. Verily my sins are great. I do not fear that You will oppress me; rather I fear a terrible reckoning. Therefore, take into consideration my restless movement on the grave of the uncle of Your Prophet – may Your blessings be upon Muḥammad and his family – and release me (from Hell) through them. Do not make my efforts futile; do not disgrace my invocation (to You); do not prevent my voice from (reaching) You; and do not send me back without fulfilling my needs. O saviour of every grief-stricken and anguished person! O one who comforts the heartbroken, the perplexed, and the stranger who is on the verge of perishing! Send Your blessing on Muḥammad and his purified family and look toward me in such a way that (it) prevents me from ever becoming wretched. (O Allāh!) Have mercy on (me through) my invocation and through my loneliness, for I have hoped (to gain) Your pleasure and I am seeking the good that cannot be given by anyone other than You. Therefore, do not disappoint me. The above Ḥadīth has also been narrated to me through the following chains: A) Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan, from Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan Al-Saffār, from Salamah ibn Khaťťāb, from ‘Abdillāh ibn Aḥmad, from Bakr ibn Sāliḥ, from ‘Amr ibn Hishām, from one of our companions, from one of the Infallible Imams (a.s.). B) My father, from Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā, and from Aḥmad ibn Idrīs, from Salamah ibn Khaťťāb, from ‘Abdillāh ibn Aḥmad, from Bakr ibn Sāliḥ, from ‘Amr ibn Hishām, from one of our companions, from one of the Infallible Imams (a.s.).

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: I have been informed that some people go to the Ziyārah of Ḥusain ibn ‘Ali (a.s.) carrying different kinds of food with them, including Akhbisah and other similar deserts. Verily if they had gone to the graves of their loved ones, they would not have taken such things with them.

A man came to Abī ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) and said, “I have sold all of my belongings and properties and I am thinking of moving to Makkah.” Imam (a.s.) said, “Do not do that because the people of Makkah disbelieve in Allāh publicly.” The man asked, “What about the city of the Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.) (Madīnah)?” Imam (a.s.) replied, “The people there are even worse than the people of Makkah.” The man asked, “Then where should I move to?” Imam (a.s.) replied, “Go to Kūfah in Iraq, for verily the blessings of that land span a twelve mile radius and there is a grave in its proximity which is not visited by any anguished and grieved person without Allāh relieving him from his anguish and grief.”

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) asked me, “O Sadīr! Do you perform the Ziyārah of the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.) once everyday?” I replied, “May I sacrifice myself for you! No.” Imam (a.s.) said, “How negligent you people are!!! Do you perform his Ziyārah once every week?” I replied, “No.” Imam (a.s.) asked, “Do you perform his Ziyārah once every month?” I replied, “No.” Imam (a.s.) asked, “What about once every year?” I replied, “Sometimes.” Imam (a.s.) said, “O Sadīr! How negligent you people are toward Ḥusain (a.s.)!!!”

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: O Mu’āwiyah! Do not neglect going to the Ziyārah of the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.) because of fear. Verily he who abandons the Ziyārah of Ḥusain (a.s.) (for any reason) will regret it so much that he will wish that his grave was next to him. Do you not like Allāh to see you among those for whom the Messenger of Allāh, ‘Ali, Fāťimah, and the Imams (a.s.) pray?! Do you not like to be among those who return with forgiveness for their past sins and (do you not like) to return from his Ziyārah with seventy years of sins forgiven for you?! Do you not like to be among those who will not have any sins about which they will be questioned when they leave this life?! Do you not like to be among those whose hands the Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.) will shake tomorrow (on the Day of Judgment)?!

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), once said, ‘O Sadir, do you visit the grave of al-Husayn (a.s.), every day?’ I replied, ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, no, I do not visit every day.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘How harsh are your manners toward him!’ He (the Imam) then asked, ‘Do you visit him every Friday?’ I replied, ‘No; we do not visit him every Friday.’ He (the Imam) asked, ‘Do you visit him every month?’ I replied, ‘No, we do not visit him every month.’ He (the Imam) asked, ‘Do you visit him every year?’ I replied, ‘Sometimes we do and sometimes we do not visit him once every year.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘How harsh have you been toward al-Husayn (a.s.), O Sadir! Do you not know that Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, has assigned a million angels to the grave of al-Husayn (a.s.) ? These angels are sad, sorrowful and in an untidy physical condition and they mourn for him. They visit him tirelessly. It is not difficult, O Sadir, if you visit al-Husayn five times every week, once every day.’ I then said, ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, there are many miles between our location and the grave of al-Husayn (a.s.) .’ He (the Imam) said to me, ‘You can climb on the roof of your house, then turn right and left, then raise your head toward the sky, then turn toward the direction of the grave and say, ‘(I hereby declare, affirm and acknowledge that you are a ‘Alayhi al-Salam and my) submission to (your commandments), O abu ‘Abd Allah. (I hereby declare, affirm and acknowledge that you are a ‘Alayhi al-Salam and my) submission to (your commandments) and appeal to Allah to grant you kindness and blessings. For this much one Zawrah will be written for you. One zawrah is equal to one al-Hajj and al-‘Umrah.’ Sadir has said, ‘I thereafter would do so, more than twenty times every month.”

The Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.) said: One Salāt in my mosque is equal to one thousand Salāt elsewhere.

Abū Ja’far (Imam Bāqir (a.s.)) said: When you take from the clay of the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.), you should say: O Allāh! I ask You through the right of this dust, through the right of the angel who is dedicated to it and the angel who dug it, and through the right of the Successor who is (lying) in it to send Your blessing on Muḥammad and the family of Muḥammad and to make this clay the cure from every disease and the protection against any fear. If you do this, then this clay will definitely be a cure for you from every disease and protection against any fear.

I took some of the dust which is close to the head of the grave of Ḥusain ibn ‘Ali (a.s.). It was a red-coloured clay. I took it to Imam Riďā (a.s.) to show it to him. He held it in his palm, smelled it, and started to cry, shedding tears. Then he (the Imam (a.s.)) said, “This is the dust of (the grave of) my grandfather.”

I asked him (Imam Jawād (a.s.)), “What is the reward for those who go to the Ziyārah of the Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.) solely for (the purpose of) Ziyārah?” Imam (a.s.) replied, “Allāh will take them to Paradise.”

The Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.) said: Those who come to my Ziyārah after my death are like those who have come to visit me during my life, and I will be their witness and their intercessor on the Day of Judgment.

The Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.) said: One Salāt in my mosque is equal to one thousand Salāt elsewhere.

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: Do not neglect going to the Ziyārah of Ḥusain (a.s.). Do you not like to be among those for whom the angels pray?!