عبد الله

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: The space between the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.) and the heavens is (always) filled with angels who are descending and ascending (back and forth from the Ziyārah).

“This is a narration of abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), from the Messenger of Allah. He (the Messenger of Allah) has said, ‘Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious, says to the angel guarding a believing person in his illness, “Write down for him (of good deeds) what you would write down for him of good deeds in his good health; it is I who have tied him down with My rope.’””

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that when a person is about to die, the angel of death ties him down; otherwise, he will not calm down.”

Abū ‘Abdillāh (a.s.) said: What is wrong with you (people)?! Why do you not go to him? – This refers to the Ziyārah of the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.). Verily four thousand angels cry by his grave (and will continue to do so) until the Day of Judgment.

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, appoints two angels who in the narrow area between ‘Arafat and al-Muzdalifah say, ‘Keep safe, keep safe.”’

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: For Allah, there are angels who visit the Earth who deliver the salaam of my Nation to me.

Gabriel (MGB) descended down to me and said, ‘We - the angels - will not enter any house in which there is a dog or a statue or a vessel in which they pee.’”

My father (a.s.) narrated to me that my grandfather (Imam Sajjād (a.s.)) used to say: Allāh will erase the sins of those who go to the Ziyārah of Ḥusain (a.s.) for the sake of (pleasing) Allāh. They will be sinless like a newborn baby. Angels will accompany them on their way (to the Ziyārah) and they will flap and spread their wings over them until they return to their families. Angels will seek forgiveness for them from their Lord and call out to them, “You have been blessed and blessed is the one to whose Ziyārah you have come.” They will be covered by Mercy from the heavens and their families will be protected for them.

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘If any family keeps thirty sheep in the evening in their house, angels continue to protect them until the morning.’”

I heard Abā ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) say: The boundaries of the grave (the Ḥaram) of Ḥusain (a.s.) are twenty ells by twenty ells and this location is a garden from the gardens of Paradise. The ascent toward the heavens begins from here. Every high-ranked angel and prophet, who was chosen as a messenger, asks Allāh, the Exalted, (at all times) for permission to go to the Ziyārah of Ḥusain (a.s.). (There is always) a crowd descending (from the heavens to go to the Ziyārah of Ḥusain (a.s.)) and a crowd ascending (back).

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘Applying perfume is of moral discipline of the Prophets and honoring the scribes (the two angels on one’s shoulders).”’

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that a servant of Allah may rise to perform Qada’ (compensatory prayer for) an optional Salah (prayer) that was missed in its proper time. The Lord then expresses surprise before the angels saying, ‘My angels, look at My servant who makes up for the optional Salah (prayer) missed in time, when I have not even made it obligatory for him.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that if one visits a patient, seventy thousand angels escort him and ask Allah to forgive his sins until he returns back home.”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that if one visits a patient, Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, assigns an angel to visit him in his grave.”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that the only people who are interrogated in the grave are those whose belief or disbelief is absolute and total, and people other than these are left alone.”

I asked Abā Ja’far (Imam Bāqir (a.s.)), “What do you say about someone who goes to the Ziyārah of your father (Ḥusain (a.s.)) while he is in (the state of) fear?” Imam (a.s.) replied, “On the Day of Great Terror (the Day of Judgment) Allāh will keep him safe and the angels will receive him. They will give him glad tidings by saying, ‘Do not be afraid nor saddened. This is the day of your success.”

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: Allāh has dedicated four thousand disheveled angels, who are covered with dust, to the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.) who cry over him (everyday) from sunrise to midday. At midday these four thousand angels are replaced with another four thousand angels who cry over him (from midday) to sunrise.

One day while I was with Abī ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) a man asked him, “What is the reward for those who go to the Ziyārah of the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.)?” Imam (a.s.) replied – as part of a longer Ḥadīth – “When Ḥusain (a.s.) was killed, everything cried over him, even the (various) lands. Allāh has dedicated four thousand disheveled angels, who are covered with dust, to his grave and they cry over him (and will continue to do so) until the Day of Judgment.”

Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him said: "Once, Salman - may Allah be pleased with him, passed by the iron mongers of Kufa and he saw a young man who had fainted and people had gathered around him. They told him: "O Abu Abdillah, this young man has had a fit, perhaps you would come to recite something in his ears." He said: Salman came closer to the youth, and when the young man saw Salman, he gained consciousness and said: "I do not suffer from what these people think! The fact is that when I passed by those iron mongers and I saw them strike with the sledgehammers, I remembered what Allah, Most High, says (in the Qur’an): ’And for them awaits hooked iron lashes’ (al-Haj:V21). Overawed with the fear of divine chastisement, I lost my senses." Salman took him as his brother, and in his heart, entered the sweetness of affection for the young man, for the sake of Allah. They remained together; till one day the young man fell ill. Salman visited him and sat near his head, while the young man was about to die. So he (Salman) said: "O angel of Death, be tender with my brother." He (the angel) said: "O, Abu Abdillah, I am tender with all the faithfuls."

I heard my father narrate from his father (as). He said: The Prophet (s) said: There is not a prayer that is attended on time except that an angel calls out from before the people: “Go to the fire that you have lit on your backs and extinguish it with your prayer.”