Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

The Government Confusion

The Abbasid government was too confused when Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.) became seriously ill. Al-Mu’tamid ordered five of his trusted statesmen, among whom Nahrir was, to remain in the imam’s house and report to him about every new happening. He also ordered a committee of physicians to test the imam’s health day and night. After two days, he ordered the physicians not to leave the imam alone because his state was too bad.[484]

To The Best Of Abodes

The imams’ health got worse, and the physicians were desperate of his recovery. Death began approaching him quickly. At those last moments of his life, Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.), mentioned Allah, glorified Him, and prayed Him to take him nearer to Him. His lips were busy reciting verses from the Holy Qur'an. He turned towards the Qiblah, and after no long, his pure soul flew towards the Heaven surrounded by the angels of the Beneficent Lord.

It was the greatest loss Muslims suffered in that age. They lost their leader, reformer, and instructor who loved and helped their weak, poor, and orphans.

The imam’s body was (ritually) washed, enshrouded, put in the coffin, and carried to be prayed on by Muslims. Eesa son of al-Mutawakkil led the prayer by al-Mu’tamid’s order. After the prayer, he uncovered the imam’s face before the Hashemites, the Abbasids, army leaders, government clerks, state officials, judges, and physicians and said to them, ‘This is al-Hasan bin Ali bin Muhammad bin ar-Redha (peace be on them). He died a natural death in his bed. So-and-s0 of Ameerul Mo'minin’s (al-Mu’tamid) servants and trusted men, So-and-s0 of judges, and So-and-s0 of physicians were present with him.’ Then he covered his holy face.[485]  

The painful news spread everywhere in Samarra’. It was a great shock for Muslims who hurried up to the imam’s house while crying and weaning. Government offices and all markets were closed. It was like the Day of Resurrection in Samarra’.[486]

Samarra’ did not witnessed before a day of escorting like that. Waves of human beings and flowing masses of people from all classes and trends came to escort the holy corpse of this pure imam (a.s.) while mentioning his virtues and favors and talking with great sorrow and regret about the great loss they were afflicted with.

In His Last Abode

The pure corpse was brought under a halo of takbir and tahlil[487] towards the last abode. Imam Abu Muhammad (a.s.) was buried in his house beside the tomb of his father Imam al-Hadi (a.s.).

Samarra’ had two imams from the twelve imams and leaders of Muslims, and it became at the head of the holy places in the Muslim world. It received and still receives thousands of visitors from everywhere in the world who came to visit the two holy shrines of Imam al-Hadi and Imam al-Askari (peace be on them).

Once, an-Nasir Lideenillah, the Abbasid caliph, visited the holy shrines of these two infallible imams to be blessed and close to Allah. His vizier suggested to him that he might visit the tombs of his fathers of the Abbasid kings and he responded. When he reached there, he found the graves dark and miserable where sweepings were accumulated and crows gathered. The vizier asked the king to take care and pay money to rebuild these graves, but the Abbasid king said,

‘How far! That is of no use.’

The vizier asked, ‘why, O Ameerul Mo'minin?’

He said, ‘Did you see the flourish of the tombs of the pure imams?’

The vizier said, ‘Yes.’

The king asked, ‘Do you know the secret behind that?’

The vizier answered, ‘No.’

An-Nasir Lideenillah said, ‘My fathers associated with Satan, and these master associated with Allah, and all that which is for Allah remains, and all that which is for Satan perishes and disappears.’[488]

The Alawids, the Abbasids, and Ja’far, Imam Abu Muhammad’s brothers stood at the tomb and the masses of people began consoling them for this painful affliction.

The Date Of His Death

Imam Abu Muhammad al-Askari (a.s.) left to the better world on the eighth of Rabee’ul Awwal[489] in the year two hundred and sixty of hijra,[490] while he was twenty-eight years old and still in the prime of youth.[491]

THE ZIYARAH OF IMAM AL-HASAN AL-ASKARI

Translated by: Badr Shahin

Shaykh al-Tusi has reported through a considerable series of narrators that Imam al-Hasan al-Askari (a.s.) said, “My grave will be in Surra-man-Ra’a (currently Samarra). It will be shelter for both the parties.” Explaining this saying, Shaykh al-Majlisi says that ‘both the parties’ means the Shi’ah and the Sunnah. This means that the virtue of the Imam (a.s.) includes both his adherents and his enemies. Similarly, the holy tomb of Imam al-Kazim (a.s.) and Imam al-Jawad (a.s.) is shelter for the people of Baghdad.

Sayyid Ibn Tawus says that once you intend to visit the holy tomb of Imam al-Hasan al-Askari (a.s.), you may do the following in the beginning:

Once you arrive in Samarra, you may wash yourself (traditionally, this bathing is called ‘the bath of Ziyarah), put on the cleanest of your clothes, walk with gravity and tranquility to the tomb, and when you reach at the gate of the holy mausoleum, you may say the following as a form of seeking permission to enter: