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The Role of the Ahl al-Bayt in Building the Virtuous Community Book Seven: The Ritual System of the Virtuous Community

Author(s): Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Al-Hakim

Translator(s): Badr Shahin

Publisher(s): ABWA Publishing and Printing Center

www.alhassanain.org/english

Miscellaneous information:

The Role of the Ahl al-Bayt in Building the Virtuous Community Book Seven: The Ritual System of the Virtuous Community Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Al-Hakim Project supervisor: Translation Unit, Cultural Affairs Department Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) World Assembly (ABWA) Translator: Badr Shahin Editor: Iffat Shah and Carol Ahmadi Revised by: Ashraf Carl Eastman Ahmadi Publisher: ABWA Publishing and Printing Center First Printing: 2011 © Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) World Assembly (ABWA) All rights reserved. www.ahl-ul-bayt.org info@ahl-ul-bayt.org

نام كتاب: دور أهل البيت (ع) في بناء الجماعة الصالحة / ج 7 نويسنده: آية الله سيد محمد باقر الحكيم مترجم: بدر شاهين زبان ترجمه: انگليسى

Notice:

This version is published on behalf of www.alhassanain.org/english

The composing errors are not corrected.

Table of Contents

Preface 8

Significance of Rituals 10

The Role of Acts of Worship 11

Distinctive Features of Worship in Islam 12

All-inclusiveness 12

Transcendentality 12

Physical Awareness 13

Social Aspect 13

The Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) and Public Rituals 14

Prophetic Tradition and Sectarian Rituals 16

Notes 18

Prelude 19

Notes 19

Chapter 1: Rituals of The Ahl Al-Bayt 21

Ceremonies of commemorating Imam al-Husayn’s Martyrdom 21

1. The First Ten Days of Muharram 21

2. The Months of Muharram and Safar 22

3. Weekly Sessions 23

4. Sessions in the Month of Ramadhan 23

5. Private Occasions 24

Commemorating The Anniversaries Of The Holy Infallibles 24

Commemorating the deaths and martyrdoms of the Holy Infallibles (‘a) 24

Celebrating the Birthdays and Glad Occasions of the Holy Infallibles (‘a) 26

Visiting The Tombs And Shrines Of The Holy Infallibles 28

Legitimacy of visiting the graves 28

The Cultural Content of Visiting the Tombs 31

Pilgrimage to the Tombs of the Holy Prophet (S) and the Holy Imams (‘a) Buried in al-Baqi’ Cemetery 33

Visiting Imam al-Husayn’s tomb 35

Visiting the Tomb of Imam ‘Ali (‘a) 37

General And Timed Visitations Of Imam ‘Ali’s Tomb 39

General Visits 39

Timed Visitations 39

Visiting the Holy Imams (‘a) 41

Epilogue 45

Visiting Saints and the Imams’ (‘a) Descendants 46

Common Times of Ziyarah 47

Comprehensive Formulas of Ziyarah 48

Notes 49

Chapter 2: The General Rituals Of Islam Rituals Of Specific Days And Nights 55

Rituals Of Specific Days And Nights 55

The Ahl al-Bayt’s Method Concerning the Rituals of Particular Days and Nights 56

The Night Of Qadr 56

The Date of the Night of Qadr 57

Devotional Acts on the Night of Qadr 58

Id Al- Fitr and Id al-Adha 60

Thursday Nights and Fridays 60

The Four Eves 62

The Night Before ‘Id al-Fitr 62

The Night Before ‘Id al-Adhha 63

The Eve of the 1st of Rajab 63

The Eve of the 15th of Sha’ban 63

The Four Blessed Days 64

The Day of Divine Mission 65

The Holy Prophet’s Birthday 65

The Day of Ghadir 65

The Day of Spreading the Earth 68

The Day Of ‘Ashura’ 68

The Umayyads and ‘Ashura' 70

Other Specific Days 71

Day of Mubahalah: Invoking Allah’s Curse upon the Lying Party 72

The Twenty-Fifth of Dhu’l-Hijjah 73

The Day of ‘Arafat; the Ninth of Dhu’l-Hijjah 73

Conclusion 73

Notes 74

Chapter 3: Mosques And Holy Places 76

The Ahl al-Bayt’s View about Holy Places 76

Rules of Mosques 76

Mosques and Holy Places 76

The Role of Mosque 76

The Ahl al-Bayt’s View about Holy Places 77

Laws Of Mosques 79

The Holy House, the Sacred Mosque and Makkah 82

Other Holy Sites in the Prophet’s Mosque 87

Other Mosques in al-Madinah 89

Al-Kufah And Its Mosques 92

The Great Mosque of Kufah 93

Imam ‘Ali’s Tomb and Wadi al-Salam 97

Sahlah Mosque 99

Imam Al-Husayn’s Sanctuary 100

Imam al-Husayn’s Soil 101

Response of Prayers under his Dome 102

Optionality of Performing the Prayers in Complete or Shortened Form 104

Other Mosques and Holy Places 104

Jerusalem and the Furthest Mosque 104

The Khif Mosque 105

Buratha Mosque 106

Imam al-Ridha’s Holy Shrine 107

Qum: the Tomb of Lady Fatimah the Daughter of Imam al-Kazim (‘a) 108

Notes 109