Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Some Brilliant Legacies of the Imam of the Time

His Eminence, the Awaited Imam is in possession of those brilliant legacies that include the most exalted values. Some of the supplications of His Eminence are from that legacy, that is the mine of monotheism and from the treasures of Islamic concepts. In the same way there are letters of His Eminence, that he wrote to some of his prominent companions and sincere Shias. They are a part of that legacy too. Some of these letters are composed of replies to questions regarding religious laws that people posed to the Holy Imam. And the following are a part of that legacy:

Supplications of the Imam of the time

Supplication is speaking privately to God and to be cut off with everything and remaining connected only to God. Supplication tells us that the suppliant is one with a clear conscience and a pure heart and connected to Almighty Allah Who is the Creator of existence and bestower of life. Some of the supplications of the great Imam Qaim of Aale Muhammad that are recorded in history are as follows:

1. Supplication of the Imam of the time for the Muslims

His Eminence implores the Almighty in the most sincere and heartful way that he bestows favor on the Muslims and imbues them with the best manners, ethics, good habits and every quality that would make them proximate to the Lord.

2. Supplication of the Imam of the time for Believers

His Eminence, Mahdi (a.s) has supplicated in favor of the righteous believers as follows:

This supplication shows how much His Eminence, have kindness, love and regard for the believers. He beseeches the Almighty for their welfare, reform and happiness in the world and the hereafter.

3. Supplication of the Imam of the time for fulfillment of needs

His Eminence, the Awaited Imam has recited the following supplication for the fulfillment of his needs:

This blessed supplication demonstrates that His Eminence possessed absolute trust in the Almighty and in all his affairs and activities he seeks the refuge of Allah.

4. Supplication of the Imam of the time for cure

Whenever His Eminence, Mahdi (a.s) was indisposed he used to write the following supplication on a new utensil with the clay (Turbah) of the grave of Imam Husain (a.s) and wash it with water and drink it:

5. Ziyarat and Supplication

His Eminence, Mahdi (a.s) has advised some of the believers and Shias that they should address the Holy Imam with the following Ziyarat and supplication:

His Eminence, the awaited Imam has instructed his followers to address and perform his Ziyarat by these visitations and supplication and supplicate him, and they should beseech Allah for his help and early reappearance so that he may establish truth and destroy falsehood and exalt the word of Allah on the earth.

6. Supplication of the Imam of the time for Early reappearance

Among the supplications of His Eminence, the following is the most important:

This supplication, also called 'Dua al-`Ahad, is full of extolling and praise of the Almighty Lord and mentions His most exalted qualities and is replete with the refuge-taking of the Imam (a.s). It is dissociation from everyone and everything except Allah, as everything is in His power alone.

7. Supplication of the Imam of the time for his Shias

His Eminence, Mahdi (a.s) supplicates in favor of his Shias that they may obtain release from needfulness and deprivation. The supplication is as follows:

8. Supplication of the Imam of the time for the Prophet of Islam and the Imams of Guidance (a.s)

His Eminence, Mahdi has requested some of his Shias to recite the following supplication for the Holy Prophet and Imams of guidance:

This supplication has praised the Holy Prophet and his successors, the Purified Imams (a.s) and requested the Almighty for elevating their stations near Him. In the same way it is about the Qaim of the Progeny of Muhammad (a.s) who would establish signs of religion and enliven the faith of his great grandfather.

9. Supplication of the Imam of the time for release from imprisonment

His Eminence; Mahdi (a.s) has taught this supplication to some of his Shias who were spending their days in imprisonment.

Seeking refuge in the Almighty Allah and to have certainty in it saves one from calamities of the days and the day-to-day problems and the Holy Imams (a.s) have endeavored to teach the Shias so that they may be protected from the future events and bad times.

Ziyarat of Imam Husain (a.s), a medium of His Eminence, Baqiyyat allah (a.s)

The tragedy of Kerbala was such a terrible calamity that in the whole course of history no social reformer ever faced such disaster as faced by the maternal grandson and the beloved one of the Prophet (a.s), Imam Husain (a.s). Indeed it has scorched the hearts of Muslims and infuriated them and made them sorrowful forever. The Purified Imam (a.s) considers the calamities that befell His Eminence, the chief of the Martyrs to be the greatest of the calamities, and the tragedy of Kerbala has surrounded the whole existence of his Eminence, Imam Mahdi (a.s). That is why, His Eminence weeps and recites the Ziyarat by absolute sincerity and from the depths of his hearts. It is the Ziyarat known as the Ziyarat-e-Nahiya. It is the Ziyarat, which is full of the sorrow and anger of His Eminence. It is a Ziyarat in which His Eminence describes the various difficulties and sorrowful calamities that befell Imam Husain (a.s) and those painful incidents that the daughters of the Messenger of Allah (a.s) had to endure. So, we must pay attention to some of the sentences of the Ziyarat that have reached us through the honorable special deputies of the Holy Imam. His Eminence has saluted some of the prophets of Allah in this Ziyarat and then saluted his great grandfather, Imam Husain (a.s) and said as follows:

Peace be upon Husain (a.s), who sacrificed his remaining life for Allah despite his injuries. Peace be upon the one who obeyed Allah secretly and openly. Peace be upon the one whose grave's soil is bestowed with curative powers by Allah.

This part of the Ziyarat informs us about the absolute certainty of Imam Husain (a.s) about the Almighty and His obedience in an apparent as well as a secret manner of His commands. The greatest obedience and sincerity of His Eminence, the Chief of the Martyrs (a.s) for the Majestic Lord, is that he presented his own life with a pure intention for revival of religion and Word of Allah. If such a sacrifice had not been offered the standard of Islam would have folded up and the period of ignorance would have regained predominance. Because the Bani Umayyah had been trying their best to destroy religion and it was Imam Husain (a.s) who rendered their fraud and deceit ineffective. By sacrificing his life, which shook the world of Islam, he caused anger which served as motivation for internal uprisings against the Umayyad rulers, which finally destroyed the crown and throne of Bani Umayyah.

The Almighty Allah has also thanked His friend and beloved, His Eminence, Imam Husain (a.s) for this magnificent sacrifice and therefore prepared a great reward in the hereafter and in this world also bestowed him with miracles and distinctions. One of the miracles is that He has bestowed cure to the dust of his grave and also made his tomb and the tombs of his successors, the Purified Imams to be the place of acceptance of supplications. And some of the sentences of this Ziyarat are as follows:

Peace be upon the son of the Seal of the Prophets. Peace be upon the son of the Chief of the Successors. Peace be upon the son of Fatima Zahra (s.a.). Peace be upon the son of Khadijatul Kubra.

The above words prove the great and honorable ancestry of His Eminence, Aba Abdillah al-Husain (a.s). Then the great grandfather of His Eminence is the seal of the Prophets and the chief of the Prophets and the respected father of His Eminence is the chief of the legatees and the gate of the city of knowledge of the Messenger of Allah (a.s), and the chief of the believers. And the mother of His Eminence is a part of the body of the Messenger of Allah (a.s) and the chief of the ladies of the worlds; that Allah's pleasure is through her pleasure and His anger is through her anger and the great grandmother of His Eminence is Khadijatul Kubra by whose sacrifice and financial assistance the religion of Islam was established. Then salutations and blessings of Allah be on His great family and on these purified branches who have illuminated the world through their virtues. Some of the statements of this Ziyarat are:

Peace be upon the one who was smeared in blood. Peace be upon the one whose tents were torn asunder. Peace be upon the fifth one of the people of Kisa (blanket). Peace be upon the most alien one.

This part of the Ziyarat mentions some qualities of the father of the noble Imams (a.s), Imam Husain (a.s). Just as His Eminence was drenched in his own blood on the path of Allah and suffered calamities for the establishment of the signs of religion. And also that he was one of the five holy souls of the Blanket (Kisa) whom the Lord Almighty purified of every dirt and finally that he was that oppressed and tyrannized one that he was martyred in an astonishing way on the sands of Kerbala and the angels of the Lord lamented the enormity of the afflictions that befell him. And also His Eminence, the Awaited Imam has said thus in this Ziyarat:

Peace be upon those (martyrs) who were cut into pieces. Peace be upon the souls whose belongings were plundered soon after their killings. Peace be upon the uncovered dead bodies. Peace be upon the emaciated and the deformed corpses.

These sentences prove the different types of injustices and tortures that the Umayyad militants considered permissible towards him and towards his sons, and companions. The Umayyads stopped water supply to him till his lips were dried and parched due to thirst and his purified body was cut into pieces by sword. Their heads were hoisted on spear points while he was making the paths of nobility and greatness apparent for the people. Due to this he was martyred and the ladies of his house were taken captives from one town to another.

His Eminence, the Awaited Imam takes his Ziyarat forward in the following way:

Peace be upon the Proof of the Lord of the worlds. Peace be upon you and upon your purified ancestors. Peace be upon you and upon your martyred offsprings.

His Eminence, Imam Mahdi (a.s) presents his tribute and respects in the following manner to his respected great grandfather, his sons who were slain before his very eyes and the angels who are appointed to serve on the grave of Imam Husain (a.s):

Peace be upon the bodies that were hung after being killed. Peace be upon the nearest of the Prophet's progeny. Peace be upon the corpses that were abandoned in the desert. Peace be upon the travelers who were driven out from their homes. Peace be upon those who were buried without shrouds.

In these statements, His Eminence, the Awaited Imam has sent salutation on the bodies that the Umayyads enemies left unburied on the sands of the desert. Till the time that the Almighty Allah made a community that had not been smeared with the disgrace of fighting against the sons of the Prophet, bury the martyrs in their own clothes that had been torn up by the Umayyads. These statements are from this same Ziyarat:

Peace be upon the one who is purified by the Mighty (Allah). Peace be upon the one who was prided upon by Jibraeel. Peace be upon the one who was put to sleep in the cradle by Mikaeel. Peace be upon the one regarding whom oaths were broken. Peace be upon the one whose dignity was lowered. Peace be upon the one whose blood was shed unjustly.

These sentences prove that His Eminence, is extremely devastated and sorrowful due to the calamity that befell his great grandfather, Imam Husain (a.s), in such a way that he also wishes that he had been present in the battlefield and by sacrificing himself had saved his ancestor from the sad tribulations and protected his life.

Let us hear to what these sentences of Ziyarat say:

Since I have been pushed behind by the passage of time and being prevented from helping you by fate and I could not fight those who had fought you. And (since) I had not been able to face your enemies I will continue to weep morning and evening and weep for you with tears of blood.

His Eminence, the Awaited Imam is sorrowful and restless due to his oppressed and tyrannized ancestor. So much so, that he laments and bemoans His Eminence day and night and instead of tears, blood flows from his eyes. This condition will endure till the last moments:

I witness that certainly you established the prayer and gave Zakat, and enjoined good and forbade evil. You obeyed Allah and never disobeyed Him. And remained in contact with Him. And satisfied Him, and were awed by Him, and were attentive towards Him, and satisfied with His wish and will.

These words prove that the greatest virtues and merits had gathered in the maternal grandson and favorite one of the Messenger of Allah (a.s). The Almighty Allah has not created any virtue but that it is one of the virtues possessed by His Eminence. The Awaited Imam (a.s) further says:

You protect guidance and help it. And propagate justice and equity and help the religion and make it manifested and hinder and obstruct those people who consider it lowly. And extract the rights of the weak from the strong. And with regard to the orders, both of them (the weak and the strong) were equal in your eyes.

This part demonstrates the uprising of the father of the noble ones, Husain Ibne Ali (a.s) in support of truth and in help of justice and the defense of Islam and the establishment of high moral values and noble virtues that Islam has brought. And His Eminence, Imam Husain (a.s), in fact, trod the path of his grandfather, the Messenger of Allah and his respected father,

Amirul Momineen (a.s) for seeking the pleasure of Allah and their path and method was not different.

Till the time that corruption became audacious and the slight veil lifted from the face of injustice and it summoned its cahoots for support. Then at that time you were at the sanctuary of your grandfather (Medina) and absolutely aloof from the unjust people. You sat in the prayer niche, busy in prayers.

These words contain the Jihad of His Eminence, the chief of the Martyrs, against the Umayyad rulers who had trampled upon human rights and spread mischief and destruction on the earth. His Eminence did not consider silence permissible and he stood up for Jihad and confrontation. He denied and denounced his deniers with all his being, by his heart, tongue and actions and invited the people to the Lord of the worlds by wisdom and good exhortation. Let us consider another portion of this Ziyarat:

So when the enemies saw you to be resolute and fearless they began to plot and lay traps for you and began to fight with you with the cunning and mischief. And the accursed Umar Ibne Saad ordered his cunning army to cut off the water supply.

The meaning of these words is that when the Umayyad mercenaries saw His Eminence, Aba Abdillah al-Husain (a.s) raising up his head towards the heavens against the politics and method of the Umayyads which was opposed to the practice of the Prophet and alien to and dissociated with the Book of Allah, that he was denouncing and confronting them with all his might and was not cowed down by their domination and rule, they also confronted him with all their might. So much so that they cut off the water supply of Kerbala from them till the women and children of the Holy Imam almost perished. They fought the Imam (a.s) and made him the target of their arrows. They did not take into consideration the sanctity of the Messenger of Allah with regard to Imam Husain (a.s). However, His Eminence, in face of all difficulties and afflictions maintained such patience and forbearance that even the angels of the heavens were astonished. The following is another part of the Ziyarat:

Then the enemies surrounded you from all the sides and began to give you one injury after another and made you fatigued. No helper remained between you and your women and children. You were still deflecting the crowd of attackers with persistence and patience away from your women and children.

These words shows that in his last moments, what types of calamities and afflictions the grandson of the Messenger bore that no living being could endure. Indeed, all the troubles of the world, one after other gathered on the beloved son of the Prophet and the inheritor of the merits of the Messenger of Allah.

On one hand was the terrible calamity in which the followers of Ahle Bayt and their sons were lacerated like the meat of slaughtered animals and on the other hand were the mournful cries and screams of children due to the intensity of thirst. And the wails and weeping of the ladies and girls of the family of revelation due to the severity of the disaster as they witnessed their loved ones lying slain on the earth, drenched in their blood in their very youth. They especially beheld the oppressed Imam and the chief of the youths of Paradise who was ready to bear the trials while the Umayyad criminals were competing with each other for the murder Imam Husain (a.s) and they attacked him with all the available weapons till his complete body was covered with spears and arrows.

Yes! The daughters of the Messenger witnessed this terrible scene and their hearts burst with sorrow and they were horrified and did not know what calamities would befall them after the killing of Imam Husain (a.s). And the condition of the daughters and ladies of the Messenger of Allah (a.s) was more severe and hard than all the afflictions of Imam Husain (a.s). In fact, all their calamities had surrounded the being of the chief of the Martyrs. When His Eminence was slain in the battlefield and his severed head was hoisted up on the spear point that it may be presented to Ibne Marjana the wails of the daughters of Allah's Messenger rose up in protest and the oppressors thrashed the heads and faces of women and children. At that same time, Ibne Marjana and his mercenaries put their tents on fire and beat them with lashes. Then they tied with iron chains their hands to their necks and made them sit on the camels. At last they took them as presents to their masters, Ibne Marjana and Yazid Ibne Muawiyah. In fact, in front of such calamities it should be said: "Indeed we are from Allah and indeed towards Him we shall return."

Please note another part of the captioned Ziyarat:

Woe be unto those disobedient transgressors who murdered Islam by killing you and invalidated the prayers and fasts. And broke up the (Prophetic) practice and the (Islamic) laws. And demolished the regulations of faith. And burnt up the verses of the Quran and they rushed into transgression and rebel­lion.

Here we conclude a brief discussion on some parts of "Ziyarat Nahiya" although Allamah Majlisi has also mentioned a prayer and a supplication that should be recited after this Ziyarat besides the grave of the Holy Imam (a.s).