The Sadiqi Ziyarah Manual: The Merit and Manner of Visiting Imam Jaʿfar al-Sadiq (a)
Sayed Mahmoud Al-Mosawi
Imam Jaʿfar al-Sadiq (a) is Imam Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad al-Baqir, son of Imam Zayn al-ʿAbidin (a), son of Imam al-Husayn (a), son of Imam ʿAli ibn Abi Talib (a). He is the sixth Imam of the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet (s). He was born in Medina the Illuminated in the year 83 AH—and it is said 80 and 86—and was martyred there in the year 148 AH—and it is said 146—when al-Mansur the Abbasid slipped poison to him, and he was buried in al-Baqiʿ al-Gharqad.
The period of his blessed Imamate was 34 years, during which he worked tirelessly in conveying the Islamic message, spreading the teachings of the upright religion, and building jurisprudential knowledge in a detailed manner, as many scholars studied at his hands, who traveled throughout the regions of the earth and scattered in it the divine knowledge that he used to impart to them.
As for his noble place of visitation and his holy grave, it is in al-Baqiʿ al-Gharqad, where Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba, Imam Zayn al-ʿAbidin and Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (a) lie near him. Over the noble grave there was a building and a dome, to which the devotees would come from every direction, until the hands of hatred reached out to that honored shrine—which is among the houses that Allah the Exalted commanded to be raised and His Name to be celebrated therein—and demolished it and leveled it to the ground, so that nothing remained of the noble grave but small stones and earth.
Visiting him, like visiting all the other Infallibles (a), has merit beyond count and reckoning. It acquires its greatness from the greatness of wilāyah, which is the foundation of Islam and its summit, because visiting him after his death is like visiting him in his lifetime, and because it is a renewal of the covenant with the guardians of authority and the guides of humankind. It is a sacred rite for reviving the religion and its limits, and it is an important factor in building the believer’s personality, building his society and erecting his civilization. And with all that, it is a place where the mercy of Allah alights, the place where His provisions descend upon His servants in their worldly life, and a treasure for them in their Hereafter.
So it is our pleasure to devote a ziyarah manual to the sixth of the Imams of the believers, Imam Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad ibn ʿAli ibn al-Husayn ibn ʿAli ibn Abi Talib (a), so that the manual may be present before the believers, to make it easy for them to visit him (a).
Imam al-Sadiq (a) filled the volumes with his noble narrations about the visitations of the Infallibles (a)—their manner, their times, their merit and their blessings. Since, in the great majority of cases, he mentioned the merits of visiting the Infallibles (a) who preceded him in martyrdom specifically, it was natural that the direct narrations on the merit of visiting him should be few, because he was alive at that time; but the narrations that came in general terms include him. In this manual we will mention, of the narrations, those that pertain specifically to Imam al-Sadiq (a) and those that include him together with the Infallibles (a), so that the greatness of visiting him (a) may become manifest before us.
The Merit of Visiting Imam al-Sadiq (a)
1 – Maintaining His Noble Grave
His noble grave is a spot among the spots of Paradise. The greatness of maintaining his grave and attending to it regularly with veneration and visitation, seeking nearness to Allah, becomes manifest in the believer’s attaining to being singled out for the intercession of the Prophet (s); and for those who visit him there is bliss such as no eye has seen and no ear has heard.
It is reported from al-Tahdhib: From Abu ʿAmir al-Saji, the preacher of the people of the Hijaz, who said: I came to Abu ʿAbd Allah Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad (a) and said to him.. until he said, from Imam ʿAli (a): I said: O Messenger of Allah, what is there for one who visits our graves, maintains them and attends to them regularly?
He said to me: O Abu al-Hasan, Allah has made your grave and the grave of your children spots among the spots of Paradise and a courtyard among its courtyards; and Allah has made the hearts of the noble ones of His creation and the elect of His servants yearn for you and bear humiliation and harm for your sake. So they maintain your graves and visit them frequently, seeking nearness to Allah and out of love for His Messenger. Those, O ʿAli, are the ones singled out for my intercession and the ones who will come to my Pool, and they are my visitors tomorrow in Paradise.
O ʿAli, whoever maintains your graves and attends to them regularly, it is as though he helped Solomon son of David in building Bayt al-Maqdis; and whoever visits your graves, the equal of that for him is the reward of seventy Hajj pilgrimages after the obligatory Hajj, and he comes out of his sins, so that he returns from visiting you as on the day his mother bore him. So rejoice, and give glad tidings to your friends and those who love you of bliss and delight of the eye such as no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and has never occurred to the heart of a human being.. vol. 6, p. 22.
2 – Whoever Visits al-Sadiq (a) Is Like One Who Visited al-Husayn (a)
It has been reported in Thawab al-Aʿmal that Imam Jaʿfar al-Sadiq (a) said, concerning visiting him and visiting his pure forefathers and descendants (a): Whoever visits one of us is like one who visited al-Husayn (a). p. 98.
3- Whoever Visits Him Will Not Die Poor
Al-Shaykh al-Mufid narrated in al-Muqniʿa from al-Sadiq (a) that he said: Whoever visits me, his sins are forgiven and he will not die poor. (al-Muqniʿa, p. 474).
4 – Whoever Visits Him Will Not Suffer from His Eyes, No Illness Will Befall Him, and He Will Not Die Afflicted
It is narrated from Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn ʿAli al-ʿAskari (a) that he said: Whoever visits Jaʿfar and his father will not suffer from his eyes, no illness will befall him, and he will not die afflicted. (al-Muqniʿa, p. 474).
5 – In Visiting Him There Is Healing from Every Ailment, by Way of the Healing Sought from His Noble Soil.
It is reported in Kamil al-Ziyarat: from Abu Hamza al-Thumali, from Abu ʿAbd Allah (a), he said: I was in Mecca—and he mentioned in his account—I said: May I be made your ransom, I have seen our companions taking some of the clay of al-Haʾir in order to seek healing [seeking healing] with it; is there anything in that of the healing they speak of?
He said: He said: Healing is sought with what lies between it and the grave, up to a distance of four miles; and likewise the grave of my grandfather the Messenger of Allah (s), and likewise the clay of the grave of al-Hasan, ʿAli and Muhammad. So take from it, for it is a healing from every illness and a shield against what you fear, and nothing among the things with which healing is sought equals it except supplication.. p. 281
Imam al-Sadiq (a) mentioned the Imams who preceded him and ended with his father Imam al-Baqir (a), because he was speaking about graves while the Imam was still alive. There is no doubt that this includes him as well; in fact, his soil is the soil of his father and his grandfather and the soil of Imam al-Hasan (a), because they are all in al-Baqiʿ.
6 – Neglecting to Visit Him during Hajj Is Estrangement, and in Visiting Him Are the Returns of Provision.
In al-Khisal, from the Commander of the Faithful (a): Complete your Hajj with the Messenger of Allah (s) when you set out for the House of Allah, for neglecting him is estrangement, and with that you have been commanded; and complete it with the graves whose right and visitation Allah Almighty has made binding upon you, and seek provision at them. vol. 2, p. 616
7 – Visiting Him Is the Completion of Hajj
It has been reported from Ismaʿil ibn Mihran, from Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad (a), who said: When one of you performs Hajj, let him conclude his Hajj by visiting us, for that is part of the completion of Hajj. (ʿUyun Akhbar al-Rida, vol. 2, p. 262).
8 – Visiting Imam al-Sadiq (a) Is Like Visiting the Messenger of Allah (s)
In al-Kafi: from Zayd al-Shahham, who said: I said to Abu ʿAbd Allah (a): What is there for one who visits one of you? He said: Like one who visited the Messenger of Allah (s). vol. 4, p. 579
9 – Visiting Him Is Like Visiting All the Other Imams
It is reported in Kamil al-Ziyarat from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Muslim, who said: I went in to al-Kazim (a) and said to him: Which is better: visiting al-Husayn ibn ʿAli, or the Commander of the Faithful (a), or of so-and-so [so-and-so] and so-and-so?—and I named the Imams one by one.
He said to me: O ʿAbd al-Rahman, whoever visits the first of us has visited the last of us, and whoever visits the last of us has visited the first of us; and whoever takes the first of us as guardian has taken the last of us as guardian, and whoever takes the last of us as guardian has taken [has taken] the first of us as guardian.. p. 336
10 – His Grave Is among the Great Sacred Sites in Medina
The merit of visiting Imam al-Sadiq (a) is covered by what has been reported concerning the merit of the sacred sites, the shrines and the noble spots, and by what has been reported about going to the graves of the martyrs and the necessity of visiting them when visiting Medina the Illuminated. Among this is:
From Muʿawiya ibn ʿAmmar, who said: Abu ʿAbd Allah (a) said: Do not neglect going to all the shrines, and to the Mosque of Quba—for it is the mosque founded on Godwariness from the [very] first day—and the Mashraba of Umm Ibrahim, the Mosque of al-Fadikh, the graves of the martyrs, and the Mosque of al-Ahzab, which is the Mosque of al-Fath... (Kamil al-Ziyarat, 24).
Al-Shahid al-Awwal mentioned in al-Durus: Then he comes to al-Baqiʿ and visits the four Imams—among them Imam al-Sadiq (a)—then he mentioned the visitation of Fatimah al-Zahraʾ (a), the visitation of Hamza (a), and the other mosques.
On the Times of Visiting Him
Visiting Imam Jaʿfar al-Sadiq (a) is recommended (mustaḥabb) at all times; however, there are certain particularities of the noble days on which visiting him (a) is emphasized, among them:
1 – Friday
Kamil al-Ziyarat: Sulayman ibn ʿIsa narrated from his father, who said: I said to Abu ʿAbd Allah (a): How shall I visit you when I am not able to do so? He said: He said to me: O ʿIsa, if you are not able to come, then when it is Friday, perform the ritual bath or perform ablution, go up to your rooftop, pray two rakʿas, and turn toward me; for whoever visits me in my lifetime has visited me after my death, and whoever visits me after my death has visited me in my lifetime. (p. 288).
2- Tuesday of Every Week
Sayed Ibn Tawus mentioned in Jamal al-Usbuʿ that it is recommended to visit Imam Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq (a), and likewise the two Imams ʿAli Zayn al-ʿAbidin and Muhammad ibn ʿAli al-Baqir (a), on Tuesday of every week, relying in that on the narration assigning the days to the Ahl al-Bayt (a), which al-Shaykh al-Saduq narrated in al-Khisal from Imam ʿAli al-Hadi (a) in a hadith, where he said:
We are the days, as long as the heavens and the earth stand. Saturday is the name of the Messenger of Allah (s); Sunday is an allusion to the Commander of the Faithful (a); Monday is al-Hasan and al-Husayn; Tuesday is ʿAli ibn al-Husayn, Muhammad ibn ʿAli and Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad; Wednesday is Musa ibn Jaʿfar, ʿAli ibn Musa, Muhammad ibn ʿAli, and I; Thursday is my son al-Hasan ibn ʿAli; and Friday is my son’s son, and to him the band of truth will gather, and he is the one who will fill it with equity and justice as it has been filled with oppression and tyranny. This is the meaning of the days; so do not be hostile to them in this world, lest they be hostile to you in the Hereafter.. vol. 2, p. 395
3 – At All Noble Times, Such as Friday, al-Qadr and the ʿEid, and on the Days Specific to Him, Such as the Day of His Birth and of His Martyrdom and the Miracles That Appeared at His Hands.
ʿAllama al-Majlisi mentioned that in Bihar al-Anwar, where he said: “Visiting them (a) at the noble times, the blessed days and the times specific to them is preferable and more appropriate.. until he said: and the day of the birth of al-Sadiq (a), which is the seventeenth day of Rabiʿ al-Awwal; the day of his death, which is the middle of Rajab, or of Shawwal; and the day of his succession, which is the day of the death of his father (a). Bihar al-Anwar, 97, p. 210.
This can be argued for on the grounds that on the noble days the wage and reward for good deeds are multiplied, and ziyarah is among the best and most exalted of deeds; and by what is established in the narration about seeking out the noble days for visiting them (a), which includes the days specific to him. Added to that is the argument from the generality of the reminder of the days of Allah in the Book of Allah; and there is no doubt that among them is every one on which a miracle or merit of the infallible Imam is known, and that it is among the things that serve as a reminder of him, of visiting him, and of renewing the covenant with him through it.
4 - Visiting Him in Dhu al-Hijja after Hajj, and Even after Every ʿUmra.
It has been reported from Ismaʿil ibn Mihran, from Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad (a), who said: When one of you performs Hajj, let him conclude his Hajj by visiting us, for that is part of the completion of Hajj. (ʿUyun Akhbar al-Rida, vol. 2, p. 262).
Perhaps the recommendation extends to after every visit to Mecca the Honored, that is, after ʿUmra as well; and it is covered by what is in al-Kafi from Sadir, from Abu Jaʿfar (a), who said: Begin with Mecca and conclude with us. vol. 4, p. 550.
The Manner of Visiting Imam al-Sadiq (a)
1 – Visiting him with the specific ziyarahs reported from the Ahl al-Bayt (a), and even from their companions; and visiting him with free ziyarahs, which are those the visitor composes from his knowledge of his Imam: he greets him with the finest salutations, bears witness to him with the merit and station befitting him, pledges in his presence what it is obligatory upon him to pledge in his presence, seeks intercession through him with Allah the Exalted for the fulfillment of his needs, and offers his testimonies of loyalty to his friends and of disavowal of his killers, of those who wronged him, and of those who instituted oppression against them (a).
2 – Visiting him with the unrestricted and comprehensive ziyarahs with which all the Ahl al-Bayt (a) are visited, such as al-Ziyara al-Jamiʿa al-Kabira and al-Saghira, and the Ziyarah of the Imams of the Believers.
3 – Visiting him with Ziyarat Amin Allah, with which, it has been reported, visitation is made at all the shrines.
4 – Visiting him with the joint ziyarahs of the Imams of al-Baqiʿ, which we will mention at the end of the manual.
5 – Visiting him with what has been reported for visiting the graves of the martyrs in Medina.
From Muʿawiya ibn ʿAmmar, who said: Abu ʿAbd Allah (a) said: Do not neglect going to all the shrines—until he said—and it has reached me that whenever the Prophet (s) came to the graves of the martyrs, he would say: Peace be to you, for your patience. How excellent is the reward of the [ultimate] abode! (Kamil al-Ziyarat, 24).
And from ʿUqba ibn Khalid, who said: I asked Abu ʿAbd Allah (a): We go to the mosques that are around Medina—until he said—
Then you pass by the graves of the martyrs, stand by them and say—Peace be upon you, O people of the abodes; you are our forerunners, and we shall join you. (al-Kafi, vol. 4, p. 561).
7 – Visitation with the invocations of blessing reported from Imam Abu Muhammad al-Hasan al-ʿAskari (a).
Al-Shaykh al-Tusi narrated in Misbah al-Mutahajjid, from Abu al-Mufaddal al-Shaybani, who said: Abu Muhammad ʿAbd Allah ibn Muhammad al-ʿAbid narrated to us orally at al-Daliya; he said: I asked my master Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn ʿAli (a), in his house at Surra Man Raʾa in the year two hundred and fifty-five, to dictate to me some of the invocation of blessings upon the Prophet and his successors (a). I had brought with me a great deal of paper, and he dictated to me orally, without a book... (vol. 1, p. 399).
We will mention it among the texts of the ziyarah.
The Etiquette of Ziyarah
Among the etiquette with which the visitor ought to adorn himself when visiting Imam al-Sadiq (a) is the general etiquette mentioned for the visitations of the Ahl al-Bayt (a), the most prominent of which are: seeking permission upon entering the noble sanctuary or approaching the pure grave; purification by ablution—and better than it is the ritual bath for ziyarah; and that he walk humbly, remembering Allah the Exalted, as he heads to the ziyarah. He ought also to adorn himself with good manners, such as lowering the voice, treating others well, helping them, and the like.
And among the etiquette is what has been reported concerning the etiquette of entering Medina the Illuminated, since it is the place of the grave of Imam al-Sadiq (a). When the visitor heads to visit him, he ought to observe the etiquette of Medina the Illuminated, among which are the ritual bath for entering Medina and showing reverence during one’s stay there.
The Texts of the Ziyarahs
The First Ziyarah:
The ʿAllama of al-Bihar narrated from al-Kitab al-ʿAtiq: Abu al-Husayn Ahmad ibn al-Husayn ibn Rajaʾ al-Saydawi narrated this ziyarah of ʿUthman ibn Saʿid al-ʿAmri (rh), with whom was Abu al-Qasim ibn Rawh. He said: When the two of them visited our master Abu ʿAbd Allah Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad (a), they stood at Bab al-Salam and said:
Peace be upon you, O my master, son of my master, and father of my masters, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon you, O martyr of the abode of evanescence and leader of the abode of permanence. We are your devoted ones and your loyal followers, and we acknowledge your first and your last. So intercede for us with the One who accepts your intercession, Allah the Exalted, our Lord and your Lord; for no servant is disappointed who turned to his Lord through you, wearied his heart for your sake, forsook his family and companions for your sake, and took you as his guardian and his sufficiency. And peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. (vol. 97, p. 211).
ʿAllama al-Majlisi said in the margin that it is possible that it is a ziyarah of Imam al-Husayn (a), but that a scribal corruption occurred on the part of the copyists.
The Second Ziyarah:
A ziyarah for all the Imams that ʿAllama al-Majlisi cited in al-Bihar from Kitab al-ʿAtiq al-Gharawi, not attributed to an Imam; the text of the ziyarah of Imam Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq (a) is as follows:
Peace be upon the truthful one, son of the truthful ones and father of the truthful ones, the proof of Allah and son of His proof over the worlds, al-Sadiq Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad, successor of those who have passed, father of the masters of the successors, and the one who shares the kunya of the grandson of the Prophet of guidance.
Peace be upon you, O my master, O Abu ʿAbd Allah, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
O Allah, bless the rightly guided Imam, the dutiful shepherd, the successor of the successors, the Imam of the pious, the banner of the religion who speaks the certain truth, the succor of the Muslims, the father of the orphans and the needy, Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad, the learned Imam, the judge who rules, the knowing one, the well-pleasing, and the caller to guidance: whoever obeys him is guided, and whoever turns away from him goes astray.
O Allah, so bless him, as he acted in accordance with Your good pleasure, gave sincere counsel to Your friends, was kind to the faithful, was severe with the faithless and the hypocrites, and worshipped You until certainty came to him. He instituted the Sunnas among Your friends, made knowledge manifest among them, proclaimed, and abolished innovations, and revived the religion and brought benefit.
O Allah, so bless him, and reward him on our behalf with the best of rewards, for what he revived of Your Sunna and upheld of Your religion, for his hastening to Your good pleasure, his acting with wariness of You, and his bringing us out of darkness into light—the best reward of those who are rewarded. Convey him to the most excellent of the lofty degrees in the most exalted station of his forefathers, multiply good pleasure for him, and greet him from us with greeting and peace. And peace be upon him, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. (vol. 99, p. 225).
The Third Ziyarah:
Sayed Ibn Tawus mentioned in Jamal al-Usbuʿ a ziyarah with which one visits on Tuesday, which is shared among Imam Zayn al-ʿAbidin and the two Imams al-Baqir and al-Sadiq (a); it is as follows:
Peace be upon you, O treasurers of the knowledge of Allah. Peace be upon you, O interpreters of the revelation of Allah. Peace be upon you, O Imams of guidance. Peace be upon you, O banners of piety. Peace be upon you, O children of the Messenger of Allah. I know your right, have insight into your standing, am an enemy to your enemies and a friend to your friends.
May my father and mother be ransomed for you (a). O Allah, I take the last of them as guardians just as I took the first of them, and I disavow every confidant other than them, and I disbelieve in al-Jibt and al-Taghut and al-Lat and al-ʿUzza. The blessings of Allah be upon you, O my masters, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
Peace be upon you, O master of the worshippers and scion of the successors. Peace be upon you, O you who split open the knowledge of the prophets. Peace be upon you, O truthful one, affirmed as truthful in word and deed. O my masters, this is your day, and it is Tuesday, and on it I am your guest and one seeking refuge with you; so host me and grant me refuge, by the standing of Allah with you and of your good and pure Household. p. 35
The Fourth Ziyarah:
It is the ziyarah shared with the Imams of al-Baqiʿ; Ibn Qulawayh mentioned it in Kamil al-Ziyarat from one of the Household of Prophethood (a):
From him, from Salama, from ʿAbd Allah ibn Ahmad, from Bakr ibn Salih, from ʿAmr ibn Hisham [Hashim], from one of our companions, from one of them [one of the two] (a), who said: When you come to the graves of the Imams at al-Baqiʿ, stand by them, put the qibla behind you and the grave before you, then say:
Peace be upon you, Imams of guidance. Peace be upon you, people of righteousness and Godwariness. Peace be upon you, the proofs over the people of the world. Peace be upon you, who uphold justice among creation. Peace be upon you, people of the elect. Peace be upon you, O Family of the Messenger of Allah (s). Peace be upon you, people of intimate converse.
I bear witness that you conveyed, gave sincere counsel, and were patient for the sake of Allah; you were called liars and were wronged, yet you forgave. I bear witness that you are the rightly directed, divinely guided [rightly guided] Imams, that obedience to you is obligatory, that your word is the truth, that you called and were not answered and commanded and were not obeyed, and that you are the pillars of the religion and the supports of the earth. You have never ceased to be under the eye of Allah; He copies you in the loins of every purified man and transfers you from the wombs of purified women. The ignorance of the pagan age did not defile you, and the trials of caprices had no share in you. You were pure, and your origin was pure. The Judge of the Requital bestowed you upon us as a favor and placed you in houses Allah has allowed to be raised and wherein His Name is celebrated, and He made our invocations of blessing upon you a mercy for us and an expiation for our sins, when Allah chose you for us; and He made our creation pure through the favor He bestowed upon us of your wilayah, and we were named before Him for your knowledge, acknowledging our belief in you. This is the station of one who has been excessive and erred, who has humbled himself and confessed what he committed, and who hopes by his standing for sincerity, and that the Rescuer of those who perish may rescue through you from destruction. So be intercessors for me, for I have come to you when the people of the world have turned away from you, taken the signs of Allah in derision, and disdained them. O He who is ever-standing and never heedless, everlasting and never diverted, and encompassing all things: Yours is the favor in that You granted me success and made me know my Imams, and in that upon which You have established me when Your servants turned away from it, were ignorant of knowing it, made light of its right, and inclined toward other than it. So the favor was from You upon me, along with peoples whom You singled out with what You singled me out with. So to You be praise, since I was, with You, in a station, mentioned and recorded. So do not deprive me of what I have hoped for, and do not disappoint me in what I have supplicated for, in this station of mine, by the sanctity of Muhammad and his pure Family. And supplicate for yourself with whatever you wish. (p. 55).
The Fifth Ziyarah:
It is his ziyarah together with the Imams of al-Baqiʿ; al-Kafʿami mentioned it in his Misbah without attribution, and it is as follows:
You say, in the ziyarah of the Imams of al-Baqiʿ (a), after you have placed the grave before you, having performed the ritual bath:
Peace be upon you, O treasurers of the knowledge of Allah, guardians of His secret and interpreters of His revelation. I have come to you, O sons of the Messenger of Allah, knowing your right, having insight into your standing, an enemy to your enemies and a friend to your friends. May my father and mother be ransomed for you; may Allah bless your souls and your bodies.
O Allah, I take the last of them as guardians just as I took the first of them, and I disavow every confidant other than them. I believe in Allah, and I disbelieve in al-Jibt and al-Taghut and al-Lat and al-ʿUzza and every rival who is invoked besides Allah.
And you say in bidding them farewell: Peace be upon you, Imams of guidance, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. I commend you to Allah and greet you with peace. We believe in Allah, in the Messenger, and in what you brought and guided to. O Allah, so write us down among the witnesses, and do not make it the last time of visiting them. And peace be upon them, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. (Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 97, p. 207).
The Sixth Ziyarah:
Within the ziyarah of the Imams of al-Baqiʿ (a).
Ibn al-Mashhadi said in al-Mazar al-Kabir: It is recommended for whoever wishes to visit them to perform the ritual bath first, then to come with tranquility and dignity; and when he arrives at the noble door, he stands at it and says:
O my masters, O sons of the Messenger of Allah, your servant and the son of your bondmaid—lowly before you, weak before the loftiness of your rank, and acknowledging your right—has come to you seeking refuge with you, heading for your sanctuary, seeking nearness to your station, and seeking intercession with Allah through you.
May I enter, O my masters? May I enter, O trustees of Allah? May I enter, O friends of Allah? May I enter, O angels of Allah who surround this sanctuary and reside at this shrine?
Be humble before your Lord and weep; if your heart is humbled and your eyes shed tears, that is the sign of acceptance and permission. Bring your right foot into the dome, hold back the left, and say:
Allah is the Greatest, greatly; much praise be to Allah; and glory be to Allah morning and evening. Praise be to Allah, the Single, the All-embracing, the Glorious, the One, the Bestower of grace, the Benefactor, the Bountiful, the Compassionate, who has bestowed His favor out of His bounty, made easy the visitation of my masters through His beneficence, and has not made me barred from visiting them, but rather has been bountiful and has given.
Then enter, place the graves before you, and say:
Peace be upon you, Imams of guidance. Peace be upon you, people of Godwariness. Peace be upon you, O proofs over the people of the world. Peace be upon you, who uphold justice among creation. Peace be upon you, people of the elect. Peace be upon you, people of intimate converse.
I bear witness that you conveyed from Allah, gave sincere counsel to the friends of Allah, and were patient for the sake of Allah; that you are the rightly guided; that obedience to you is obligatory; that your word is the truth; and that you are the pillars of the religion and the supports of the earth.
You have never ceased to be under the eye of Allah; He copies you in the loins of every purified man and transfers you from the loins of purified women. The ignorance of the pagan age did not defile you, and the trials of caprices had no share in you. You were pure, and your origin was pure.
The Judge of the Requital bestowed you upon us as a favor and placed you in houses Allah has allowed to be raised and wherein His Name is celebrated, and He made our invocation of blessing upon you, and made our constitution pure through the favor He bestowed upon us of your wilayah; and we were named before Him with your knowledge, acknowledging our belief in you.
This is the station of one who has been excessive and erred, who has humbled himself and confessed what he committed, and who hopes by his standing for deliverance from the Blaze, and that the Rescuer of those who perish may rescue him through you from destruction. So be intercessors for me, for I have come to you when the people of the world have turned away from you, taken the signs of Allah in derision, and disdained them.
Peace be upon you, O my masters. I am your servant, your follower and your visitor, who takes refuge in you. I seek intercession with Allah for the success of my request, the removal of my distress, the answering of my supplication and the forgiveness of my sin, and I ask Him to hear and answer, by His mercy.
And pray the prayer of ziyarah. Its description is that you intend in your heart the prayer of ziyarah as a recommended act, seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted, with the intention coinciding with the act; and you pray two rakʿas for each Imam. Supplicate for what you wish and ask Him for your needs, for it is a place of answering[1].
The Seventh Ziyarah:
The invocations of blessing reported from Imam al-Hasan al-ʿAskari (a):
O Allah, bless Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad al-Sadiq, the treasurer of knowledge, the caller to You with the truth, the manifest light. O Allah, and just as You made him the mine of Your speech and Your revelation, the treasurer of Your knowledge, the tongue of Your oneness, the guardian of Your command and the custodian of Your religion, so bless him with the best of what You have blessed any of Your chosen ones and Your proofs. Indeed You are all-laudable, all-glorious. (Misbah al-Mutahajjid, vol. 1, p. 403).
The Prayer of Ziyarah
Part of the completion of visiting the Ahl al-Bayt (a) is that the visitor prays the rakʿas of ziyarah. The forms of the prayers in visiting them are numerous, most of which have been reported for the visitation of Imam al-Husayn (a); the least of them is two rakʿas, in which he recites whatever he wishes.
From Abu Hamza al-Thumali, from Imam al-Sadiq (a): The two rakʿas of ziyarah are indispensable at every grave. (al-Wasaʾil, vol. 1, p. 115).
And al-Sadiq (a) said: Whoever visits one of the Imams and prays four rakʿas by him, a Hajj and an ʿUmra are recorded for him. (al-Muqniʿa, p. 474).
The Farewell Ziyarah
The last of the rites of visiting the pure Imams is bidding farewell to their noble graves, in the hope of returning to them and staying connected with them through visitation; it is an intention to continue the covenant of visiting them (a). Numerous farewell texts have been narrated in some of the ziyarahs, especially the ziyarah of Imam Abu ʿAbd Allah al-Husayn (a); but the texts affirm in their contents that the farewell relates to the graves of the pure Imams (a) in a general and comprehensive manner, because of the meanings they contain of mutual commitment and of supplicating for lasting connection, so as to attain merit and blessings.
Farewell can be made in two ways:
The first: that the visitor bids farewell to the grave at the end of every visit he makes while he is at the place of ziyarah; so whenever he is honored with visitation—at the times of the obligatory prayers, for example—he recites the farewell text at the end of his ziyarah, in the hope of returning and repeating it, while he is at the place of ziyarah; especially for one who has come for a single visit and will then go on to his own country.
The second: that the visitor devotes a special visit to the farewell, such that it is the last of the visits he repeats while at the place of ziyarah; so when the scheduled days of ziyarah come to an end, he concludes them with a special visit whose subject is bidding farewell to the noble grave.
Farewell can be made in numerous ways, the best of which is what has come in the noble narrations. The general text reported from Imam al-Sadiq (a) can be recited at all the shrines, including after visiting Imam al-Sadiq (a); it is:
“When you bid farewell to one of them, say:
Peace be upon you, O Imam, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. I commend you to Allah, and upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah. We believe in the Messenger, in what you brought, and in what you called to[2]. O Allah, do not make it the last time of my visiting Your wali. O Allah, do not deprive me of the reward of visiting him which You have made due for him, and make easy for us the return to him, if Allah wills.” (al-Iqbal bi-l-Aʿmal al-Hasana, vol. 2, p. 275).
[1] Al-Bihar from it, 100: 211.
[2] And you called to it (variant reading).
