Abu Hashim Said, “I visited Abul Hasan Ali bin Muhammad when he was ill. He said to me, ‘O Abu Hashim, send a man from our mawali to al-Ha’ir to pray Allah for me!’
When Abu Hashim left, he met Ali bin Bilal in the street. He told him about the imam and asked him to travel to Kerbala to pray for the imam. Ali was astonished and he said, ‘I hear and obey! But I say: he is better than al-Ha’ir. He has the same position of that one (Imam al-Husayn) in al-Ha’ir, and his praying for himself is better than my praying for him.’
Abu Hashim went and told Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) what Ali bin Bilal said. Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) said, ‘The messenger of Allah (a.s.) was better than the House (the Kaaba) and the (black) Rock, but he circumambulated the House and kissed the Rock. Allah the Almighty has places that He likes to be worshipped in, and He responds to whoever prays Him there. Al-Ha’ir is one of those places…’ ( Kamil az-Ziyarat, p.274, Mazar al-Bihar p.141.)