Sayyid Ahmad Ibne Hashim Ibne Sayyid Musawi Rashti, a
businessman from Rasht in Iran seventeen years ago went for the
Ziyarat of Najaf Ashraf and along with Shaykh Ali Rashti, who
will be mentioned in the later anecdotes, if Allah wills, came to
the house of this humble author and when they arose, he pointed
to the Shaykh and said: He is having a strange story. It was not
the occasion to mention it at this time.
After some days the meeting took place: The Sayyid
narrated his circumstances in some statements. I regretted not
having heard from him directly, even though the position of
Shaykh (r.a.) was more exalted that any of his statements may be
doubted. From that year till some months ago the matter was in
my mind till in the month of Jamadiul Aakhir I returned to Najaf
Ashraf this year and met the veracious Sayyid in Kazmain, who
had returned from Samarrah and was planning to travel to Iran.
Thus, the summary of what I heard from him is as follows:
I decided to perform Hajj in the year 1280 A.H. With this
intention I traveled from Rasht to Tabriz. At Tabriz, I stayed at
the house of Haji Safar Ali, who was himself a famous
businessman of Tabriz. There I was very worried and anxious
because at that time there was no caravan to Mecca for Hajj. I did
not know what to do. I became ready to depart from Tabriz for with Haji Jabbar Jaludaar Isfahani. We agreed on the
fare for journey and departed from Tabriz. At the house of Haji
Safar Ali, there were three other persons, whose names were
Mulla Baqir Tabrizi, Haaj Sayyid Husain Tabrizi and Haaj Ali.
They too joined me in this journey. We departed together,
crossed the country of Rum towards Tarabuzan.
During the journey, Haji Jabbar came to me and said, “The
road we are about to cross is a dangerous one. It is better if we
cross it quickly so that we can join the caravan ahead.” So we
began to travel faster to catch up with the caravan ahead. We had
hardly traveled some distance that it began snowing heavily. It
was dark and visibility was poor. My companions covered their
heads and continued to move quickly. I tried my best to keep up
with them, but in this weather, it was difficult for me and soon
they had gone ahead leaving me alone.
I got down from my horse and sat on one side of the road in
a state of helplessness and dejection. I was carrying only about
600 Tumans, which I had kept with me for the journey. Finally, I
decided to spend the night there and continue the journey in the
morning.
As we had not traveled very far from the city, there was a
possibility for me to turn back and select a few strong men with
me as my companions and renew my effort to catch up with the
caravan. I was deliberating over this option, when suddenly I saw
a garden on the opposite side of the road and its gardener. It
seemed that there was a shovel in his hand with which he was
clearing the snow from the branches of the trees in the garden.
He came closer to me and stood at a distance and asked me
in Persian, “Who are you?” I told him that my companions had
gone ahead and that I was new in this area and did not know the
way. He said to me, “Pray the Nafila (recommended) prayers so
that you may find the road.” I readied myself for prayers and
recited the night prayers (Namaz Shab).
After I completed my prayers, he came to me again and said,
“You are still here? Why haven’t you left?” I said, “By Allah, I
swear that I don’t know the way.” He said, “Recite Ziyarat
Jamia. I did not know Ziyarat Jamia by heart and even at that
time I knew that I would not be able to complete it. Yet I began
reciting it and soon found that I had recited it completely, without
any mistake.
As I completed the Ziyarat, the gardener came to me again
and asked, “You are still here? Why are you sitting here?” I
began crying uncontrollably and said, “Yes, I am still here. I
don’t know the way or else I would have left.” He said, “Recite
Ziyarat Ashura.” I got up and began reciting it. I did not know
Ziyarat Ashura by heart and even at that time I knew that I would
not be able to complete it. Yet I began reciting it and soon found
that I had recited it completely with the 100 salaams and 100
curses without any mistake. I even recited Dua Alqamah, which
is recited after Ziyarat Ashura.
After I completed the recitation, he came to me again and
asked, “You are still here? Why haven’t you left yet?” I said, “I
will be here at least till morning.” He said, “Wait, I will convey
you to your destination.” He mounted a donkey, hauled the
shovel on this shoulder and asked me to mount too. I complied
with his request. At this time, I tugged at the reins of my horse, but he did not move. The gardener said, “Give me the reins.” I
gave them to him. He shifted the shovel to his left shoulder and
began to move. Surprisingly, the horse began to move along with
him.
While moving, he placed his hand on my thigh and said,
“Why don’t you pray Shab Prayer?” Then he repeated thrice,
“Nafila, Nafila, Nafila” Then he said, “Why don’t you recite
Ziyarat Ashura Then he repeated thrice for emphasis, “Ashura,
Ashura, Ashura!” Then he said, “Why don’t you recite Ziyarat
Jamia?” Then he repeated thrice for emphasis, “Jamia, Jamia,
Jamia!” In this way, he reminded me about these three actions.
Suddenly he turned to me and said, “Look there are your
friends.” I saw my companions at a distance. They had stopped at
the river and were performing Wudhu for the Morning Prayer. I
alighted and moved towards my horse to reach them. I had hardly
reached my horse that I saw the gardener. He had got down from
the donkey and was waiting to help me mount my horse. He
turned the horse in the direction of my friends.
At this point a few thought began racing through my mind.
Who was this person?
Firstly, he spoke to me in Persian, in an area where this
language was not spoken. The people in the area were Turkish
and they followed the Christian religion, and there was no other
person in this area.
Secondly, he had asked me to recite Nafila, Ziyarat Jamia
and Ziyarat Ashura. Thirdly, despite the fact that I had waited for
so long at that place, he was able to convey me to my
companions in a very short time! However, when I turned to address him, I could not see anyone. In fact there was no sign at
all of any person having been there. So I joined my companions.
Shab Prayer
The author says: Excellence and benefits of Shab Prayer
are beyond the limits of description for one unaware of the
intricacies and secrets of Quran and Sunnah; however, there is
emphasis three times in some reports.
Shaykh Kulaini1, Saduq2 and Shaykh Barqi3 have narrated
from Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) that the Messenger of Allah
(s.a.w.a.) made a bequest to Ameerul Momineen (a.s.) and
ordered him to learn it by heart and prayed that Allah will help
him.
One of his statements is: Praying the Shab prayer is
obligatory for you. Praying the Shab prayer is obligatory for you.
Praying the Shab prayer is obligatory for you.
Also, in the book of Fiqhatur Reza (a.s.)4, something close
is mentioned.
Excellence of Ziyarat Jamia
Ziyarat Jamia, according to the statement of some scholars,
is one of the most excellent and perfect Ziyarats.
In Mazaar Behaar, Allamah Majlisi, after a brief exegesis of some statements of that Ziyarat, says: We have explained this
Ziyarat in more detail, although we have not fulfilled its right,
fearing the prolongation of the matter as this Ziyarat is the most
authentic of the Ziyarats and it is the most eloquent Ziyarat and
commands great excellence.1
And it is mentioned in Sharh Man Laa Yahzarahul Faqeeh:
This Ziyarat is the most excellent and complete Ziyarat and as
long as I was in the holy places, I did not perform the Ziyarat of
the Holy Imams (a.s.) except through this Ziyarat.2
But it should be mentioned that there are three version of
this Ziyarat.
First: The same well known version, narrated in Faqeeh and
in Tahdhib of Shaykh Toosi narrated from Imam Hadi (a.s.).
Second, is the version, which Shaykh Kafami has narrated
in the book of Baladul Amin from the same Imam and in every
part there are some portions, which are not present in the well
known Ziyarat and is around twenty percent longer than the first,
which Majlisi has not mentioned in Behaarul Anwaar.
Third: There is a version mentioned in Behaarul Anwaar
quoting from some ancient books, without any authority of an
Infallible (a.s.). It is very lengthy; on the contrary, it is nearly
twice the original Ziyarat. It is considered to be the third Ziyarat
Jamia.
Excellence of Ziyarat Ashura
One of the unparalleled merits and points of honor of
Ziyarat Ashura is that its form is not similar to the other ordinary
forms of Ziyarats, which are composed and dictated by the Holy
Infallibles (a.s.) apparently, although nothing is issued from the
immaculate hearts of these Holy Infallibles (a.s.), except
statements proving that they have received these words from the
Most High Origin. The Ziyarat of Ashura, however, is similar to
the words of the Almighty Allah that He revealed to Jibraeel
(a.s.). This fact can be noticed in the words of the Ziyarat,
including the statements of invoking curses (on the enemies), the
statements of invoking blessings (on the Imam and his
companions), and the supplicatory statements. Hence, Jibraeel
(a.s.) conveyed these words to the seal of the prophets. As
maintained by tangible experiences, this form of Ziyarat is
unique in achieving the requests, gaining the needs, and warding
off the enemies if a visitor recites it continuously for forty days
or even less. However, the most astonishing effect of preserving
this form of Ziyarat can be seen in the following story, mentioned
in Darus Salaam. However, I will mention it in brief:
Hasan Yazdi, the trustworthy, righteous and pious Haji and
Mawla, who lived in the vicinity of the holy shrine in al-Ghari
(i.e. Najaf) and who was of those who acted faithfully as regards
neighboring this holy place and practiced acts of worship
painstakingly, has reported the following incident from
Muhammad Ali Yazdi the trustworthy and honest Haji:
There was a righteous and virtuous man in Yazd, who used
to preoccupy himself (with acts of worship) and make preparations for his next life in his grave. He used to spend nights
in a graveyard in the outskirts of the city of Yazd, known as
Mazaar, in which a group of righteous people were buried. He
had a neighbor, who grew up with him since infanthood and both
joined the same school and studied under the same teacher.
Nevertheless, this neighbor became a tither (i.e. he seizes tenth of
the people’s gains by means of power and injustice). He did not
quit this process until he died. He was then buried in that
graveyard in a grave near the place where the righteous neighbor
saw him in sleep in a good-looking costume as if he was enjoying
the brightness of bliss. The man approached the dead man and
asked him, “I know very well your origin and your end, and your
appearance and your hidden manners. You were not of those who
are expected to have righteous inner self and your deeds would
bring you nothing, but torment and chastisement. How could you
attain this status?”
The dead man replied, “What you have just said is true. I
had been placed in the most terrible torture since my death up to
yesterday when the wife of Ashraf, the blacksmith died and was
buried in this place.” The dead pointed to a definite side, which
was about one hundred yards away from his burial place. He then
went on, “At the night of her burial, Abu Abdullah [Imam Husain
(a.s.)] visited her three times. On the third time, he ordered
torture to be stopped from all the dead inhabitants of this
graveyard. Since then, I was turned into bliss, luxury and
comfort.
When the righteous man woke up, he was deeply perplexed.
He therefore went to the market of the blacksmiths to ask about the man whose wife had recently died, because he had no
familiarity with that man. When he found the blacksmith, he
asked him, “Did you have a wife?” The blacksmith answered,
“Yes, I had. She died recently and she was buried in such and
such place.” The man mentioned the very place to which the dead
tither pointed in the dream of the righteous man. “Had she ever
visited the tomb of Abu Abdullah?” the righteous man asked.
“No, she did not,” answered the widower. “Was she usually
holding mourning ceremonies for Imam Husain (a.s.)?” asked the
righteous man. “No, she was not,” answered her widower, who
added, “What for are you putting such questions?” Here, the
righteous man narrated the whole story of his dream. The
widower then said, “Yes, she used to recite the Ziyarat of Ashura
very frequently.”
We should know that Sayyid Ahmad, the protagonist of this
story was a very pious and religious man well known for his
abstemiousness and worship among the people of his place and
others as well and miscellaneous benefits of every Ziyarat are
narrated from him, but this is not the place to mention them.