- Merits
The Blessings of Ahl al-Bayt(a)
Muʿāwīya b. Wahab narrates: Abū ʿAbd Allāh Imām Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq(a) said to me: “O’ Muʿāwīya! Do not neglect going to the ziyārah of the grave of al-Ḥusayn(a) out of fear. For he who abandons the ziyārah of al-Ḥusayn(a) will regret it so immensely that he will wish his (i.e. al-Ḥusayn’s) grave was near to him. Do you not want for Allāh to see you amongst those whom Rasūl Allāh(s), ʾAmīr al-Muʾminīn(a), Lady Fāṭima(a), and the Imāms(a) pray for?”
Muʿāwīya b. Wahab narrates: I asked permission to enter and visit Imām Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq(a). Once permission was granted, I entered and found him busy in prayer in his musalla (place of prayer). I waited until he finished and heard him recite the following supplication:
“O’ Allāh! O’ one who has chosen us for honor, promised us the power of intercession, chosen us as the successors, given us knowledge of all that has occurred and all that will occur and made the hearts of some yearn for us! O’ Allāh! Forgive me and my brothers who perform the ziyārah of my father, al-Ḥusayn(a), and those who spend their wealth to travel, seeking our pleasure and hoping for the reward that you have prepared for those associated with Us. They go to the ziyārah of al-Ḥusayn(a) to make your Prophet(s) pleased, to obey our commands, and to oppose our enemies in order to gain your pleasure. Therefore, reward them with Riḍwān (greatest place in Heaven) on our behalf, protect them day and night, compensate in the best way their families and their children who are left behind and befriend them, keep them away from the harm of every abusive tyrant and everyone who is weak or strong from your creation, keep away from them the evil of every devil from amongst the men and the jinn, grant them the best of that which they have requested from you while they are away from their homes for their having chosen us over their families, their children and their relatives. O’ Allāh! Our enemies have chastised them for performing our ziyārah yet that did not stop them from coming to us and being against those who are against us. Have mercy on those faces that have been changed by the sun. Have mercy on those cheeks that have rolled over the grave of Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn(a). Have mercy on those eyes that have become impatient and anguished because of us and have mercy on their outcries for us. O’ Allāh! I entrust those bodies and souls to you until the day of the great thirst when you quench their thirst from the Pool of al-Kawthar.”
Muʿāwīya b. Wahab continued: “Imām(a) kept repeating this supplication while in prostration. When he finished, I said, “May I be sacrificed for you! I think this supplication applies to even the people who do not know Allāh(s), the fire of hell will never touch them. I swear by Allāh I wish I had gone for his ziyārah instead of going for Ḥajj.”
Imām(a) said, “You live so close to him. What prevents you from performing his ziyārah? O’ Muʿāwīya why are you negligent in it?”
I replied, “May I be sacrificed for you! I did not think it was of importance.” Imām(a) said, “O’ Muʿāwīya! The number of those in the heavens who pray for those who perform the ziyārah of al-Ḥusayn(a) is greater than those who pray for them on earth.”
Muʿāwīya b. Wahab narrates: Imām Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq(a) said to me: “O’ Muʿāwīya! Do not neglect the ziyārah of al-Ḥusayn(a) due to fear. For he who abandons the ziyārah of al-Ḥusayn(a)—regardless of the reason—will regret so immensely that he will wish that his (i.e. al-Ḥusayn’s) grave was near him. Do you not want Allāh to see that you are amongst those whom Rasūl Allāh(s), ʾAmīr al-Muʾminīn(a), Lady Fāṭima(a), and the Imāms(a) pray for? Do you not yearn to be amongst those who return with forgiveness of their past sins and do you not yearn to return from his ziyārah with seventy years of sins forgiven for you? Do you not year to be amongst those who will not have any sins about which they will be questioned when they leave this life? Do you not yearn to be amongst those whose hands Rasūl Allāh(s) will shake tomorrow on the Day of Judgment?”
Imām Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq(a) narrates; “Lady Fāṭima(a), the daughter of Rasūl Allāh(s), visits those who perform the ziyārah of the grave of her son, al-Ḥusayn(a), and seeks forgiveness for their sins.”