Do the extraordinary rewards attributed to ziyārah reflect the authentic teachings of the Ahlul Bayt?
The Popular Narrations on the Rewards of Ziyārah
It is evident to anyone who studies the Twelver Imāmī Ḥadīth corpus that there is a superabundance of narrations in it asserting the importance, and in some cases even Wujūb of Ziyārah of the gravesites of the Imams (as), especially Imam al-Ḥusayn (as). One only needs to peruse through books like Kāmil al-Ziyārāt by Shaykh Abū Jaʿfar Ibn Qawlawayh (d. 368 AH/978 CE) to see what a high and lofty pedestal Ziyārah has been placed on in the corpus.1
However, it should be borne in mind that the mere presence of abundant narrations in support of a certain idea, claim or concept in a compromised Ḥadīth corpus like the Imāmī one is not sufficient to inspire the critical researcher and student of knowledge with confidence in it, for there is such Tawātur for patently false concepts that have now even been accepted to be false by the Twelver Marjaʿiyyah today such as Taḥrīf al-Qur’ān, Bāṭinī (esoteric) Tafsīr, Kufr of non-Shīʿa Muslims, etc.
The Imams’ Warnings About Fabricated Reports
After the Imams (as) came to know of how Ghulāt had infiltrated the Ḥadīth-transmission circles of their companions, and how they were actively interpolating huge amounts of fabricated narrations into the Ḥadīth notebooks of so many of their companions, they issued dire warnings about this, and urged their followers not to trust anything attributed to them via narrations blindly or uncritically, but rather to carefully scrutinize whatever reaches them with a view to subjecting it to certain important checks before accepting it.
The most important principle they taught and repeatedly emphasized as part of the Ḥadīth-verification process was comparison against the Qur’ān and known Sunnah of the Prophet (Saww). It is sufficient to cite the following authenticated and well-accepted narration to provide readers with clear proof of this:
عن أيوب بن الحر قال: سمعت أبا عبداللَّه عليه السلام يقول: كّل حديث مردود إلى الكتاب والسنة وكل شيء لايوافق كتاب اللَّه فهو زخرف.
Ayyūb bin al-Ḥurr said: I heard Imam Abū ʿAbdillāh Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (as) saying: Every Ḥadīth must be returned to the Book and the Sunnah (for checking and verification), and everything that does not agree with the Book of Allah, then it is only Zukhruf (worthless, embellished, deceptive Satanic speech).2
Note: The Imam (as) uses the term Zukhruf here in the same sense in which Allah uses it in the following verse of the Qur’ān:
وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نَبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا شَيَاطِينَ الْإِنْسِ وَالْجِنِّ يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًا وَلَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّكَ مَا فَعَلُوهُ فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ
And thus We have made for every Prophet an enemy — devils from among humans and jinn—whispering to one another with Zukhruf (decorative words of deception). But if your Lord had willed, they would not have done it, so leave them to their Iftirās (i.e. what they invent and fabricate). (6:112)
This understanding is further confirmed by the authenticated statement of Imam al-Riḍā (as) which he made in his appeal to the Shīʿa saying:
فَلَا تَقْبَلُوا عَلَيْنَا خِلَافَ الْقُرْآنِ، فَإِنَّا إِنْ تَحَدَّثْنَا حَدَّثْنَا بِمُوَافَقَةِ الْقُرْآنِ وَمُوَافَقَةِ السُّنَّةِ. إِنَّا عَنِ اللَّهِ وَعَنْ رَسُولِهِ نُحَدِّثُ، وَلَا نَقُولُ قَالَ فُلَانٌ وَفُلَانٌ فَيَتَنَاقَضَ كَلَامُنَا. إِنَّ كَلَامَ آخِرِنَا مِثْلُ كَلَامِ أَوَّلِنَا وَكَلَامَ أَوَّلِنَا مُصَادِقٌ لِكَلَامِ آخِرِنَا، فَإِذَا أَتَاكُمْ مَنْ يُحَدِّثُكُمْ بِخِلَافِ ذَلِكَ فَرُدُّوهُ عَلَيْهِ وَقُولُوا أَنْتَ أَعْلَمُ وَمَا جِئْتَ بِهِ! فَإِنَّ مَعَ كُلِّ قَوْلٍ مِنَّا حَقِيقَةً وَعَلَيْهِ نُوراً، فَمَا لَا حَقِيقَةَ مَعَهُ وَلَا نُورَ عَلَيْهِ فَذَلِكَ مِنْ قَوْلِ الشَّيْطَانِ.
Therefore, do not accept in our name anything that goes against the Qur’ān, because when we narrate, we always narrate Aḥādīth that are in agreement with the Qur’ān, and in agreement with the Sunnah, for we only narrate from Allah and His Messenger, and we don’t say: so and so said this and so and so said that, otherwise our speech would become self-contradictory. Indeed the speech of the last of us is the same as the speech of the first of us, and the speech of the first of us confirms the speech of the last of us. Therefore, if someone comes to you with that which goes against it, then return back his statement to him, and say: you know better what you have come with, because in every speech that comes from us, there is a Ḥaqīqah (truth), and Nūr (light/radiance) on it, and everything that does not have Ḥaqīqah (truth) with it and Nūr (light/radiance) on it is from Shayṭān.’3
From this we learn that any Ḥadīth that lacks support in the Qur’ān, or appears contrary to its clear guidance and the established Sunnah, should be carefully re-examined. The Imams (as) repeatedly emphasized that their teachings are in complete agreement with the Qur’ān and the Sunnah. As such, reports that conflict with these foundations are difficult to accept as authentic transmissions from the Prophet (Saww) or the Imams (as).
Once this principle is understood, it becomes easier to approach the Twelver Imāmī Ḥadīth corpus in a critical and balanced manner, assessing reports against the standards laid down by the Imams (as) themselves.
Testing the Narrations Against the Qur’ān and Sunnah
When narrations in the Imāmī Ḥadīth corpus attribute statements to the Imams (as) glorifying Ziyārah and promising multiplied rewards for it, we go back to the Qur’ān and Sunnah to see if there is any basis for such an idea or concept.
The Qur’ān is completely free and empty of any hint at Ziyārah of grave sites ever having been a part of Allah’s religion or something encouraged by His Messengers or Prophets in the past.
We know it was the Sunnah of the Prophet (Saww) to visit his local graveyard of Baqīʿ and spend time seeking forgiveness for those of his companions who were buried there, but this only proves the desirability of visiting one’s local graveyard to pray for those buried there and reflect on the reality and certainty of death.
Beyond this, there may be some reports of varying degrees of authenticity about the Prophet (Saww) stopping at a grave if it happened to fall in his way during his travels to pray for the one buried in it.
But what is conspicuously absent from the Sunnah is evidence for what we see today in our communities, and what the reports in the Imāmī Ḥadīth corpus also appear to be promoting: exerting oneself and going out of the way to visit the gravesites of the righteous as a religious pilgrimage in hopes of securing reward from Allah for it as if it is an act of worship.
There was no shortage of high-ranking and distinguished slaves of Allah in the past, whether it be Messengers, Prophets, martyrs, or righteous believers.
So a critical question that needs to be asked is: why didn’t Allah institute visiting their gravesites a part of His Dīn, and why did the Prophet (Saww) never make any effort to visit their gravesites and encourage his followers to do the same?
Were their contributions to His cause minor or meagre or was their blood and sacrifices not worthy of such a response?
The Qur’ān, for instance, speaks of Prophets who were killed and martyred in the way of Allah for calling people towards him and enjoining justice and righteousness in society (see Q.02:61, 87, 91; 03:21, 112; 05:70), yet there was never any hint in the Qur’ān or Sunnah about the necessity or even desirability of showing devotion to their gravesites and visiting them as a kind of pilgrimage or act of worship for which one is entitled to multiplied rewards from Allah.
With there being no credible evidence in support of such a practice in either the Qur’ān or mass transmitted undisputed Sunnah, the narrations in the Imāmī Ḥadīth corpus which try to introduce such a practice for the first time in the case of Imams (as) – and promote it as an act of worship – fail to clear the very first check-point set up by the Imams of Ahlul Bayt (as) themselves for verifying the authenticity of narrations which are attributed to them, namely: strong support and confirmation from the Qur’ān and known Sunnah.
No Attention Paid to the Ḥijr-e-Ismāʿīl during Pilgrimage
There are reports in both Shīʿa and Sunnī sources indicating that Prophet Ismāʿīl (as) buried his mother, Sayyidah Hājar (as), in the area immediately adjacent to the Kaʿbah known as the Ḥijr Ismāʿīl. These same reports also state that Prophet Ismāʿīl (as) himself was later buried there. If these reports are accepted, then the Maṭāf itself contains the graves of a prophet and a pious, righteous woman. Yet, despite this, the Prophet Muḥammad (ﷺ) never converted the site into a mazār (shrine) after Makkah came under his complete authority. Nor is there any evidence that he incorporated standing at this location, reciting salutations there, or asking for one’s needs into the rites of Ḥajj or ʿUmrah. Indeed, he did not teach any such practice at this site, either as part of the pilgrimage rituals or outside of them.
Even if we were to dismiss these reports as not being strong enough to yield certainty, what we do have certainty about is that great men and women of God, including Prophets like Ibrāhīm (as), Ismāʿīl (as), Isḥāq (as), Yaʿqūb (as), Mūsā (as), Āsiyah (ahs), Maryam (ahs), did actually die and were buried somewhere in this earth, and yet the Prophet (Saww) never made it a point to encourage his followers to make visiting their gravesites a thing enough to ensure mass transmission for such a teaching.
This shows us that while Ziyārah of such gravesites is something a person may do out of personal, emotional and cultural considerations, it has no place in the actual DNA of Islam, and it is not part and parcel of the basic make-up and worldview of the Qur’ān and Sunnah, and thus cannot be accorded any religious significance.
What Imam al-Ṣādiq (as) Actually Said
In fact, when one delves deeper into the Imāmī Ḥadīth corpus and the reports contained therein on the issue of Ziyārah, one encounters an authenticated report that is very much in line with what we would expect to have been the actual authentic stance of the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt (as) on the issue of Ziyārah, its reward, and overall significance, given how there is no basis for this concept in the Qur’ān and Sunnah:
حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ وَعَلِيُّ بْنُ الْحُسَيْنِ عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنْ مُوسَى بْنِ الْفَضْلِ عَنْ حَنَانٍ4 قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ (ع) مَا تَقُولُ فِي زِيَارَةِ قَبْرِ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْحُسَيْنِ (ع) فَإِنَّهُ بَلَغَنَا عَنْ بَعْضِهِمْ5 أَنَّهَا تَعْدِلُ حِجَّةً وَعُمْرَةً. قَالَ لَا تَعْجَبْ، مَا أَصَابَ مَن يَقُولُ هَذَا كُلِّهِ. وَلَكِنْ زُرْهُ وَلَا تَجْفُهُ فَإِنَّهُ سَيِّدُ الشُّهَدَاءِ وَسَيِّدُ شَبَابِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ وَشَبِيهُ يَحْيَى بْنِ زَكَرِيَّا وَعَلَيْهِمَا بَكَتِ السَّمَاءُ وَالْأَرْضُ.
– حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ الْوَلِيدِ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحَسَنِ الصَّفَّارِ عَنْ عَبْدِ الصَّمَدِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ حَنَانِ بْنِ سَدِيرٍ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ (ع) مِثْلَهُ سَوَاءً.
– حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَجَمَاعَةُ مَشَايِخِي عَنْ سَعْدِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ بْنِ بَزِيعٍ عَنْ حَنَانِ بْنِ سَدِيرٍ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ (ع) مِثْلَهُ.
My father (may Allah have mercy on him) and ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn narrated to me from Saʿd b. ʿAbd Allāh from Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. ʿĪsā from Mūsā b. al-Faḍl from Ḥanān (bin Sadīr) who said: I said to Abū ʿAbdillāh Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (as): ‘What do you say about visiting the grave of Abū ʿAbdillāh al-Ḥusayn (as)? For it has reached us from some (narrators)6 that it is equivalent to a Ḥajj (major pilgrimage to Makkah during the designated months) and ʿUmrah (recommended minor pilgrimage to Makkah).’
Imam (as) replied: ‘Do not be surprised, he who says this has not spoken the truth7, but visit him and do not forsake him, for indeed he is indeed Sayyid al-Shuhadā (the Master of the Martyrs), the Sayyidu Shabābi Ahl al-Jannah (Master of the youth of Paradise), and he resembles Yaḥyā b. Zakariyyā (as), and on both of them, the heavens and the earth wept!’8
Shaykh Ibn Qawlawayh mentions two more chains to the primary narrator for the aforementioned narration as follows immediately thereafter:
- My father and Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Walīd narrated to me from Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ṣaffār from ʿAbd al-Ṣamad b. Muḥammad from Ḥanān b. Sadīr from Abū ʿAbdillāh (as) in a similar manner.9
- My father (may Allah have mercy on him) and a group of my Shaykhs narrated to me from Saʿd b. ʿAbdillāh from Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. ʿĪsā from Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl b. Bazīʿ from Ḥanān b. Sadīr from Abū ʿAbdillāh (as) in a similar manner.10
This narration is particularly illuminating in that it helps in clarifying some very important and crucial facts that emerge and logically follow from it:
- The fact that the Imam (as) flatly denies and rejects the claim that the Ziyārah of Imam al-Ḥusayn (as) can be equal in reward to even one Ḥajj or ʿUmrah makes it clear that all the other narrations which seek to exaggerate the reward of such a Ziyārah to equal that of multiple Ḥajj and ʿUmrahs are necessarily false and must be fabrications of Ghulāt, because the Imam (as) denies the least of their claims (i.e. Ziyārah being equal to one Ḥajj or one ʿUmrah) thereby automatically exposing all the narrations which exaggerate the reward of Ziyārah even further than this as fabrications of mendacious exaggerators.
- The Imam (as) makes it clear that the rationale behind why Ziyārah is something one should do is not because it is ordained by Allah or instituted by the Prophet (Saww) or because there is any high reward for it, but rather it should be done as a natural human reaction and response to the realisation that Imam al-Ḥusayn (as) is the chief of the martyrs in this Ummah and one of our supreme role models after the Prophet (Saww) due to his status as Sayyidu Shabāb Ahl al-Jannah (Master of the Youth of Paradise).
From this, it becomes clear that Ziyārah is permissible, even desirable, for those like the companion whom the Imam (as) addressed with these words, i.e. Ḥanān bin Sadīr, who by virtue of living in Kufa, was very close to Karbalāʾ, and for whom visiting Imam al-Ḥusayn (as) would be easy and convenient, not requiring the exertion of extra effort or going out of the way, but even for such people, it is desirable only if it is done with a clear understanding that it is not a requirement of religion, nor an ordainment of Allah, nor Sunnah of the Messenger (Saww), nor something for which one should hope for any high Divine reward for, much less a reward equivalent to, or greater than, that of high acts of worship actually required and legislated by Allah such as visit to His House for Ḥajj and ʿUmrah).
The True Status of Ziyārah in Islam
To help readers understand the overall picture that emerges from all of this, we may provide an analogy that may help in understanding the true status of an act like Ziyārah in Islam and what position it should have in our minds, if we want to be true to the Qur’ān, Sunnah of the Prophet (Saww), and the uncorrupted teachings of our Imams (as).
Think of the Qur’ān. It is common practice among Muslims to show the utmost honour, love and respect for this Sacred Book in different ways. One such way is that we often kiss the Qur’ān and pass it over our eyes, or place it on our head.
There is no verse in the Qur’ān where Allah has required such gestures or even hinted at their desirability. There is also no evidence in the Sunnah that the Prophet (Saww) routinely ever did this with the Qur’ān.
Yet it has become commonplace and popular in the Muslim world, and very much part of our culture.
The rationale and justification for this practice would be that there is no harm in it if it is done with a clear understanding that doing so is neither Farḍ or Wājib (obligatory), nor even Mustaḥabb (in the jurisprudential sense), nor an act that merits any special reward from Allah.
It is simply a cultural expression done out of a very natural human impulse to show love, reverence, respect and honour for the Qur’ān after one internalizes the fact that it is the revelation of Allah (SWT) and His Guidance for all humankind.
But now, if there were to emerge certain narrators who were to start fabricating narrations seeking to claim special divine rewards for the mere act of kissing the Qur’ān and passing it over one’s eyes, or claiming that kissing it entitles one to the reward of actual acts of worship prescribed in the Qur’ān such as praying, fasting, giving charity or even performing Ḥajj and ʿUmrah, such that people start prioritizing kissing the Qur’ān over acting on it, then it would be duty of all those well-versed in the Dīn to refute such claims and debunk them.
In fact, the statement of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (as) in which he refutes the exaggerated claims of the Ghulāt about the reward of Ziyārah being equivalent to that of Ḥajj and ʿUmrah can serve as a very good and accurate template which teaches us what the correct format for phrasing our refutation of exaggerated claims about high rewards for the mere act of kissing the Qur’ān ought to be like.
Thus, if we encountered people claiming that the reward of kissing the Qur’ān is equivalent to that of reading the whole of it, or that it is equivalent to Ḥajj and ʿUmrah, we would do well to follow the example of Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣadiq (as) and phrase our refutation of this false claim in the format we see in his statement, which is to say: no, merely kissing the Qur’ān does not entitle one to the reward of reciting it in its entirety or performing Ḥajj and ʿUmrah, but this also doesn’t mean that one should entirely abandon such a practice all together. Rather, one should kiss the Qur’ān because it is the revelation of Allah, the Mighty the Exalted, and it is a Book that Allah has praised and placed on a very lofty pedestal as we can see from many verses such as (Q.39:23; 41:41-42; 43:04; 56:77-80, etc.), so it deserves all the honour and respect we can give it.
However, this does not entitle us to claim very high rewards for such simple, natural human acts of honouring it like kissing, rubbing it on the eyes, or placing it over the head, or to view these as acts of worship whose importance and reward can overshadow the importance and rewards of acts of worship actually legislated and ordained by Allah, and promoted throughout the Qur’ān such as reciting the Qur’ān itself or performing Ḥajj and ʿUmrah.
In exactly the same way, Ziyārah of Imam al-Ḥusayn (as), especially for the one who happens to be in an area near his grave, can be a healthy, good, and desirable thing, if it is done with the clear understanding that it is not an act of worship legislated by Allah, or Prophetic Sunnah, or something that in and of itself entitles one to high or special reward from Allah, but rather it is a very natural human and cultural thing to want to show love, respect and honour to the gravesite of a great slave of Allah who is the master of the youth of paradise, and one of the greatest martyrs in history, and who gave such a huge and momentous sacrifice for the sake of Allah and His Dīn.
Thus, if Ziyārah is done as more of a cultural thing, and not confused for a religious act of worship or a Sunnah, then we are safe from the charge of having introduced a Bidʿah in to the Dīn, because an act only becomes a Bidʿah when something that is not part of the Dīn is introduced into it. So long as we keep our worldly and cultural expressions of honour and love separate and distinct from religion, and don’t make them part of it, we are safe from Bidʿah.
It is extremely clear from our study of the Qur’ān and Sunnah that Allah and His Messenger did not give any place or importance to traveling long distances to visit the gravesites of past Prophets or pious personalities despite there having been no shortage of such personalities which existed before the time of the Messenger (Saww).
Conditions Under which Ziyārah is Desirable
Thus, the only safe way to partake in such a practice would be through ensuring:
- We do not claim it is part of the Dīn or imply that it is required by Allah, or instituted by His Messenger as a Sunnah.
- We do not claim any special reward for it
- We understand that it is not a divinely ordained act of worship in and of itself
- We understand that it is merely a natural, human, cultural expression of love, respect and honour that people came up with over time
- We do not partake in it at the expense of anything that is actually part of the Dīn and ordained in it, such as the repeated visitation of the House of Allah for Ḥajj and ʿUmrah which has actually been encouraged in the Qur’ān, Sunnah, and verified teachings of the Ahlul Bayt (as).
Conditions Under which Ziyārah would become Undesirable
Ziyārah would become undesirable if it ever comes at the expense of something which Allah (SWT) has actually legislated and made a part and parcel of the Dīn, or which His Messenger (Saww) established as a Sunnah for us.
In this connection, it is especially important to remember the warning of Imam ʿAlī (as) as transmitted by Imam al-Ṣadiq (as) at the end of this narration:
عَلِيُّ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِيسَى بْنِ عُبَيْدٍ عَنْ يُونُسَ عَنْ حَرِيزٍ عَنْ زُرَارَةَ قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ (ع) عَنِ الْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ، فَقَالَ حَلَالُ مُحَمَّدٍ حَلَالٌ أَبَداً إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَحَرَامُهُ حَرَامٌ أَبَداً إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ، لَا يَكُونُ غَيْرُهُ وَلَا يَجِيءُ غَيْرُهُ.
وَقَالَ: قَالَ عَلِيٌّ (ع) مَا أَحَدٌ ابْتَدَعَ بِدْعَةً إِلَّا تَرَكَ بِهَا سُنَّةً.
Whatever Muhammad (Saww) has made Ḥalāl (lawful) will remain Ḥalāl forever up to the Day of Judgment, and whatever he has made Ḥarām (unlawful) will remain Ḥarām forever up to the Day of Judgment. There will be nothing other than his Sharīʿah, and there will come nothing other than it.
The Imams (as) further said: ʿAlī (as) has said: ‘No one introduces a Bidʿah (innovation) into Islam except that an actual Sunnah gets abandoned due to it!’11
Shaykh Āsif Muḥsinī commented on this:
أقول: البدعة ادخال ما لم يعلم من الدين في الدين، فمعنى الرواية واضح.
I say: Bidʿah is to add or introduce what is not known to be from the Dīn into the Dīn, so the meaning of the narration is clear.12
I (the writer of this article) say: Indeed the way in which Ziyārah of the grave sites of the Imams from the Ahlul Bayt (as), especially our noble Master and chief of the martyrs ʿAbū Abdillāh al-Ḥusayn (as), is being preached, promoted and practised leaves one in no doubt that it would come under what Imam ʿAlī (as) would describe as a Bidʿah, because the careless circulation and aggressive promotion of fabricated narrations claiming greater reward and importance for it than established pillars of the Dīn such as Ḥajj and ʿUmrah is leading people to abandon and neglect the divinely legislated pilgrimages and visits to the House of Allah for Ḥajj and ʿUmrah.
Especially in cases where people have done their Wājib Ḥajj, we see a trend to reserve most, if not all, religious travel for visiting the shrines of the Imams (as) at Najaf, Karbalaʾ, Mashhad, etc., instead of returning to the House of Allah for Mustaḥabb non-obligatory Ḥajj and ʿUmrah.
This despite the fact that Allah explicitly designated His House, i.e. the Kaʿbah, to be a مثابة (Mathābatan) from ثاب يثوب ثوابا ومثابة in the Qur’ān (02:125) which means a place of frequent and recurring return, signifying that it is a place where the believer is expected to keep returning to time and again, from time to time, whenever he or she can, to seek the Grace, bounty and pleasure of Allah (SWT) as described in the Qur’ān (05:02).
Yet as a very natural and understandable consequence of believing in the fabricated narrations which raise the Thawāb (reward) and importance of Ziyārah over and above that of Ḥajj and ʿUmrah, we see members of our community consistently opting to go for Ziyārah over and above returning to Allah’s House for non-obligatory Ḥajj and ʿUmrah, especially when many people can’t afford all three together, and have to pick and choose between one of these three.
We know of some people in Twelver communities who went for Ziyārāt multiple times but never performed Ḥajj and ʿUmrah. And we know of so very many who performed the Wājib (obligatory) Ḥajj once, and never returned back to visit the House of Allah for any non-obligatory Ḥajj or ʿUmrah because they preferred going to Ziyārah of the shrines over visiting the House of Allah, despite the fact that they could have at least afforded an ʿUmrah with the money they spent on going for Ziyārah.
This is how an otherwise permissible, and even desirable act like Ziyārah, can turn into an unhealthy and counter-productive Bidʿah, and result in abandonment of Ḥajj and ʿUmrah, and foster a culture of neglect and disregard towards it, and sometimes even contempt for it, and for more voluntary visits to the House of Allah, thereby fulfilling the prophecy embedded in the warning of Imam ʿAlī (as) about how the sign of a true and bonafide Bidʿah (innovation) is that it always come at the expense of, and undermines, actual Sunan (practices) established by the Prophet (Saww) in compliance with the commands of Allah (SWT).
The fabrications of the Ghulāt which promote Ziyārah at the expense of Ḥajj and ʿUmrah seek to overturn the vision of Allah and rearrange the priorities of the believers by ensuring that the Kaʿba loses its status as the Divinely ordained and designated Mathābah (place of frequent return) for the people in favour of the shrines of the Imams (as), especially the shrine of Imam al-Ḥusayn (as) at Karbalaʾ.
People nowadays have to exert themselves, travel and spend money on travel and accommodation when they travel abroad. Resources are limited, so people have to make a choice between Ḥajj, ʿUmrah, and Ziyārah, and going by observation, Twelvers are increasingly opting for Ziyārah over Ḥajj and ʿUmrah, undoubtedly because they have been led to believe that the former is more pleasing to Allah and the Imams (as), and more spiritually advantageous, than the latter.
The Companions of the Imāms and their Eagerness for Ḥajj
The overall disinterest we see among so many Twelvers today when it comes to Mustaḥabb and Nafil (non-obligatory, optional) Ḥajj and ʿUmrah stands in stark contrast with even the mindset we see reflected in some of the narrations about the companions of the Imams (as) themselves in the early period:
حَمْدَوَيْهِ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي الْعُبَيْدِيُّ، عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ عِيسَى، قَالَ:، دَخَلْتُ، عَلَى أَبِي الْحَسَنِ الْأَوَّلِ (ع) فَقُلْتُ لَهُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ ادْعُ اللَّهَ لِي أَنْ يَرْزُقَنِي دَاراً وَزَوْجَةً وَ وَلَداً وَخَادِماً وَالْحَجَّ فِي كُلِّ سَنَةٍ !فَقَالَ اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَارْزُقْهُ دَاراً وَزَوْجَةً وَوَلَداً وَخَادِماً وَالْحَجَّ خَمْسِينَ سَنَةً.
Ḥamdawayh said: Al-ʿUbaydī (i.e. Muḥammad bin ʿĪsā bin ʿUbayd) narrated to me from Ḥammād bin ʿĪsā, who said: ‘I entered upon Abū al-Ḥasan al-Awwal (i.e. Imam Mūsā b. Jaʿfar al-Kāẓim (as) (d. 183 AH), and said to him: May I be your ransom! Pray to Allah to grant me a house, a wife, a child, a servant, and Ḥajj (pilgrimage to the House of Allah) every year!’ He (as) said: ‘O Allah, bless Muḥammad and the family of Muḥammad, and grant him a house, a wife, a child, a servant, and Ḥajj (pilgrimage for fifty years)…’’13
The report then goes on to mention how this companion then went on to perform fifty pilgrimages to the House of Allah over the course of the next fifty years.
Another report which we may cite in conjunction with the previous one as a Qarīnah for this type of passion for Ḥajj among the companions of the Imams (as) is:
عَنْ إِسْحَاقَ بْنِ عَمَّارٍ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ (ع) : إِنِّي قَدْ وَطَّنْتُ نَفْسِي عَلَى لُزُومِ الْحَجِّ كُلَّ عَامٍ بِنَفْسِي أَوْ بِرَجُلٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ بَيْتِي بِمَالِي، فَقَالَ (ع) : وَقَدْ عَزَمْتَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ؟ قَالَ : قُلْتُ نَعَمْ. قَالَ إِنْ فَعَلْتَ فَأَبْشِرْ بِكَثْرَةِ الْمَالِ.
Isḥāq bin ʿAmmār said: ‘I once said to Abū ʿAbdillāh (Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq) (as): ‘I have settled my heart (i.e. made up my mind and determined) upon performing Ḥajj (pilgrimage) every year by myself or along with a man from my family on my expense. He (the Imam) asked: ‘Is the decision you have made a firm one?’ I replied: ‘Yes, it is a firm decision.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘If you have done so, I give you the glad news of enjoying a great wealth.’”14
And let’s not forget the numerous Imāmī supplications, which were composed for recitation in Shahr Ramaḍan, which is when people would often start planning for Ḥajj, and in which earnest prayers to Allah to grant one the chance to visit His sacred House عاما بعد عام ‘year after year’, and في عامي هذا وفي كل عام ‘in this current year and in every coming year’ are repeated thereby cultivating within the supplicant an ardent desire for the acceptance of this prayer and a determination to make all possible efforts on their part to bring this Duʿāʾ to fruition by doing the necessary hard work to ensure its acceptance.
- For a somewhat deeper look and investigation into the chains and texts of many of these narrations, one may refer to the following Al-Islaah lectures which have covered them:
Revisiting the Thawaab Industry Built around Ziyarah of Al Husain (as) | Live Session 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfzrpkCxAUE
Response to Al Hajj AliRaza Bandali on Ziyarah vs Hajj_Umrah | Dr. Syed Ali Hur Kamoonpuri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utVlj_gRBTI
Would you accuse Imam Ali (as) of Downplaying Ziyarah? | Dr. Syed Ali Hur Kamoonpuri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGffaGJzKdI
Ahlulbayt (a) rank the thawaab between Hajj/Umrah vs Ziyarah | Dr.Syed Ali Hur Kamoonpuri
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ka4PvvSR0iU
↩︎ - Al-Kulaynī, Abū Ja’far Muḥammad bin Yaʿqūb. Al Kāfī. Ed. ʿAlī Akbar al-Ghaffārī. Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah (Maktabah al-Ṣadūq), Tehran, 2nd ed., 1381 AH., vol. 1, p. 69. [Narration #3]. (https://lib.eshia.ir/11005/1/69). For English translation, see: https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/1/2/22/3.
Authentication: Authenticated by: Al-Majlisī, ʿAllāmah Muḥammad Bāqir.
Mir’āt al ʿUqūl Fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl. Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, Tehran, 2nd ed., 1412 AH., vol. 1, p. 229. [Narration # 3]. (https://lib.eshia.ir/71429/1/229).
– Al-Bahbūdī, ʿAllāmah Shaykh Muḥammad Bāqir. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Kāfī. Al-Dār al-Islāmiyyah, Beirut, 1st ed., 1401 AH/1981 CE., vol. 1, p. 11. [Narration # (36) 3].
– Ayatullah Shaykh Muḥammad Āṣif Muḥsinī. See his: Muʿjam al-Aḥādīth al-Muʿtabarah. Dār al-Nashr al-Adyān, Qum, 2nd ed., 1437 AH., vol. 1, p. 91. [Narration # 0/1]. (https://lib.eshia.ir/11775/1/91). For English translation, see: https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/9/2/9/1.
↩︎ - al-Ṭūsī, Shaykh Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad bin al-Ḥasan. Ikhtiyār Maʿrifat al-Rijāl (Known as Rijāl al-Kashshī). Ed. Jawād al-Qayyūmī al-Iṣfahānī. Muʾassasat al-Nashr al-Islāmī al-Tābiʿah li Jamāʿat al-Mudarrisīn bi Qum al-Musharrafah, Qum, 1st ed., 1427 AH., pp. 194-195. [Narration # 401/3]. In the edition available online edited by ʿAllāmah Ḥasan al-Musṭafawī, and published by Mu’asseseh Nashr Daneshgah-e Mashhad, Mashhad, 1st ed., 1409 AH., see: vol. 1, pp. 224-225. (https://lib.eshia.ir/10241/1/224 – https://lib.eshia.ir/10241/1/225).
Authentication: This narration has been authenticated by numerous high profile Marājiʿ in their advanced level Baḥth al-Khārij discourses on ʿIlm al-Uṣūl. These include, but are not limited to:
– Ayatullah Sayyid Abū al-Qāsim Al-Khū’ī (d. 1413 AH/1992 CE). See his: Muʿjam Rijāl al-Ḥadīth wa Tafṣīl Ṭabaqāt al-Ruwāt. Muʾassasat Al-Khū’ī al-Islāmīyyah, Najaf, n.d., vol. 15, p. 268. (https://lib.eshia.ir/14036/15/268).
– Ayatullah Sayyid ʿAlī al-Ḥusainī al-Sīstānī. See: al-Hāshimī, Sayyid Hāshim. Taqrīrāt fī ʿIlm al-Uṣūl – Taʿāruḍ al-Adillah wa Ikhtilāf al-Ḥadīth – Taqrīran li Abḥāth Āyatillāh al-Sayyid ʿAlī al-Ḥusainī al-Sīstānī (Transcripts of Baḥth al-Khārij Lectures). Ismāʿīlīyān, Qum, 1st ed., 1441 AH., vol. 1, pp. 433-434.
– Āyatullāh Sayyid Muḥammad Saʿīd al-Ṭabāṭabāʾī al-Ḥakīm. See his: Al-Muḥkam fī Uṣūl al-Fiqh. Muʾassasat al-Manār, Qum, 1st ed., 1414 AH/1994 CE., vol. 3, p. 213. (https://lib.eshia.ir/13012/3/213).
↩︎ - حَنَان بفتح الحاء المهملة وتخفيف النون. و(سدير) بالسين المهملة المفتوحة. ينظر: أعيان الشيعة للسيد محسن أمين العاملي، ج6/ ص 256
↩︎ - وفي رواية “عن بعضكم”
↩︎ - In another version, for it has reached us from one of you (i.e. the Imams).
↩︎ - In another version of the same narration, the response of the Imam (as) begins with:
ما أصعب هذا الحديث! ما تعدل هذا كله!
How difficult (to swallow and digest) is this Ḥadīth! It (i.e. the Ziyārah) certainly is not equivalent to all this (i.e. 1 Ḥajj and 1 ʿUmrah)!
In the version in Qurb al-Isnād, the response of the Imam (as) reads ما أضعف هذا الحديث ‘how weak is this Ḥadīth!’.
↩︎ - Ibn Qawlawayh, al-Shaykh al-Aqdam Abū al-Qāsim Jaʿfar bin Muḥammad al-Qummī. Kāmil al-Ziyārāt. Ed. Shaykh Jawād al-Qayyūmī al-Iṣfahānī & Co. Muʾassasat Nashr al-Faqāhah, Qum 1st ed., 1417 AH., p. 184. (Narration # [255] 15 -).
See also: Al-Ḥimyarī, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbdullāh bin Jaʿfar. Qurb al-Isnād. Edited and Published by Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt (as) Li Iḥyā al-Turāth, Qum, Beirut, 1st ed., 1413 AH/1993 CE., pp. 99-100. [Narration # 336]. (https://lib.eshia.ir/27041/1/99 – https://lib.eshia.ir/27041/1/100).
Al-Ḥurr al-ʿĀmilī, Muḥammad bin al-Ḥasan. Tafṣīl Wasā’il al-Shīʿa Ilā Taḥṣīl Masāil al-Sharīʿah. Edited and Published by Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt (as) Li Iḥyā al-Turāth, Qum, 2nd ed., 1414 AH., vol. 14, p/ 451. [Ḥadīth # (19580) 15). (https://lib.eshia.ir/11025/14/451).
For an independent English translation, one may refer to: Modarressi, Hossein. Text and Interpretation: Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq and His Legacy in Islamic Law. Harvard University Press, Cambridge: MA, 2022., pp. 116-117.
↩︎ - Ibid., p. 185. (Narration # [256] 16-).
↩︎ - Ibid., p. 185. (Narration # [257] 17-).
Authentication: This narration has been authenticated by:
– Muḥsinī, Ayatullah Shaykh Muḥammad Āṣif. Muʿjam al-Aḥādīth al-Muʿtabarah. Dār al-Nashr al-Adyān, Qum, 2nd ed., 1437 AH., vol. 2, pp. 226-227. [Narration 1261/1]. (https://lib.eshia.ir/11775/2/226 – https://lib.eshia.ir/11775/2/227).
See also: Al-Fahdāwī, Shaykh ʿAmmār & Ḥubbullāh, Shaykh Ḥaydar. Al-Muʿtabar min Bihār al-Anwār Wafqan li-Naẓariyāt Āyatillāh al-Shaykh Āṣif Muḥsinī, Dār al-Maḥajjah al-Bayḍāʾ, Beirut, 1437 AH/2016 CE., vol. 2, p. 38. [Narration # 861_2].
↩︎ - Al-Kulaynī, Abū Ja’far Muḥammad bin Yaʿqūb. Al Kāfī. Ed. ʿAlī Akbar al-Ghaffārī. Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah (Maktabah al-Ṣadūq), Tehran, 2nd ed., 1381 AH., vol. 1, p. 58. [Narration # 19]. (https://lib.eshia.ir/11005/1/58).
Authentication:
Al-Majlisī, ʿAllāmah Muḥammad Bāqir.
Mir’āt al ʿUqūl fī Sharḥ Akhbār Āl al-Rasūl. Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah, Tehran, 2nd ed., 1412 AH., vol. 1, p. 200. [Narration # 19]. (https://lib.eshia.ir/71429/1/200).
Muḥsinī, Ayatullah Shaykh Muḥammad Āṣif. Muʿjam al-Aḥādīth al-Muʿtabarah. Dār al-Nashr al-Adyān, Qum, 2nd ed., 1437 AH., vol. 1, p. 68. [Narration # 63/10]. https://lib.eshia.ir/11775/1/68
↩︎ - Ibid.
↩︎ - al-Ṭūsī, Shaykh Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad bin al-Ḥasan. Ikhtiyār Maʿrifat al-Rijāl (Known as Rijāl al-Kashshī). Ed. Jawād al-Qayyūmī al-Iṣfahānī. Muʾassasat al-Nashr al-Islāmī al-Tābiʿah li Jamāʿat al-Mudarrisīn bi Qum al-Musharrafah, Qum, 1st ed., 1427 AH., p. 265. [Entry # 137; Narration # 572/2]. In the edition available online edited by ʿAllāmah Ḥasan al-Musṭafawī, and published by Muʾasseseh Nashr Daneshgah-e Mashhad, Mashhad, 1st ed., 1409 AH., see: vol. 1, pp. 316-317. (https://lib.eshia.ir/10241/1/316 – https://lib.eshia.ir/10241/1/317).
Authentication: This narration has been authenticated by Shaykh Muḥammad Jāsim al-Mājidī. See: al-Ṭūsī, Shaykh Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad bin al-Ḥasan. Ikhtiyār Maʿrifat al-Rijāl (Known as Rijāl al-Kashshī). Ed. and annot. Shaykh Muḥammad Jāsim al-Mājidī. Muʾassasat al-Ṣādiq li al-ṭibāʿati wa al-Nashr, Tehran, 1st ed., 1440 AH/2019 CE., vol. 2, p. 262. [Narration # (577)-2].
↩︎ - Al-Kulaynī, Abū Ja’far Muḥammad bin Yaʿqūb. Al Kāfī. Ed. ʿAlī Akbar al-Ghaffārī. Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyyah (Maktabah al-Ṣadūq), Tehran, 2nd ed., 1381 AH., vol. 4, p. 253. [Narration # 5]. (https://lib.eshia.ir/11005/4/253).
For English translation: https://thaqalayn.net/hadith/4/3/28/5.
Authentication: While the chain of this narration is not pristine from a traditional Twelver Imāmī Rijālī point of view, its content is sound, and supported by other authentic narrations. See also the following sermon from Nahj al-Balāgha in which Imam ʿAlī (as) stresses on the idea that Ḥajj and ʿUmrah are a source for blessing in one’s sustenance in addition to being a source for the forgiveness of sins: https://www.al-islam.org/nahjul-balagha-part-1-sermons/sermon-110-best-means-which-seekers-nearness-allah.
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