BB00104: Ziyarat-i-Husayn (or li-Husayn)

Part 1: “Know, O my brother, that the law…”

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate.

Know, O my brother, that the law of visitation is thus: When thou standest at the gate of the sanctuary, say: I bear witness that there is no God but God, alone without partner, One God, Single, Unique, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, the Eternal, Who hath ever been, and before Whose existence nothing was, and Who shall ever be as He hath been, without mention of aught else. Glorified and exalted is He! Names and attributes are severed from the court of His nearness, and all traces vanish at the manifestation of His power. None knoweth how He is save He Himself. Glorified and exalted is He above all that they describe.

And I bear witness that Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family, is His Messenger, whom He chose for authority over His Own Self, whom He was well-pleased with for the knowledge of His Essence, and whom He selected to stand in the station of His action in all the stations of His everlasting oneness and the conditions of the manifestations of His mercy, for verily eyes comprehend Him not, nor do thoughts of mind encompass Him, and He is the All-Knowing of what people do.

And I bear witness to the successors of Muhammad, the Messenger of God, peace be upon him and his family, according to that which God hath testified concerning them in the knowledge of the unseen, and their description hath been revealed in His Book—honored servants who speak not until He hath spoken, and act by His command.

Then turn toward the shrine and say: Peace be upon thee, O Proof of God in the heavens and the earth. I have come unto thee, knowing thy right, seeking refuge in thy sacred dust, and certain of the station which God hath ordained for thee in His Book. Verily thou standest in the station of Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family, in the fulfillment and execution of divine decree. None save God and whom He willeth can comprehend thy knowledge and thy station wherewith God hath distinguished thee. Verily there is no God but He, the Mighty, the Bestower.

Then enter, advancing thy right foot before thy left, and say: By God do I enter, by God do I speak, and by God do I praise before His presence. There is no power nor strength save in God, the Most High, the Most Great.

Then walk in tranquility until thou reachest near the shrine. Stand there and say “Allahu Akbar” seventy times.

Then say: I bear witness that thou art Peace, and from thee is Peace, and unto thee is Peace, and thou art the mine of Peace, and unto thee returneth the decree of Peace. Sanctified is Thine Essence from my mentioning, in the presence of the court of Thy glory, any attribute of creation, and exalted is Thy Being from my indicating, in the presence of the court of Thy power, any sign from the evidences of servants. For verily Thou hast ever been a servant of God and His Proof, and the son of God’s Messenger and his joy, and the heart of God’s Friend and the seat of His power. The manifestations of creation alter Thee not in any wise, nor do the conditions of servants change Thee in any decree.

I bear witness that Thou didst call unto God, and wert patient in the Cause of God, and didst bear tribulation for the sake of God, and didst convey to all what God had ordained for Thee in this earthly life for the manifestation of what God had decreed concerning Thy station, that none might be veiled from the appearance of Thy countenance in the worlds of the unseen and the visible, and that all might witness the light of Thy manifestation in all things, evident and self-subsisting, without semblance or end.

How can I extol Thy Manifestation within mine own self, O my Lord, after knowing that the way is barred from approaching Thee and the guide is prevented from knowing Thee? And how can I remain silent before the court of Thy mercy when God created me for naught else but to make mention of Thy effulgences and the revelations of Thy Will in the kingdom of the heavens and earth? I bear witness that though Thou wert slain in the path of God, yet Thou wert not dead, and though Thou didst endure harm in the Cause of God, yet Thou wert not overcome. Verily Thy Will in all matters prevaileth and Thy Purpose at all times triumpheth. Thou hast ever done what Thou hast willed by God’s leave, and no decree concerneth aught but that which Thou decreeth, nor dost Thou forget the mention of anyone when I make mention of Thee at the place of Thy manifestation in all things. Thou art He Who hath desired martyrdom for Thyself, and thereby have hearts borne witness at the station of utterance with the testimony of unity unto the All-Merciful.

Had Thou not been martyred in this world, none could have raised his testimony at the station of unity unto God, and this indeed is of God’s grace unto His servants through the bounty of Thy martyrdom. Nay, by Thy glory, I am powerless to extol any mention of the splendor of Thy sovereignty or any praise of the manifestation of Thy martyrdom, for these by their very nature are withheld from Thy presence and cut off from Thy mystery by Thine own essence. What servant can make mention of Thy tribulation upon this earth and recognize Thy right, except that he hath become worthy of the stations of paradise and the degrees of heaven from Thy grace, and that which the All-Merciful hath promised unto the people of the Bayan? And whatsoever recognizeth Thy right, then turneth away from Thy countenance and is content with the deeds of those who transgressed against Thee, verily hath deserved God’s punishment and His vengeance, and there shall be no salvation for him in any matter except if he returneth from that wherefrom he turned away and advanceth toward that which he was commanded.

O my Lord! Thou knowest my station and bearest witness to my secret and manifest self. My description before Thee was naught but my mention of that which Thou didst manifest unto me by God’s leave, and this befitteth not Thy holy presence nor can it ascend unto the court of Thy nearness. I now seek God’s forgiveness for that which my soul hath comprehended and my outer self hath encompassed at the station of knowing Thee and mentioning Thy praise. I have no doubt that if Thou shouldst will to decree justice for me, I would not even exist to stand before Thee, but when I saw that Thy way is beneficence and Thy custom is grace and utterance, I was thus emboldened to make mention of these manifestations, that perchance thereby Thou mightest draw my heart to the station of the manifestation of Thy Self and connect it to the nearness of Thy presence, so that it might not find comfort in aught save Thee, nor take pleasure in any mention except Thy mention, nor see any light in the kingdom of names and attributes except Thy light, and might behold Thee before all things through that which God hath permitted Thee in the stations of Command and Creation, until I attain unto the station of nearness and all my deeds become manifestations of intimacy, and no mention entereth my heart save Thy mention, and I find no peace in aught save Thy pardon, and fear naught save Thy justice, and witness no cause except that I witness therein the decree of Thy testimony.

Part 2: “By Thy might, O my Lord! Through Thy…”

By Thy might, O my Lord! Through Thy martyrdom were praise and glorification themselves martyred, and through the tribulations Thou didst bear were the manifestations of magnification and laudation sustained. How sublime is Thy calamity in the kingdom of heaven and earth, and how momentous Thy martyrdom in the kingdom of creation and command! I beseech God from this station to afflict those who warred against Thee on the Day of ʿAshura, and those who were pleased with their deeds and rejoiced in their actions, with a punishment unequaled by any chastisement in His knowledge or any vengeance in His wrath, and to join with them those who waxed proud in the earth without right or clear authority.

O my Lord, O Abu ʿAbdu’llah! I testify that Thou wert the Illuminator of lights in the worlds of holiness and mysteries, and that when the light of Thy body shone forth upon the land of the Euphrates in this world, the essences in the worlds of realities were kindled, and the verities in the material worlds were established, and all atoms bore witness with the testimony decreed by the Divine Essence that He is exalted above all names and attributes. I testify that Thy blood was pure even as Thy body, and nothing on earth could defile Thee. Whosoever claims that Thy station in any matter is like that of other men hath opposed God in His judgment and contested His sovereignty.

By Thy right, I believe concerning Thy blood only as I believe concerning the appearance of Thy body, and concerning Thy form only as God hath ordained for Thy self. I call God and His angels and His Prophets to witness that if but one drop of Thy blood, after Thy martyrdom, had willed to destroy all who are on earth, it would have destroyed them instantly, for God hath made the decree of all that is attributed to Thee like unto Thy self, and the manifestations of separation alter Thee not in any wise. Verily Thou wert, by God’s leave, knowing of all things, witness over all things, and the numberer of all things. Whosoever questions Thy decree with “why” or “how” hath borne polytheism within himself, and his blood is lawful to be shed under the firm law.

O what sorrow for those who, having recognized Thee, later deny Thee, and who say Thou art true yet afterwards doubt Thy truth! Nay, by Thy right! I deny not God’s power regarding Thy station, nor claim concerning Thy right save what God willeth, nor believe concerning Thy self save what God hath ordained for Thee. I testify that God hath linked Thy resting place to His throne, and the place where Thy body appeared to the station of His manifestation. How sweet to me is the remembrance of Thy self, and how glorious in my heart is Thy tribulation! I know not, O my Lord, whether to stand before the mighty manifestation of calamity and delight in the remembrance of the stations of unity, or to enter the city of Thy tragedy and weep for Thy great affliction.

If I bear the manifestation of power from Thy revelation, the secret of the heart draws me to the station of the manifestations of Thy Lordship and the ocean of the conditions of Thy servitude, that I might recall Thy calamities upon the holy land; and if I bear the manifestation of servitude from Thy countenance, the visible heart draws me to the stations of the manifestation of Thy unity and the signs of Thy detachment, whereupon the remembrance of servitude makes me forget, and the manifestations of unity overcome me.

How blessed am I to be mindful of Thee and that Thou art watching over me! Praise be to God, effulgent praise, resplendent, holy, and sanctified above the capacity of all creation to bear, for having caused me to know Thy Self and brought me nigh unto Thee, and for having inspired within me these communions in Thy presence on this night wherein the people have gathered on the plain of Mash’ar for Thy remembrance. Then unto Him be thanks as befitteth and beseemeth Him. And now I seek His forgiveness for what I have committed before His Proof and the son of His Proof, and I seek intercession through his tribulations, and I beseech pardon for myself and for the believers through His bounty. Verily He is the Oft-Returning, the Merciful.

Then turn towards the resting-place of ʿAli ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon them both, and walk towards it until thou art near the shrine, and say: Peace be upon thee, O son of God’s Proof, and His Light, and His Path, and His Evidence, and the mercy of God and His blessings. Peace be upon thee, O son of God’s Friend, and His Wisdom, and His Guide, and His Signs, and the mercy of God and His blessings. Peace be upon thee, O son of God’s Vengeance, and His Command, and His Remembrance, and His Words, and the mercy of God and His blessings. I bear witness that thou didst follow God’s decree and establish prayer with His Proof, and didst strive in God’s path before thy father, and thereby attained a station none can reach save whom God willeth.

May God reward thee, O son of God’s Messenger, on behalf of thy grandfather, thy father, thy mother, and thy brother, then their near followers who upheld their rights in the stations of Command and Creation, with a true reward. And I beseech God to punish those who made lawful thy blood and slew thee before thy father while thou wast thirsting. Verily we are God’s and unto Him do we return. I bear witness that they have entered the fire of hell with no escape forever. God shall soon join with them those who were pleased with their deeds and who follow their judgment, and those who make mention of them.

Then walk forward and proceed to visit God’s martyrs and the helpers of His martyred Proof, God’s blessings be upon him, and say: Peace be upon you, O pillars of religion and bearers of the mysteries of certitude and interpreters of the verses of the perspicuous Book and helpers of the helpers of the friends of the Faith, and the mercy of God and His blessings. I bear witness that you followed God’s command and opposed your selfish desires, and thereby reached the summit of grace in the gardens of justice. How blessed is your station, wherewith God distinguished you above His creation, wherein He placed you secure in the degrees of paradise. May my father and mother be a sacrifice for you! You have upheld the Cause and aided the Truth and striven in God’s path as none before you had done. May God reward you, on behalf of Muhammad and the family of God, with a true reward. And from them upon you is the right of peace in the worlds of Command and praise. Would that we had been with you to attain the station God ordained for you, and thereby would I have been among the martyrs. Verily we are God’s and unto Him do we return.