BB00202: Ziyarat-i-’Ashura

In the name of God, the Ever-Watchful, the Near!

The peace of God—the Single, the One, the Unique, the Self-Subsisting, the Most Great, the Trusted One—and the peace of His first mention in the realm of eternity, and the manifestation of that Single, Unique Soul, and that which is associated with the third number, be upon thee, O Abu Abdullah! I bear witness before God and those who are possessed of His knowledge that thou didst attain on that Day when thy name was inscribed and thou didst join the Concourse on High. I testify before God that through thy tragedy were the gardens of Paradise created and adorned, and the fires were ignited and kindled. Verily, those who visit thee are the visitors of God, and those who seek forgiveness before thee are those who seek forgiveness before God. Those who were martyred before thee on that Day have indeed descended upon God and entered the gardens of a Mighty, Omnipotent Sovereign, where they are provided for in Paradise in the presence of their Lord, abiding eternally in His mercy.

May God’s blessings be upon thee! How can I mention thee when my mention of thee cannot reach thee or guide to thee, nor is it befitting that it should approach thy presence or be annihilated before thy countenance? I beseech thee by thy grace to remember me, for through thy remembrance of me would I be honored, and through thy glance toward me would I be exalted. I bear witness before God that at that moment when thou wast established upon thy throne above the earth, nothing in the kingdoms of earth and heaven could frustrate thee. Verily, thou wast then a sovereign of truth from God and a king of grace from His presence. All within His knowledge is owned by thee, and all within His grasp is before thee as a mere shadow.

Glorified be God! How great is thy station, how sublime thy rank, how momentous thy tragedy, how grievous thy affliction! By what measure shall I weep for thee, and for which of thy calamities shall I lament? Were I to weep with the waters of all the seas of creation and lament with all that is possible in invention, it would not equal an atom of what God decreed for thee of tribulation. Indeed, all others perceive the magnitude of thy tragedy according to the limitations of their own existence, yet they cannot truly know its reality as thou hast experienced it in the path of thy Lord.

Even as I know that my very being is as nothing before Thee, and that it is perished within Thy dominion, therefore do I not desire to weep over Thee, nor to cry aloud in Thy presence. For whatever is ascribed to sin is more base than the basest of it; and whatsoever is realized of the perishing, its perishing is yet greater than itself. And though all should draw nigh unto Thee by their coming before Thee, by their recounting of Thy calamity, by their weeping over Thy affliction, and by their standing before the hands of Thy mercy—yet I swear by Thy might, I have desired none of this, nor have I claimed any share therein; for all these things are attributed unto me, and have not been lifted up unto Thee, being characterized by the measure of my own being, and are not accounted in Thy presence. What have I to do with weeping over Thee? What have I to do with crying out before Thee? I beseech Thy forgiveness for all this, and I repent unto Thee for whatsoever Thou hast numbered in Thy knowledge.

I call Thee to witness—and all who are in Thy presence—that all things are through Thy Will, and that none hath any grasp within the kingdom of governance, nor any release within the realm of decree, save by Thy volition, which is the very essence of the volition of thy Lord throughout the worlds of His command and His creation. How great is Thy call against the enemies—greater than Thy patience in affliction! The wrath of the All-Merciful hath been naught but Thy turning away from these unbelieving transgressors; for there is no anger of God but Thy anger, and no good-pleasure but Thy good-pleasure.

They who sought Thy love and offered up their lives in the path of Thy affection—these are they who have been well-pleased with the good-pleasure of God, and have attained unto that which their Lord hath ordained for them in the Mother Book. And they who waxed arrogant against Thee—at the very hour of their arrogance they were tormented by the fire of their unbelief and requited with the chastisement of their association. Naught have they more grievous than that as a summons, nor more mighty than that as vengeance and wrath.

I bear witness before God that Thou and those who were martyred with Thee have come unto Thy Lord. Blessed are ye, for ye have originated from Him. Let not the deeds of the unbelievers grieve you, nor let the actions of the most wicked ones alter you, for ye are in the coolness of your Lord’s mercy and ye have ever been in your innermost hearts before your King. Verily, woe, all woe, unto those who wronged you and forgot the remembrance of their Lord and followed Satan and were among the wrongdoers.

I bear witness, O Beloved of all and their Gift, that Thy tribulation is renewed at every moment to renew the outpouring of creation, and Thy calamity in even less than that is elevated through the manifestation of Thy Lord’s grace in invention. Through it, in every moment, the ascending ones have ascended to the sacred precincts of Glory, and the proud ones have descended to the uttermost punishment of the fire.

And verily, I send greetings upon Thee and upon all who were martyred on that Day before Thee, hoping for Thy support and bounties, and relying upon Thy mercy and favor—not from the perspective that it is attributed to me, but from whence it descended upon Thee and came unto Thee.

From Thee do I beseech, as I have besought Thee from the beginning of my existence until what God, my Object of Worship, hath ordained for me: Increase my sorrow for Thee, teach me good concerning Thee, raise me in nearness unto Thee, and make me from Thy presence a sovereign. Verily, Thou art the Master of Bounty and the King of Creation.

By Thy Will was creation dissolved, and by Thy Purpose is realized what God, my Lord, originates through invention. Nothing exists in Thy Lord’s knowledge except that it is obedient to Thee and swift to Thy will. Verily, those who gaze upon God are those who come unto Thee, and verily those who show pride against God are those who move by Thy leave.

I praise my Lord for Thy tribulation at every moment and thank Him for His decree concerning Thee, by what is recorded in a Clear Book. And I bear witness that Thou art the Sovereign, the Powerful, the Firm, and the King, the Proud, the Manifest.

Thou takest vengeance on Thine enemies through their turning away from Thy countenance, and Thou bestowest favor upon Thy loved ones through Thy remembrance of them and their remembrance of Thee in Thy path. All grace is from Thee, and all evil is by Thy command—it is not attributed to Thee, nor dost Thou love it.

Praise be to God in the heavens and the earth, and I thank Him for Thy afflictions in the kingdom of command and creation. And I place my trust in Him and in Thee and in Thy grandfather and Thy father and Thy mother and Thy brother, then the Imams from Thy descendants, that God may grant me a matter whereby I might seek and take vengeance upon Thine enemies.

If God decrees this, then praise be to God and grace be from Thee, and if my Lord God does not decree it, then unto Him returns all command and creation. There is no God but He; in Him have I placed my trust and unto Him do I turn. But I have no doubt that God’s promise shall be fulfilled and God’s command shall come to pass, and verily the decree is from His presence.

There is no God but He; He doeth what He willeth. Glorified and exalted is He! There is none other God but Him, the One, the Proud, the All-Compelling. I seek His forgiveness in the watches of the night and at the break of day, and I remember Him through that which hath been revealed in the Book. Verily, He is the King, the All-Forgiving.

I beseech of His grace that He may shelter me beneath His mercy. He is, verily, the Sovereign, the Concealer. There is none other God but Him. His is the dominion in the heavens and on earth, and He, verily, is the One, the All-Subduing.

Glory be to thy Lord, the Lord of Glory, above that which they attribute unto Him, and peace be upon the Messengers, and praise be to God, the Lord of all the worlds.