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VISITING THE GRAVES OF THE FAITHFUL BELIEVERS

MERITS OF VISITING THE TOMBS OF FAITHFUL BELIEVERS

The trustworthy and sublime Shaykh Ja’far ibn Qawlawayh alQummi reports ‘Amr ibn ‘Uthman alRazi as saying that he heard Imam Abu’lHasan Musa ibn Ja’far, peace be upon him, saying, “Whoever is unable to visit us, may visit the righteous adherents of us. If he does so, he will be endued with the reward of visiting us. Likewise, whoever is unable to connect us, may connect the righteous adherents of us. If he does so, he will also be endued with the reward of connecting us.”

Through an authentic chain of authority, Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Yahya alAsh’ari is reported to have said, “I was in Fayd (a station on the way of Makkah) when I accompanied ‘Ali ibn Bilal in visiting the grave of Muhammad ibn Isma’il ibn Buzaygh. ‘Ali related to me, saying: The one buried in this grave told me that Imam alRida (‘a) said, ‘Whoever comes to the graves of his brotherinfaith and puts his hand on the grave and recites Surah alQadr (No. 97) seven times, will be secured on the Great Horror Day.”

According to another tradition, the statement, ‘... and directs his face towards the kiblah direction...’ is added.

From the apparent point of this tradition, we may understand that security on the Resurrection Day will be for the one who recites that Surah (i.e. the visitor of the grave) although it is probable that the one intended may be the visited one. This meaning is supported by a coming report of Sayyid Ibn Tawus:

In the book of Kamil alZiyarah, it is reported through a valid chain of authority that ‘Abd alRahman ibn Abu’Abdullah asked Imam alSadiq (‘a) to teach him how to put his hands of the graves of Muslims. Teaching him, the Imam (‘a) put his hand on the ground while facing the kiblah direction.

Through an authentic chain of authority, ‘Abdullah ibn Sinan has reported that he asked Imam alSadiq (‘a) to teach him how to salute the inhabitants in graves. The Imam (‘a) replied that he might say the following words:

اَلسَّلَامُ عَلٰىۤ اَهْلِ الدِّيَارِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ وَ الْمُسْلِمِيْنَ

اَنْتُمْ لَنَا فَرَطٌ

وَ نَحْنُ اِنْ شَاۤءَ اللّٰهُ بِكُمْ لَاحِقُوْنَ۔

Peace be upon the inhabitants of these graves, the faithful believers and Muslims. You have preceded us, and we, Allah willing, shall join you.

اَللّٰهُمَّ رَبَّ هٰذِهِ الْاَرْوَاحِ الْفَانِيَةِ

وَ الْاَجْسَادِ الْبَالِيَةِ

وَ الْعِظَامِ النَّخِرَةِ

الَّتِيْ خَرَجَتْ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَ هِيَ بِكَ مُؤْمِنَةٌ

اَدْخِلْ عَلَيْهِمْ رُوْحًا مِنْكَ وَ سَلَامًا مِنِّيْ

Imam alHusayn, peace be upon him, is reported to have said that whoever enters a graveyard and says the following words, Almighty Allah will record for him rewards that are as many as the creatures from the time of (Prophet) Adam up to the coming of the Hour (of Resurrection):

اَلسَّلَامُ عَلٰىۤ اَهْلِ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ

مِنْ اَهْلِ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ

يَا اَهْلَ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ

بِحَقِّ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ

كَيْفَ وَجَدْتُمْ قَوْلَ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ

مِنْ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ

يَا لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ

بِحَقِّ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ

اِغْفِرْ لِمَنْ قَالَ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ

وَ احْشُرْنَا فِيْ زُمْرَةِ مَنْ قَالَ لَاۤ اِلٰهَ اِلَّا اللّٰهُ

مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ

عَلِيٌّ وَلِيُّ اللّٰهِ۔

O Allah, O Lord of these extinct souls, rotten bodies, and crumbled bones that left this worldly life bearing faith in You, (please) insert into them rest from You and salutation from me.

اَللّٰهُمَّ وَلِّهِمْ مَا تَوَلَّوْا

وَ احْشُرْهُمْ مَعَ مَنْ اَحَبُّوْا۔

Imam ‘Ali, peace be upon him, is reported to have said that whoever enters a graveyard and says the following words, Almighty Allah will grant him the reward of fiftyyear worship and erases from him and his parents the punishment of fiftyyear wrongdoings:

اَللّٰهُمَّ ارْحَمْ غُرْبَتَهُ

وَ صِلْ وَحْدَتَهُ

وَ اٰنِسْ وَحْشَتَهُ

وَ اٰمِنْ رَوْعَتَهُ

وَ اَسْكِنْ اِلَيْهِ مِنْ رَحْمَتِكَ

رَحْمَةً يَسْتَغْنِيْ بِهَا عَنْ رَحْمَةِ مَنْ سِوَاكَ

وَ اَلْحِقْهُ بِمَنْ كَانَ يَتَوَلَّاهُ

Peace be upon the group of “There is no god save Allah” from the group of “There is no god save Allah.” O group of “There is no god save Allah,” in the name of “There is no god save Allah,” how have you found the profession of “There is no god save Allah” from “There is no god save Allah?” O He to Whom “There is no god save Allah” is said, I beseech You in the name of “There is no god save Allah” to forgive any one who professed that “There is no god save Allah” and to include us in the group of those who professed that “There is no god save Allah. Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. ‘Ali is the authority from Allah.”

According to another tradition, the best thing to be said whenever one passes by a graveyard is the following words, after stopping there:

O Allah, (please) turn them to that to which they have turned and join them to those whom they have loved.

In his book of Misbah alZa’ir, Sayyid ibn Tawus says: When you intend to visit the graves of the faithful believers, you may choose Thursday; otherwise, you may visit them on any other day. To do so, you may turn your face towards the kiblah direction, put your hand on the grave, and say the following supplicatory words:

O Allah, (please) have mercy on his strangeness, connect his loneliness, entertain his isolation, secure his horror, attach Your mercy to him; such mercy by which he can do without the mercy of anyone other than You, and join him to those to whom he has adhered.

You may then recite Surah alQadr seven times.

The method and rewards of visiting the graves of faithful believers have been demonstrated in another tradition reported from Fuzayl who, accordingly, said: As to any one who recites Surah alQadr at the grave of a faithful believer seven times, Almighty Allah will send to him an angel who will worship Him (i.e. Almighty Allah) next to that grave and the reward of all the devotional acts that are done by that angel will be recorded for the dead person. When Almighty Allah raises him from the grave, He will make easy for him all the horrors by which he will pass until he is allowed to enter Paradise. Along with Surah alQadr, Surah alFatihah (No. 1), Surah alTawhid (No. 112), Surah alFalaq (No. 113), Surah alNas (No. 114), and Ayah alKursi (2:155) may be also recited three times each.

Another tradition on the same subject reads that Muhammad ibn Muslim asked Imam alSadiq, peace be upon him, “Should we visit the dead people?”

اَللّٰهُمَّ جَافِ الْاَرْضَ عَنْ جُنُوْبِهِمْ

وَ صَاعِدْ اِلَيْكَ اَرْوَاحَهُمْ

“Yes, you should,” replied the Imam.

وَ لَقِّهِمْ مِنْكَ رِضْوَانًا

“Will they know about us when we visit them?” asked Muhammad.

وَ اَسْكِنْ اِلَيْهِمْ مِنْ رَحْمَتِكَ

“Yes, I swear it by Allah,” said the Imam (‘a), “they do know about you, feel glad with that, and find entertainment with your visits.”

مَا تَصِلُ بِهِ وَحْدَتَهُمْ

“What should we say when we visit them?” asked Muhammad.

وَ تُوْنِسُ بِهِ وَحْشَتَهُمْ

The Imam answered, “You may say the following words:

اِنَّكَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَيْ‏ءٍ قَدِيْرٌ۔

O Allah, (please) prevent the soil from harming their sides, take their souls up to You, increase Your pleasure with them, and make part of Your mercy dwell with them so that You will save them from loneliness and entertain their isolation. Verily, You have power over all things.”