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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Maqtal al-Husayn A Summary of the Marks of a Mu’min From all what we have indicated while discussing the issues enumerated by the said hadith as the marks of iman , the gist of ziyarat al-Arba’in connotes directing those who are loyal to (‘a) to visiting the shrine of the one who was slain in a foreign land, the Master of Martyrs (‘a), in order to mourn him and to renew the memory of what he had to bear of cruelty the like of which was never committed by anyone who has a tint of humanity in him, let alone those who claim to follow Islam.

To be present at the gravesite of al-Husayn (‘a) on the Arba’in anniversary of his martyrdom is the most evident of all signs of iman . Amazement never ends about someone who twists the meaning of this statement by claiming that it means visiting forty believers despite the absence of reference to any such forty believers, nor is there any clue referring to such a meaning.

Surely Islam commends a believer to visit forty others; this is enjoined by Islam and is not a distinguishing mark between the Shi’as and the Sunnis, nor is it directed only to the believers in order to distinguish them from others. Yes, visiting the shrine of al-Husayn (‘a) on the anniversary of forty days after his martyrdom is called for by those who have a pure faith in and loyalty to (‘a). It is underscored by the eagerness to be near al-Husayn (‘a).

It is known that those who are present at this most sacred shrine (forty days after the martyrdom's anniversary) of the master of the youths of Paradise are, in particular, those who are his Shi’as and who follow in his footsteps. A testimony to the sacred hadith quoted above is the fact that the renowned scholars do not dispute in their understanding of the significance of visiting the gravesite of al-Husayn (‘a) on the 40th of Safar.

One of them is Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibn al-Hasan al-Tusi who discusses the merits of visiting the shrine of al-Husayn (‘a) on p. 17, Vol. 2, of his book Al-Tahthib . Having narrated the traditions referring to the merits of any visit to his shrine, he started discussing those to be performed on specific dates one of which is ‘Ashura. After that he quoted this same hadith. On p.

551 of Misbah al-Mutahajjid (Bombay edition), the month of Safar is discussed and so are the significant events that took place during it.