Imam al-Hussein ('a)] has great attention towards the...

Imam al-Hussein ('a)] has great attention towards the wayfarers of the path of God in removing the veil and impediments of the 'path of God'.[^5] One of the excellent ways of establishing contact with Imam al-Hussein ('a) is through offering salutations to his exalted personality (ziyarah). This can be achieved either in front of his radiant tomb in Karbala, or in one's home observing some etiquette.

The secret however is that the za'ir who recites the ziyarah must yearn to the attain the apex of the meaning of what he recites and unite with the spirit of the mazur (the visited one).

The grand `yatullah Jawadi Amuli in his masterpiece 'Adabe Finaye Muqarriban' says: Ziyarah is the mystical presence of the fervent lover ('ashiq) in the dwelling of the Beloved; it is the visitor's passionate encounter of the abode of the visited One; it is the lover's expression of intense love and consideration for the Beloved; it is when the enamored one sincerely gives his heart in the alley of the possessor of the heart…[^6] The present commentary tries to examine and reflect on one of the well-known ziyarat that many of the Muslims recite with great zeal and devotion.

Most of the Shi'ite Muslims express their veneration and sorrow when they recite this sublime ziyarah on the day of '`shura'. However the Infallible Imams of the ('a) have taught us to recite it very often. Besides the ample merits that it contains, it is a program of revolution of the sleeping masses.

The crux of the ziyarah is tawalla and tabarra', which can correctly be referred to as 'fleeing from imperfection' and 'seeking perfection' or in beautiful words of every Muslim La ilaha illa Allah -Besides Allah- the Only Beloved, there is no other ilah (beloved). The Name Allah exemplifies all the perfect attributes of Allah, which the human being has been molded to appreciate and naturally seek. Therefore the ziyarah in reality is a call to the innate nature (fitrah) of the human being.

In expressing veneration and seeking the higher levels of peace for Imam al-Hussein ('a) we are trying to unite with the ideas, thoughts and towering volition of Imam('a), and in cursing his opponents, who overtly declared to be Muslims and believers, but were extensions of hypocrites, we are trying to flee from all their ideas, thoughts and actions. Hence this recital trains the reciter to overhaul himself and unite with the spirit of the sacred Imam ('a).