Understanding the aforementioned subtlety obliges every...

Understanding the aforementioned subtlety obliges every high-spirited seeker of truth to aim for the achievement of the crux of the ziyarah rather than being selfishly motivated to gain personal benefits. The rewards of the ziyarah which are both sacred and sublime should not be the only factor to lead us to recite it. It is the natural love for the Imam ('a) who exemplifies the Divine Attributes in himself that should transport us to recite this humble presentation.

In fact some traditions, as we shall soon consider, clearly state that whosoever visits Imam al-Hussein ('a) in Karbala is as if he has visited Allah in His Throne. Another very important point to bear in mind is that because the reciter of this ziyarah has been guaranteed by the Imams ('a) to be availed with any need that he has, he/she must be very careful in understanding 'that which is a need" from that "which is not really a need".

The great saint `yatullah haddad al-Musawi, a contemporary of 'Allamah Tabataba'i would see people clinging at the radiant enclosure where Imam al-Hussein ('a) is buried, and instead of seeking their real needs would ask for those things that would add to the burden that they already have accumulated.

He is reported to have said: إنّ أكثر النَّاس حينما يذهبون إلى زيارة العتبات المقدسة يقفون ماسكي الضريح فيتوسلون بالإمام (ع) لحوائجهم المادية فيحملون ثقلاً على ثقلهم ولم يسئلوا الإمام (ع) بأن يأخذ منهم ثقلهم و هو التعلق با لدنيا، بل يسئلونه بأن يعطيهم بيتاً أو ولداً أو زوجاً أو سيَّارةً، وما سمعنا عن أحدٍ دخل بخدمته وقال له خذ منّي كذا وكذا.

When most of the people visit the holy shrines, they stand holding fast onto the enclosures of the graves and mediate with the Imam ('a) for the fulfillment of their material needs, thus adding a burden over their burdens, and they do not ask Imam to remove their burden which is 'attachment to the world'; rather they ask him to give them a house or an off spring or a wife or a car; and we never heard from anyone who entered at his service, and asked him: 'Take away so and so from me.[^7] Before we begin this radiant ziyarah, which is reckoned to be among the sacred traditions [^8] (ahadith qudsiyyah) as well, and understand both its particular as well as its universal import, it is imperative to generally know the significance of ziyarah, and its exalted purpose.…