Hence this recital trains the reciter to overhaul himself...

Hence this recital trains the reciter to overhaul himself and unite with the spirit of the sacred Imam (AS). In fact, as we shall come to observe in this Ziyarat later, one of the beautiful supplications taught to us when expressing our greetings to the Imam is to seek spiritual harmony with the Imam (AS) in both this world as well as the Hereafter.

Understanding the aforementioned obliges every high-spirited seeker of truth to aim for the achievement of the crux of the Ziyarat rather than be selfishly motivated to gain personal benefits. The rewards of the Ziyarat 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 (AS) 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-Husayn (AS) in Karbala is as if he has visited Allah at His Throne.[^7] Another very important point to bear in mind is that because the reciter of this Ziyarat has been guaranteed by the Imams (AS) that his needs would be fulfilled, he must be very careful in distinguishing ‘that which is really a need’ from ‘that which is not really a need’.

The great saint Ayatullah Haddad al-Musawi, a contemporary of ‘Allama al-Tabataba`i, would see people clinging onto the radiant enclosure where Imam al-Husayn (AS) is buried, and instead of seeking their real needs, asking for those things that would increase the burden that they had already accumulated.