ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Shia Rebuts Question 20: During ziyarah, why do the Shi‘ah kiss the doors and walls of the shrines of awliya’ and seek blessings {tabarruk} whereby? Reply: Seeking blessings { tabarruk } through the remnants (and symbols) of the saints { awliya’ } of God is not a new phenomenon among Muslims; rather, this behavior can be traced back to the Prophet’s life account and to the life of his .

Not only the Holy Prophet (S) and his did this act but also past prophets ( ‘a ) used to do it. Below are the proofs provided by the Qur’an and Sunnah concerning the legitimacy of seeking blessings through the remnants (and symbols) of the awliya’ . 1.

In the Holy Qur’an we read that when Yusuf (Joseph) the Truthful ( ‘a ) introduced himself to his brothers and forgave them, he said: "اذهبوا بقميصي هذا فألقوه على وجه أبي يأتي بصيراً." “Take this shirt of mine, and cast it upon my father’s face; he will regain his sight.” [^1] Then, the Qur’an recounts: "فلما أن جاء البشير ألقه على وجهه فارتدّ بصيراً." “When the bearer of good news arrived, he cast it on his face, and he regained his sight.” [^2] The expressive content of these Qur’anic words proves clearly how a prophet of God (Hadrat Ya‘qub ( ‘a )) seeks blessings through the shirt of another prophet (Hadrat Yusuf ( ‘a )).

Furthermore, it indicates that the said shirt caused Hadrat Ya‘qub ( ‘a ) to regain his sight. Now, can we say that this act of the two holy prophets ( ‘a ) is not within the ambit of monotheism and worship of God?! 2. No one doubts that while circumambulating the House of God { tawaf }, the Holy Prophet of Islam (S) used to touch or kiss the Black Stone { Hajar al-Aswad }.

Bukhari in his Sahih says: "رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وأله وسلم يستلمه ويقبّله." “I saw the Messenger of Allah (S) touch and kiss it ( Hajar al-Aswad ).”[^3] So, if touching or kissing a stone was an act of associating partner with God, how would the Prophet who called for monotheism do it? 3.

In the Sahih s, Musnad s and books of history and traditions, there are plentiful hadith s regarding the Prophet’s ’ seeking blessings through the Prophet’s (S) belongings such as garment, water of wudu’ {ablution}, water vessel, etc. These hadith s remove any doubt about the legitimacy and wholesomeness of this practice. We cannot cite all the hadith s related to this issue in this volume, and we shall mention only some of them: a.