The Life of Imam ‘Ali al-Hadi, Study and Analysis

The Ziyarah of Imam ‘Ali al-Hadi (a.s)

Peace be upon you, O Abu’l-Hasan, `’Ali son of Muhammad, O the pious guide

O the bright light; and also mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you!

Peace be upon you, O the sincerely attached friend of Allah!

Peace be upon you, O the confidant of Allah!

Peace be upon you, O the rope of Allah!

Peace be upon you, O he who belongs to the family chosen by Allah exclusively for Himself!

Peace be upon you, O the select of Allah!

Peace be upon you, O the choice of Allah!

Peace be upon you, O the trustee of Allah!

Peace be upon you, O the proof of Allah!

Peace be upon you, O the most-beloved by Allah!

Peace be upon you, O the light of the lights!

Peace be upon you, O the pride of the virtuous ones!

Peace be upon you, O the descendant of the upright ones!

Peace be upon you, O the essence of the purified ones!

Peace be upon you, O the argument of the All-beneficent God!

Peace be upon you, O the essential of the true faith!

Peace be upon you, O the master of the believers!

Peace be upon you, O the guardian of the righteous ones!

Peace be upon you, O the symbol of true guidance!

Peace be upon you, O the ally of piety!

Peace be upon you, O the mainstay of the religion!

Peace be upon you, O the son of the seal of the Prophets!

Peace be upon you, O the son of the chief of the Prophets’ Successors!

Peace be upon you, O the son of Fatimah, the Luminous, the prime leader of the women of the world!

Peace be upon you, O the faithful trustee!

Peace be upon you, O the favorite epitome!

Peace be upon you, O the ascetic, the pious!

Peace be upon you, O the decisive argument over all people of every age and clime!

Peace be upon you, O he who studied and interpreted the Holy Qur'an!

Peace be upon you, O he who taught to distinguish between the lawful and the unlawful!

Peace be upon you, O the guardian who always gave sincere advice!

Peace be upon you, O the evident example!

Peace be upon you, O the bright star!

I bear witness, O master, Abu’l-Hasan, that you are verily the decisive argument of Allah over His creatures,

His representative among His created beings,

His trusted administrator in His lands,

His witness over His servants,

I bear witness that, verily, you are the words of piety,

The door to true guidance

and the Firmest Handle,

And you are the evident proof against those who are on the earth and those who are lay down the layers of the soil

I bear witness that you are purified from sins

And you are infallible against defects

And you are bestowed exclusively with the honor of Allah

And you are the preferred choice of Allah to demonstrate His proofs,

And you are the spokesman of Allah,

And you are the essential principle who protects the people,

and on account of whom the social life sustains itself and grows;

I say under oath, O master, that I have faith in and I submit to (the divinely commissioned leadership of) you, your forefathers and your sons,

I follow all of you in my personal affairs, in my religious performance,

And in my day-to-day conduct; and in my return and in my final place.

I make friends with those who befriend you, I strive against those who oppose you;

I believe in all of you, whether invisible or visible, in those of you who came first; in those of you who came last.

May Allah accept my father and mother as ransoms for you. Peace and Allah’s mercy and blessings be upon you.

O Allah: (please do) send blessings on Muhammad and on the Household of Muhammad,

and send blessings on Your faithful demonstrator,

Your sagacious representative,

Your well-pleased trustee,

Your sincerely attached guide,

Your Right Path,

the most important approach,

the just and equitable course,

the light of the faithful believers’ hearts,

the friend of the pious ones,

the comrade of the sincere.

O Allah: (please do) send blessings on our Master, Muhammad and on his Household,

and send blessings on `’Ali son of Muhammad,

the infallible guide,

The free from errors and faults;

And he who kept himself aloof from temptations and served You,

And who was tried (by You) through seditious matters

And who was tested (by You) through tribulations

And who was examined (by You) through his reactions towards misfortunes

And through his steadfastness against complaining

He is the spiritual guide of Your servants,

the blessing for the human civilization,

the destination of Your mercy,

You entrusted him with Your wisdom,

And he led unto Your Paradise,

He is the all-knowledgeable among Your created beings

The true guide of Your creatures

whom You chose and preferred

and elected to take the place of Your Prophet among his people,

and gave him the responsibility of keeping intact the prescript of his religion.

So, he accomplished the onerous task of representation (of the Prophet),

With full and perfect confidence

difficulties did not confuse him,

complications did not obscure his judgment,

Rather he relieved intricate issues,

And he sealed the loopholes,

And he fulfilled the mission

O Allah just as You made him a source of delight for Your Prophet, raise him to the most elevated position,

And give him the most fitting reward that suits him,

And bless him and convey our greetings and salutations to him.

and give us, on account of our love for him, Your bounties and favors,

And amnesty and approval,

Verily, You art the owner of superabundant benefits and bounties.

After accomplishing the two-Rak`ah Ziyarah Prayer, the following supplication may be, advisably, said:

O Lord of omnipotent power!

O Lord of all-inclusive mercy!

O Lord of successive favors!

O Lord of uninterrupted bounties!

O Lord of magnificent bestowals!

O Lord of abundant conferrals!

(Please do) send blessings upon Muhammad and the Household of Muhammad—the veracious ones,

And grant me that which I ask from You

And re-unify me (with my family),

And unite me (with my family)

And purify my deeds

And cause not my heart to stray after You have guided me,

And cause not my footstep to slip

And never refer me to myself even for a time as short as a wink of an eye

And disappoint not my desire

And expose not my private parts

And disclose not my covering

And cause me not to feel lonely, and despair me not,

And be to me kind and merciful

And guide me (to the right path), and purify me, and make me get rid of impurities,

And cleanse me, and include me with the chosen, the select, and the choicest ones

And dedicate me to You and render me suitable

And draw me near You and take me not far away from You

And be kind to me and do not turn away from me

And honor me and do not humiliate me

And do not deprive me of all that which I ask from You

And also give me that which I have not asked from You

(please do that) on account of Your mercy, O the most Merciful of all those who show mercy.

I also beseech You in the name of Your Honorable Face

And in the name of the sanctity of Your Prophet, Muhammad, may Your blessings be upon him and upon his Household

And in the name of the sanctity of Your Prophet’s Household

Namely, `’Ali the Commander of the Believers, and al-Hasan, and al-Husayn

And `’Ali, and Muhammad, and Ja`far,

And Musa, and `’Ali, and Muhammad,

And `’Ali, and al-Hasan, and the Alive Successor,

May Your benedictions and blessings be upon them

(I beseech You in the name of them) that You send blessings upon all of them,

And hasten the Relief of their Riser by Your permission

And support him and betake him as the means of victory of Your religion,

And include me with those who shall be redeemed through him,

And those who act sincerely in obedience to him,

And I beseech You in the name of their right that You respond to my prayer

And settle my needs

And answer my requests

And save me from whatever aggrieves me from the affairs of this world as well as the world to come,

O the most Merciful of all those who show mercy

O Light, O Evident,

O Granter of light, O Granter of evidence

O Lord: (please do) save me from all evils,

And from vicissitudes of time

And I beseech You for redemption the Day when the Trumpet is blown.

You may then mention your needs, and you may then repeat the following as much as possible:

O my means when I lack means

O my hope and my trust

O my haven and my support

O the One; O the One and Only

O (the described in) “Say: He is Allah, the One.”

I beseech You in the name of those whom You created from among Your creations

But You have not made anyone like them at all,

(please do) send blessings upon them all,

And…

You may here mention your needs.