The Torch of Perpetual Guidance, an Exposé on Ziyarat Ashura of al-Imam al-Husayn b. Ali

Section Twenty Seven

“Peace be upon you O’ Aba ‘Abdillah and upon the souls which were annihilated with you. Upon you, from me, is the peace of Allah for eternity, as long as the night and the day remain and please do not make this (Ziyarat) as my last contact with you. Greetings be upon Husayn, and upon ‘Ali the son of Husayn and upon the children of Husayn and upon the companions of Husayn.”

This section which is also recited 100 times is one in which we express our love and greetings to the Imam, his family and the companions killed with him.

The first point of importance in this section is that these greetings which we convey to our Imam are perpetual and do not end with the day of ‘Ashura – rather, they continue on until the end of this world. From this, we can understand that even if we are physically dead in our graves, we, the true Shi’a would continue to send our greetings to the Imam even from our station in Barzakh.

Who is ‘Ali b. Husayn whom we send our greetings to? Is this the 4th Imam, As-Sajjad, or someone else? Seeing as how this Ziyarat is in regards to those murdered with the 3rd Imam, we can state that this is none other than ‘Ali b. Husayn whom we refer to as ‘Ali Akbar. As we know, the fourth Imam was protected and saved on the day of ‘Ashura as through him, the remaining eight Imams came forth.

Who are the children of Husayn whom we send our greetings upon? Historians have mentioned that the Imam had four sons:

1. ‘Ali al-Akbar whose mother was Laila;

2. ‘Ali al-Awsat (Imam Zainul Abideen) whose mother was the daughter of Yazdjard the Emperor of Iran;

3. Abillah (‘Ali al-Asghar) whose mother was Rabab;

4. Ja’far b. Husayn who died before the event of Karbala’.

As for his daughters, they include:

1. Ruqayyah whose mother was Rabab (also known as Sakinah);

2. Fatimah whose mother was Ummul Ishaq, the daughter of Talhah.

The companions who were killed in Karbala’ are numerous and although the historians differ on the exact number, those from the Bani Hashim numbered 17 who include:

1. ‘Ali Akbar (‘Ali b. Husayn);

2. ‘Abillah b. ‘Ali the son of Ummul Banin;

3. ‘Abbas b. ‘Ali the son of Ummul Banin;

4. Ja’far b. ‘Ali the son of Ummul Banin;

5. ‘Uthman b. ‘Ali the son of Ummul Banin;

6. Muhammad (Asghar) b. ‘Ali;

7. ‘Abillah b. Husayn (‘Ali Asghar the baby);

8. Abu Bakr b. Hasan b. ‘Ali, the son of Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba;

9. Qasim b. Hasan b. ‘Ali, the son of Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba;

10. ‘Abillah b. Hasan the son of Imam Hasan al-Mujtaba;

11. ‘Awn b. ‘Abillah b. Ja’far b. Abi Talib;

12. Muhammad b. ‘Abillah b. Ja’far b. Abi Talib;

13. Ja’far b. ‘Aqil b. Abi Talib;

14. ‘Abdul Rahman b. ‘Aqil b. Abi Talib;

15. ‘Abillah b. Muslim b. ‘Aqil b. Abi Talib;

16. ‘Abillah b. ‘Aqil b. Abi Talib;

17. Muhammad b. Sa’id b. ‘Aqil b. Abi Talib

The resting place of all of the martyrs of the Bani Hashim is at the feet of the body of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him). A separate grave was dug for them and they were buried at this spot – with the exception of al-’Abbas b. ‘Ali (peace be upon him) whose burial place is the same location as where he was martyred.

The total number of the rest of the martyrs is also a point of difference of the scholars. The maximum number given is 112 however the number of 72 is one of the most accepted numbers as this is the minimum number of followers killed.

The burial spots of the rest of the martyrs are also different and they are all buried around the grave of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) in various locations however the spots of most of their graves is not precisely known even today. Of all of these graves, only two are exactly known and these are the graves of Habib b. Mazahir Asadi which is located inside the Hair (the area where Imam Husayn (peace be upon him) is buried) to the right of the body while the other is that of Hurr b. Yazid al-Riyahi who is buried a few kilometres from the grave of Imam Husayn (peace be upon him).