''Ziyarat Ashura'' ( ar, زیارة عاشوراء) is an

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

ic salutatory prayer to God. The prayer is part of the liturgy used in

pilgrimages A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

to the shrine of Husayn in

Karbala Karbala or Kerbala ( ar, كَرْبَلَاء, Karbalāʾ , , also ;) is a city in central Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad, and a few miles east of Lake Milh, also known as Razzaza Lake. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorat ...

Muhammad al-Baqir Muḥammad al-Bāqir ( ar, مُحَمَّد ٱلْبَاقِر), with the full name Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, also known as Abū Jaʿfar or simply al-Bāqir () was the fifth Imam in Shia Islam, succee ...

, Prophet's descendant and the fifth Shia

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

, recommended reciting ''Ziyarat Ashura'' on

Ashura Ashura (, , ) is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the 10th of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. Among Shia Muslims, Ashura is observed through large demonstrations of high-scale mourning as it marks the ...

while facing Karbala, as a symbolic visit to the shrine.

Etymology

In Islam, a ''

ziyārah In Islam, ''ziyara(h)'' ( ar, زِيَارَة ''ziyārah'', "visit") or ''ziyarat'' ( fa, , ''ziyārat'', "pilgrimage") is a form of pilgrimage to sites associated with Muhammad, his family members and descendants (including the Shī'ī Imā ...

'' ( ar, زیارة) is a visit to the tomb of a saint or other holy person, such as the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

Imam Husayn Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...

. '' ‘Āshūrā’'' ( ar, عاشوراء), literally "tenth", is a holiday and a day of grief for the Muslims, falling on 10 Muharram of the

Islamic calendar The Hijri calendar ( ar, ٱلتَّقْوِيم ٱلْهِجْرِيّ, translit=al-taqwīm al-hijrī), also known in English as the Muslim calendar and Islamic calendar, is a lunar calendar consisting of 12 lunar months in a year of 354 or ...

. The Martyrdom of

Husayn ibn Ali Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, أبو عبد الله الحسين بن علي بن أبي طالب; 10 January 626 – 10 October 680) was a grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a son of Ali ibn Abi ...

and his family members and his associate (72 Martyrs) during the

Battle of Karbala The Battle of Karbala ( ar, مَعْرَكَة كَرْبَلَاء) was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliph Yazid I and a small army led by Husayn ...

is commemorated on this day.

Sources

''Ziyarat Ashura'' is attributed to

, the fifth Shia Imam, who transmitted it to his followers. The prayer is found in sacred hadith narrated in particular by

Shaykh Tusi Shaykh Tusi ( fa, شیخ طوسی), full name ''Abu Jafar Muhammad Ibn Hassan Tusi'' ( ar, ابو جعفر محمد بن حسن طوسی), known as Shaykh al-Taʾifah ( ar, links=no, شيخ الطائفة) was a prominent Persian scholar of the ...

in ''Misbah al-Mutahajjid'' and by Ibn Qulawayh in ''Kamil al-Ziyarat'': The prayer is also referenced in ''

Bihar al-Anwar ''Bihar al-Anwar'' ( ar, بِحَار ٱلْأَنْوَار, lit. ''Seas of Lights'') is a comprehensive collection of traditions (''ahadith'') compiled by Shia scholar Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi (d. 1110/1698), known as ''Allama Majlisi''. It is a h ...

'' by

Allamah al-Majlisi Mohammad Baqer Majlesi (b. 1037/1628-29 – d. 1110/1699) ( fa, علامه مجلسی ''Allameh Majlesi''; also Romanized as: Majlessi, Majlisi, Madjlessi), known as Allamah Majlesi or Majlesi Al-Thani (Majlesi the Second), was a renowned and v ...

and ''

Mafatih al-Jinan ''Mafatih al-Jinan'' (''Keys to Heavens'') ''(Arabic :مفاتیح الجنان)'' by Sheikh Abbas Qumi is a Twelver Shi'a compilation of Qur'anic Chapters, Dua's, Taaqeebat&e-Namaz (acts of worship after Namaz), acts during Islamic months and ...

'' by

Abbas Qumi Abbas Qomi ( fa, عباس قمی) also known as ''Mohaddith Qomi'' ( fa, محدث قمی) was a Shia scholar, historian, and hadith narrator. He wrote books, including Mafatih al-Janan. Biography Abbas Qomi was born in 1877 (1294 Hijri year, A ...

''Ziyarat Ashura'' contains concepts like ''

tabarra Tabarri ( ar, تبري) is a doctrine that refers to the obligation of disassociation with those who oppose God and those who caused harm to and were the enemies of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. As Shi'as believe, they believe that the imamate ...

'' (dissociating from those who oppose God, oppose

or oppose his family), ''

tawalla Tawalli "Loving the Ahl al-Bayt" ( ar, تولّي), is a part of the Twelver Shī‘ah Islām Aspects of the Religion and is derived from a Qur'anic verse.Furthermore, the Sunni and Shī‘ah Hadith of the Event of the Cloak is used to define who ...

'' (loving the

Ahl al-Bayt Ahl al-Bayt ( ar, أَهْل ٱلْبَيْت, ) refers to the family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, but the term has also been extended in Sunni Islam to apply to all descendants of the Banu Hashim (Muhammad's clan) and even to all Muslims. ...

), self-sacrifice for society, and never surrendering to tyranny and oppression.

Dua Alqamah

Dua Alqamah (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: دعای علقمه ) is the title of the supplication recited after Ziyarat Ashura by Shia Muslims. It is attributed to

, the fifth Shia Imam, who transmitted it to his followers. Alqamah is referred to one of companion of

Ja'far al-Sadiq Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣādiq ( ar, جعفر بن محمد الصادق; 702 – 765 CE), commonly known as Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (), was an 8th-century Shia Muslim scholar, jurist, and theologian.. He was the founder of th ...

, the sixth Imam of the Shia, named ''Alqamah''. According to the tradition in

Mafatih al-Janan ''Mafatih al-Jinan'' (''Keys to Heavens'') ''(Arabic :مفاتیح الجنان)'' by Sheikh Abbas Qumi is a Twelver Shi'a compilation of Qur'anic Chapters, Dua's, Taaqeebat&e-Namaz (acts of worship after Namaz), acts during Islamic months and d ...

(Keys to the Heavens),

believed this supplication is in honor of one companion of Ja'far al-Sadiq, named Safwan. So, the original name of the supplication is Safwan. According to the Mafatih al-Janan, Abbas Qumi narrated the Alqamah prayer from

, the fifth

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...

, on

day of Ashura A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two solar ...

by the authority of Alqamah ibn Mohammad ibn Hazrami through a chain of transmission.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Text of Alqamah supplication
Ashura Mourning of Muharram Ziyarat Hussainiya

Etymology

Sources

Contents

Further reading

Dua Alqamah

See also

References

External links