Why Arbaeen
20TH Safar is observed as the day of Arba-e’en the 40th day,after martyrdom of Imam Husayn (a.s.), his friends and relatives in Karbala on the 10th Muharram.
According to Imam Hasan bin Ali Al Askaree (A.S.) today it is highly desirable to:
According to Imam Hasan bin Ali Al Askaree (A.S.) today it is highly desirable to:
1) Pray 51 Rak—a’t Namaaz during the 24 hours of the day of Arba—e’en, (17 Rak—a’ts in obligatory, and 34 Rak—a’ts in Naafilah Salaats).
2) Be in Karbala for Ziyaarat of Imam Husayn and other martyrs, if not possible, recite Ziyaarat of the Holy Imam and other martyrs of Karbala.
3) To wear a ring in the right hand.
4) To put the forehead on the earth (preferably on the earth of Karbala) in prostration.
5) To pronounce “Bismillahir-Rah’maanir-Rah’eem” in clear and loud voice while praying the salaats.
6) Imam Jaa’—far bin Muhammad Al Saadiq (A.S.) had advised the faithfuls to recite the following “Ziyaarat” on the day of Arbae’en:
2) Be in Karbala for Ziyaarat of Imam Husayn and other martyrs, if not possible, recite Ziyaarat of the Holy Imam and other martyrs of Karbala.
3) To wear a ring in the right hand.
4) To put the forehead on the earth (preferably on the earth of Karbala) in prostration.
5) To pronounce “Bismillahir-Rah’maanir-Rah’eem” in clear and loud voice while praying the salaats.
6) Imam Jaa’—far bin Muhammad Al Saadiq (A.S.) had advised the faithfuls to recite the following “Ziyaarat” on the day of Arbae’en:
"Peace be upon the wali of Allah and His favourite, peace be upon khaleel-lillah and the one chosen by Him, peace be upon the pure person of Allah and the son of His pure person, Peace be upon Hussain (A.S) who is mazloom (oppressed) and shaheed (martyr), Peace be upon one who was imprisoned by sufferings and the slain of cries and lamentation. Oh Allah I bear witness that He is your wali and the son of your wali and your chosen one and the son of your chosen one and is appointed and fixed with your grace. You have honoured him with martyrdom and have particularized Him with blessings and selected him with cleanliness and purity of birth and made him master from among the masters and leader from among the leaders and defender of Islam from among the defenders of Islam and granted Him the heritage of Prophets and placed Him Hujjat (proof) upon your creatures from among the ausiya (testamentary successors) so He removed the excuse from Ummah in itmaam-e-Hujjat (completion of proof) and accomplished to advice Ummah and caused His blood to shed in your way to save your beings from that of ignorance and going astray while he was oppressed by the one who was made arrogant by the world and who exchanged his share of Aakhira for mean and base world and sold his Aakhira for a very low price and caused oppression and tyranny and he was ruined in his self desires, and made you and your Prophet angry and obeyed callous, hypocrites and sinfuls from among Your servants who deserve hell. So he made Holy war (Jehad) in your way to these oppressors with patience and sincerity to this degree that His blood was caused to shed in your obedience, and disgrace of his sanctity was regarded as lawful (mubah). Oh Allah curse these cruels with severity, and give them terrible punishment, peace be upon you oh the son of prophet of Allah, peace be upon you oh the son of the master of Ausiya (testamentary successors). I bear witness that you are trustee (ameen) of Allah and the son of his trustee, you have spent your whole life in obedience and passed away in a praise worthy way and died as a matchless and oppressed martyr. I bear witness that Allah will fulfill what He has promised to you and will ruin who has left you and punish who has killed you, and I bear witness that you have fulfilled the promise of Allah and made Holy war (jehad) in His way up to this that you died. May Allah curse him who has killed you, and may the curse of Allah be upon him who oppressed you, and may Allah curse the ummah which heard all this and remained agree to this. Oh Allah I make you witness that I am friend of their (A.S) friends and enemy of their enemies. May my parents ransom you, oh the son of Holy Prophet of Allah. I bear witness that you was refulgence ad light in the elevated spines and loins, and in the womb of pure and chaste mothers, the evil influences and dirt of ignorance did not reach you, the dark dress of ignorance did not come on your body. And I bear witness that you are the pillar of religion, the base of Muslim constitution and the protector of momeneen (faithfuls) and I bear witness that you are pious, virtuous, Allah's favourite, pure, true guide and guided Imam, and I bear witness that the Imams from your offspring are the soul of piety and signs of guidance, and strong relation of Emaan and proof over those who live in the world, and I bear witness that I believe you and believe in your raj'at (return) with the laws of my religion and completion of my deed, and my heart is entirely submissive to yours and my command in obeys yours, and my help for you is ready thus for Allah permit you hence we are with you, not with your foes may the blessings of Allah upon you and your souls and your bodies and your appearance and your absence and your outside & your inside. Fulfil my dua'a (prayer) Lord of the universe".
After the recitation of this Ziarat, two rakaat prayer (salat) is to be offered and then pray (dua'a) for his wishes and needs. Insha Allah his wishes/needs will be fulfilled.
(b) 2nd Ziarat-e-Arba'een is that which has been reported by Ata from Hazrat Jabir bin Abdullah (May Allah please with him): He said, "I was with Hazrat Jabir bin Abdullah on 20th safar. Hazrat Jabir used the water of Euphrates (farat) for ghusl (bath) when we reached Ghazaria. After it he (Hazrat Jabir) departed for the Holy grave of Imam Hussain (A.S) bare-footed. There he stood at the head part of the Holy grave and recited Allaho Akbar three times and became senseless and faint with grief and deep sorrow. I heard he was reciting the following ziarat when he came in his senses:
" Peace be upon You oh Aal Allah, peace be upon You oh the chosen by Allah, peace be upon you oh the best creature of Allah, peace be upon you oh the lord of Lords, Peace be upon you oh the brave lions, Peace be upon you oh the boats of liberation, peace be upon you oh aba Abdillahil Hussain (A.S), peace be upon you oh the successor of the knowledge of Prophets and may the blessings of Allah upon you, peace be upon you oh the successor of Adam (AS) safi illah (God's elected), peace be upon you oh the successor of Noah (A.S) nabi illah (the Prophet of Allah), peace be upon you oh the successor of Ibraham (A.S) Khaleel illah (The friend of Allah), peace be upon You oh the successor of Moses (A.S) Kaleem illah, peace be upon You oh the successor of Christ Rooh illah, peace be upon You oh the successor of Muhammad Habib illah ( the friend and favourite of Allah), peace be upon you oh the son of Muhammed-e-Mustafa ,peace be upon you oh the son of Ali-e-Murtaza ,peace be upon you oh the son of Fatimah tuz-zahra, peace be upon you oh the son of Khadeeja-tul-kubra, peace be upon you oh martyr - the son of martyr, peace be upon You oh who has been killed in the way of Allah - the son of who has been killed in the way of Allah, peace be upon You oh the wali of Allah - the son of His wali, peace be upon You oh the proof of Allah - the son of his proof upon His creatures, I bear witness that you established the salat (prayer), and gave zakat (charity) & ordered for good, and prohibited from evil, and grieved in your father's sufferings, and made Holy war (Jehad) against your enemy, and I bear witness that you listen our words and also reply, and that you are the friend of Allah, and His Khaleel and His najeeb and His elected and the son of His elected, oh my maula, and the son of my maula I visit you with passion and fondness so be my intercessor to Allah oh my master, and I want the intercession of your grandfather - the master of Prophets, and of your father - the Lord of Ausiya (testamentary successors) , and of your mother Fatimah - the mistress of the ladies of the world. May the curse of Allah be upon Your killers and upon those who oppressed you, may Allah curse those who seized your right and deprived you of it from among the first and the last, and may the blessings of Allah be upon our master Muhammad and His pure and chaste Aal (offspring)."
Significance of Arba’een and the Performance of the Ziyarat of Arba’een
Imam Hasan Al-Askari (a.s.) includes the performance of Ziyarat-e-Arba’een as one of the five marks for a believer, in addition to reciting 51 raka of sala, audible recitation of Bismillah, wearing a ring on one’s right hand, and doing sajda on dust. (This hadith has been narrated by Sheikh Tusi in the book Tahthib).
Why is so much importance given to the performance of the Ziyarat of Arba’een and the observance of Arba’een (40 days of mourning)?
Why is so much importance given to the performance of the Ziyarat of Arba’een and the observance of Arba’een (40 days of mourning)?
Ziyarat, as we all know is a visitation, which in essence, is the act of speaking with and visiting our role models. Of course the physical manifestation of the ziyarat is actually being present in Kerbala to perform the Ziyarat of Arba’een, but, in reality, that is not possible for every believer. So does making ziyarat while not in Kerbala give one the same benefits? Ahadith tell us that performing the Ziyarat of Imam Hussain (a.s.) far from Kerbala would hold the same significance as being in the land of Kerbala, as long as the person performing the Ziyarat has truly understood the status of the Imam and seeks to emulate him.
Imam Muhamed al-Baqir (a.s.) states that the heavens wept over Imam Hussain (a.s.) for forty mornings, rising red and setting red. As we complete 40 days of remembrance of our Imam, we re-assert our pledge of obedience and loyalty to him,
“I bear witness that you are the Imam (who is) the upright, the pious, well-pleased (with Allah), the pure, the guide and the rightly-guided.
I bear witness that you fulfilled the pledge of Allah and you struggled in His way…I am a friend of whoever befriends him …”
I bear witness that you fulfilled the pledge of Allah and you struggled in His way…I am a friend of whoever befriends him …”
By performing the Ziyarat of Arba’een, we pledge that we will continue to follow the path of justice and righteousness and will reject injustice and speak up against the oppressors of the time,
I am an enemy of whoever is his enemy
In essence, we make a promise to continue to mold our lives according to the teaching of Imam Hussain (a.s.).
But why is it that we mourn and remember Imam Hussain (a.s.) for a period of forty days and then move on?
Our Prophet has said, “The earth mourns the death of a believer for forty mornings.” Therefore it appears that the deceased should be remembered and mourned over for a period of forty days. Performing an act for a continuous period of forty days is also known to help one to not just form a habit, but also to carry on the practice for the rest of his life.
If we look at studies dealing with bringing a lifestyle change, we notice the time period emphasized to bring about a change is usually 6 weeks which is about the same time period as 40 days (to be exact it is 42 days).
In the book 40 Days to Personal Revolution: A Breakthrough Program to Radically Change Your Body and Awaken the Sacred Within Your Soul, the author Baron Baptiste explains the significance of forty days:
Why forty days? Because the number 40 holds tremendous spiritual significance in the realm of transformation. Jesus wandered in the desert for forty days in order to experience purification and come to a greater understanding of himself and his mission. Moses and his people traveled through the desert for forty years before arriving at their home in the holy land. Noah preserved the sacredness of life by sailing his ark for forty days and forty nights. According to the Kabbalah, the ancient Jewish mystical text, it takes forty days to ingrain any new way of being into our system….
Reciting particular duas for a period of 40 days is highly recommended in our practices as well.
The unit 40 (forty) is said to be very effective. If a particular Duaa is recited 40 times, or 40 people gather to recite it, or it is recited for 40 days then its effectiveness is highly increased. (Duas.org)
The unit 40 (forty) is said to be very effective. If a particular Duaa is recited 40 times, or 40 people gather to recite it, or it is recited for 40 days then its effectiveness is highly increased. (Duas.org)
It is reported from Imam Ja’fer Sadiq (a.s.) that whoever recites Dua-e-Ahad for forty days, after morning prayers will be amongst the helpers of the 12th Imam (a). Visitation of the shrine of Imam Hussain (a.s.) as well as Masjid-e-Sahla for 40 consecutive Thursdays is also very highly recommended and is one of the acts that promises a visit from the 12th Imam (ajtf).
Thus, as we perform the Ziyarat of Arba’een and commemorate the Arba’een, 40 days of mourning of Imam Hussain (a.s.), we hope and pray that this forty days of remembrance of Imam Hussain (a.s.), brings about a transformation in us by which we can continue to follow the path of Imam Hussain (a.s.) and carry on his message of upholding justice with true faith and a strong sense of sacrifice!
In the first Arbaeen, Jabir Ibn Abdullah was the person who pilgrimage the holy tombs of Imam Hussain (AS). According to some narrations, captive family of Imam Hussain (AS), in the way of returning to Medina from Sham, visited Jabir and pilgrimage tombs of Ashura’s martyrs.
O Hussain, commemoration of your revolution from Ashura up to Arbaeen makes the world pay attention to the message of the resurrection. Ashura is martyrdom day of the history makers and Arbaeen is pilgrimage day of Ashura makers.
Arbaeen philosophy shows itself, and we can teach martyrdom lesson from this class and prepare ourselves in order to help our master Imam al-Mahdi (ajtf) (May God hasten his reappearance).
