ZIYARAH OF ABD AL AZIM AL HASANI

SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF ‘ABD AL-’AZIM AL-HASANI

The lineage of ‘Abd al-’Azim al-Hasani (known as Shah ‘Abd al-’Azim), the great personality, goes back through four lines to Imam al-Hasan al-Mujtaba the grandson of the best of all creatures; namely, the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him and his Household.

‘Abd al-’Azim is thus the son of ‘Abdullah the son of ‘Ali the son of al-Hasan the son of Zayn the son of al-Hasan the son of ‘Ali the son of Abu-Talib. His holy tomb, which is in the city of Ray (southern Tehran, Iran), is famous. It is a haven and a shelter for the publics. The high standing and majestic position of ‘Abd al-’Azim is clearer than sunlight. First of all, he is from the descendants of the Seal of the Prophets. He is also one of the master traditionists, great scholars, ascetics, and worshippers, and well-known for his distinguished religiousness and piety. He was within the companions of Imam al-Jawad and Imam al-Hadi whom he used to take as means to Almighty Allah and to whom he adhered distinguishably. He also reported many traditions from these two Holy Imams.

He was the author of the books entitled Khutab Amir al-Mu’minin (Sermons of the Commander of the Faithful) and al-Yawm wal-Laylah (The Day and the Night).

His story of providing his beliefs before Imam al-Hadi (‘a) is famous. The Imam (‘a) then said to him, “O Abu’l-Qasim, this is by Allah the very religion that Allah has accepted for His servants; therefore, you should keep on it. Allah may strengthen your faith by the true Words in this world and in the life to come.”

Al-Sahib ibn ‘Abbad wrote a brief thesis about the biography of this man. This thesis has been quoted by our mentor Shaykh al-Nuri in the epilogue of his book entitled al-Mustadrak.

In this book, as well as the famous book of biography known as Rijal al-Kashshi, it has been recorded that when ‘Abd al-’Azim feared for himself the persecution of the ruling authorities, he had to leave for several countries disguising. He then came to the city of Ray and resided in Sarbanan. He confided himself in a vault in a house of a Shi’ite man in a place called Sikkat al-Mawla. He used to worship Almighty Allah in that vault by spending his days fasting and his nights doing acts of worship. Disguising himself, he used to leave that vault for visiting the tomb that would be opposite to his tomb at the other side of the road. He used to say that the tomb was for one of the descendants of Imam Musa ibn Ja’far al-Kazim, peace be upon him. During his stay in that vault, the Shi’ah reported his manners to one another until he was known by the majority of them. One night, one of these Shi’ah saw in dream the Holy Prophet (‘a) saying to him, “One of my descendants will be carried from Sikkat al-Mawla and buried next to that apple tree in the orchard of ‘Abd al-Jabbar the son of ‘Abd al-Wahhab. The man therefore went to the owner of that orchard and offered to buy that tree and its place. The owner of the orchard asked, “What for are you asking me to sell you that very tree and its place?” The man had to inform him about his dream. The owner then told him that he had seen a similar dream and, as a result, he endowed that tree and its place to the sayyids and the Shi’ah to bury their dead ones there.

After that, ‘Abd al-’Azim became ill and passed away. May Allah have mercy upon him. When he was stripped of his clothes for performing the ritual bathing for his dead body, a sheet of paper was found in his pocket. In that sheet of paper, he had written down his lineage as follows: “I am Abu’l-Qasim ‘Abd al-’Azim the son of ‘Abdullah the son of ‘Ali the son of al-Hasan the son of Zayd the son of al-Hasan the son of ‘Ali the son of Abu-Talib.”

Describing the knowledgeability of ‘Abd al-’Azim, al-Sahib ibn ‘Abbad says that Abu-Turab al-Rawayani has reported that he heard Abu-Hammad al-Razi saying: One day, I visited Imam ‘Ali al-Naqi (al-Hadi) in Samarra’ and asked him about some legal and illegal issues of the religion. The Imam (‘a) answered all of my questions. When I bid farewell to him, he said to me, “Hammad, if you face any problem regarding your religious affairs while you are in your hometown (i.e. Ray), you may ask ‘Abd al-’Azim ibn ‘Abdullah al-Hasani. Once you do, convey my greetings to him.”

MERITS OF VISITING ‘ABD AL-’AZIM

In his book of al-Rawashih, al-Muhaqqiq al-Damad says that the rewards of visiting the tomb of ‘Abd al-’Azim al-Hasani have been mentioned in confirmative traditions. One of these traditions reads that whoever visits his tomb will be awarded Paradise inevitably.

This very tradition has been also mentioned by al-Shahid al-Thani in the margin of his book of al-Khulasah as reported from some experts in lineages.

Ibn Babawayh and Ibn Qawlawayh have reported through a valid chain of authority that a man from the people of Ray visited Imam ‘Ali al-Hadi (‘a) who asked him where from he had come. “I came here after I had visited Imam al-Husayn,” answered the man.

The Imam (‘a) said, “Actually, if you had visited the tomb of ‘Abd al-’Azim in your city, you would have been as if you have visited al-Husayn ibn ‘Ali, peace be upon them.”

METHOD OF ZIYARAH OF ‘ABD AL-’AZIM

Scholars have not mentioned a form of ziyarah dedicated to ‘Abd al-’Azim al-Hasani; rather, Fakhr al-Muhaqqiqin (the pride of versed scholars), Jamal al-Din states in his book of al-Mazar that it is most appropriate to say the following form of ziyarah at the tomb of ‘Abd al-’Azim al-Hasani:

السَّلامُ عَلَى آدَمَ صِفْوَةِ اللّٰهِ السَّلامُ عَلَى نُوحٍ نَبِيِّ اللّٰهِ السَّلامُ عَلَى اِبْرَاهِيمَ خَلِيلِ اللّٰهِ السَّلامُ عَلَى مُوسَى كَلِيمِ اللّٰهِ السَّلامُ عَلَى عِيسَى رُوحِ اللّٰهِ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللّٰهِ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا خَيْرَ خَلْقِ اللّٰهِ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا صَفِيَّ اللّٰهِ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللّٰهِ خَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا اَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلِيَّ بْنَ اَبِي طَالِبٍ وَصِيَّ رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكِ يَا فَاطِمَةُ سَيِّدَةَ نِسَاءِ الْعَالَمِينَ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكُمَا يَا سِبْطَيِ الرَّحْمَةِ وَ سَيِّدَيْ شَبَابِ اَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا عَلِيَّ بْنَ الْحُسَيْنِ سَيِّدَ الْعَابِدِينَ وَ قُرَّةَ عَيْنِ النَّاظِرِينَ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ عَلِيٍّ بَاقِرَ الْعِلْمِ بَعْدَ النَّبِيِّ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا جَعْفَرَ بْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ الصَّادِقَ الْبَارَّ الْاَمِينَ ، السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا مُوسَى بْنَ جَعْفَرٍ الطَّاهِرَ الطُّهْرَ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا عَلِيَّ بْنَ مُوسَى الرِّضَا الْمُرْتَضَى السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا مُحَمَّدَ بْنَ عَلِيٍّ التَّقِيَّ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا عَلِيَّ بْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ النَّقِيَّ النَّاصِحَ الْاَمِينَ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا حَسَنَ بْنَ عَلِيٍّ السَّلامُ عَلَى الْوَصِيِّ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ اللّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى نُورِكَ وَ سِرَاجِكَ وَ وَلِيِّ وَلِيِّكَ وَ وَصِيِّ وَصِيِّكَ وَ حُجَّتِكَ عَلَى خَلْقِكَ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ اَيُّهَا السَّيِّدُ الزَّكِيُّ وَ الطَّاهِرُ الصَّفِيُّ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا ابْنَ السَّادَةِ الْاَطْهَارِ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا ابْنَ الْمُصْطَفَيْنَ الْاَخْيَارِ السَّلامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ وَ عَلَى ذُرِّيَّةِ رَسُولِ اللّٰهِ وَ رَحْمَةُ اللّٰهِ وَ بَرَكَاتُهُ. السَّلامُ عَلَى الْعَبْدِ الصَّالِحِ الْمُطِيعِ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَ لِرَسُولِهِ وَ لِاَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا اَبَا الْقَاسِمِ ابْنَ السِّبْطِ الْمُنْتَجَبِ الْمُجْتَبَى السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا مَنْ بِزِيَارَتِهِ ثَوَابُ زِيَارَةِ سَيِّدِ الشُّهَدَاءِ يُرْتَجَى السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ عَرَّفَ اللّٰهُ بَيْنَنَا وَ بَيْنَكُمْ فِي الْجَنَّةِ وَ حَشَرَنَا فِي زُمْرَتِكُمْ وَ اَوْرَدَنَا حَوْضَ نَبِيِّكُمْ وَ سَقَانَا بِكَأْسِ جَدِّكُمْ مِنْ يَدِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ اَبِي طَالِبٍ صَلَوَاتُ اللّٰهِ عَلَيْكُمْ اَسْاَلُ اللّٰهَ اَنْ يُرِيَنَا فِيكُمُ السُّرُورَ وَ الْفَرَجَ وَ اَنْ يَجْمَعَنَا وَ اِيَّاكُمْ فِي زُمْرَةِ جَدِّكُمْ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ آلِهِ وَ اَنْ لا يَسْلُبَنَا مَعْرِفَتَكُمْ اِنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ قَدِيرٌ ، اَتَقَرَّبُ اِلَى اللّٰهِ بِحُبِّكُمْ وَ الْبَرَاءَةِ مِنْ اَعْدَائِكُمْ وَ التَّسْلِيمِ اِلَى اللّٰهِ رَاضِيا بِهِ غَيْرَ مُنْكِرٍ وَ لا مُسْتَكْبِرٍ وَ عَلَى يَقِينِ مَا اَتَى بِهِ مُحَمَّدٌ نَطْلُبُ بِذَلِكَ وَجْهَكَ يَا سَيِّدِي اللّٰهُمَّ وَ رِضَاكَ وَ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ يَا سَيِّدِي وَ ابْنَ سَيِّدِي اشْفَعْ لِي فِي الْجَنَّةِ فَاِنَّ لَكَ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ شَأْنا مِنَ الشَّأْنِ اللّٰهُمَّ اِنِّي اَسْاَلُكَ اَنْ تَخْتِمَ لِي بِالسَّعَادَةِ فَلا تَسْلُبْ مِنِّي مَا اَنَا فِيهِ وَ لا حَوْلَ وَ لا قُوَّةَ اِلا بِاللّٰهِ الْعَلِيِّ الْعَظِيمِ اللّٰهُمَّ اسْتَجِبْ لَنَا وَ تَقَبَّلْهُ بِكَرَمِكَ وَ عِزَّتِكَ وَ بِرَحْمَتِكَ وَ عَافِيَتِكَ وَ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ اَجْمَعِينَ وَ سَلَّمَ تَسْلِيما يَا اَرْحَمَ الرَّاحِمِينَ.