The Visitors of that Noble One (a.s.) After His Martyrdom

زوار آن حضرت بعد از شهادت

مطلب دوم در زوار آن حضرت بعد از شهادت، و قبل از دفن، پس مي‌گوئيم: اول كسي كه زيارت آن جناب را نمود خداي متعال بود، به اين معني كه الطاف خاصه‌ي بسياري متوجه به جانب او نمود، و بعد رسول (صلي الله عليه و آله) خدا بود، كه به نزدش آمد و از آن جام كه پسرش علي‌اكبر خبر داد سيرابش نمود، و چون رسول‌خدا آمده بود به زيارتش، پس لابد علي (عليه‌السلام) و فاطمه (عليهاالسلام) و حسن (عليه‌السلام) نيز همراه او بوده‌اند، بعد ملائكه نصر به زيارتش آمدند، چنانكه در عنوان ملائكه ذكر شد [970] ، بعد ذوالجناح [971] و طيور [972] و وحوش بيابان به زيارتش آمدند. [973] .و از انس، اول كسي كه به زيارتش آمد حضرت سجاد (عليه‌السلام) بود، يا جناب زينب، و ساير اهل بيت اسير، و يازده طفل صغير از اهل بيت، كه همه‌ي ايشان با آداب [ صفحه 326] زيارت آمدند. [974] .يعني غبارآلوده، و گرسنه و تشنه، و محزون، و گريان، و نالان، و پابرهنه، بلكه سر برهنه، يعني بي‌چادر، و بعضي غل به گردن، و ريسمان به بازو، ولي بعضي از آداب زيارت از ايشان فوت شد، كه غسل به فرات باشد، و وضو از براي زيارت، لكن بدلش تيمم با خون طيب آن شهيد نمودند، و صورت و دستهاي خود را به آن مسح كردند، پس شروع نمودند در زيارت به همان قسم كه وارد است در كيفيت زيارت، از ابتدا كردن به سلام بر پيغمبر (صلي الله عليه و آله) و علي (عليه‌السلام) و فاطمه (عليهاالسلام)، و بعد سلام بر آن جناب، و اصل زيارت از حضرت زينب بود، و باقي اهل بيت بااو مي‌خواندند، و از جناب سجاد (عليه‌السلام) عبارتي در اين وقت نقل نشده، و وجهش شايد آن باشد كه آن حضرت با آنكه عليل [بيمار] بود، وغل جامعه به گردن مباركش نهاده بودند، و نگذاشتند كه از شتر به زير آيد، چنان حالتي از برايش دست داد كه مي‌خواست روح از بدن شريفش مفارقت نمايد، چنانكه عمه‌اش دريافت، او را تسلي داد، چنانچه تفصيلش بيايد [975] پس از اين جهت زيارت به طريق متعارف بجا نياورد، و اين عمل مخصوص اهل بيت گرديد، لكن دشمنان نگذاشتند زيارت را تمام كنند، بلكه شتران را حاضر نمودند، و ايشان را به قهر از آن اجساد ظاهر جدا كردند، و ايشانرا بالاي شتران سوار نمودند و به سوي كوفه روان كردند.

The Visitors of that Noble One (a.s.) After His Martyrdom

The Second Discussion concerns the visitors of that noble one (a.s.) after his martyrdom and before his burial.

Thus we say:

The first to visit that noble one (a.s.) was Allah, the Exalted, in the sense that He directed many special acts of لطف (Divine Grace and Kindness) toward him.

Thereafter came the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.), who came to him and quenched his thirst from that cup concerning which his son Ali al-Akbar (a.s.) had given him glad tidings.

And since the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.) came to visit him, then undoubtedly Ali (a.s.), Fatimah (a.s.), and Hasan (a.s.) were also with him.

After that, the angels of victory came to visit him, as has been mentioned in the section concerning the angels. [970]

Then Dhu al-Janah came to visit him. [971]

Then the birds came to visit him. [972]

Then the wild animals of the desert came to visit him. [973]

Among human beings, the first to visit him was Imam al-Sajjad (a.s.), or Lady Zaynab (a.s.), together with the rest of the captive members of the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.), and the eleven young children of the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.).

All of them came observing the etiquette of visitation. [974]

[ صفحه 326]

That is, they came covered with dust, hungry, thirsty, sorrowful, weeping, lamenting, barefooted, and indeed bareheaded, meaning without veils.

Some had iron collars around their necks, and others had ropes tied around their arms.

However, some of the etiquettes of visitation were missed by them, such as performing ghusl in the Euphrates and making wudu before the visitation.

Yet they substituted these by performing tayammum with the pure blood of that martyr, wiping their faces and hands with it.

Then they began the visitation in the manner prescribed in the traditions, beginning with salām upon the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.a.), Ali (a.s.), and Fatimah (a.s.), and then offering salām upon that noble one (a.s.).

The actual recitation of the ziyārah was led by Lady Zaynab (a.s.), while the rest of the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.) recited along with her.

No specific words from Imam al-Sajjad (a.s.) at this moment have been transmitted.

Perhaps the reason was that, despite his illness and despite the heavy iron collar that had been placed around his blessed neck, such a condition overtook him that it seemed his soul was about to depart from his noble body, as his aunt perceived and then consoled him, as its details will be mentioned later. [975]

For this reason, he did not perform the ziyārah in the customary manner, and this act became a special distinction of the Ahl al-Bayt (a.s.).

However, the enemies did not allow them to complete the ziyārah.

Rather, they brought forth the camels and forcibly separated them from those visible bodies.

They mounted them upon the camels and drove them toward Kufa.