2. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from al-Qasim ibn Yahya from his grandfather al-Hassan ibn Rashid from al-Husayn ibn Thuwayr who has said the following: “Once Yunus ibn Zabayan, al-Mufaddal ibn ‘Umar, abu Salmah al-Sarraj and I were sitting in the presence of abu ‘Abd Allah . Among us Yunus, who was the eldest did the speaking and he said, ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, I sometimes attend the meeting of these people, meaning children of al-‘Abbas, what should I say?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘When you are in their meeting and you speak of us then say, “O Allah, show us comfort and happiness,” in saying this you come up with what you want.’ I then said, ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, I very often speak of al-Husayn , what I should say?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Say, ‘Sala’ Allah ‘Alayka O abu ‘Abd Allah, I appeal before Allah to grant you salawat (favors and compensation to you worthy of Your services to His cause), three times. Al-Salam reaches him from nearby as well as distant places.’ He (the Imam) then said, ‘When abu ‘Abd Allah , passed away, the seven heavens and the seven earths wept. Everything between them, those who move in paradise and in hell, all that our Creator has created, all that can be seen and those that cannot be seen wept for abu ‘Abd Allah, al-Husayn ‘Alayhi al-Salam. Only three things did not weep.’ I then asked, ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, what are these three things?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Things that did not weep were al-Basrah, Damascus and Ale ‘Uthman who did not weep, may Allah’s condemnation be upon them.’ I then said, ‘I want to visit him. What should I do?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘When you want to visit abu ‘Abd Allah , take a bath in al- Furat canal, then dress up in clean cloths, walk bare-foot; you are in a sacred location of Allah and the sacred locations of His Messenger. You must say Takhir (Allah is great beyond description), Tahlil (no one deserves worship except Allah). Tasbih, (Allah is free of all defects), Tahmid (all praise belongs to Allah) and Ta‘zim (Allah the most great is free of all defects) of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, a great deal as well as saying, O Allah, grant salawat (favors and compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause). When you arrive at the door of al- Hayr then say, ‘(I hereby declare, affirm and acknowledge that you are a ‘Alayhi al-Salam and my) submission to (your commandments) O the one who possesses authority from Allah, and son of the one who possesses authority from Allah. I offer greeting of peace to you, O angels of Allah, and visitors of the gravesite of the grandchild of the prophet of Allah.’ Then take ten steps forward, then stand up and say Takhir (Allah is great beyond description) thirty times. Then move forward until you reach in front of him. Turn your face toward his face and your back toward the direction of Ka‘bah, then say, ‘(I hereby declare, affirm and acknowledge that you are a ‘Alayhi al-Salam and my) submission to (your commandments), O Tha’ra Allah (wergild for whom belongs to Allah) son of Tha’ra Allah. (I hereby declare, affirm and acknowledge that you are a ‘Alayhi al-Salam and my) submission to (your commandments) O Watru (the oppressed one who belong to the side of Allah) Allah al-Mawtur in heavens and on earth. I testify that your blood lives in eternity because of which the shadows of the Throne shudder, for which all creatures in all seven heavens, seven earths, all that is between them, all that moves in paradise and in hell of the creatures of our Lord, things that can be seen and those that cannot be seen weep. I testify that you possess authority from Allah and you are the son of one who possesses authority from Allah. I testify that you were murdered and your father was murdered as well. I testify that you are Tha’ra Allah son of Tha’ra Allah. I testify that you are watru Allah al-Mawtur in the heaves and on earth. I testify that you preached, gave good advice, remained loyal, accomplished the task assigned to you and strove hard for the cause of Allah and passed away for the cause, which you cherished, as a martyr seeking martyrdom, and a witness and witnessed to. I am a servant of Allah under your guardianship, obedient to your commandments, and one of your visitors who seek perfect position before Allah and steadfastness in migrating toward you and in the way without wavering toward you until arriving in your custodianship, which you maintain and you are commanded to maintain. Whomever Allah wants He begins with you. Through you, falsehood becomes clear where falsehood is, through you Allah keeps away the difficult times, through you Allah commences and with you Allah ends a task. Through you Allah deletes whatever He wills and through you He establishes whatever He wills. Through you He opens up humiliation from around our necks and through you Allah brings to justice the murderers of every believer. Through you the earth grows its trees. Through you the trees yield their fruits. Through you Allah sends down rain and sustenance from the sky. Through you Allah removes hardship and through you Allah sends down heavy rain. Through you the earth, which carries your bodies, stands solid and mountains remain firm against swirling. The will of the Lord about the measurements of affairs descends before you and comes out from your homes as well as the decisions about rules dealing with affairs of servants (of Allah). Condemned is the group who murdered you and the group who opposed you, the group who rejected your divine authority, the group who came against you openly and the group who witnessed but did not seek martyrdom. All praise belongs to Allah who has made hellfire their dwelling, which is the worst place in which to disembark and the worst place for the arriving ones and a worst arrival place. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds. I appeal before Allah to grant salawat (favors and compensation to you worthy of your services to His cause), O abu ‘ Abd Allah. We before Allah denounce all of those who opposed you’ - three times. ‘Then stand up and go to his son, Ali who is near his feet, and say, “I offer to you my greeting of peace, O son of the grandson of the Messenger of Allah. I offer you my greeting of peace, O grandson of ’Amir al-Mu’minin Ali. I offer you my greeting of peace, O child of al-Hassan and al-Husayn. I offer you my greeting of peace, O great grandson of Khadijah and Fatimah. I appeal before Allah to grant you favors worthy of your services to His cause. Allah has condemned those who murdered you”- say it three times. “I, before Allah denounce them”- three times. Then say, making a hand gesture toward the martyrs, “I offer you my greeting of peace”- three times. “(I am certain that), by Allah, you have achieved success and you have become successful. I wish I was with you and gained a great success.” Then you should go around keeping the gravesite of abu ‘Abd Allah before you, then perform six Rak‘at salat (prayer). Your visit is complete and you may leave if you wish.’”