Crying of the Angels on Ĥusain ibn ‘Ali (a.s.)

Abū ‘Abdillāh (a.s.) said: What is wrong with you (people)?! Why do you not go to him? – This refers to the Ziyārah of the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.). Verily four thousand angels cry by his grave (and will continue to do so) until the Day of Judgment.

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: (On the day of ‘Āshūrā) four thousand angels came down to fight for Ḥusain ibn ‘Ali (a.s.) but he did not give them permission to fight. So they returned to seek permission (from Allāh) and (shortly thereafter), they came down. However, Ḥusain (a.s.) had already been killed. (Now) these angels are by his grave, disheveled and covered with dust, and they cry over him (and will continue to do so) until the Day of Judgment. Their chief is an angel named Mansūr.

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: What is wrong with you (people)?! Why do you not go to him? – This refers to the Ziyārah of the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.). Verily four thousand angels cry next to him (and will continue to do so) until the Day of Judgment.

Abū Ja’far (Imam Bāqir (a.s.)) said: There are four thousand angels who are disheveled and covered with dust, and they cry over Ḥusain (a.s.) (and will continue to do so) until the Day of Judgment.

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: Allāh has dedicated seventy thousand angels to Ḥusain (a.s.) who are disheveled and covered with dust; they send blessings on him everyday since the day he was killed (and will continue to do so) until (a time) which only Allāh knows – referring to the rising of the Qā`im (a.s.).

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said to me: There are four thousand angels by the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.) who are disheveled and covered with dust; they cry over him (and will continue to do so) until the Day of Judgment.

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: Allāh has dedicated four thousand angels who are disheveled and covered with dust to (the grave of) Ḥusain (a.s.) who cry over him (and will continue to do so) until the Day of Judgment.

Imam Bāqir or Imam Sādiq (a.s.) said: There are four thousand disheveled angels who are covered with dust on the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.) and they cry over him (and will continue to do so) until the Day of Judgment.

I asked Abā ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) in Madīnah, “Where are the graves of the martyrs?” Imam (a.s.) replied: Is not the best of the martyrs – referring to Ḥusain (a.s.) – (buried) near you?! I swear to He who has my life in His Hand that there are four thousand disheveled angels around the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.) who are covered with dust. They cry over him (and will continue to do so) until the Day of Judgment. The above Ḥadīth has also been narrated to me through the following chain: Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan, from Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan Al-Saffār, from ‘Abbās ibn Ma’rūf, from Ḥammād ibn ‘Isā, from Rib’i, from Abī ‘Abdillāh (a.s.).

Abū Ja’far (Imam Bāqir (a.s.)) said: There are four thousand disheveled angels who are covered with dust who cry over Ḥusain (a.s.) (and will continue to do so) until the Day of Judgment. They receive everyone who comes to (the Ziyārah of) Ḥusain (a.s.). If the ZUWWĀR of Ḥusain (a.s.) become ill, they go to visit them and when they die, they attend (their funerals). The above Ḥadīth has also been narrated to me through the following chain: My father, from Sa’d ibn ‘Abdillāh, from Muḥammad ibn Ḥusain, from Muḥammad ibn Ismā’īl ibn Bazī’, from Abī Ismā’īl Al-Sarrāj, from Yaḥyā ibn Mu’ammar Al-‘Aťťār, from Abī Basīr, from Abī Ja’far (a.s.).

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: Allāh has dedicated four thousand disheveled angels, who are covered with dust, to the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.) who cry over him (everyday) from sunrise to midday. At midday these four thousand angels are replaced with another four thousand angels who cry over him (from midday) to sunrise.

One day while I was with Abī ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) a man asked him, “What is the reward for those who go to the Ziyārah of the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.)?” Imam (a.s.) replied – as part of a longer Ḥadīth – “When Ḥusain (a.s.) was killed, everything cried over him, even the (various) lands. Allāh has dedicated four thousand disheveled angels, who are covered with dust, to his grave and they cry over him (and will continue to do so) until the Day of Judgment.”

I heard Abā ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) say: Go to the Ziyārah of Ḥusain (a.s.) (as much as you can) even if it is only once a year. Verily those who go to his Ziyārah, believing in his rights and not denying (his status), will have no recompense but Paradise. They will be sustained with great wealth and Allāh will bring immediate relief to them. Verily Allāh has dedicated four thousand angels to the grave of Ḥusain ibn ‘Ali (a.s.) who cry over him. They accompany everyone who goes to the Ziyārah of Ḥusain (a.s.) back to their families. If they (the Zuwwār) become ill, these angels will visit them. When they die, these angels will attend their funerals, seeking forgiveness for them and asking Allāh to have mercy on them. The above Ḥadīth has also been narrated to me through the following chain: Ḥasan ibn ‘Abdillāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ‘Isā, from his father, from Ḥasan ibn Maḥbūb, from Sabbāḥ Al-Ḥadhā, from Muḥammad ibn Marwān, from Abī ‘Abdillāh (a.s.).

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: Allāh has dedicated seventy thousand angels to the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.). They are disheveled and covered with dust. They cry over him (and will continue to do so) until the Day of Judgment. They establish Salāt by his grave and each of their Salāt is equal to one thousand Salāt of mankind, and the reward of their Salāt will be registered for those who go to the Ziyārah of the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.).

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: Allāh has dedicated an angel (named Mansūr) along with four thousand angels to Ḥusain (a.s.). They cry over him and seek forgiveness for those who go to his Ziyārah and pray for them.

Abū ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) said: When you go to the Ziyārah of Abī ‘Abdillāh (Imam Ḥusain (a.s.)), maintain silence except when (you are) saying that which is good. Verily the angels of the night and of the day from among the Keepers go to the angels who are in ḤĀ`IR and shake hands with them. However, the angels of Ḥā`ir do not speak to them because they are crying so intensely. Therefore, the angels (among the Keepers) wait for them until midday or until sunrise and then they speak to them and ask them about some of the affairs of the heavens. The angels of Ḥā`ir abstain from speaking between these times (sunrise and midday) and their crying and supplicating does not diminish. Verily the Keepers do not distract the angels of Ḥā`ir between these two times. However the angels of Ḥā`ir become distracted when you (those who go to the Ziyārah of Ḥusain (a.s.)) speak. I asked, “May I sacrifice myself for you! What do the angels ask each other and which group asks the other? Is it the Keepers who ask (the angels of Ḥā`ir) or is it the angels of Ḥā`ir who ask (the Keepers)?” Imam (a.s.) replied, “The angels of Ḥā`ir ask the Keepers because the angels of Ḥā`ir do not move from their place. However, the Keepers descend from the heavens and ascend back to them.” I asked, “What do the angels of Ḥā`ir ask the Keepers?” Imam (a.s.) replied: The Keepers pass by Ismā’īl, the Angel of Air, in their ascent (to the heavens) and sometimes they reach him at the same time when the Prophet, Fāťimah, Ḥasan and Ḥusain, and the (other) Imams (a.s.), who have passed away, are there (with Ismā’īl). They (the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.)) ask the Keepers about some matters and about those of you (Zuwwār) who are present in Ḥā`ir. They (the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.)) say to the Keepers, “Give them (those who have gone to the Ziyārah of Ḥusain (a.s.)) glad tidings with your prayers.” The Keepers ask, “How should we give them glad tidings when they cannot hear us?” The Ahlul Bayt (a.s.) will reply, “Congratulate them and pray for them on our behalf. Verily these are our glad tidings to them. When they want to leave, surround them and rub your wings on them so that they can feel your presence. Verily we entrust them to He whose trust will never be lost.” Imam (a.s.) continued: If the Zuwwār of Ḥusain (a.s.) and the people knew the blessings of the Ziyārah of Ḥusain (a.s.), they would have fought one another with swords and they would have sold their belongings to go to his Ziyārah. Verily when Fāťimah (s.a.) – who is accompanied by one thousand prophets, one thousand SIDDǏQ (truthful), one thousand martyrs, and one million from among the KARŪBIYYǏN who all support her by joining her in crying (over Ḥusain (a.s.)) – looks at those who go to the Ziyārah of Ḥusain (a.s.), she lets out a whoop in such a way that no angel remains in the heavens who does not cry, sympathizing with her cry. However, Fāťimah (s.a.) is not pacified until the Prophet (s.a.a.w.) goes to her and says, “O my daughter! You have made the inhabitants of the heavens cry and you have distracted them from glorifying and sanctifying (Allāh). Therefore, stop crying so that they can glorify (Allāh). ‘Verily Allāh accomplishes His purpose’ (65:3).” Verily, Fāťimah (s.a.) looks at those of you who are present at the grave of Ḥusain (a.s.) and she asks Allāh to shower you with all of the blessings. Imam (a.s.) continued, “Do not abstain from the Ziyārah of Ḥusain (a.s.). Verily the blessings of going to his Ziyārah are much greater than that which can be counted.”

I said to Abī ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)), “May I sacrifice myself for you! How short are your lives, O Ahlul Bayt! And how close are your deaths to one another while the entire creation needs you?!” Imam (a.s.) replied: There is a sheet for each one of us (the Imams (a.s.)) which contains everything that we need to do during our time. Once every order on that sheet has been carried out, we know that our death is imminent. The Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.) comes to us and informs us that our death has come and he informs us of the rewards that Allāh has prepared for us. Verily Ḥusain (a.s.) read the sheet that was entrusted to him, and that which would happen and that which was yet to come were explained to him. There were a few things left on Ḥusain’s sheet which had not been fulfilled when he rose to fight. Those matters were that the angels asked Allāh for permission to help Ḥusain (a.s.) (in fighting) and Allāh granted it to them. While they were preparing themselves for battle, Ḥusain (a.s.) was killed. When the angels descended (to earth), they found that Ḥusain’s time had passed and he had been killed. Therefore, they said (to Allāh), “O Lord! You gave us permission to descend to earth to support Ḥusain but when we arrived, You had already taken him back (to Yourself)?!” Allāh – the Most Exalted – revealed to them, “Stay by his grave until (the day) when you see him rise (again) and then support him. Cry over him and over losing the opportunity to support him. Verily you have been chosen to support him and to cry over him.” The angels were grieved and they cried and mourned over losing the opportunity to support Ḥusain (a.s.). However, when he rises, they will be (among) his supporters.