The Reward for the Ziyārah of the Commander of the Believers (a.s.)

I entered Madīnah and went to Abī ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) and said, “May I sacrifice myself for you! I have come to you but I have not gone to the Ziyārah of the Commander of the Believers (a.s.).” Imam (a.s.) replied, “How terrible! If you were not one of our Shia, I would not have even looked at you. Do you not go to the Ziyārah of the one to whose Ziyārah Allāh, the Exalted, along with His angels goes, and (the Ziyārah to which) the prophets and the believers go?!” “May I sacrifice myself for you! I did not know this,” I said. Imam (a.s.) said: Then know that the Commander of the Believers (a.s.) has a higher rank with Allāh than all of the Imams (a.s.). The Imams (a.s.) are elevated (above others) based on the number of their deeds, and the reward for their deeds is (registered) for the Commander of the Believers (a.s.).

I went to Abī ‘Abdillāh (Imam Sādiq (a.s.)) and said, “I yearn for Gharī!” “Why do you yearn for it?” the Imam (a.s.) asked. “Because I love the Commander of the Believers (a.s.) and I love to go to his Ziyārah,” I replied. “Do you know the merits of going to his Ziyārah?” the Imam (a.s.) asked. “No, O son of the Messenger of Allāh! So teach me,” I said. “When you want to go to the Ziyārah of the Commander of the Believers (a.s.), know that you will go to the Ziyārah of the bones of Ādam (a.s.), the flesh of Nūḥ (a.s.), and the body of ‘Ali ibn Abī Ťālib (a.s.),” the Imam (a.s.) said. “Ādam (a.s.) landed in Sarandīb in the middle of the day, and it is believed that his bones were next to Allāh’s Sacred House (Ka’bah). So how did his bones end up in Kūfah?” I asked. Imam (a.s.) replied: When Nūḥ (a.s.) was in the ark, Allāh, the Blessed and the Exalted, revealed to him to go to the Ka’bah and circulate around it for seven days. Nūḥ (a.s.) did as Allāh had ordered. Thereafter, he descended from the ark. He went into the water up to his knees until he brought out a coffin which contained the bones of Ādam (a.s.). He brought it back with him to his ark. He continued circulating around the Ka’bah for as long as Allāh had willed. Then he moved toward Kūfah. He went inside the Mosque of Kūfah (with his ark) and stopped in the middle. This is where Allāh revealed to the earth, “Swallow your water” (11:44). Therefore, the earth swallowed its water starting from the Mosque of Kūfah, which is where the flood had (originally) begun. Then those who were with Nūḥ (a.s.) in the ark each went in different directions. Nūḥ (a.s.) carried the coffin and buried it in Gharī which is part of the mountain on which Allāh spoke to Mūsā (a.s.), purified ‘Isā (a.s.), chose Ibrāhīm (a.s.) as His friend, and chose Muḥammad (s.a.a.w.) as His love. Allāh chose that land as the abode of the prophets. I swear to Allāh that no one more honourable than the Commander of the Believers (a.s.) has ever lived there after (the time of) his purified fathers, Ādam and Nūḥ (a.s.). Therefore, when you want to go to Najaf, go to the Ziyārah of the bones of Ādam, the flesh of Nūḥ, and the body of ‘Ali ibn Abī Ťalib (a.s.). By doing so, you will have gone to the Ziyārah of the first fathers, of Muḥammad (s.a.a.w.) (who is) the last of the prophets, and of ‘Ali (a.s.) (who is) the Master of the Successors. Verily the doors of the heavens will be opened for those who go to the Ziyārah of the Commander of the Believers (a.s.), so do not hold back from this great (fortune). The above Ḥadīth has also been narrated to me through the following chain: Muḥammad ibn ‘Abdillāh ibn Ja’far Al-Ḥimyari, from his father, from Muḥammad ibn Ḥusain ibn Abil Khaťťāb, from (Muḥammad) ibn Sinān, from Mufaďďal ibn ‘Umar, from Abī ‘Abdillāh (a.s.).

Ḥasan (ibn ‘Ali (a.s.)) asked the Messenger of Allāh (s.a.a.w.), “O father! What is the reward for those who come to your Ziyārah?” The Prophet (s.a.a.w.) replied, “O my son! On the Day of Judgment, it will be my obligation toward Allah to go to the Ziyārah of those who had come to my Ziyārah, during my life or after my death, or had come to the Ziyārah of your father, and to save them from their sins.”