Ziarat of Hz Abbas (as) ibn Ali (asws)
Through a reliable chain of account, the eminent Sheikh Ja`far ibn Qoulawayh Qummi quoted from Abu Hamzah Thumali that Imam Sadiq (asws) said, “When you determine to go on ziarat to the shrine of Hz Abbas (as), situated on the Euphrates bank across from the Imam (asws)’s shrine, stand at the shrine gateway and say:
Peace of Allah and Peace of His favorite angels,
His commissioned prophets,
His righteous servants,
all the martyrs, and all the trustworthy ones
and also pure, true blessings that come and go,
be upon you; son of Ameerul Momineen (asws)
I testify to you of submission to the will of Allah, honest acceptance as true, loyalty,
and sincerity with regard to the descendant of the commissioned Prophet—peace of Allah be upon him and his Household—
the chosen grandson of the Prophet,
the well knowledgeable guide to the true religion,
the conveying successor,
and the wrongfully oppressed one.
So, Allah may reward you on behalf of His Messenger (saw), Ameerul Momineen (asws),Imam Hasan (asws) and Imam Hussain (asws) peace of Allah be upon them,
With the best reward for your steadfastness, dedication to the sake of Allah, and support for the right party.
Very excellent be the reward of the eternal life.
Allah’s curse be on those who killed you.
And Allah’s curse be on him who ignored your right,
And belittled your sanctity.
And Allah’s curse be on those who stopped you from bringing the water of the River Euphrates.
I testify that you were killed while oppressed,
and that Allah will verily fulfill His promise that He made with you.
Son of Ameerul Momineen (asws): I have come to you to present myself before you.
My heart is submissive to you and is following you.
And I am your follower.
I am ready to support you
for as long as Allah orders me. He is surely the Best of those who order.
I am verily with you, not with your enemy.
I am one of those who believe in you and believe in your Return.
I also am one of those who deny those who opposed and killed you.
Allah will destroy those who killed you by their hands and those who killed you by their tongues (by giving orders of killing you.)
You may then enter, throw yourself on the tomb, and say:
Peace be upon you; the righteous servant of Allah,
the obedient to Allah, His Messenger (asws) , Ameerul Momineen (asws)
al-Hasan (asws), and al-Hussain (asws), peace and blessings of Allah be upon them.
Peace be upon You and the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon You
forgiveness, and gratifications be upon you, your soul, and your body.
I testify, and call Allah to witness, that you abided by the same course that was taken by the warriors of the battle of Badr
and those who struggle in the way of Allah
who faithfully served Him in the battlefields against His enemies,
did their bests for supporting His Auwliya (friends),
and defended His beloved ones.
May Allah reward you the best, the maximum, the most abundant,
and the most conclusive reward that He may give to anyone who fulfills his oath of allegiance,
and answers the call of the religion,
and obeys his divinely appointed leaders.
I testify that you served the Lord with extreme sincerity
and exerted all your efforts in this regard.
Allah may attach you to the martyrs,
add your soul to the souls of the happy ones,
give you the largest abode in His Paradise
and the most handsome room,
and exalt your remembrance in `Illiyyin (the most elevated position),
join you to the Prophets, the most trustworthy The martyrs, and the righteous ones.
Very excellent is the companionship of such ones.
I testify that you did not falter and did not turn away, and that you left this world with full awareness of the truth, following the examples of the righteous ones and followed the Prophets.
So, Allah may gather us with you, His Messenger (saw), and His Auwliya (friends) in the abodes of those who practiced humbly with their Lord.
He is certainly the most Merciful of all the merciful ones.
It is expedient to say this form of ziyarah while standing behind the holy tomb and facing the direction of the qibla, as is also advised by Shaykh al Toosi in his book of ‘Tahdhib al-Ahkam’.
You may then enter, throw yourself on the tomb, and say the following while facing the kiblah direction:
Peace be upon you; O the righteous servant of Allah.
According to the previously mentioned narration, the ziyarah of al-`Abbas (a.s) ends here. But Sayyid Ibn Tawoos and Shaykh al-Mufid, as well as other scholars, have added the following:
You may then turn to the side of the head and offer a two-Rak`ah prayer. Afterwards, you may offer prayers as many as you wish. You may also supplicate Almighty Allah earnestly. After these prayers, you may say the following:
O Allah: please send blessings upon Muhammad (saw) and the Household of Muhammad (asws).
and do not leave for me, in this honored place and glorified shrine, any sin that I did without forgiveness,
any care without relief,
any illness without cure,
any defect with covering up,
any sustenance without expansion,
any fear without protection,
any disunity without reunification,
any absent one without guarding and bringing him to me,
and any single need, among the many needs of this life as well as the life to come,
whose settlement achieves your gratification and my good,
without settlement. O He Who is the most Merciful of all the merciful ones.
You may then return to the tomb, stop at the side of the legs, and say the following:
Peace be upon you; O Abu’l-Fazl al-`Abbas (as), son of Ameerul Momineen (asws)
Peace be upon you, son of the Master of the Successors
Peace be upon you, son of the first one to embrace of Islam,
the first one who believed in Allah,
the best one who served the religion of Allah,
and the most careful for Islam.
I testify that you served Allah, His Messenger (saw), and your brother (asws) sincerely.
You were the most excellent consoling brother.
So, Allah’s curse be on the group who killed you.
And Allah’s curse be on the group who wronged you.
And Allah’s curse be on the group who violated your sanctities
and infringed the sanctity of Islam.
You were the most excellent steadfast fighter,
protector, supporter,
and brother who defended his brother,
responded to the obedience to his Lord,
and worked desirably for gaining the abundant reward, which others refused,
and the nice tribute.
So, Allah may attach you to the rank of your fathers in the gardens of bliss.
O Allah, I have done the pilgrimage to Your Auwliya (friends) out of my desire for winning your reward and my wish to recognize You and Your abundant benevolence.
So, I implore to You to send Your blessings to Muhammad (saw) and his immaculate Household (asws) and make my sustenance, by their intercession, flow copiously,
my living delightful,
my ziarat rewardable,
and my life pleasant.
And make me take to the conduct of the honored ones
and make me one of those who, as returning from the ziarat to the tombs of Your beloved ones,
wins success and prosperity
and deserves forgiveness of sins,
and covering up of defects,
and relief of disasters
You are surely from Ahlul Taqwa (people of piety) and Ahlul Maghfirah (people of forgiveness).
If you intend to take leave, you may approach the holy tomb and say the following, which has been reported from Abu-Hamzah al-Thamali, and other scholars have referred to it:
I seek, through you, the guard and custody of Allah
and I say: Peace be to you.
We have believed in Allah and in His Messenger (saw) and in His Book
and in that which he conveyed from Allah.
O Allah, record our names with the witnesses.
O Allah, do not decree this ziarat to the shrine of the son of Your Messenger’s brother mylast one.
Peace be upon him (i.e. the Messenger) and upon his Household.
Grant me opportunities to visit him so long as You keep me alive,
and join me to him and his fathers in the gardens of Paradise,
and introduce me to him, to Your Messenger (saw), and to Your Auwliya (friends).
O Allah, send Your blessings to Muhammad (saw) and the Household of Muhammad (asws)
and take me to you with firm belief in You,
and acceptance of Your Messenger (saw),
and the wilayat of Ali (asws) ibn Abi Talib (as) and the Imams (asws) from his progeny;
And disavowing their enemy.
My Lord, I have accepted such.
Allah may send blessings to Muhammad (saw) and the Household of Muhammad (asws).
Then pray for yourself, your parents, the momineen (believers) and the Muslims; and choose any du`a you wish.
Author’s note: There is a hadith quoted from Imam Ali (asws) ibn Hussain (asws) main part of which is the following:
“May Allah’s mercy be upon `Abbas (as), who sacrificed his life to his brother and his two hands were severed from his arms in the way of his brother and Allah, the Exalted offered him two wings in return for his two hands, with which he can fly in Paradise with the angels like Ja`far ibn Abu Talib. Hazrat `Abbas (as) will have a rank before Allah on the Day of Resurrection that all martyrs long for.”
It has been related that Hazrat `Abbas (as) was 43 years old when he was martyred; and that his mother Umm al-Banin (sa) went out of Medina in Baqi` Cemetery to mourn for him and her other sons. She wailed for them so heavily that made every passer-by weep. No amazing friends wept; Marwan ibn al-Hakam who was a deadly foe of the Household members, cried under the impression of her weeping when passing by Umm al-Banin (sa). On the elegy of Hazrat `Abbas (as) and her other sons she composed many couplets.”