Ziyarah to Karbala - More virtuous than Hajj?

Ziyarah to Karbala more virtuous than Hajj?

Introduction:

[Kamil al-Ziyarat by ibn Qulawayh]

Hadith 1: ‘Abu Ja’far Imam al-Baqir said : 

“Allah,most High, created Karbala 24,000 years before the Ka’aba and made it the most superior Paradise on Earth.”’

Hadith 2:  ‘I said to Imam al-Sadiq, “May I be sacrificed on you, I cannot afford to go to Hajj every year.” The Imam replied: If you ever wanted to go to the Hajj but could not afford it, go to the Ziyarat of Imam al-Hussain, for indeed it will be recorded as a Hajj for you. And if you ever wanted to go for Umrah but could not afford it, go to the Ziyarat of Imam Hussain, for indeed it will be recorded as an Umrah for you.”’

At first glance one may be doubtful of the contents of ahadith such as this, but upon inspection we find this to in fact be viable and true.

Let’s analyze! :)

Comparison with the Qur’an:

“The Night of Decree is better than a Thousand Months.” [97:3]

The worship of one night, the night of Laylatul Qadr is considered to be superior to 1000 months. 

As such, it shouldn’t be impossible to believe that the reward for Ziyarah to Karbala could be equivalent to multiple Hajj.

Comparison with Sunni sources:

[Sunan ibn Majah 1412]

The Messenger of Allah said, ”whoever purifies himself in his house,then comes to the Quba’ mosque and offers one prayer therein, will have a reward like that of Umrah.”

In this hadith from the Mukhalifeen, The Holy Prophet equates one prayer in the Quba mosque to have the reward of that of an Umrah.

Thus, even small and simple acts may hold high rewards- to the extent that Allah may reward a person with the reward of an entire Hajj, for an act as simple as helping a believer.

[al-Kafi, Volume 2, page 195]

Imam al-Baqir:

“If I look after a Muslim family, satisfy their hunger and clothe them to safeguard their dignity among the people it is more beloved to me than to perform Hajj ten times and so on up to seventy Hajj.”

من أصحابنا، عن أحمد بن خالد، عن أبيه، عن خلف بن حماد عن بعض أصحابه، عن أبي جعفر (عليه السلام) قال: والله لان أحج حجةأحب إلي من أن أعتق رقبه ورقبة [ورقبة] ومثلها ومثلها حتى بلغ عشرا ومثلها ومثلها (4) حتى بلغ السبعين ولان أعول أهل بيت من المسلمين(5) أسد جوعتهم وأكسوا عورتهم فأكف وجوههم عن الناس أحب إلي من أن أحج حجة وحجة [وحجة] ومثلها ومثلها حتى بلغ عشرا ومثلهاومثلها حتى بلغ السبعين.

This is entirely out of Allah’s Mercy towards His servants. He may reward them highly for even their smallest acts, as long as their intentions are proximity to Allah.

Now let’s return to each of the two narrations listed in the introduction:

 

Hadith #1

The Ka’aba was the first house built by Allah.

“Verily the first House (of worship) set up for mankind (is) the one at Bekka (Mecca), blessed and guidance for the worlds.”[3:96]

So how do we reconcile this with the hadith?

Simple. The House in Bakka (the Ka’abah) is designated for humans,whereas Karbala is for everybody. The Angels, The Jinn,do pilgrimage there on Allah’s command.

[Kamil al-Ziyarat]

Abu ‘Abdullah al-Sadiq said: “Allah designated 70,000 angels by Hussain’s grave- crying for him,and praying in his shrine until the day of Judgement.”

While the Kaaba was the first place of worship designated for humans,Karbala was designated for not just humans but the angels too.

Does Ziyarah to Karbala lift the obligation of Hajj?

No! No matter how many times one performs The Ziyarah of Imam Hussain, The obligation of Hajj still remains upon every Muslim.

In hadith #2, the ruling given by Imam al-Sadiq is a circumstantial one. The individual in the hadith had performed Hajj for several years, hence the obligation of Hajj had been removed from them. However, due to him not being able to afford to go to Hajj every year subsequently, The Imam commands him to do Ziyarah of Imam Hussain and he would receive this same reward.

Regarding ahadith that place an obligation on visiting Imam Hussain, it seems that all of these ahadith are circumstantial and not applicable in general. We discuss this here.

Wa Allahu A’alam :)