The view of the Shrine came into vision while an eulogy about Aba Abdillah Al Husayn [a] echoed in the ears, the eyes became watered at the sight of the Shrine and at the expression of the grief for Al Husayn [a]. We all sat out to the Shrine of the Imam [a] remembering the great tragedy of his grandfather Al Husayn [a], it all seemed perfect that one moment where everything that I could have always dreamed off came together.
Moments later, I was there at the gates of the Shrine. The sun was shining brightly, there was no shade but a cool breeze seemed to engulf you as you stepped into the holy vicinty as a sign of welcome. I stood and stared at the Golden Minarets with tears rolling down my eyes. Everyone of us stood and just reflected on the occasion with silence but this silence spoke volumes. I walked towards the Shrine going through the courtyards with memories of the past years going through my mind as I looked around.
I reached the doors to the Shrine, I could not go any further, I did not want to go further. I felt the need to ask his permission, to call out to him before I entered. Our teachers had told us to call the Imam [a] by his name 'Al Ridha' or by his title 'Ar-Raoouf' but a dear friend had advised us if you wish to seek permission from the Imam [a] or if you feel that you are not receiving the answer to your call then address him by the title of 'Yabna Zahra [s]' - 'O Son of Zahra [s]'. For me that was the title I addressed to him to seek the permission to enter. I felt a reply from the Imam [a], the connection was there but even then I did not wish to enter his Shrine straightaway. I stood there holding the door to the Shrine reciting the ziyarah of the Imam [a]. I finished the ziyarah and started walking towards the Zaree, a sense of anxiety developed within me. I reached to the Zaree of the Imam [a] and all I remember at the sight of the Zaree was feeling really emotional. I could not contain myself anymore, I was there after days of remembering and nights of longing, I was there amongst many millions paying my respect to my master, I felt down in prostration thanking the Almighty for this honour.
I move towards the Zaree to embrace it as a mother embraces her child; the tears stream down uncontrollably, the heart releases a sigh of relief and the soul reaches the stage of contentment. The feeling of union was emphatic, for a moment there it seemed like a dream where the soul felt all alone within these walls remembering the Imam [a].
After paying my respects to the Imam [a] and reciting the necessary amaals I headed back out to meet the rest of the group. The same silence was amongst us again but we all felt different in many ways now, we all realised the honour we had been blessed with on this journey. Only through reflection we could ever understand the blessing of what it means to be the guest of the Imam [a].
We left the Shrine to head back to the guest house. There was a mood of solace on the bus as we headed back. All of us were within our own worlds thinking about what we had done today. For many of us it was the first ziyarah while for others it was a reunion, one thing was for sure we will all remember this experience for the rest of our lives.
May Allah accept our Ziyarah and our hajjats and elevate the status of Mohammad [p] and his Progeny the Ahlul Bayt [a].
