Aroma of Paradise: Part VI

In the Name of the Most High

Although it took a few days to get used to Mashhad, the last few days in the city have been simply beautiful. On Thursday, we went for a large Du'a Kumayl program in an area of Imam Ridha's (as) shrine called Rivaaq-e-Imam Khomeini. The reciter sat on a stage in front of thousands of people and recited the du'a with zeal and passion, interspersing between lines of the du'a his own commentary about the heat of the fire on the Day of Judgment. As one proverb states, what comes from the heart, goes to the heart; the reciter's powerful, heart-shaking recitation and pleas to the audience to repent for our sins left many in the room weeping over past transgressions, hopeful for God's mercy.

On Friday, we started our day with jumuah prayers in the haram. Although there is one joint jumuah prayer in the entire haram, each of the various courtyards in the haram is packed with hundreds of worshipers who listen to the khutbah simultaneously via loudspeaker. Although I couldn't understand much of the khutbah, out of the thousands of pilgrims at the shrine at the time, I ended up randomly sitting next to a brother from the UK who was also on a ziyarat trip with his family. As it turned out, we had mutual friends back in the US.

Afterwards, we were invited over to Bani Hashimi's home for dinner. The meal -- chelo kabob and rice -- was excellent, as were the various topics of discussion, including Islamic government, the ancestry of President Obama, our professions, etc. After lunch, as per Iranian tradition, Bani Hashimi told me that he was going to take a nap, brought out a pillow and blanket for himself, and then handed me a pillow and blanket. Not used to sleeping at the time, but without much choice, I laid down, tucked myself under the blanket, and closed my eyes. A few hours later I woke up, and Bani Hashimi and I went out to a masjid in his neighborhood for prayers, about a 10 minute walk away from his home. Because it was the month of Muharram, prayers were followed by a short majlis and a recitation of ziyarat Ashura.

Later that night, we returned to our hotel near the shrine of Imam Ridha (as). I realized I didn't have much time left in Mashhad, so I wanted desperately to make a few more heartfelt visits to Imam. Although it was late, I told my wife I would be heading over to the haram, and asked her if she wanted to join me. She politely declined, mentioning she was tired. I was on my own. As great as marriage and companionship are, there is something special about making ziyarat alone, in the dead of the night, relying solely on God. This time, I made sure to observe all the etiquettes of ziyarat, including taking a ghusl shower before hand, walking slowly and purposefully to the shrine while reciting dhikr of Allah (swt), wearing nice, clean clothes, putting on ithr, etc. At the haram, after reciting the idn ad-dukhool and other brief dhikr, I slowly proceeded toward Imam Ridha's (as) zarih. I knew this night would be one of my last to Imam's haram, and I wanted to make it count.

After reciting the ziyarat of Imam Ridha (as), I found a comfortable spot in the corner of the room where Imam's zarih is located, and I begged. Recently, I read that there are three main reasons why one's du'a is not accepted: because of one's past sins, because what is asked for is not best, and because it is made without presence of heart. With this in mind, I began to pray. I prayed for family - for parents and in-laws, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I prayed for the health and well-being of ulema who had helped guide me throughout life, and for those family and friends who lent a helping hand or a listening ear during difficulty. I prayed for my marriage. As I turned to look around me, I saw other pilgrims -- young and old, rich and poor, scholar and layman -- also weeping and making du'a, unloading life's difficulties and challenges onto Imam Ridha (as), asking for some sort of intercession, some sort of divine spark that would lift them out of their misery. Some had traveled only down the street to be in the haram whereas others had journeyed from afar; yet, in that room, all were in unison, whispering and praying to their Beloved.