Ziyara of Fatima during prayer?
In the name of the Lord of Fatima
بسم رب فاطمة
As-Salamu alaykum dear readers,
I’d like to discuss today something I partake in in Salat al-Layl and some of my mandatory prayers.
And that is reading the Ziyara of Fatima al-Zahra, where I address her directly.
What is the rationalization of this?
This is what will be discussed in this post inshallah.
Bismillah
- Ziyarat Are a Form of Dua
To clarify how Ziyarat are a form of Dua (supplication to Allah), and thus permissible to recite in prayers dedicated to Allah.
Let us refer to the following Ziyara of Amir al-Mu’mineen mentioned in al-Kafi (1). I mention key parts of the ziyara, not the ziyara in its entirety:
“(Another Dua) (Near the grave of Amir al-Mu’mineen)
You say: ‘Peace be upon you, O ally of Allah. Peace be upon you, O deputy of Allah..
I testify that you are the guardian of Allah ..
I have come to you O Amir al-Mu’mineen, knowing of your right, enlightened of your cause, bearing enmity for your enemies, and allying with those whom allied with you.
May my father and mother be sacrificed for you [O Ali], I have come to you seeking refuge through you from hell which I deserve because of the crimes I committed against myself [i.e, sins].
I have come to you as a visitor seeking through your visit that my neck is saved from hellfire..”
The above ziyara seeks invokes Imam Ali directly & asks for his help. Yet, Shaykh al-Kulayni classifies it as a ‘dua’ as he places the ziyara under label ‘Another Dua’.
What rationalization he may had will be discussed in the next section inshallah :)
Anyway, I digress.
Assuming this a ziyara is a dua, can we recite it in obligatory prayers? Yes!
Let us take a look at the following al-Kafi hadith (2):
“Narrated Ali ibn Ibrahim, from his father, from Ibn Abi Umayr, from Hammad, from al-Halabi, from Abi Abdillah that he said:
‘You say in your two sajdahs of al-sahw: Bismillah wa Billah, Allahuma sali ala Muhammad w Al Muhammad’
Al-Halabi said, ‘I have heard him another time saying [with regards to what to say in two sajdahs of al-sahw]:
By the name of Allah, and by Allah, peace be upon you O Prophet and the mercy of Allah and his blessings.’”
As we know, the two sajdahs of al-Sahw are the sajdahs you must partake in if you were for example daydreaming during prayer and didn’t pay attention to number of rak’at, etc. It is necessary to validate your obligatory prayer.
Yet, you are addressing the Prophet directly during these sajdat - the sajdahs intended for Allah alone. As it is a form of worshipling him.
How would this work?
Ziyarat & addressing the Prophet directly here must be a form of dua.
- How are Ziyarat a Form of Dua?
The Prophet is physically dead.
However, he is alive with his Lord by virtue of being a martyr. As the following al-Kafi (3) hadith specifies:
“Amir al-Mu’min عليه السلام told Abi Bakr one day:
‘And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision’.
And I bear witness that Muhammad died a martyr.
And by Allah, he will come for you.
So rest assured, if he came to you, that Shaytan cannot take his [Muhammad’s] image.
So Ali took Abi Bakr’s hand and showed him Rasul Allah’s [image].
[The Prophet] then told Abi Bakr:
‘Believe in Ali and 11 of his progeny, for they are like me except in Prophethood.
And repent to Allah from what is in your hands [i.e, rulership] - for you have no right in it’.
He said this and said [what he said], and was not seen after”
The above hadith highlights how the Prophet (and by that virtue, the Imams) being alive with their Lord - entails that they can be involved in dunya, even after their physical deaths. As evident by the physically deceased Prophet speaking to Abu Bakr.
The Prophet is alive with his Lord, thus he can only communicate with dunya - by Allah’s will & permission.
Thus, if you are addressing the Prophet directly in Ziyara.
You are essentially asking Allah to allow to communicate with the Prophet, the Imams, or Sayyida Fatima - and for Allah to allow them to communicate back.
As they are alive with their Lord - and thus communicate with us - only by Allah’s permission.
This is what I think
Wa Allahu A’lam :)
References:
(1) Al-Kafi, volume 4, page 570-571
(2) Al-Kafi, volume 3, page 356-357
(3) Al-Kafi, volume 1, page 532
