Ziyarat Of Karbala

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim - In the Name of Allah, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful!!

Hurr began to advance gradually toward Husayn. A member of his tribe, Muajir bin Aws, asked him, "What do you intend to do, Hurr? Do you wish to attack?" He kept silent and shuddered. Muhajir continued, "O Hurr, by God, your conduct arouses suspicion. By God I have never seen you behave like this. If I were asked to identify the most coregeous person in Kufa, I could not neglect mentioning your name. So, what of the nervousness I see in you today?" Hurr replied, "By God, I have offered my soul a choice between heaven and hell. By God, I will not give priority to anything in relation to heaven, even if it entails that I be cut to pieces and burnt."

[An Extract From Kitab Maqtal al-Husayn by Abi Mikhnaf]

As the time comes closer, and the days become fewer, I begin to wonder exactly how to approach Imam for the first time...

I have heard from a sheikh that one should rush to the shrine of Imam immediately he enters Karbala without even cleaning up, or resting so as to show the love and anticipation one has...

Somewhere inside I feel some kind of relation to the above paragraph from the Maqtal, "...a choice between heaven and hell." Is this the choice that will change my life?

My sins overburden my weak back. My few good deeds falter in their ability to grant me any form of relief. How am I to show myself to my Imam???

He sacrificed himself and his family to uphold the same religion that I say I am part of... how can I face him after I have destroyed the image of this very religion by following my desires over my intellect?

I want to cry every night from tonight till we leave in the airport... then continue to cry every night till we reach Karbala... then continue to cry every night till I am with my Imam... But still I am afraid that my crying will be so insincere...

What can I do, except ask for His help?

Thus Zuhairs View:

"O Allah, by Your Mercy, Your Splendour, Your Magnificence and Your Greatness, Bless Muhammed (SAW) and his progeny, I pray to You my Lord to guide all those who can go to Karbala for Ziyarat to do so with one intention... to gain close proximity to YOU!!"