Ziyarat Ashura (Arabic: زیارة عاشوراء‎) is a salutatory prayer to Imam Husayn ibn Ali (as) and the martyrs of the Battle of Karbala.

The prayer is part of the liturgy used in pilgrimages to the shrine of Imam Husayn (as) in Karbala.

Ziyarat Ashura is one of greatest recitations narrated from Ahlul Bayt (as). It was narrated through authentic chain of narrators from Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir (as).

It has great benefits in solving problems and getting us peaceful and successful life here and hereafter.

Many of our great scholars, including Grand Ayatullah Na'eeni, the teacher of Ayatullah Khoei, said that its benefits are more than any other recitation which he knows.

We have authentic narrations that Imam Al-Mahdi (as) advised sincere believers not to miss Ziyarat Ashura nor Night Prayer nor Ziyarat Al-Jami'ah.

Ziyarat Ashura does not need a special method to be performed. It is recommended to perform Wudhu, face the direction of Karbala and recite it.

It is very useful to gift the reward of it to the Infallible Ahlul Bayt and your parents and relatives and all the Mo'mineen and Mo'minaat who are alive or deceased. This will make your reward much greater.

You can recite Ziyarat Ashura, or Ziyarat Al Warith on a daily basis, and it would be something highly recommended and beneficial.

As for the repeating of certain passages 100 times in Ziyarat Ashura, you do not necessarily need to do that.

However, it is highly recommended to do it and also recommended to do the 2 raka'at prayer before or after reading Ziyarat Ashura.

It is highly recommended to perform these two Rak'ats of Salah of Ziyarat but not obligatory.

It's not compulsory. But it is always recommended to be with Wudhu as much as you can, but it is not obligatory to be with Wudhu for reciting Ziyarat or for reciting Qur'an or reciting Du'a. It is just recommended and not obligatory.

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I came across this video of Professor Ali Akbar Raefipour, it's in Persian.

It's really useful.

He talked about Ziyarat Ashura and said," it isn't an ordinary du'a/ Supplication.

It will take the Believer's hand. Then move them out, from in-between the actions that are like Shimr and Yazid, or becoming like those evil tyrants, etc.

Into the glorious path of Imam Hussain (as) and following the Imam's ways and action and leaning from him.

Ziyarat Ashura is the program on how to live in this time, before the reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi (a.j).

I haven't see any other du'as that will give us this much, like Ziyarat Ashura.

But we need to read into it deeply.

I have spent time, Me a humble Servant of Allah (swt), and found seventeen to eighteen positions in Ziyarat Ashura.

By reading Ziyarat Ashura, you're asking for a lot of positions/ranks.

There are very heavy du'as in Ziyarat Ashura.

Such as: اَنْ یُبَلِّغَنِی الْمَقامَ الْمَحْمُودَ

I want to reach that

praised position, the One that is approved.

So what is this position?

In Qur'an we have, what is said to Prophet (swt), Do your Night Prayer, Do the Nafilah of your night prayer. So Allah (swt) help you reach the position of Mahmmod which means praised/liked.

See! The things that are requested.

Another part of Ziyarat Ashura:

طَلَبَ ثارِکَ مَعَ اِمامٍ مَنْصُورٍ

What does this mean, you're asking I want to be with Imam al-Mahdi (a.j). Isn't this a position?

There's another part that says:

اَللّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ مَحْیایَ مَحْیا مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ مَماتی مَماتَ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِ مُحَمَّدٍ 

My life, be a life like Ahlulbayt (as). And My death be a death like Ahlulbayt (as).

Another part that says:

مَعَکُمْ فِی الدُّنْیا وَالاْخِرَةِ

I be here with you in this world and in next life too, the most important one. Isn't this a position?

One of these positions is the position of dislike

وَ رَزَقَنِی الْبَراَّئَةَ مِنْ اَعْداَّئِکُمْ

Bless me, so I declare my dislike/aversion towards your enemies.

What does the position of disklike mean?

In Ziyarat Ashura, there are some people who are getting cursed. (Cursed wanting the worst thing for a creature, being away from Allah's mercy. It doesn't mean swearing! There's no swearing.)

They are individuals, Yazid is cursed, Mauwiya is cursed. Their names is mentioned. Shimr is mentioned:

وَ لَعَنَ اللَّهُ شِمْراً

What did these people do? that it's so important, for them to be specially and personally cursed.

Why? Who was Yazid? Who was his father and Mother and what did he do? and what happened?

They're all in Shi'a history websites that you can find online without having been modified. But in short, it contains terrible deeds, evil actions, consuming alcoholic drinks, trying to change ways of Islam, having practises that weren't Islamic. At that time, Islam was on the verge of destruction and everyone were going different ways.

Imam Hussain (as) stood against all of them and showed his opposition to such cruel person and other people involved. He didn't accept them. There were so much more sacrifices of Imam Hussain (as) that I can't explain well and fully and there are such deep meanings behind them and what happened in Karbala.

There is another part in Ziyarat Ashura that curses some families.

آلَ زِیادٍ وَ آلَ مَرْوانَ وَ لَعَنَ اللَّهُ بَنی اُمَیَّةَ قاطِبَةً

Why? You have to see how these families lived their life.

How was the thoughts of these families! How was these family formed? Who was the beginning of these families? You can find about these too.

But I have talked about this narration before too, there was this man from bani Omayya who came to Imam Sadiq (as) and was crying like a woman who has her child. And Imam (as) asked, "why are you crying?" And he said, "How can I not cry, When my family is the cursed family."

Imam (as) replied, "Its true that your genetics is from bani Omayya. But you're from us, because your thoughts are from us."

So we want to say, this cursing of family is not like, you think an entire family is cursed, cursing them.

It says, there are good people in this family but most of them are involved in these corruptions.