Islam Guidance

Zubaydah was the wife of Haroon al-Rasheed, the Abbasid Caliph and also a secret follower of Imam Kazim (A.S), Being the wife of the caliph and by virtue of being a queen, she was the most important woman of her time.
It is related that:
One day Zubaydah was reciting the Holy Quran when she came across the verse which reads:
“You shall never attain righteousness until you spend (in the cause of Allah) of what you love (most)…” (3:92)

As soon as she read this verse, Zubaydah got up from her place and opened up her treasury (safe) to see what was the thing she loved most from her possessions and she discovered that it was the Holy Quran, the writings of which was gilt-covered (coated with gold). The gold was not an ordinary gold. It was the most expensive type of those days.
Immediately, Zubaydah called for a Jeweler, had the gold removed from the Holy Quran, and gave it away in the cause of Allah (S.W.T). She sold off the gold and whatever value she got for it, she spent the money to build a fountain of water in Taif, from the source of which, even today water flows in to Makkah and benefits the pilgrims.  (Tafseer of Suratul-Hadeed: Ayatollah Dast Ghayb)
“O you who believe! Spend out of what we have given you before the day comes when there shall be no bargaining, nor friendship, nor intercession and the disbelievers – they are unjust”. (2:254)
“And whatever good thing you spend, is to your own good; and do not spend except to seek the pleasure of Allah”. (2:272)
Imam ‘Ali (A.S) has said, “No one shall benefit anything from this world (after he dies) except what he had spent (from it) for his Hereafter”.  (Meezan al-Hikmah)

Ref: Almahdi.org

Hazrat Fatima Masoumeh (S.A) the Blessed and the Gracious Divine Lady from the Holy Ahlul Bayt (A.S.) was born in the holy city of Medina on the First Day of the month of Dhu al-Qa'dah 173 A.H. Hazrat Fatima Masoumeh (S.A) was the most learned scholar and very pious lady and was greatly revered by the Holy Imams (A.S). She was buried in the holy city of Qum (Iran) and her holy shrine is every year visited by millions of the lovers of Holy Ahlul Bayt (A.S).

The Learned Divine Lady from the Holy Ahlul Bayt (A.S)
Hadrat Masoumeh (S.A) was brought up in a very noble family. She was daughter of the Holy Imam [Imam Musa al-Kazim (A.S)], the sister of the Holy Imam [Imam Reza (A.S)] and the aunt of the Holy Imam [Imam Muhammad Taqi al-Jawad (A.S)]. She was taught all the Islamic sciences by Imam Musa al-Kazim (A.S) and Imam Reza (A.S) and she transmitted traditions (Ahadith) from them. She became famous as the Learned Lady and Muhaddithah (the Learned Lady who transmitted Ahadith).
The traditions quoted by Hazrat Masoumeh (S.A) are among the most authentic traditions which are present in various books of traditions.

She was Masoumeh (the Immaculate)
Hazrat Fatima bint Musa al-Kazim (A.S) was most pious, noble and reverend lady. Like her holy grandmother Hazrat Fatima Zahra (S.A) she was always busy in performing Salaat (prayers) and kept fast most of the days. She was greatly respected and revered by her holy father Imam Musa al-Kazim (A.S) and her elder brother Imam Reza (A.S). She becomes famous as Masoumeh (the Immaculate) during her lifetime. Imam Reza (A.S) has said about Hazrat Fatima Masoumeh (S.A) "Whoever performs the Ziyarah of 'Fatima Masoumeh' in Qum is like the person who has performed my Ziyarah".

Karimah-i Ahlul Bayt (A.S)
Hazrat Fatima Masoumeh (S.A) is also considered as Karimah-i Ahlul Bayt (A.S) because she was very kind and gracious. Thousands of miracles have been recorded at the holy grave of her and she fulfills the rightful wishes of the believers and she miraculously heals incurable patients. Imam Sadiq (A.S) has quoted "By the intercession of Fatima Masoumeh (S.A) all my Shias will enter the paradise".

Passing away of Hazrat Masoumeh (S.A)
In the year 200 A.H. a year after the forced migration of Imam Reza (A.S) from Medina to Marw in Khorasan by the reigning Abbasid caliph Mamun, Hazrat Masoumeh accompanied by her brothers left Medina for Khorasan to meet her elder brother Imam Reza (A.S). When they reached Saveh in central Iran they were attacked by the Abbasid army and many of his brothers were mercilessly martyred. A lady servant on the orders of the Abbasid commander poisoned Hazrat Masoumeh (S.A) during her stay in Saveh.
Hazrat Masoumeh (S.A) became severely ill and in this condition she migrated to Qum where the Shias of the city warmly welcomed her. The effect of poisoning increased during her short stay in Qum and she attained martyrdom on 10th of Rabi al-Thani 201 A.H. Hazrat Masoumeh (S.A) had great longing to meet her brother Imam Reza (A.S) but due to her sudden death she could not meet him. Imam Reza (A.S) was deeply grieved when he came to know about the demise of her beloved sister Hazrat Fatima Masoumeh (S.A).

The Merits of the Ziyarah of Hazrat Fatima Masoumeh (S.A)
There are many traditions from the Holy Imams (A.S) recommending the Shias to perform the Ziyarah of the holy grave of Hazrat Masoumeh (S.A) in the holy city of Qum.
Imam Ali Reza (A.S) said: "Whoever performs the Ziyarah of Fatima Masoumeh (S.A) will be awarded heaven". Also: "Whoever performs the Ziyarah of 'Fatima Masoumeh' with the knowledge of her status will attain paradise".
Imam Muhammad Taqi al-Jawad (A.S) said: "Whoever performs the Ziyarah of my aunt [Fatima Masoumeh (S.A)] in Qum will enter paradise".

This article borrowed from Almujtaba Islamic network.

From" Kitab al-Turf" of Sayed ibn Taoos quoting from Kitab al-Wassiyah of Shaikh Isa bin al-Mustafaad al-Zareer from Imam Kazim (A.S) from his Father (A.S):
"When Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H&H.P) was about to die, He called the companions and said: "Indeed the door of Fatima (S.A) is my door, and Her house is my house. So whoever disgraces it, has disgraced the veil/covering (Hijaab) of Allah (S.W.T)."
The narrator Isa then says, "Abu al-Hassan Imam Kazim (A.S) then cried for long and cut of rest of his speech and said, "By Allah (S.W.T) the veil of Allah (S.W.T) was disgraced, By Allah (S.W.T) the veil of Allah (S.W.T) was disgraced, By Allah (S.W.T) the veil of Allah (S.W.T) was disgraced, O My Mother (S.A)..."
[Source: Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 22, Pg. 476-477]

Ref: Marefate AhleBait (A.S).com

In order for us to understand the significance and philosophy of mourning for Imam Hussein (A.S), it is necessary to take notice of the following points:
1. The Holy Quran has emphasized through many different verses on maintaining and reviving lofty virtues and traits of great men and noble religious leaders.
2. The great Shia Imams, peace be upon them, have encouraged us to keep the memory of the event of Karbala alive through different ways namely, holding mourning ceremonies, weeping and making others weep, reciting elegies and visiting the grave of the Chief of the Martyrs, Imam Hussein (A.S).
3. Muharram is the month of the victory of blood over sword. The event of Ashura has been and is inspiring nations and people all over the world to fight tyrant and unjust rulers. Therefore, remembering the event of Ashura and the suffering of Imam Hussein (A.S) and his family plays a key role in spreading his message across the world.
4. Mourning is a key element of unity and different nations' secret of success over the history. Most of the revolutions of the world have been inspired or in fact originated from the lessons learned from the epic of Ashura. An example of it is the liberation of the Indian Sub-continent from the English colonial rule. Hence, therefore, it can be said that mourning for Imam Hussein (A.S) has profuse benefits for Muslim Ummah including dignity, pride, maintenance of Islamic and religious culture and many more which on the whole indicate the importance of this great event.

The Shia Imams (A.S) and Different Ways of Mourning for Imam Hussein (A.S):
A) Holding Mourning Ceremonies:
One of the methods that the Imams used to keep the memory of the rise of Ashura alive was arranging gatherings for crying and mourning and making others cry for the tragic incidents that took place in Karbala and reminding people of those incidents on appropriate occasions.
Imam Sajjad would constantly cry and mourn for what had taken place on the day of Ashura during the years he was the Imam of the Ummah. He cried so much to the extent that he was known as and called one of the "Bakka’een" (those who cried very much). [Wasa’elul-Shia, vol. 2, pg. 922.]
Alqame Hadrami relates that Imam Baqir (A.S) would gather people in his house on the day of Ashura to cry and mourn, and the Imam himself would cry for his grandfather. There was no Taqiyyah involved and he would tell those in the house to cry for Imam Hossein and to express their condolences to each other on the day of his martyrdom. [Wasa’elul-Shia, vol. 2, pg. 398.]
On one occasion Imam Sadiq (A.S) told Dawood Ruqi: "I have never drunk cold water without remembering Imam Hossein." [Amali (Saduq), pg. 142.]
It is narrated in a hadith that Imam Reza (A.S) said: "When the month of Muharram would arrive no one would see my father (Imam Kazim) smile and sadness and sorrow would take over him until the day of Ashura. The tenth day of Muharram was the day of sorrow and sadness and tragedy and he would say: Today is the day in which Imam Hossein was martyred." [Mafatihul-Jinan, Sheikh Abbas Qummi, the section on the rituals and supplications of Muharram.]

B) Visitation of Imam Hussein's Grave Encouraged:
Commemorating the nobles and religious leaders and visiting the graves of the heroes have been a good custom, one that has been practiced by various nations. Among them, the chief of the martyrs and leader of freemen, Imam Hussein (A.S) is like a glamorous sun whose name and memory should be revived and remembered befittingly. There are so many sayings from the infallible leaders about the significance of visiting the grave of Imam Hussein (A.S) in Karbala. In fact, it can be said that those noble and divine leaders took advantage of every opportunity to encourage people to visit the luminous grave of the Chief of Martyrs (A.S). It was as though the Imams were committed to persuade people to visit the tomb of Imam Hussein (A.S) in Karbala. Not only did this create spiritual and intellectual union with the Imam but it was also a kind of campaign against the tyrant and the unjust rulers as it has always been and is the same even today. There are different narrations from the Infallibles of which we shall mention only one:
Imam Sadiq (A.S) said: "One who visits his shrine (of Imam Hussein) with eagerness and out of affection for the Holy Prophet (P.B.U.H&H.P), Zahra (S.A) and the commander of the faithful (A.S), will be seated by Allah on the tablecloth of Paradise. He will dine with these holy personalities (Ahlulbayt (A.S)), while the others will be absorbed in the accounting of deeds." [Biharul-Anwar, vol. 24, pg. 284.]

Source: Islam quest.net