Remote Ziyara
Remote Ziyara (Arabic: الزيارة من البُعد) or Absentee Ziyara refers to the Ziyara of the Infallibles (a) without physical presence in their shrine or tomb. In Shi'a narrations, it is recommended for individuals who cannot perform Ziyara in person due to Taqiyya or the difficulty of travel. Some Ziyara texts, such as Ziyara Ashura', are recited both from near and far, while others, such as the Ziyara of the Prophet (s) from afar, are narrated specifically for remote Ziyara.
Adab (etiquette) such as standing facing the grave, performing Ghusl or Wudu, and performing a two-rak'a Prayer are mentioned for remote Ziyara. Despite the reward of this type of Ziyara, physical Ziyara is considered superior. Some Ziyara texts are recited collectively from afar in Shi'a religious sites. It is also possible to perform online Ziyara for some Imams (a).
Status and Importance
In Shi'a narrations, remote Ziyara is recommended for individuals who are unable to perform Ziyara in person due to Taqiyya or the difficulty of travel,[1] and rewards have been mentioned for it.[2]
In some narrations, the reward of remote Ziyara for some Infallibles (a) is considered equivalent to physical Ziyara,[3] although physical Ziyara, which involves enduring the hardships of travel and the exaltation of divine rituals, is considered superior.[4]
In Mosques and Shi'a shrines, on specific occasions, some Ziyara texts are recited collectively from afar; such as the recitation of the Ziyara of the Prophet (s) from afar on Safar 28,[5] Ziyarat al-Nahiya al-Muqaddasa on the Day of Ashura,[6] and Ziyara Ashura' in Muharram and Safar.[7]
Virtual Ziyara of the shrines of some Infallibles (a) is also available online.[8]
Etiquette of Remote Ziyara
In Islamic narrations, etiquette and conditions are mentioned for remote Ziyara. These include standing in a high place or under the open sky facing the grave of the Infallible,[9] performing Ghusl or Wudu before Ziyara,[10] and performing a two-rak'a Prayer before Ziyara.[11]
Al-Allama al-Majlisi considered these etiquettes to include the Ziyara of the living Imam, especially Imam al-Mahdi (a) as well.[12] Nasir Makarim Shirazi also considers the remote Ziyara of the Imams (a) permissible with any phrasing.[13] Also, in some narrations, building a symbol of the grave for some Infallibles and performing Ziyara facing it is recommended.[14]
Ziyara Texts for Remote Ziyara
According to some narrations, certain Ziyara texts are narrated specifically for remote Ziyara, such as the Ziyara of the Prophet (s) from afar.[15] Others can be recited both in the shrine and from afar,[16] including:
- Ziyara of the Prophet (s) after every prayer;[17]
- Ziyara of the Imams (a) on the days of the week;[18]
- Ziyara of the Infallibles (a) on Friday;[19]
- Ziyara Amin Allah;[20]
- Al-Ziyara al-Jami'a al-Kabira;[21]
- Special Ziyaras of Imam Ali (a) on the Day of Ghadir;[22]
- Ziyara Ashura';[23]
- Ziyara of Imam al-Husayn (a) on Thursday nights;[24]
- Ziyara of Imam al-Husayn (a) on the Nights of Qadr.[25]
Notes
- ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 2, p. 599; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 97, p. 183.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Mafātīḥ novīn, p. 431.
- ↑ Ibn Qūlawayh, Kāmil al-ziyārāt, p. 175; Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 97, p. 194.
- ↑ "Ziyārat az rāh-i dūr-i Ahl al-Bayt (a)", Markaz-i Millī-yi Pāsukhgūyī ba Suʾālāt-i Dīnī.
- ↑ "Qarāʾat-i ziyārat-i Payāmbar (s) dar rūz-i 28 Ṣafar dar sarāsar-i kishwar", Mehr News Agency; "Qarāʾat-i ziyārat-i Ḥaḍrat-i Rasūl (s) az baʿīd dar ḥaram-i Bānū-yi Karāmat", Pāygāh-i Khabarī-yi Āstān-i Muqaddas-i Ḥaḍrat-i Maʿṣūma (s).
- ↑ "Qarāʾat-i hamagānī-yi Ziyārat-i Nāḥiya-yi Muqaddasa dar sarāsar-i kishwar", IRIB News Agency.
- ↑ "Qarāʾat-i Ziyārat-i ʿĀshūrā bā ṣad laʿn wa ṣad salām dar ḥaram-i muṭahhar-i Raḍawī", Mehr News Agency.
- ↑ "Ziyārat-i majāzī-yi ḥaram-i Imām ʿAlī (a)", Shabakat al-Imām ʿAlī (a); "Farāham shudan-i imkān-i ziyārat-i majāzī-yi ḥaram-i muṭahhar-i Ḥaḍrat-i Imām Ḥusayn (a) dar pāygāh-i internatī-yi ḥaram-i muṭahhar", Al-ʿAtaba al-Ḥusayniyya al-Muqaddasa; "Pakhsh-i zinda-yi ḥaram-i Imām Riḍā (a)", Razavi TV.
- ↑ ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 14, pp. 577-578.
- ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 98, p. 366.
- ↑ ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 14, pp. 577-578.
- ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 98, p. 366.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Mafātīḥ novīn, p. 243.
- ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 97, p. 183.
- ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 97, p. 183; Makārim Shīrāzī, Mafātīḥ novīn, p. 229.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 2, p. 599; Qummī, Mafātīḥ al-jinān, pp. 559, 644-646, 109, 645, 891; Makārim Shīrāzī, Mafātīḥ novīn, pp. 209-260.
- ↑ ʿĀmilī, Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa, vol. 6, p. 474.
- ↑ Qummī, Mafātīḥ al-jinān, pp. 109-121.
- ↑ Qummī, Mafātīḥ al-jinān, pp. 644-646.
- ↑ Qummī, Mafātīḥ al-jinān, p. 559; Makārim Shīrāzī, Mafātīḥ novīn, p. 260.
- ↑ Qummī, Mafātīḥ al-jinān, p. 1075.
- ↑ Qummī, Mafātīḥ al-jinān, p. 559.
- ↑ Qummī, Mafātīḥ al-jinān, p. 891.
- ↑ Ṣadūq, Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, vol. 2, p. 599.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Mafātīḥ novīn, p. 785.
References
- "Farāham shudan-i imkān-i ziyārat-i majāzī-yi ḥaram-i muṭahhar-i Ḥaḍrat-i Imām Ḥusayn (a) dar pāygāh-i internatī-yi ḥaram-i muṭahhar" (Provision of virtual visitation to the holy shrine of Imam Husayn (a) on the official shrine website). Al-ʿAtaba al-Ḥusayniyya al-Muqaddasa. Accessed: 8 December 2025.
- "Pakhsh-i zinda-yi ḥaram-i Imām Riḍā (a)" (Live broadcast of the shrine of Imam Reza (a)). Razavi TV. Accessed: 8 December 2025.
- "Qarāʾat-i hamagānī-yi Ziyārat-i Nāḥiya-yi Muqaddasa dar sarāsar-i kishwar" (Nationwide recitation of Ziyārat al-Nāḥiya al-Muqaddasa). IRIB News Agency. Date: 6 July 2025. Accessed: 8 December 2025.
- "Qarāʾat-i ziyārat-i Ḥaḍrat-i Rasūl (s) az baʿīd dar ḥaram-i Bānū-yi Karāmat" (Recitation of the visitation of the Prophet (s) from afar at the shrine of the Lady of Karāmat). News Portal of the Holy Shrine of Ḥaḍrat Maʿṣūma (s). Date: 27 October 2019. Accessed: 7 December 2025.
- "Qarāʾat-i Ziyārat-i ʿĀshūrā bā ṣad laʿn wa ṣad salām dar ḥaram-i muṭahhar-i Raḍawī" (Recitation of Ziyārat ʿĀshūrā with one hundred curses and one hundred salutations at the Razavi shrine). Mehr News Agency. Date: 5 July 2025. Accessed: 7 December 2025.
- "Qarāʾat-i ziyārat-i Payāmbar (s) dar rūz-i 28 Ṣafar dar sarāsar-i kishwar" (Recitation of the Prophet’s visitation on 28 Ṣafar nationwide). Mehr News Agency. Date: 13 September 2023. Accessed: 8 December 2025.
- "Ziyārat az rāh-i dūr-i Ahl al-Bayt (a)" (Remote visitation of the Ahl al-Bayt (a)). National Center for Responding to Religious Inquiries. Date: 18 June 2012. Accessed: 8 December 2025.
- "Ziyārat-i majāzī-yi ḥaram-i Imām ʿAlī (a)" (Virtual visitation of the shrine of Imam Ali (a)). Network of Imam ʿAlī (a). Accessed: 8 December 2025.
- ʿĀmilī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Ḥurr al-. Wasāʾil al-Shīʿa. Qom: Muʾassasat Āl al-Bayt (a), 1409 AH.
- Ibn Qūlawayh, Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad. Kāmil al-ziyārāt. Najaf: Dār al-Murtaḍawiyya, 1356 Sh.
- Kayānī Farīd, Maryam. "Ziyārat". In Dānishnāma-yi Jahān-i Islām. Tehran: Bunyād-i Dāʾirat al-Maʿārif-i Islāmī, 1395 Sh.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Muʾassasat al-Ṭabʿ wa l-Nashr, 1410 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Mafātīḥ novīn. Qom: Madrasat al-Imām ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (a), 1390 Sh.
- Qummī, ʿAbbās. Mafātīḥ al-jinān. Qom: Intishārāt-i Shākir, 1384 Sh.
- Ṣadūq, Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-. Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1413 AH.