Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ Between Taqiyya and Tabarrī | Part 1: What Is Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ?
Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ Between Taqiyya and Tabarrī | Part 1: | What Is Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ?
In this opening episode of a six-part lecture series, Ḥujjat al-Islām Sayyid Mahdī Maḥmoudī introduces Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ, one of the most widely recited devotional texts in the Shiʿi tradition, and explains why it has occupied such a central place in the lives of believers for centuries.
Beginning with its spiritual significance, Sayyid Maḥmoudī discusses the unique status of Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ as a ḥadīth qudsī (divine saying), tracing its transmission from Allah through Jibrāʾīl (Gabriel), the Prophet Muḥammad (ṣ), and the Imams (ʿa), before addressing a common question concerning the language of the ziyārah and its divine origin.
This lecture serves as the foundation for the rest of the series, which examines the manuscript transmission of Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ and responds to contemporary questions regarding its authenticity.
In this episode:
Why Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ occupies a unique place in Shiʿi devotion
The narration describing it as a ḥadīth qudsī
The chain of transmission through the Prophet and the Imams (ʿa)
The guarantees and virtues associated with its recitation
Responding to a common objection concerning its wording
About the speaker
Ḥujjat al-Islām Sayyid Mahdī Maḥmoudī is a researcher specialising in Shiʿi manuscript studies and the textual history of Imāmī devotional literature. He is the author of numerous studies on Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ, including Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ: From Its Origins to the Present Day, which received a commendation at the 40th Islamic Republic of Iran Book of the Year Award and was recognised at the 2nd Biennial of ʿĀshūrāʾ Books.
This lecture series accompanies ICAIR’s newly published English translation of Ziyārat ʿĀshūrāʾ Between Taqiyya and Tabarrī: A Study on Manuscript Transmission, which draws on over one hundred manuscripts and historical sources to examine the textual history of one of Shiʿism’s most important devotional texts.
📖 Order the book:
https://icair.ac/ziyarat-ashura-book
