Their Belief That the Sand of Hussain’s Grave is a Cure for Every Sickness
Their Belief That the Sand of Hussain’s Grave is a Cure for Every Sickness
The Shia claim—against the divine texts, rationality, English and Greek medicine—that the sand of Hussain’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu grave is a guaranteed cure for all sorts of ailments and diseases. It is as if they have placed their faith in something which by experiment, observation, nature, and logic has been proven to be of no benefit. They deem it beneficial and claim that cure can be procured from soil and not from the Lord of lords. Opposing the verse of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala:
وَإِنْ يَّمْسَسْكَ اللّٰهُ بِضُرٍّ فَلَا كَاشِفَ لَهُ إِلَّا هُوَ
And if Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala inflicts you with difficulty there is no one that can alleviate it save him.[1]
Likewise the verse:
أَمَّنْ يُّجِيْبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوْءَ
Who is the one who responds to the distressed when he calls out to him and alleviates hardship?[2]
And the verse:
وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِيْنِ
And when I take ill he cures me.[3]
Hence, they mirrored the polytheists in their belief that stones can benefit and harm by claiming that sand can provide cure.
The author of Bihar al Anwar has quoted eighty three narrations with regards to the soil of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu, its virtues, etiquettes, and rulings.[4] These narrations claim that it is a healing balsam for every sickness and a fortified fort against every fear.[5] It cures the sickly so effectively that it leaves him without any trace of sickness.[6] If a child is made to suck upon it, it becomes a source of protection for him from every threat.[7] If it is placed in the grave of a deceased person it guarantees him safety from its punishment. A person who holds it in is his hand and plays with it receives the reward of those who glorify Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala, for it glorifies Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala in his hand even though he does not.[8]
If any Shia experiences the pains of sickness and its severity he should head to the sand of the tomb—for which he ought to select an appropriate time (as is mentioned in their narrations)—in the depth of a jet-black night, preferably its last portion, then he should take a bath and wear the cleanest of his clothing. When he reaches there he should stand at the head (of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu) and pray. When he is done praying he should do a prolonged prostration wherein he should repeat the word “Shukran” (thanks) a thousand times. Thereafter he should stand and embrace the tomb, saying:
يا مولاي يابن رسول الله إني آخذ من تربتك بإذنك اللهم فاجعلها شفاءا من كل داء و عزا من كل ذل و أمنا من كل خوف و غني من كل فقر.
O my master! O the grandson of Rasulullah! I desire to take some of your soil if you permit; O Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala make it thus a cure for every ailment, an honour against every disgrace, a guard against all fears and a means of affluence against poverty.[9] Lastly, he should take three fingers-full of the sand and (as ordered in the narrations) place it in a clean piece of material and cover it with a silver ring the stone of which should be carnelian. He should thereafter use the amount of a chickpea at the time of need. This will guarantee him a cure.[10]
Another narration adds that he should pretend to cry and say:
بسم الله و بالله و بحق هذه التربة المباركة و بحق الوصي الذي تواريه و بحق جده و أبيه و أمه و أخيه و بحق أولاده الصادقين و بحق الملائكة المقيمين عند قبره ينتظرون نصرته صلي عليهم أجمعين و اجعل لي و لأهلي و ولدي و أخوتي فيه الشفاء من كل داء.
In the name of Allah, with the help of Allah, with the right of this blessed sand, with the right of the successor (of the prophets) which it covers, with the rights of his grandfather, father, mother, and brother, with the rights of his righteous progeny, and with the rights of the angels that throng around his grave ever waiting to aid him. Send salutations upon them all and place in this sand cure from every ailment for me, my family, my offspring, and my siblings…”[11]
Another narration suggests other methods of seeking healing by the medium of the sand. It reads as follows:
Abu ‘Abdullah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala says, “Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala has made the soil of the grave of my grandfather a cure for every sickness and a guard against all threats. Hence when any of you takes it in his hand he should first kiss it, pass it over his eyes, and thereafter, his entire body. Then he should say:
اللهم بحق هذه التربةو بحق من حل بها و ثوي فيها…
O Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala I ask you with the right of this sand and with the right of the one who resides within it…[12]
And yet another narration states the method of taking the sand in terms of quantity and method. Imam Jafar is alleged to have said:
إذا تناول التربة أحدكم فليأخذ بأطراف أصابعه و قدره مثل الحمصة فليقبلها و ليضعها علي عينه..
When any of you intends to take the sand he should take with the tips of his fingers the amount equivalent to a chickpea. Subsequently he should kiss it and place it upon his eyes…[13]
In essence, this is a mobile hospital that every Shia is able to carry with him.
Nevertheless, it seems as if this sand worsened their ailments instead of curing them, for (as the proverb goes) he who attaches himself to something is handed over to it. Hence, we see that one of the Shia complained to his Imam about his inability and weakness, whereupon the Imam consoled him by saying:
كذالك جعل الله أولياءنا و أهل مودتنا و جعل البلاء إليهم سريعا
This is how Allah has made our friends and our admirers. And Allah has made trials come their way very fast.”[14]
Moving on, just as a Shia resorts to his sand idol when afflicted with a sickness he likewise resorts to it at the time of fear and confrontation of the enemy. Hence, he carries it with him in times of fear as well. Their Imam says:
إذا خفت سلطانا أو غير سلطان فلا تخرجن من منزلك إلا ومعك من قبر الحسين
When you fear a ruler or anyone else do not leave your house except that you have some sand from the grave of Hussain with you.[15]
The Imam further instructs him to supplicate thus:
اللهم إني أخذته من قبر وليك و إبن وليك فاجعله لي أمنا و حرزا لما أخاف وما لا أخاف
O Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala! I have taken this from the grave of your friend; the son of your friend. Thus, make it a guard and a fort for me against things which I fear and things which I don’t.[16]
The narrator of this narration does not forget to remind his people that when he done this he was secured from whatever he feared and did not fear, and that he did not witness anything unpleasant.[17]
Likewise, to procure this sand is the desire of the damsels of Jannat. They, thus, (as is narrated in the fairy tales of the Shia) request the angels to bring back some sand from the grave of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu as gifts for them when they descend to the earth.[18]
Similarly, they claim that prostrating on this sand penetrates all seven veils (between a person and his creator).[19]
These are but a few claims of the Shia regarding the sand of Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhu. It is almost as if, due to these beliefs of theirs, they have outdone the polytheists who merely claimed that their idols were intermediaries who took them closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. This is due to the fact that they have ascribed attributes to the sand which are purely the attributes of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala and thus deified it together with him.
The idea of seeking cure from this sand is utterly reprehensible and a blatant lie. It is definitely from the dogma of the Shia and not from the religion of Islam. There is no mention of it whatsoever in the Qur’an, nor in the teaching of our Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala says:
وَمَنْ يَّبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِيْنًا فَلَنْ يُّقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِيْنَ
And anyone who seeks any other religion besides Islam it will never be accepted from him. And in the afterlife he will be from amongst the losers.[20]
Similarly:
قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِيْنَ آمَنُوْا هُدًى وَّشِفَاءٌ
Say it (the Qur’an) is a source of guidance and cure for those who believe.[21]
Likewise:
وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَّرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ
And we reveal from the Qur’an that which is a cure and a mercy unto the believers.[22]
The Sunnah of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is in a like manner orientated upon supplication and daily worship. Therein a person is exhorted to turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala alone and not to any sand or idol; in fact not even to any esteemed angel or sent prophet. And by way of the Sunnah (through the permission of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala) safety and security come to fruition for a Muslim.[23] Obviously not forgetting that a Muslim has been ordered to utilise the natural causes of cure.
As for consuming sand, it is a major innovation and a joke only to be found in the creed of the Shia.
[1] Surah Yunus: 107
[2] Surah al Naml: 62
[3] Surah al Shu’ara’: 80
[4] Ibid 101/118-140
[5] There are many narrations in this regard, e.g. Harith ibn Mughirah says, “I Asked Abu ‘Abdullah, ‘I have a large family and am a very sickly person. I have experimented with every type of medicine but to no avail.’ He said, ‘Don’t you know about the sand of Hussain’s grave, in it there is a cure for every ailment and security from every threat.’” (Al Tusi: Amali 1/415; Bihar al Anwar 101/119, also refer to Wasa’il al Shia 10/415; Kamil al Ziyarat, p. 278, 285.
[6] They have forged many narrations and tales in this regard. Each one of the narrators reports the tale of his personal ailment and pain, then his subsequent consumption of the soil of Hussain which cured him completely as if he was not afflicted with any sickness whatsoever. One of them says at the end of his tale, “When the drink settled in my belly it was as if I was released from ropes. (Bihar al Anwar 101/121-122; Kamil al Ziyarat p. 275.
[7] Abu ‘Abdullah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala says, “Make your infants suck upon the sand of Hussain for in it lies safety.” (Kamil al Ziyarat p. 278; Bihar al Anwar 101/124).
[8] It appears in Tahdhib al Ahkam of al Tusi that Muhammad al Himyari said, “I wrote a letter to the awaited Mahdi asking him if it was permissible for a man to make Tasbih with the sand of the grave? And is there any virtue in it? He replied thus, I read his signature on the letter which was later copied, “Read Tasbih with it for it supersedes all other forms of Tasbih. One of its virtues is that if the reader forgets to read the Tasbih and merely handles the sand in his hand then to will he still reap the reward of Tasbih.” (Tahdhib al Ahkam 6/75; Bihar al Anwar 101/132-133). The following appears in another narration, “If he handles it whilst remembering Allah he gets forty rewards and if he handles it merely playing with it without remembering Allah he gets twenty rewards.” (Tahdhib al Ahkam 6/75; Bihar al Anwar 101/132). They have equated playing and futility to the worship of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala and have legislated whatever is in harmony with their desires.
[9] Bihar al Anwar 101/37; Misbah al Za’ir p. 136.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Bihar al Anwar 101/138
[12] Al Tusi: Amali 1/326; Bihar al Anwar 101/121
[13] Makarim al Akhlaq p. 189; Bihar al Anwar 101/120
[14] Kamil al Ziyarat p. 275; Bihar al Anwar 101/120
[15] Amali 1/325; Bihar al Anwar 101/118
[16] Ibid
[17] Ibid
[18] Bihar al Anwar 101/134; Muhammad al Mahdi Kitab al Mazar p. 119
[19] Al Tusi Misbah al Mujtahid p. 511; Bihar al Anwar 101/135
[20] Surah Al ‘Imran: 85
[21] Surah al Fussilat: 44
[22] Surah al Isra’: 82
[23] Refer to the following books: al Adhkar of al Nawawi, al Kalim al Tayyib of Ibn Taymiyyah, al Wabil al Sayyib of Ibn Qayyim and Tuhfah al Dhakirin of al Shawkani.