Shaikh Abbas Qummi (r.a.) in his famous and accepted book Mafaateeh al-Jinaan under the chapter on the benefits of the soil from the holy grave of Imam Husain (a.s.) records an incident that his teacher, the most reliable scholar of Islam (Thiqah al-Islam), Mohaddith Noori (r.a.) has penned in his book, Daar al-Salaam:
One day my respected mother saw one of my brothers placing the soil of the grave of Imam Husain (a.s.) in the side pocket of his cloak. On seeing this, she scolded him and said,
“This is disrespect to that clay because by keeping it there, it (Sajdagaah) may get crushed and may break.”
My brother acknowledged that such a thing had already happened twice with him and he promised that he would never keep the clay (Sajdagaah) in his that pocket ever again.
Several days passed after this incident. One night, my respected father, the late Allamah, who was unaware of this incident, saw in a dream that our master Imam Husain (a.s.) had come to meet him and was seated in his library and was treating him with great affection. Then Imam (a.s.) said to my father,
“Call your sons so that I may grant them something.”
Then my father called all five of us brothers and we stood in his (a.s.) presence. Imam (a.s.) had some clothes and a few other things. He (a.s.) called each of us one at a time and gave some gifts to us. When it was the turn of that brother of mine, Imam (a.s.) looked at him with displeasure and said to my father,
“This son of yours has broken two Sajdagaah made from the soil of my grave.”
After saying this, Imam (a.s.), unlike for my other brothers whom he had called upon, threw something at my brother from afar, which I think was a box for keeping combs.
After this, my father woke up from his dream and narrated it to my mother and she, in turn, narrated that incident to my father. He was amazed at the veracity of the dream.
Dear mourners of Imam Husain (a.s.), the respect of the soil of the grave of Imam Husain (a.s.) is obligatory. Since this is not just the soil of the most superior land but as we found in this incident, Imam Husain (a.s.) is so sensitive about the soil from his grave such that he does not tolerate the slightest of negligence in this matter. Ibn Qulawayh (r.a.) in his book Kaamil al-Ziyaaraat has brought 5 chapters on the topic of the soil of Imam Husain’s (a.s.) grave in which he has recorded 34 traditions wherein he mentions that the soil is a source of cure and protection, manners of partaking from this soil and the prayers which should be recited before using this soil.
We pray to Allah that He may grant us the good fortune of being careful and respectful towards this soil and that we may train our children to be respectful towards it. Aameen, O Lord of the worlds!