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During the period of Banul Abbas, many people used to go for ziyarat of Imam Husain(AS). The Abbasi Khalifa closed the routes to deprive people of this sharaf. He passed the law, that out of every ten pilgrims, one would be beheaded. The pilgrims accepted this condition and would even fight amongst themselves to sacrifice their lives.
When the Abbasi Khalifa observed that the pilgrims were not afraid death, and that their number was not decreasing, he passed another law. Each person wishing to go for the ziyarat of Imam Hussain (AS) would have to pay 500 gold coins (uqiat). This the pilgrims also accepted.An old woman who wished to do ziyarat, worked hard, spun yard, saved 500 gold coins and started towards Karbala Moallah.
On the road to Karbala Moallah, the Khalifa would sit on a chair in his palace, and observed the pilgrims passing by. When he saw the old woman, he ordered his servant to bring her to him. When she came, he asked her where she had come from. The old woman who did not recognize the Khalifa replied, “I have wished to do ziyarat of Imam Hussain(AS) since a long time. When I came to know that the Khalifa charges 500 gold coins from every pilgrim, I worked hard spinning yard to collect the amount.” The Khalifa exclaimed, “Look at your condition! You are barefoot, your clothes are torn. You should have purchased a ride to come for ziyarat.” The old woman replied, “How could have I? I only have 500 gold coins and the Khalifa will take it”. The Khalifa said, “You could have worked hard for one more year, earned some more and purchased a ride.” The woman said, “What guarantee is there of my life! What if I die before doing ziyarat?”
On hearing this, the Khalifa wrote to his governor in Karbala Moallah that from that day onwards,every pilgrim would have to pay only 2 gold coins for the ziyarat of Imam Husain (AS)..
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