The Prophecy Of Imam Hasan Al-Askari (A)

With this incident we will finish up, but very important to understand what is happening. How people go rogue, this is what I want to highlight to you.

15 days before his Shahadat, he calls Abu Ladyan. He says 'Abu Ladyan, I got some work.' He says, 'Ya Ibn Rasul Allah, tell me'. 'Give me some work.' He writes some letters and he gives it to him. He says 'Abu Ladyan, go to Madain.' Go to Madain, a city in Iraq, Imam is in Saamarra. 'Go to Madain', take these letters, give it to these individuals, once you have given them the individuals, the letters, wait till they reply to you. Once they reply, bring the letters back to me.'

He says , Yeah, ah, khalas, I am going. He says, 'Wait, understand now. When you go and you come back, it will take you exactly 15 days. From the time that you leave till the time you come back, it will be exactly 15 days. On the 15th day you will come here, but when you come back to the city, you will see a difference.' He says, 'What is the difference?' He says, ' I would have died, I would have been killed and you will see weeping taking place in my family. Because before this, prior to your arrival into the city, I would have been killed.'

He says, 'Ya Ibn Rasul Allah, what are you saying?' He says 'Don't argue, just listen to what I am saying. I do not have much time, listen. People are watching, we are under monitoring, listen quickly to what I am saying. Go back, when you come back, you will see I have died.' This person now immediately says 'Ya Ibn Rasul Allah, if you have passed away, who is the next Imam? Who is the next Imam after you? We need to know who the next Imam is.' He says, 'The next Imam after you [me] will be the one who will ask you for these letters that you get the reply for.'

The Imam had given letters, go to Madain, you get the reply, give it back. He says 'The individual who will ask you for the reply to the letters, he is my representative.' He says, 'Ya Ibn Rasul Allah, we are talking about an Imamat. People will come to me because I am your servant. They will keep telling me, now that the eleventh Imam has passed, who is the 12th Imam? Who is the next Imam? This cannot be criteria. Somebody else comes and asks me about the letters and I introduce him as the Imam. What will happen? This is too important. 'Zidni - Enlighten me more, give me some more signs so that I am certain.'

He says, 'Second sign is that he will be the one, the Imam after me is who will lead my prayers of my Janazah.' So he said 'OK, I have got two signs. Can you give me some more information? So that I am absolutely sure that this person that I have identified as the Imam is actually the Imam after you.' He says, 'He will be the person who will give you information about the contents of a bag.' Now before Abu Ladyan could ask, he wanted to ask Baba, which bag are you talking about? I don't have any bag, what bag? Imam just said, 'Third sign is when somebody comes, this man or this person, when he gives you information about the contents of a bag, he is the Imam.' Imam turns, goes away.

Abu Ladyan is wondering, what bag? I don't have any bag. What contents? Confused doesn't know what to do. He says Baba khalas now, Imam has said, let's see. He takes his letters, he leaves, but he's still worried. What bag Imam is talking? Who is this person who will recite the Namaaz-e-Janazah? I don't know who is going to come and ask me about the letters. But because Imam had said, he takes off for Madain. Goes to Madain, who? Abu Ladyan.

Imam is in Samarra, he goes to Madain. Goes to Madain and delivers the letter. Remains there for a few days, a couple of days, waiting for them to give the reply. When all of them reply to the letter given by the Imam, he takes those letters, brings them back. On his way back, as he is coming, the fifteenth day as Imam said. The delay took place, whatever happened, it eventually coincided with the fifteenth day that Imam Al-'Askari said. 15th day you are going to come back to the city.

On the 15th day, Abu Ladyan enters the city. As he enters the city, he sees the city is in 'kohram', there is a gogha'. There is a huge outrage, there is a huge weeping. He says, 'What is happening?' He sees, he goes to the house. He sees a lot of weeping coming from the house of Imam. He remembers Imam had said, once you enter, you will see a lot of weeping coming from my house. So now he is expecting the worst. He goes and ask 'What has happened? He says 'You don't know?' He says 'No, I don't know, I have just come from Madain. What has happened?' He says 'Eleventh Imam, Imam Al-'Askari has passed away.'

Begins to weep, begins to weep. Now, this is now Abu Ladyan is narrating now. As I was weeping, I saw Ja'far. Ja'far standing at the door, waiting and awaiting and taking condolences from the people. People would come to him and they would express their condolences. 'Ja'far, your brother has passed away, we express our condolences. Who is the Imam after him?' Ja'far would to point himself, 'I am the Imam after him.' 'I am the Imam after him.' Do you know what is the title of this Ja'far? He is referred to as Ja'far Al-Kadhdhab. 'Kidhb' means lie. 'Kaadhib' means a liar. Somebody who lies too much is called 'kadhdhab.' Many times a person will lie only one, but that lie is so big that he is called a Kadhdhab. Ja'far lied once that I am the Imam but that lie was so big that now he is referred to as Ja'far Al-Kadhdhab.

Yeah, he is standing at the door. Now Abu Ladyan is narrating. 'He is standing at the door, he is taking the condolences of the people. When people ask who is the Imam?' Abu Ladyan is saying, 'I see people asking who is the Imam? He says 'I am the Imam.' So they would give him tasliyat for the Shahadat of the eleventh imam and tabrik for the Imamat of this next Imam, because he is the Imam. He says, people would come, people would come. Now, I remember the three signs, Abu Ladyan is saying, that the 11th Imam had said.

So I said, let me go to Ja'far, probably he is the one. But in his mind, he is narrating. He is saying when he, I heard him say 'I am the Imam,' I am thinking in my mind, if this man is the next Imam, 'Wa 'alal Islami as-salam.' Alal Islami as-salam - there is salaam upon Islam. Then he says, you know why? Because I saw him, he was accustomed to consuming alcohol, he would go into the bazm and he would sit into this congregation of Bani Al-Abbas, listening to music, playing and drink, consuming alcohol, gambling, that if this man is the Imam, khalas, Islam is gone. He said but let me test it out, three signs given to me by the Imam. I need to work it out.

He says I go to him He says Ja'far, 'Tasliyat, your brother has died, fulaan fulaan.' He says 'Not a problem, not a problem. He says,' Who is the Imam? He says 'I am the Imam.' He says, haya bas khalas. 'Anything else you want to ask me?' He says, 'No, no just pray that Allah forgives him sins, whatever, whatever. 'Nothing?' 'Nothing'. He comes back. He didn't ask him for any of those letters and the replies, so now he is satisfied. Ha Hush, now this man is not the Imam. But the problem still remain, who is this next Imam?

Now Abu Ladyan is saying, everybody is coming, giving him tasliyat, giving him tabrik, going away. A person comes in the house and says, 'Ghusl is complete, Kafan is complete, now we need to recite namaz-e-Janazah.' So they bring out the body of the 11th Imam. Abu Ladyan is saying I saw the body come out, the people, they were gathered there. There were people who loved the Imam, there were people, normal people of the city, and they were the spies of Bani Al-'Abbas, all of them congregated over there.

The body was laid out into the courtyard, Ja'far comes in with his ridaa, very nice, very good appearance, big mawlana, big malvi. He comes inside, he is about to stand. As he is about to pray, Abu Ladyan says, he is about to start the first takbir, everybody is standing. He says, all of a sudden, I don't know but from somewhere a small little five year old child comes running. But when I see him, ajab, face is noorani, face is luminous, face is radiant. He comes, he comes to the prayer mat but Ja'far is about to say, tugs at his Abaa and pulls it.

He gives a tug to his Abaa and gives it a tug and pulls it. Ja'far turns and looks at the small boy. This boy tells him, 'Ya Amm, O my chacha [oh my uncle], ana ahaqqu bi as-salaati 'alaa abi - I am more deserving of praying the salaat upon my father.' Move aside. Abu Ladyan says, this Ja'far was a bold adult man. This five year old boy comes and tells him. But the waqaar, but the awe, but the 'ubuhat of this boy was such that it left Ja'far completely stunned. He could not say anything except to follow the commands of the boy. It was as if he had no way that he could oppose it.

But here at this point, let me tell you, see in Ilm Al-Kalam [Theology], in our Fiqh, in our Aqaid [belief], there is one ruling we need to understand. And that ruling is that when a ma'sum dies, a non-ma'sum cannot offer Salaat ul-Janazah on him. He cannot, it is not possible. When a ma'sum dies, the only person who can recite Salaat ul-Janazah on him is a ma'sum. And the logic is simple. This man who has died is the best of the creation of God at that point on earth. Somebody who is inferior to him cannot pray namaaz, either somebody superior to him will pray or somebody equivalent to him will pray.

And this is one of the logic and the concept of Raj'at. You know Raj'at right? Raj'at is a phase after the arrival of the Imam, when Imam Al-Zaman establishes his hukumat [governance], and there's a time will come when all the Ma'sumin will come, all the Imams will come back. Al-Husayn will come, 'Ali will come, Al-Hasan will come, Al-Sadiq will come, Al-Ridha' will come, all the Imams will come. First person to come, details we do not want to go. If I were to talk about Raj'at, two lectures, each hour and 15 minutes, we don't have that much time.

So just suffice to understand. All of them will come, how they will come? What they will do? What other details? You can read it up some other time or we can Skype. Time nathi maari paase'[Jokes in Gujrati- I do not have time] this is just ... But mas'alu su hoi [ but what is the ruling?]. They will start coming. The first person to come will be Al-Husayn. He will come before the Shahadat of the 12th Imam so that when Imam Al-Zaman is martyred and is dead, somebody, a ma'sum needs to be there to recite his mamaaz-e-Janazah, either somebody equivalent to him or somebody superior to him. Al-Husayn is superior to Imam Al-Zaman. He will come, he will lead the prayer, but that is Raj'at. That is Raj'at.

Here Imam Al-Zaman, the five year old boy. He says 'Ja'far, my chacha [paternal uncle], you cannot pray over him, you don't have the authority. You are a non-ma'sum, you cannot pray Salaat ul-Janazah on my father, who is a ma'sum. It is only a ma'sum who will pray over a ma'sum. Move aside.' Abu Ladyan says he tugged, he talked, the waqaar, the ubuhat, the dignity, the tone was so stern, Ja'far, an adult could not stand up, he moves aside. The small boy comes up recites Salaat ul-Janazah, before anybody knows he's gone. Abu Ladyan says first sign accomplished.

First sign, remember Imam Al-Askari said three signs. One is when somebody would pray my Salaat ul-Janazah. Sign number two. Sign number two, accomplished, happy, fine. But who is this boy? Where is this coming from? Where has he gone? Abu Ladyan doesn't know. He said let me wait, let me wait. While everybody is picking up, now Salaat ul-Janazah finished. They pick up the body, take it to the qabr site, take it to the graveyard next to, to bury it. As they are taking suddenly he sees this boy next to him. He says, 'Abu Ladyan give me those letters, the replies from Madain.' [Naara-e-salawaat. Allahumma salli 'alaa Muhammad wa aali Muhammad.] You will have to recite one more time after I give you the third sign. Wait now.

Second sign complete. What was the second sign? Second sign Imam Al-'Askari says, 'My representative, the next Imam will be the one who will ask you the letters from Madain'. When Imam Al-Zaman comes to him, he says 'Abu Ladyan give me those letters, those letters are my my responsibility. I am the inheritor, give it to me.' As soon as he gives, all of a sudden he sees the boy is no longer there. He said hush! Second sign complete. First he offered the prayers and the same person has mentioned that give me the letters.

But what about that bag? What bag? Which bag? What contents? Says I was worried, now the third sign needs to be complete. In the absence of the third, I cannot attest that this boy is the Imam. I cannot attest that this boy is the Imam. He is now waiting. He says a day passes. Everybody is now coming to Ja'far again. You know, that [Gujrati] siyaaqa nu nyaz hoi [funeral nyaz was there], ne aa hoi, ne te hoi [this was there and that was there], ne fateha ne [fateha/tabarruk was there], I do not know what and what, haleem hathu, biryaani hathu, whatever hathu [haleem was there, biriyani was there, and whatever else was there]. But people would start coming. As they would start coming, they would start talking.

All of a sudden, Abu Ladyan is saying. 'Ja'far would be so seated. There were people around, because now he is considered to be the Imam. They're talking to him, they're talking, they are having some you know, light banter, talking, there's discussion in the centre, in the centre of attraction, the next Imam fulaan fulaan. All of a sudden he sees Abu Ladyan and says 'I see a caravan coming, and I could make out they are Persians, they're from Iran. So they come and they ask we want to meet Imam Al-'Askari 'alayhi as-salam.' He says 'Imam Al-'Askari, but don't you know? He says 'No, we have just come from Iran, from Qum we are coming.' He says, 'Imam Al-'Askari has passed away.' Inna lil-Lahi wa inna ilayhi raaji'un. Imam has passed away, fulaan fulaan, tasliyat, fulaan.'

'Khub, now who is the next Imam?' He said, 'Why do you need to know the next Imam?' He says 'We've got certain wujuhaat Al-shar'iah, the khums we got, the sadaqa we brought, we've got certain gifts from people in Iran, we collect them together. Every year we do the same thing, we collect them together, then we come and we give it to the Imam. So we want to hand over the money to the Imam.' 'Oh money, that is the man Ja'far, not you, Ja'far.'

So they go to Ja'far. As they are sitting, Ja'far says 'Yes, I am the Imam, give me the money.' He says, 'No, No, it doesn't work, it doesn't work that way.' He says 'Why? But you'd said that you had come to give the Imam the money. I am the Imam, give me the money.' He says 'No. We have a rule and this rule has been going on for years together. ' So What is the rule?' He says 'The rule is that whenever we would come, we would not give the money to the Imam. We would keep those baggage that we had with us and we would tell the Imam, you tell us what is inside. Once you tell us what is inside, then we know that you are the correct Imam. We don't open the bags, we don't do anything. We just keep the bags in front. You have to tell us, one which people have sent this. You have to tell us what is there and you have to tell us each individual, how much has been given, has sent. Once you tell us, then we know you are the Imam, we will give it to you.

Abu Ladyan says I am listening to this now. I am listening to the third sign. He says now I realized what the, what the eleventh Imam says, the contents of the bag. This is it. Whoever does this, now I am certain that he is the Imam. He says that I was waiting to see what Ja'far does. As soon as these individuals talk to Ja'far, tell us, let us know what is there inside. Abu Ladyan says, 'I saw Ja'far pick up his ridaa, words of the riwaayat, pick up his ridaa, stands up in rage, infuriated, 'What do you think? Aturiduna an na'lam al-ghayb? What do you think? You want me to talk to you about the ghayb? Do you think we know the ghayb? What kind of questions you are? If you want to give the money, give the money. Are you trying to test me? Are you trying to do my imtihaan?' People do this to us right? [Gujarati] 'Sawal puche, khabar pan hoi chattah puche' - [they ask a question even though they know and yet they ask]. But anyway, 'You want to ask me?' He flies into a rage.

Now, Abu Ladyan is saying, this man cannot be the Imam.' So now when he could not answer, he says 'Fair enough. We have taken an amaanat from the people of Qum and Iran, we're going back and we will return to them because we have not been assured that you are the Imam, we're going back.' As they were turning to go away, a servant comes. Comes to them and says 'Wait.' So he says 'What is it?' He says 'My master is now going to tell you what are the contents of the bag.'

Abu Ladyan is watching, He says 'Who is your master?' He points to a little boy standing in the corner. He is saying, 'He is saying in this bag, there are a thousand dinars and the dinars are given by so and so person, so and so person, so and so person, so and so person. In addition to these thousand dinars, there are ten dinars that are forged and fake which you need to return it back to the people.

In addition to that, there are certain letters given by so and so person, so and so person, so and so person, the information about the contents of the bag. When those people heard this, 'they said this is exactly the contents that are there in the bag. Give this money to him because now this is the Imam.' Abu Ladyan is watching, he realizes sign number three finished, this five year old boy is the next Imam.

Sallu 'alaa Muhammad wa aali Muhammad [Allahumma salli 'alaa Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad]