Amazing Stories

A collection of moral stories from pious and righteous personalities that give life and ray of hope to those who are despaired of success and have fallen to the extraordinary difficulties. Each story is a testimony of Divine grace, miracle, fulfilment of supplications and a consequence of seeking mediation of Quran and the Holy Infallible Imams

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Preface

Moral Lessons From The Past Of Others

The Holy Qur’an reads:

لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي قَصَصِهِمْ عِبْرَةٌ لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ

"In their histories there is certainly a lesson for men of understanding." (Surah Yusuf, 12:111).

It is a well-known fact that human nature is attracted to the stories of others and what all has passed on the former people. Everyone is interested in stories from History. That is why story-telling has always been a popular profession. In this period also, majority of publications are in fact exciting and romantic stories, which are completely fabricated or fictional tales translated from foreign books. It is amazing that although everyone is aware that all these are fictional, they are still read and heard with deep eagerness and interest; and it is only due to the fact that human nature is basically inclined to stories and past histories. However, this inclination can be employed in the right way and excessive benefit can be derived from it.

Moral lessons can be obtained to awaken the consciences from sleep of unawareness and maximum advantage can be gained in this regard without resorting to fictional stories. Lessons can be learnt from the past of others. The Holy Qur’an has often mentioned stories and incidents of the bygone age. People of Aad and Thamud, Nuh, Firon and Lut are mentioned in many places and their evil consequences are discussed and others are advised to be apprehensive of such circumstances. It is said again and again:

وَلَقَدْ تَرَكْنَاهَا آيَةً فَهَلْ مِنْ مُدَّكِرٍ

"...but is there anyone who will mind?" (Surah al-Qamar 54:15) 1

According to Qur’an, the history of Prophet Yusuf ('a) and his brothers is the best of the stories:

نَحْنُ نَقُصُّ عَلَيْكَ أَحْسَنَ الْقَصَصِ

"We narrate to you the best of narratives..." (Surah Yusuf, 12:3)

It says at the end of this Surah:

لَقَدْ كَانَ فِي قَصَصِهِمْ عِبْرَةٌ لِأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ

"In their histories there is certainly a lesson for men of understanding." (Surah Yusuf 12:111)

That is every intelligent being takes lesson from their past, and learns about the consequences of deeds and rewards and punishment of their acts in this world, so that he may himself steer clear from the path of mistakes.

There are many instances of how the prophets displayed forbearance in hardships and difficulties and how their sincerity and steadfastness helped in achieving their aims.

Every story in Qur’an is having a moral. For example: advices of Hakim Luqman to his son.2

Or the secrets of creation and hidden wisdoms mentioned in the story of Prophet Musa ('a) and Khizr ('a).3 In the same way, good effects of charity and alms for the sake of Almighty are also explained in the best way in different stories.

In this book, every story is having an extraordinary benefit and a moral; as human nature is attracted to that which has passed on others, especially when the stories are true.

Belief In The Unseen

Another subject worthy of attention is that the foundation of Islam is based on creation and resurrection and other issues beyond human perception, which in terminology are called as 'unseen', although majority of people believe in matters beyond human perception - a stronger faith is more proximate to God.

One of the ways of increasing faith in unseen is through true dream, which is a medium connecting human soul to the world beyond perception. Thus, those who have true dreams develop more faith in the unseen and those who hear and believe them also develop more faith in the unseen.

Since many stories of this book are based on true dreams supported by external testimonies, they are more noteworthy and beneficial, since readers know that they are related by persons of the present age and are not lies or fiction.

On the basis of this, the reader better understands the world beyond the world of matter and nature and his belief in resurrection etc. becomes stronger. Therefore, this book helps in strengthening Islamic beliefs and faith in the unseen.

Miracles Of The Holy Imams ('A) In The Present Age - Stronger Belief And Connection With The Imams

Among the specialties of this book is that most of its stories are regarding miracles of Ahl ul-Bayt ('a), which occurred in the present age and the reader will strengthen his belief and reliance on this family, as a result of which he would not be affected by negative propaganda of impostors and will not stray from the right path and religion of truth.

As a result of their blessings, he would become more connected to them and get sufficient benefits, since he realizes how they fulfill the needs of all and also their love, which is the basis of religion, would increase among readers.

Refraining From Despair

Among the benefits of this book is that a person who is fed up of life and has despaired of success or has fallen into extraordinary hardships, by reading these stories, his hopes in his Lord will increase and he would become eager to join divine mercy. He will prepare the provisions for future journey and make up for his past deeds; thus disagreeable matters would not trouble him.

Lastly it is hoped that this book would be beneficial for all and that readers would gain sufficient benefit for it and we would get divine opportunity (Tawfiq) to make future editions also available for all.

Sayyid Muhammad Hashim Dastghaib
Shiraz, 18th Ramadhan – 18/9/47

- 1. For more details, and the reason and circumstances of destruction of each of these nations, refer to the book of Haqaiqi Az-Qur’an by Ayatullah Dastghaib.

- 2. Refer to verses 12 to 19 of Surah Luqman, 31:12-19

- 3. Refer to verses 59 to 82 of Surah Kahf, 18:59-82.

Introduction

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Throughout his life, this humble servant heard numerous moral stories from pious and righteous persons and realized that each was a testimony of divine grace, miracle and fulfillment of supplications and a consequence of seeking mediation of Qur’an and the Holy Imams ('a).

Today, when I am sixty-five years of age and messengers of death; that is physical weakness and maladies have reminded me of death and given tidings of meeting the purified ancestors and other believers, I wish to narrate those stories with a number of objectives:

1- Even though I cannot claim to be from the righteous, I wish to cultivate their company, to listen to them and to see them - a saying is: If you cannot be from them, at least talk about them.

2- As mentioned in traditions, divine mercy descends on the remembrance of good,1 it is hoped that the writer and the dear readers would be included in this mercy.

3- Since each of these stories strengthen faith in unseen and make us inclined to the higher world and the Creator, I have collected them so that my children and other readers may benefit from them and especially during hardships and calamities, they should not fall into despair. They should have stronger belief in God, and should know that supplication and mediation are facts; and thus, they would strive to achieve ranks of piety and certitude, which are beyond the perception of human beings.

4- Perhaps after me, by studying them, someone might gain divine recognition and remember God, through which he might achieve happiness; and as recompense the Almighty Allah may also remember this lowly servant with His grace and blessings.

- 1. Safinat ul-Bihar, Vol. I, Page. 447.

1. Charity (Sadaqah) Delays Death

I heard from Aga Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi that once our respected uncle (mother's brother), Late Aga Mirza Ibrahim Mahallati was involved in such a terrible disease that physicians admitted helplessness in curing him back to health and said that his mentor, Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Jawad Bedabadi should be informed immediately. So we sent a telegram to him. Reply came: Give 200 Tomans in alms so that the Almighty Allah may cure him.

Although at that time this was a big amount, but it was procured in any way and distributed among the poor. It proved effective and the Mirza recovered.

Mirza Mahallati fell ill again the second time and the physicians expressed helplessness. First of all, l sent a telegram to Late Bedabadi. I had sent a reply telegram and had also requested for reply, but no reply came and finally Mirza died of that ailment. Then I understood that the reason of not receiving any reply from Late Bedabadi was that the time of destined death had arrived for the Mirza, which could not be delayed by alms.

Two conclusions can be derived from this story. One is that the ill can be cured through alms (Sadaqah). On the contrary, death can also be delayed through it. A large number of traditions and incidents have come down from Ahl ul-Bayt ('a) regarding the effectiveness of charity in curing illnesses, delaying death, increasing lifespan and warding off seventy types of calamities. Those who are interested may refer to the books of Layali ul-Akhbar of Toisarkani and Kalmah Tayyabah of Muhaddith Nuri.

Another point is that when death is definite and destined and living longer is against divine wisdom, charity is of no use, although one benefits from it in the other world. Another incident is narrated here to support this point.

2. No Cure For Destined Death

Haji Ghulam Husayn, the tobacco seller informed me that: I heard from Aga Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Ja'far Mahallati that during the illness of Hujjat ul-Islam Late Haji Mirza Muhammad Hasan Shirazi some prominent scholars were gathered around his bed and saying: Many religious persons have performed supplications in holy places like the tomb of Imam Husayn ('a) and other holy places, especially Kufa Masjid and have prayed to Allah for your health. In addition to this, excessive charity has also been given for your well-being. We believe that the Almighty Allah will cure you with the blessings of supplications and charity and keep you in health in order to benefit the Muslims.

The Late Mirza responded with a statement, which apparently showed that his destined death has arrived and that it was now necessary to leave the world. He said: These mediations cannot block the definite wisdom of Almighty Allah.

3. Recitation Of Qur’an At The Time Of Death

Since an incident about the terminal illness of Mirza Muhammad Mahallati was mentioned before, I would like to narrate the story about his death as well.

The Late Haji Mirza Ismail Kazerooni used to say that Mirza Mahallati started reciting the last verses of Surah Hashr in the agony of his death, till he was in the middle of the verse:

هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ

"He is Allah, besides Whom there is no god; the King, the Holy, the Giver of peace, the Granter of security..." (Surah Hashr 59:23).

True success and good fortune is only that in the last moments of one’s life ones tongue and heart should be engrossed in remembrance of the Almighty and that death should arrive in this condition and it is the sincere wish of all believers:

وَفِي ذَٰلِكَ فَلْيَتَنَافَسِ الْمُتَنَافِسُونَ

"...and for that let the aspirers aspire." (Surah Mutafaffifeen 83:26).

May Allah make us die on righteousness for the sake of Muhammad and his purified progeny.

4. Janabat Is Spiritual Impurity

Janabat 1 Is Spiritual Impurity

Aga Rizvi has narrated that the Late Bedabadi mentioned above came to Shiraz from Bushahar on way to Medina and stayed there for two months. He was a guest of Aga Ali Akbar Maghazai and congregational prayer was held there under his lead. At all three prayer times a crowd of believers was present there to gain from his company.

One night the ritual bath had become obligatory on me, so after the Morning call for prayer, I left my place to go to the public bath. Suddenly I saw Shaykh Muhammad Baqir Shaykh ul-Islam on way to meet Aga Bedabadi. He asked: Are you not coming with me? I felt ashamed to say that I was going to the public bath. So I accompanied him thinking that there was enough time yet and that I would go the public bath after greeting Aga Bedabadi. When we two came to him, first Aga Shaykh ul-Islam shook hands with him. When my turn came, Aga Bedabadi whispered to me in my ear: Going to the public bath was more important.

I was astonished and moved at his insight and started retreating with shame and regret, Shaykh ul-Islam asked: Aga Rizvi, where are you going? The Late Bedabadi said: Let him go, he has something important to do.

It can be concluded from this story that impurity of seminal emission and other impurities are not mere nominal issues, for which the Messenger of Allah (S) has fixed some laws, as some scholars have opined. On the contrary, all kinds of impurities, that is any act, which necessitate ritual bath (Ghusl) and ablution (Wudhu), especially seminal emission; all are factual matters. That is, due to them a type of impurity, filth and darkness is created in the soul, in the presence of which, that person is not having any inclination to Prayers and the Prayer becomes invalid. It is so, because this act is having the capacity of presence in the court of the Almighty and is a whispered supplication to Him.

Due to this internal impurity, it is detestable in that condition (Makruh) to eat, sleep, read more than seven verses of Qur’an and to go in the presence of one having agony of death, because angels are present there and the dying person is in dire need of divine mercy, whereas angels abhor the impurity of Janabat and menstrual period (Haiz).

Moreover, all unlawful or detestable acts in that condition are only deemed as such due to that impurity. Thus, those sincere Shia and followers of Ahl ul-Bayt ('a) who have undertaken spiritual struggles and lawful penances are bestowed with an illuminated conscience by Allah and they can feel matters, which are beyond human perception. It is possible that they are even able to perceive that impurity, as seen in the case of Late Bedabadi.

There are many similar incidents of this type; like in Tankabani's book, Qisas ul-Ulama the following statement of the Late Aga Sayyid Abdul Karim Ibn Sayyid Zayn ul-Abidin Lahji is narrated:

My respected father used to say: 1 was studying in the holy places and it was the last period of Late Aga Baqir Wahid Bahbani and the Aga was not giving lectures due to his old age and weakness. On the contrary, his students were performing this duty, but the Aga held a token lecture, in which he gave superficial talks on Sharh Lumah and some of us students attended it as a token gesture. By chance, one day 1 became needful for ritual bath (Ghusl Janabat) and my prayers had also lapsed, and it was time for Aga 's lecture.

I said to myself that I would attend the lecture first, so that it is not disturbed and after that go directly to the public bath and perform ritual bath. The Aga had not arrived when I reached the lecture room. When he did so, he did most cheerfully and smiling. He glanced at all who were present there. All of a sudden, signs of sorrow and grief became apparent on his face and he said: There would be no lecture today. All of you may go back. People started leaving, but when I wanted to leave, he said: Be seated. I continued sitting. When all had left. he said: There is some money below the carpet where you are sitting, take it and perform the ritual bath and you must never again attend such a gathering in condition of ritual impurity.

A similar incident is mentioned in the book of Mustadrak ul-Wasail, Vol. 3, Pg. 401 in the biography of the great scholar, Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Qazwini. It is narrated that during the year 124 l A.H. a terrible plague spread in Najaf al-Ashraf in which 40000 lives were lost and for whomsoever it was possible, he fled from there except this Sayyid.

A night before the plague, Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) informed him in dream saying: You would be the last martyr among those who die in plague. It was exactly same; that after the Sayyid's death, the epidemic ended and in that whole period from the morning to night the Sayyid performed prayers of dead in the holy courtyard. He appointed some persons for giving funeral bath and shrouding and some for burying the dead.

Sayyid Murtaza informed me that he was with the Sayyid in those times: One day a good-natured old caretaker of Najaf al-Ashraf started weeping on seeing the Sayyid, as if he wanted something from him, but was unable to reach him. When the Sayyid saw this, he said to me: Ask him what he wants? When I went to him and asked, he said: If I were also to die during this, it is my wish that only the Sayyid (r.a.) should pray my funeral prayers separately. (due to excess of dead, the Sayyid prayed for a number of corpses at a time). I turned around and conveyed his wish to the Sayyid and he accepted it. That old man went away from there.

The following day a youth arrived weeping and said: I am the son of that old man and he has contracted plague today. He sent me to request you to visit him. The Sayyid agreed; and leaving someone as substitute to pray on the dead, himself set out to visit that religious man. A group of believers also accompanied him. On the way, a believer came out from his house. When he saw the Sayyid and his companions, he asked where they were headed. I said: We are going to visit a patient. He said: I will also come with you to earn the same rewards.

When the Sayyid reached that patient, he was extremely elated and expressed his love and sincerity to each of us in turn. Till the person who had joined us on the way came before him and greeted him. At that moment, the patient's condition worsened and he gestured to him with his hands and head in anxiety. He was in fact asking him to go out. He also signaled his sons to take him out. All of us were astounded, because there was no familiarity between that man and the patient. That man went out immediately. After sometime he returned and now the patient smiled at him and expressed approval and pleasure.

When all of us left the house, we asked that person what the matter was. He said I was in a state of ritual impurity and I was going to the public bath when I met you all. I thought that first I would visit this sick person and after that go to the public bath, but when I saw his severe displeasure, I understood that it was due to my ritual impurity. So I went out, performed the ritual bath and returned; and you saw how this time he was so much pleased.

After narrating this strange story, the author of Mustadrak says: This proves why Islamic law discourages persons with ritual impurity and menstrual period not to visit one who is in the agony of death.

- 1. Ritual impurity through sexual act

5. Miracle Of Covering Long Distances

The prominent scholar and researcher named Mirza Mahmud Mujtahid Shirazi, a resident of Samarrah has narrated an incident from Sayyid Muhammad Ali Rashti, who has passed a major part of his life in lawful penance and spiritual struggles. He says: When I was a student of Madressa Hajj Qawam it was famous among students that a person in patched garments and slippers, who usually sat at Tusi Gate was having the miraculous powers of covering vast distances in no time and every Thursday day he recites the Evening (Maghrib) Prayer in Wadi as-Salam at the Place of Mahdi and the Night (lsha) Prayer in the sanctuary of Imam Husayn ('a) in Karbala. Whereas there is a distance of around 50 Kms between Najaf al-Ashraf and Karbala and for one who is on foot it is two days of travel.

I wanted to investigate this in order to gain certainty. So I became friendly with that man in patched garments and when our friendship was on a firm footing, on Wednesday I told my roommate whom I trusted, to go to Karbala and spend Friday eve in the holy sanctuary and check if my friend with patched garments is seen there. When he set out for Karbala, I went to my friend with patched garments and mentioned that I had a problem. He asked: What is it? I said: There is an important matter, about which I have to convey information to my classmate this very moment, but regretfully he has already gone to Karbala and I cannot contact him now. He said: Explain the whole matter to me. The Almighty Allah is powerful and your message can reach him tonight itself. I handed to him a letter that I had written from before and he set out to Wadi as-Salam, after which I did not see him till on Saturday my classmate returned and giving that letter to me, said: That gentleman with patched clothes came to me in the tomb of Imam Husayn (‘a) and gave this letter.

When I saw the letter, I became certain that the gentleman with patched clothes was having the power of covering long distances in no time. I decided to ask him how I can also get the same powers. So I invited him for dinner at my home. Since it was hot, we retired to the terrace from where the dome of the holy shrine of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) was visible. After a brief dinner, I said: I invited you for this dinner because I have become certain that you have the powers of covering long distances in no time and the letter that I gave you was to gain certainty. Now I request you to guide me and teach me what I should do to gain this power?

When he realized that his secret was exposed, he gave a loud scream and fell in a swoon like dried wood. I thought that he was dead, but he recovered after sometime and pointing to the holy dome said: What I have is a blessing of that Master. You may also ask him whatever you want. Then he went away from there and was never seen in Najaf al-Ashraf again and as much as I investigated, no one else also saw him. I heard this story from other scholars of religion also, and all have narrated it through Late Rashti.

No one should have any difficulty in believing this incident and none should doubt it, because it is not a difficult matter for the Holy Imams ('a) to bestow the power of covering long distances in no time to anyone of their followers and many such examples are available in books of traditional reports.

For example, in Bihar ul-Anwar, the following incident regarding Ali bin Yaqtin, the Prime Minister of Harun Rashid is mentioned in the life history of Imam Musa Kazim ('a):

Ibrahim Jamal Kuti was deeply hurt by Ali bin Yaqtin. Thus, when Ali bin Yaqtin came to meet the Imam in Medina Munawwara, the Imam disregarded him and said: Till Ibrahim is not satisfied with you, I will also not be satisfied. He said: Ibrahim is in Kufa and I am in Medina. Imam ('a) enabled him to reach the door of Ibrahim in a moment, miraculously. He called Ibrahim out. When he came out, he found Ali bin Yaqtin worried and anxious. Ali explained the matter to him and made him satisfied. On the contrary, he placed his check on the ground and adjured him to put his foot on it so that the Imam is satisfied. After that he returned to Medina the same moment and the Imam was satisfied with him.

Similar is the incident of Imam Muhammad Taqi ('a), in which he conveyed the caretaker of Raasul Husayn Mosque in Syria from Damascus to Medina and then to Masjid ul-Haram and then conveyed him back to his place. There are other examples as well, but it is beyond the scope of this book to mention them all, because only incidents heard or memorized from reliable persons are mentioned, although in order to strengthen our arguments, we have provided references in some instances.

6. Reviving After Death

I also heard from Aga Mirza Mahmud that there was a person in Najaf al-Ashraf named late Aga Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Kamashai, a student of great scholars and late Murtaza Kashmiri. He was famous as a runaway from the grave and the reason of this fame, as I heard from him directly, was that when he was eighteen years old, he contracted small pox in Kamash and his illness intensified by the day. By chance it was the season of grapes and the room where he lay was used for storing grapes. So without telling anyone he ate those grapes and his illness worsened till he passed away.

Those who were present there started weeping and mourning and when his mother arrived and found her son dead, she said: Till I don't return, no one should touch my son. After that she took the Qur’an and retired to the terrace and started pleading and supplicating in the court of the Almighty. She said, making the Holy Qur’an and Imam Husayn ('a) as mediators and said: I will not leave you till my son does not return.

Only a short time must have passed that life returned to the body of Aga Muhammad Husayn. He looked around and not finding his mother, said: Call my mother here, since the Almighty Allah has gifted me to Imam Husayn ('a). Inform my mother that her son has become alive again.

He narrated: When the time of my death arrived two persons dressed in white, having luminous faces came to me and asked: What is your problem? I said: My whole body is in pain. One of them passed his hand over my leg and the pain of legs disappeared. In the same way, as he passed hands over my body, the pain continued to recede, till I saw that my family members were weeping. I tried my best to explain to them that now I was comfortable, but I did not succeed. At last, the two of them pushed me upwards. At that time, I was extremely elated.

On the way a person with an illuminated countenance met us and said: I have given him thirty more years of life and since his mother has sought my mediation, you must take him back. They brought me back with speed. Now, when I opened my eyes. I saw people weeping around me. I told my mother: Your seeking mediation was accepted and I have got thirty years of life.

Most people of Najaf al-Ashraf, who had heard this story directly, were anticipating his death after thirty years had passed. When this destined period was over, he passed away in Najaf al-Ashraf.

Another similar incident is mentioned at the end of Dar us-Salam narrated from the righteous personality, Mulla Abdullah Husayn, caretaker of the tomb of lmam Husayn ('a).

It is a long story whose gist is that the son of Mulla Abdullah Husayn fell down accidentally from the upper storey and died. His father was shattered; weeping and wailing, he took refuge in the court of Imam Husayn ('a). He supplicated for his son's life and said that till that time he would not leave the shrine.

When the neighbors despaired after waiting for a long time, they said that the burial cannot be delayed any further. So they took the body to the corpse wash room. During the funeral bath. due to the intercession of Imam Husayn ('a) his soul returned to his body and he put on his clothes and walking on his own, came to the shrine and returned home with his father.

Such miracles of the Holy Imams ('a) are present in large numbers, some of which are mentioned in the book of Madinat ul-Maajiz.

7. Relief From The Enemy

It is narrated that with an aim to perform the Ziyarat of the Holy Imams ('a) buried in Iraq, Aga Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Kamashai procured a fast-moving donkey and packed his books and clothes and loaded them on the beast. They included a booklet, in which he had made important notes and some things opposed to dissimulation (Taqiyyah) [curse and condemnation of opponents].

The caravan set out and reached the Baghdad check post where the inspector decided to check the luggage of this Shaykh. By chance he found the same booklet, opened it and read the contents and then looking at Shaykh angrily, said: Take the Shaykh to the high court, and after arresting him left the other pilgrims without inspection.

There was a long distance between that check post and the city and there was no habitation in between. Two soldiers loaded the Shaykh's luggage on donkeys and set out from there.

After traveling for some distance, the donkey tired out and no matter how much they tried the two soldiers could do nothing to drive them. One soldier said: I am extremely tired. This Shaykh cannot run away. I am going ahead, you follow. After covering some distance, the second soldier was also exhausted due to extreme heat and thirst. He told the Shaykh: I am going ahead to reach shade and water. You catch up on me later.

The Shaykh found himself alone and free. He was also tired. So he mounted the donkey. As soon as he mounted, the attitude of the donkey changed. He raised its ears and started galloping like an Arabian horse till it reached the first soldier. Though he wanted to inform him that the donkey has recovered and you may also come abroad, it seemed as if someone closed his mouth, and he could say nothing.

He passed that soldier, who also could not understand what was happening. The Shaykh understood that it was the grace of the Almighty Allah; till he reached the second soldier as well, but did not tell him anything and he also neither saw nor heard anything. After that the Shaykh left the reins of the donkey loose, so that it may take him wherever it wanted. It reached inside Baghdad city and galloping through the lanes entered Kazmain; then conveyed the Shaykh to the house where his friends were present. There it began to hit its head against the door. After meeting his friends, the Shaykh set out from Kazmain and thanked the Almighty for saving him from a great mischief.

8. Miraculous Opening Of The Gates

It is narrated from Shaykh Muhammad Husayn that: I came out of my house late one night to purchase some pickle from a shop near the city boundary wall. In the past, Najaf was surrounded by a wall having a gate. This gate was next to the big market, which led to the holy courtyard and the gate of the holy courtyard opened into the golden hall facing the building; such that if all gates were open the holy sepulcher could be seen from the city gate.

The Shaykh says: Passing from there, I heard some people banging at the gate from outside and saying: 0 Ali, open the gate, but the guards were unmoved, because the gates were supposed to be kept locked all night. I moved on and after buying the pickle, on my way back, I reached the gate again. The visitors were screaming in a desperate way and thrashing their feet on the ground, saying: 0 Ali, please open the door.

I leant against the door and watched from the sides of my eyes. Once I saw a blue light emanate from the grave having two types of movements. One around itself and another towards the courtyard and the big market and it was moving forward with absolute tranquility. I was watching it with rapt attention. It slowly passed in front of me and hit the gate. Suddenly the door and its frame uprooted from the wall and crashed to the ground and the Arabs entered the city in joy.

The people of Najaf in general and scholars in particular are familiar with the 6th 7th and 8th story, and scholars who have met Late Muhammad Husayn and heard the story directly from him are yet alive. If all their names were to be quoted, our discussion would be unduly prolonged.

9. Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('A) Cures The Sick

The late Mirza has narrated from Shaykh Muhammad Husayn that he set out from Iraq for the Ziyarat of Holy Mash-had, when he reached there, he developed a boil in one of his fingers, which caused him severe pain. Some scholars took him to the hospital. The Christian surgeon declared that it was absolutely essential to amputate the finger lest the infection spreads to the whole body. The Shaykh did not agree to have his finger amputated. The doctor said that if he comes the following day, he would have to get his hand amputated from the wrist.

The Shaykh came home, but the pain continued to increase and he wailed and screamed all night. The following morning he consented to have his finger amputated, but when they took him to the hospital again the doctors declared that now he would have to get his hand amputated from the wrist. The Shaykh did not agree and said that he was only prepared to have his finger amputated. It would not be of any use, said the surgeon; and if you don't have the hand amputated from the wrist today, the infection would spread further and tomorrow you would have to get your hand amputated from the shoulder.

The Shaykh returned home once again, but the pain intensified to such an extent that in the morning he was ready to allow amputation of his hand. When he was again taken to the surgeon, he said: Now, the poison has spread further and the hand would have to be amputated from the shoulder and amputation from the wrist is useless. If it is not done today, tomorrow it would spread to all the organs. It might also reach the heart, causing death.

The Shaykh didn't allow his hand to be amputated from the shoulder and he returned from there. The pain intensified further and he continued to moan and scream all night. At last he agreed to have the hand amputated from the shoulder. His friends took him to the surgeon. On the way, the Shaykh said: Friends, it is possible that I might die in the hospital, so first take me to the holy shrine.

They took him there and made him sit in a corner of the holy mausoleum. The Shaykh wept intensely and complaining in the court of the Imam, said: Is it appropriate that your visitor should be involved in such a difficulty and you don't come to his help, though you are a very kind Imam, especially to your visitors? After that he fell in swoon and in it he saw Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a). The Imam passed his blessed hand from his fingers to his shoulder and said: You have been cured.

The Shaykh regained his senses and found that his hand was perfect and there was no pain at all. His friends arrived and took him to the hospital. He did not divulge anything about how the Imam had cured him. When he was brought to the Christian surgeon and he looked at the hand, there was no sign of that boil.

Thinking that it might be the wrong hand, he examined the other hand as well, but found that also in perfect health. He asked: O Shaykh, have you met Hazrat Masih (Jesus Christ)?

He replied: I met one who is more exalted; and he has cured me, and after that he narrated how the Imam had cured his malady.

10. Bestowal Of Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('A)

I heard from Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Razi, a practical scholar and accomplished author of books like Athaar ul-Hujaat that he heard from Late Hajj Aga Yahya (congregational leader of Masjid Hajj Sayyid Azizullah, Tehran) and other scholars, that the Late Hajj Shaykh Ibrahim alias Sahibuzzamani said: I composed a panegyric (Qasida) on 11th Zilqad, birthday of Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) about the birth and praise of the holy Imam and left my place intending to recite it to the minister. When I was passing through the holy courtyard, I said to myself: Stupid man! The real king is this only. Where are you going? Why don't you recite your Qasida to him?

So I regretted my previous intention and came to the sepulcher (Zari) and recited my Qasida. After that I said: O master, I am in very constrained financial conditions. It would be great if you can bestow some reward to me.

Suddenly someone placed ten tomans in my hand from the right side. I said: Master, this is less. Immediately someone gave ten tomans from the left. Again I said that it was less and someone gave another ten tomans. In short, I requested six more times and each time ten tomans were given to me. (In fact at that time Ten tomans was a huge amount). When I found sixty tomans sufficient for my needs, I felt ashamed to ask for more. So I pocketed the money and thanked for it and came out of the holy shrine.

At the shoe booth, I met Hajj Shaykh Hasan Tehrani. As soon as he saw me, he took me aside and said: Hajj Shaykh, you have become very clever and you came to Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) directly. You composed the couplets and the Imam rewarded you. Tell me what is the amount you received as recompense? I said: Sixty Tomans. He asked: Are you prepared to exchange them for double the amount? I accepted the offer and gave him the sixty Tomans and took 120 Tomans in return.

Later, I regretted exchanging the money that the Imam had gifted. So I went back to the Shaykh and tried to persuade him to cancel the deal, but he was not prepared to do that any cost.

11. Bestowal Of Imam Husayn ('A) 1

The pious and righteous personality, the late Hajj Shaykh Ghulam Al-Ridha Tabisi, approximately thirty-three years ago came to Shiraz and stayed there for some months in Madressa of Aga Babakhan. When I went to meet him, he said:

I performed the Ziyarat of the holy places in a caravan of some friends. A night before returning to Iran, I remembered that though we had performed the Ziyarat of all the holy places, we had not visited Masjid Buratha. How nice it would have been if we had visited this place as well and had not been deprived of the blessings of that place? I said to my companions: Come, let us go to Masjid Buratha, but they did not agree and instead said that there was no sufficient time for it.

When they declined, I left alone and traveled from Kazmain to Masjid Buratha. I found its gate closed and it seemed that people had locked the door from inside and left and there was no one there. I was perplexed as I had covered this distance with great anticipation. When I examined the wall, I realized that it would be possible to scale it. So I climbed over it and entered the mosque and took it for granted that since the door was closed from inside, it would be easy to open it, whereas no one else was present in the Masjid.

After the rituals, I noticed that people had placed a very strong lock from inside and then exited from there with a ladder or something. l was extremely anxious as the wall was absolutely un-scalable from inside. I said: I have spent my lifetime in devotion to Imam Husayn ('a) and hope that when I reach the gate of Paradise, it would open with the blessings of the Imam, and the gate of Paradise is more important than this gate, so it can also open with the blessings of Imam Husayn ('a). After that I placed my hand on the lock and pulled it saying: O Husayn; and it opened immediately. I came out and thanked the Almighty. After that I also managed to join my caravan.

Masjid Al-Buratha

Muhaddith Qummi has said in Mafatih ul-Jinan that Masjid al-Buratha is a famous place of visitation and it is situated on the visitor route between Baghdad and Kazmain, but most of the time people remain deprived of its benefits and don't pay any attention to it, even though its merits and excellence are mentioned in excess.

12. Two Strange Incidents

I heard from the Late Hajj Shaykh Murtaza Taliqani in Madrassa Sayyid, Najaf al-Ashraf that he witnessed two strange and opposite incidents during the time of Late Aga Sayyid Muhammad Kazim Yazdi:

One is that during summer, some students used to sleep in the courtyard and some on the terrace. One night I woke up due to commotion and saw students rushing to the courtyard and gathering around a boy. I asked what the matter was and was told that so and so Khorasani student (I forgot his name) was sleeping on the terrace; he turned sides in his sleep and fell down from the terrace.

When I reached him, I found that he was perfectly all right and was just waking up. I said: Don't tell him that he fell from the terrace. I took him to a room and gave him some warm water; till it was morning and we entered the class of Late Sayyid and narrated the incident. Sayyid was pleased and he suggested that a sheep should be slaughtered and its meat be distributed among the poor.

After some days that same student or someone else (this doubt is from me) was sleeping in the cellar of the building on a wooden plat form, which was not even a foot high. He turned sides, fell down and died immediately. His corpse was brought out from the cellar.

These two contradictory incidents and such happenings teach us that the effect of every cause depends on God, who has made the causes effective, because we see that under the effect of a strong cause, whose effect is definite, like falling down from terrace, in which bones should shatter and the person should die, but even its slightest effect did not appear, as the Almighty had not willed it. On the other hand, a fall from a small platform caused death, whereas no harm should have come to that person.

13. Thousands Escape Death

Three years ago, I had the honor of the company of Aga Hajj Sayyid Muhammad Ali Qadi Tabrizi for some days in Tehran. I heard many stories from him and one of them is as follows:

Four years ago, during the blessed month of Ramadhan, Masjid Shishgalan in Tabriz, whose prayer leadership was with Aga Mirza Abdullah Mujtahidi, was teeming with crowd on the Night of Power (Laylat ul-Qadr). Aga Mujtahidi ended the rituals two hours earlier without any intention and thinking that it was not necessary to stay in the Masjid further, he left, and because of this, all the people in the mosque also came out.

When the last person left, the Masjid roof crashed all of sudden. No one was hurt in this mishap. If the crash had occurred when the place was full, not a single person would have survived.

14. Saved From Drowning

It is narrated from Shaykh Husayn that one Friday during his stay in Najaf he left for Kufa for sightseeing and strolling by the river banks and reached a spot where children were fishing. A person from Najaf al-Ashraf was also present there. He said to a child who was casting the net: This time cast the net betting on my luck. When he cast the net, there was movement in it. When it was retracted, it was found heavy. He said: How lucky you are! I have never seen such a heavy fish.

The net was pulled with a boy who had almost drowned. When that man saw the boy, he screamed in horror and exclaimed: This is my son! How did he come here? After first aid was administered to him, he recovered and explained: I was playing and swimming in the shallow region when a wave caught me and I was about to drown, but the net was cast and I came out in it.

Glory be to Allah, for the narrow escape of that child; how a father was inspired to go out to the river bank and ask the children fishing over there to cast the net betting on his luck!

There are many incidents like this and the one before it. Some are mentioned in the last chapter of Amwarun Nomaniya. In the same way, they are also mentioned in Khazinat ul-Jawahir of Late Nahawandi. Those who are interested may refer to these books.

15. Bestowal Of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('A)

Learned and pious gentleman, the Late Hajj Mirza Muhammad Sadar Bushahri narrated:

Once my late father, Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Ali traveled from Najaf al-Ashraf to India. At that time my brother, Shaykh Ahmad and me were aged less than six or seven years. By chance the absence of my father so prolonged that the money he had left with my mother for household expenses was exhausted and we became involved in financial difficulties.

One day, in late afternoon, we were clinging to our mother and crying of hunger. My mother asked us to perform ablution, and dressed us in clean clothes. Then she brought us out, till we reached the holy courtyard. She said: l am waiting in the hall: you two go inside and tell Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) that your father is not present here, and that you are hungry today. Bring whatever the Imam gives, so that I may prepare your dinner.

We went inside and placing our heads on the sepulcher requested: Our father is not at home and we are hungry. After that we put our hands inside the sepulcher and said: Give us some money so that our mother may cook dinner. In a short while, Call for Evening Prayer (Maghrib Adhan) was recited and when I heard the words of: The Prayer is established (Qad Iqamalis Salaah), I said to my brother: His Eminence, Ali ('a) wants to lead the prayers (I said this in childhood innocence thinking that the Imam leads congregational prayers). So we sat down in a corner of the sanctuary and waited for the prayers to end.

An hour later a person arrived and gave me a bag of money saying: Tell your mother that till your father returns, you may contact so and so place if you need anything (I forgot the name). In short, the father's absence continued for many more months, but we lived with the best of facilities like nobles and wealthy people of Najaf, till my father returned.

16. Excellence Of Scholars

It is narrated that my Late grandfather, Akhund Mulla Abdullah Bahbani was the student of the great Shaykh. Shaykh Murtaza Ansari, may his station be exalted and as a result of the tragedies of life, he was in a very bad financial condition and had accumulated debts up to 500 Tomans, whose repayment looked impossible in normal circumstances, (because it was a huge amount hundred years ago). He mentioned this to his teacher, who thought about it for some time and then said: Go to Tabriz, if Allah wills, your problems would be solved.

He set out immediately and on reaching Tabriz, went to the house of the Late Friday leader and the most famous scholar of Tabriz of that time, but the latter paid no particular attention to him. He spent the night in the outer portion of his house. After the Morning call for prayer someone knocked at the door. When the servant opened the door, the chief trader said: I have some work with the Imam. He asked the Imam: Has some scholar visited you last night? He replied: Yes, a scholar from Najaf al-Ashraf, but so far I have not asked hi m about his identity and the purpose of his visit.

The chief trader said: I beseech you to entrust your guest to me. Imam said: No problem; the Shaykh is staying in that outer room. The chief trader stepped forward and took the Shaykh to his place with all respect. He arranged a dinner and invited at least fifty traders.

After dinner, he said: Gentlemen, last night I had a dream that I was outside the city, when suddenly I had the honor to see Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) riding to this city. I hastened forward and kissed the stirrup and asked: Master, what is the occasion, that you blessed our Tabriz with your presence? Imam ('a) said: I have fallen in debts and I have come here for assistance.

I woke up and began to contemplate on the dream. I interpreted it to mean that a proximate devotee of Ali ('a) is indebted and has come to our city. After that I pondered more and concluded that most probably it could be Sayyids or scholars. I considered where I should search for him and said to myself: If he is a scholar, he would definitely be staying at the place of some scholar.

So after Morning Prayer, I decided to first check the houses of religious scholars; and after that make inquiries at inns and caravanserais. By chance, I first visited the house of the Friday congregation leader and found this Shaykh there. I learnt that he is a scholar from Najaf and has come to our city from the neighborhood of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a). so that his debts may be liquidated. He is indebted for more than 500 Tomans and I myself contribute 100 Tomans. After that other traders also separately contributed and amount sufficient to repay the debts was collected. With the balance amount, he managed to buy a house in Najaf al-Ashraf. The Late Sayyid used to say that the house still stands and has come to me in inheritance.

17. Miracle Of Scholars

Aga Hajj Moin Shirazi, a resident of Tehran said: One day I was standing on a Tehran road with a cousin of mine, waiting for a taxi as we wanted to go to a distant place.

We stood there for around half an hour. All the taxis that passed were either engaged or the driver did not pay any attention to us. At last we were tired of waiting.

Suddenly a taxi arrived and automatically stopped before us. The driver said: Please come aboard, sirs and tell me where do you wish to go? We entered the vehicle and mentioned our intended destination. On the way I told my cousin: Thanks to Allah, at least one Muslim driver in Iran had pity on us. The driver said: Sir, by chance, I am not a Muslim, but an Armenian Christian. We asked: Then why did you show such concern to us? He said: Though not a Muslim myself, I am a great fan of Muslims scholars and priests in this dress, and consider it my duty to accord respect to them due to what I have witnessed.

I asked: What did you witness? He replied: When Aga Hajj Mirza as-Sadiq Mujtahid Tabrizi was exiled to Kyrgyzstan (Sanandaj), I was the driver of his vehicle. On the way we reached a tree and a water spring. Aga Tabrizi said: Halt here for some time, so that I may pray Noon and Afternoon prayer, but the guard escorting him said: Don 't pay any attention to what he is saying, and continue driving.

I also paid no heed and restarted the vehicle. When we came to the spring, the engine stalled all of a sudden. No matter how much I tried, the engine did not revive. I stepped out and examined the engine, but could not find any fault in it. I didn't know what to do. The Late Aga said: Now, that the car has stopped, give me chance enough to recite my prayers.

When the officer said nothing, the Aga started to pray. Meanwhile I tinkered with the engine. At last when Aga concluded his prayer and came to the car, it started automatically.

From that day I understood that those who don this dress are respected and honored in the view of God.

There are many traditional reports and stories, which state that it is obligatory to honor religious scholars, but it is beyond the scope of this book to narrate them here. Those who are interested may refer to the book of Kalimah Tayyiba.

18. Seeking Mediation Of Qur’an

Hajj Muham ad Hasan Eimani said:

Once there was some problem with my father, Ali Akbar Maghazi 's business. So many debts piled upon him and he was unable to repay them. During that time, the pious scholar, Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Jawad Bedabadi (mentioned in story I and 4) set out from Isfahan and since my Late father was very much devoted to him, he used to be our guest in Shiraz. When my respected father was informed that Aga Bedabadi has reached Abadan, he said his arrival in such difficult times was inopportune. When Aga Bedabadi reached Zarqan, he paid five tomans and rented a fast mount to reach Shiraz before noon and perform ritual Friday bath, as it was Friday and because he was very observant of recommended acts and Friday bath is highly recommended. Thus, he reached our place before noon and when he met my Late Father, he said: My coming here is not inappropriate. From today you and your family members start reciting Surah Anam between dawn and sunrise and when you come to the verse: '

وَرَبُّكَ الْغَنِيُّ ذُو الرَّحْمَةِ

"And your Lord is the Self-sufficient one, the Lord of mercy." (Surah al-Anam 6:133).

Recite this verse 202 times equal to the numerical value of the names of Muhammad and Ali. After that he went to the bathroom and performed the Friday Bath.

From that night we started the recitation according to the method taught by him. Within a couple of weeks prosperity returned to our house and every financial hardship was removed and we lived like that till the last moments of my father.

19. Abstinence From Dubious Food

Aga Eimani said: On the day Aga Bedabadi arrived; he said to father: I will eat only the food, which you arrange yourself and don't accept, that which others bring. By chance Hajj Shaykh ul-Islam brought a pair of partridges and said: I wish to make kebabs for the Aga. Father accepted them forgetting the directions of Aga Bedabadi. They were roasted and placed before the Aga for dinner. When he saw the partridge, he stood up from there and said to my father: "I told you not to accept anything from anyone." He did not eat even a particle from that.

If you wonder why Late Bedabadi did not eat the partridge of Late Shaykh ul-Islam, you should know that it is possible that the person who got it for the Shaykh might not have satisfied the hunter. Or that the hunter might not have made the prescribed intention; or he might not have said 'Bismillah' and there could be other possibilities as well, and as doubtful food causes hardness of heart that gentleman used to abstain from it.

In other words, the food that man eats is like a seed, which is sown in the earth. If the seed is good, its fruit would also be good, otherwise along with the seed, the fruit would also be bad. So if the food is lawful and pure, its fruit would be softness of heart, strengthening of soul and if it is unlawful and impure, it results in hardness of heart, materialism, inclination to selfish desires and depravity of spirituality.

It is also not surprising that the Aga knew about the filthiness and doubtful circumstances of the partridge, because piety and abstemiousness, especially refraining from doubtful foods bestows such purity and spirituality that one is even able to perceive matters beyond perception.

Religious scholars and elders of faith have narrated such incidents, or more superior to this, but since it is beyond the scope of this book, we shall mention only one story to emphasize the point.

The late Haji Noori has narrated in Dar us-Salam, Vol. I, Pg. 53 a story from the righteous man, Sayyid Murtada Najafi in the biography of the nephew of Bahr ul-Uloom - a pious scholar, the Late Hajj Sayyid Muhammad Baqir Qazwini that:

We went to meet a righteous and a pious gentleman with Sayyid Qazwini. When the Sayyid wanted to arise, that gentleman requested: Please sir, today fresh bread is baked in our house, please partake some of it. Sayyid accepted the invitation.

When the dinner spread was laid, as soon as the Sayyid placed a morsel in his mouth, he withdrew and did not feel inclined to eat further. The host asked: Why are you not eating? He replied: The bread is made by a lady in menses. That man was shocked. When he went in and inquired, he found that it was true. Thus, when he brought another loaf, the Sayyid accepted it.

When bread made by a lady in menses causes spiritual filth, which a person with subtle soul and purified conscience can perceive, what would be the condition of bread made by one who is contaminated with hidden and apparent filths?

It is mentioned in the circumstances of Sayyid Ibn Tawus that he never ate food at the preparation of which, name of God had not been recited. It is so, because the Almighty Allah says:

وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا مِمَّا لَمْ يُذْكَرِ اسْمُ اللَّهِ

"And do not eat of that, on which Allah's name has not been mentioned..." (Surah al-Anaam 6:121).

It is a pity that a time has come when during cooking, instead of name of God, music and instruments of vain pastimes are used and along with obedience of God, His disobedience is included.

Worse than this is bread from whose grains Zakat and share of the poor has not been paid or that, which is grown on usurped land.

Even though the person who eats it, is unaware of the facts, but its basic and definite effect is there for sure. This also explains why in this age, the hearts have become so hard that no amount of good advice is effective. Satanic doubts have dominated so much that a person having the position of certitude and faith and an owner of an immaculate conscience is very difficult to find.

In such circumstances, it is very surprising if someone leaves the world with his or her faith intact.

20. Forecasting Future Events

Late Aga Rizvi said that the Late Bedabadi came to Shiraz by the route of Bushahar on way to Ziyarat of Medina. He stayed there for around two months. During those days, people were roughly divided into two groups. Some wanted democracy while some were in favor of autocracy. The Late Bedabadi wanted reconciliation between the two groups and was always concerned that there should be no violence. He was always striving in this regard and tried much to remove this discord.

So much so, that he personally met Shaykh Muhammad Baqir Istihbanani, a supporter of democracy and tried all means to remove this mischief, but it was of no use. After that he abruptly decided to leave Shiraz. We tried to persuade him to stay for some more time, but he did not agree. He said: Very soon discord and violence would take place in city, in which a number of people would be killed and blood would be shed.

He set out from there and some persons having a saintly bent of mind also accompanied him, including Late Hajj Sayyid Abbas alias Bahdalal and Late Aga Mirza Mahdi Hasanpour. These two gentlemen were attached to the Great Masjid.

They narrated to me: We remained in the company of Aga Bedabadi till Dast Arzan. On reaching there, the Aga told us: The fire of mischief has flared up in Shiraz. Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Baqir Istihbanani has been killed along with some others. Your people are much worried, you should go home. So we two, and some other persons (whose names I could not remember), came back to Shiraz and witnessed the state described by Aga Bedabadi.

21. Relief From Highway Robbers

Aga Eimania (may Allah keep him in peace) says: In that same journey, at the time of bidding farewell, Aga Bedabadi said: You will face robbery and plunder in this journey, but no harm would come to you. After that he gave me 14 Tomans equivalent to the number of Infallibles.

When we reached near Siwand, we were attacked by robbers. At that time, the mule carrying my luggage started galloping with speed and leaving the caravan headed for Siwand. Along with that the animal carrying my litter also started to move, till I and all my belongings reached Siwand safe and sound and the remaining caravan was plundered.

22. Escape From Death 1

Aga Eimania also said: In the journey, in which we were returning from Isfahan to Shiraz, we had the honor of visiting Aga Haji Bedabadi. He said: Mirza Mahallati (also mentioned in previous stories) wrote to me that I have forgotten him in my supplications. Please convey my greetings to him and tell him that I have not forgotten him. Thus, three times on so and so night the peril of death moved towards you and I prayed to Master of the Age (a.t.f.s.) for your well being and the Almighty Allah protected you.

Aga Eimania said: On reaching Shiraz, I conveyed the message of Aga Bedabadi to Mirza. He said: It is right. On the night the Aga had mentioned, I was coming home alone. When I reached the main gate of the city, a person was standing there; when he saw me he sneezed. He greeted me and said: Please can you see Istikhara1 for me. I did Istikhara with rosary, but it was negative.

He said: Please, one more Istikhara. That was also negative. Again he said: Please just one more. When the third was also negative, he kissed my hands and explained:

Some people persuaded me to eliminate you, but when I saw you, I happened to sneeze and hesitated in my intention. I thought, I'd ask you to draw Istikhara and if it is positive, I will slay you, but the Istikhara came out negative three times. So I concluded that the Almighty is not pleased with it and that you are honorable in His view.

- 1. Seeking divine counsel.

23. Relief From Plague Through Charity (Sadaqah)

The same Aga Eimania has narrated from Hajj Ghulam Husayn, chief trader of Bushahar that:

When I went for Hajj, the pious scholar, Late Shaykh Muhammad Jawad Bedabadi was also present in that trip. In that journey, highway robbers plundered a large quantity of goods from the pilgrims and at the same time, plague epidemic terrified everyone. Aga Bedabadi announced: One, who wants to be secure from plague, should give 14 or 140 Tomans as alms (Sadaqah), according to his capacity. He had great faith in the auspiciousness of number 12 and 14. He said: I will pray to the Almighty Allah through the mediation of Hujjat Ibn al-Hasan (the twelfth Imam) and guarantee his safety.

The Late Hajj Malik said: I gave 140 Tomans for myself as alms; in the same way some other Hajj pilgrims also donated cash. Since that was a big amount at that time, many pilgrims did not or were not able to pay it. The Late gentleman distributed the money among the pilgrims whose belongings had been plundered by highway robbers and they were extremely distressed. In that journey, whoever had paid alms remained safe from plague and reached his hometown safe and sound, and those who had observed miserliness were all involved in the epidemic. My nephew and scribe also did not agree to pay the alms and they also died.

In protection from diseases, remaining safe from peril of death (provided it is not destined death) and to keep ones belongings and property secure, the effect of Sadaqah is among the definite matters and it is proved effective. Regarding this, widely related (Mutawatir) traditions are narrated from Ahl ul-Bayt ('a). The Late Haji Noori has mentioned most of these traditions in his book of Kalimah Tayyiba. In short, a person can get his body, life, kindred and property divinely insured, and if he observes all the instructions and conditions of alms giving mentioned in this book, he would realize that the Almighty Allah is the most knowing and the most powerful of all the helpers and He never goes back on His words.

Here we present one traditional report for our respected readers. Under the tenth condition of alms-giving on page 193, the author has narrated from Tafsir Imam Hasan Askari (‘a) that Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq ('a) was on a journey and a group of people started riding with him. They were carrying all their belongings with them. When they came to know that there were robbers on that route who plundered the travelers, they began to tremble with fear.

Imam ('a) asked: What is wrong with you? They said: We are carrying all our belongings with us. We are afraid of robbery. Can you take these things from us so that when the robbers come to know that it belongs to you, they would leave it due to your respect? Imam (‘a) said: How do you know that? Perhaps they might intend to rob me only, and in this way, you will lose everything? People said: Shall we bury it all? Imam (‘a) said: There is greater risk in this. It is possible that someone may dig up all your things or that you may not be able to find the location again.

They asked: Then what are we supposed to do? Imam ('a) said: Deposit it with one who may protect it and keep away calamities from it. Who may cause increase in it and return it after making it more valuable than everything in the earth and whatever is in it when you are in dire need of it. They asked: Who is that? He replied: The Lord of the universe.

People asked: How can we hand over our belongings to Him? He replied: You must give alms (Sadaqah) to the weak and poor. They asked: There is no beggar or needy person here. He said: Make an intention that you will give a third of your property in alms (Sadaqah), so that the Almighty Allah may protect it from the peril you are afraid of.

People said: We have made an intention to pay the alms. Imam (‘a) said: All right, now you may travel in the security of the Almighty Allah. Thus, they all continued the journey. When they sighted the robbers, they were terribly scared. Imam (‘a) asked, Why are you afraid, although you are in the security of Almighty Allah? When the robbers arrived, they dismounted, kissed the hands of the Imam and said: Last night we saw the Messenger of Allah (S) in dream. His Eminence ordered us to present ourselves to you. So we are here in your service. We will guard you and this caravan from enemies and robbers.

Imam ('a) said: We don't need you, because the one who had driven you away from us would also drive away other enemies and robbers. Thus, the caravan set out from there with complete confidence and serenity and when they reached their destination, all the people gave a third of their goods in alms as they had vowed. They were so much blessed by all this, that in near future they made a ten-fold profit. They thought to themselves how great the blessing of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq ('a) was.

Imam ('a) said: Have seen the profitability of dealing with the Almighty Allah? Thus, remain firm on this with perseverance. Among the strange facts about alms-giving is that not only it does not decrease ones property, the giver of alms gets many times in return. There are many such testimonies and the book mentioned above may be referred to for more details.

24. Escape From Death 2

Aga Eimania has also narrated that his cousin (son of father's sister), Husayn Aga Muzda and his mother fell seriously ill and were on the verge of death.

The Late Aga Bedabadi (a.m.) arrived and said: One of them has to go. [That is the death of one of them was definite.] I have prayed for the health of Husayn Aga and he would recover.

That same evening Husayn Aga's mother passed away and the Almighty Allah bestowed recovery to Husayn Aga and he is safe and sound even today.

25. Flowing Of The Spring

Some Sayyids of Najafabad, Isfahan came to Late Aga Bedabadi (may Allah exalt his status) and said: A water spring, which flowed from the mountains, was very beneficial to us, but has dried up since a few days, due to which we are facing a lot of difficulties. Please supplicate to Allah to remove our problems.

The Aga wrote the last verses of Surah Hashr on a piece of paper:

لَوْ أَنْزَلْنَا هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَىٰ جَبَلٍ لَرَأَيْتَهُ

"If We had revealed this Qur’an on the mountain..." (Surah al-Hashr 59:21).

and said: After the night falls, place this paper on the mountain peak and come back. They did as instructed and when they returned homes, a plaintive cry arose from the mountain, which was audible to all the residents of the town. In the morning people came out of their houses to find the spring flowing again and they thanked the Almighty.

Noteworthy point:

Readers must not be astonished at some stories narrated about Late Bedabadi (a.m.) and other gentlemen, or reject them, because first of all such incidents and greater than them were seen in the life of companions of the Holy Imams ('a) like Salman, Maytham, Rushayd Hujri and Jabir Jofi.

Same is the case of reporters of traditional reports and righteous scholars, like Sayyid Bahr ul-Uloom, Sayyid Baqir Qazwini and Mulla Mahdi Najafi. So many miraculous incidents are narrated from them and available in reliable books that it is not possible to deny them. (For more details refer to Rijal by Maamqani, in which detailed life histories of companions of Imams and reporters of traditions are mentioned; or Qisas ul-Ulama, in which biographies of some scholars are present).

Display of miraculous acts from elders of faith lead one to ponder and realize the greatness and lofty position of the Imam; that he is much beyond this. When those who follow them to perfection and scale such ranks of wisdom, power and fulfillment of supplications, what would be Imam's own power and encompassment of knowledge? It is definite that everyone who possesses a special rank in spirituality has benefited from the favor of the Imam, who is the pivot of existence, the heart of the world of possibility and source of all matters.

They also lead one to confess to helplessness in understanding the position of the Imam through the unbounded power of Almighty Allah, the fulfiller of supplications, creator of the Imam and one who bestowed this position and gifted him mastership (Wilayat). In other words, study of these stories causes recognition and insight into the station of the Imam and greatness and power of Allah, the Mighty and Sublime.

Thirdly, these and similar other stories regarding religious and pious people are promises of Allah, the Messenger of Allah (S) and the Holy Imams ('a) regarding the pious that when they fulfill religious duties, abstain from the unlawful and fulfill all obligatory duties, angels would become their servants and the Almighty Allah will give them whatever they may ask for.

Moreover, to state all that is mentioned in books of traditions and traditional reports, especially the writings mentioned in chapter of 'Faith and disbelief' of Usul al-Kafi would be beyond the scope of this book. We present to our respected readers only one report from there, which both Shia and Sunni have narrated from the Messenger of Allah (S) as follows:

Allah, the Mighty and Sublime said:

One who has disgraced any of My friends has in fact declared war on Me and no one can become proximate to Me, except through an act, which is most liked by Me, which I have made obligatory on him and the fact is that he gains My proximity through recommended acts. So much so that I take him as a friend, I become his ears, through which he hears; I become his eyes, through which he sees, I become his tongue, through which he speaks, I become his hand, with which he acts and drives away the enemy. If he calls Me, I accept his supplication. If he asks Me for something, I bestow it to him.1

This tradition has been explained by great scholars and writers and Allamah Majlisi has also commented upon it in Mirat ul-Uqool, he writes:

It is possible that by fulfilling all obligatory acts and being regular in recommended acts, a person may become proximate to the Almighty. When this happens, his eyes become the sight of the Almighty Allah, thus he sees that, which others cannot see even from behind a thousand curtains. He can hear what others cannot. He perceives hidden and spiritual matters and ethereal forms and he can hear unseen songs, which are concealed from the perception of others.

Our respected readers should know that whatever they read or hear in these stories is, because of the lofty positions that the Almighty has promised to His proximate servants and also that it is in comparison only like a drop to an ocean to what He has stored for them in the hereafter.

- 1. Usul Kafi, Chapter of one who caused distress to Muslims and insulted

26. Paralysis Cured

I had the honor of meeting Aga Hajj Sayyid Farajullah Bahbahani regarding the journey of Hajj. I heard from him that a miracle occurred during a mourning program, (Majlis) of Imam Husayn ('a) at his house. I begged him to write it down for me. The gentleman wrote a letter to me and following is the actual text of that letter.

Abdullah, who was born in Jabirnaan a principality of Mahrmuz, but lived in Bahbahan, became disabled in one leg on 28th Muharram al-Haram 1313 A.H. and he could only walk a few steps with the help of crutches. His livelihood now solely depended on the help of believers. At last he consulted Dr. Ghulami, but he expressed despair. After that he came to me to arrange enough funds for him to enable him to travel to Ahwaz. Thus, the money was arranged, and I also wrote a letter of recommendation to Ayatullah Bahbahani. The Ayatullah also rendered all assistance to him and referred him to Dr. Farhad Tayyibzada of Jundashahpur Hospital.

After X-ray and physical examination, he also gave a discouraging diagnosis and said that his leg was incurable. He also mentioned that a cancerous sore was visible between his thighs. Then he transferred him to the Hospital of the Abadan Oil Company at his own expenses. There also four X-rays were taken of his legs and the doctors suggested that its cure was impossible, so he returned to Bahbahan in that same condition.

Abdullah says: During this period, I continued to see hopeful dreams, due to which I retained my confidence to some extent. Till one night I saw that I have entered the outer portion of your house. You were not present, but below the apple tree in your outer garden, two Sayyid gentlemen with luminous countenances were seated.

Meanwhile, you also arrived and after greetings were exchanged the two gentlemen introduced themselves. One was Imam Husayn ('a) and the other, His Eminence, Ali Akbar ('a). Imam Husayn ('a) gave you two apples and said: One is for you and another for your son. The result of these apples would become apparent after two years. After that he mentioned six points about His Eminence Hujjat ('a).

Abdullah said: I requested you to beseech to these gentlemen about my cure. One of them said: On Monday of Jamadi uth-Thani 74 A.H. go to the house of so and so person for Azadari ceremony (about which I was also familiar) and come back cured.

I awoke in joy and impatiently waited for the appointed day. That day I saw Abdullah arrive on crutches and sit below the pulpit. He himself says: After sometime a tingling started in my paralyzed leg. as if blood had started circulating again. When I stretched and withdrew the leg, I realized that it was perfectly all right. In spite of the fact that the speaker had not concluded the speech, I stood up without support and sat down again. After that I narrated that miracle to those around me.

I saw Abdullah stepping forward to shake hands with me after the program. After that chants of Salawat arose from the audience. The paralysis was completely cured. Thus, celebrations took place in the town and the following day: 22nd Muharram 43 A.H. a function was organized under the title of miracle of Imam Husayn ('a), which many people attended. I am sending a photograph of that program to you.

Peace be on you and the blessings of Allah.

Sayyid Farajullah Musawi

27. True Dream 1

The righteous servant of the Almighty, Late Hajj Muhammad Hashim Salahi (r.a.) got a sore in his mouth, which was always bleeding and full of puss and he was extremely distressed by that. He used to consult Dr. Yawari for its treatment till the doctor recommended electrical therapy, but its machinery was not available in Shiraz, so he advised him to go to Shorwi Hospital in Tehran.

The gentleman told me that he was afraid that if he went to Tehran he would be deprived of fasting during the month of Ramadhan; but if he did not go, it was possible that blood and puss may enter his throat and make him ingest un lawful matter. At last he decided against going to Tehran.

One day Dr. Yawari came to his house with a book of medicine and said: Last night I dreamt of a person telling me: Why don 't you treat Muhammad Hashim? I said: He should go to Tehran. He said: There is no need of that. The explanation and treatment of his malady is mentioned on so and so page of such and such book, which you have with you. On waking up, I opened the page he had referred and succeeded in curing his problem and he was able to fast from the first of Ramadhan. May unlimited blessings descend on his soul.

28. Sixty Patients Cured In A Moment

Late Salahi (r.a.) has also narrated the following story:

Twenty years ago there was a smallpox epidemic in Shiraz. Perhaps not a single family there remained free of this malady and many deaths took place. Seven members of the family of Aga Hajj Abdur Rahim Sarfaraz were also down with smallpox, but the Almighty Allah cured them through the blessings of Imam Husayn ('a).

He mentions the details of this incident as follows:

Afterwards, I met Aga Sarfaraz and asked him to describe that incident. He also reported it exactly. I requested him to write it down, so that it may be included in the book.

He wrote as follows:

Twenty years ago when people were mostly falling sick of smallpox, seven members of my family were also sick and they were kept in a single room. On the eighth night of Muharram, I left them alone and decided to attend programs of mourning for Imam Husayn ('a) and five hours of the night had passed when I attended the Majlis founded by MuIla Ali Saif (r.a.).

During that program (Majlis) after narration of the martyrdom, people beat their chest and poems were read out about the martyrdom of Qasim Ibn Hasan. After the Majlis, I returned apprehensive of the sick at home, all the time praying to the Almighty Allah through the name of Lady Fatima Zahra ('a) for their recovery. When I reached home, I saw the children squatting around a coal stove, heating stale bread and eating from it. I was very angry, because stale bread is harmful to patients of smallpox in any case.

When my eldest daughter noticed my anger, she said: Father, we have recovered. We just got up and since we were hungry we are eating leavened bread with tea. I said: It is not advisable for smallpox patients to eat bread. She said: Father, take a seat so that I may narrate to you my dream and explain how we all have recovered. Tell me, I said.

She said: I dreamt that a powerful light has illuminated our room and a person arrived there. He spread a black sheet in one part of the room and stood besides the entrance respectfully. After these five dignified personalities arrived, among whom was a lady as well.

First she closely observed the framed inscriptions in the room having names of the fourteen infallibles and then sat at the side of the black sheet. They removed small copies of Qur’an from their underarms and recited it for some time.

After that one of them started reciting a mournful poem describing the martyrdom of His Eminence, Qasim in Arabic. Since he was time and again repeating the name of Qasim, I understood that he must be reciting his account of martyrdom. All were weeping severely, especially that lady was crying in a very mournful way.

After the Majlis program, the person who had arrived first brought something like black coffee in tiny cups and placed it before them.

I was surprised that in spite of majesty and greatness, all of them were barefoot. So I stepped forward and asked: I adjure you in the name of the Almighty Allah, which of you is Imam Ali ('a)? One of them said: I am. There was deep awe and wonder in his face.

I said: For the sake of the Almighty Allah, please tell me why you all are barefoot? He said: During these days, we are mourning for Karbala Tragedy. That is why we are barefooted. Only the feet of that lady were concealed in her dress.

I said: All of us children are unwell and our mother and aunt (mother's sister) is also sick. Imam Ali ('a) arose and passed his hand over the head and face of each of us and returned to his seat. He said: Except for your mother, all of you have recovered.

I said: My mother is also unwell. He said: She has to go. Upon this I began to cry and begged him further. On seeing my weeping and wailing the Imam arose again and also passed his hand over the quilt of my mother. After that as he started to leave, he glanced at me and said: Prayer is obligatory on you, as long as you are alive.

I accompanied them till the main door. I saw that the mounts, on which they had arrived, were covered with white sheets. After they had gone I came back to examine my siblings and mother and saw that none of them had any fever. At that moment, I heard the call for prayer. All of us awoke and performed the Morning Prayer. After that, because we were extremely hungry, we decided to eat this bread while waiti ng for you to come and arrange for breakfast.

Then all of them went to sleep and there was no more any need of a doctor or medicine for them.

29. Instant Acceptance Of Supplication

Trustworthy and equitable scholar, Hajj Ali Aga Salman, whose honesty is acknowledged by all, may God keep him in health, said:

Once I got a sore in fork of my thigh. It was extremely painful and it was very difficult to walk up to the hospital. One night, when I arose for the Midnight Prayer, I perceived a terrible stench and on checking, found that it was coming from that same wound. I was highly distressed and I begged the Almighty Lord to do something about it. I said: I have spent my life as a follower of Islam and cultivated the love of Muhammad and Aale Muhammad ('a). Please don't allow me to be involved in this illness and compel me to refer to those who are beyond the pale of Islam. In other words, so emotional I became that I swooned and when I regained senses, I found that it was already morning. I regretted not having prayed the Midnight Prayer and after that I came downstairs hurriedly to perform purifications and ablutions.

Now realization dawned that I had come down so fast. I saw that the pain in my leg was no more. I placed my hand at the affected spot, but yet there was no pain. I came into light to examine the wound. but not a sign was visible and not even its location was found. There was no difference between the previously affected leg and the right healthy leg.

Hajj Ali Aga said: I encountered many other incidents like this, in which I or my kindred were involved in a serious illness or a serious problem and the Almighty Allah gave us relief through supplications and mediation of the Infallibles. The above incident is an example.

30. Benefit Of The Holy Qur’an

Hajj Ali Aga said: I did not attend school in my childhood and remained uneducated. During my youth, I became extremely eager to read the Holy Qur’an, till one night I prayed to Hazrat Hujjat (a.t.f.s.).

I dreamt that I was in Karbala. A person approached me and said: A Majlis gathering of Imam Husayn (‘a) is there in this house. Come and listen to the tragic poems of martyrdom. I got ready and went there and found two respectable Sayyids seated there. Fire was placed in a vessel before them and besides them was a dinner spread. They heated some bread and offered it to me. I ate it up. After that the narrator of the tragedy described the afflictions of Ahl ul-Bayt (‘a).

After the Majlis, I awoke and found that my wishes were fulfilled. I found that I was now able to recite the Holy Qur’an perfectly. Then I attended sessions of Qur’an recitation and if anyone committed a mistake or recited wrongly, I corrected him. So much so that even if the teacher made an error, I pointed it out.

The teacher asked: Till yesterday you were absolutely unread, and unable are read the Qur’an, how did you get this expertise? I said: Through the blessings of Hazrat Hujjat (a.t.f.s.).

Presently Hajj Ali is a teacher of recitation (Qirat) and during the nights of Ramadhan he never misses sessions of Qur’anic recitations.

Among the extraordinary feats of Hajj Ali is that he often sees future happenings in dream. Like what is going to happen the following day? Whom he is going to meet and how much profit would be there in a transaction?

Once he told me that very soon Almighty Allah would bestow a son to my son (Aga Sayyid Muhammad Hashim). He said: Please name him after your Late Father, Sayyid Muhammad Taqi. Not much time passed, but that he got a son and we named him Muhammad Taqi.

After the birth that child became very ill and there no hope of his survival. Again the Haji said that he would recover. Thus, not much time passed, but that the Almighty Allah bestowed him a cure and now he is perfectly all right and is five years old.

Hajj Ali achieved this lofty status, because of his strict observance of recommended acts, especially the daily recommended prayers, which enabled him to purify his self and perform such extraordinary feats.

We should know that it is possible for a person to predict future events, because knowledge of Almighty Allah encompasses all destined future matters and He has recorded them in the holy books and tablets of destiny. Thus, He says in Surah Hadid:

مَا أَصَابَ مِنْ مُصِيبَةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ نَبْرَأَهَا ۚ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرٌ

"No evil befalls on the earth nor in your own souls, b t it is in a book before We bring it into existence; surely that is easy to Allah.” (Surah al-Hadid 57:22).

لِكَيْلَا تَأْسَوْا عَلَىٰ مَا فَاتَكُمْ وَلَا تَفْرَحُوا بِمَا آتَاكُمْ وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُو

So that you may not grieve for what has escaped you, nor be exultant at what He has given you..." (Surah al-Hadid 57: 23).

On the basis of this, it is possible that some pure and chaste persons may be freed from material limitations during dreams to such an extent that the blessed souls may come in contact with exalted tablets and divine books and become aware of some matters recorded in them. Then at the time of the complete return of the soul when waking up, nothing tampers with their memory and they retain all they had seen, so that they may inform others.

31. A Strange Story

Approximately fifteen years ago, I heard from some scholars of Qom and Najaf that a seventy years old man, named Karbalai Muhammad Kazim Karimi Saruqi, who was absolutely unlettered, was bestowed the power of reciting the Qur’an in such a way that he became a memorizer (Hafiz) of the whole Qur’an.

On a Thursday night, Karbalai Muhammad Kazim went for Ziyarat of an lmamzada1 buried there. When he reached there, he saw two elder Sayyids, who told him to read the inscriptions around the holy tomb.

He said: Sirs, I am uneducated and I cannot read the Qur’an. They said: You can read. After their bestowal Karbalai fell in swoon and lay there till the afternoon of the following day. So much so that when people from the village came for the Ziyarat of Imamzada, they found him lying over there. They picked him up and brought him back to senses. When his sight fell on the inscription, he realized that it was Surah Jumah and he recited it till the end. After that he found that he knew the Holy Qur’an by heart. Thus, he used to recite perfectly any Surah he was requested.

Late Mirza, grandson of Aga Mirza Hasan says: I tested him a number of times and he used to tell me about whichever verse of Qur’an l asked and also to which Surah that verse belonged. Stranger is the fact that he was also able to recite every Surah backwards.

The Late Mirza also said: I was having the book of Taftir Safi with me. I opened it and said: This is Qur’an. Read it according to its text. He took the book looked at it and said: This whole book is not Qur’an. Then he placed his finger on the holy verse and said: Only this much is Qur’an or only half a line is Qur’an. In the same way, he mentioned about other verses as well, which were quoted in the book and said that the rest is not Qur’an.

I asked: How can you say that, although you are unlettered in Arabic and Persian? He replied: Sir, the discourse of Allah is effulgence. This part is luminous and other part is dark (luminosity related to Qur’an).

I also met some other scholars, who used to say: We have all tested him and realized that he was extraordinary and that he was bestowed this from the Source of all grace (Almighty Allah).

The photograph of Muhammad Kazim is printed on page 223 of the annual journal of Noor Danish (1335 A.H.) and an article entitled "Namune Az Ishraqat Rabbani" (examples of divine inspirations) is also present in this journal having testimonies of a number of scholars, who have testified to the veracity of this extraordinary phenomenon. They write that the divine nature of the miraculous incident of Karbalai Saruqi is proved through two reasonings:

1 - His being unlettered is testified by all the people of his village and no one has testified against it.

I (writer of the article) have personally investigated this and inquired from residents of Saruq in Tehran and moreover after the article was published, no one has refuted it.

2- Some characteristics of his memorization of Qur’an are beyond the circle of usual academic education and schooling.

1- If any Arabic or non-Arabic word or phrase is mentioned, he can immediately say whether it is present in Qur’an or not.

2- If he is asked about any Qur’anic word, he immediately informs that it occurs in which Part and in which Surah.

3- If a word or phrase is used in Qur’an in a number of places, he tells us the number of time it occurs without any difficulty and also recites the words following it.

4- If a single letter or vowel is recited wrongly or is missed, he points it out without thinking.

5- If portions from different Surah are recited one after another, he mentions the location of each portion, without any doubt.

6- He points out every verse and Surah of Qur’an that is given to him.

7- If a verse or a part of a verse is written on a page along with other text, he immediately distinguishes the verse, which is a difficult job even for scholars of religion.

A person with an outstanding memory cannot have such mastery over a twenty-page treatise in Persian, what can one say about one who is an expert of 6666 verses of the Holy Qur’an?

After stating the testimonies of some scholars, he writes: This Qur’anic gift of Karbalai Kazim was astonishing for those who have limited understanding and are con fined within walls of
materialism and are deniers of the supernatural. At the same time this matter led to the guidance of some misguided souls, but in spite of that in view of monotheists this was just a ray from the unlimited treasures of divine favors and not only this, such phenomena have taken place many a times at the hands of prophets and divine representatives and these incidents are mentioned and preserved in pages of history.

In the present age also such persons are present, who are in possession of miracles due to their proximity to the source of all grace, and their position is in all aspects better than this gentleman, who knew the Qur’an by heart.

At the end of this article, it is necessary to mention an important point: After this article was published and when this phenomenon became famous, I heard that during the period of Hajj Aga Yahya there was a visually challenged person named Haji Ubood who had the same expertise as Karbalai and he was a regular visitor at the Mosque of Sayyid Azizullah. In spite of being blind, he used to mention the location of verses of Qur’an and also did lstikhara from the Holy Qur’an.

It is said that once instead of Qur’an a French dictionary was handed to him. He threw it away in anger and said: It is not Qur’an! In a session where this person was also present, Ibnuddeen, University professor testified to the extraordinary capability of Haji Ubood and said that he met him and tested him in Qom at the house of Aga Misbah in the presence of the Late Ayatullah Hajj Shaykh Abdur Karim Haeri.

It is among the signs of divinity, which are displayed sometimes to exhaust the apparent proof. That is Allah's grace; He grants it to whom He pleases, and Allah is the Lord of mighty grace.

- 1. Son or grandson of Imam.

32. Miracle Of Imam Husayn (‘A)

Righteous and pious gentleman, Late Ismail Beg, whose example is rarely found with regard to devotion to Ahl ul-Bayt ('a) and belief in Imam Husayn ('a) and who was also bestowed many extraordinary gifts due to this devotion, has narrated that he was struck with eye trouble at the age of six and this continued till he became completely blind.

During the first ten days of Muharram, his respected uncle (mother's brother) Hajj Muhammad Taqi Ismail Beg had Majlis programs to commemorate the tragedy of Karbala. Since it was sUmmr, iced drinks were distributed as benediction (Tabarruk). I requested my uncle that I also wanted to serve Sherbet to the guests, but he pointed out that I was visually handicapped to do that. I asked him to give me another person to assist. He agreed and I distributed Sherbet to some people.

Meanwhile the Late Moinush Shariat lstihbanati started narrating the tragedies of Lady Zainab ('a). I was so affected that I fell in a swoon weeping. In this condition a lady, who was apparently Lady Zainab, passed her hand over my eyes and said: You are now fine. Now, you shall not have any eye trouble. I opened my eyes and looked around the gathering. I went running to my uncle in joy. A great excitement was created in the gathering and all surrounded me. On the advice of my uncle, I was taken to a special room away from the people.

He has also narrated that some years ago he was engrossed in an experiment and was oblivious of the fact that a vessel containing alcohol was kept besides him. The alcohol caught fire, due to which he was burnt from the head to toes, except his eyes and he remained hospitalized for months. He was asked how his eyes were unaffected. He said: It is a gift of Imam Husayn ('a) and a promise that as long as I live, my eyes would never be in pain.

33. Escape From Death 3

Late Abbas Ali, alias Hajj Mu’min was the owner of many esoteric powers and I had the fortune to know him for thirty years, in journey and at home. He passed away two years ago.

Numerous incidents are famous regarding him, including one when government spies accused his cousin, Abdun Nabi for possession of weapons and arrested and imprisoned him. He was also condemned for execution. His father was extremely distressed and was on the verge of despair, when Haji Mom in told him: There is no need to worry. In this age, all the matters are under the control of the twelfth Imam, Hazrat Vali Asr (a.t.f.s.). Today is Thursday night. We will seek the help of His Eminence. The Almighty Allah is capable enough to save your son through the blessings of His Eminence. So that night Haji Mu’min and the pa rents of that boy undertook a night long vigil, reciting Prayers and praying to the Imam. After that they continued reciting the verse of:

أَمَّنْ يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ

"Or, Who answers the distressed one when he calls upon Him and removes the evil..." (Surah al-Naml 27:62).

Those three persons perceived a strange fragrance of Musk and saw the luminous elegance of His Eminence, Imam ('a), who said: Your Ziyarat is accepted. The Almighty Allah has given relief to your son and he would come home tomorrow.

Hajj Mu’min used to say that Abdun Nabi's parents, on seeing the elegance of His Eminence became powerless and remained in swoon till morning. When the day arose, they went out to seek information about their son, because he was supposed to be hanged that day. They were told that the death sentence has been commuted and his case would be reopened. Thus, he was released before noon and returned home safe and sound.

There are many incidents about the effectiveness of the supplications of Late Haji Mu’min. This incident was an example if it, may unlimited mercy of Allah descend on his pure soul.

34. Help Of The Imam Of The Age ('A)

Haji Mu’min has also narrated: During my youth, I was so eager to meet the Master of the Age that I decided not to eat or drink till I don 't see him (it was an oath due to innocence and severity of eagerness) and I did not eat anything for two days. On the third day when I had become very weak, I took a little water. After that I fell into a swoon and saw Hazrat Hujjat, Imam Zaman ('a) who asked me why I was acting in that manner and putting myself into peril. He said: I am sending food for you, have it.

I regained my senses when one third of the night had passed. Masjid Sardzak was absolutely empty and someone was knocking at the door. I opened it to find a gentleman covering his face with a scarf to avoid identification. He removed a vessel of food from his cloak and said twice: Have it, have it and don 't share it with anyone. After you have finished, place this container below the pulpit. After that he went away and I returned inside to find that it contained cooked rice and roasted chicken. I found it so delicious that I cannot describe it.

The following day Mirza Muhammad Baqir, a very religious and nice gentleman arrived before sunset. First he asked me for the container and then he gave some money in a small purse and said: You have been ordered to undertake a journey. Take this money and accompany Aga Sayyid Hashim (prayer leader of Majid Sardzak) who is leaving for Holy Mash-had. On the way you would meet an elderly man from whom you will gain much.

Haji Mu’min says: I used that money to join the entourage of Sayyid Hashim and set out from there, till I reached Tehran. When we passed Tehran, a person with an illuminated conscience signaled and the vehicle stopped and he joined us with the permission of Sayyid Hashim, because he had hired the vehicle. He took a seat next to me. On the way he spoke on a number of moral issues and dispensed advices and also informed me about all the circumstances that I was going to encounter till the end of my life. He told me that, which was for my well-being. Everything he told me proved true. He advised me not to eat outside and said: Doubtful food is harmful for the heart. Along with him was a dinner spread. When he wished to eat, he took out fresh leavened bread and offered some of it to me. Sometimes he gave me green resins.

When we reached the Qadamgah (Nishapur), he said: My death is near and I won't be able to reach holy Mash-had. When I am dead, my shroud is with me and twelve Tomans are also there in it. Arrange a place for my burial in the holy courtyard of Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a). My last rites would be performed by Aga Sayyid Hashim. He says: I was absolutely horrified at this, but he advised me not to panic and inform anyone till he was dead. When our vehicle reached Mount Turk, it slopped there as the way to the mausoleum of Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) proceeded from there. All the visitors alighted and started reciting salutations to Imam Al-Ridha ('a).

The driver was collecting tips for showing the dome. That old gentleman went into a corner, faced the holy tomb and wept bitterly saying: I am not as much worthy to be able to reach your holy shrine. After that he lay down facing the Qibla and covered himself with his cloak from the head.

After a moment when I removed the cloak, I saw that he had passed away. All the passengers gathered around us when they saw me weeping and wailing. l narrated to them some personally witnessed facts, by which all present there were deeply moved. They brought his corpse to the city in that same vehicle and buried it in the holy courtyard.

35. Predicting The Time Of Death

Hajj Mu’min says:

The religious and righteous scholar, Sayyid Ali Khorasani confined himself in a chamber in Masjid Sardzak for worship for some years. One Thursday night he said:

Come to me at dawn, as it would be my last day. I came the following day to find him boiling milk on a coal stove. He took a glass and gave one to me. Then he said: I will pass away tonight. Aga Sayyid Hashim would perform my last rites (Prayer leader of Masjid Sardzak).

In the morning, the judge who resides near the Masjid would desire to give me shroud, but don't allow him; but you may allow Hajj Jalal Kannad to pay for my shroud. After that he sat down facing the Qibla and started reciting the Holy Qur’an.

Suddenly his eyes stopped moving and he recited the holy testimony of faith (Kalimah) approximately a hundred times: There is no god, except Allah. After that he stood up fully and said: Peace be on you, O grandmother. Then he lay down facing the Qibla and said: O Ali, O Master. Then he said: Young man, do not be afraid and don't worry about me. I am at peace, and I am going to my great-grandfather. Then he closed his eyes and his soul joined divine mercy.

36. Awareness Of Thought

Hajj Mu’min has narrated about the late righteous scholar, Sayyid Hashim. the Prayer leader of Masjid Sardzak that one day he mounted the pulpit after congregational prayer and spoke about the necessity of presence of mind during prayers. He also mentioned:

In this same Masjid, my respected father, Sayyid Ali Akbar Yazdi was leading congregational prayers and I was also present when a person, who looked like a villager, entered and crossing the rows went straight ahead and stood right behind my father. People of the congregation were much consternated, for according to them the place he had taken should have been occupied by intellectuals and scholars, but that man paid no heed. After that, in the second unit (Rakat) he changed his intention to solitary and finished his prayer and then sat down at the same place. Then he opened his food packet and started eating leavened bread.

When our prayers ended, everyone objected to this behavior and condemned him, but he did not respond. My father inquired what the matter was. They said: This ignorant fellow joined the first row; then changed his intention to solitary and now he is eating something. My father asked him why he acted like that. He said: Do you want me to tell you confidentially or shall I explain it in public?

My father said: Explain it publicly. He said: I came to this Masjid to join you in prayers and gain divine rewards, but during Surah Hamd I realized that you have gone out of the prayer and were thinking that since your age makes it very difficult to come to the Masjid on foot everyday you were in urgent need of a mount. Then you reached the market of donkey sellers and selected a donkey. In the second un t you thought about his feeding and place of keeping it. At last I was fed up and could not accompany you further. So I changed my intention to solitary and finished the prayer on my own.

After explaining this, he gathered his things and set out from there. My father felt very sorry and slapping his forehead said: What a great man! Call him, I want something from him. People went out to look for him, but he had disappeared and was never seen again.

Hence we should never look down on any believer and never object to any of his acts, which can be interpreted in a lawful way, because it is possible that he apparently may seem ordinary and lowly according to the criterion of the times and by accusing him wrongly we become liable for divine retribution.

It is also possible that a servant of God may perform an act in the right way and another person, by way of correcting him, might make him the target of objection and disappoint him.

37. Never Insult A Believer

The religious scholar, Shaykh ul-Islam Shaykh Muhammad Baqir said:

It was my practice that after prayers I used to shake hands with worshippers who sat on both my sides.

One day in Samarrah, after prayers led by Mirza Shirazi (a.m.) I shook hand with the scholar seated on my right, but did not shake hands with the person to my left who seemed to be a villager. He looked lowly to me, so I did not shake hands with him, but regretted my thought at that very moment and thought that perhaps one who seems lowly is very exalted in the view of the Almighty.

So without any further delay I shook hands with him with all decorum. At that moment I perceived a fragrance of Musk, which did not resemble any worldly fragrance. I was extremely pleased and elated. By way of precaution I asked him if he was having Musk with him.

He replied: No, I have never carried Musk. This made me certain that it was an unseen spiritual fragrance and that he was a spiritual and majestic personality.

From that day I decided never to look at any believer with disdain.

38. Grace Of The Almighty And Ungratefulness Of Man

Late Shaykh ul-Islam has also narrated from Sayyid Bahbani, the Friday Prayer leader:

One day I came out to pray in the holy Masjid ul-Haram. On the way I faced a serious peril, but the Almighty Allah saved me and I set out for the Masjid safely and in health. There were two piles of musk melons near the Masjid gate, and the vendors were selling them. I inquired about the price· and learnt that the two piles were priced differently. I thought that I would buy one on my return.

Then I entered the Masjid and started praying, but soon my mind strayed as to which quality and quantity of melons I should buy; and the prayers were completed in this way.

After prayers, as I was stepping out of the Masjid, a gentleman entered. He came to me and said in my ear: Is it appropriate for you to recite the prayer of musk melons in the house of the God, who saved you from death? I immediately realized my folly and began to tremble in fear. Later I tried to meet him again, but could not find him anywhere.

There are numerous stories resembling stories 36 and 38, including the story on page 311 of Qisas ul-Ulama, in which Late Tankabani says:

It is mentioned among the merits of Sayyid Razi that once he was praying behind his brother, Sayyid Murtaza Alam ul-Huda; while bowing down (Ruku), he separated his intention and prayed solitary.

After prayers, people asked the reason for it. He said: When I bowed down, I saw the prayer leader, my brother, Sayyid Murtaza contemplating on an issue related to menses. He was absolutely focused on that and was immersed in a sea of blood. So I changed my intention to solitary.

It is mentioned in some books that Sayyid Murtaza said: Before coming for prayers, a lady had asked me about an issue concerning menses and I was fully occupied in its solution.

Presence of mind in prayer is very important, even though it is not among its necessary conditions and even if one prays without it, his prayer is technically correct and his duty is fulfilled, but we should know that a prayer without presence of mind is like a body without soul. Just as a body is useless without life, a prayer without presence is not rewardable and it will not earn proximity of God, except that part, which was performed with full concentration. That is why fifty percent of some prayer and one fourth of some and even one-tenth of some prayer is worthy of acceptance.

In Al-Kafi, it is narrated from Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq ('a) that it is possible that a person may pray for fifty years, but not even two units are accepted.

O Allah, I seek Your refuge from prayer, which does not rise up to You and from the act, which is of no use.

39. Immediate Relief

The respected teacher, Aga Ali Asghar Ithna Ashari narrates:

One night my wife had a terrible nose bleed and she was bleeding from both the nostrils. At that time it was not even possible to take her to a doctor. I knew that if it continued, it would cause extreme weakness and might even result in death. Thus, without thinking I started reciting the holy name of God, Yaa Qaabidhu (O the one who captures). The bleeding stopped immediately and not a drop came out after that.

After a week, again I was woken up and told: She is having nose bleed again; please recite what you recited that night. I arose and started intoning that great name of God and the blood stopped again.

Among the important conditions of narrated supplications is that one should have perfect certitude in the unending power of the Almighty, who is much above materialism and causes, and all means are subject to His will and under His control. Supplication of one who is involved in doubts is ineffective. One who believes that his need can be fulfilled only by Allah and is certain that other than Him, no one can solve his problem, in that case whatever he prays for will be given to him.

It is narrated that one day a lady with her infant in her arms was passing over the bridge on a river when all of a sudden she bumped against someone and fell down and her child dropped from her arms into the river.

She screamed: O Muslims, help me. The wrap of the child was seen floating in the river and the mother ran after it, calling for help. She reached a spot where the water was shallow as it was a water mill. By chance the child also entered that portion. The woman saw that the child was about to go below the crusher and would soon be crushed to death, and she became sure that no one was going to save her child.

Thus, she looked at the heavens and prayed: O God! Immediately the water, which was previously flowing at a great speed stopped and began to swirl at the same point. The lady stretched and picked the child up and then fell down in thanks to the Almighty. It is mentioned in Surah Naml, verse 62:

أَمَّنْ يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ

"Or, Who answers the distressed one when he calls upon Him and removes the evil." (Surah al-Naml, 27:62).

40. Gift Of Imam Husayn And Revenge From The Killer

Hajj Muhammad Saudagar, who returned to Shiraz after living for many years in India, related many extraordinary incidents, which he witnessed during his stay in India, like the one mentioned below:

One day in Mumbai, a person of Hindu faith sold a property. He drew out a Sale Agreement in the registrar office and came out after receiving the full consideration in cash. Two robbers of Shia faith were lying in ambush to snatch this money. The Hindu understood their intention and hastened to his house; climbed a tree in the courtyard and hid on it. The robbers pursued him to his house and searched for him, but in vain. At last they tortured his wife and said: We saw him enter the house. Tell us where he is hiding. When the lady expressed ignorance, they beat her up severely. At last she said: First you take an oath in the name of your Husayn that you will cause no harm to him; only then will I tell you.

Those two shameless fellows took the oath in the name of Imam Husayn (‘a) that they only wanted to know his location. The lady pointed to the tree. They brought that man down, accosted the money and also slit his throat in order to escape detection.

That helpless lady raised her head to the heavens and said: O Husayn of Shia! I agreed to divulge the location, because they swore in your name. Now, see what they have done! Suddenly a gentleman appeared and gestured to the fleeing men and their heads separated from the torso and dropped down. Then he pointed to the dead Hindu; his head rejoined and he returned to life, after which the gentleman disappeared.

When this was reported to the authorities, after investigation, they became certain of its authenticity. Since it was Muharram period, they distributed food to mourners and railway passes to participants of mourning (Azadari) rituals. On that occasion that Hindu and his relatives embraced Shia Islam.

41. Revenge Of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('A) 1

Learned and pious gentleman, a true fan of Ahl ul-Bayt (‘a), the Late Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Shafi Mohsini Jammi, who passed away a couple of months ago narrated:

In the Kankan province, there was a beggar, who roamed in localities reciting poems in praise of Ahl ul-Bayt ('a) and people gave him cash and kind.

One day he came to the door of a Sunni Nasibi Qadi and recited poems for a long time. The Qadi was infuriated; he opened the door and said: How long will you go on reciting the praises of Ali? I will not give you anything, but I am prepared to help you if you praise Umar.

The beggar said: If you give me something in the name of Umar, it would be worse than snake poison. I will not take it. The Qadi became extremely furious and started beating up the beggar. The Qadi's wife intervened and beseeched him to leave the beggar alone, lest he dies.

She persuaded him to go inside and as much as possible made amends with the beggar so that it may not create communal riots. After the Qadi went inside, the wife heard a terrible scream from him. When she came in, she saw that he has had a paralysis attack and also become dumb. She informed his relatives and they came to inquire about him. All that was understood from his gestures was as follows: When I went to sleep, I was taken to the seventh heaven, where a majestic gentleman slapped me and threw me down.

People admitted him to a hospital in Bahrain, where he remained under treatment for around two months, but it was of no use. Then they took him to Kuwait.

The Late Hajj says: By chance, they brought him by the ship, on which I was traveling and we reached Kuwait together. He requested me to pray in his favor. I explained to him that it was possible for him to be cured only through the mediation of the personality that has slapped him, but that unfortunate man was unmoved; till last year I saw him in Bahrain in the same condition and he was begging on the roads in absolute penury.

Similar to this story is the incident of Abu Abdullah Muhaddith, which in brief is as follows:

On page 140 of Madinat ul-Maajiz, it is narrated from Shaykh Mufid (r.a.) that I went to Ja'far Daqqaq and purchased four books about interpretation of dreams.

As I was leaving, he said: Please wait, I want to narrate an incident, which passed on my friend, and which is a point in favor of your sect. I had a friend who studied with me under a person in BAbu ‘l-Basra locality who narrated traditions. He was famous as Abu Abdullah Muhaddith. We studied under him for a long time and noted down traditions. Whenever he dictated a tradition in excellence of Ahl ul-Bay t ('a), he made some ridiculing remarks as well.

One day he narrated a tradition on the excellence of Lady Fatima Zahra ('a), after which he said: All this is of no use to us, because Ali killed Muslims! He also passed disparaging remarks about Lady Fatima Zahra ('a).

I said to my friend: It is not right to learn anything from this fell ow, because he is irreligious and always commits audacities against Ali and Fatima, which cannot be a religion of a Muslim. My friend testified to my statement and said: It would be better for us to take someone else as a tutor.

At night, I dreamt that I was going to the Great Mosque, and Abu Abdullah Muhaddith was also present there. Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) arrived mounted on an unsaddled mule. I said: Perhaps he would cut off his head. He came forward and hit his right eye with a cane and remarked: O accursed one, why do you abuse me and Fatima? The Muhaddith cupped his eye and exclaimed: You have blinded me!

When I woke up, I decided to meet my friend and inform him about the dream. Suddenly I saw him coming with an anxious face. He asked: Do you know what happened? Tell me, I said. He said: I had a dream last night about the Muhaddith; and he narrated an almost identical dream. I said: I also had the same dream and was coming to inform you about it. Come let us take the Qur’an and go to Muhaddith and swear to him that we had such a dream and we have not hatched any conspiracy, then explain to him that he must recant his corrupted beliefs.

Thus, we went to his place, but his door was closed. A maid told us that it was not possible to meet him at that time. We knocked again, and again were given the same response. After that she said: The Shaykh is holding his eye and wailing since last night. He is repeating that Ali Ibn Abi Talib has blinded me in one eye. He is extremely distressed by the pain.

We said: We came regarding this only. So she opened the door and we went inside. We saw him screaming in a horrible manner and saying: What do I have to do with Ali Ibn Abi Talib, that he hit me with his cane and blinded me?

Ja'far says: He narrated all that I had seen in the dream. We asked him to recant his wrong beliefs and not to utter any insult about Ali ('a). He said: May Allah not give you a good reward, even if Ali blinds my other eye, I would not give him precedence over Abu Bakr and Umar. We left him and again visited on the third day to find that he was blind in the other eye as well, but he did not recant his faith. After a week, when we sought information about him, we came to know that he was dead and his son has apostasied due to the anger of Ali Ibn Abi Talib and moved to Rome.

42. Bestowal Of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('A) 1

The learned research scholar, Aga Mirza, from whom Muhammad Shirazi has narrated stories 5 to 9 said:

Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Juhrami, a prominent scholar of Najaf al-Ashraf and a student of Murtaza Kashmiri (may Allah exalt his position) entered into some transaction with a perfumer of Najaf al-Ashraf. Many times he took interest-free loans from him and when he received some payments he cleared his debts. Once he did not get enough funds to repay the creditor after which he went to him and asked for some more loans. He said: Aga, you have taken too much, I cannot give you more.

The Shaykh was deeply disturbed and he went to the holy mausoleum of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) and complained: I am in your neighborhood and refuge. ·

After some days a Juhrami person came and giving him a money bag said: I am supposed to hand over this to you, and it is now yours. The Shaykh took the money and immediately went to the perfumer deciding that after repaying his debts, he would spend the remainder on such and such need. He asked the perfumer: How much do I owe you? He said: Too much. The Shaykh said: I want to repay the complete amount.

So the perfumer brought out his register, made calculations and told him the amount he owed. (the Late Mirza mentioned the amount to me, but I have forgotten). The Shaykh handed him the purse and said: Take your receivable and return the balance. The perfumer counted the money before him and said: Neither a cent is less nor a cent more.

The Shaykh returned empty-handed and again entered the holy mausoleum and said: The apparent meaning of my request is not the final word. 1 didn't say that I don't want more than what I owed. O Master, I have so and so need.

When he emerged from the mausoleum, he received an amount enough to fulfill his need.

43. Satan In His Real Form

Hajj Ali Aga Salman (from whom stories 29 and 30 were narrated) said:

One night I was praying the Midnight Prayer. During the Witr Prayer, in which al-Awf is recited 300 times, I picked up the rosary from my prayer mat to recite this.

However, I found that it was too much knotted and it was not possible to unravel it at that moment and it could not be used. I understood that it was an act of Satan, and that tonight he wanted me to be deprived of this excellent act. Suddenly, he appeared to me and I asked: You cursed one, why did you do this? He disregarded my question. I asked: Do you not know that the grace of the Almighty is there for me? Yet he did not reply. I raised my head and said: My Lord, please show Your grace regarding me and make the face of this cursed one black.

At once I was inspired: Pick up your rosary, the Almighty Allah has repaired it. When I picked up the rosary, I found that it was unknotted and the accursed one also disappeared.

It is definite that Satan lays hurdles in the path of Allah. He is like a dog. When a person tries to perform a good deed, he tries his best to stop him. The only way to avoid this is to seek the help of God and to repose ones faith in Him. One should have certitude that the Almighty Allah is most powerful and He can defeat the purpose of Satan whenever He wants. There is no doubt that if one calls the Almighty with sincerity, reliance and helplessness and seeks His refuge, He would definitely drive away the Satan from him. This is clearly promised in the Holy Qur’an. Thus, it is mentioned as follows:

فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

“So when you recite the Qur’an, seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaitan”.." (Surah an-Nahl 16:98).

إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ لَهُ سُلْطَانٌ عَلَى الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ

“Surely he has no authority over those who believe and rely on their Lord." (Surah an-Nahl 16:99).

We should know that it is a proven matter that Satan used to appear to prophets like, Prophet Yahya, Prophet Musa, Prophet Ibrahim, Prophet Isa and the Holy Infallible Imams ('a) and it is also proved that tried to mislead them. For example, when Imam Zayn ul-Abidin ('a) was engrossed in prayers, he assumed the shape of a serpent and stung at his toe; till the majesty and awe of divine retribution drove him away. A large number of stories are available in books in this regard.

My aim in narrating this story is that it is necessary for us to seek the refuge of Allah from Satan. That is when a person intends to perform a good deed he should first beseech the Almighty to secure him from the mischief of Satan. The details of this matter are mentioned by Aga Noori in the book of Dar us-Salam, Vol. 3.

It is narrated that when a person wishes to give charity (Sadaqah), the Satan clings to his hand and warns him of poverty, so that he might remain deprived of this great act of righteousness.

44. Bad Effects Of Miserliness

A great scholar has narrated that once a prominent businessman of Isfahan, who was very much devoted to Aga Jawad Bedabadi (mentioned in previous stories also), fell ill. The late Bedabadi wen t to visit him and on seeing him in a swoon feared that it might lead to his death. So he told his sons to distribute 14000 Tomans among the poor as Sadaqah so that he may pray for his cure through the mediation of Hazrat Hujjat, but they did not accept his suggestion.

Late Bedabadi was aggrieved and he came out and told a companion: They acted niggardly, but since he was our friend and he has a right on us, we must pray for him. So they came home and after Evening Prayers, the late Bedabadi raised his hands for supplication, but instead of praying for his health, he supplicated for his salvation. His friend asked in surprise: What happened, why didn't you pray for his recovery? He replied: When I wanted to do that, I heard: 'I seek the forgiveness of Allah'. I understood that he was dead. Upon investigation it was found that he had really passed away.

What a great loss it is for one who is prepared to spend a big part of his wealth in fulfillment of his selfish desires but is not ready to spend the same amount or more than that on the way of God. He is willing to pay a heavy amount in hospital and at the same time also has to sign an undertaking that if he died, no one would be held responsible.

Sometimes his coffin is carried out of the hospital, and yet he is not prepared to pay that much or less than that with certitude on the way of God, so that if the destined time of death has not come, he would recover, and if his death is certain, the amount he has spent, would be reserved for him for his life in the hereafter.

This wretchedness is only due to weakness of faith in God 's promise. It is narrated from Imam Ja' far as-Sadiq ('a) that he said: Cure your sick through alms (Sadaqah).

It should also be remembered that it does not mean that there is no need to refer to a doctor or that medicine should not be used. On the contrary, medicine can be made effective through supplications and alms, because it is definite that the effect of medicine depends on the will of Almighty Allah and just as we give importance to doctors and medicines, in the same way, or more than that, we should accord importance to alms and supplications and this subject is explained in detail in the method of giving up of greater sins.

45. Effect Of Mourning For Imam Husayn ('A)

The late Sayyid Ismail Mujab (dentist) used to narrate some strange incidents. which he witnessed during his stay in India. He reported that a community of Hindu traders was devoted to the chief of martyrs, Imam Husayn ('a). In order to earn the blessings of the Imam they took him as a partner in their businesses. That is they spent a part of their annual income in his way. On Ashura Day, some of them got sherbet, falooda and ice-cream prepared through Shia and had it distributed among mourners of Imam Husayn ('a) and themselves stood in a mournful manner. Some gave the Imam's share to be spent in Azadari rituals.

One of them even performed chest-beating (Matam) along with Shia. When he died, on the basis of the rituals of idolaters, they cremated his body. His whole body was burnt, but the right hand and a portion of his chest remained intact. His family members brought these two items to Shia people and said: This is the property of your Husayn.

When Hell fire, which cannot be compared to the fire of the world, and which has no relation to it, through the mediation of Imam Husayn ('a) becomes cools and safe, why ineffectiveness of the weak fire of this world should be astonishing?

It is also well known and certain that every year on Ashura night, people of an idolater community walk on fire without burning their feet.

46. Miracle Of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('A)

During my stay in Najaf al-Ashraf in Muharram 1358 A.H., flagellating, chest beati ng and taking out of processions was banned by the Iraqi government. On Ashura night, in order to ensure that there is no chest beating in the holy mausoleum, the holy sanctuary and compound were closed since early evening and all the doors were locked. The door being closed last was Baab Qibla. They had closed one flap when suddenly a chest beating group crowded and entered the compound and turned to the holy sanctuary and finding it closed continued their rituals in the compound itself.

Some policemen arrived and an officer in long boots entered the hall and ordered the constables to arrest the chest-beati ng men. Members of the group surrounded him and threw him into the compound; then they beat him up badly, but when they reali zed that it was possible that they would use their official position to harass and take revenge, they looked at the door of the tomb with utter helplessness and humility and said:

O Ali, open the door. We are mourners of your son.

Thus, in one moment all the doors of the sanctuary, passage and the compound opened. Some reliable gentlemen present there, narrated to me the eye witness account. The iron hinges automatically separated from the walls and chest-beating groups immediately entered the tomb. When other residents of Najaf al-Ashraf learned of this, they also gathered in the compound and the policemen disappeared.

When this incident was reported to Baghdad, order was issued that the Shia must not be restrained. That year, in Najaf al-Ashraf and Karbala, the rituals of mourning were performed with more fervor and the poets recounted that miracle in their poems. A prominent Arab gentleman had the couplets inscribed on a plate and fixed it to the shrine. I memorized some of those couplets immediately.

The last couplet said: The fact is that if His Eminence, Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) had not made this bestowal, a great mischief would have occurred and there would have been a lot of bloodshed.

47. Escape After Burial

The prominent scholar, Aga Mirza Mahmud Shirazi has also narrated the following story:

In Karbala Moalla, the late Sayyid Zayn ul-Abidin Kashi had a servant, who was a native of Tabriz. (I forget his name). He was a righteous man with a religious temperament and followed proper beliefs and guidance.

He narrated: Before moving to Karbala, I had a coffee shop in Tabriz, near a graveyard. I also lived in that same place. One night the climate was very cold. I closed the shop door and lay down. Suddenly someone started knocking the door hard. I opened the door, but that person ran away. The second time he knocked harder. When I opened the door, again he fled.

I said to myself: He has harassed me too much. So I picked up a cane and sat behind the door ready to give him a sound thrashing this time. He knocked the third time and I opened the door and chased him. He scampered to the graveyard and disappeared at one spot. I stopped there and looked for him here and there. I thought that he might have hidden somewhere. So I lay down there waiting for him to come out.

When I placed my car on the ground, I heard a soft sound as if someone was sobbing below the earth. I noted that it was a fresh grave and probably someone was buried there just that evening. I understood that he must have been in a swoon and that he regained consciousness in the grave. I felt great pity and started digging the grave to save him. When the grave opened, I saw a boy in it, who asked: Where am I? Where is my father? Where is my father? I gave my dress to him and brought him to my shop. but I could not recognize him. I questioned him slowly, till I came to know about his locality and home address.

I went out the same night, made inquiries about his parents and informed them. They came and took their son home, safe and sound.

I concluded that the one knocking my door was an unseen being appointed to save that young man.

48. A Strange Advice

Sincere follower of the mastership (Wilayat) of Ahl ul-Bayt ('a), Aga Mirza Abu ‘l-Qasim Attar Tehrani has narrated from Hajj Shaykh Abdun Nabi Noori, a student of Late Hajj Sabzawari that in the last year of Haji's life, one day a person came to his class and informed that a person has come out of a grave. Half his body was below the ground and half out of it. His stare was fixed on the sky and children harass him all the time, but he was oblivious of them.

The late Haji said: I have to meet him personally. When the Haji saw him, he was astounded. On going near he realized that he did not pay any attention to him as well. He asked: Who are you and what are you doing? I don't think you are insane, but your act is also not like sane people. He replied: I am an ignorant and unaware man; I have only certitude and reliance on one point; I realized that there is a mighty and great creator who created me and the universe, in whose recognition and obedience I should not fall short.

Secondly, I have understood that I don't have to live in this world forever, and that I have to go to another world; and I don't know what my condition in that world would be.

Haji sir, I have become so anxious and obsessed due to these two realizations that people take me to be insane. Since you are an accomplished scholar and have no feelings for anyone. Are you not afraid of any impending danger?

This advice moved the Haji very much and he returned from there in such a way that a revolution had come over him. In his remaining brief life, he was busy gathering provisions for his hereafter till he passed away.

A person, in whatever position he might be, is in need of advice and counsel, because whatever he learns, if he was familiar with it previously, that advice serves as a reminder. It is because man is prone to forgetfulness and is always needful of a reminder; and if he is ignorant, it serves as a medium of wisdom and revelation of recognition. On the basis of this, the Qur’an considers giving advice and good counsel as a duty of all Muslims. Thus, it is said:

وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ

"...and (they) enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience." (Surah al-Asr 103:3).

Just as it is necessary to advise others, in the same way, it 1s necessary to listen to good advice and to obey it.

Since counsel demands attention and practical fulfillment it is repeatedly mentioned in Qur’an: "Is there anyone who will accept the reminder?"

At the same time, we should know that exhortation is not ineffective. It leaves a definite effect on the hearer, even though it might be temporary and partial. One should know that one must not fall short in attending gatherings of advices and listening to the advices of all advisors.

It is narrated from Muslima that: One day I went to meet Umar Ibn Abd ul-Aziz after the Morning Prayer, when he was alone in the house. A slave girl brought some dates. He took some and said: O Muslima, if someone eats these and drinks some water, would it be sufficient for him?

I replied: I don 't know. Thus, he picked up some more dates and asked: What is your opinion about this much?

I said: Yes, it is enough; even if he eats a little less than that he would not need more food all day.

He asked: Then why should a person go to Hell? That is if a handful of dates and a little water are sufficient, why should one be greedy for material wealth and not abstain from things ordained as unlawful by God? So much so that he should reach Hell? Muslima says: Nothing ever affected me as much. Thus, a person is unaware what would affect him. Muslima had heard many good advices, but none was as effective.

It is well known and mentioned in some commentaries as well that Fuzail Ayaz spent a major part of his life acting against divine commands. So much so that one night, he was pursuing a caravan in order to rob it. Suddenly he heard someone reciting the following verse of Qur’an:

أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْ تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ

"Has not the time yet come for those who believe that their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah?" (Surah al-Hadid 57:16).

This holy verse immediately awakened his conscience. He remarked: Indeed its time has come. Thus, he returned from there and repented fully. He restored all the rights of those who had any right on him or made them satisfied. At last he was included among the righteous people of his time.

It is also narrated that a wealthy gentleman passed by a sermonizer, who was saying: I am astonished at that alien servant who disobeys the Almighty Allah. This statement affected him so much that he left all sinful activities, turned his attention to meritorious deeds and become one of the pious personalities of his times. He had heard many exhortations and words of wisdom, but his complete salvation and awakening was in those initial words.

People asked Abdullah bin Mubarak: How long would you remain in search of traditions and knowledge? He replied: I don't know. It is possible that I have yet to hear that, in which my salvation lies.

Due to this, the devout scholar, late Shaykh Ja'far Shustar used to pray from the pulpit and request the Almighty Allah: Please make our gathering a gathering of good counsel. He also said: Indeed it is a gathering of good counsel only when a person involved in disobedience should become regretful and give up sins; and if he is obedient, he should become more eager for obedience and strive more to increase his sincerity and spirituality.

Thus, it is necessary for the scholar and non-scholar all, to attend gatherings of good counsel and exhortation. The ignorant should attend with the aim of gaining knowledge and the learned should attend for reminders. This is mentioned in a large number of traditions. To understand its importance, it is sufficient to know that good advice is nourishment for the soul and the giver of life to the heart.

Thus, Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) tells his son, Imam Hasan ('a): Enliven your heart through good exhortation; which exposes the self and Satan and which saves you from their mischief; it removes confusion and anxiety, it brings tranquility:

الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُمْ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ

"Those who believe and whose hearts are set at rest by the remembrance of Allah..." (Surah ar-Raad 13:28).

There are so many who became ready to commit suicide due to satanic instigations, but after listening to good counsels got peace of heart. It is also necessary to state that if a person is not having access to gathering of exhortation or to such persons, he should take advantage of the advices mentioned in books.

In this list is the Holy Qur’an - ponder upon its verses. After that is translation of Nahj ul-Balagha - eloquent sermons of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a), which explain the Holy Qur’an.

Then translation of the 17th volume of Bihar ul-Anwar, a collection of the advices of the Messenger of Allah (S) and the Holy Imams ('a). After that are books on ethics, like Merajus Saadat of Naraqi, Ain ul-Hayat of Allamah Majlisi and other books containing advices of senior personalities of faith.

49. Good Sense Or Divine Opportunity (Tawfiq) For Repentance

Aga Mirza Abu ‘l-Qasim (who was mentioned before also) has quoted from late Itimad ul-Waizeen Tehrani that during a famine in Tehran, one day Nasiruddin Shah Mir Ghazab Bashi, the executor, heard wails of some puppies near a water tank. He saw bitch that had a delivery and the puppies were clinging to her body, but since there was no milk in her udders, they were bleating and howling in hunger. Mir Ghazab pitied them and from a nearby bakery bought some bread and threw it before the female and stood watching. After eating the bread she got milk and the puppies started nursing.

Mir Ghazab Bashi calculated the cost of one month's feeding and paid the baker and told him to give same quantity of bread to that animal everyday without fail and if he missed a single day, he would be punished.

Mir Ghazab Bashi used to go out with friends for recreation and on their return they returned to a friend's place for dinner turn by turn.

Once it was the turn of Mir Ghazab Bashi. His first wife lived in central Tehran, where all means were available, while presently he lived with another wife in a remote corner of the city. He told his former wife to arrange dinner and said that a certain number of his friends would accompany him.

They went out in the afternoon, but returned very late at night. The friends said: It is very late and we are very tired. So we shall stay at your place, which is at the periphery.

Mir Ghazab Bashi said: There is nothing to eat over here. We'll have to go to my house in the central locality, because all arrangements are made there; but his friends did not agree and said: Today we will stay here only and be content with little food and tomorrow we shall think about the dinner you have arranged at the other house.

Mir Ghazab Bashi was compelled to accept this suggestion. He got some bread and Kebabs and served them to his friends, after which they went to sleep.

At dawn all woke up by screams and wails of Mir Ghazab Bashi and asked what the matter was. He said: I just saw Imam Sajjad ('a) in dream. He said: Your favor to that bitch is accepted by Allah and He kept you and your friends secure from death tonight, because your former wife had procured poison and concealed it at so and so place in the kitchen to mix it in your food. Go there in the morning and take it out, but cause no harm to that woman. On the contrary, if she likes, you may free her (by divorce).

Secondly, the Almighty Allah would give you divine opportunity (Tawfiq) of repenting and after forty days, you will have the honor of visiting the tomb of my respected father in Karbala.

So he told his friends next morning: Let us go to that house and confirm the dream. They reached there and the woman complained why they did not come last night, but they paid no attention and picked up the poison from there.

Mir Ghazab Bashi asked: What was your planning against us last night? If the Imam had not instructed me, I would have taken revenge from you, but I will act on his orders and do a favor to you. If you want, you can continue to live in this house and I will overlook your mistake. Or if you want, I can divorce you. When the woman realized that since she was exposed, she would not be able to live with him further, she asked for divorce and he freed her.

He resigned from his job as well and became engrossed in repentance and fulfillment of rights and after forty days was honored with the Ziyarat of Karbala and he settled down there till his end.

Effects of doing favor to creatures of God are mentioned in traditional reports in excess, even though it might be an animal, like a dog. Sometimes it so happens that the good deed earns righteousness and divine salvation.

There are many testimonies of this, including the book of Hayat ul-Haiwan of Dimyari. In that book, it is narrated from the Messenger of Allah (S) that a lady was traveling in a desert and was extremely thirsty. She reached a well that had some water. Somehow she climbed into it and quenched her thirst. When she came out, she saw a dog eating moist sand for its moisture.

It is mentioned in Hayat ul-Haiwan by Damiri that She said to herself: The dog is also thirsty like me. She climbed into the well once again, filled her socks with water held it in her teeth and brought it out for the dog. The Almighty Allah accepted that deed and forgave her.

People asked: O Messenger of Allah (S), do we become eligible for a reward if we also do a good turn to animals? He replied: There is reward for quenching the thirst of every beast.

It is also mentioned in the same book that the Holy Prophet (S) said: On the night of ascension (Meraj), when I entered Paradise, I saw a man who had watered a thirsty dog. When there is so much reward for a good turn to animals what the reward of helping a human being, especially a believer, would be? For more examples of this you can refer to the book of Kalimah Tayyiba by Haji Noori.

50. True Dream 2

A devout scholar who witnessed the times of Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Jawad Bedabadi (regarding whom a few stories were quoted) narrates: Once that gentleman set out from Isfahan with his sister to visit the shrine of Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) in Holy Mashhad and to stay there for forty days.

When eighteen days had passed in that blessed place, at night Ima m Ali Al-Ridha ('a) came to him in dream and ordered him that the following morning he should return to Isfahan. He said: Master, I made an intention to stay in your neighborhood for forty days, and so far only eighteen days have passed.

Imam ('a) said: Since your sister is depressed by separation of her mother, she requested me; so you must return for her sake. Do you not know that I am kind to my visitors?

When Late Haji woke up, he asked his sister: What did you ask Ima m A li Al-Ridha ('a) yesterday? She replied: Since I was nostalgic for mot her, I complained to the Imam and requested for an early return.

Mostly the favors of Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) are definite for his Shia and especially his visitors. Thus, it is mentioned in his Ziyarat: Peace be on you, O the kind Imam. Regarding this, quite a few incidents are mentioned in reliable books, but narrating them all is out of the scope of this book.

In other words, whoever turns to the blessed grave of the Imam is bestowed with his love and rewards.

51. True Dream 3

Sayyid Aga Zunnoor narrates: One night, I saw a very resplendent and luxurious palace in my dream. When I stepped into it after taking permission of the gatekeeper, I saw lavish facilities all over the place. Passing through the beautiful edifice I strolled to the center of the complex, where all kinds of streams were flowing. Jasmine trees grew so thick that they intermingled with each other and a soft fragrance emanated from them. A royal throne was laid i n their shade, having a number of decorations and covered with a beautiful covering.

I saw Shaykh Muhammad Qasim Talaqat (preacher) seated on it in a grand fashion. l asked the gatekeeper to whom this palace belonged. He said: Aga Talaqat, who is seated on the throne. I sought his permission and went to meet him and after paying homage to him asked: Aga Talaqat, I have been your companion and was aware of your circumstances. Why has the Almighty Allah given you this position?

He replied: It is as you are saying. In fact I was not having to my credit any such act, which might have conveyed me to this position, but I had a son, who got a throat illness and died within twenty-four hours and the Almighty bestowed me with this as recompense.

Aga Zunnoor says: I was unaware of the death of Aga Talaqat's son. I thought I would narrate my dream to him, but then thought that perhaps his son was not dead yet and there may be some other interpretation of my dream. Thus, I did not ask directly, on the contrary I asked another scholarly personality who was his friend and companion.

He said: His eighteen-year-old son died within twenty-four hours.

A large number of traditional reports and incidents are mentioned regarding the recompense of the death of children, especially sons, which are mentioned in layali ul-Akhbar of Late Tuisarkani. Apart for this, the book of Maskana ul-Fawad fee Maotin Ahibba wal Awla of Shahid Thani may also be referred. Here we narrate one traditional report by way of illustration.

Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (‘a) said: Paradise is the recompense of a believer on the death of his son, whether he is patient on it or not.

In spite of the fact that the recompense for every calamity depends on being patient in it, recompense of the death of a child is definite, whether one is able to observe patience in it or not.

52. True Dream 4

A very nice gentleman, who was deeply devoted to Ahl ul-Bayt (‘a) and named as Shafi Jami (narrator of story no. 41), says: One year on Eid Ghadeer, I had gone for the Ziyarat of Najaf al-Ashraf. After Ziyarat, I returned to my town (Jam) and during Ashura days held gatherings for mourning the chief of martyrs, Imam Husayn (‘a) in our local Husayniyah. On Ashura Day, I became very cager to perform the Ziyarat of Imam Husayn ('a) and in order to fulfill this desire, I sought the help of the Imam, whereas I had no financial capacity to travel to Karbala.

That nigh t I had a vision of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) and Imam Husayn ('a). Ali ('a) asked his son: Why don't you give permission to Muhammad Shafi? He said: I have brought it with me, and he handed a slip to me with a couple of lines written on it with light, and which was same on both the sides. When I looked, I saw two couplets and in spite of the fact that I don't have any relation with poetry; I was able to memorize them in one glance. The couplet was as follows:

This is a man who has performed the Ziyarat of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a). He is a sincere follower named Muhammad Shafi. He should be enabled to travel to Karbala even though he has returned from Najaf only a few days ago.

He says: When I awoke, I was extremely pleased and certain that my wish would be fulfilled. Thus, by the grace of God, the arrangements for travel were made that same day and I set out for the holy tomb of Ima m Husayn ('a).

Late Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Shafi was my friend and companion for thirty years and I had the honor of performing Hajj and Ziyarat of holy places in his company. He was a practical scholar and was sincerely devoted to Islam and Islamic law. He had a very nice disposition and was a truthful man. Wherever he went, he mixed up with righteous people. Whichever gathering he attended, he reminded the audience about Almighty Allah and Aale Muhammad ('a). He never avoided talking about the excellence of these holy personalities and the oppressions of their enemies. He was in fact having all the positive and praiseworthy qualities; especially in humility, modesty, manners, love, generosity and public welfare, he had no equal.

May Allah, the Mighty and the High exalt his status and his raising be with the Messenger of Allah (S) and his purified progeny. May Allah bless them all.

53. Bestowal Of Lady Fatima Zahra ('A)

Haji Ali Akbar Sarwari Tehrani said: I have an Alawite aunt (mother's sister), who is extremely pious and she is a blessing for our family. In calamities and tragedies, all of us take her refuge and all our problems are solved through her supplications.

Once that lady had chest pain and although she consulted some doctors, it did not make any difference. At last she arranged a ladies gathering of mourning (Majlis) to seek the mediation of Lady Fatima Zahra (‘a) and also served food as benediction.

I saw in dream the same night that the Infallible Lady has come to her house. Aunt said: My hut is very small; and since I was not deserving of it, I could not invite you the other day. Lady Fat i ma ('a) said: I came on my own and I was present here. Now, I would like to indicate your illness and its cure. She held the palm of her hand before her face and said: Look at my palm, when she looked at it, she saw in it all the inner conditions of her body. She also saw that there was a lot of dirt in her womb. She said: Your pain is related to the womb. Consult such and such doctor and you would be cured.

Thus, in the morning, she visited that doctor and explained her malady. She was very soon cured by his treatment.

We must also understand that it was possible that she could have cured her only through her Du’a, but the fact is that the Almighty Allah has created a medicine for every malady, so that the quality, which Allah has placed in it should be revealed, therefore it is necessary to refer to a doctor when one is ill, and one must not abandon the use of medicine and should know that cure is from the Almighty Allah, but through the mediation of doctor and medicine, except in instances, in which divine exigency demands direct cure.

Since there was no such exigency in the case of this lady, she was directed to refer to a doctor.

Imam Ja' far as-Sadiq ('a) said: When one of the past prophets became ill, he said: I will not use medicine, because the God who has made me sick should cure me also. The Almighty Allah revealed to him: I will not cure you till you don't take recourse to medicine. It is so, because cure is from Me, even though it might be the medicine.

54. True Dream 5

Believer and pious Mulla Ali Kazerooni, a resident of Kuwait was a very nice gentleman and he was having the power to see true dreams and realizations.

r had the honor of his company and friendship during the journey of Hajj. He narrated that one night he saw in a dream such a wide garden that sight failed lo reach its end.

In its middle was a magnificent palace and I was wondering whom it belonged to. I inquired from the gate keeper and was told that it was for Habib Najjar Shirazi. I was closely familiar with th is person. I was watching this spectacle when all of a sudden there was a flash of lightning and the palace was reduced to ashes, as if it had never existed. I was completely horrified and soon woke up, and I understood that he has committed a sin, which destroyed his exalted position.

The following morning, I went to meet him and asked him what act he committed the night before. Nothing, he replied. I said that it was a secret, which needed to be unraveled. He admitted that at such and such time there was a conversation between him and his mother, which culminated in him hilling the mother. I narrated my dream and said: You caused distress to your mother and lost such an exalted position.

The same conclusion is derived from traditional reports and verses of the Holy Qur’an that some greater sins destroy and annihilate good deeds. Thus, it is mentioned in Oddatud Dai that the Messenger of Allah (S) said: A tree would be planted in Paradise for one who says once: There is no god except Allah. A person asked: O Messenger of Allah (S). So I must be the owner of a large number of trees in Paradise? His Eminence said: But beware that you don't send a fire to them and burn them up.

Among such greater sins is being disowned by parents. That is to cause distress to the father or mother.

This topic can be studied in detail in the book of Greater Sins1

- 1. Also published by Ansariyan Publications.

55. Bestowal Of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('A) 2

Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Baqir, Shaykh ul-Islam (a.m.) [from whom stories 37 & 38 were narrated], says:

When Qawam ul-Malik Shirazi was building the Husayniyah (Aza Khana) a Sayyid master stone cutter of Shiraz was given the contract to cut stones used in that building.

By chance in executing this project he suffered a great loss and accumulated debt of 300 Tomans, which was a big amount at that time and due to that he fell in poverty.

On Friday eve, he recited the Prayer of Ja 'far Tayyar to solve that problem, and in the court of the Almighty made Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) as mediation. He continued this practice on the second and third Friday eve as well. His Eminence instructed him to approach Hajj Qiwam, and mentioned that he has given him the responsibility. When he awoke, he was bewildered how he should approach Hajj Qiwam when he was not having any sign or tangible proof? It was possible that he might falsify him.

At last he came to the Husayniyah and sat down in a corner aggrieved. Suddenly he saw Hajj Qiwam ul-Malik arrive with his retainers, when his arrival was completely unexpected. He came to the Sayyid stone-cutter and said: I have some work with you, come to my house. When he reached the house of Hajj Qiwam, the servants took him to the master with respect.

When he met Hajj Qiwaam, he saluted with respect and the latter without asking anything handed him three purses, each containing a hundred gold coins and said: Go and repay your debts; and he said nothing else.

This shows how sincere the wealthy and powerful people of the past were, to the limit that they became eligible for the blessings of the holy personalities of faith, and passed away from the world with this specialty.

But today most of the rich are only concerned about increasing their wealth and do not spend anything in charitable deeds. Secondly if they spend a little in some good deed, they are not sincere in it and aim at earning praise and for show off. Since it is not sincere for God, therefore it gives no lasting result.

Show off. which invalidates good deeds, is discussed in detail in the book of Greater Sins1. May the Almighty Allah give good sense (divine opportunity) to our wealthy to make their money effective and whatever they have collected through it should procure permanent benefits.

That, which you have saved to spend in good deeds is declared by the Messenger of Allah (S) to be the best of wealth.

- 1. Also published by Ansariyan Publications.

56. True Dream 6

Hajj Sayyid Muhammad Ali Naji is the son and successor of Late Hajj Sayyid Muhammad Hasan. The Late Sayyid had made a bequest about different matters and great part of that was about performance of prayers and fasts on payment. The successor commissioned Hajj Sayyid Ziauddin (Prayer leader of Masjid Atishiha) to perform prayer of four years and fasts for four months, and also paid him the compensation in cash.

The successor narrates: After some time I saw my father in dream that he was extremely anxious. I asked him: Are you satisfied with me or not? For I have fulfilled your bequest and commissioned Sayyid Ziauddin to perform your prayers and fasts. My father asked in utter grief: When was it acted upon? He is involved in some other things and has not prayed more than six days of prayers. When I awoke, I went to Sayyid Ziauddin. He said: I have recorded the number of prayers I have recited.

I said: I know that you are very systematic in your job, but I want to know whether my dream is true or not? After a lot of persuasion he brought his register out and it came to be known that he did not recite prayers for more than six days. He expressed surprise and said: I was under the impression that I have recited most of the prayers. Now, that the deceased has pointed it out, I will perform his prayers from today itself.

Thus, it was learnt that Aga Ziauddin had forgotten and the Late Haji Naji had accurate information.

In the book of Ghurar ul-Hikam of Amadi it is mentioned that Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) has said in his short sayings: Become the successor of your own self and yourself do with your money, what you want others to do.

It means that you do in your lifetime that, about which you make a bequest to your successors, because it is very difficult to get a religious and God-fearing successor.

Secondly, even if your successor fulfills your bequest, the person who is commissioned for your prayers, fasts and Hajj, may not fulfill it properly, or may forget it, because he has not accorded importance to it and if it is supposed that he has performed it, even then the act, which a person himself does, is quite different from that, which another person does in his lieu.

This it is narrated that among the companions of the Messenger of Allah (S) a person made a bequest that the Holy Prophet (S) should donate his dates in charity after his death. When His Eminence acted on his bequest, a date was found lying on the ground. He picked it up saying: If he had given only this date during his lifetime it would have been better than the huge pi le, which I gave in charity on his behalf.

How aptly Shaykh Saadi Shirazi has versified:

Send the means of your comfort and luxury yourself, after that there would be no one to procure it, so you send it before. Eat, drink and give alms, and distribute food to the needy. What expectation do you have from others, give money now, because it is in your possession. Otherwise it would be out of your bounds. Take your provisions of the journey with yourself, because such a kindness cannot be expected from your wife and children. You should worry about your own life, because relatives and kindred due to their greed do not spend time in the errands of the dead. Except for your nails, no one will scratch your back as a good tum.

57. True Dream 7

Son of Late Hajj Ghulam Ali Bahbani (founder of Shabistan Masjid, Sardzak), Hajj Muhammad Hasan Khan Bahbani has narrated:

My father was ill with his fatal illness before the courtyard of Masjid Sardzak was complete. He made a bequest that Indian Rupees 12000.00, which are in Hawala transaction of Bombay, should be obtained and spent in the completion Masjid.

When he passed away, the construction work halted for a few days. One night he asked me in dream: Why have you delayed this work? I said: As a tribute to you and due to involvement in gatherings of mourning. He said: If you want to do something for me, you should do it without delaying the construction of Masjid.

So I decided to complete the construction and wanted the money, which was in Hawala, but I was not able to find its documentary proof.

After some days I saw my father again. Again he asked me why I have not started the construction. I replied: I cannot find the document. He said: It is lying in the room behind the cupboard. When I awoke, I put on the light and went to the place he had indicated and found a paper and saw that it was the same document. I collected the amount and got the Masjid completed.

58. True Dream 8

Late Hajj Motamid narrated:

One day I was present in Takiya Shah Dai Ilalaah for reciting mourning poems in Majl is gathering. Since there was slush in streets due to rain and snow, I passed through Dar us-Salam Cemetery of Shiraz and after the program ended, I returned the same way.

At night I saw Aga Sayyid Mirza, alias Sultan, son of Hajj Sayyid Ali Akbar Faal Asecri in dream. He said: Motamid, today you passed by our house and saw it in a dilapidated condition, but you did not repair it. When I awoke, I was not at all aware that. in wh ich graveyard the grave of the late gentleman was.

I went to the caretaker of the cemetery, Shaykh Hasan and asked if t he grave of Aga Sayyid Mirza was in that same graveyard. He replied: Yes, it is there and he came along and pointed it out to me. I saw that it was exactly on the route I had taken the day before, and has broken down and was flattened due to rain and snow. I gave some money to the caretaker to repair it.

Through these incidents and thousands of others like them it is easily learnt that after death man is not destroyed, even though his body might have decayed under the ground, but his soul remains in the world of Purgatory (Barzakh) and is aware of the circumstances of this world.

This point is clarified in the Holy Qur’an and traditions as well. It is mentioned in Bihar ul-Anwar, Vol. 2, Pg. 141 that the Messenger of Allah (S) addressed the killed infidels in the Battle of Badr: You had been very bad neighbors of the Messenger of Allah. You drove him out and after that got together to fight a battle. Indeed you have received that, which the truthful Lord had promised you. That is death in the world and after that divine chastisement.

Umar asked: How are you talking to people who are dead (because they cannot hear)? His Eminence (S) said: Keep quiet, O son of Khattab, by Allah, you are not as capable of hearing as them and there is no distance between them and the angels who are to chastise them, except that I should tum away from them.

It is also narrated that after the conclusion of the Battle of Jamal and after the victory of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a), the Imam was passing through the killed, till he came to the body of Kaab bin Soor, who was a Qadi of Basra authorized by Umar and Uthman; and he had come with his sons and relatives to fight against Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a). All of them were killed.

Thus, by the orders of Imam he was made to sit and the Imam said: O Kaab, you reached the position, which the truthful Lord promised you (death of the world and chastisement of hereafter). After that he was made to lie down again. Then he walked a while and came to the corpse of Talha. He was made to sit on his command and told the same thing. A companion of His Eminence asked: What is the meaning of your conversation with two corpses, while they don't hear anything? He replied: By Allah, they have heard what I said, like the idolater killed in Badr heard the statement of the Prophet.

59. A Good End

Hajj Yahya Musrafwi Aqleedi, whose companionship was bestowed to me during Hajj and Ziyarat to the holy places, narrated:

A righteous Sayyid of Isfahan, late Sayyid Muhammad Sahaf was very much devoted to Late Sayyid Zayn ul-Abidin Isfahani. When a year had passed after the demise of Late Sayyid Zayn ul-Abidin lsfahani, on one Thursday evening he saw that late gentleman in dream that he was seated in a magnificent palace situated in a large garden.

Different kinds of silks, satins and wool carpets were spread out in the palace. Fragrant plants, multicolored flowers and every kind of food and drinks were available. Streams were also flowing there. In other words, all means of pleasure were available there. Seeing all this extraordinary opulence. the Sayyid was astonished and he understood that it was the world of Purgatory (Barzakh). and he also became cager to reach there.

Thus, this gentleman says to the Sayyid: You are in such a luxurious and comfortable position and we are passing through u n favorable circumstances living in hardships. How n ice it would be if you can accommodate me here as well. The Sayyid says: If you want to live with us, I will wait for you next Thursday. When he awoke, he became certain that he was not going to live for more than a week. So he completed his pending issues and made bequest to his family.

When his relatives asked why he was so harried, he said that he was planning to undertake a long journey. At last he told them on Thursday that it was the last day of his life and that tonight he was to depart from the world.

They said: You are in perfect health. He replied: It is a definite promise and after that he remained awake the whole night and remained engrossed in supplications and seeking forgiveness, but he stressed on his family members to take rest.

When at sunrise, they came to his bed, they found him lying facing the Qibla and his soul had departed. May Allah have mercy on him.

60. Warning Against Omitting Hajj

Late Hajj Abd ul-Ali Muskisar narrated:

One day after Morning Prayers, the pious scholar, late Aga Hajj Sayyid Abd ul-Baqi (a.m.) mounted the pulpit in Masjid Aga Ahmad to deliver a speech and said:

Today by way of good counsel, I would like to narrate to you that, which I have myself seen.

I had a believer companion. When he fell ill, I went to pay him a visit and found him in the agony of death. I sat down besides him to recite Surah Yasin and Surah Saffat and his family members left the room leaving me alone with him. I started reminding him about confession of monotheism and confession of mastership (Wilayat). I tried my best, but he did not repeat those words, in spite of the fact that he was capable enough speak and was in his senses. Then he glared at me with fury and said thrice: Jew, Jew, Jew!

I slapped my forehead and being unable to remain there any longer went out of the room. His family members went to him and I had just reached the main door when wailing started and I
understood that he was dead.

On investigating his circumstances it was learnt that Hajj was obligatory on him since many years, but he paid no attention to that divine duty, till he died as a Jew.

61. Mediation Of The Chief Of The Martyrs

Son of Late Hajj Muhammad Rahim, alias Abgoshti [he became famous with this title, because he was very sincere in his devotion to Imam Husayn ('a) and regularly recited Ziyarat Ashura every day, in addition to that in Masjid Ganj, which adjoined his house, after congregation prayer one or two persons recited mourning poems, after which he served Aab Gosht1 and bread in a large quantity. Everyone had the choice of eating there or to take the food home.], Hajj Mirza Ali Yazdi narrated:

My father fell seriously ill and ordered us to take him to the Masjid. I said that it would be inappropriate, because traders and nobles will come to visit you. He said: "I want to die in the Masjid," because he was very much attached to it. So we were compelled to carry him to the mosque.

One night his illness intensified and he was in a swoon. So we brought him home. All night he was in the agony of death and we became sure of his death. I sat in a corner of the room weeping and discussed about his funeral rites and Majlis for mercy on him.

Suddenly he called me and my brother. When we came to him, we saw that he was perspiring profusely. He said: Don't worry, go and take some rest and know that I will not die yet. I will recover from this illness.

We were perplexed by this and when it was morning, he had regained complete health and no sign of illness remained. We wrapped his bedding and took it to the bath. This occurred in the first night of the month of Muharram. 1330 A.H., but we were ashamed to ask how he recovered and escaped death.

When the Hajj season arrived, he tried his best to complete his pending issues and prepared for the journey, till he set out in the first caravan. We accompanied him till Bagh Jannat, which is situated at a distance of one Farsakh from Shiraz and stayed there at night. He initiated the discussion and asked:

You never asked me how I did not die at that time and how I regained health. I will tell you myself: That night my death had arrived and I was in agony of death. In that condition, I saw myself in the locality of Jews and was distressed by the terrible stench and horrible scene, and I understood that if I died at that time I would become a part of them. So I supplicated and wailed before my Lord. I heard that it was the place of those who omit the Hajj. I said: Then what happened to my mediations and services to the chief of martyrs? Suddenly that horrible scene transformed into a happy one and I was told: All your services are accepted and through the recommendation of the Imam you are given ten more years of life and your death is delayed so that you may perform the obligatory Hajj. Since I have now decided to perform the Hajj, I informed you about what passed on me.

Late Yazdi said: Before Muharram al-Haram 1340 A.H. my father was afflicted with a minor ailment and he said: The first night of the coming month is the promised date of my death. Thus, just as he had informed (on completion of ten extra years) he passed away on the first night of the month of Muharram, at the time of dawn. May Allah have mercy on him.

This story explains two points: One is the importance of Hajj and the greater sin of leaving it. Thus, the Muhaqqiq has said in Sharai: After fulfillment of conditions Hajj is immediately obligatory and to delay its fulfillment is a greater sin and destruction. What destruction is worse than being raised as a Jew on Judgment Day?

Thus, in Safinat ul-Bihar, Vol. 1, it is narrated from Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (‘a) that he said: One who is capable enough and in spite of that fails to perform the obligation of Hajj, at the time of death he is given the choice of dying as a Jew or a Christian.

In other words, one who omits Hajj, after death he would be a Jew or a Christian. It is mentioned in the interpretation of the verse:

وَمَنْ كَانَ فِي هَٰذِهِ أَعْمَىٰ فَهُوَ فِي الْآخِرَةِ

"...whoever is blind in this, he shall (also) be blind in the hereafter." (Surah al-Israa’ 17:72)

...that it is about a person who postpones Hajj from one year to another, till he dies without performing it. Thus, he has become blind from one obligation, and the Almighty Allah would make him blind from seeing it.

Another point concluded from this story is that Imam Husayn ('a) is the ark of salvation and is the widespread mercy of God. His mediation provides good sense (divine opportunity) for repentance and he would be purified of his sins and then leave the world with a good end. If a person takes recourse to it he would definitely gain salvation.

- 1. Meat soup.

62. Effect Of Paying Zakat

Hajj Murad Khan Hasanshahi Arsanjani narrated:

One year most areas of Fars were encountering the locust problem. Qiwam ul-Mulk was informed that around Fasa all your fields have been destroyed by locusts. Qiwam said: I will inspect personally.

Thus, we set out for Shiraz with him, late Binan ul-Malik and some other persons and when we reached there, we found that all farms had been devoured by the locusts and not a single ear of com was intact. We moved on to an area, which was situated somewhat in the middle of that province. We found the crops safe and sound and not one ear was damaged, whereas the fields all around were completely destroyed.

The Qiwam asked: Who has sowed this field and who is the owner of it? People said: So and so man, who works as a darner in Fasa market. He said: I want to meet him. Thus, he was informed that Aga Qiwam wanted to meet him. He said: I have nothing to do with Aga Qiwam and if has some work, he can come and meet me here, but he was somehow persuaded to come and meet Qiwam.

Qiwam asked: Have you sown and tended to the crops in so and so area? How come the locusts have destroyed all the fields and left yours intact? He said: First of all, I have not usurped anyone's wealth that the locusts should chew my crops; secondly I take out Zakat when the grains are in the stores and pay to the deserving. After that I take the remaining grain home.

63. Seeking Cure From The Holy Qur’an

Aga Sayyid Mahmud Hamidi says: During Muharram of 1337 A.H. most residents of Shiraz were involved in an epidemic of influenza and all the members of my family were taken ill. I swooned due to the in tensity of the sickness and in that condition saw the majestic scholar. Aga Sayyid Mirza (prayer leader of Masjid Fatah) saying: Tell the people to put their hands on their temples and recite the following verse of Qur’an seven times:

وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۙ وَلَا يَزِيدُ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا خَسَارًا

" And We reveal of the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to the believers, and it adds only to the perdition of the unjust " (Surah al-lsraa’ 17:82).

On whomsoever this verse is recited, would be cured. When regained senses, I recited this verse seven times and the Almighty Allah cured me immediately. I arose and placed my hand on the temples of my son and he also recovered instantly. Thus, all the members of my family were cured the same day. From that time, whenever a person of my family is unwell, I recite this verse on him or her and that illness is cured.

64. Accurate Interpretation

Aga Sayyid Ziauddin Taqwa, who moved from Tehran to Shiraz and is settled over there, has narrated:

One day, I was a guest of Aga Sharfa (who at that time was a great orator of Shiraz). At the time of forenoon nap. I saw in dream that Ayatullah Aga Sayyid Ali Mujtahid Kazerooni is lying down in the public bath and the attendant was rubbing his back and dirt was coming out from his body.

I was highly amazed to learn how so much dirt was created in it. When I awoke, I narrated my dream to Late Sharfa. He was very much aggrieved and he said: The death of Aga Sayyid Ali is near. What a pity that we would soon be deprived of the company of such a precious jewel.

I came out from there and since I knew the conditions of Aga Sayyid Ali, I inquired about his wellbeing. I was told that he was in a delicate condition. By afternoon news arrived that he has passed away.

On inquiry it was learnt that at the time I had that dream, he was in agony of death. Now, it is a fact that during true dreams, dreams, which are not counted as visions based on mental thoughts, the dreamer is in contact with the spiritual world.

Thus, the interpretation of cleaning of that person is the cleaning of his soul from the impurities of materialism and when a person joins with the world of spirits, all his dirt related to the material world is washed away. Thus, Aga Taqwa saw that he was being cleaned in the public bath.

It is narrated in Bihar ul-Anwar, Vol. 3, that a companion of Imam Ali Naqi (‘a) was in his terminal illness. When the Imam visited him, he found him in his last moments and he was extremely terrified of death. Imam ('a) asked:

O slave of Allah, are you fearful of death, because you don 't recognize it? If you find that your body has become so dirty that you are in severe pain due to it, and there are wounds and sores on your body as well; in that condition you come to know that if you go to the Public Bath and get yourself cleaned, all these pains would be dispelled and you will get relief, in that case would you avoid and dislike going to the Public Bath, and prefer to remain in the same condition?

He replied: No, O son of Messenger of Allah (S). Imam ('a) told him: Death is like a Public Bath, and it would be the last stage where you will be purified of all filth. After you pass it, you will be free of every sorrow and grief and you will get relief and joy. That companion was satisfied and he became ready to accept death. He closed his eyes and passed away.

65. The Great Tragedy Of Imam Husayn ('A)

Aga Shaykh Ali Muwahhid, who traveled to Larsitan as a missionary of Islam and to propagate religion, has recounted as follows on his return:

I was staying at Dasht Merv plateau. On ninth Muharram some persons reported that previous night a light similar to moonlight was seen from a trunk of a berry tree, which is at a distance of four farsakhs (24 kilometers) from there and some natives of that area even went to see it from close.

The following day, that is the Day of Ashura, they again reported that tonight no light was seen, but blood dripped from that tree. They brought a piece of paper having some drops of blood from that tree.

Some Sunni residents of that place, after witnessing that blood started cursing Yazid and the killers of Husayn and participated in the mourning rituals of Imam Husayn ('a) along with Shia.

On Ashura Day there have been instances in different parts of the world, where blood was seen dripping from trees and non-living objects thus proving the greatness of those personages. There is consensus of Shia and some Sunni historians on this. For more details you may refer to the book of Shifaus Sudoor. One such incident is mentioned in Riyadh ul-Quds about a tree, which is situated in Zarrabad in Qazwin.

If the eyes of the world had wept on him freely, a flood of bloody tears would have exceeded even the height of the hall of Karbala. (Persian couplet)

We shall narrate two more stories to support this point.

66. Blood-Smeared Grave

Late Haji Mu’min, from whom stories 33 to 43 were narrated, states:

Once a respected lady, who never missed the Friday Prayers led by Late Aga Sayyid Hashim in Masjid Sardzak, informed me:

I managed to procure genuine clay of Imam Husayn's grave, the size of a gram and placed it in my shroud. Every year, on Ashura Day, it becomes red like blood and its wetness is transferred to the shroud. After that it dries up.

Late Hajj Mu’min said: I said: I would like to visit your place on Ashura Day and see it. So I reached her place on the appointed day and she brought the bundle of her shroud. When she untied it, I saw a spot of blood and then saw the clay as well. It was wet and blood smeared as she had described. Moreover, it was trembling.

Seeing this scene and imagining the calamity of Imam Husayn (‘a) I swooned in grief.

A similar incident is narrated from Abd ul-Husayn Kwansari in Dar us-Salam of Iraqi. Aga Sayyid Mahdi, son of Aga Sayyid Ali author of Sharh Kabir, fell ill. He sent two prominent and just scholars Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Sahab Fusul and Hajj Mulla Ja 'far Astarabadi to perform the ritual bath and wear Ihram dress and enter the cellar of holy grave and from there bring out the clay of the holy grave of Imam Husayn ('a) in the prescribed manner. And both of them should testify that it is genuine, so that the Sayyid may eat from it to the extent equal to a gram.

Thus, the two gentlemen went there according to the directions and picked up some clay from the holy grave and came out. They also gave some of it to sincere persons, including a herb seller. When I went to visit him in his terminal illness, he gave it to me fearing that it might reach into wrong hands. I brought it and placed it in the shroud of my mother.

By chance, I glanced at the bundle of that shroud on Ashura Day and felt some wetness in it. When I picked it up, I saw pieces of clay in a purse and the clay was damp and its wetness was transferred to the shroud. I replaced it and checked it again on eleventh Muharram and found it dry, although its color was transferred to the shroud. Thus, I concluded that wherever the clay of the holy grave is kept, it becomes blood smeared on Ashura Day.

According to reliable persons m India there are rosaries with beads of the dust of Imam Husayn's ('a) grave and Maulana Sayyid Muhammad Shakir Amrohi, Principal of Jamia Nazimiya, Lucknow told me that Sayyid Ghazanfar Ali Sahab, chief of Guzri locality, Amroha, Moradabad owned such a rosary and it is presently in the possession of his sons: Sayyid Muhammad Baqir and Sayyid Muhajir Husayn. On Ashura Day the redness increases with increase in mourning and one bead remains red on other days as well.

According to Sayyid Muhammad Raahim Zaidpuri, former lecturer, Mahatma Gandhi Inter College, Malihabad, District Lucknow, Chaowdhrana, Malihabad: Wife of Aarif ul-Malik has a rosary whose beads turn red on Ashura Day and Dr. Wali ul-Haqq Ansari Firangi Mahali, former dean of Department of Persian, Lucknow University reported that Maulana Jalaluddin Abd ul-Mateen Firangi Mahali has some beads of the rosary, which turn red on Ashura Day and he has seen this miracle directly. (Translator)

67. A Strange Calculation

Late Aga Mirza Mahdi Khalusi (r.a.), whose companionship was bestowed to me for around twenty years, narrated:

During the period of the pious scholar, Aga Mirza Muhammad Husayn Yazdi, who passed away on 28th Rabi ul-Awwal 1360 A.H., a magnificent celebration was held, in which traders, who posed to be religious and pious, also participated. Different sinful entertainments were provided in it, including songs and music.

People described that program to late Mirza, who became extremely uncomfortable. On Friday, he mounted the pulpit after Asr Prayers in Masjid Wakil, wept a great deal, then after stating some words of good counsel, said:

O traders (Tujjar), who have become sinners (Fujjar). You were of those who walk abreast scholars and spiritual persons, but now you have attended a sinful program, in which divinely prohibited acts were committed openly; and instead of restraining, you took part in it? You have shattered my heart. You have set fire to my feelings and you are responsible for my death.

After that he dismounted and went home. When he did not appear for the evening prayers, we went to his house and inquired about him. We came to know that he was unwell. His fever worsened by the day. So much so that physicians admitted helplessness and said that he needed a change of climate.

Thus, he was taken to Salari Garden near Dar us-Salam cemetery. At that time a person from India had arrived in Shiraz. Regarding whom it became famous that he was perfectly honest in his dealings and whatever he predicts definitely happens. By chance he passed before our shop one day. My father (Late Abd ul-Wahab) said: Call him, so that I may ask him about Mirza.

I brought that Indian into the shop. My father, in order to keep the name of Mirza confidential, said: I have some trade goods. I want to know if any danger or hardship is going to occur regarding it; and whether it would remain safe till the end. Please tell me about it through Jafr or Ramal1 or whatever means you have and I will pay your charges. Though he said this, but made an intention if the Mirza would recover from that illness or not. That Indian made a long calculation and remained quiet and astonished.

My father said: Please tell me if you are able to understand; otherwise don't waste your and my time. You can go wherever you like.

He said: My calculation is all right and there is no mistake in it. but you have confused me, because your intention is different from that, which you asked about.

My father asked: But what have I intended? He replied: At this time. the most pious person on the earth is unwell and you want to know what his end would be. I can tell you that he is not going to recover and he will die in six months.

My father expressed displeasure and stoutly denied that; so that the secret is not revealed. He gave him some money and bid farewell, but after six months the Mirza passed away from the world.

Enjoining Good And Forbidding Evil

Along with this story, we would like to mention a few points here as well. The first is that among the divine obligatory duties, the great obligatory duty regarding which, there is strong emphasis in the Holy Qur’an and traditions and severe condemnation and warning against leaving it and not acting on which, is a greater sin, is enjoining good and forbidding evil. It is explained in detail in the book of Greater Sins.2

The first stage of forbidding evil is denying by the heart and mind in such a way that the signs of that denial should become apparent. It is obligatory on every Muslim that when he sees anyone involved in an unlawful act, he should not be satisfied with it. Instead, he should consider it bad from his heart, and that also in such a way that his mental distaste should be clearly visible.

When he comes face to face with one who has committed that unlawful act, he should not meet him with a smile. On the contrary, he should behave with him in a caustic manner. In other words, the signs of mental denial should be seen in actions and body language of man. As much strong the faith of a person is, and as much his spirituality is, his denial would be in accordance to the intensity of the sin.

The faith of Late Mirza was extremely strong. His blessed soul was extremely subtle and his illuminated heart was extremely soft and sentimental to such an extent that in those days its equal was rare, as the Indian person, through his calculation had understood this reality. Thus, when he heard that some people who were apparently well behaved and pious, had committed unlawful acts, he could not bear it and he fell ill. So much so that at last he passed away from this temporal abode and left the company of sinners and joined the righteous servants.

It is also necessary to mention that there were two causes why this gentleman was so affected: One was open transgression and blatant sin, due to which the sin becomes light and easy in the view of others and their daring increases.

Secondly was the apparent piety of those traders. It is so, because those who are apparently pious, in the first stage are scholars and sermonizers who guide the public; secondly are those attached to scholars and who attend daily congregational prayers and adopt other religious signs and follow matters of faith. If they commit a sin, it is definitely due to common people's weakness of faith, lightness of laws of religion and daring of other people on sin. This is explained in detail in Greater Sins3 that the sin of apparently righteous persons is of the category of greater sin.

Moreover, the knowledge of unseen of that Indian or other people and finding of secret matters, do not prove their being on truth, or correctness of their belief or religion or their proximity to the court of Allah, because it is possible that his powers of finding the unseen may have become possible by learning it from an expert or by adopting a life of extreme penance to purify the self. While in fact he might be involved in wrong beliefs and practices and may even be having inclination to satanic rituals.

Although regarding knowledge of pious scholars about unseen matters and traditional reports, which are present about the news of unseen, it is necessary to know that they were not something, which one learns. On the contrary, they were divine gifts and divine words. If someone asks: How is it possible to discriminate between truth and falsehood? We would say that persons of intellect understand from the acts and speech of man, whether he is spiritual or satanic and the qualities he is having, whether they are divine gifts or a result of learning and practice?

Secondly, if someone claims spirituality and through his special expertise wants to deceive the public, the Almighty Allah would definitely expose him. And according to the rule of grace and blessings, it is impossible that Allah should not display His proof and leave people in deviation.

If those who have learnt such sciences try to deviate people from religion, the Almighty Allah makes truth evident as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an:

بَلْ نَقْذِفُ بِالْحَقِّ عَلَى الْبَاطِلِ فَيَدْمَغُهُ فَإِذَا هُوَ زَاهِقٌ

"Nay! We cast the truth against the falsehood, so that it breaks its head, and lo! it vanishes." (Surah al-Anbiyaa 21:18).

A study of books of traditions and science of narrators informs us that from the time of the advent of Islam till the third century A.H. the Almighty Allah through the Holy Imams ('a) had always made the truth triumphant and exposed falsehood. Thus, in the remaining centuries also, till the present time, whenever a claimant of some falsehood appeared, the Almighty Allah clarified his invalidity through scholars of religion and supporters of the holy law of Islam and numerous examples of this matter are there, but it is beyond the scope of this book to mention them.

Here we will only relate one story. It is mentioned in the book of Asraarush Shahadat of Darbandi and book of Qasas ul-Ulama of Tankabani that during the reign of Shah Abbas, the British King sent a person from Britain to Iran and wrote to Shah Safavi:

Tell the scholars of your religion to debate with this messenger of mine. If they can defeat him, we will also adopt your faith, and if he defeats them, you will have to join our religion.

The extraordinary expertise of that messenger was that if a person held something in his fist, he was able to say what it is exactly. Thus, the king summoned the scholars, their chief being Mulla Mohsin Faiz. Mulla Mohsin asked the European envoy: Did your king not have any scholar that he sent a commoner and an ignorant to debate with scholars of community?

The envoy said: You cannot escape from me. Take up something in your hand and I will tell what it is. Mulla Mohsin took a rosary of the clay from the grave of Imam Husayn (‘a) and concealed it in his fist. The envoy fell deep into contemplation and considered the matter much.

Why have you become helpless? asked the Late Faiz. He replied: I have not become helpless, but according to my calculations, you are holding the dust of Paradise, and I am wondering how you managed to get it?

Mulla Mohsin said: You are right. I am really holding the dust of Paradise, and it is a rosary made from the pure clay of the son of our Prophet. And he is our Imam. Our Prophet said: Karbala [place of burial of Imam Husayn ('a)] is a part of Paradise and you have testified to the veracity of our Prophet, because you said that your method is failsafe.

Also you have accepted the truth of our Prophet in his claim of prophethood, because no one, except the Almighty knows about it and except for His Prophet no other person conveys it to the people. Moreover, the son of our Prophet is buried in this land.

Thus, if the Prophet of Islam (S) had not been a rightful prophet, a person born in his progeny and a follower of his religion, would not have been in Paradise.

When that Christian observed this and heard the absolute argument, he embraced Islam.

- 1. Sciences of unseen.

- 2. Also published by Ansariyan Publications.

- 3. Also published by Ansariyan Publications.

68. Escape From Destruction

Late Khausi had also narrated: Around thirty years ago, a pious old man from my relatives (I forget his name), narrated:

During my youth, a relative of mine had a house near Isfahan Gate. It was Thursday and it was the marriage program, in which he had invited me also. I had accepted the invitation by as a good turn to relatives. When I reached there, I saw that they had even arranged for a musical program. I was very distraught and tried my best to restrain them and offer good counsel, but it was of no use. At that time, it was also not possible from me to leave that place, because my house was quite far at the Kaziroon Gate. Apart from that it was also prohibited to move about in the city at night. I entered a room of that house on the terrace and closed the doors, and since it was Thursday night, I became engrossed in Prayer, supplications and whispered prayers.

In the last part of the night when the sounds had fallen quiet, and all had become tired and gone to sleep, there was a terrible shaking in the earth, so much that I opened the doors of the room in the upper storey in terror, to see what was happening.

At that moment a tree, which grew inside the house tilted so much towards the room that I was able to take hold of a branch. I held it tight in fear and then the tree straightened again. My feet lifted from the room and I hung from that tree. After that the complete house crashed and except for me, no one from the household survived.

Now, I became worried about my family members - that what has befallen them. When I climbed down and headed for my place, I saw all the houses and shops till Kaziroon Gate flattened to the earth.

This story teaches us two lessons:

One is that when a calamity descends on a sinful group, if there is a person who has remained engrossed in remembrance of God. who had been giving them good counsel and if they did not accept his suggestion, he should have separated from them. Then that calamity would not reach to that level and the Almighty Allah would save him. Thus, it is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an regarding destruction of the folks of Saturday:

أَنْجَيْنَا الَّذِينَ يَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ السُّوءِ وَأَخَذْنَا

"We delivered those who forbade evil." (Surah al-A’araaf 7:165)

Secondly, the sinners at any time, should not have confidence that they would not be harmed and they should not display unrestrained behavior and must not get involved in other types of filthy and evil acts, because it is possible that divine chastisement may fall upon them in the same position and they might be involved in general or special calamities; and the opportunity of repenting is also lost.

Thus, it is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an:

أَفَأَمِنَ أَهْلُ الْقُرَىٰ أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُمْ بَأْسُنَا بَيَاتًا وَهُمْ نَائِمُونَ

"What! do the people of the towns then feel secure from Our punishment coming to them by night while they sleep?” (Surah al-A’araaf 7:97).

أَوَأَمِنَ أَهْلُ الْقُرَىٰ أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُمْ بَأْسُنَا ضُحًى وَهُمْ يَلْعَبُونَ

What! do the people of the towns feel secure from Our punishment coming to them in the morning while they play?" (Surah al-A’araaf 7:98).

Many unforgettable incidents are there regarding general calamities like earthquakes; as was mentioned in this story. And it was this same earthquake, about which it is mentioned in Nasiri's Faras Nama (Pg. 308) that on the 25th night of the month of Rajab, 1269 A.H. that is 151

of Urdibehisht, there was a terrible earthquake in Shiraz, which destroyed or damaged thousands of houses. Thousands were buried alive in the debris and most Masjids and Madressas were flattened to the earth completely. He writes on page 268 that in 1237 A.H. an epidemic started in India and China and spread to Iran and in Shiraz alone, within a period of five or six days, six thousand people died.

There was a terrible earthquake in the Kaziroon Province in the month of Shawwal, 1339 A.H. Then after a few days, between dawn and sunrise there was more severe earthquake, in which most old and new buildings, Masjids, Madressas, tombs and houses, their roofs and foundations were turned upside down.

It was so, because those were the last days of spring and most people were resting in the courtyard or on terraces of their houses. Therefore, not more than a few thousands perished. After some days, there was an earthquake in Shiraz, which was of a lower intensity, but due to the terror of the previous earthquake those who were on terraces, jumped down and fractured their bones.

There are still some elders, who accurately recall that in 1322 A.H. around seventy years ago, the inhabitants of Shiraz were involved in such a terrible epidemic that people died like leaves drop from the trees during autumn. People afflicted by the epidemic were lying in lanes, on roads and inside houses. Corpses were strewn on the earth in such abundance that heal thy people did not reach to bury them.

Late Dr. Khawri used to remark that during that time I went to examine the sick and I passed the new market when four hours of the night had passed. No one was present there, but the whole place was filled with corpses and dogs were tearing them apart and feeding on the flesh.

To get an idea of the actual severity, one can just refer to the words of a lady named Muhammad's mother, who said:

I was passing through lanes and markets in a helpless condition and wailing: O Muslims: My four sons are dead, for the sake of Allah come and carry out their funeral. I returned home at sunset to find that the corpses were gone and there was no one there. It was learnt that some good-natured Muslims had buried them. After that I investigated but was never able to learn who took the corpses away and where my sons were buried.

There are still some people who well remember that in 1337 A.H. that is fifty years ago, the people of Shiraz were involved in an epidemic of influenza, but it didn't last long, because the residents sought the blessings of His Eminence, Abu Abdullah Imam Husayn ('a).

Pulpits were placed in lanes and markets and gatherings of mourning (Majalis) were held, till the epidemic disappeared. Moreover in 1322 A.H. solar year, smallpox spread in the town and there was hardly anyone who was not afflicted.

Doctors (due to the large population) were unable to reach all the patients. They mostly left their place before sunrise and did not return till late at night. I also used to accompany the coffin of a friend or relatives and stayed in the funeral bath house till noon, or wait there till sunset and recite the funeral prayers on the corpses. There were not less than fifty deaths every day.

Apart from the above illness the people were also involved in famine and starvation. If someone in the morning reached the baker shop, he got only a loaf of bread after much difficulty by afternoon, because wheat was scarce. The noise and commotion of the people could be heard from a distance. How anxious those people were, who had to run after doctors and medicine and to take care of their patients, and then get bread also.

More worried and harried were those who had no money and were prepared to sell their belongings and their houses at the minimum possible rate. Generally, people remained involved in those difficulties for a few months.

The aim of recounting this is that the respected readers, after learning about these circumstances, should know that when a community is prepared to rebel and disobey, and forget the Almighty Allah completely, abandon justice and adopt pursuit of sensuality and sins, the Almighty Allah gives some respite; but when it crosses all limits, He suddenly sends down calamities and makes it helpless, so it may repent its past acts and turn to God; and that it may return to the path of righteousness it had abandoned.

In fact, chastisement in form of these calamities, are examples of grace and kindness of Almighty Allah. Like the shepherd whose animals leave the path that leads to pasture and water and head to stony wilderness. He thrashes them with his stick and brings them back to the right path.

On the basis of this, Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) says: I praise and thank the Almighty Allah on calamities and hardships as well, just as I thank Him on blessings.

Also, it is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an:

وَلَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَىٰ أُمَمٍ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ فَأَخَذْنَاهُمْ بِالْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَضَرَّعُونَ

"We seized them with distress and affliction in order that they might humble themselves." (Surah al-An’aam 6:42).

As is the demand of original nature, which God has given, the fact is that human beings have forgotten and deserted the Almighty Allah. They are running after fulfillment of selfish desires. They are fond of sensuality and obscenity and are away from divine commands. They are afraid of anything, from which they see danger, except for God and chastisement of hereafter. And they have reposed hope in everything, from which any gain is expected.

The perfect human qualities of justice and favor, love and kindness and especially shame and modesty, which are given up by girls and ladies and in their place, animal habits have taken root. People have abandoned the houses of God and inhabited satanic houses like cinemas. People flee from gatherings of scholars, which remind them of God and Hereafter and conglomerate wherever they hear a satanic sound.

What day is it when in this decadent society, different kinds of dishonesties, disobedience, waywardness and incidents of unchastity are not seen?

Therefore, if we don 't give up our bad habits we have to wait for the day when calamities would descend on this community. At that time, people would be compelled to turn to God and in condition of bewilderment would gather in the Masjids and repent for their acts and deeds. Recent earthquakes of Western Lar and Khorasan are alarm bells for all of us.

69. Ask Only That Which Is Appropriate

Late Aga Sayyid Abdullah Baladi, a resident of Bushahar said:

Once an elder from the scholars of Isfahan set out with a caravan from Isfahan to visit Mecca and perform the Hajj of the Holy House and arrived in Bushahar to take the sea route, but upon his arrival was stopped by the British consulate and not granted visa. I and some other people tried our best in this regard, but to no avail.

The gentleman from Isfahan and his companions were much harassed. They said: We undertook so many hardships since a long time and procured means of travel to Mecca. We bore difficulties of journey for around a month (because in those times caravans took seventy days to travel from Isfahan to Shiraz and ten days from Shiraz to Bushahar). So we cannot go back now.

Late Aga Baladi said: I was very much affected seeing the extreme anxiety of the Shaykh. So in order to divert his attention I handed over my post in the Masjid to him and asked him to lead congregational prayers and afterwards take to the pulpit and speak on ethical issues. He accepted this request.

Thus, in the evenings after prayers and speech, in those gatherings he and his companions called the Almighty Allah with a heart full of helplessness and anger. They recited the verse of “Amman yujibu al-mudhtarra idha da‘ahu wa yakshifu us-su’u” (27:62) and sought the mediation of the chief of martyrs, Imam Husayn ('a) and wailed in such a way that everyone who heard was disconcerted. They prayed: O Allah, it is not possible for us to go back. Please convey us to our destination.

One day some people arrived from the British consulate and told them to collect their visas. Thus, all the people of the caravan went there happily and after taking visas set out from there.

After some days, I was passing by the sea shore when I saw a worried and anxious man, who looked familiar. I asked him if he was not that same man from Isfahan who had come some days ago with so and so and gone to Holy Mecca?

He replied: Yes. When I asked him about the Shaykh and his companions, he began to cry bitterly. He said: First we were attacked by robbers, who plundered all our goods. After that we fell ill and all the people of the caravan died. I am the only survivor as you can see. I have returned in this condition.

Aga Baladi said: ·Now I understood what the problem in fulfillment of their wishes was. But when they emphasized on it, in spite of the fact that there was harm in it for them, their supplication was accepted.

The Almighty Allah has said:

وَعَسَىٰ أَنْ تَكْرَهُوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ وَعَسَىٰ أَنْ تُحِبُّوا شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

"...and it may be that you dislike a thing while it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing while it is evil for you, and Allah knows, while you do not know." (Surah al-Baqara 2:216).

He also says:

وَلَوْ يُعَجِّلُ اللَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ الشَّرَّ اسْتِعْجَالَهُمْ بِالْخَيْرِ لَقُضِيَ إِلَيْهِمْ أَجَلُهُمْ

"And if Allah should hasten the evil to men as they desire the hastening on of good, their doom should certainly have been decreed for them..." (Surah Yunus 10:11).

It implies that some people seek destruction and ruin and imagine that they have sought wellbeing and goodness; and since there in so divine exigency in it, the Almighty Allah does not accept it. (Like those who in the condition of anger pray for the death of themselves, their child or relatives; but most of them are later regretful of that and thank the Almighty that their supplication was not accepted.).

There are so many matters, regarding which a person is greedy and imagines that his wellbeing and happiness lies in that only and also tries for success in them, but when he succeeds, he regrets it and wishes that this aim of his had not been fulfilled.

On the basis of this, one should, at the time of supplication, leave it to divine will, whether to fulfill it or not. He should say: I don't have any need of the world and the hereafter, except for Your pleasure. And there is no wellbeing for me, except that You decree it for me, O Lord of the worlds.

If one does not say it verbally, he should at least have this intention. Or if his need is against him and he wants it to be fulfilled in any case, even though the Almighty Allah knows that there is no good in it for him, it is not supplication; it is ordering the Almighty!

In any case, it is the duty of the supplicant to confess to his helplessness, ignorance and weakness; and to consider the Almighty Allah to be all powerful and all knowing. If his wish is not fulfilled, he should not think ill of God. He should not accuse Him of going against His promise; on the contrary he should understand that there was no divine exigency in it, or its time has not come. Or his supplication was lacking necessary conditions for fulfillment.1

- 1. Translator's note: Another justification is also there for the above incident: It seems that the people of the caravan had only prayed for visa. Along with it they did not pray for safety from the perils of the way, for it is possible that when one supplication was accepted, the other might also have been accepted.
Secondly, it is possible that the robbery of their goods was to test their patience and thankfulness and the journey of Hajj might have been made a way for them to achieve the status of martyrdom.

70. Amazing Modesty

Late Aga Baladi said: A relative of mine, who stayed in France for a few years in connection with his studies, narrated:

I had a rental flat in Paris and also kept a dog for security. The dog used to lie at the door when I went to college. When I returned, the dog entered the house with me. One night I was late and the weather was very cold. I was compelled to turn up the collar of my overcoat and concealed my head and ears in it. I had my gloves on and my hand concealed my face in such a way that only my eyes were open to see the way.

I reached my house in this manner and wanted to unlock the door, but the dog did not recognize me and attacked me catching the tail of my coat. At once I turned down my collar to reveal my face and called him by his name. When he recognized me, he went to a corner of the lane in shame. After opening the door, I tried my best to call him in, but he did not come. Finally I closed the door and lay down on my bed.

When I went out to search for him in the morning, I found him lying dead. I understood that he had given up his life due to extreme regret. On this juncture each of us should address the dog of his self that see how lifeless we have become that we are not even ashamed of our Lord, when everything we have is bestowed by Him only and we also do not realize that one day we have to present ourselves in His court.

In Dua Abu Hamza Thumali, Imam Zayn ul-Abidin ('a) says:

أَنَا يَا رَبِّ ٱلَّذِي لَمْ أَسْتَحْيِكَ فِي ٱلْخَلاَءِ

وَلَمْ أُرَاقِبْكَ فِي ٱلْمَلاَءِ

"I am, O Lord, the one who did not feel ashamed of You in seclusion and one who did not consider Your watching over in public, or who lacked modesty from You."

71. The Dog's Sacrifice

Late Hajj Sahamuddin has narrated from his father and that late gentleman has narrated from his grandfather that once the ruler of the time, late Husayn Ali Mirza took off his clothes to take bath in the river, but his dog prevented him.

He did not pay attention to it and was about to descend into the river. When the dog observed that stopping was of no use and he is about to step into the water, he jumped into the river at a particular point and was instantly attacked by a crocodile.

The ruler came to know what the reason of the dog's objection was and how that dog had sacrificed himself on his master. Thus, he cancelled his intention of bathing and returned from there amazed at the loyalty of the dog and filled with grief and tears.

Allamah Majlisi, in the 14th volume of Bihar ul-Anwar, has mentioned some incidents about the loyalty of dog and its readiness to sacrifice its life for its master.

Since the modesty and loyalty of dog is in contrast to shameless and disloyalty of man, I think it would be appropriate to narrate a story, which Shaykh Bahai (r.a.) has versified as follows:

A worshipper lived in the cave of Mount Lebanon, like the folks of the cave. He had severed connection with everything, except the Almighty Allah, and obtained the treasure of respect by remaining in solitude. He fasted during the days and in the evening got a loaf of bread, from which he ate half and saved the other half for dawn meal. He was very pleased with his circumstances.

He lived in this way and never came down from the mountains. By chance, one day that loaf did not arrive. He became extremely weak and exhausted. He recited the Evening Prayer (Maghrib) and then the Night Prayer (Isha), but his mind was wandering here and there, anxious about his food, because he was very restless about his sustenance.

He neither worshipped during the day nor could he sleep. When it was morning, he came down from the windy place. There was a village of fire worshippers and deviated people at the foothills. The worshipper went to the door of a fire worshipper and the latter gave him two loaves of barley bread. The worshipper thanked him and was pleased and satisfied.

He turned to go back to his place of stay to satiate his hunger. An itchy dog lived at the place of the fire worshipper and it had grown so thin that it was merely a bundle of bones and skin. If a circle was drawn before him with a compass he nearly died taking it to be a loaf of bread. If someone said 'Khabar' (report) he heard it as 'Khubz' (bread) and went berserk.

It started following the worshipper and caught the tails of his shirt. The worshipper threw one loaf of bread to him and moved on so that no harm comes to him. The dog devoured that loaf and again pursued the worshipper to harass him further. The worshipper threw another loaf in order to be safe from its retribution.

The dog ate up the other loaf as well and started pursuing hi m again. He was running after him like a shadow and making the sound of Afw Afw (forgive me, forgive me) and he was tearing his clothes. When the worshipper was fed up, he said: I have not seen a dog more useless than you. Your master gave me only two loaves of bread, but you nasty dog took away both. Now, what for are you chasing me and tearing my clothes?

The dog started speaking: O man of perfection, open your eyes and see clearly. I am not useless. The house of that old fire worshipper is my home since I was a pup. I guard his sheep and protect his house. Sometimes he is kind to me and gives a loaf of bread and sometimes a handful of bones. Sometimes he forgets to feed me and due to hunger my life becomes bitter. Sometimes that old fire worshipper can neither procure bread for himself nor from me, but my practice is only to stay at his door whether to thank or to be patient.

But when you did not get bread only on one night, you turned away from the court of your sustainer to a fire worshipper and the edifice of your patience crashed. You forsook your friend for a loaf of bread and made peace with the enemy. Tell me with justice my man, who is shameless. You or I?

That worshipper was shocked by this and slapped his head and swooned.

O Bahai, O dog of the self, take lesson of contentment from the dog of that old fire worshipper. If no door of patience opens before you, you are lowlier than an itchy dog of a fire worshipper.

72. Freedom From Prison And Lawful Sustenance

Late Aga Mirza Mahmud Shirazi, from whom some stories are narrated, said:

I heard from late Hajj Mirza Hasan Ziyaut Tujjar Shirazi, who previously had a big dispensary in Shiraz and after that in Tehran that he said:

Once I traveled with a caravan to Karbala via Kermanshah. I had obtained a mule and loaded necessary equipment on it before setting out. When I reached Qazwin, a person traveling on foot saw me alone and he came to me and started helping me with my errands. We also ate together. He promised me that he would accompany me till Kazmain and on reaching there would look for a place to stay and share my food. We reached Kazmain in this manner.

I asked his name and antecedents. He said: My name is Karbalai Muhammad and I am a resident of Qomshah Isfahan. I was traveling for the Ziyarat of Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) seven years ago, till my caravan was robbed at Astarabad and they took me also as a captive into slavery. Everyday they made me work, due to which I was extremely harassed and in tremendous pressure.

So much so that one day I decided to flee in any manner possible and get relief from this calamity. I vowed that if the Almighty Allah helped me, and I can reach my hometown safe, I will perform the Ziyarat of Karbala Moalla. So I made an excuse to get away from them and since it was night and they were asleep and unable to see me, I ran fast and reached to a place of safety. I thanked the Almighty Allah and now I am traveling to Karbala Moalla.

Late Ziyaut Tujjar says: I was traveling to Samarrah, so I told him: First let us go to Samarrah and after that we will perform the Ziyarat of Karbala and I emphasized this too much, but he did not accept. He said: I should fulfill my vow as soon as possible. I placed some money before him and said: You may take as much as you like, but he did not take anything. When I used more persuasion, he took only three Iranian Riyals and went away. After that he was not seen anywhere.

When I visited Najaf al-Ashraf, one day in the holy courtyard I was passing from the head side when I saw many people gathered around one man. I pushed the crowd aside and saw that it was my former travel companion, Karbalai Muhammad Qomshahi. He had tied his neck to the grill with a strip of cloth and was weeping and saying:

A person from Tehran was prepared to give whatever I liked and was giving me a hundred Tomans in cash, but I did not accept.

I went to him and said: Friend, what do you want from Imam Ali ('a). Come to my lodging, I will provide you whatever you want, but he did not agree and said: I am asking him something that no one else can give. And till I don't obtain it; I will not leave this place. When I saw that he was adamant, I left him and returned.

On the following day, I met him in the holy courtyard. He said in joy and happiness: Did you see? I got my wish fulfilled. He brought out an IOU from his pocket and said: I got it from Imam Ali ('a).

I saw a paper containing words readable from the front and the back and from the up as well as down. I asked him what it was for, and who is the payer? He replied: I will tell you after I collect the money.

So he took my Tehran address and went away from there. After some years he came to my shop in Tehran. After I recognized him, I complained that he had promised to inform me about that letter of credit, which Imam Ali ('a) had given. He said: I came to Tehran many times, but every time you had gone to Shiraz.

Now, I want you to know that my wish from Imam Ali ('a) was for lawful sustenance, in which I can spend my life in comfort. The Imam gave me a letter of credit drawn on a respected Sayyid personality for a piece of land and also some seeds for cultivation.

That Sayyid fulfilled the order and from that year till now, my life is sustained from this land comfortably and I am fully satisfied.

73. Miracle Of Maytham at-Tammar

In 1388 A.H. corresponding to Aban 47 A.H. we were in Najaf al-Ashraf for Ziyarat of the holy places. One day we went to perform the Ziyarat of Maytham at-Tammar with Aga Sayyid Ahmad Najafi Khorasani. There was a caretaker at that place, who offered tea by way of affection and did not accept anything in return.

He said: The recompense for my service is paid by His Eminence, Maytham. I am serving this holy grave since many years. Every few days, he comes to me in dream and points out a place in Kufa and when I dig there, I find a coin, by selling which I cover my expenses. He showed one of those coins. It was green, slightly smaller than an Iranian Riyal and the Kalimah (Muslim confession of monotheism) was inscribed on it in Kufi script.

74. Cure Of The Blind

Pious scholar, Hajj Sayyid Muhammad Ja'far Subhani, congregation leader of Majid Aga Lar, said:

In dream, I was pointed out the place of acceptance of supplication, inside the dome of the shrine of Imam Husayn (‘a). That place is at the head side of the holy grave facing the grave of Habib Ibn Mazahir.

I went there once with my father. Suddenly my father had pain in his eyes and he became blind in both the eyes. I was much aggrieved, because now I had to care of him all the time. I had to hold his hand and take him from one place to another and to fulfill his necessary needs.

I paid homage to the holy sanctuary in the same condition and reached that place of acceptance of prayer and said: I beg you to restore the vision of my father. After that I dreamt that an important personality had come at the head of my father and he passed his hand over his eyes and said to me: These are the eyes, but the root is defective.

When I awoke, I saw that both eyes of my father were cured and his vision restored but could not understand the meaning of the phrase: 'the root is defective'. Three days after this incident my father departed for his heavenly abode and the meaning of the phrase became clear.

75. Bestowal Of Imam Husayn ('A) 2

Aga Hajj Sayyid Muhammad Ja 'far has also narrated that:

Once I went for the Ziyarat of Karbala Moalla with my late mother, during which that lady fell ill and her illness stretched for more than forty days. Due to this, I fell in to deep debts and could not get any assistance from Shiraz or anywhere else. Thus, I took refuge with my master and standing at the head side in the holy sanctuary, I prayed: Master, you know how much I am troubled; pl ease help me.

Not much time after I came out that a representative of Ayatullah Mirza Muhammad Taqi Shirazi (a.m.) met me said: I have been ordered by the Mirza to pay you as much as you want. I asked: How much? He said: It is not fixed. You may ask as much as you need. Thus, I repaid all my debts and as long as I stayed m Karbala Moalla, all my expenses were covered by that money.

76. Misgiving About A Mourner

Aga Sayyid Mahmud Attaran narrated:

One year, during the first ten days of Muharram, I was accompanying the group of flagellators of Sarwazak locality. I noticed a handsome youth, who during flagellating was casting glances at ladies. I could not bear to see this due to shame. I slapped him and expelled him from the group.

Within a few minutes, a pain rose up in my hand and continued to intensify till I became so helpless that I had to consult a doctor. He said: I am unable to detect the cause, but I have some oil for it.

I applied the medicated oil, but it was of no use and the pain went on increasing and the hand continued to swell. I returned home and was continuously weeping and wailing. I could not get any sleep, but when it was morning I dozed for a moment.

I saw Hazrat Shah Chirag in dream and he said: You should make amends with that youth. When I was fully awake, I realized what the cause of the pain was. So, I came out, searched for that young man and apologized to him. I made him pleased and satisfied and the pain disappeared immediately and the swelling was also gone in a little while. I realized that I had committed a mistake, had a misgiving and insulted a mourner of Imam Husayn ('a).

This incident shows that it is very dangerous to hurt or insult a believer and one who has faith in God, Prophet and the Imams; and it brings divine retribution and calamities.

77. Recompense Of Favor

The gentleman scholar, Aga Hajj Moin Shirazi, from whom we have already narrated some incidents, said:

Aga Sayyid Husayn Warshoji, who traded in nickel in the Tehran market, once became involved in severe poverty. He exhausted all his capital and fell into huge debts.

During that time a girl came to his shop and said: I am a Jew girl and my father is dead. I have only 120 Tomans and I would like to get married. I heard that you are an honest man. So please take this money and give me the things listed in this paper as my trousseau.

He says: I agreed and supplied all I had plus some items from other shops as well, and the total cost of the goods supplied to her came to 150 Tomans. She said: I have no additional funds. I said: I am also not demanding it. She raised her head and prayed for me. After that I loaded all the goods and even paid for the carriage as she had no money and she left for her place.

Once I decided to tell my friend, Hajj Ali Aga Ilaqabad, who was among the wealthy persons of Tehran, about my financial conditions. So I went to Shamiran early in the morning and purchased two Manns (6 kgs. Apprx.) of apples as gift for him and knocked at the door of his orchard in Imamzadeh Qasim.

When the gardener came out, I gave the apples and said: Tell the Haji that Husayn Warshochi had come. When he went inside, I realized that I had made a mistake in seeking the help of a creature? Why I reposed hope in someone other than Almighty? So I ran away for there in shame and reached the desert and repeatedly prostrated, wept and repented for my act, all the time seeking forgiveness of Allah.

On my return I took a route, which had no possibility that Haji's men would see me, because I knew that he would definitely send his men to look for me. I did not even go to my shop till noon.

When I was sure that no man of Haji would sec me. I came to the shop and my servants told me that Haji Ali Aga's men had visited a number of times. Meanwhile his servant came and asked: You came in the morning, but why did you go away? The Haji is waiting for you.

I said: There is some misunderstanding. When he went away, the son of the Haji came and said: My father is waiting for you. I said: I have no work with him. At last he also went away.

After sometime the Haji arrived in person supporting himself with a walking stick as he was unwell. He asked: Why did you return in the morning without meeting me? You definitely had some need. Tell me what you needed? I stoutly denied and said that there was some misunderstanding. The Haji returned in anger.

After some days, when I was at my place having lunch, a trader arrived and said: I have something which might interest you. Bricks of nickel are occupying my space since a long time and l don't need them.

He sold that material at the rate he had originally purchased; that is 17 Tomans per brick and he sold it to me on credit. He delivered all the bricks in late afternoon and they filled my store house at the shop. The following day, I took one brick to the factory. They asked: From where did you get this? It has become rare. Finally they purchased the whole stock at 50 Tomans per brick. From that money I paid all my debts and started my business again.

This story and other incidents like this tell us that a monotheist should, during hardships, not repose hope in anyone other than God. He should know that if he cuts off all expectations from other than God and connect himself with only the Almighty Allah, He would take his matter to conclusion in the best way. If he leaves his matter to God, through the good fortune that He bestows, he will live in great prosperity.

78. Kindness To Pilgrims

On 14th Rajab 1388 A.H., during my recent journey of Ziyarat, Abdur Rasool, the caretaker, narrated from late Sayyid Abd ul-Husayn, key keeper of Imam Husayn 's ('a) tomb, who was also a learned and nice man as follows:

One night I saw in the holy sanctuary that an Arab had placed his bleeding and dirty foot on the holy sepulcher and was pleading about his condition. I scolded him and finally ordered him to be taken out of the sanctuary. When he was going out, he said:

O Husayn, I thought that it is your house, but now I have realized that it belongs to someone else. That same night, the key keeper saw in dream the Chief of martyrs seated on the pulpit in the holy courtyard, while souls of believers were present in his service and the Imam was complaining about his caretaker.

The key keeper stood up and said: O grandfather, what audacities have we committed? He replied: Last night you expelled a very special visitor from the sanctuary. As long as you don't make that visitor satisfied, I will not be satisfied with you, and the Almighty is also not pleased with you.

He said: O grandfather, I don't know him and I also don't know where he is. The Imam said: At this moment, he is resting in the house of Hasan Pasha near the camps. He will come to our sanctuary. He has a wish from us, which we fulfilled. He wanted his son suffering from paralysis to be cured. He and his tribesmen would come tomorrow, accord welcome to them.

When he awoke, he took some servants with him. They found that traveler at the place the Imam had mentioned. He kissed his hands and brought him home with full honors and served him in the best way. After that in the morning, he came out to welcome him with thirty caretakers. After covering some distance, they saw a group approaching in joy. It had a hitherto paralyzed child with it as well, who had been cured. Then all these people performed the Ziyarat of the Holy Sanctuary.

79. Freedom From Hell

True follower of Ahl ul-Bayt ('a), Haider Aga Tehrani has narrated that some years ago, one day I was present in the outer courtyard of the shrine of Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) when I noticed an old man whose waist was bent. His hair and beard were fully grey and his eyebrows were hanging on the eyes. His presence of mind and humility attracted my attention. When he wanted to arise, I saw that he was unable to move. I helped him to get up and asked him that where he was staying. He replied: I am lodging in a room of Madressa Khairat Khan. I escorted him till his lodging and became very much devoted to him.

I visited him everyday and helped him with his errands. I inquired about his name, native place and his circumstances. He told me that his name was Ibrahim and that he was an Iraqi, but also fluent in Persian as since his youth, he comes for the Ziyarat of Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) every year and after staying here for some time, return to Iraq.

He explained: Du ring my youth when there were no cars or buses, I performed the Ziyarat on foot twice. The first time, three youths of my age accompanied me for a Farsakh and friendship developed among us to such an extent that they regretted my separation and also, because they could not perform the Ziyarat with me.

When they bid farewell, they said, weeping: You are a young man and you are walking on foot on this first journey? Indeed, you will be shown mercy, so it is our request that you present salutations to the Imam ('a) on our behalf also and remember us at that holy place.

So I bid farewell to them and set out for Holy Mash-had, and on reaching there visited the holy sanctuary in the same condition of anxiety. After Ziyarat, I fell down in a swoon in a corner of the sanctuary. In this condition, I saw Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) arrive with innumerable chits and distribute them among the visitors, including children.

When it was my turn, the Imam gave me four chits. I asked why four? He replied: One for you and three for your three friends. I said: It does not seem appropriate that the Imam should perform this function himself. Please ask someone else to distribute these chits. He said: All these people came here reposing hope in me only. So it is my duty to reach them personally.

When I opened the letter, I found that it contained four sentences: Release from Hellfire, refuge from accounting, entry into Paradise and I am the son of the Messenger of Allah (S).

We can conclude two points from this: One is that Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) is very kind to the visitors of his grave and he is very generous to them. Thus, he would intercede for one who takes his refuge from hellfire, and no one would return empty handed from his door.

Secondly, one who sincerely aspires to perform the Ziyarat of the Imams, but does not get an opportunity, and he requests someone else to do Ziyarat in his proxy, he is like one who performs the Ziyarat in person and this matter is not restricted to the Ziyarat of that Imam only. It is same for all good deeds.

One who likes a good deed, is like one who performs it and he would be rewarded equally. Testimonies of this matter are found in large numbers in traditional reports. Including when Jabir bin Abdullah Ansari performed the Ziyarat of the chief of the martyrs in Karbala. After the Ziyarat, he addressed them:

By Allah, we were also with you in the stage that you have entered. Atiyya bin Saad Kuti, who was present with him, asked: How we are partners with the martyrs of Karbala, when we were not with them at any time; and we never used our sword in their company? Their heads were cut, their children were orphaned and their ladies became widows.

Jabir said: O Atiyya, I heard from my beloved, the Messenger of Allah (S) that he said: One who likes a people, would be raised along with them and one who likes the acts of a people would be a partner in their act. By the one who sent Muhammad (S) with truth, the intention of me and my companions is same as that, on which Husayn and his companions died.

Under the explanation of this statement, Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) said to Rayyan bin Shabeeb: O son of Shabeeb, if you want to get the same reward as those martyred with Imam Husayn ('a), when you remember them, you should say: Alas, if I also had been with the companions of Husayn, I would have obtained a great success.

Here it is necessary to mention that one gets the reward of the martyr only when a person is true in this intention. That is, it should be his sincere desire to be killed in the way of Allah, in such a way that if an opportunity arises, his self, children, wealth and position should not bar his way.

Thus, if love for his self and selfish desires and inclination to the world have surrounded his heart in such a way that if he had been present in Karbala, these relations would not have permitted him to be included in the martyrs, then his statement of "Alas..." is false.

A scholar narrates: I was in deception and misunderstanding for years and I considered myself to be a partner in the rewards of the martyrs of Karbala, till one night in dream, I witnessed the tragedy of Karbala with the same details as mentioned in books of Karbala Tragedy, and found myself with the Imam.

I saw Qasim Ibn Imam Hasan (‘a) going to the battlefield and getting martyred there. Just then it came to my mind that since other companions of the Imam are not present, the Imam would definitely order me for Jihad. So I tried to back out from there in fear. I found a horse, mounted it and galloped away from there till I woke up in a condition of terror.

Then I realized that I had spent a major part of my life in deception. And the desire to be killed in the way of God, which I used to repeat often, was lacking in truth.

The aim of relating this incident is that the respected readers should not fall into misunderstanding and they should know that earning the reward of martyrs is possible only when this intention is sincere and this would be impossible when the heart is dominated by love for the world.

For that: one would have fight a lifetime of Jihad against the self and regarding this one has to strive and bear tortures for long periods, so that some reality might be created. If a martyr goes to the battlefield and is martyred once and then remains in peace forever, a person who does Jihad with his self is constantly fighting the Satan; that is why it is called as the Greater Jihad in traditions of the Prophet.

Secondly, in whichever form the real intention is, he is given a reward equal to the reward of the martyr and not exactly same reward, because the status that the Almighty Allah has given to the martyrs of Karbala in return of their amazing loyalty, is not given even to other martyrs; so what can be said of one who aspires for it, although in exchange of his aspiration, even if he is really sincere, the Almighty Allah would give him a similar and equal reward.

80. Six Duties Of Women

Some years ago a respectable Sayyid lady, who attended congregational prayer regularly, said:

Since long I had sought the mediation of my grandmother, Siddiqa Tahira Lady Fatima Zahra (‘a) till last night I saw the holy lady in dream and asked her:

Lady, what should we women do in order to get salvation? She replied: You should be regular and stead fast in six things, to be from the delivered people.

But I did not pay heed enough to ask what those six things were, till I woke up.

Please tell me what those things are? I thought that in the Holy Qur’an at the end of Surah Mumtahina, the duties of women and conditions acceptance of their allegiance to the Holy Prophet (S) are mentioned. Thus, I referred to the twelfth verse of the Surah and found six points mentioned therein.

I informed that Sayyid lady that the implication of Lady Fatima Zahra (‘a) was this same verse and so that Muslim women recognize their duties:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِذَا جَاءَكَ الْمُؤْمِنَاتُ يُبَايِعْنَكَ عَلَىٰ أَنْ لَا يُشْرِكْنَ بِاللَّهِ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَسْرِقْنَ وَلَا يَزْنِينَ وَلَا يَقْتُلْنَ أَوْلَادَهُنَّ وَلَا يَأْتِينَ بِبُهْتَانٍ يَفْتَرِينَهُ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِنَّ وَأَرْجُلِهِنَّ وَلَا يَعْصِينَكَ فِي مَعْرُوفٍ ۙ فَبَايِعْهُنَّ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُنَّ اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ

"O Prophet! when believing women come to you giving you a pledge that they will not associate aught with Allah, and will not steal, and will not commit fornication, and will not kill their children, and will not bring a calumny, which they have forged of themselves, and will not disobey you in what is good, accept their pledge, and ask forgiveness for them from Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful." (Surah al-Mumtahina 60:12).

It means that "O Prophet! when believing women come to you giving you a pledge on six points that:

(1) they will not associate aught with Allah, that is in His being and qualities and in actions and worship acts, the details of which are mentioned in the book of Greater Sins,1

(2) will not steal; that is they would not commit theft in the property of their husband or someone else,

(3) will not commit fornication,

(4) will not kill their children, and it includes abortion of the fetus and its constituents and prior stages like the sperm, the clot and the limp, because it also makes one liable for blood money, whose details are also given in the book of Greater Sins2

(5) will not bring a calumny, which they have forged of themselves, for example she brings an abandoned child and say that it is born from her. Or that she makes allegations of adultery against chaste women. In the same way, they should refrain from making any kind of blame, and

(6) will not disobey you in what is good, for example; Prayer, fasting, Hajj and Zakat or obeying the husband and avoiding touch or glaring at a stranger man etc.

Then you must accept their pledge and ask forgiveness for them from Allah; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful."

- 1. Also published by Ansariyan Publications.

- 2. Also published by Ansariyan Publications.

81. Rescued From Drowning

Resident of Koh Darab, pious and religious man, Shaykh Muhammad Ansari has narrated that I performed the Ziyarat of Karbala in 1370 A.H.

My son was ailing, so I took him along for cure. On the day of Arbaeen (40th day), I went to the banks of Euphrates to perform the ritual bath of Ziyarat and stepped into a corner of the stream and started the ritual bath.

Suddenly a huge wave swept him away and only his head was visible at a distance. I did not know swimming and there was no one there, who could have saved him.

So I called out to my Lord in extreme anxiety and by adjuring Him by rights of the chief of martyrs asked Him to save my son. I looked at the boy intently. Suddenly I saw that he was gradually moving towards me. When he reached me, I held his hand and brought him out of the water and asked him how he was. He said: I did not see anyone, but I felt that someone was holding my arm and escorting me to you.

Thus, I fell down in prostration and thanked the Almighty for having accepted my supplication.

82. Help Of Hazrat Hujjat ('A)

The Shaykh says: In that same journey, I went for the Ziyarat of Samarrah. When I decided to go into the holy cellar, the time Evening (Maghrib) Prayer had arrived and I had not performed the obligatory prayer. I saw congregational prayers in progress in the Masjid adjoining the door of the cellar, but I did not know that the Masjid was used by Sunnis and they were praying the Night (Isha) Prayer.

I entered the Masjid courtyard with my son and started praying in a corner, performing prostrations on the clay of the grave of Imam Husayn ('a). When the prayer was over, people passed before me, glaring and criticizing me. Now, I realized that I had made a mistake and had not observed dissimulation (Taqiyyah).

When all had left, they switched off the lights and locked the door from outside. I pleaded that I was a traveler and a visitor of holy places, but they ignored all my pleas. I and my son were extremely nervous and thought that these people wanted to eliminate us.

Thus, we prayed to Hazrat Hujjat (a.t.f.s.) and through his mediation, sought relief from the court of the Almighty. Suddenly my son, who was standing near the wall and weeping, said: Father dear, come here; a way has opened up and the pillar next to the door has risen up. I saw that it had really become elevated from the ground to an extent that a man can easily pass underneath it. After we came out, it resumed its former position.

I thanked the Almighty and when I came there in the morning again, I saw that the movement of the pillar did not leave any trace and not even the slightest crack was visible in the wall.

83. Name Of Lady Fatima Zahra ('A)

Owner of special qualities, son of Murtaza Kashmiri, Aga Sayyid Ali Naqi Kashmiri said: I heard from the learned scholar, Sayyid Abbas Lari that:

When I was studying in Najaf al-Ashraf, one day during the month of Ramadhan, after arranging my Iftari meal, I left the food items in the room and came out and locked the door. Then after performing the Evening and Night Prayers, at night I returned to the Madressa.

On reaching the door, I put my hand in my pocket to remove the key, but it was not present there. I searched everywhere and even asked other students, but no trace was found. I was very nervous due to hunger and did not know what to do. I searched for the key between the Madressa and the holy sanctuary. Suddenly I decried Late Hajj Murtaza Kashmiri. He asked me why I was so anxious and I mentioned my problem to him.

He came along with me to the Madressa and said: People say that if someone knows the name of the mother of Prophet Musa (‘a), and he mentions that name on a closed lock, it would open. Is our grandmother, Lady Fatima Zahra (‘a) inferior to her? Thus, he placed his hand on the lock and called: O Fatima! The lock opened at once.

84. Ease After Hardship

The Sayyid has also narrated from Alam ul-Huda Malairi, that when he was studying religion in Najaf al-Ashraf, he was in financial trouble for some days, till one day he had no money even to buy provisions for his family.

He says: I came out of the house anxiously and went to the market and walked through the whole street, but did not explain my circumstances to anyone. Then I said to myself that it is inappropriate to roam in the market like this. So I came out from there and entered a lane and went to the house of Hajj Saeed. Suddenly I decried Hajj Sayyid Murtaza Kashmiri. When he reached me he initiated the conversation:

What has happened to you; your grandfather, Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) used to eat barley bread and sometimes he had nothing to kill his hunger for two days at a stretch. He reminded me about some patience testing circumstances of the Imam and said: Be patient, indeed you will get relief in sustenance. One should bear hardships and problems in Najaf; after that he dropped some coins in my pocket and said: Neither count them nor tell anyone about them. Spend as much as you like from it. Then he bid farewell to me and went away.

I came to the market and bought food items from the money and took them home. I continued to purchase provisions in this way for some time. Then one day I said: Since this money is not ending, I must utilize it to provide some luxuries to my family. Thus, that day I purchased some mutton. When my wife observed this, she said: It seems that you have got some monetary ease; can you buy me a new dress? So I went to the market and bought cloth and paid from the money in my pocket by placing some coins before the shopkeeper and telling him to take the cost of cloth. He said the money was exact.

This went on for a year. One day I forgot to remove the money before leaving my clothes for washing and was out the day long. My son found the money and used it for household expenses of that day and it was sufficient, but afterwards this system ended.

It is also necessary to mention that giving increase in anything is a matter, which is not only possible by the Almighty Allah; on the contrary it is very easy for Him. Moreover, the miraculous behavior of Aga Sayyid Murtaza Kashmiri and his meeting Hazrat Hujjat are facts, which are well known among scholars of Najaf al-Ashraf.

85. Reading The Mind

The respected Sayyid has narrated from Shaykh Husayn Halawi, student of Sayyid Murtaza Kashmiri that he wanted to marry the daughter of late Sayyid Mohsin Amili. Thus he met his teacher and before he could mention his real objective, he asked him to please draw one Istikhara for him. After a moment's consideration, the Sayyid remarked: I don't like that a Sayyid lady should marry a non-Sayyid. When he said this in the beginning itself, I changed my mind about taking Istikhara.

86. Return Of Lost Property

Shaykh Muhammad Taqi Lari, who lived for many years in Najaf al-Ashraf, narrated:

One day I was at the cloth shop of one of my friends in a locality in Karbala. Suddenly I saw a gold coin lying on the street and passersby were not noticing it. Without saying anything to anyone, I went to it and stretched out my hand to pick it up, but realized that I was mistaken and that was a spot of filth. Feeling ashamed of my own act I returned to my seat and no one was aware of it.

When I looked again, I saw that it was a gold coin. After observing it for a long time, when I was sure about it, I went to it again and tried to pick it up, but realized that it was the same smear of filth. I became ashamed and returned to my place.

When I glanced at it the third time, I saw that it was a gold coin. This time I did not arise and continued watching it in astonishment. Then I saw a respected scholar walking in our direction in an anxious state glancing here and there as if searching for something, till he reached that coin and picked it up. When he turned to go away, I approached him and asked him about his well-being and inquired about that gold coin.

He replied: The Almighty Allah bestowed a son to me today. I was not having any money. So I borrowed that coin from such and such person and bought the necessary provisions, but when I wanted to exchange it to pay for the things, I was unable to find it. I realized that I had lost it somewhere, so I searched it along the route that I had taken and found it at last.

The aim of narrating this story is to emphasize the fact that our Lord and creator is always concerned for His creatures and He does not forget them even for -a moment. In this incident, He transformed that coin for the Shaykh to prevent him from picking it up, because had he taken it away, the person who had lost it would have had to undergo untold hardships.

Therefore, it is the duty of every monotheist person to place his or her trust in the Almighty Allah.

87. Favor Of Imam Husayn ('A) On His Pilgrims

Some trustworthy scholars of Najaf al-Ashraf have narrated the statement of pious intellectual, late Shaykh Husayn bin Shaykh Mashur that:

One night in dream, I saw that I was in the holy sanctuary of Imam Husayn ('a). A young, energetic and clever man entered the sanctuary and saluted the Holy Imam ('a) with a smile and the Imam also replied to him with a smile. After that; the following day, which was a Thursday, I saw that young man in the shrine again and he saluted the Imam with a smile and after that he departed.

I followed him out and asked him the reason for his smiling in that way. He explained: I live in a village, which is quite far from here and every Thursday, I get one of my parents here in turns, for Ziyarat. Once, at the turn of my father, as I was leaving, my mother started crying and said:

Take me along too; I may not remain alive next week. I said: It is raining and the weather is also very cold. It would be very hard for you to go out in such circumstances, but she was adamant. At last I agreed to take her. Since my father was already riding the mule, I carried my mother on my shoulders and brought her to Karbala after bearing a lot of hardships.

When I entered the sanctuary in this condition, I saw His Eminence, chief of the martyrs and saluted him, and the Imam also replied to me with a smile. After that, till now, every Thursday, when I perform the Ziyarat, I see the Imam and he replies to me smiling.

This story shows that the thing, which makes one eligible for bestowal and pleasure of senior personalities of religion is true sincerity, affectionate behavior and service to believers, especially parents, and more particularly visitors to the tomb of Imam Husayn (‘a).

88. Status Of The Just Jurisprudent

It is also narrated from late Shaykh Muhammad Nahawandi that one night he saw in dream that he was performing the Ziyarat of Mash-had Muqaddas and had entered the holy sanctuary.

He saw Imam Hazrat Hujjat (a.t.f.s.) at the head side of the grave. He thought that though he was having permission (ljaza) of Supreme jurist (Maraja Taqlid), to spend the Imam 's share of Khums funds, it would be better to take the permission of the Imam directly. Thus, he met the Hazrat, paid homage to him and asked: To what extent do you permit me to spend from your share of Khums? Imam ('a) replied: This much every month (he forgot the amount).

After some years, this Shaykh Muhammad came for the Ziyarat of Holy Mash-had. At that time Late Ayatullah Hajj Aga Sayyid Husayn Burujardi was also present there. One day Shaykh Muhammad entered the holy sanctuary and reached to the head side. He saw Aga Burujardi sitting at the place he had seen Imam (‘a) in dream.

He says: I thought that I already have the permission of most of senior jurists (Maraja Taqlid) for spending from the Imam's share of Khums money, but it would be better if I took the permission of Aga Burujardi as well. So I stepped forward and met him. He also said: Such and such amount every month [same as that which Imam Zaman (‘a) had mentioned in dream]. Thus I remembered the dream I had a few years ago and understood that everything occurred in the exact way, except for the fact that instead of Hazrat Hujjat (a.t.f.s.) Aga Burujardi was sitting there.

The moral of this story is that during the period of occultation of the Imam, the Shia should accord respect to the most learned scholars as they would to the Imam of the Time ('a), and they must refer to them to find out laws of Shariah and divine commands; and consider their words as the words of the Imam.

In the story of Hajj Ali Baghdadi, mentioned in Mafatih ul-Jinan, also, Hazrat Hujjat (a.t.f.s.) told Hajj Ali that the supreme jurisprudents (Maraja) of Najaf al-Ashraf: Shaykh Murtaza Ansari, Shaykh Muhammad Husayn Kazmi, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Sharuqi are my deputies. He also said: My portion conveyed to them is accepted.

89. Apprehension Of The Consequences

Manucheher Maurisi has narrated a long story whose gist is that when he was teaching in the village of Ascer, on the outskirts of Laristan, a young resident of that place, named Ahmad, fell seriously ill till he was in the agony of death.

Aga Manucheher started reminding (Talqeen) about the principles of faith. After much persuasion, he recited the confession of faith: There is no god, except Allah. In the same way, he recited: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, with a great difficulty; but he did not utter the sentence of: Ali is the Wali of Allah.

When he was urged further, he shook his head and refused to recite it. Then he said: I will not say that. After that he fell in a swoon and those around him, moved away. He remained like this for some days, till people took him to Shiraz and admitted him in a hospital. After sometime, his condition improved. He was later discharged from the hospital.

Aga Manucheher went to see him and asked: That day, when I was asking you to recite: Ali is the Wali of Allah, why did you refuse? Ahmad became extremely terrified at this question and started chewing his lips and said:

When you reminded the Kalimah to me, I saw that it was in the form of a chain having three strong links. On the first link was inscribed: There is no god, except Allah, on the second, Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and on the third Ali was the Wali of Allah. The first link was in my hand, the second was in between and the third was in the hand of a terrifying demon and in his other hand was a purse, which seemed to hold all my wealth and property.

I said: There is no god, except Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, on your urging; but when I wanted to say, Ali is the Wali of Allah, that demon pulled hard at the chain and threaten that if I uttered this sentence, he would take away all my property.

I refrained from it fearing that he would make his threat good. It was, because I had become very much attached to my wealth, but in spite of that I held fast to the link of monotheism and was not leaving it. I was in this hardship when a handsome Sayyid arrived and placed his foot on the chain in such a way that the hand of the demon was crushed and he screamed and dropped it in pain and the whole chain came to me. After that I don 't remember what happened. When I awoke, I found myself wet in perspiration on my sick bed.

I have heard similar stories from reliable persons about other people also, who had become much attached to the world in their last moments and this love of theirs for the world had dominated religious and spiritual connections, although they died hating and denying them; but to narrate them here is unnecessary and cause of prolonging the discussion.

In the same way, some incidents are narrated in reliable books as well. from which I will only mention one incident from the book of Muntakhabut Tawarikh, part 14, story no. 6. The gist of the story is as follows:

In the final moments of a scholar, people around him started reciting Dua Adila. When they reached to the statement of: I witness that the righteous Imams...he said: I don't accept it. This was stressed on him thrice, but every time he said: This is something new. After a moment he began to perspire heavily, opened the eyes and gestured to a casket, which was placed in the corner of the room, and asked it to be opened. People removed a piece of paper from this box and gave it to him. He tore it up into pieces. When people questioned his act, he said: I had lent five Tomans to a person. When I was urged to recite: I witness that the righteous Imams..., a man with a white beard stood on the box holding this paper and threatened me that if I recited this sentence he would tear it up.

I had become so attached to that paper that I was not prepared to recite the confession of faith. Now, since the Almighty Allah has favored me, and granted me recovery, I tore it up with my own hands so that there remains no obstacle for the confession of faith.

One who reads or hears this story, should experience both fear and hope. Fear, because he should fear the love of the world and inclination to worldly issues, as Satans dominate him only through this. Since the Satan can control man only through things, with which he has true attachment. Therefore, the heart should be devoid of the love of the world. Or at least love of Allah, Prophet, Imam, scholars and the hereafter should dominate him to an extent that he should turn away from worldly connections, but he must never abandon spiritual connections and he should value his religion more than wealth, children and other worldly interests, in such a way that he should be prepared to sacrifice them on his religion and these relations should not hold as much importance to him as religion.

It is mentioned that His Eminence, the Messenger of Allah (S) at the end of his sermon about excellence of the holy month of Ramadhan, which Shaykh Saduq (r.a.) has narrated in Uyum ul-Akhbar cried much. Amir ul-Mu’minin (‘a) asked him why he was aggrieved. The Prophet said: My weeping is due to the hardships that you would have to suffer during this month. I can see that when you are Prayers, the most wretched one will slash your head, due to which your beard would be dyed in your blood.

Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) said: O Messenger of Allah (S), would my religion be safe at that time? The Prophet replied: Yes, it would be safe. It means that if the religion of a man is safe and sound, whatever hardship befalls him or whatever is taken away from him. even if he loses his life, it is easy for him.

His Eminence, Abbas, on the Day of Ashura, after his right hand was severed, recited the following couplets:

"By Allah, even though they have cut off my right hand, I would continue to defend my religion. And go on defending the Imam, whom I really believe to be the rightful Imam and the son of the pure trustworthy Prophet."

When his left hand was severed, he said:

"O self, do not fear the pain and harassment of infidels and be pleased at the mercy of the Lord and support of the chosen messenger, who is the chief of the universe. They cut off my left also, due to their rebellion, so my Lord, throw them into Hell."

In other words, every kind of deprivation, pain and hardship should be nothing for man in comparison to religion, God, Messenger, Imam and scholar; his sincere connection with the hereafter should be more important to him than even his life. If it is not so, his faith is not perfect.

Imam Ja 'far as-Sadiq ('a) said: No one can have true belief in the Almighty Allah till God is not more precious to him than his father, mother, children, family, wealth and all human beings.

The Messenger of Allah (S) said: By the one in whose hand is my life. no servant can become faithful. till I am not more precious to him than his life, his parents, his wife and children and all human beings.

Both these traditions are in accordance to verse 65 of Surah Tawbah:

قُلْ إِنْ كَانَ آبَاؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَاؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَانُكُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَالٌ اقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَارَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَاكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَا أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَجِهَادٍ فِي سَبِيلِهِ فَتَرَبَّصُوا حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ

"Say: If your fathers and your sons and your brethren and your mates and your kinsfolk and property, which you have acquired, and the slackness of trade, which you fear and dwellings, which you like, are dearer to you than Allah and His Apostle and striving in His way, then wait till Allah brings about His command: and Allah does not guide the transgressing people." (Surah al-Tawbah 9:24).

In short, we should understand that a person who follows selfish desires and worldly matters more than Allah, Prophet, Imams and hereafter. is in a deadly peril. That is he would have to face difficult tests and on most occasions he would sell his religion in exchange of the world.

Even if he is able to pass his life safely, in the last moments there is danger of his being apprehended by Satan, as was mentioned in the above story, except that divine help should come to his rescue. Therefore, he should beseech to the Almighty Allah to protect his faith. Thus, Imam Ja 'far as-Sadiq ('a) said: When a servant supplicates and calls the Almighty Allah intensely, he dies on faith.

Now. my grief is increasing, because the time of death is near. O Allah help me at this time and keep the servant safe from carelessness and keep him safe from Shaitan and keep the light of his faith intact through Your grace. When I am in the agony of death, do not ignore me. Help and assist me at that time. If I am not having the sense that I would have to meet You, do not erase Your name from my mind and conscience.

But with regard to hope, we should know that one who has believed in his Lord with sincerity, Muhammad and Aale Muhammad ('a), saints of God, His proofs and means of propagation of His revelation, he loves them with all sincerity. Also he should have faith in the hereafter and consider it more important than the world. He should be eager for Paradise, neighborhood of Ahl ul-Bayt ('a) and meeting Almighty Allah, in such a way that this faith and love should be deep rooted in him, whose necessary result is humility in the court of Allah and readiness for His worship and obedience. If such a faith remains till his last moments, he would be secure of the domination and attacks of Satans as the Almighty Allah has promised in the Holy Qur’an. He would assist his believer servant:

وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَانَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ

"...and Allah was not going to make your faith to be fruitless; most surely Allah is Affectionate, Merciful to the people." (Surah al-Baqara 2:143).

يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ

"Allah confirms those who believe with the sure word in this world's life and in the hereafter..." (Surah Ibrahim 14:27).

In Tafsir Ayyashi, it is narrated from Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq ('a) that he said: Shaitan is present at the death of one our followers, and he steps towards him from the right and the left, so that he may seize his faith, but the Almighty Allah does not allow him to do that as is mentioned (then the Imam recited the above verse).

There are many traditional reports of this meaning and in both the stories also, you saw how the said person was attacked by the devil and how the Almighty Allah saved him. Such examples are available in large numbers.

90. Survival Of A Six-Month Old Girl

The respected Maulavi has narrated that approximately thirty years ago, there was such powerful earthquake in Quetta, Balochistan (which is a part of Pakistan now), that the whole city was destroyed and around seventy-five thousand people were killed. A six-month-old baby girl of Mirza Muhammad Sharif, son of Mirza Muhammad Taqi, was sleeping in a cradle at the time of the quake.

After one week, the British regime ordered that all bodies recovered, be they Muslim, Hindu or others, should be placed together and cremated.

The child 's mother (Zumarrad, daughter of Rajah Ali) said to her husband to go to the site of their house and bring out the body of her girl, so that it may not be cremated with bodies of infidels.

When that place was dug up, it was seen that two iron girders had bent over the cradle, due to which the debris from the ceiling did not fall on the girl, and she was sucking at a chunk of mortar; although a part of her forehead was wounded by plaster. Since the girl is still alive, the scar of that wound is still visible on her forehead. Her family is related to us.

91. Don't Ignore The Rights Of Ali ('A)

The Maulavi has also narrated that there was a man in Khandahar, known as Mohibbe Ali. He was having sincere and deep devotion to Imam Ali ('a) and he had reached such a stage of love that when he was told Mohibbe Ali, beware regarding the rights of Ali ('a), there was change in his ordinary condition and he used to weep incessantly.

When he died, and the funeral bath was being given to him, all his friends and companions were crying. At that moment a friend called out: "Mohibbe Ali, beware regarding the rights of Ali ('a)". Suddenly his right hand rose up, which he gradually placed on his chest.

When this incident became famous, the Shia of Khandahar came in droves to see this man. When they saw that scene, they cried emotionally. His hand remained on his chest till the conclusion of the funeral bath.

If your name is mentioned at my head, a wail would rise up from my soul. (Persian couplet)

Love for His Eminence, Amir ul-Mu’minin Ali Ibn Abi Talib (‘a) and other members of Ahl ul-Bayt ('a) is an important divinely ordained duty. According to the Holy Qur’an it is the recompense of prophethood and in widely related traditions and traditional reports it is considered to be a necessary part of faith in the Almighty Allah and the Prophet; on the contrary it is declared to be the essence of faith. Also, its great effects and consequences are promised in the world and hereafter.

To know more about this reality, please refer to Vol. 7 of Bihar ul-Anwar. Herc only one tradition is presented by way of illustration, which the great researcher and commentator of Ahl ul-Sunna has mentioned in Tafsir Kashaf, under the interpretation of the verse:

قُلْ لَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا إِلَّا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبَىٰ

"Say: I do not ask of you any reward for it, but love for my near relatives." (Surah ash-Shura 42:23).

And it is quoted by Imam Fakhruddin Razi in Tafsir Kabir.

The Messenger of Allah (S) said: One who dies with the love of Aale Muhammad (‘a), dies a martyr, forgiven, with salvation and perfect faith. Angels of death and Munkir Nakeer give him glad tidings of Paradise and take him to Paradise, like a bride is taken to the bridal chamber. Two doors are opened in his grave towards Paradise. Allah makes his grave a place of visitation by angels of mercy and he dies on the practice (Sunna) of the Messenger of Allah (S) and the congregation (Jamat) of Muslims. Know that one who dies on the enmity of Aale Muhammad (‘a), dies a disbeliever and on Judgment Day it would be written on his forehead that he is deprived of divine mercy and the fragrance of Paradise cannot reach him.

Thus, obligatoriness of loving the Almighty Allah, the Prophet and his Household (‘a) and its blessings are definite. Something, which is obligatory to be performed, is awareness of the stages of love and to know that its first stage is obligatory, but gaining of its great effects is according to the power and intensity of that love. Now what can be said of affection, which can reach up to the level of love.

In other words, if a person has only a little particle of true affection, and he dies on it, he would not be involved in everlasting destruction and separation from divine mercy. At last he would be included among the delivered people. He would join his beloveds, that is Aale Muhammad ('a) even after chastisement of three hundred thousand years and after being away from divine mercy.

As clarified in traditions: If a person is bestowed with the highest category of love; that is love of Allah and that, which is related to Him; like the Prophet and progeny of the Prophet, believers and world of hereafter, their love should surround his heart and friendship and not even a particle of mental attraction to anyone or anything than the Almighty Allah should remain in his heart. Even if he has it, it should be for the sake of Allah. For example, if he loves his wife and children, it is because they are trusts, bounties and blessings of Allah. And he should love wealth to be a means of divine proximity from the aspect of spending it in the way of Allah. Such a person would definitely join his true beloveds at the time of death itself and there would be no barrier in between.

It should be said that in traditional reports, which mention the positions and ranks of the Shia and friends of Ahl ul-Bayt (‘a), it is only for those who have scaled that lofty rank of love.

Majlisi, the first (r.a.) has mentioned in explanation of the following statement of Ziyarat Jamia:

وَبِمُوَالاَتِكُمْ تُقْبَلُ ٱلطَّاعَةُ ٱلْمُفْتَرَضَةُ

"Through our loyalty to your leadership, the obligatory obedience (to Allah) is accepted."

That is the traditional reports, which prove obligatoriness of the love of Aale Muhammad ('a) are widely related or definite and the least rank of this love is that those people should be beloved to us more than our lives and its ultimate rank is devotion.

Muhaddith Jazaeri, in the book of Anwarun Nomania, has mentioned with regard to the effulgence of love, that there are innumerable grades of love, but they can be divided into five grades. First of all liking; second is love and inclination to the beloved, along with spiritual attachment and likeness; third: is seclusion: That is the rooting of love in the heart in such a way that the love for the beloved should surround the whole heart. Fourth: In love or affection, there is so much extreme that not even for one second should he become heedless of the love of the beloved and the imagination of the beloved should remain intact in the heart. Fifthly, complete obsession, and it is that there should be no one else in the heart of the lover and his not being satisfied with anything except his beloved.

After that the respected scholar has explained each of these ranks and compared it with each real love. He has also narrated some circumstances of people of love.

In the same way, in the book of Gulzare Akbari Gulshan, Pg. 66 some astonishing incidents are mentioned about such persons, which were seen after their death from their bodies and graves, but to quote them would led us away from the topic of the book and cause prolonging of discussion.

There are two aims of discussing this: One is that the reader should not be content on the stage of love, on which he is at present; on the contrary he should expel love of the world and selfish desires and continue to nurture real love for Allah; and increase his love Him, so that he gains most from blessings of ranks of love.

O one in whose heart hundreds of desires are nurtured, focus your heart; remove the love of others from your heart and for a moment, be present at our door. If you are not successful, you must complain to us. (Persian couplets)

Secondly, dear readers do not be surprised at the movement of the hand of a devotee of Ali ('a) after death and do not deny it. On the contrary, you should know that in that intense love, the soul of the lover joins with the beloved and since the beloved [that is Ali ('a)] is the mine of life and power; therefore if such signs are seen from his devotee, it is not at all a matter of surprise.

92. Greatness Of Sayyids

The same Maulavi has narrated that one day the Nizam (ruler) of Hyderabad mounted a palanquin and some idolaters were carrying it as this was the practice of royalty in those days. The Nizam felt sleepy and in stupor, dreamt that Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) was saying:

Nizam! Are you not ashamed that you are making Sayyids carry your palanquin? The Nizam opened his eyes and asked the carriers to put the palanquin down. They asked: Have we committed some mistake? The Nizam said: No. no, but other people should be called to carry the palanquin. Thus, different porters were called and they carried the palanquin forward. When the Nizam reached his destination and returned from there, he called in private the persons who had initially carried the palanquin. He embraced and kissed them, and asked: Where have you come from? They replied: We are from such and such locality. He asked: Are you living there since ever? They said: We only know that our ancestors had come from Arabia and settled down here.

The Nizam said: Go, and see if you are having some documents from the time of your ancestors. They brought all the documents that they could find. The king also found the family tree of those people in those documents and it was learnt that they were descendants of Imam Musa Kazim ('a) and that they were Rizvi Sadaat. The Nizam started crying and asked: Why did you become Hindu, whereas you are descendants of Muslims; on the contrary you are chiefs and leaders of Muslims? They were deeply moved by this and converted and embraced Twelver Shia faith and the Nizam also bestowed huge properties and wealth to them.

It is among the definite matters of our religion that respect and honor should necessarily be shown to the Sadaat (Sayyids). This point is hinted at in the book of Greater Sins1 under the topic of doing a good turn to relatives. Details of this topic are mentioned in the book of Fadailus Sadaat. Late Noori (r.a.) has, in the book of Kalimah Tayyiba2 mentioned forty traditional reports and stories about persons, who through the blessings of honoring these people, witnessed great effects and consequences.

He has narrated from the Messenger of Allah (S) that: Accord respect to the pious Sayyids for the sake of Allah and respect other Sayyids from my sake and for the sake of my relationship.

- 1. Also published by Ansariyan Publications

- 2. Pg. 230, quoting from Durratul Bahira, Shahid Awwal; Minhajus Safawi and Manaqib Daulatabadi.

93. Miracle Of His Eminence, Abu ‘l-Fadhl Abbas

The respected Maulavi narrated that:

My brother, Muhammad Ishaq, contracted the disease of consumption. My father took him to Karbala Moalla and tied him to the sepulcher of His Eminence, Abu! Fadhl Abbas; beseeched him to pray for his recovery or death. After that he became engrossed in praying in the verandah. When he came back to the child, he said: Father, I am hungry. He glanced at his face and saw that the color of his cheeks had changed and he had recovered. He brought him out. In the morning, he asked for a pomegranate and ate eight fruits and a big loaf of bread. Even then the disease did not affect him. Now, he lives in Najaf al-Ashraf and works as a bread maker in Hazrat Hamza.

In one of my journeys, I performed the Ziyarat of Hazrat Hamza and in company of the Maulavi, I met this Muhammad Ishaq. I found that signs of piety and abstinence were apparent in him.

94. How The Candle Endured!

He has also narrated as follows:

My mother was very fond of reciting the Qur’an. Most of the time she recited seven parts in twenty-four hours. She did not sleep during the nights of Ramadhan month. She spent all her time in reciting the Qur’an, supplications and Prayers.

One night, only a centimeter of candle was left in the candle stand. We could have gone out and purchased more candle, but there was a curfew in the town and anyone outside at that hour was apprehended and thrown in the lock up and fined.

My mother started reciting the Qur’an in the light of that same candle; by Allah, till the end of the night, my mother continued to recite Qur’an in this way and the candle did not go out. When she concluded the Prayer, we started taking our dawn meal, but the candle continued to burn.

When the call for prayer was announced, it dimmed and gradually went out. In other words, one centimeter of candle burnt for nine hours due to the auspiciousness of my mother.

95. The Lion Weeps For Imam Husayn ('A)

Son of Late Aga Sayyid Murtaza Kashmiri, and respected scholar, Hajj Sayyid Muhammad Rizvi, has narrated from Sayyid Kashmiri that in Kashmir, there is a Husayniyah in the lap of mountains, whose sides such that the inside scene can be seen from outside and part of its roof is open for light and air.

Every year, during Ashura days, mourning rituals of His Eminence. chief of the martyrs are arranged there and a group of Shias gather and take part in those rituals. From the first night of Muharram, a lion comes from a nearby forest and climbs the terrace and putting its head into the ventilator, watches the mourners; and continuous tears drop from his eyes. This continues till the night of Ashura, and then it goes away after the Majlis program.

He also said that there is never controversy in this locality regarding the first of Muharram, because the arrival of the lion shows that it is the first night of mourning season. During Ashura days, in some animals, many a times, signs of grief and sorrow have been observed and it is testified by reliable and trustworthy persons.

To increase the insight of our readers, we quote an astonishing incident from Kalimah Tayyiba of Noori: Prominent scholar and owner of perfections, Akhund Mulla Zayn ul-Abidin Salamsi says:

When we were returning from the Ziyarat of Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a), we passed through Kohe Alwand area, situated near Hamadan. We halted over there. It was the spring season. My fellow travelers started pitching the tents and I began to view the mountain. Suddenly I noticed a white object. When I looked carefully, I realized that it was a white haired man wearing a small white turban and seated on a four yards high boulder, and around him many large rocks were paved, due to which only his head was visible.

I went to him, saluted and expressed love and sincerity. He also became friendly with me and came down from his dwelling. After that he narrated his story as follows:

I don 't have any connection with this deviated group, which has named itself with different names in order to avoid special responsibilities, and they come out in strange forms. On the contrary, I had family and children as well, but after fulfilling my duties to them, I chose worship and seclusion in leisure. He also had codes of Islamic laws of various scholars and was staying there since the last eighteen years.

He said: I have witnessed many extraordinary phenomena over here. I came during the month of Rajab. After more than five months, one night I was praying the Evening (Maghrib) Prayer when there arose a great noise and peculiar types of sounds were heard.

I was terrified, and shortening my prayers, when I looked around, I saw that the whole forest was full of animals and all were heading towards me. My fear and apprehension increased, but I was surprised to see that the different kinds of animal were present in that herd, like lions, deer, mountain cows, cheetahs and wolves. And all were together. They were making strange sounds. They came and stood around me and raising their heads, started wailing. I said to myself: It is rather strange that these wild animals, who are enemies of each other, have come together to attack me, whereas they are not attacking each other. Indeed there must be a great reason and some bizarre event behind it.

When I thought about it, I remembered that it was the night of Ashura and this wailing and weeping was for His Eminence, the chief of the martyrs, Imam Husayn ('a). When I was satisfied, I took off my turban and started thrashing my head. I threw myself down saying: Husayn, Husayn, martyred Husayn. I continued to repeat such words, till those animals vacated a place in their midst and made a circle around me.

Some of them were hitting their heads on the ground and some were throwing themselves on the dust. All of us continued that till morning dawned. First the more ferocious animals went away. Others followed in the same sequence, till all of them dispersed.

From that date till now this is the practice of those animals. Thus, if I am unsure about the date of Ashura, I become sure by their gathering.

Then the pious man arose and for his fast-ending meal (Iftar) and the dawn meal (Sehri), kneaded some flour and lighted the stove. I requested him to have dinner with me the following day. I said: I will have some food prepared and bring it to you. He said: I have food for tomorrow. If I have nothing for the day after, I will be your guest.

At night, I told my fellow travelers to prepare something nice for such honorable guest, who has not eaten proper food since many years, to which they agreed. In the morning, they prepared rice. I was seated on the prayer mat and reciting post-prayer recitations, at the time of dawn, I saw a person climbing the mountain very fast. Since I felt danger, I said to my servant, Ja 'far, to bring him to me. When he was called, he replied: I am thirsty. Get some water for me. I am going to the worshipper and I will come to you on my return.

He reached the worshipper, gave him something and returned to us. He greeted us and took a seat. I asked him the reason of his haste, purpose of his visit and what it was that he gave to that worshipper. Who he was and from where he had come? He said: I am actually from Khovi in Azerbaijan. I was kidnapped and sold in my childhood. So and so Haji Dabbagh had purchased me and had me taught reading, writing and religious laws. After that he got me married and arranged permanent source of income for me making me self-sufficient.

Last night, I saw Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) in dream. The Imam told me: Before sunrise, you must deliver one Mann (6 kilos) of pure flour, to the worshipper who lives in Kohe Alwand. I asked: May I be your ransom; how can I know whether this flour is lawful and pure or not?

He replied: Go to so and so tanner. I woke. but could not conclude what time of the night it was. I came out fearing that I might be unable to reach the worshipper before sunrise. I did not even know the complete address of the tanner. When I walked some distance, the soldiers who made rounds at night, apprehended me and took me to the inspector. He asked: Why are you roaming out at this time of the night? I said: I have some work with the tanner. I made a vow that I would meet him in the last part of the night. When I woke up, I could not find what time it was. So I left my place fearing the non-fulfillment of the vow and the soldiers apprehended and brought me here.

That tanner was a well-known personality. The inspector said: I can see that this fellow is speaking the truth. Take him to the house of the tanner. If he recognizes him and admits him into his place, release him. Otherwise bring him back. They brought me to the door of the tanner and stepped aside saying: This is his place. I knocked the door. The tanner opened the door. I greeted him. He replied to my greetings and embraced me. He kissed my forehead and took me inside. On seeing this, the soldiers went away.

I said: I want a Mann of pure flour. He said: O course. He went in and brought out a scaled bag and said: It is of that same quantity. I asked: What is the price? He replied: One who ordered you about it, also commanded me not to accept payment for it. So I placed that bag on my shoulders and performed the Morning Prayer before climbing the mountain, fearing that the time should not lapse. All this is the grace of the Almighty Allah; He bestows it to whomsoever He likes.

Janab Akhund (r.a.) said: A community of desert dwellers was settled there near the lap of the mountain, where we had halted. They reared sheep. We sent a man to buy some curd and paneer, but they refused to sell it and drove him away. He returned from here in anxiety.

But not long after that, some people came and said: We refused to sell curd and paneer, and drove away the person you had sent, as a result of which a disease appeared in our sheep; they start shivering all of a sudden and then drop dead. We think that it is a punishment for our bad behavior. Thus, we request you to save us from this calamity.

l wrote down a supplication and told them to attach it to a stick and fix amidst the herd. After taking the supplication, their men brought a large quantity of paneer for us, which we could not even lift.

After that when we went to the worshipper, he remarked: A strange incident happened between you and that community. A man who lives in this area informed me how you sent a man for their curd etc. and how they drove him away. He also told me that the jinns who reside there are in your favor and they became so angry at them that they started killing their sheep. Those people sought your help and took a supplication scolding the jinns. When the jinns saw that writing, they remarked to each other: When they have become satisfied with them and are threatening us, we should also leave their sheep alone.

Then the worshipper put his hand below the carpet and took out the supplication. The name of that worshipper was Husayn Zahid.

96. The Sick Is Cured By Imam Husayn (‘A)

The Maulavi has also narrated that:

We have an ancestral Husayniyah in Khandahar for performing Azadari mourning. My mother's cousin sister, Alam Taab, who is the paternal aunt (father's sister) of late Shaykh Muhammad Tahir Khandahari, has never attended school. She cannot read or write. But such is the purity of her faith that she performs the ablution and recites Salawat, then placing her finger on the words of Qur’an, starts reading. Before reciting each line, she recites one Salawat. In this way she recites the whole Qur’an and this capacity of hers endures to the day.

That lady was having a son, named Abdur Rauf. During his childhood his chest and back developed a big hump, which I had also seen many times. On Ashura night, Alam Taab took that four-year-old boy to the ancestral Husayniyah to perform Azadari rituals. The parents of that boy wished for his death, as the boy was in severe pain. After the Majlis, Alam Taab tethered him to the pulpit and prayed to Imam Husayn ('a): O Husayn, please cure this boy by tomorrow or give him death.

Then everyone went to sleep. Suddenly they woke up by a noise. They saw that the boy was shivering. He jumped up and then fall back, and along with this he was screaming. We were perplexed. My mother told Alam Taab to take the boy home so that he may die over there and his father who is hot tempered may not object.

She took the boy in her arms and she was also trembling due to his shaking. I escorted her to the house. The boy continued to shiver for three or four days more. After that the extra outgrowth on his body melted away and disappeared completely and no sign of it remained.

Some days ago he had come for the Ziyarat of Iraq with his mother. I met him. He has grown up into a well behaved religious young man. He and his mother are still alive.

97. Miracle Of His Eminence Hurr

The same Maulavi has also narrated:

I was in Karbala Moalla twenty-three years ago and was involved in deep anxiety. My friends took me to the shrine of His Eminence, Hurr for sight-seeing and change of climate. When I reached inside the sanctuary, I was unable to stand; so I recited a brief Ziyarat in the seated position.

Meanwhile, I saw a Bedouin lady sitting near the sepulcher; she placed her finger into its circle and recited the following supplication:

"O remover of the trouble from the face of our Master, Husayn (‘a). Remove our trouble and remove the big trouble from us through the mediation of Husayn."

Then she removed her finger and then placed it in the next circle and recited the same supplication. In the same way, she continued the supplication. circling the sepulcher. By her fifth or sixth round. I also memorized those words and since I did not have the strength to begin from the top, I dragged myself till the sepulcher and putting my finger in the lower circle. recited the same supplication. then in the second circle and so on.

When I started reciting in the third circle, some warmth was perceived from the sepulcher in my fingers, which spread to each part of my body, just as medicine of injection does. I realized that I can get up. So I stood up and recited the supplication in the other circles also.

At that time my illness disappeared completely without leaving any trace.

'Since some people doubt the excellence of His Eminence, Hurr bin Yazid Riyahi and say that it was he that blocked the path of imam Husayn (‘a) and stopped him from returning to Medina, therefore, in order to remove their doubt and to make them aware of his true position, I would like to explain that Hurr was noble and a feudal lord of Kufa. He confronted Imam Husayn ('a) only to retain his position and he expected that the controversy would end amicably. Killing of Imam Husayn (‘a) and battle with him were things he had not even imagined and neither he had any faith in them.

He himself said: If I had any idea about the tragedy of Karbala and killing of the Imam, I would never have committed that mistake.

When on Day of Ashura, he came to know about the suggestions of the Imam, one of which was that he should be left alone so that he may leave Iraq with his remaining family members and Ibn Saad did not accept even one of those suggestions, His Eminence, Hurr asked him: Do you want to fight with Husayn? He replied: Yes, a battle, whose least result would be separation of heads and hands from the body.

His Eminence, Hurr asked: Will you not accept any of his suggestions, so that the matter may end peacefully? Umar Saad said: Ibn Ziyad is not agreeing. Hurr returned from there in anger and grief.

On the pretext of watering his horse, he came out from the army and moved slowly towards the camp of Imam Husayn ('a). Muhajir Aws asked: What is your intention? Do you want to launch an attack? Hurr offered no reply and he was trembling. Muhajir said: Hurr, your behavior has put us into doubt. By Allah, we never saw you in this condition before. If someone had asked me: Who is the bravest man in Kufa? I would not have named anyone other than you. Why are you trembling in this way? Hurr said: By God, I can see myself between Paradise and Hell. And by God, I will not choose anything other than Paradise even if I am cut up into pieces and burnt up.

After that he galloped to Imam Husayn (‘a), turned his shield upside down. placed his hands on his head and raising his head to the sky said: O Allah, I repent for my evil deed in Your court, because I caused distress to Your saint and the son of the daughter of Your Messenger.

He came to the Imam in that helplessness, saluted him, threw himself down and placed his head on Imam 's feet. Imam (‘a) said: Raise up your head, who are you? (it seems that due to shame, he had masked his face).

Hurr said: May my parents be sacrificed on you, I am Hurr Ibn Yazid, I am the one who stopped you from returning to Medina. I put you under pressure and compelled you to take this route. By God, I did not imagine that these people would refuse your wish and become prepared to slay you. Is my repentance not acceptable? Imam ('a) said: Indeed, Allah accepts repentance. He will accept your repentance also and forgive you.

After that he said: When I left Kufa, I heard a sound: O Hurr, glad tidings of Paradise to you. (Indeed this glad tiding was in accordance to his end). At that time, I said to myself: This cannot be a glad tiding, because I am going to confront the son of the Messenger. On such occasion, what is the meaning of glad tiding? Now I understood that the glad tiding was correct.

Imam ('a) said: The one who gave that glad tiding to you, was my brother, His Eminence, Khizr. His glad tiding proved true and you have attained goodly reward and a great success. After that he sought the Imam's permission and on reaching the field, after sending eighty persons to Hell, attained martyrdom. The companions brought his corpse and placed it near the Imam.

Imam was passing his hand over his blood smeared face and saying: "Congratulations, your mother did not make a mistake in naming you as 'Hurr' (free); by Allah, you are free in the world and the hereafter."

Then he sought repentance on his behalf. Some couplets of the Imam are also narrated in books of Karbala Tragedy, which he recited in the elegy (Marsiya) for Hurr. The aim of giving this information is that His Eminence, Hurr had repented for his mistake and the Imam also accepted his repentance. He performed Jihad before the Imam and helped him till he was martyred. Thus, he is an equal partner in the excellence of other martyrs. However, the other martyrs, in addition to martyrdom, were having special excellence on the basis of their knowledge and acts.

Therefore, we will say that His Eminence, Hurr also has a distinctive merit, which in the words of Shaykh Ja 'far Shustari, does not make him less than other martyrs, and it is the act of repentance. One who is the commander of the army, having a four thousand strong army under his command, having all the facilities of comfort and enjoyment, and who expected to reach higher ranks after the incident of Karbala, suddenly becomes imbued in the remembrance of God and should be so terrified of divine chastisement that onlookers should be amazed. After that he becomes so shameful of his sin that he veils his face and throws himself on the ground. Such repentance is highly valued by Almighty Allah, to such a limit that the servant becomes the favorite of his Lord.

There is no doubt that his repentance pleased the Imam and at that moment, it removed the grief of the Imam. From this statement the power of mediation of Hurr is proved. One who through his repentance, removed grief from the face of the Imam and made him pleased.

[We, at the same time should also know that if we repent for our sins and the same condition of repentance develops in us, indeed Imam Zaman ('a) would be pleased with us.]

Thus, it became clear that the reward of Ziyarat of the grave of His Eminence, Hurr and mediation through him in worldly and spiritual needs is of the same rank as that of other martyrs and His Eminence, Hurr or His Eminence, Abu ‘l-Fadhl Abbas ('a) or other martyrs can be addressed using the words of 'remover of grief'. Though it is appropriate in meaning, but since it is not narrated from any infallible, one should make an intention that it is not narrated through Shariah.

For further certainty regarding the rank of His Eminence, Hurr, you can refer to that which the late Nimatullah Jazaeri has mentioned in the book of Anwaarun Nomaniya.

When Shah Ismail Safavi occupied Baghdad and performed the Ziyarat of Karbala Moalla, he heard that some people were critical of Hurr. So he came to the grave personally and ordered them to open it. When they opened the grave, his body was fresh like the day he was martyred. They saw a piece of cloth tied to his head. The king was told that on Ashura Day, he had received a wound on his blessed head, due to which it was bleeding. Imam ('a) had tied this cloth and he was buried in the same condition.

The king ordered them to untie that cloth, so that he may take it as a souvenir, but when it was untied, bleeding started. Another cloth was tied on it, but it was of no use and the blood continued to flow. At last, when the cloth, which Imam had tied, was put back, it stopped bleeding.

The king became certain of the righteousness and greatness of His Eminence, Hurr and he constructed a dome over his grave and appointed a caretaker at the shrine. We should also know that the grave of His Eminence, Hurr is situated at a distance of one Farsakh from the place of his martyrdom. Two possibilities are mentioned for it; one is that his tribesmen took his body and buried it near their camp. Another is that he reached to that place while fighting and was martyred there. The first possibility is stronger.

98. Decayed Corpse And Worldly Carrion

The same gentleman has narrated from Sayyid Al-Ridha Musavi Khandalrnri, who was an accomplished Sayyid scholar that his uncle (mother's brother) Sultan Muhammad was a tailor by profession, but he in a very bad financial condition.

He says: One day, when I saw him pleased and overjoyed, I asked him the reason for it. He replied: Wait a minute, I am about to die due to the intensity of happiness. Last night I wept much due to the deprivation of my children, although the Eid was close by and entreated to Imam Ali ('a) since he was the most valiant and generous of all the people in the world, and was aware of my troubles.

When I went to sleep, I saw that as I emerged from the gate of the Eid prayer house, I saw a huge garden, whose fort was made of gold and silver. It had a gate, in which a number of people were standing. I went to them and asked: Whose garden is this? They replied: It belongs to His Eminence, Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a). I requested them to permit me to meet His Eminence. They said: Right now the Messenger of Allah (S) is there.

After that when they permitted me, I said to myself, that first I should meet the Messenger of Allah (S) and take a letter of recommendation from him. When I came to the Prophet and complained to him about my problems, he said: Go to your master, Abu ‘l-Hasan. I asked him to write a letter of recommendation. His Eminence gave me a letter and also sent two persons along with me. When I met Imam Ali ('a), he asked: Sultan Muhammad, where were you?

I replied: I have come into your refuge from the worries of the world and the letter of the Messenger of Allah (S) is also there with me. The Imam took the letter, read it and then glanced at me. He held my arm tight and led me to the boundary wall of the garden and indicated to the wall and it cracked and a dark and long hall became visible. He took me inside. I was extremely terrified. He made another sign and there was light. Then a door became visible and I perceived a strong stench.

He said to me harshly: Go in and take whatever you want. I went inside and saw a ruin filled with carrion. The Imam ('a) said with emphasis: Hurry up (scavenging animals were also there in large numbers.) I extended my hand due to the awe of the Imam and the leg of a dead frog came into my hand. I picked it up. He asked: Have you taken it? Yes, I replied. He said: Come.

On my return the hall was lighted. In its center were placed two huge cooking pots on extinguished stoves. He said: Sultan Muhammad, dip whatever you are holding in the water and take it out. When I dipped it in the water it turned into gold. Imam ('a) saw me, but his displeasure had decreased. He said: Sultan Muhammad, this is not in your interest. Do you want my love or this gold? I said: Your love. He said: Then throw it into that ruin. As soon as I threw it, I woke up and a fine smell reached my nostrils. I wept till the morning on my good fortune and thanked the Almighty Allah that I preferred the love of the Imam.

Aga Sayyid Al-Ridha said: After that the worldly troubles and worries of Sultan Muhammad were dispelled and the condition of his children also improved.

It is possible to conclude some important points from this story, which we shall mention in brief, as it is beyond the scope of this book to explain them in detail and those interested may refer to other books.

First of all, the importance of wealth and prosperity: It is clear for all sensible people that if a person accords importance to wealth and pelf more than his religion and hereafter, it is of no avail. A person should consider wealth only as a means for improving his rank in the hereafter and not consider it to be an end in itself. He should guard his wealth and must not even spend a penny of it in sinful way. At the same time, he should not be stingy when he is expected to spend in religious matters. He should not hesitate even a little bit in order to spend all he has for the hereafter.

As opposed to this, there is a person having a lot of wealth, but his attachment to wealth is only at the level of materialism. He considers all of it solely to be a means of fulfillment of his selfish desires. Life after death, Paradise and Hell and all such things are mere words for him. When he says that Judgment Day is a fact, and the balance, Siraat Bridge, Paradise and Hell are all facts; it is only the words that he utters and his sincere attachment is only to the world, in that case, excess of wealth and worldly successes are great calamities and everlasting misfortune.

The simile of this man is of that fellow, who is supposed to get rulership and kingdom and is on way to occupy his throne; on way to his kingdom he passes through a ruin filled with corpses of animals and other carrion, and instead of proceeding, he halts there and decides to live there forever. Instead of enjoying royalty, he is content with eating carrion. Thus. in this story also there is a mention of a ruin full of animal corpses, because wealth and worldly success most of the time prove to be traps for man, which make him his prey; that is the love of those things takes root in his heart and he become heedless of the higher world and the connection with the world after death is severed.

99. The Corpse Is Still Fresh

Hajj Muhammad Ali Salami. a resident of Abarqu (which is adjacent to Yazd), who is aged nearly ninety years and when he comes to Shiraz, he attends the congregation prayer of Masjid Jame, narrates that in 1386 A.H. while employed in the municipality, he was supervising the digging of a road around a park, when suddenly the diggers came upon a cellar, in which a corpse was placed.

The corpse was perfectly undamaged and fresh. He says: It was the corpse of Mulla Muhammad as-Sadiq, whom I had known seventy-two years ago. At the time of his death, he had made a bequest that he should be buried in Najaf. Therefore, his successors had temporarily interred him in the cellar, but after that no one knew what delayed the matter and the successors of the Mulla also passed away and the body remained in the cellar. Now, after a passage of seventy-two years, it was found that the corpse was still fresh. Thus, it was taken out from there with all respects and taken to Qom on way to Najaf.

Our respected readers should know that in the case of some pious and scholarly people, due to the acts of divine obedience and the worship acts that they have performed even after they die and soul is separated from the body, the soul does not ignore the body even after it is buried and it remains fresh for a particular time period.

Numerous examples of this are found in books of history like the case of: Prophet Shuaib. Prophet Daniyal. Ahmad bin Musa Shah Chirag. Sayyid Alauddin Husayn, Ibn Babawayh. Shaykh Saduq in Rayy, Muhammad Ibn Yaqub Kulaini in Baghdad and many others, whose details are beyond the scope of this book.

100. Najaf al-Ashraf And Cure Of The Son

Late Aga Shaykh Muhammad Ansari Darabi, through whom story no, 82 is narrated, has also related as follows:

Before my journey to Karbala, His Eminence, Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) said to me in dream: Come for Ziyarat. I said: I have no means of travel. He said: It is my responsibility. Not much time passed, but that I got the means to travel up to Najaf al-Ashraf; and in Najaf al-Ashraf also, money was also arranged to stay there and return from there.

Apart from that my son was suffering from epilepsy; so I took him along for cure and the Almighty Allah granted cure to him in Najaf al-Ashraf.

101. Endurance Of Wealth

He has also narrated from his father, the respected Shaykh Ibn Shaykh Abdus Samad Ansari that:

I and a travel companion of mine, named Ghulam Husayn, wanted to perform the Ziyarat of Karbala, but we had no means to travel, so we set out from the peak of Kohe Daraab. At every stage, we used to stay for a day or two and work as labors and then go on. Till in a period of five months, we reached Karbala Moalla via Kermanshah. There also we worked in any capacity, which provided us with food and shelter, but in Najaf al-Ashraf we did not find work for two days.

On the eve of Eid Ghadeer we were hungry and no means were in sight. We said to ourselves that we should stay in the holy sanctuary, so that if we are destined to die, we should die there only. When a part of the night had passed, four gentlemen entered the holy sanctuary. One of them came to me and mentioned my name and that of my father, my grandfather and great grandfather, at which I was highly amazed. After that he gave some silver coins and went away. When I counted them, I saw that they were four Tomans. We stayed in Iraq for two months and lived off that amount. On returning home also we spent from that. After that suddenly one day they were exhausted.

102. Construction Of Maytham's Tomb

Late Khandahari, who was mentioned before and also a group of influential and reliable person of Najaf al-Ashraf have narrated that Rishad Mirza, one of the topmost businessmen of Iraq, became afflicted with cancer. Doctors of Iraq, Lebanon and Syria failed to treat his malady.

So he traveled to Europe, but he was informed there also that it was incurable, even if it is operated. They told him: Its roots have reached into the heart. Supposing if we conduct an operation, it is possible that death might be delayed by a week, and that is all. He had given up all hopes of living when he saw an Arab in dream. He was wearing a cotton dress and his good qualities were moderate. He said: Rishad Mirza, if you repair my tomb, I will pray to Allah for your cure.

He asked: Who are you? He replied: I am Maytham at-Tammar. [In the beginning the tomb of Maytham at-Tammar was very simple and ordinary]. He woke up and after that he went to sleep twice and every time had the same dream.

In the morning he flew back to Baghdad. As soon as he landed, he asked to be taken to the tomb of His Eminence, Maytham straight away.

At night, he saw the same person he had seen previously in his dreams, and he called out to him: Rishad Mirza, arise. He said: I am unable to get up. He said with emphasis: Stand up! Suddenly he stood up and didn't even feel any effect of his disease.

After that he immediately took up the task of having the tomb of Maytham at-Tammar repaired and had a magnificent tomb constructed.

Then he also became interested in having the tomb of His Eminence, Muslim Ibn Aqeel repaired and got a dome of gold completed on that.

Later he turned his attention to the tomb of the master of the universe, Amir ul-Mu’minin Ali (a) and donated two hundred kilos of gold and by the grace of Allah it is also completed.

103. Miracle of Ahl al-Bayt (‘A) in Qom

Prominent Sayyid and accomplished scholar, Hasan Barqi, the orator and a resident of Qom, has written that Aga Qasim Abdul Husaini, curator of Her Eminence, Masooma Qom Museum, is the member of the council and still [that is in 1348 A.H.] is serving in the same capacity. He has a house in Khayaban Tehran, Kucha Aga Baqqal; he narrated to me as follows:

A truck drove over my foot when I was in my youth. They took me to the Fatemi Hospital where my treatment began under the supervision of Dr. Modarrisi (who is still alive) and Dr. Saifee.

My leg had swollen up. Due to the intensity of pain, I could not sleep for a moment for fifty days and was continuously weeping and wailing. It was not possible for anyone to touch my foot, because I became uncontrollable due to pain and the whole ward echoed with my screams. During that time, I was praying through the mediums of Lady Fatima Zahra (a), Lady Zainab and Lady Masuma Qom and my mother mostly prayed for me at the shrine of Lady Masuma.

In my ward there was a boy patient, who lay a little away from me to the right. He was the son of an ordinary worker. He was shot in Tehran and his wound had festered and developed into a leprous boil. The doctors had given hope on him as well and presently that boy was in a swoon most of the time. Now and then when nurses came to his bed during their rounds, they asked if he was still alive as if all were waiting for him to die.

I was so much fed up with life that I decided to commit suicide. For this purpose, I managed to procure some poison, which I concealed under my pillow, because my strength had sapped and I was unable to bear the pain any more.

That evening, when my mother came to visit me, I told her that it would be better if she can obtain my cure from Masuma Qom that day, otherwise she would find me dead the following morning. I said this with full confidence as I had made a firm resolve to commit suicide.

After sunset, my mother went to the holy tomb. That night I dozed for a while. I dreamt that respectable ladies have entered my room from the garden door, where that boy was lying beside me. One of them seemed most senior and was perhaps Lady Fatima Zahra (a), then lady Zainab, and lastly Lady Masuma Qom. Lady Fatima Zahra (a) was leading; followed by Lady Zainab and then by Lady Masuma Qom. They reached the boy's bed and stood adjacent to each other. Lady Fatima Zahra (a) said to the boy: Get up. He replied: I cannot get up. She repeated the question and he repeated the same answer. She said: You are cured.

I saw in dream that the boy sat up. Now, I was in anticipation that they would pay some attention to me, but against my expectations they paid no attention to me. I said to myself: It seems that the ladies of infallibility had no gift of favor for me. So I put my hand under the pillow to take out the poison. Then I thought that since they have stepped into my room, it is possible that I have also been cured due to their auspiciousness. I placed my hand on my leg and saw that it was not paining. Then I tried moving the leg and found that I can move it. I realized that I was also cured.

In the morning, nurses arrived and asked: What is the position of the boy? They were thinking that he was dead. They asked: What are you saying? I said: He is fully cured. Since he was asleep, I told them not to wake him up. When doctors arrived, they found no sign of injury in his leg as if he had never received an injury, but those people were unaware of the true facts. A nurse came and as per the practice, opened my bandage and removed the cotton to change it. Since the leg was not swollen any more, there was a gap between it and the cotton and it seemed that no wound had been there before.

When my mother came to see me, her eyes were red and puffed up due to excessive weeping. She asked how I was, but I did not disclose the whole thing at once, lest she would die of joy. So I said that I was better and told her to get me a walking stick to get me home.

At home I narrated the whole miracle and explained how I was cured. On the other hand, there was a huge celebration in the hospital due to the miraculous cure of two incurable patients. The whole atmosphere of the room and the ward echoed with wails and Salawat.

104. Miracle Of The Master Of The Age

I, Sayyid Hasan Barqai, received the honor of attending Masjid Sahibuz Zaman, famous as Masjid Jamkaran, in Qom, three weeks ago, on Wednesday, 5th Rabius Thani 1390 A.H. In the rest house of the Masjid, where travelers take rest and have tea, I met a person named Ahmad Pahalwani, resident of Shahzada Abd ul-Azeem.

Abdullah Kababi Tawakkal greeted us and after customary reply began the system of mutual inquiry about well being. He said: I am attending Masjid Jamkaran on Wednesday nights since last four years. I asked: Have you seen anything for certain, that you are so regular in coming here? Because as a rule one who visits the house of Imam Zaman ('a) never goes back without having his wish fulfilled. Has your wish been fulfilled?

Yes, he replied, if I had not seen, I would not have attended so regularly. Last year, on a night of Wednesday, there was a wedding of my close relative, due to which I could not come here, although there was no open sinful activity like music etc. in that program, but when after dinner, I returned home and went to bed; after midnight I was awakened by thirst. I started to get up and get myself a glass of water, but found that I was unable to move my leg. No matter how much I tried, it was completely paralyzed. I awoke my wife and told her the matter. She said that perhaps I had caught cold. I said it was not winter. I then summoned one of my friends, Aga Asghar, who lived near my place and I asked him to get me a doctor. He said it was not possible to get a doctor so late at night.

But I insisted on him and at last he managed to get Dr. Shahrukhi, who had a dispensary near the tomb of Shah Abd ul-Azeem. After preliminary examination he tapped my thigh with a hammer. There was no response. Then he tapped the other thigh and still nothing happened. He then pierced a needle into my foot and then the other foot, but I couldn't feel anything; however when he pierced my arm, it caused me pain. Thus, he wrote out a prescription and before leaving told my friend Aga Asghar that I was suffering from Apoplexy and that it was an incurable disease.

The following morning, when the children woke up, they began to weep and wail at my condition. When mother came to know about it, she also slapped her face and started wailing. At around nine o'clock, I said: O Imam Zaman, I used to pay homage to you every Wednesday, but I was unable to come yesterday, although I did not commit any sin also. Please have mercy on me. After that I began to cry in tensely and then swooned.

I saw the Imam in dream. He gave me a walking stick and said: Get up. I said: I cannot. He said: I am asking you to get up. I replied: Master, I cannot. He took my hand and pulled me on my feet. At that moment, I woke up. I saw that I could move my leg. First I sat up and stood on my feet. And in order to confirm my recovery, I jump about a little. However, since I was apprehensive that if my mother came to know about it, she would die of shock, so I lay down on my bed again.

So when my mother arrived, I asked her for a walking stick in order to stand up with its support. In this way I made her realize that I have been cured by the miracle of Imam Zaman ('a).

I told them to call Aga Asghar, when he arrived, I asked him to go to the doctor and tell him that such and such patient has recovered. The doctor that it cannot be true and if it is right that man should come here walking on his own. When I went there and he saw me, he still could not believe it, and he pierced a needle in my foot, which made me scream out aloud.

He asked me what I had done and I explained the story of my cure through the blessings of Imam Zaman ('a). He said: It indeed is a miracle; because even if you had gone to Europe and America, your cure was not possible.

105. Relief After Hardship

The same Aga Barqi writes:

A person named Mash-hadi Muhammad Jehangir, after touring various places, presently trades in carpets and blankets, and in this connection he travels to Kashan as well. I know him since many years, but I had never had the opportunity to travel with him, although I am aware that he was well known to be an upright and truthful person, in spite of the fact that he did not have much wealth.

When I visited him a few days ago, I saw that he was a man of moderate rank and lived a very simple life, although the traders were prepared to give him goods worth a hundred thousand Tomans, but he only picked stocks depending on his financial capability. Once I had the chance to stay with him for sometime in Kashan.

During discussions on religious topics and miracles of the infallibles, he addressed me: Aga Barqai, a person should control himself so that his needs may be fulfilled. Then he explained his circumstances in brief and said: I will tell my life story on some other occasion, by which a whole book can be prepared.

In brief, my financial condition was very good and I was able to sell carpets door to door and make a profit of more than a hundred Tomans daily, but when a person becomes rich, he falls into sinful activities. Thus, I also started committing such acts, till my prosperity began to decline. I lost all my capital and I became indebted to an extent of more than a thousand Tomans, whereas I did not own a single Toman to repay it. I did not leave my house for months. When I got tired of sitting, I came out in disguise.

One night a creditor, who knew that I came out at night, sent a policeman to wait for me in the dark and when I came out, he had me arrested. I said in the police station: Put me in jail, but you will not be able to recover your money even during the whole night, because I don't even have ten cents; however I promise that if Allah, the Mighty and Sublime gives me ease, I will clear the debt. They left me on this assurance.

Another creditor (whose name also he mentioned) came to my house. My wife came behind the door carrying my two-year-old child. He kicked the door in such a way that my wife was hit and the child was injured so seriously that it died within a few hours and my wife fell sick. And she is still sick after all these years. My wife sold all the household goods we had. Sometimes, in order to buy bread we even had to sell our cups and saucers.

At last, I decided to leave Iran to perform the Ziyarat of holy places. Perhaps I might be able to get some work there and I should be safe from the evil of my creditors. In addition to that, I should seek the mediation from the Holy Imams ('a).

I set out from my hometown and took the route of Khurramshahar, only carrying a small bag, in which I had placed some necessities. There was nothing to eat at that place. When I reached Iraq, I was absolutely alone and was not familiar with the route also. Without giving a thought I started walking in a date orchard. I did not know where I was going and where that orchard would end. There was no one else from whom I could have asked the way. Neither was there anything, which I could have eaten. I was exhausted with travel and hunger. Some dates, which had fallen from the trees were lying on the ground, but I didn't eat them thinking that it was not lawful for me to eat without permission of the owner.

In brief. in these circumstances night fell and there was darkness all around. I sat down in that silent and dark date orchard. Placing my bag on the ground, I began to weep uncontrollably. I was crying loudly when suddenly I saw a very elegant gentleman wearing an Arab head gear without the rope. He asked in Persian: Why are you so anxious. Do not be sad, I know you. I said: Master. I have lost my way. He said: I will guide you. Pick up your bag and come with me.

I had, perhaps, not even walked ten steps when I saw a paved road. He said: Wait here, a bus will come and take you. Meanwhile the headlights of a bus appeared and that gentleman went away. When the bus came near, it stopped by itself and took me aboard. At one point they made me board another bus and did not charge any fare. In this way each bus driver conveyed me from one bus to another till I reached Karbala, and no one asked me for bus fare as if they were appointed on this job from before.

In Karbala Moalla also, I could not find any work. My condition was very bad. Thus, I entered the holy sanctuary of Imam Husayn ('a) and requested: Master, I have come into your service. Please reform my conditions. After that I wept a lot. When I came out from the holy shrine [it was the Day of Arbaeen (fortieth day of martyrdom)]. I saw that same master, whom I had seen in the date orchard. When I greeted him, he replied and handing me ten dinars, said: Take these ten dinars. I said: Master, they are less. He said: They are not less; if they prove insufficient, I will give you more. I said: Master, where do you live? He replied: I am available in these places only.

Mash-Hadi Muhammad used to say: That money was also weird. It exuded a strange type of fragrance. Whatever I purchased from it, gave me a profit many times over. I made a lot of money. Whenever saved a few thousand Tomans, I came to Iran and repaid my debts to that extent. And all this was through those ten Dinars.

The following year, I saw that same gentleman in the tomb of Imam Ali ('a). I said: Master, please help me some more. He gave me another five Dinars, but after that I never saw him again.

One day I was passing through the market of Najaf al-Ashraf, when a trader called me and asked: Can you come up to my room? I said: Yes. He said: Do you have any guarantor? I replied: I have two. Who, he asked? I replied: One is the Almighty Allah and another is Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a). He accepted that.

Thus, sometimes that trader entrusted me with a thousand dinars and I went to Baghdad and brought commodities from there. I was his partner in this trade and I retired all my debts through that business, but since my family was in Qom, I was compelled to return. In the shrine of Imam Husayn ('a), I had only prayed that my debts be cleared and I should become moderately self sufficient. I did not ask for more, because I had seen the evil effects of wealth and prosperity.

There is a replica of tomb in the house of Mash-hadi Muhammad. His sincerity can be gauged from the mourning program (Majlis) that he arranges. I have attended it personally. He used to say that Lady Fatima Zahra ('a) attends the program.

106. Earthquake Of Qeer And Karzeen

Qeer is situated to the north of Shiraz at a distance of forty Farsakhs; and is around fourteen Farsakhs from Firozabad. From Karzeen it is one and a half Farsakh.

It is said that the length of Qeer block is ten Farsakhs, which begins from Mubarakbad and its last point is Bagh Pasalar. Its breadth from Kefarkaan to Gandaman is two and a half Farsakhs and it is an area of Fars, where people go to spend their sUmmrs.

This block consists of 23 inhabited villages. Qeer was having electricity, water supply, wide roads and cement and buildings constructed from iron girders and its population was seven thousand people. On 25th Safar 1392 A.H. lunar, 21 Farwardin 1351 A.H. solar, this province became a target of divine fury, but the city of Qeer was completely destroyed in that earthquake. Not a single building remained intact. One third of the population perished. The two persons, who had witnessed it: Shaykh Muhammad Jawad and Shaykh Ahmad Rustagar have written an eyewitness account of that earthquake so that it may be a lesson for us.

Letter Of Shaykh Muhammad Jawad Muqeemj

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

This is regarding the tragic earthquake of Qeer Karzeen and Afarz and whatever occurred at that time - investigations that were conducted and the lives and properties lost in it. I state them by way of brief explanation.

On 25th Safar, 1392 A.H. fifteen minutes before sunrise, there was such a severe earthquake that it had no precedent. Those who were out of that area reported that initially a lightning flashed from the direction of Qibla and then from North. In the beginning it was light and then it became so intense that the earth was going around itself.

A terrible sound arose from it like the crack of thunder and the earthquake lasted for 15 seconds. All the houses collapsed. And buildings of cement, iron, lime and concrete also crashed.

Since young children were asleep and the ladies, who were awake were engrossed in ablution or prayers and some had finished their prayers and the men were also awake, so the majority of those who perished were young children and their mothers, who tried to bring them out due to their maternal love, but they got no reprieve. All were buried alive in the debris.

According to a definite estimate, the number of those who perished in Qeer alone numbered 2500 and nearly 500 died at the outskirts. Allah knows best.

Although some people were extracted from the debris from the morning of the 25th till the night of the 26th. From this some were alive and some had perished. One of the survivor, who was taken out alive that day was a boy of seven or eight years.

(1) Mahmud, son of Muhammad Safai, a resident. Many persons of this family were buried in the debris. Some were removed that day; one was dead, but Mahmud, who was taken out the next day, emerged alive.

He was asked whether someone gave him food and drink during those two days. He replied: My paternal uncle (mother's brother) Rasool Khaksari supplied me with biscuits and water. (Indeed he was given food and water from the unseen and the child thought that it was his uncle.

(2) Sayyid Hasan, a four-year-old son of Aga Sayyid Habibullah Husayni, who was buried in the debris at around 5:30 a.m. was taken out from the debris on 26th around 10 a.m. When he was asked if someone gave him food and water during that period; He replied: My mother. While the fact was that his mother was not buried in the debris. She was outside, although his two elder brothers: one aged eighteen and one younger, and a sister perished. This boy was taken out safe and sound.

(3) Among those who were taken out after 44 hours was Mansur, eleven-year-old son of Mash-hadi Ibrahim Maurizi. He was buried in the debris at 5:30 a.m. on the 251h and was removed on the 27th an hour past midnight. Due to being buried for such a long time, he was disabled in his legs, but after prolonged treatment was able to use them again. That is why it is said that if help would have reached sooner, there would have been fewer casualties, but this did not happen and most died under the debris after two days.

Prediction Of The Disaster

There was a man named Ja'far Husayni, who died two or rather three days before the earthquake. He was a religious man. During his terminal illness, he lay on the bed. His only son was seated besides him accompanied with friends and relatives. That late gentleman said: O traders and professionals, each of you give a thousand Tomans in alms, because your houses are going to be destroyed; and he repeated these many times.

Then he said: Give at least a hundred Tomans or your houses would be destroyed. After that he addressed his family members: All of you go out of Qeer. If you remain here, you would perish. And he repeated this statement also a number of times and died four days after that. Mercy of Allah be on him. That great earthquake occurred two days after his death, in which houses collapsed and there was tremendous loss to life and property. Mostly the address to traders and wealthy people meant that they should give alms and feed the poor so that the tragedy is averted. And it is possible that the late gentleman had also seen that disaster and it was revealed on him. God is the greatest! How heedless we human beings are. That we did not wake up and became alert even after these warning signs of the Almighty Allah.

True Dream

A person named Ramadhan Tahiri said that on the evening of 25th Safar, on the morning of which the earthquake occurred, a child of mine was ill and he could not sleep. He was very restless. Close to the sunrise, I saw him weeping incessantly. I called his mother who woke up and said: There is time for the morning yet. I said that it was close. I am going to sleep for some time. Wake me up at the time of Prayer. I fell asleep.

I saw in dream that a young man had come to my door and was asking me to come out. I asked him what he wanted and he again asked me to come out. I went out. I saw a huge open space in front of my house. He said: See. I asked: What? He replied: Look at the houses and buildings. When I looked, I saw that all the houses had collapsed. I asked: Are they our houses? He replied: Yes. I said: All the people here pray and fast. He said: All this is show off. There is no sincerity. Although I pleaded with him, it was of no use and he went away.

I woke up and saw that it was the time for Prayer. My wife asked: Why were you crying in your sleep and why were so distressed? I said: Nothing. You pick up two kids and I will pick up two, so that we may take them out of the house. Other people were also present in the house. As soon as I held the hands of the kids the earthquake started and we could not even move.

All of us were buried in the debris. Many children and their mothers perished, and I was removed from the debris along with some other people. When I came out, I became worried that my wife and children were buried in the debris. There was no one else there; what should I do? I saw a relative of mine approach me and called out: Uncle, uncle. I said: Help us, my children are dying below the debris. Help me to extricate them. He said: Some of my people are also buried, I cannot do anything.

There was a young student in our house. I called out to him for help. He also said weeping: I cannot do anything, and he went away from there. Then a relative and neighbor of mine arrived. He was very distressed and anxious. I said: Come for the sake of God, and help me. My children are dying. He said: My children are also buried in the debris and there is no helper. In other words, it was a scene of the final Judgment Day. All were concerned about themselves. If I write all the details of the incident, it would be too long.

A woman of Qeer said: The night before the earthquake, an hour after midnight I saw in dream that a Sayyid has come to my place. He was wearing a turban and one of its ends was around his neck. He was accompanied by a lady in veil. He told me to wake up and put on a light. I lighted a lamp. He told me to come out of the house immediately.

I said: Master I have constructed this house after six or seven years of hardships and have just shifted into it recently. He said: The disaster is going to occur now; it is necessary for you to come out. I asked him if I can awaken my husband.

He replied: You must hurry up. I said it would have been better if the sun had risen. He said: Light the stove and place water for boiling, but you will not get time to make tea.

I called out to my husband, Haider and lighted the stove. The morning call for prayer started. I prayed to Abu ‘l-Fadhl Abbas and pleaded to him in all earnest to come and help me.

A young man with his hands missing came to my door. I said: Aga Sayyid Kazim, what is happening. (Aga Sayyid Kazim was a scholar from Qeer, who died in that earthquake). He said: Wake up your husband, Haider, and tell him that his mother is dead. Ask him to take her last remains away. After that a light earthquake started. I just had time to take the children out when it gathered strength. Although our house was cracked in many places, it did not collapse and praise be to Allah, there was no loss of life.

A faithful lady narrated: I had a dream around a month and a half before the earthquake. In that dream, I saw a cloud riseup from the west. A man was standing in it and reciting the call for prayer (Adhan). As the cloud floated in the atmosphere, he continued to call out each statement after another and his voice rang out in the whole world and was audible everywhere. When he came above Qeer, he fell silent. I narrated this dream to a companion of mine, who said that its interpretation was that Qeer would be completely destroyed.

Sayyid Ali Murtazvi, a resident of Qeer says: I saw in dream the night before the earthquake that a black cloud has come from the direction of Qibla and the people of Qeer were pleading at it to go away and that destruction should not befall Qeer, but it was of no use and that cloud from north suddenly enveloped all of Qeer and then it descended to the Qibla and went away from there.

Such terrifying dreams, which were predicting the disaster, are many, but it would prolong the discussion to mention them all. In the same way, those who were taken out from the debris were very few, but it is enough for gaining a lesson. How many are the causes of moral lesson and how few are those who take lesson from them.

What I personally witnessed was that when I was busy in Islamic missionary work in Tangruin, on 24th Safar at late afternoon, I had to go away to Bandobast, a place one Farsakh away, upon an invitation and from there I came to the place of Bedouins for missionary work and mourning of Imam Husayn ('a) and that was at a distance of five Farsakhs from Qeer.

I lectured on religious topics and ethical training and was busy with Azadari mourning for two hours. At night. after dinner, the few people who had come to Tangruin said: Let us go back to Tangruin and you may sleep over there. I said that I was extremely exhausted. I will sleep here tonight and come the following morning.

So those people left me there and went away. I went to sleep; then I got up in the morning, offered the Morning Prayer and lay down again. I had not yet gone back to sleep when the earthquake started. I rose to come out of the tent, but so powerful was the shaking that I fell down there only. I tried to get up the second time and fell down again. The third time I rested my hands on the ground. The earth was going round and round and shaking in fury.

When it was over, I came out of the tent. There was a huge mountain nearby and it was shaking so violently that rocks and stones were breaking away from it and rolling down the sides. The mountain was making sounds of thunder and lightning and in the earth split from place to place. There was a split near Aabe Yaad Mountain and water gushed out like a spring, whose depth cannot be estimated. There is a big water body, like a lake, which is not moving. In some places the water level went down and in some cases there was more water, as happened in Qeer.

Allah knows best about His exigencies. May Allah save all the believer men and women from all calamities, for the sake of the right of Muhammad and his purified progeny.

Furthermore, Qeer was initially a small place and in the age of development it had assumed the shape of a city, although it was having a population of 6000 and boasted of six or seven mosques, there was no scholar of any standing there. Those scholars, who visited the place during the month of Ramadhan or Muharram and Safar, were also not so highly educated. The citizens of that place usually paid scant attention to knowledge and learning.

All were mostly materialists and they had no interest in religion and piety. If one of them became more attentive to religion, he was chastised and condemned by all. Even after this divine calamity, those people did not learn any lesson. On the contrary. they became further deviated and more unfortunate. I don't know what their end would be.

I will not take more of your valuable time and conclude this discussion with an invocation that may the Almighty Allah keep all believers in His security from every kind of tragedy and calamity through the rights of the Holy Prophet, Muhammad, and his purified progeny, if Allah wills.

Muhammad Jawad Muqeemi

Letter Of Aga Shaykh Ahmad Rustagari

On 25th Safar, 92 A.H. when there was earthquake in Qcer and Karzcen, I was present in a village of Karzeen named, Sarehashma. I was awake and after the morning preliminaries and prayers, was reciting post-prayer recitations when the ground started shaking. At once I understood that it was an earthquake. So I waited for a while thinking that once it stops, I would pray the Ayaat Prayer, but when it stopped I came to the door to look what was happening outside.

Suddenly there was tremendous noise from the heavens and I was thrown out of the door and fell seven meters away near a tree. I unconsciously clung to the tree and the earthquake continued. When I regained senses, I saw that everything around me was completely destroyed. The atmosphere became dark for sometime and then the sun arose, although the earthquake had lasted only for twenty-five seconds, it had caused a tremendous loss of life.

In other words, since it was early morning, people had left their houses to go out for farming work, but not many had gone out of the village. I asked all of them not to leave the town and instead cooperate in saving people buried under the debris. Thus, using any and all available tools they managed to take out around one hundred fifty persons from below the debris. Out of them sixty-one had perished.

I took the assistance of Shaykh Mansur Mahmoodi, who had also survived the quake and came out of the Husayniyah before it collapsed to shroud and bury those who had perished. After working in unison for four hours, we managed to bury all of them in separate graves.

I stayed there for three more days for condolence to the people of that village and then returned home, although I was able to gather a lot of information about Qeer and Karzeen.

Important Reminder

Some Muslims unknowingly, under the deviation of materialist people have started considering such phenomena as fury of Nature and in writings and newspapers they call them anger of Nature, but they don 't know that these words are against reason and Shariah. They are against reason, because anger and fury are signs of 1erception; for example when a man or animal perceives inappropriate behavior from someone, he becomes angry at him and takes revenge. On this basis, since no perception is there in Nature, like a physical body, anger and fury is not possible from it.

In this way, through the evidence of possibility, it is learnt with certainly that the earth and all which is present in it are created by the creator of the universe. Generally they are examples of his infinite wisdom and power. And from the heavens to the earth, every particle is under control of Almighty Allah. Thus, all phenomena, which take place, are through the will of Almighty Allah and it is not possible for any occurrence to take place without His wish and will. In fact, without His permission not a leaf drops from the tree and not a drop of rain falls:

وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِنْ وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا

"...and there falls not a leaf, but He knows it." (Surah al-An’aam 6:59).

Natural Causes Of Accidents

If it is said that there are some known and distinctive causes for those accidents: like the cause of floods is heavy and continuous rai n, and the cause of earthquake is seismic activity under the crust of the earth and the molten lava, which starts moving and tries to get an outlet, or the floods, which move under the surface of the earth.

Effect of the cause is from the one who causes the cause We would say: We don't deny the system of cause and effect. We also say that the destruction of houses is from rain, which descends from the clouds and the clouds are also vapors, which rise up from the seas due to rise in temperature.

Or for example, fruits grow from the tree and the tree has also grown up from the seed, which was sown in the ground and given ability to germinate. The birth of an animal is caused by the sperm and that occurs with unison with a female ovule. In this way are all phenomena of the universe, but the discussion is about the creation of causes, their effects and the becoming apparent of their qualities. According to definite judgment of reason, the existence of every cause is not from itself. It has not come into existence through a creature like itself; on the contrary the creator of the whole universe has created it. In the same way, its distinctive quality and effect is also not from itself. The causes of all causes had made it as the cause of creation of something else and in all the parts of existence only He is the nurturer and controller of everything, and in this He is also without a partner.

(Regarding this topic, we have discussed in detail in the book of Immaculate Conscience1, under the chapter of Monotheism] For example, like the original creation of water is from the Almighty Allah. Changing of it into vapor through rise in temperature and then the coming of the vapor in form of cloud and after that descent of rain from it; all of it is from the command and permission of Almighty Allah. That is, divine exigency dictates where and in what quantity it would fall. In the same way, divine will is also present in floods and disasters caused by floods.

Same is the case of earthquakes. All seismic activity that occurs under the earth's crust is due to the will of the Almighty and the intensity of the earthquake etc, all is controlled by divine will. There might be earthquakes in wilderness and unpopulated regions causing no harm to humanity. Or the earthquake may occur in populated areas where not a brick becomes loose. On the other hand, when divine exigency dictates there might be widespread destruction even in places where there are solid and strong buildings.

مَا أَصَابَ مِنْ مُصِيبَةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ نَبْرَأَهَا

"No evil befalls on the earth nor in your own souls, but it is in a book before We bring it into existence." (Surah al-Hadid 57:22).

Seven Conditions Of Natural Calamities

Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq ('a) says: Nothing happens in the earth and the heavens without seven conditions: That is divine will, intention, destined matter, destiny, permission, book and destined death; one who thinks that he can annul anyone of them, is certainly a disbeliever.

In another tradition Imam Musa Kazim ('a) said: One who is having a different belief, has in fact attributed falsehood to Almighty Allah or has rejected the divine command.

From this it becomes clear that earthquakes and other similar phenomena occur through divine permission and will.

Is It Divine Fury?

If it is asked whether natural disasters occur due to divine anger and fury? First of all we should understand that the Almighty Allah is pleased at the good deeds of the creatures and is infuriated at their evil deeds, but it is different from the anger and pleasure of people.

For example if a human being encounters another having favorable traits and benefits for him, he is at once pleased and is ready to reward him and act nicely with him in order to give vent to his feelings. On the other hand, if a man comes across a person who enrages him, he would at once try to seek revenge and cause hurt to him, so that his emotions may be satisfied.

But such is not the case with Almighty Allah. He is purified and immune from all such things. Thus, if all the people become righteous or on the contrary if all the people in the world start disobeying Him, he would not be affected in the least.

If all the creatures become disbelievers, it would not affect His greatness in the least, although He has not made the acts of human beings vain and ineffective. On the contrary, if some people are obedient to Him, He rewards them through His rewards and blessings. In the same way, if they are rebellious, He also punishes them severely. Know that Allah is severe in requiting (evil) and that Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

In other words, pleasure and fury of God is His same reward and punishment and the world of recompense is completely in a great world after death: that is Purgatory (Barzakh) and Judgment Day.

Although, regarding worldly life it is apparent from traditions and traditional reports that some obedience and worship acts, in addition to reward and punishment of the hereafter also cause warding off of evil and increase in wealth and age. As is the effect of some sins; which in addition to punishment of hereafter also cause descent of calamities in this world; like greed, severe miserliness, hardness of heart, injustice, trespassing on mutual rights and omission of enjoining good and forbidding evil.2

It is also necessary to mention that descent of calamities as retribution of sins is not absolute and total, because it is possible that the forbearing and merciful Lord may give respite to sinners; so that perhaps they may repent or perform a good act, which may remove the effect of sin. It is also possible that due to the severity of disobedience, no calamity may befall him; on the contrary there is increase in his bounties, so that his chastisement in hereafter is increased. There are many evidences of this in the Holy Qur’an and to quote them here would prolong the discussion.

Objections And Their Replies

From what has been written so far, it can be concluded that the earthquake in which there are mortalities some families are destroyed and another group becomes helpless and grief-stricken. Like other calamities, it is an example of divine chastisement and revenge.

If it is asked how a general calamity can be revenge and chastisement of Allah; whereas there are among the calamity affected people, those who are not deserving of it; or those who are helpless, weak and children? Secondly, there are many, who are more sinful than these victims, but they remain safe and sound. This seems to be opposed to justice and equity.

In reply, we would say: revenge and chastisement is only for the sinners, but for the sinless people, who perish in calamities it is the end of their worldly troubles and it enables them to reach everlasting peace and comfort as soon as possible, although for the grief and hardships that they have to face, the God, who is powerful, will requite and reward them.

In other words, calamity for the sinful is chastisement and for sinless it is a blessing and a cause for divine rewards and ranks. It is mentioned in traditional reports that children, who die in childhood, in the world of Purgatory (Barzakh) they are under the guardianship of Prophet Ibrahim ('a) and on Judgment Day they would meet their parents; intercede for them and enter Paradise with them.

However, for those who survive this calamity and fall into hardships, for them it is a divine lesson and a warning bell, so that they may repent; turn their attention to righteousness and gain from the teachings of religion;3

Particularly with regard to the remaining safe of a group; as mentioned before, this world is not the world of retribution; that every sinner should be recompensed for his evil character in this world itself. It is also said that when divine wisdom demands, the Almighty Allah punishes some people so that he may be warned. That he should refrain from disobedience and rebellion and not abandon obedience of God, which is a medium of his success and fortune.

Secondly, it is not necessary that when a calamity descends, other people should also be affected. They would also, when it is their turn and when divine wisdom demands, be punished. Apart from that, calamity does not mean earthquake alone. It is possible that Almighty Allah may involve them in a more serious trouble. Like at present most countries are involved in wars and disputes, and peace and comfort is taken away from them. [Such calamities are mentioned in detail in the book of Immaculate Conscience.]

Thirdly, most of the time in societies there are some aged persons, who have worshipped the Almighty Allah all their life and also there are some sincere young people, who have turned away from selfish desires and turned to Almighty Allah, and through their sincerity and supplications, the calamity is removed from their community.

If people who are righteous, humble to the court of God, and infants had not been there, the calamity would have befallen you.

- 1. Published by Ansariyan Publications.

- 2. Imam Baqir (a.s.) said, "The Almighty Allah revealed on Shuaib (n.s ) 'I shall destroy a hundred thousand people from your nation. Forty thousand sinners and sixty thousand righteous.' 'O my Lord! The sinners deserve the punishment, but why the righteous?' asked Shuaib (a.s.). Allah replied, 'Because they socialized with sinners and in spite of My dislike they never hated them and never restrained them from sins." (Wasail ush-Shia)

- 3. Thus regarding the nation of Lut ('a), which was turned upside down, and the destroyed houses in it, are lessons for those who pass them.
And most surely you pass by them in the morning, and at night; do you not then understand? (Surah Saffat 37:137-138).

107. Immediate Acceptance Of Supplication

Prominent scholar of an accomplished level, Hajj Shaykh Murtaza Haeri, who was a first-grade scholar of Qom, has written many interesting moral stories, which are narrated for general welfare.

I am quoting here one story, which I heard from two reliable channels. One is Aga Hajj Sayyid Sadruddin Jazaeri, who heard it from his reliable source; secondly his paternal or maternal grandson, Aga Marwarid. He also heard from a person whom he fully trusted.

The gist of the story is that late Hajj Shaykh Hasan Ali (r.a.), whose was mentioned in story no. 10, went to visit a sick friend of his, who was down with high fever.

He said: Leave the body of so and so by the permission of Allah. Then he said: Get me a hookah to smoke. In this way, the fever receded and the person regained health. People asked: How did you dare to say with such confidence? He replied: Because I have not been dishonest to my Lord and master, Imam Zaman ('a) and I am certain that he would maintain the respect of his honest servant.

We should know that late Hajj Shaykh Hasan Ali was among the great students of Hujjat ul-Islam Hajj Mirza Muhammad Hasan Shirazi and was present in the ranks of Mirza Shirazi Akhund Khorasani and Sayyid Khosar. Aga Naukhani, who was himself one of the best persons of time, has narrated that when late Shaykh came to Mash-had Muqaddas, during the initial period of his stay he kept himself so aloof that even scholars were not aware of his academic level.

He sat next to Aga Mir Sayyid Ali Haeri Yazdi and sought help for helpless and deprived. [Apparently this was during famine]. The late Haeri said something to him, which showed that he was not aware of his status. One day he was alone with Sayyid Haeri, who himself was a prominent scholar, and made him speechless thrice.

After being defeated three times, the conscientious Sayyid said: May Allah bless Hajj Mirza Muhammad Hasan, what extraordinary and incomparable students he has trained.

Aga Sayyid Muhammad Ali has narrated from his father that for a long time, for sixteen years, Hajj Shaykh continued to throw money at me from the upper hole in the room of the Madressa and we never knew from where it came, but later it was learnt through an attribution.

The author says: Incidents about acceptance of supplications of learned scholars are so many that it is impossible to record all of them. To remove astonishment and to prove this meaning, some points were mentioned in story no. 25. On this juncture in order to support this incident, one more story is mentioned about the seal of the jurists Shaykh Murtaza Ansari.

Shaykh Mahmud Iraqi, a student of the Shaykh has narrated at the end of Dar us-Salam. And its gist is that late Hajj Sayyid Ali Shustari, who was among the great scholars and owner of miracles and his supplications were accepted definitely, was much devoted to Shaykh Ansari.

In 1260 A.H. lunar, when there was a plague epidemic in Najaf al-Ashraf, around midnight, he was also infected with that illness. When his sons found his condition dangerous, fearing that he might pass away and that the Shaykh might hold them responsible, that why they did not inform him so that he could have paid a visit lighted a lamp to go to the Shaykh and inform him about the illness of their father.

The late Sayyid revived a bit and asked: What is your plan? They said: We are thinking of going to the Shaykh to inform him of your illness. He said: No need, he is coming here right now. Not even a moment passed, but that there was a knock on the door. The Sayyid said: It is the Shaykh, open the door.

They say: When we opened the door, the Shaykh was there with Mulla Rahmatullah. The Shaykh asked: How is Hajj Sayyid Ali? We said: He has become infected, may Allah have mercy on him, if Allah wills. The Shaykh said: There is no fear, if Allah wills. He entered the house and seeing the Sayyid worried, said: Don't worry, if Allah wills, you will be all right. Sayyid said: How can you say for sure? Shaykh replied: I beseeched the Almighty Allah that you remain alive after me and recite my funeral prayer. Sayyid asked: Why did you ask that? He replied: I have already prayed for it and it is also accepted. Then he sat down and after some light and humorous conversation, went away from there.

[Some people narrated that the Shaykh was asked: How did you say with such confidence that night that the Sayyid would recover? He replied: I have spent my life in obedience of God and in service of religion; when I prayed to Allah that night, I had certainty in its acceptance.]

Thus, the Almighty Allah cured the Sayyid by the prayer of the Shaykh till in 18th night of Jamadi uth-Thani 1281 A.H. the Shaykh passed away from the world. By chance, the Sayyid was in Najaf al-Ashraf and he performed the Ziyarat of Karbala Moalla. In the morning, the coffin of the Shaykh was brought into the holy courtyard. People were worried and confused as to who would recite the funeral prayer. Suddenly a voice arose: The Sayyid is here! Thus, the Sayyid recited the funeral prayer and after that sat on the pulpit of the Shaykh and delivered a lecture. People say that it seemed as if the Shaykh himself was speaking. So much so that in 1283 A.H. the Sayyid also passed away. May Allah have mercy on both of them.

In reply to the question regarding acceptance of supplications, the statement of the Shaykh is like a short story; that a little infant, who had started crawling, was on the terrace and moving towards the spout. His mother tried to catch him and she was wailing and screaming. People in the lane below were watching this, but none could help.

Suddenly that child fell and a pious person present there, said: O Allah, stop him. As soon as he said this, the child hung in thin air for a moment and this gentleman caught him in his arms and placed him on the ground. People surrounded him from all sides and started kissing his hands and legs. That gentleman said: This is nothing new and extraordinary. This humble servant has spent a lifetime in obedience of Almighty Allah. What is surprising if once He accepts the request of His servant?

The author says: A sentence of supplication recited during the nights of Rajab is: I listen to the one who obeys Me.

108. Prosperity After Poverty

Ayatullah Haeri has narrated from Ayatullah Taliqani, a friend of Sayyid Ali Nasir and an advocate of court of law, who never lied and was a very confident person; that:

We went to visit Sayyid Ali Akbar, son of Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Fisharki in Isfahan at the house of Aga Hajj Mirza Abd ul-Jawad Kalbasi. [I am familiar with all these gentlemen. may Allah have mercy on them.]

Sayyid Ali Akbar was going through hard times. He had gone to Masjid Hakim to pray the Morning Prayer. When he was delayed for some time, I went out to search for him. I found him in prostration and he seemed to be pleased and satisfied. I did not disturb him and returned from there. A person came to my house and said: I am Hajj Abd ul-Jabbar. Is the son of Aga Sayyid Muhammad Fisharki over here? I said: Yes. He said: I have brought one thousand Tomans for him.

Forty years ago, one thousand Tomans was a huge amount and no one would pay without confirming the identity of the one whom he is handing it to and would not give it in such a hurry. All the expenses of Islamic Universities in Qom totaled 3000 Tomans, and sometimes that much was also not available. Thus, that man gave the above amount and went away. After that when inquiries were made, no one seemed to know anyone named Hajj Abd ul-Jabbar.

109. Acceptance Of Ziyarat

Aga Mirza Al-Ridha narrates that once he traveled for Ziyarat of holy Mash-had with his respected father. In spite of the fact that it was a time of motor cars, he traveled on camel with his family and servants. He says: Since we only possessed one camel we covered all or most of the distance on foot. [This doubt is from my side]. I was praying to Imam Al-Ridha ('a) all the time that if my Ziyarat is accepted, he must bestow a gift to me.

When we reached Holy Mash-had, people came to see my respected father. One day an aged gentleman arrived dressed in the garb of scholars. In spite of the fact that the servant was present, my father asked me to prepare Hookah for him. When I brought the Hookah, he said: We have granted you the ability to interpret dreams. If someone narrates a dream to you, according to the number of the night, on which the dream was seen, turn the pages of the Holy Qur’an and you will find the interpretation.

He went away after that, but I accorded no importance to his statement till I returned to Qom. My father passed away and my monetary condition was not good. One night, I was in the Masjid at the head side of the holy sanctuary of Masuma Qom, when a lady arrived with her husband, who had seen a dream. They said: I saw a dream on the 15th of such month. I turned 15 pages of Qur’an and saw that the dream of that lady was in my memory along with its interpretation.

I said: Your dream is this and its interpretation is this. She was surprised and she gave some money. After that I mentioned it to some people and this gift was lost.

110. Importance Of Ziyarat Ashura

Pious and righteous scholar, late Shaykh Jawad Ibn Shaykh Mashkoor Arab was among the prominent scholars and jurists of Najaf al-Ashraf and a point of reference for some Shia of Iraq; he was also the congregation leader of the holy courtyard. He died in 1337 A.H. at the age of ninety years and was buried in a room in the holy courtyard besides his father.

This late gentleman saw the angel of death, His Eminence, Israel on 26th Safar 1336 A.H. in dream in Najaf al-Ashraf and asked him from where he was coming. He replied: I am coming from Shiraz after capturing the soul of Mirza Ibrahim Mahallati.

The Shaykh asked: What is the condition of his soul in Purgatory (Barzakh)? He replied: It is in the best condition and in the best gardens of the world of Purgatory (Barzakh). The Almighty Allah has appointed one thousand angels for him, who obey him. He asked: What has he done to deserve such a reward? Is it due to his academic excellence or due to training and educating the students? He replied: No. He asked: Is it due to leading the prayers and teaching Islamic law? He replied: No. He asked: Then what is the reason? He replied: Due to the fact that he recited Ziyarat Ashura regularly.

[Late Mirza Mahallati did not miss reciting Ziyarat Ashura during the last thirty years of his life and if he could not do so due to some illness or other helplessness, he appointed someone as proxy].

When the late Shaykh woke up in the morning, he came to Mirza Muhammad Taqi Shirazi and narrated the dream.

The late Mirza Muhammad Taqi began to weep. When he was asked the reason, he said: Mirza Mahallati has passed away. He was a strong pillar of science of jurisprudence. He was told that the Shaykh had had a dream: it is not known how much true it is.

Mirza said: Yes, although it is a dream, but it is not of an ordinary person; it is the dream of Shaykh Mazkoor. The following day, a telegram arrived informing about the death of Mirza Mahallati and the truth of the dream became apparent.

Some scholars of Najaf al-Ashraf heard this story from Late Ayatullah Sayyid Abd ul-Hadi Shirazi, who was present at the house of Mirza Muhammad Taqi when the late Shaykh arrived and narrated his dream.

Also, the grandson of Hajj Sadruddin Mahallati heard it from the Late Shaykh.

111. Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('A) Cured The Eyes

Righteous servant, Hajj Mujadduddin Shirazi, who was among the pious persons of his time, narrates:

l was suffering from pain in the eyes during my childhood. I went to Mirza Ali Akbar Jarrah. He turned the light around my eye and did not pay attention that before this he had placed his hand on an infected eye. Thus, my eye also became infected and the edges became sore. My father consulted all the big physicians one after another, but it was of no use.

He said: Now, I will seek the cure from Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a). So we performed the Ziyarat of the Imam. I remember that my father stood below the Sabil of Ismail Talaki and weeping, beseeched: O Ali Ibn Musa Al-Ridha ('a), I will not enter the holy sanctuary till you don't cure the sight of my child.

In the morning, I felt as if I never had any pain in my eyes and by the praise of Almighty Allah I did not have any trouble after that.

When I returned from holy Mash-had, my sister could not recognize me. She said: Your eye was damaged, how did you get cured? I did not even recognize you.

In the same way, the Haji narrates:

I performed the Ziyarat of holy Mash-had with my family members in 1340 A.H. solar and witnessed some extraordinary happenings. In the pilgrim guest house, my child fell from the terrace a number of times, but praise be to Allah, by the grace of Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) no harm came to him.

On our return journey, I narrated this story in the bus. A lady said: Don't be surprised, I was staying in a three-storey guest house in Khayaban Tabarsi. My child fell from the third floor onto the paved road, and by the grace of Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a), he received no injury.

112. Story Of The Mafatih And Qur’an

On the last Saturday of 1394 A.H. Hajj Mulla Ali bin Hasan Kazerooni, from whom we have previously narrated a story, returned from Kuwait to Shiraz in a condition of illness and was admitted in Namazi Hospital for treatment. He had brought Mafatih ul-Jinan and the Holy Qur’an with him.

He said: I have brought these two gifts for you and there is a story about them. Regarding Mafatih it is that as you already know, I lost both my parents during childhood and no one sent me to a school. As a result of which, I remained uneducated and ignorant till one year I came to Karbala Moalla intending to perform the special Ziyarat of Arafah.

On the day of Arafah I rose up to perform the Ziyarat, but due to the crowd, the way was so much chocked up that I failed to reach the holy sanctuary. I tried my best to find someone with whom I can recite the special Ziyarat, but could not find anyone as such. Thus, much disappointed and wailing and weeping, I called His Eminence, chief of the martyrs: Maula, the desire of your Ziyarat has brought me till here.

I am unable to read and write and there is no one who might enable me to perform the Ziyarat. Suddenly a noble looking Sayyid held my hand and said: Come with me. Thus, a way appeared amidst the crowds and after taking permission to enter, I entered the holy sanctuary. He recited Ziyarat Waritha with me and then said: Now, you can recite Ziyarat Waritha and Ziyarat Aminullah. Never miss reciting them. And the whole of Mafatih ul-Jinan is authentic. A copy of it is available from the bookseller, Shaykh Mahdi at the gate of the courtyard.

Hajj Ali says: I became attentive to divine grace and bestowal of Imam Husayn ('a) that he sent that gentleman to help me to enable me to reach my aim in such a huge crowd. Thus, I performed the prostration of thanks. When I rose up, I could not find that gentleman. I searched for him everywhere, but could not find him. When I inquired at the shoe booths, the attendant said that he did not know.

When I came out and saw Shaykh Mahdi, before I could say anything, he handed me this copy of Mafatih and said: I have placed book marks on the pages of Ziyarat Waritha and Ziyarat Aminullah. When I was about to pay for it, he said that the cost has been paid and requested me not to reveal this to anyone. When I reached my lodging, I realized that I should have inquired from Shaykh Mahdi who paid the cost of Mafatih on my behalf. I came out to ask him, but I forgot it and went after something else. The second day again I came out with the same intention and again I forgot it. Thus, as long as I lived in Karbala Moalla, I got no divine opportunity. I made other journeys, but I kept it in my mind that I have to find out this secret.

I did not get a chance to travel to Karbala for three years. After three years, when I went for Ziyarat of Karbala I learnt that Shaykh Mahdi has passed away.

With regard to Qur’an, the story is that after that bestowal, I sought the mediation of the chief of the martyrs that when you have bestowed so much grace, please enable me to read the Holy Qur’an as well.

One night, I saw Imam Husayn ('a) in dream that he gave me five dates and I ate them. Their taste and fragrance was beyond description. Then he said: Now, you can read the Qur’an.

After that a person brought this copy of Qur’an from Egypt for me as a gift. I read it regularly. Later on, I was able to read all books in Arabic language, including books of traditions.

113. Souls Visit Imam Husayn's Tomb On The Night Of Power

He also narrated that on 23rd night of Ramadhan, I was engrossed in night vigil and rituals of the Night of Power on the terrace. Suddenly I felt exhausted and loss self-consciousness. In that condition I felt that the whole upper layer of the atmosphere was crowed and some voices could be heard. I asked one of the voices, which was familiar and closer to me: Who are you? It replied: I am Jibraeel. I asked: What is happening tonight? He replied: Lady Fatima ('a) is going for the Ziyarat of the tomb of Imam Husayn ('a) along with Lady Asiya, Lady Maryam, Lady Khadija ('a) and Umm Kulthum, and this is a crowd of the souls of the prophets and angels.

I said: For the sake of Allah, take me long with you. He replied: Your Ziyarat is accepted from this place only and it is your good fortune that you were able to witness this scene.

The author says: In fact the Haji was extremely devout and was deeply in love of the chief of martyrs and this was apparent because whenever he mentioned the name of Imam Husayn ('a) he wept and wailed uncontrollably and was unable to talk for quite some time. He used to say: I don't have the strength of narrating the calami ties of the Imam.

114. Bestowal Of Lady Fatima ('A) 2

Shaykh Abd ul-Nabi Ansari Darabi, a graduate of Islamic university of Qom is the owner of extraordinary qualities as is obvious from an incident, which he himself has narrated:

For a period of one year, I was involved in various ailments including headache and general weakness. I consulted three doctors in Shiraz, five in Qom and took excessive medications including injections, but all this only gave me momentary relief and weakness returned.

One day I went to pray the congregation prayer behind the great scholar of his time and a pious gentleman, Ayatullah Bahjat. During prayers my condition deteriorated. A friend of mine felt it and asked: It seems that you are in a great problem. I said: A year has passed and I am in this same condition. I consulted many doctors and took extensive medicines, but it was of no use. That elder. who was also a good scholar and an influential person said: We are having very good doctors, please consult them.

I understood what he meant and he also did not go into details. He also said: Seek the mediation of Lady Fatima Zahra ('a) and you would definitely be cured.

His statement influenced be very much and I firmly decided to seek the mediation of that lady and returned from there.

In that same condition I met another scholar and he also encouraged me to seek mediation. After that I first entered the holy sanctuary of Masuma Qom and then came home and started
praying in a corner of my house. I beseeched, wept and wailed. I prayed in the name of Lady Zahra ('a) and after that I went to sleep. After half the night had passed I saw in dream that a Majlis program was in progress and it was attended by Sayyids. One of them arose and prayed for me.

When I woke up in the morning, I gave a jerk to my head. I saw that there was no sign of headache and dizziness. In a condition of extreme jubilation, I left the home at once, since I had been unable to meet people since a long time due to my illness. I met my friends and arranged a mourning assembly (Majlis) at home. And if Allah wills, as long as I live, I would continue this monthly mourning assembly (Majlis) at home.

It is nearly eight months since that incident occurred. Praise be to Allah that my condition is quite good now. There is manifold increase in divine opportunities and I am very busy in lessons and propagation work.

4th Rajab 1394 A.H. Lunar

115. Miracle Of Imams Ali Naqi And Hasan Askari (‘A)

Abd ul-Fadhl Walmali Aga Sayyid Muhammad Hadi Modarris Musawi, who lived for a long time in Samarrah and was the prayer leader in the holy sanctuary of the two Imams [Imam Ali Naqi ("a) and Ima m Hasan Askari ('a)], and who returned from there in the last stage of the expulsion of Iranians, has narrated some very strange stories about the miracle cures of the two Imams of Askar. We present two of these incidents to our readers:

There was a young man named Mahdi Ibn Abbas, who belonged to the Ahl ul-Sunna sect. He and his father were caretakers of the holy sanctuary of the two Imams. One day he went with his friends to the banks of River Tigris to enjoy and make merry; they also consumed alcohol. When they returned late at night, Mahdi decided to take a short cut through the holy courtyard to reach home at the earliest.

He entered from one gate and wanted to come out from the other, but as soon as he entered, he fell down and could not move further. People gathered and saw that he had a paralysis attack and he smelled of alcohol. They carried him out of the courtyard. This news spread in the last part of the night itself and people gathered to see that man and as per their habit when they came to the shrine they also recited supplications and Ziyarats.

Mahdi was admitted in the hospital. He regained consciousness after three or four days, but one side of his body was paralyzed. From the hospital of Samarrah, he was shifted to a hospital in Baghdad, yet even after being treated for eight months and seeking mediation of Abu Hanifah and other dervishes there was no change in his condition.

At last someone suggested to his family to pray for the help of the two Imams of Askar. Since Mahdi's brother was also a caretaker at the holy sanctuary, they left Mahdi inside the shrine for some days. One night, which was the Night of Besat, that is 27th Rajab 1386 A.H. and also the day the sepulcher of His Eminence, Abbas entered Iraq, when his neck was tethered to the sepulcher with a strip of cloth, he beheld a gentleman in white turban standing at his head and saying: Get up, but he said: I cannot, I am paralyzed. He repeated the order once more and went away.

Mahdi says: When I awoke, I took the support of the sepulcher and stood up, but I had no confidence in myself. I jerked my hand a few times till I became certain that I was not asleep and that I had recovered. As soon as I became sure of it, I started screaming, till my brother, Khazir, who was sleeping in the courtyard, woke up. When he beheld his ailing brother on his feet, going around the sepulcher and shaking it with his hands, he was also amazed.

After a long time, a person appointed to open the gate of the courtyard, arrived there. Seeing the two brothers in that condition he went to the Muezzin of Jafari sect, Aga Shaykh Mahdi and reported all this and said: Come and announce this from the pedestal of Adhan (call for prayer) and he did that.

At the time of the morning call for prayer, all the residents of Samarrah gathered in the holy sanctuary of Askariain and for the second time the courtyard became full of them. A large number of sheep were slaughtered; sweets and juice was distributed; ladies were screaming with joy and giving thanks to God and praising Him.

116. Cure Of The Blind

Sayyid Moa zza m Aga Musawi, may his blessings endure, has also narrated the following story, which he directly heard from the main characters and it is mentioned in History of Samarrah, Vol. 2, Pg. 193.

Its gist is that Hajj Mirza Sayyid Baqir Khan Tehrani alias Hajj Saidus Sultan left his home in 1323 A.H. lunar with the intention of performing the Ziyarats of the Imams in Iraq.

When he reached Kazmain, Sayyid Muhammad, his four-year-old son and his only child, became afflicted with terrible pain of the eyes. He was busy in his treatment for many days, but there was no improvement in his condition. At last he left for Samarrah planning to stay there for ten days. On the way the dust and heat of the journey and exhaustion increased the child's pain manifold.

On reaching Samarrah, he took him to the chief physician. Hafiz An-Nasah, who was known as the Plato of the time, but it made no difference. He said: It is necessary to take him to so and so doctor in Baghdad immediately and carelessness in this matter would be dangerous. The child's father was extremely distraught on hearing this, because the son 's life depended on his existence. Since he had planned to stay there for ten days, he did not leave immediately and instead became engrossed in supplications and Ziyarat.

After seven days, the child 's pain intensified so much that he could not stop screaming and wailing even for a moment. Family members and neighbors could not get any sleep all night. In the morning, they brought him to the doctor and when he examined him. his mood changed and he scolded the father for allowing the child to go blind.

He said: I had emphatically told you to take him to Baghdad at the earliest. I repeated this many times, but you paid no heed. Now, he has lost his sight; and even taking him to Baghdad would be of no use. This pain and restlessness is due to the wound and swell ing in his eye and it has also affected his vision.

The father was shocked at the diagnosis. Then the doctor started treatment for swelling, which was protruding out of the eyes like almonds, so that even if he loses vision, at least the pain will be cured. He pressed the eyeballs inside and the child swooned with pain. When this was mentioned to Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Shirazi, he became extremely angry.

After the period of ten days, the father hired a vehicle to take them to Baghdad. In order to recite the farewell Ziyarat, he came to the shrine of two Imams and recited Ziyarat Ashura in the sitting position. The servant brought the child, whose eyes were bandaged and pressed him to the holy sepulcher.

When the father looked at his son, he recalled that he had brought him to Iraq in perfect condition and now he was struck with blind ness. He began weeping uncontrollably and forgot to recite the rest of the Ziyarat. He clung to the holy sepulcher and asked the Imams ('a) if it proper that he should take his son from there in such condition? After weeping and wailing for sometime, he huddled in one corner of the shrine.

Suddenly that child entered the shrine followed by his maternal uncle (mother's brother). He sat near his father and said: Father, I have become all right and there is no pain in my eyes. When he passed his hand over his eyes, he found that the redness had also disappeared.

He asked: Fifteen minutes ago, he was blind, what happened after that? The uncle replied: Yes, when we went out, the head of the boy was on my shoulders. I was passing through the courtyard waiting for you. Suddenly he raised his head and began to untie the blind fold. He was saying: Sec uncle, my eyes are cured. I sent him into the shrine to in orm you and to make you happy.

The father performed a prostration of thanks and expressed his obligation to the two Imams. After that they went to the doctor; and leaving the child with his uncle outside said to him:

We want to go to Baghdad. So please give us some medicine for the eyes so that we may leave immediately. The doctor said: Are you making fun of me? There is no medicine for the eyes that have gone blind. You allowed him to go blind due to your carelessness. At that moment the father called the child and the uncle came with him inside.

When the doctor examined the eyes, he found them all right. He was completely shocked. He began to kiss the eyes and go round and round the child and asked wailing: Where have your boils disappeared? How was the blindness cured? When the cure was described, he began reciting Salawat on Ahl ul-Bayt ('a). Then they came to Mirza Shirazi, who was concerned from before. He also started weeping emotionally. He kissed the eyes of the child and said: It would be better if you stay here for sometime, so that we may celebrate this in the town, but he excused himself and set out for Kazmain the same day.

117. Special Attention Of Imam Husayn (‘A)

Every year, on the day of Arbaeen, Late Hajj Muhammad Al-Ridha Baqqal, a resident of Kucha Astana cooked and distributed forty Mann (120 kilos) rice among the people. The year he performed the Ziyarat of Karbala, he told his son to get the same quantity cooked on Arbaccn day and distribute it.

On the night after Arbaeen, Muhammad Al-Ridha saw Imam Husayn (‘a) in dream. He said: Muhammad Al-Ridha, since you have come to Karbala this year you have reduced the food by half. When he woke up, he was unable to comprehend the matter fully.

After Ziyarat, he returned to Shiraz and held dinner for friends and neighbors for three days. Then he asked his son what he had done that year. He said that he acted according to his directions on the day of Arbaeen.

At last, on further queries, he admitted that only 20 Mann had been cooked that day and the remaining 20 Mann was retained for cooking on his return from Ziyarat and the same was cooked in the last three days.

118. Bridegroom Is Shot On The Wedding Night

Practical scholar, Aga Hajj Sayyid Muhammad Ali Sabtus narrated:

In the suburbs of Baghdad, a Shaykh and a rich man of the community arranged the marriage of his son with a girl among his relatives and the practice prevalent among them was that the wedding and consummation took place the same evening.

He invited his friends and relatives on the appointed day, arranged a special feast, dinner and celebrations and invited Shaykh Mahdi Khalisi who was the point of reference in Islamic law (Maraja Taqleed) for the people of Iraq during that period to recite the Nikah formula.

After the Shaykh arrived and arrangements were complete, some young men went to escort the bridegroom to the gathering in a special manner. This was accompanied by shouting of slogans and firing of guns. Suddenly a person shot the bridegroom in the chest by mistake and he died immediately. The shooter fled the scene in fright. Then this tragic matter was reported to the bridegroom's father.

Late Shaykh Mahdi Khalisi advised him to be patient and said: Do you know that the Messenger of Allah (S) has a very important right on us and all of us are needful of his intercession. When the bridegroom 's father nodded, the Shaykh said: That young man did not do this intentionally. It was a mistake and he died by destiny. Now, you must forgive that Sayyid for the sake of his ancestor. Be patient in this tragedy and submit to the will of the Almighty so that Allah may reward you with the reward reserved for the patient.

The father remained quiet for some time and considered this. Then he said: I considered this matter much and concluded that we had organized a feast and invited. Now, it is not good that this gathering of joy should change into a gathering of mourning.

Also, in order to fulfill the right of the Messenger of Allah (S) I would like that young Sayyid, who shot my son to marry that same girl.

The Shaykh congratulated him and people searched for that Sayyid and found him. He could not believe that they were not going to take revenge from him, but when the people gave him assurances, he at last came and his marriage was performed and the guests departed after dinner. The dead boy was buried the following day.

Steadfastness In Hard Times

There are some astonishing points, some morals and also some points worth consideration in this story, which we shall explain as follows:

(1) We should learn bravery valor, modesty and forbearance from this noble Arab. Brave is one, who remains steadfast in hard times. He should not become confused and display restlessness. He should control himself. The fact is that the most severe calamity is sudden death of a child, and that also on the night of his wedding and that also in an accident.

A person who remains patient in such circumstances and does not lose control of his emotions. who considers his death to be divinely decreed, who knows that his son has gone to Allah and that he will also have to go to Him one day, should know that he would be rewarded for his patience. The Imam ('a) has compared a believer to be a strong mountain, which cannot be moved by storms.

On the contrary, those who lose patience and very soon get deviated from the way of logic and faith and become angry at destiny are like strands of grass, which are shaken up by the slightest breeze. So much so that they even fall victims to shock and heart attacks.

It is also very astonishing how all the guests in that gathering remained patient; but it was due to the blessings of their elders; same as in the case of Lady Zainab ('a), other ladies of the household also remained patient because of her.

Accepting Advice Is Proof Of Wisdom

(2) When a wise and kind advisor dispenses advice to a person and advocates patience in some hardship, he should accept it immediately and not express his arrogance and ignorance. He must not say: Keep quiet; you don't know the state of my mind. Keep your advice to yourself etc. etc. For such a person only increases his evil nature.

The Qur’an says in this regard:

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُ اتَّقِ اللَّهَ أَخَذَتْهُ الْعِزَّةُ بِالْإِثْمِ ۚ فَحَسْبُهُ جَهَنَّمُ ۚ وَلَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ

"And when it is said to him, guard against (the punishment of) Allah; pride carries him off to sin, therefore hell is sufficient for him; and certainly it is an evil resting place." (Surah al-Baqara 2:206).

According to a Persian couplet:

One who does not listen to an advisor, would have to face the repercussions.

Heed To The Call Of The Afflicted

(3) A divine practice, which is mentioned in Surah Asr, is that when a person sees another afflicted and in some calamity, he should advise him patience. He shou l d also remind him about the hereafter and greatness of Almighty. He should reiterate the temporality of this world etc. as mentioned in the Holy Qur’an.

A Believer Is A Good Host

(4) In the same way, is the importance of being a good host, which is among the necessary requirements of faith. Thus, the Messenger of Allah (S) stated: One who has faith in Almighty Allah and Judgment Day should respect his guest.

There are a large number of traditional reports regarding the importance of being a good host and they say that one who accords importance to this would be raised with Prophet Ibrahim ('a). It is obvious that a part of being a good host is to assure that the guest gets all comforts and happiness; also if the guest learns that the host is in trouble he would be worried; so the host must ensure that his personal problems do not cause distress to guests.

What can be said about the valor of that Arab noble, who prevented the feast from becoming a gathering of mourning and saved those people from unnecessary distress!

Devotion And Favor To The Sayyids

(5) Regarding this, it is sufficient to state that according respect to Sayyids is an established matter and the following verse of Qur’an is a witness to it:

لْ لَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا إِلَّا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبَىٰ

"Say: I do not ask of you any reward for it, but love for my near relatives." (Surah ash-Shura 42:23).

And another occasion the Qur’an says:

قُلْ مَا سَأَلْتُكُمْ مِنْ أَجْرٍ فَهُوَ لَكُمْ

"Say: Whatever reward I have asked of you, that is only for yourselves." (Surah Saba 34:47).

It is that through the mediation of that devotion Muslims would be able to get the intercession of the Prophet. Thus, he says: On Judgment Day, I would only intercede for those who have accorded respect to my descendants and helped them in hardships and fulfilled their needs.1

And devotion to the Messenger of Allah (S) necessarily requires one to love h is progeny as well, and to such a limit that the descendants of the Prophet should be more beloved to a person than his own self and his children.

Thus, Allamah Amini (r.a.) has narrated from Dailami in Musnad, Hafiz Baihaqi in Shob ul-Eimaan, Abu Shaykh in Kitab Sawab, and many other scholars have also reported that the Holy Prophet (S) said:

No one has complete faith in Almighty Allah till I am not dearer to him than his own life, and till my progeny is not dearer to him than his own progeny.2

The fact is complete faith, true love and real valor was a part of that noble Arab, who that night agreed to marry the Sayyid youth to the girl his own son was about to marry. I am confused how God and the Messenger of Allah (S) would deal with that gentleman on Judgment Day.

فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَا أُخْفِيَ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ

"So no soul knows what is hidden for them of that, which will refresh the eyes." (Surah Sajdah 32:17).

The aim of narrating this story is that readers recognize the example of and true form of the men of God and learn the lesson of faith, love and valor.

Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) says: Brave is one, who is victorious on his selfish desire.3 That is he should turn away from his personal inclinations and have the capability of heedlessness. He should not be selfish and egotist. On the contrary, a coward is one, whom even the smallest desire influences and in not succeeding in it, he despairs and becomes hopeless. He is a prisoner of his selfish desires. That is why it is mentioned in traditions that the folks of Paradise are kings.

Yes, the true king is one who is dominant over his self and does not consider himself needful of any human capacity or person. In other words, he should consider himself needless of everything other than h is Creator.

(6) Another important point, which is necessary to be mentioned in the explanation of this story is that if a person commits a mistake or a crime unintentionally, it is wrong to be angry and revengeful to him; like it happened in the case of that young Sayyid. It is a matter accepted by reason as well as Islamic law.

As far as reason is concerned, if a person commits an unintentional mistake, the people of justice do not condemn and chastise him, except if he did that intentionally. On the contrary, it is said that he has not been shortcoming. And a particular system is devised to make up for the loss. As for the Islamic stand. it is mentioned in verse 5 of Surah Ahzab that:

وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا أَخْطَأْتُمْ بِهِ وَلَٰكِنْ مَا تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ

"And there is no blame on you concerning that, in which you made a mistake, but (concerning) that, which your hearts do purposely (blame may rest on you)." (Surah al- Ahzaab 33:5).

Yes, the one against whom the mistake has been committed is given the choice of demanding blood money or less than that; and he can also forgive the unintentional culprit, but forgiving is best and its reward is guaranteed by Almighty Allah. The blood money of killing a human being is a thousand gold coins or ten thousand silver coins. The blood money of each part of the human body is mentioned in code of laws of all jurists.

Killing A Human Being Is A Serious Matter

Especially, since killing a human being is a very serious matter, one should be very particular, that he should not commit it by mistake. A person holding a loaded gun should act with extreme precaution, because if he kills someone, in addition to paying the blood money, he would also have to free a slave. And if it is not possible, he would have to observe fasting for sixty days as is fixed in the following verse of Surah Nisa:

وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ أَنْ يَقْتُلَ مُؤْمِنًا إِلَّا خَطَأً ۚ وَمَنْ قَتَلَ مُؤْمِنًا خَطَأً فَتَحْرِيرُ رَقَبَةٍ مُؤْمِنَةٍ وَدِيَةٌ مُسَلَّمَةٌ إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِ إِلَّا أَنْ يَصَّدَّقُوا

"And it does not behoove a believer to kill a believer except by mistake, and whoever kills a believer by mistake, he should free a believing slave, and blood money should be paid to his people unless they remit it as alms." (Surah Nisa 4:92).

On the basis of this, one who is harmed or the successors of one who is killed are supposed to forgive the unintentional culprit and leave the matter to the Almighty; but if they cannot, they should only demand blood money and nothing else. They are not supposed to bear malice or take revenge from the believer culprit. The matter of malice to believers is explained in detail in the book of Immaculate Conscience, under the discussion of malice.

- 1. Qawaid, Bequest of Allamah for his son.

- 2. Kitab Seeratina wa Sunanina.

- 3. Safinat ul-Bihar.

119. The House Killed Its Inmates

Agha Sibt has narrated that the Late Sayyid Ibrahim Shustari, who was a congregation leader of Ahwaz, was an extremely pious man. After marriage, he became a victim of extreme poverty and was even unable to bear the expenses of his family. At last he went to Najaf al-Ashraf and lodged with a student of Shustar in a Madressa.

After some months a caravan arrived from Shustar. People informed Sayyid Ibrah im that his wife and parents had also arrived in the caravan and they were extremely worried about him. He was very much worried, because at that time, he neither had the means to afford them shelter nor means to feed them.

In any case, he started searching for accommodation. Someone directed him to a shopkeeper, who was having the keys to a vacant house. He said: Yes, the house is vacant; but whoever has stayed in that place was involved in misfortune and died a premature death. The Sayyid said: What difference does it make? Even if I die, it would be better than this life of poverty. If I were to die, I would get rid of my deprivation sooner. So he took the keys and went to see the house.

He found that it was extremely dirty having cobwebs in every room, which showed that no one had lived there since many years. After cleaning up the place, the Sayyid lodged his family members in it. When they went to sleep at night, the Sayyid saw a person wearing an expensive head gear mount his chest with full force, saying: Sayyid, why have you trespassed on my house, I will strangle you this moment. Sayyid said: I am a Sayyid and I am a descendant of the Prophet. I have not committed any sin.

The Arab asked: Why have you occupied my house? The Sayyid said: I will do as you say; and I seek your permission to live here. The Arab said: All right go down to the cellar and clean it up. And when you remove the asbestos sheet, you will notice my grave. Clean up the grave and recite the Ziyarat of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) every night [apparently he said: Ziyarat Aminullah]. And you must recite Qur’an daily to such an extent. Then I will have no objection if you live in this house.

The Sayyid says: I did as he had directed. I cleaned up the cellar and reached till the grave and cleaned it as well. Every day I recited Ziyarat Aminullah and the Holy Qur’an, but I was still in a difficult financial position.

One day I was in the holy courtyard of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) when a person asked about my well-being. About whom I later learnt that he was an influential businessman related to an acquaintance of mine. He paid me a sum of money according to the number of my dependants and also fixed a monthly stipend. In other words, my financial condition improved and my life became comfortable.

Souls Are Attached To Their Graves

Like other incidents, this story also proves the endurance of the soul in Purgatory (Barzakh). It also shows that souls are attached to the place of their burial (their grave).

The explanation is that: Because the soul remains with the body for years and acts through it and gains recognition and performs acts of divine obedience through it. It has served through it and bore hardships in its training and development. According to scholars, the relationship of the sou l to the body is like the relationship of lover and beloved. When he dies, he would not completely severe relations with it and wherever the body is kept, it will keep it under surveillance.

Thus, if it sees that the place has become a garbage heap or a place of sin and dirt, it becomes extremely distraught. It expresses displeasure. Indeed the hatred of souls is very effective. Thus, it was mentioned in this story that those who lived in such a house; according to their mistaken notion they said that the house was unlucky, but if one kept the grave clean and performed good acts like recitation of Qur’an etc. he remained happy.

Hence, it was said what a nice reward the Sayyid earned through the blessi ngs of Ziyarat and recitation of Qur’an.

Disrespect Of The Grave Is Unlawful

We should also know that the noble soul of a believer is sacred and it commands respect in the view of Almighty Allah. So much so that it is narrated from I mam Muhammad Baqir ('a) that the respect of a believer is more than the respect of Holy Kaaba. (And in a traditional report, he says: Respect of a believer is seventy times more than the respect of Holy Kaaba.). And since the soul had remained attached to the body for a long period of time, therefore the lifeless body also commands respect, as is clear from the rituals of shrouding and burial in Islamic law; to such a limit that in Islam desecrating the grave of a believer is considered unlawful.

Like opening of the grave, making it impure, throwing garbage on it and every act that is disrespectful to it is unlawful; and that, which is against ethics. is detestable. Like sitting on a grave or walking over it or considering it to be a thorough fare and to bury a sinner and transgressor besides a grave is also an act of disrespect to it.

Miracle Of Imam Musa Kazim (‘A)

Please pay attention to this incident. It is mentioned Kashf ul-Ghumma, a reliable reference book of Shia in the chapter of miracles of the seventh Imam, Imam Musa Kazim ('a) that a vizier of Abbaside Caliph possessed much wealth and power. He was always busy in official affairs and was deeply devoted to the Caliph.

When he died, the Caliph acknowledged his valuable services and ordered that he should buried in the mausoleum of Imam Musa Kazim ('a) next to the holy grave. The caretaker of the tomb was a pious and a righteous man. He went to sleep in the chamber of the grave at night. He saw in dream that the grave of that vizier split and fire arose from it. Smoke accompanied the stench of burning of bones, till the whole mausoleum was engulfed in smoke and fire. Imam ('a) was standing on one side and addressing the caretaker in a loud voice:

Tell the Caliph that he has distressed me by burying this oppressor here. The caretaker awoke in terror and wrote to the Caliph about this. The Caliph came from Baghdad to Kazmain the same night, got the holy mausoleum vacated, ordered the opening up of the grave and taking out of the corpse to bury it somewhere else. When the grave was dug up in the presence of the Caliph, nothing, but ashes were found.

Don't Despair In Hardships

Two other points are worth explaining with relation to the story of the Sayyid. Firstly, if a person is involved in a hardship, he should not lose hope. Especially, if one trouble is following another; one should be more hopeful of relief, as is the story of that Sayyid gentleman that when his hardships increased and he began to consider death a relief, the Almighty Allah solved his problems and gave him relief.

In Muntahai ul-Aamaal, Muhaddith Qummi has narrated the statement of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq ('a) that: When one trouble befalls you after another, you will get relief from hardships.

Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) said: Relief lies before the end of hardships and there is comfort close to escalation of calamities.
The Almighty Allah has said in the Holy Qur’an:

فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا

"Surely with difficulty is ease” (Surah al-Inshirah 94:5).

إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا

“With difficulty is surely ease." (Surah al-Inshirah 94:6).

Also, it is narrated from Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) that he said: Indeed, there are final limits to all worldly calamities and it is necessary that they should reach that point; thus, if a trouble befalls one of you, you must submit to it and be patient in it, till it passes over you. If you try to remove it, it only intensifies.

A Persian couplet says:
"O heart be patient and do not fall in sorrow, because at last the nigh t would end in the morning."

Consequence Of Evil Characters

Another point is that like people sometimes say: Such and such house is unlucky; one who stays in it, is afflicted with poverty. This is an absurd statement and it lacks truth, which is nothing, but taking a bad omen. The fact is that every hardship that takes one to death is the result of ones own inappropriate deeds. The Holy Qur’an says:

وَمَا أَصَابَكُمْ مِنْ مُصِيبَةٍ فَبِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَيَعْفُو عَنْ كَثِيرٍ

"And whatever affliction befalls you, it is on account of what you r hands have wrought, and (yet) He pardons most (of your faults)." (Surah ash-Shura 42:30).

Natural calamities like draught, famine and destructive earthquakes and epidemics etc. are results of communal sins and particular calamities that affect individuals, like sickness, death of child etc. are results of individual sins. Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq ('a) says: Those who die due to sins are more than those who die from destined death. In the same way, those who remain alive due to good deeds are more than those who live due to their destined lifespans.1

Immediate Effects Of Sins In The World

We should know that calamities that befall sinners are not punishment for their sins, because the world of recompense is after death. In other words, the world is only a sowing field and the hereafter is the place of the requital of deeds. Whatever the sinner gets in this world is the result of minor effects of his sins. On the basis of which, he is involved in the evil effects of his acts.

For example, the full requital of an alcoholic is in the hereafter and what he suffers in the world in form of loss of respect and other things are only the base effects of his sin. Moreover, due to his alcoholism and the vile acts that he commits, their minor effects also afflict him, but his final punishment is reserved for the hereafter as we explained in the book of Greater Sins. In that book, i t is also mentioned that as per the verse 30 of Surah Shura, the Almighty Allah keeps away the minor effects of sins as a divine favor.

وَيَعْفُو عَنْ كَثِيرٍ

"...and (yet) He pardons most (of your faults)." (Surah ash-Shura 42:30).

He removes them through alms, goodness to relatives, repentance and supplication of a believer. It is thus known that this verse is only talking of the worldly effects of sins, because forgiveness of sins in the hereafter is only for those who have died with faith and not for infidels, because in the world, it is possible that even a disbeliever may remain safe due to alms etc., but forgiveness of hereafter is exclusive for believers.

Sufferings Of The Pious Are Not Due To Sins

General or particular calamities, which befall the infallibles, prophets, Imams and also children and persons with mental disability; it is clear that they befall not due to their sins, because they are not sinful, on the contrary it because of the society and they are also caught up in the currents. Thus, it is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an:

وَاتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لَا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْكُمْ خَاصَّةً

"And fear an affliction, which may not smite those of you in particular who are unjust." (Surah Anfaal 8:25).

Or it is from the necessities of this world, like the calamities caused through injustice of oppressors and greed of the greedy; or due to partial accidents; and in all these instances, as the pious remain patient, they become eligible for great rewards and stations in the hereafter. These calamities serve as blessings for them.

No Bad Omen For The Pious

As regards the ill-omen of this house, apparently the person buried in that grave was a pious man, who was buried in the house itself. It is concluded that he must have performed Ziyarat and recited Qur’an, which those who lived in that house later should also have continued, but they were unjust to him.

They plastered and concealed his grave and threw garbage on it. Instead of good deeds, they practiced so many inappropriate acts that the helpless dead man, instead of benefiting from their charitable deeds was distressed by their acts and they became eligible for his curse and finally became victims of death before the destined hour.

Since this Sayyid gentleman was a pious person and Allah wan ted him to get relief and comfort, the dead man in formed him about the travails of those who inhabited that house before. He in turn fulfilled his promise and sent gifts to the dead through recitation of Qur’an and Ziyarat and became eligible for his supplications and consequently earned a life of prosperity and relief.

- 1. Safinat ul-Bihar, Vol. 1, Pg. 488.

120. Insulting A Sayyid Lady

A senior Sayyid scholar, who did not disclose his name, writes:

I saw my father in dream and asked him some questions, which he replied as follows:

1- The souls, which are involved in punishment in Purgatory (Barzakh); what kind of hardships do they suffer?

Reply: Since you are in the world, I will explain lo you by way of an example. It is like you enter a mountain pass and all around there are high mountains, which you are incapable of scaling; in those circumstances, a ferocious wolf starts chasing you and there is no way to escape.

2- Have the charitable and good deeds that I performed on your behalf, reached you?

Reply: All of it has reached me, but I will explain to you its details through an example.

When you are in a crowded public hot bath, where it is difficult to breathe due to smoke and crowd, in such a situation an opening appears and cool air reaches you; how nice would you feel? Same is our condition when you send some gifts to us.

3- I saw my father in health and radiance and only his lips were injured and blood smeared. I asked why they were as such, and inquired: Would the injuries be cured if I performed a good deed on your behalf?

Reply: Its cure is only with your respected mother, because it is due to the insults I heaped on her. Her name was Sakina, but I always called by the nickname of Sakku Khanam and she was extremely displeased by it. If you can make amends on my behalf with her, there is hope that I would be cured.

The respected narrator says: I related the whole incident to my mother. She replied: Your father always called me Sakku Khanam in a ridiculing way and I used to be extremely angry, but I never expressed any displeasure and did not utter a single word against him, but since at this moment he is in pain and distress, I will forgive him and pray for him sincerely.

These three questions and their replies contain many subtle points, to understand which is very important. I shall explain them to the readers in brief.

Good characters are beautiful forms in Purgatory (Barzakh)

It is proved from logic and textual evidences that man is not destroyed with death. On the contrary, his soul leaves his material body and is joined to a subtle body and is accompanied with all senses that it possessed in the world: sight and hearing, joy and sorrow, which are more severe and powerful than the worldly faculties, because the facsimile body is at the peak of subtlety, so material eyes cannot see it. As if it is lesser than the material body, like air; although that body is a compound, but since it is subtle, it cannot be seen.

From death till Judgment Day; this condition of soul is called as facsimile world and world of Purgatory (Barzakh).1 The point to be remembered is that those who have departed from this world with good fortune, in Purgatory (Barzakh), they would witness their good traits of character and fine moral acts and gain advantage from them.

Similarly, the unfortunate souls will be regretful and punished, because of their bad character and acts and see it in the worst and horrifying forms and wish to get away from them, but they would not be able to. Thus, in the words of the scholar quoted above; it is akin to being chased by a ferocious wolf to escape which is impossible.

Now pay attention to this holy verse:

يَوْمَ تَجِدُ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَا عَمِلَتْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ مُحْضَرًا وَمَا عَمِلَتْ مِنْ سُوءٍ تَوَدُّ لَوْ أَنَّ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَهُ أَمَدًا بَعِيدًا وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ وَاللَّهُ رَءُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ

"On the day that every soul shall find present what it has done of good and what it has done of evil, it shall wish that between it and that (evil) there were a long duration of time; and Allah makes you to be cautious of (retribution from) Himself; and Allah is Compassionate to the servants." (Surah aal-‘Imraan 3:30).

It is one of the graces of the Almighty Allah that He has warned about the pit falls of the hereafter in this world only, so that His servants may not be involved in any hardship and difficulty.

Don't Hurt Anyone Verbally

Another important point, which is necessary to mention here is that one should be extremely cautious about the sins of the tongue, including calling people by names, which he may not like or which may cause him distress.

So much so that the Messenger of Allah (S) said: Do not call your slave and maid servant as 'slave' or 'slave girl ', on the contrary call him or her as 'my son' or 'my young man'.

One should not consider such sins as small and insignificant, because a sin, which a man considers trivial, would become a permanent entry in his scroll of deeds. Secondly the forgiveness of this sin not only depends on divine forgiveness, but is also subject to forgiveness of one whom he has caused distress.

Sometimes it so happens that a person causes distress to a Muslim by playing a dirty joke and docs not even considers it a sin or mistake, so that he might make up for it or try to satisfy that person and thus after death he would remain involved in chastisement for this one single sins for a long period of time. The following verse proves the veracity of this:

فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ

"So he who has done an atom's weight of good shall see it” (Surah az-Zalzala 99:7).

وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ

And he who has done an atom's weight of evil shall see it." (Surah az-Zalzala 99:8).

Divine Grace In Contact With Souls

Another point should also be understood; that the living are in contact with the dead. It is having two aspects: one is the contact of the living with souls of deceased through a true dream and through this knowing their fate and circumstances, which makes them aware of some hidden matters and as a result of it ones faith i n life after death becomes strong.

Also whatever is mentioned in Islamic ideology is testified true through this. In this way, the contact of the living with dead is also beneficial for the dead. For example, reduction in their hardships and troubles to some extent and their relief: as mentioned in the above story how the dead person got relief when the Sayyid lady was satisfied. There are many testimonies of this. Herc we will be content with only one story:

Knife Is Returned To The Owner

Late teacher, Ahad Amin has narrated in KitAbu ‘l-Takamul fil Islam that two employees of the department of posts set out from Tehran for Ziyarat of lmam Husayn ('a).

Since at that time it was illegal to travel for Ziyarat to the holy places, they were compelled to choose the Qachar route and they lost their way in an arid desert. They became so thirsty that one of them died and the other was also involved in deep trouble, but at last he managed to reach Tehran.

After some time, he saw his travel companion in dream that he was staying in an extremely beautiful garden having all the luxuries. He said: Thanks be to Allah, I have all comforts, but everyday a scorpion stings my toe, which causes me so much pain that I reach to the verge of death. I was told that it was due to the fact that one day when I was visiting one of my friends I stole a little knife and concealed it in the left comer of my house.

I request you to go to my place, convey my greetings to my wife and tell her to give that knife to you. Take it and restore it to the owner and ask him to forgive me. Perhaps the Almighty Allah would condone my sin. This person says: I acted accordingly and after that I saw him again in dream. He was absolutely pleased and comfortable; he also thanked me for that.

Oppressions Recompensed In Full

In Raudat ul-Kafi, a lengthy tradition is narrated from Imam Zayn ul-Abidin (‘a) regarding accounting and restoration of rights and oppressions and their requital on Judgment Day; in which Almighty Allah says:

"I am God and no one else is worthy of worship, except Mc. I am such a just ruler that does not say anything other than justice. I would adjudge you with justice. Today, no injustice would be done to anyone. Today, I would take back the right of the oppressed from the strong. I will take back the debts from the debtors. I will recompense injustice fully and no oppressor would be able to proceed from there when a right of someone or some oppression remains on him. O people, demand your rights from one another and if someone has taken away your right forcibly, demand it from him, I am your witness against him."

It is mentioned at the end of the tradition that a Qarshi man asked the Imam: O son of Allah's Messenger, if there is a right of a believer on a disbeliever, how it will be taken away from him, because he is from the folks of Hell? Imam ('a) replied: The sins of the believer would be reduced to the extent of the right on that disbeliever. That disbeliever, along with his infidelity, would be involved in more chastisement.

Qarshi asked: If some right of a Muslim is on another Muslim, how it would be recovered? He replied: A part of the good deeds of that usurper would be included among the good deeds of the rightful person.

Qarshi asked: What if the oppressor is not having any good deeds to his credit? Imam ('a) replied: Some sins of the rightful person will be taken and added to the sins of that oppressor.

It is also necessary to mention that if a disbeliever is having some right on a Muslim, since the disbeliever is not worthy of the good deeds of the Muslim, justice demands that in accordance to his right, reduction would be made in his chastisement and to understand this matter, one can refer to the story of the worshipper who had borrowed five Qirans from a Jew, as mentioned in the beginning of this book.

Imam Zayn ul-Abidin ('a) says: On Judgment Day, the hand of man will be held up high so that everyone may see it, after that it would be announced: One who has some rights on him may take it; and nothing is more difficult for the folks of gathering (Mahshar) that they should meet someone who recognizes them and who might demand some right from them.

Who Is The True Destitute?

The Messenger of Allah (S) asked his companions: Do you know who is a destitute? People replied: Among us destitute is one, who does not possess any capital or property. His Eminence said:

"In fact in my Ummah, destitute is one who is raised on Judgment Day with good deeds like Prayer, fast, Zakat, Hajj etc., but at the same time he had also abused someone, usurped someone's wealth or shed someone's blood etc. Thus, his good deeds would be given to that person and when his good deeds would be over and still rights remain on him, sins of the rightful one would be put in his account."

It is learnt for traditional reports that the Judgment Day would be a day of such complete divine justice that even if a person has wronged an animal or held back its rights, it would be demanded from him and the latter would be restored its rights.

Imam (‘A) Never Whipped His Camel

Imam Zayn ul-Abidin ('a) had a female camel, on which he had performed twenty Hajjs. Once when he was going somewhere on her, she stopped on the way; the Imam raised his whip, but did not hit the beast. On the contrary, he said: If there had been no fear of reprisal, I would have lashed her.

In Bihar ul-Anwar, volume of Resurrection, it is mentioned that the Holy Prophet () once noticed a she-camel fully loaded and at the same time her legs were also tied up. The Messenger of Allah (S) asked: Where is the owner of this she-camel? Tell him to be prepared for justifying this act on Judgment Day.

Charity Of The Living Reaches The Dead

Another divine favor is that Allah has allowed the dead to benefit from the charity of living on their behalf and regarding this, there are a large number of traditional reports and incidents.

Through authentic chains of narrators, it is narrated from Imam Ja 'far as-Sadiq ('a) that he said: Often it happens that the deceased is in hardships and the Almighty Allah bestows him relief and he is told that it is due to the prayer of so and so believer friend on your behalf. He becomes pleased at that. He gets relief and pleasure due to supplications and repentance performed on his behalf, like a living man is overjoyed when he receives a gift.

Imam ('a) also said: Prayer, fast, Hajj, alms, supplications and other good acts performed for the dead enter his grave and their reward is noted down for the one who performs them, as well as for the dead.

He said in another tradition that there are many sons with whom the parents are displeased during their lifetime, but after their death due to the good deeds, they perform on behalf of parents, the parents become reconciled to them. On the other hand, there are many sons, whose parents were satisfied with them during their lifetimes, but after death they disown them, because they do not perform good deeds on behalf of the deceased parents.

It is necessary to mention that the best deed on behalf of parents, relatives and other believers is that first of all their pending obligatory duties should be fulfilled; like the Hajj or other worship acts they missed. Or someone should be appointed on their behalf to perform them. In paying alms, precedence should be given to the relatives of the deceased.

Now, please consider the following story:

In the same book, the late teacher, Ahmad Ami n has narrated that after a man died, as a good turn for him; his wife cooked something every Thursday evening and sent it through her orphaned son to the houses of poor. That child, in spite of being himself hungry used to take that food and give it to the poor and return home and to sleep. Till one night he lost his patience and ate up that food on the way and came home fully satiated and went to sleep. That night the wife saw her husband i n dream telling h er: I received the food sent by only today.

When the woman awoke, she asked the son: Whom did you feed yesterday and the previous Thursday evenings? I saw your father I in dream; he was saying that only this time the food has reached him. The boy told her the truth: Every week, I used to give the food to beggars, but yesterday I was so hungry that I ate it myself.

The woman realized that the best service to the deceased is that his orphaned child should be fed properly. That is why it is mentioned i n traditions that it is not right to give alms (Sadaqah) to others when the relatives of that person are in need.

- 1. Refer to Surah Mominoon 23:100.

121. Dog On The Coffin

The pious personality, late Dr. Ahmad Ahsan, lived in Karbala Moalla for many years and during his last days, he was the caretaker of Qom mausoleum. He died there and was also buried in the same place. He has narrated an incident, which he witnessed in Karbala twenty-five years ago. One day he saw a coffin being carried to the tomb of Imam Husai n (‘a) for blessings. He also started walking with the coffin. Suddenly he noticed that a dark and horrible dog was perching on the coffin.

He says: I was absolutely shocked and in order to find if other people were able to see it too, asked a person walking to my right: What type of cover is there on the coffin? He replied: It is a Kashmiri shawl. I asked him if he was able to see anything else, but he replied in the negative. I posed the same question to a person walking to my left, but he also gave the same reply.

Thus, I understood that except from me, no one was aware of that. When they reached the mausoleum courtyard, the dog left the coffin. When they brought the coffin out again after encircling the sepulcher, that dog climbed upon the coffin once more. I accompanied the corpse to the graveyard to see what unfolds. The dog was with the corpse all the time. When they buried the corpse, that dog also disappeared from my sight into the grave.

A similar incident is mentioned by Qadi Saeed Qummi in Arbeenaat, quoting from Shaykh Bahai (a.r.).

Its gist is that a scholar and a pious man was the caretaker of the Isfahan cemetery. Shaykh Bahai visited him once. He said: I saw a strange spectacle that day. People arrived with a corpse, which they buried at so and so spot and then went away. After some time a nice smell was perceived from there and it was not from the fragrance of this world. I looked around myself to find out its origin.

Just then I saw an extremely beautiful form, which went near the grave and disappeared. Not much later I perceived a very severe stench, which was worse than all the stinks of the world. When I looked around, I saw a dog ambling to that grave and as soon as he reached it, he disappeared. I was confused and astounded. Just then I saw a youth in an injured condition and he was returning from the grave. I followed him and asked him about his condition. He said: I was the good deed of this deceased and was supposed to be his companion in grave; and the dog you saw were his bad deeds. Since they were more in number, they trounced me and did not allow me to remain with him; they expelled me from there.

The Shaykh says: This incident is true, because it is our belief that in Purgatory (Barzakh), the deeds of man assume a form according to their quality and their personification is confirmed.

Hurting Others

Respected readers, you should understand that whatever is mentioned in the above two realizations, and in the same way whatever Shaykh Bahai (r.a.) said, is a reality and a definite matter in the view of a man of faith.

That if one treads the path of dogs and wild beasts; hurts others through tongue and other organs, is merci less, unjust and proud; is not affected by truth and displays pharaonic qualities and in other words commits sinful acts and dishonesty, then after death his form will be like that of a dog. wolf, pig or cheetah, although not like beasts of this world, on the contrary more horrible, poisonous and harmful. So much so that his own spiritual and inner form would be as such.

On the other hand, every person who has led a life of piety and who did good turns to others, who was kind and humble to them; lived a life of a slave; refrained from every mischief and corruption, and the effulgence of good deeds surrounded his being, after death he would be in the most elegant form, like angels. On the contrary, he would himself be an angel or higher than angels.

But those who performed worship acts and good deeds and committed sinful acts at the same time and died without repenting, in Purgatory, sometimes they would enjoy the nice forms of their good deeds and sometimes be tortured and distressed by the bad forms of their evil deeds.

However, sometimes the punishment of a sinner is complete in the Purga tory itself as his sins were very less, and he becomes content there only. His account is clear; the period of his distress ends in such a way that when he enters the field of accounting, the effects of his sins would not accompany him as mentioned in some traditions.

For further emphasis only one traditional report is mentioned here:

In Bihar ul-Anwar quoting from Al-Kafi it is narrated from Imam Ja 'far as-Sadiq ('a) that he said: During the time of the Messenger of Allah (S). a person was in the agony of death. When people informed the Prophet, he came to see him along with a companion.

The patient was in a swoon. The Messenger of Allah (S) said: O angel of death, give him some respite, so that I may ask him something. When the man regained consciousness, the Messenger of Allah (S) asked: What can you see? He replied: Many whiteness and a lot of blackness (pleasing forms and terrifying dark faces).

He asked: Which one is nearer? He replied: Blackness. The Prophet said: Say: O Allah, forgive me my excessive disobediences and accept a little obedience from me. He repeated this and then swooned again. The Messenger of Allah (S) said the second time: O angel of death, give him some respite, so that I may ask him something more.

When the man regained consciousness again, the Messenger of Allah (S) asked: What can you see now? He replied: The same whiteness and blackness. He asked: Which one is nearer? He replied: Whiteness. The Messenger of Allah (S) said: The Almighty has forgiven him.

In the end, Imam as-Sadiq ('a) said: When you are with someone who is in the agony of death, you must remind this supplication to him, so that he may recite it.

122. Effect Of Seeking Mediation

Around forty ·years ago, in Madressa Darush Shifa, on 25th night of Rajab, a gathering of scholars and learned was held to seek mediation of Imam Musa Kazim ('a).

A gentleman from them said: When an affluent person from Mashraaq locality of Najaf al-Ashraf died, I saw myself in the holy courtyard of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) and observed that Imam ('a) was majestically seated on the pulpit. That rich man of Mashraaq, who had just died, was brought over there with two guards and signs of punishment were apparent on him. When he came before the Imam, he begged him for intercession.

His Eminence asked: Have you forgotten your mistakes and sins? He replied: You are right, but I have a right on you, because, on all days of your happiness, I gathered people of the locality and held celebrations and during days of your mourning, I held gatherings of grief. In other words, I used to do this and that.

His Eminence said: Whatever you did was for selfish aims. You wanted leadership to remain with you and your intention was to gain popularity and status.

He pondered for sometime and then said: It is correct, but you know that I am sincerely devoted to you and always desirous of exalting your name. I was pleased when your name was mentioned with respect. Imam ('a) agreed that it was right, and told his captors: Leave him. And they did. That man became extremely elated by this.

An Act Of Show-Off Is Invalid

Among the signs of accuracy of dreams is its being according to jurisprudential principles and Islamic laws. Two issues become clear from this dream: and both are definite matters.

The first point is invalidity of acts performed for show-off; it is among the definite issues of our faith that all worship acts; obligatory or recommended, physical or monetary: like Prayer, fasting, Hajj, Enjoining good and forbidding evil, supplications, recitation of Qur’an, Ziyarat of holy places, mention of the merits or tragedies of Ahl ul-Bayt (‘a), weeping on calamities of Imam Husayn ('a), every kind monetary expense like: Zakat, Khums and recommended expenses like helping the poor and donating for construction of Mosques or hospitals; if the real objective is to show-off and to gain respect and status, are invalid and not only that they would not be recorded in scroll of deeds, on the contrary according to verses of Qur’an and traditional reports any act performed with intention of show-off is unlawful and a sin.

It is explained in detail in the book of Greater Sins. At this point only pay attention to the following verse:

فَوَيْلٌ لِلْمُصَلِّينَ

"Woe to the praying ones,   " (Surah al-Maa’un 107:4).

الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ

“who are unmindful of their prayers, " (Surah al-Maa’un 107:5).

الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ

“who do (good) to be seen." (Surah al-Maa’un 107:6).

Thus, the people of faith should assure that their deeds are pure and not that they should leave them fearing show-off as would be explained in a story after this.

Innumerable benefits of devotion to Ahl ul-Bayt (‘a) Another issue is the obligation of loving Ali Ibn Abi Talib ('a), because obligation of loving Ahl ul-Bayt of the Prophet is among the necessities of Islam, and the chief of them is Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) and its reasonings are mentioned in related books. On this juncture, the verse of Love (Mawaddat) is hinted:

قُلْ لَا أَسْأَلُكُمْ عَلَيْهِ أَجْرًا إِلَّا الْمَوَدَّةَ فِي الْقُرْبَىٰ

"Say: I do not ask of you any reward for it, but love for my near relatives." (Surah ash-Shura 42:23).

Along with this we should also know that this command is not in any way beneficial to Ahl ul-Bayt ('a); on the contrary it carries benefits for Muslims themselves. Thus, in the Holy Qur’an, it is mentioned in another place:

قُلْ مَا سَأَلْتُكُمْ مِنْ أَجْرٍ فَهُوَ لَكُمْ

"Say: Whatever reward I have asked of you, that is only for yourselves." (Surah Saba 34:47).

Among those benefits is getting their intercession. Regarding this, large number of traditional reports are recorded, most of which are mentioned in Bihar ul-Anwar, Volume 4 and Volume 15. In other words, the followers of Ahl ul-Bayt ('a) would get intercession of those personalities and divine mercy would surround them; and this is definite and certain.

However, followers and devotees should understand that even though they would be purified of sins due to intercession, they would remain deprived of the reward of the sincere. For example, even though that rich man got relief from his bad deeds, but if he had performed those acts with sincerity, how nice it would have been for him; but he deprived himself from it.

This matter is explained in detail the book of Immaculate Conscience. Here we shall just quote one story by way of illustration:

Assistance Of A Sincere Deed

A very pious gentleman came to the side of a man who was in the agony of death. He saw that the Purgatory (Barzakh) body of that person was extremely dirty and the sins of evil character and deeds were apparent in him. That scene made him highly pained.

He said: What a pity, if this person dies in this condition, what would befall him in Purgatory (Barzakh)? An unseen voice came: We have a right of that man on us and we would help him at that time.

Suddenly he saw something like water surrounding him from the head to toe. All his filth was washed away and his Purgatory (Barzakh) body became clear and bright like a crystal. After that the angel of death captured his soul and he passed away from the world. The pious man supplicated the Almighty Allah to inform him what right that man had on Him that He helped him in this way?

That night, in dream, he saw that man's soul and it said: In the world, I possessed much honor and was quite influential in the royal court. One day a man was sentenced to death, while I was certain of his innocence. I used my influence to prevent them from awarding the death sentence; then I proved his innocence and he was subsequently released. Since I had done this only for the pleasure of the Almighty and there was no other intention in it; that is why, as you saw, the Almighty Allah purified me before death.

Surely Allah does not waste the acts of the doers of good. (Surah Hud, 11:115).

Include Everything In The Account Of The Almighty

Another issue relevant to this is the statement of Imam Husayn ('a) when Habib Ibn Mazahir and some other martyrs were martyred, he said:

I put this calamity in the account of Allah and in the tragedy of his infant son, said: That, which makes this tragedy easy for me to bear is the belief that it is seen by Allah.

In other words, a believer should put all his worship acts, charity and all that befalls him in the account of the Almighty and the sign of it being in the account of Allah, is that he should forget all that he has done, and not mention it again and again, because in its remembrance, there is risk of falling into the sin of show off and its exclusion from the account of the Almighty. (The details of this matter are mentioned in the book of Greater Sins and Immaculate Conscience).

Another sign of it being in the account of Allah is patience in calamities and not to object to divine destiny. May the Almighty Allah give us good sense (Tawfiq) to only remain attached to Him.

123. Falling From Height

A sincere, pious and pure gentleman was a tobacco trader by profession. He narrated to me around forty years ago:

I was very much devoted to Late Ayatullah Sayyid Abu Talib and in the evenings at I attended his congregation in Masjid Marikah Khana (Masjid Noor). For many years, between Asr and Maghrib, after explaining some Islamic laws I used to read out miracles of the Holy Imams ('a) from a book. Gradually the audience increased till satanic whisperings interfered with my intention and I became fearful of succumbing to the sinful act of show off. Since I had doubt about the sincerity of my act, I stopped those readings.

One night, I saw in dream that a vehicle of effulgence is brought for me and I mounted it, then it set out with the speed of light to the heavens. My pleasure on seeing those celestial scenes is beyond description, till I reached the seventh heaven. Suddenly that vehicle split from me and I started falling down from there, till I fell in the center of Masjid Markah.

In distress and pain, heard a voice telling me: Your rise was from here and your fall is at the same place. If you want to go up again, you can do so from here only. When I awoke, I regretted my mistake and chastised myself for discontinuing those readings and made a firm decision to resume them.

So, everyday I started coming to the Masjid at Asr time, but I never got the same crowd again and people were no more interested and I was deprived of that great blessing.

Value The Divine Opportunity

The aim of narrating this story is that when a wise believer gets divine opportunity (Tawfiq) to perform a good deed, he should value it and try to continue that act. He should be fearful of its decline and loss; and seek the refuge of the Almighty Allah from it.

For example, if he gets the divine opportunity of getting up at dawn, he should not lose it and if on some nights, he is unable to wake up till the time of Morning Prayers, he should after performing the obligatory prayers perform its Qaza (lapsed prayer); or for example if he reads the Holy Qur’an or some supplication everyday, he must never give it up. If he is having the habit of paying charity daily, weekly or monthly, he should never discontinue it and must not waste this opportunity.

In the same way, is organization of religious gatherings and attending them. It is ordered in traditional reports that you should continue them regularly. Thus, Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq ('a) says: A little things, which continues regularly is better than that big thing, in which there is no endurance.

There are many testimonies of this matter. Here we shall only quote one traditional report. In Al-Kafi, it is narrated through correct chains of narrators from Yaqub Ahmar that he said to Imam Ja 'far as-Sadiq ('a): "May I be your ransom, I am besieged with troubles and hardships," and it is mentioned in another version of report that " I am in huge debts to such a limit that 1 am deprived even from performing good deeds. What can be worse than the fact that I have even forgotten a part of Qur’an."

It is said that when the Qur’an was mentioned, the Imam became fearful, and said: "Indeed if a person forgets a chapter of Qur’an after memorizing it, it would approach him on Judgment Day and a rank of Paradise would become visible to him. Thus, it would greet him. He would reply and ask who he is. He would say: I am so and so chapter, which you wasted and deserted. If had not left me, I would have conveyed you to this level.

After that he said: Remain attached to Qur’an and learn it. In fact some people learn Qur’an for fame; that people may call them memorizers (Huffaz). There is no good in learning Qur’an with this aim, although there are some who repeat it day and night and don 't care whether anyone is aware of it or not.

Fear Of Insincerity Is A Sign Of Sincerity

It is also necessary that if a person wants to perform a good deed, he should before that make his intention pure and adopt sincerity and then only should he perform it and not that he should give up that act altogether fearing loss of sincerity and please the Satan; On the contrary this fear of insincerity is a proof of a rank of sincerity. If in the condition of this fear, he seeks the help of the Almighty before performing that act, it would be better for him.

It is mentioned in the biographies of some scholars that before ritual prayers they used to sit in seclusion for a long time and after pondering on their death, valleys of Purgatory and hardships of hereafter, wept on their condition and then came to the Masjid to lead congregational prayer. Through this practice, their aim was to assure that prayer is only for the Almighty and His remembrance and no attention should be paid to believers and their gathering.

124. Rule Of Imam Husayn (‘A) In The After World

Late Aga Sayyid Muhammad Taqi Gulistan (Editor: Gulistan Daily), has narrated that in the beginning of his youth he belonged to a group of young men having similar interests and temperament. (He had also mentioned their names. but I have forgotten).

Everyday we gathered at the place of one of our friends. Father of a young man was a follower of Imam Husayn (‘a). That is, he was deeply devoted to the chief of martyrs and his mourning ceremonies. He was so much attached to him that when he wept for the oppressed Imam, he lost his self-control. One night, when it was the turn of his son to host us, he said: I am not pleased that you gather in my place, except that an elegy reciter should also come and talk about Imam Husayn ('a).

Thus, at the turn of this friend, our gatherings concluded with Majlis and elegy reciting. After some days that gentleman passed away and his death shocked us all. One night, I saw him in dream and I recalled that he was already dead and one who holds the toe of a deceased and asks him for something, he replies to him. So I held his toe and said: I will not leave you till you don't describe to me your circumstances from the time of your death till now.

He became very much terrified and said: Don't ask me! I cannot describe it. When I despaired of it, I said: At least tell me what you have understood in this world, so that I may also gain insight. He replied: We did not truly recognize Imam Husayn ('a), whose remembrance we commemorated in the world. When I came here, I learnt of his true position and status; and he is having such a status that I cannot explain it to you, except that you come here in person and see it for yourself.

Not Possible To Understand The Higher World

On this juncture, it is necessary to understand two points: One is that why souls refrain from explaining the circumstances of Purgatory in detail to living persons who come in contact with them in dreams. and why they become terrified at that question. Secondly: Explanation of the rank of Imam Husayn ('a) in Purgatory and on Judgment Day.

Thus. with regard to the first issue, we would say that every person having understanding and perception is restricted in his rank and it is impossible for him to understand the rank, which is higher to his level and to understand the world, which is at a higher level and of a different dimension.

An intellectual has explained the unseen with the help of an example. He says: Just as when an ant crawls to a telephone line; it will be able to perceive it only as a body, that it is wood and not stone or iron. But how can it understand that this metal connects two towns and through its thousands of people perform various important jobs?

In the same way, as long as man is in the captivity of material life, it is impossible for him to interfere in the spiritual and the higher world, and to understand the souls, world of recompense and circumstances of reward and punishment.

Dream Is A Brief Spiritual Act

If it is said: In dream, the soul separates from the body to some extent, so there should be no obstacle to it in understanding matters of Purgatory. Then why do the deceased refrain from mentioning it?

We would reply that firstly, in dream, the soul does not get completely detached from the physical body and secondly whatever it learns in dream its soul understands it according to the level of worldly perceptions, which is his present rank, and when he awakes, that same connotation remains in its memory and that is why some dreams are needful of interpretation.

Explanation Of Marital Affairs To A Child

An example is cited here in order to explain this point further. If a mother describes to her three or four your old child the concept of marriage and conjugal matters, beauty of bride and different foods, fruits etc, that child will only imagine that doll, which his mother has bought for him and he would also imagine a brief sweetness whose taste he has tasted. At the most there would be some increase in his understanding.

Is it possible for a child to fully understand the circumstances of the wedding night? He only knows about the pleasure of holding a doll in his arms. Same is the case of fairies of Paradise (Hour ul-Ein) and other pleasures of Purgatory for one who is restricted in the world of nature; and same is the case with hardships and tortures for one who is present in this world. He cannot understand any of those things. They are completely different and, in comparison to this world, are a thousand times higher and more intense. That is why it is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an that:

فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَا أُخْفِيَ لَهُمْ مِنْ قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ

"So no soul knows what is hidden for them of that, which wi11 refresh the eyes." (Surah as-Sajda 32:17).

Understanding The Rank Of Imam Hussain ('A) Is Related To Knowledge

Another point concerns the rank of Imam Husayn ('a) in Purgatory. As mentioned before, as long as man remains in the world and is a captive of physical body, except for worldly circumstances, he cannot understand anything else. So much so that if he is obsessed with worldly love, he even denies the supernatural and spheres of Purgatory and Judgment Day.

On the contrary, he even ridicules them. As opposed to this, a person who is emancipated from the lure of materialism and has obtained divine recognition and love of God considers worldly life to be a vain pastime. And since he finds the perfection of his success in witnessing those worlds, he is eager for death and is desirous of escaping from this world.

One of these points is realizing the rank of the chief of the martyrs. Till a person does not enter that world, he cannot understand the supremacy, position and power in the divine kingdom and for the time being there is no option, except that he should confess in brief and admit his helplessness in understanding its reality.

On this subject, a saying of Imam Ja 'far as-Sadiq ('a) is quoted about the rank of lmam Husayn ('a) in Purgatory:

In Nafas ul-Mahmoom it is narrated through correct authorities from Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq ('a) that he said: Imam Husayn ('a) is in position of the Messenger of Allah (S) with his parents and brother and he receives sustenance in accordance with that world and divine blessings descend on him.

The fact is Imam Husayn ('a) is present to the right side of Throne (Arsh) and he says: My Lord, bestow me that, which You promised me (intercession) and he glances at those who perform the Ziyarat of his tomb. Thus, he is aware of their names, along with the names of their fathers; and more cognizant of them than they are of their children.

He also glances at one, who has wept on him and prays for his salvation and requests his father to invocate for his forgiveness. He says: O one who wept on me, if you had known about the reward, which the Almighty Allah has reserved for you. your exhilaration would have exceeded your grief and sorrow. Then he asks for the forgiveness of all his sins.

125. True Dream And Effects Of Deeds

More than thirty years ago there was an elegy reciter named Shaykh Muhammad Hasan, who fell into unlawful acts during the last years of his life. After his death a pious man saw him in dream that he was naked, his face was black and flames were protruding from his mouth and his tongue was hanging loose. So terrible was his condition that he fled from him in terror.

After some hours, and after covering some spheres, he saw him again, but now he was in a pleasing atmosphere and a satisfied condition. He was wearing proper clothes and was seated on a pulpit comfortably. He went to him and asked: Are you Shaykh Hasan?

Yes, he replied. He asked: Are you not the one who was being punished? He asked the reason of this drastic change; he explained: That prior condition was in recompense of the unlawful acts I committed in the world and this is in recompense of recitation of elegies on the chief of the martyrs and making people weep. As long as I am in here. I am extremely comfortable and in luxury. When I go there, I would again revert to that condition, which you saw. He said: If it is so, don't come down from the pulpit to go there. He said: It is not possible, they would me take me there in any way.
That, which testifies to the veracity of this statement, is the last verse of Surah Zilzal:

فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ

"He who has done an atom's weight of good shall see it. " (Sura az-Zalzala 99:7).

وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ

And he who has done an atom's weight of evil shall see it." (Sura az-Zalzala 99:8).

It should be clear that this would be his condition in Purgatory (Barzakh), till he is fully punished for his sins or he gets salvation through the intercession of Ahl ul-Bayt ('a). Since he had faith and his heart did not lack in love for Ahl ul-Bayt ('a), in the end he would definitely join the delivered people.

126. Blindness For Sealing The Well

A learned and pious personality narrated that one of his relatives in the final period of his life had purchased a property and was living on its income comfortably.

After his death he was seen in dream that he has lost his eyesight. He was asked how it happened. He replied: The property that I had purchased had a spring of sweet water in its center and people living around took water from there for drinking and also watered their cattle.

Due to their continuous frequenting a part of my crops used to be trampled. In order to avoid this minor loss I thought that I would close this path once and for all. So I filled up the well and plastered it. Now, the people living in that area were compelled to get their water requirements from a well situated at a far location. This blindness is due to the closing of that well.

He was asked: Is there any solution for this? He replied: If my successors have mercy on me and reopen that well, my condition would definitely improve.

The narrator said: I contacted his successors and they accepted the proposal. After some days I saw that late gentleman again and he had regained his vision and was thankful to us.

Man should know that whatever he does is for his own good and if he has oppressed anyone, he has in fact oppressed his own self, if he had done a good turn on anyone he has in fact done a good tum to himself. If he has cut off the head of someone, in the stages of Purgatory (Barzakh), he would himself be decapitated and in Hell, his head would be tethered to his feet.

It is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an that:

بِسِيمَاهُمْ فَيُؤْخَذُ بِالنَّوَاصِي وَالْأَقْدَامِ

"They shall be seized by the forelocks and the feet." (Surah ar-Rahman 55:41)

That is why Lady Zainab Kubra said to that accursed one in the court of Yazid: You have cut off your own skin and have beheaded yourself.

127. Good Fortune For Ziyarat

I have heard many times that a righteous man of his time, Hajj Muhammad Ali Fashandi Tehrani had the honor of meeting Imam Zaman ('a) and a number of incidents are narrated from him. I became eager to see him in person and hear from him directly. So in Rabi us Thani 95 A.H. in Tehran, I met the chief of scholars, Hajj Aga Moin Shirazi and along with him met Hajj Muhammad Ali. The signs of righteousness and devotion to Ahl ul-Bayt ('a) were apparent from him. I requested Hajj Aga Moin to please note down wha the respected Haji was saying. Here, I present his writing for our readers:

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

First Ziyarat

Around twenty years ago we set out for Karbala for the Ziyarat of Arbaeen. It was an occasion when everyone was supposed to pay 400 Tomans for a passport. When I got my passport, my wife said that she also wanted to accompany me. I was annoyed why she had not said so before. Thus, we set out without a passport. Our entourage consisted of 15 persons: four men and eleven ladies.

A Sayyid lady was also among us; she was related to two of my companion travelers and was aged 105 years. We traveled with her with a lot of difficulties and in spite of not having the passport easily crossed the two borders of Iran and Iraq and performed the Ziyarat of Karbala Moalla in Arbaeen. After Arbaeen, we performed the Ziyarat of Najaf al-Ashraf, and on 17th Rabi ul-Awwal, set out for Samarrah and Kazmain.

The two relatives of that Sayyid lady tried to avoid taking her and said: We will leave her in Najaf till our return. I said: I will take the responsibility of taking her. After that we set out from there. At Kazmain railway station, there was a huge crowd of people heading for Samarrah. They were waiting for the train from Kirkuk, Mosul to Baghdad, so that it might take us when it returns from Baghdad. In the presence of such a crowd it was very difficult to get tickets and reservation.

Suddenly an Arab Sayyid having a green shawl around him came to us and said: Hajj Muhammad Ali, peace be on you. You are fifteen persons, right? Yes, I replied. He said: You wait here, and take these fifteen tickets. I am going to Baghdad and will return with the train after half an hour and reserve a bogie for you. Don 'l leave your position.

After that the train arrived from Kirkuk and the Sayyid boarded it and went away. After half an hour, when the train returned the crowd milled around it. When my companions wanted to leave, I restrained them, but they were slightly displeased and all of them boarded it.

That Sayyid arrived and accommodated us in a reserved bogie; till we reached Samarrah. He said: I will take you to Sayyid Abbas Khadim. When we reached there, I said: We are fifteen persons and we would like two rooms for six days. How much do we have to pay? He replied: A Sayyid has paid your rent for six days, including food and other expenses. I will take you to the cellar (Sardab) and the holy sanctuary twice. I asked: Where is the Sayyid? He replied: He has gone down. I searched for him, but couldn't find him.

I said: I owe some money to him as he purchased fifteen tickets for us. He said: I don 't know; he has already paid for all your expenses.

In other words, we returned to Karbala after six days and met late Aga Mirza Mahdi Shirazi and narrated the whole story to him and asked about the amount we owed to the Sayyid. He asked: ls there a Sayyid among you? I said: Yes, a Sayyid lady. He said: It was Imam Zaman (‘a) and you were his guests.

This humble servant says: It is possible that he was an agent (Abdal) of the Imam.

Excellence Of Doing A Good Turn To Sayyids

The aim of narrating this story is to clarify the excellence of doing a good turn to Sayyids and especially Sayyid ladies. It makes one eligible for rewards in the hereafter and worldly benefits as is clear from this story.

When Haji Muhammad Ali proved devotion and service to that Sayyid lady how it was recompensed and how some special servants of Imam Zaman ('a) were sent to help him. After that he was entertained as a guest for six days in Samarrah.

Late Ayatullah Mahdi Shirazi (a.m.) came to know through his enlightened conscience that these blessings were from that Sayyid lady.

Thiqat ul-Islam Hajj Mirza Husayn Noori, in the book of Kalimah Tayyiba, has narrated forty traditional reports and incidents from reliable books regarding excellence and blessings of doing a good turn to Sayyids. One them is mentioned here as a token:

Debts Of Sayyids In The Account Of Ali ('A)

It is narrated from Ibrahim bin Mehran through multiple channels that he said:

1 had a good-natured neighbor in Kufa, named Abu Ja'far. Whenever a Sayyid came to him asking for something he would give it to him. If he paid for it Abu Ja 'far accepted the payment, if he didn't, Abu Ja' far instructed his assistants to record it in the ledger of debts under the name of Ali Ibn Abi Talib ('a).

This continued for quite some time and when his financial conditions worsened and he became poverty stricken he took out the ledgers and tried to recover his debts. If the debtors were alive, he sent his servants for recovery, but if that person was no more or had nothing to repay, he stroked out his name.

One day, he was sitting near the entrance of his house, poring over the ledgers when a Nasibi [one who is inimical to Ali ('a)] passed by and taunted Abu Ja 'far. "What happened to your greatest debtor, Ali? Did he repay you?" Abu Ja' far was hurt at this taunt and the same night he dreamt that the Holy Prophet (S) was sitting with Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn (‘a). The Messenger of Allah (S) asked, "Where is your father? Amir ul-Mu’minin Ali ('a) replied from behind. The Prophet ('a) asked him why he has not repaid the debt of Abu Ja'far.

Ali (‘a) said, "I have brought this for repayment." So saying he took out a white woolen bag and gave it to Abu Ja'far.

The Holy Prophet (S) told him to take it and that whenever their descendants came to ask him for something, he should not spurn them and added that after this there shall be no problem for him.

Abu Ja'far awoke and saw that he was holding the same bag that Ali (‘a) had given him. He shook his sleeping wife and told her to put on the light. When the bag was opened, it was found to contain a thousand gold coins. The wife said, "O Allah's slave! Fear Allah, I hope difficult times have not compelled you to cheat other traders."

"Certainly not!" said Abu Ja'far and narrated the whole incident.

Then he got out his ledger and calculated the total amount in Ali Ibn Ali Talib's account and found it to be exactly 1000 gold coins neither less nor more.

According to another report, he saw that the amount owed to the Imam had been erased.

128. Means Of Travel For Ziyarat Of Karbala (Another Story)

Around twenty years ago on a Friday evening, I went to Masjid Jamkaran with Aga Sayyid Baqir Khayyat and some other persons. All went to sleep, but I and an aged gentleman were awake. He had lighted a candle on the terrace and was reciting a supplication. I was engrossed in Midnight Prayer when suddenly I observed that the atmosphere became illuminated. I thought that the moon has risen. but no matter how much I looked, I could not see it. I saw at a distance of nearly 500 meters, a magnificent Sayyid standing below a tree and that illumination was emanating from him.

I asked the aged gentleman: Can you see a Sayyid next to that tree? He replied: It is a dark night and I cannot see anything. Perhaps you are feeling sleepy; go to sleep. I understood that he was unable to see anything. ·

I said that magnificent Sayyid: Aga, I want to go to Karbala Moalla, but I neither have money nor passport. If I can get passport and money by Thursday morning, I will know that you are the Master of the time ('a) and not only a Sayyid.

Suddenly he disappeared and the atmosphere became dark again. When I recounted this incident to my friends in the morning, some of them made fun of me.

On Wednesday morning, I came on an errand to Maidan Fauzia at Shamshiran Gate. I was standing under the shade of a wall and it was about to rain. An old stranger arrived there and asked: Hajj Muhammad Ali, do you want to go to Karbala? I replied: I am very eager to; but I neither have money nor passport.

He told me to get ten photos and two copies of identity card. I said: I want to take my family as well. He said: No problem. I immediately came home to take the photos and copies of identity card. He said: Come here tomorrow at the same time. I went there the following day. That same gentleman arrived with a passport, Iraqi visa and 5000 Tomans. After that I never saw him again.

I went to the place of Aga Sayyid Baqir, where recitation of Salawat was in progress. Some friends jokingly asked: Did you get the passport? i replied: Yes, and placed the passport and 5000 Tomans before them. When they noted that the date of issue was Wednesday, they started crying: Alas, we remained deprived of this fortune.

129. Help During Agony Of Death

Hujjat ul-Islam, Aga Hajj Sayyidullah Madani has written in one of his letters as follows:

It was a religious festival, when around noon I went to visit Ayatullah Hajj Sayyid Mahmud Shahroodi, Nafaz Zakiyyah. Since it was late, people had stopped frequenting that place and he had gone into the house, but he came out once again due to his noble manners.

During conversation, he said: Once, we set out from the holy city of Kaznrnin for Ziyarat of Samarrah in the company of Late Abachi. After Ziyarat of Sayyid Muhammad, we had traveled for one Farsakh (three miles) when Aga Abachi passed out. He dropped to the ground completely motionless. Then he said: Since my death is definite, I can neither go on nor return from here, and I can do nothing for you. If you halt here, you will be putting your life into peril and it is prohibited.

So it is obligatory on you to move on and save yourself and since you can do nothing for me, there is no obligation on you. So I left him there most unwillingly and with great regret and set out from here as per my duty.

Whcn I reached Samarrah the following day and entered the inn, I saw Aga Abachi coming out. After greetings, I asked him how he managed to reach there before me. He replied: Yes, as you know, I was on the verge of death and no other option was there.

So I straightened my legs, closed my eyes and started waiting for death. When I heard the wind blow, I thought that it was the angel of death and opened my eyes, but when no one was seen, I closed my eyes again. Once I heard someone and opened my eyes to see that it was an Arab gentleman in ordinary Arab garments, holding the reins of a mule. He was standing near me. He asked me how I was and why I was lying in that wilderness. I replied that my whole body was in pain. I had no strength to move and I was waiting for death.

He said: Get up, I'll escort you. I replied: I cannot get up. He picked me up and made me mount. I noticed that wherever he touched me, the pain disappeared; till his hand gradually reached to all the parts of my body and the whole body became so comfortable as if there was no exhaustion in the first place. He was pulling the rein of the mount. I requested him to mount as well, but he didn't agree.

He said: I am used to walking. Just then I noticed that he had a green shawl around his waist. I said to myself: Are you not ashamed that a Sayyid and a descendant of the Messenger of Allah (S) should walk ahead leading your mount and you sit on the mount? At once I jumped down from the mount and said: Master, I sincerely want you to mount. At that moment, I found myself in an inn and no one else was present there. (Dated: 29th Rabius Thani, 95 A.H.)

A similar story is that, which Ayatullah Sayyid Shahabuddin Marashi has narrated from the late gentleman in the book of Muntaqim Haqiqi, Pg. 175. It is quoted here for more insight.

130. Harkening To One Who Is Exhausted In Wilderness

A learned Sayyid scholar, whose truthfulness and piety are doubtless, was once going for the Ziyarat of Sayyid Muhammad from Samarrah on foot and he lost his way. Being despaired of life, he fell down in a swoon due to the intense heat and extreme hunger and thirst. After some time, when he regained consciousness, he realized that his head was in the lap of a person, who put a glass of water at his lips.

The Sayyid says: I had never in my life tasted such sweet and cool water. After his thirst was quenched, he opened the dinner spread and gave him two or three loaves of millet bread. When he ate them, that Arab said: O Sayyid, take bath in this stream.

The Sayyid says: I said: Brother, there is no stream over here and I almost died of thirst when you arrived to help me.

The Arab said: This is a flowing stream of clear and pure water. He says: As soon as he said this, I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a flowing stream of crystal-clear water. I was astounded that even though the stream was so near, I was dying of thirst. That Arab asked: Sayyid, where are you headed? I replied: The mausoleum of Sayyid Muhammad. He said: This is the mausoleum of Sayyid Muhammad.

The Sayyid says: I noticed that I was close to the mausoleum of Sayyid Muhammad, although the point from where I had lost my way was in Qadisya, which was very far from there.

In any case, within that short time, the beneficial points that the Arab mentioned to me was emphasis on recitation of Qur’an and necessity of declaring immunity from those who claim that there is distortion in Holy Qur’an. He also condemned the reporters, who have fabricated traditions of distortion. He emphasized on goodness to parents when they are alive and after their death. Ziyarat of holy places and tombs of the Holy Imams (‘a) and Imamzadahs; emphasis on respecting the descendants of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) and stress on Midnight Prayers.

He also said: Sayyid, I am surprised on scholars who consider themselves to be related to us and who are not regular in this. He stressed on other things as well.

The Sayyid says: When I deliberated on the identity of this Arab gentleman from whom I had seen those strange happenings and heard advices, he immediately disappeared.

131. Return Of The Suitcase Key

Pious man, Hajj Mulla Ali Kazerooni, from whom some stories have been narrated about acceptance of supplications and divine bestowals, narrates:

When the Almighty Allah gave me divine opportunity (Tawfiq) for Hajj, I set out from Kuwait to Jeddah by air. When I reached Jeddah, an announcement was made that we would be reaching Jeddah in a few moments, so everyone should be ready with his or her suitcase for customs check.

I looked for the suitcase key in my pocket, but could not find it. Then I realized that I had forgotten it at home. I was extremely anxious and beseeched to the Almighty: O Lord, I am Your guest and I want to put on the Ihram dress to enter into Your vicinity, but the Ihram garments are also there inside the suitcase, and the key is lost. What should I do?

He said: By God, at moment that key fell into my lap in such a way that my travel companion (son of late Hasan Dentist) also became aware of it, and he asked: What is it?

I explained the situation to him and thanked the Almighty Allah for the key.

It was mentioned in story no. 25 that such acceptance of supplications and extraordinary happenings are not unexpected from righteous persons.

Result Of Lifelong Sincerity

Hajj Ali, aged around seventy years, has, as far as I know, spent a lifetime in obedience, sincerity and love for God, Muhammad and Aale Muhammad ('a) and refraining from heedlessness about their circumstances and attention to the court of Almighty.

No doubt, one having such behavior scales the position of proximity and definitely reaches to the unlimited power of Almighty Allah. Since this world is limited, the believer sees that world after death, but sometimes a few things are experienced in this world as well, as mentioned in the story of Asif bin Barkhiya, who brought the throne of Bilquis from Syria to Prophet Sulaiman (‘a) in a blink, as stated in Surah Naml.

The Child Remains Suspended In Air

One day a religious fellow was passing through a street when he noticed a crowd and people were engrossed in something. He asked: What's the matter? They replied: A child wandered to the roof and his mother is wailing for him, as she is apprehensive that he might fall down from there. Meanwhile the boy stepped on the spout and fell. That religious man instantly said: O Allah, stop him.

The child became suspended in air, till he took him in his arms and conveyed him to his mother. When people witnessed this, they gathered around him and started kissing his hands and feet. He said: Gentlemen, this is nothing extraordinary. If a lowly man has passed his life in obedience of Almighty, and He in return fulfills his request; what is amazing in that?

That, which supports this statement is the following part of Hadith Qudsi in which the Almighty Allah says: "I am a companion of one who is My neighbor; and one who obeys Me, I do whatever he asks me to."1

- 1. Iqbal. Chapter of the rituals of the month of Rajab.

132. Turning To Imam Husayn ('A)

Distinguished mason, late Hajj Abd ul-Ali (r.a.) has narrated:

During my Ziyarat of Karbala, I was one day in the holy courtyard and another person was also there. I asked his name and he said: So and so Khorasani. I asked what his profession was and he said that he was a mason. I noted that we belonged to the same profession and asked him whether he was a visitor or a caretaker.

He explained: I am working on this site since many years. I asked: Have you have witnessed an extraordinary happening in this holy land?

Yes, he replied, there is a grave facing the Qibla in the holy courtyard, famous as the grandfather's grave. Since it was in a dilapidated condition some people contracted me to repair it. I started the renovation and initially had the ground around it dug up to lay the foundation. When a corpse was found in excavation, I was in formed and I saw that it was a fresh body. but lying on its left side and facing the grave of the chief of the martyrs. and its back was to the Qibla. I had the grave closed immediately and completed renovation work.

This story is supported by circumstances, which late Mirza Husayn Noori (a.m.) has mentioned in the book of Dar us-Salam.

He writes: Our teacher, Allamah Shaykh Abd ul-Husayn Tehrani (a.m.) acquired some houses to extend the western courtyard of the tomb of Imam Husayn ('a) to include them in the holy precincts and also constructed around sixty cellars in that portion to bury the dead, which were sealed with brick work.

Believers buried their dead in those cellars. After a long time, it was realized that those ceilings would not be able to bear the load of public traffic and would possibly collapse, leading to hardships and deaths. So the Shaykh ordered the roofs to be removed and reconstructed with more stability.

Since a large number of corpses had been buried in those cellars, he instructed them to renovate one cellar at a time. Thus, the ceiling of whichever cellar was demolished; first a person entered it and piled earth on the corpses to conceal them; so that no sacrilege is committed.

In this way, they reached up to the cellar opposite the holy sepulcher and when they descended to conceal the bodies, they found that the heads of the corpses buried in those graves, which were previously in the west, were now upside down.

When this information became public, numerous people gathered to see it directly. The bodies buried in that area had changed their position. They were three in number, one of them being of Aga Mirza Ismail Isfahani, the engraver, who worked in the holy courtyard. When his son saw this, he testified that he was present at the time of his father's burial and at that time his feet were in the direction of the holy sepulcher, but now the head was towards it.

It became clear that this was a warning from the Almighty Allah that they should learn the way of behaving with the Holy Imams (‘a). That same day the learned, pious Mulla Abu ‘l-Hasan Mazandarani narrated to me that sometime before this miracle, I had a dream about whose interpretation I was confused, but today it had become clear, and the dream was as follows:

When the pious maternal aunt (mother's sister) of my son passed away, I buried her in this part of courtyard. One night, I saw her in dream and inquired about what all had passed on her. She said that all was well, except for the fact that we had buried her in a cramped place, which prevented her from stretching her legs and that she had to place her head on the knees.

When I awoke, I tried to unravel its meaning, but could not understand it. However, now I understood that stretching legs in the direction of Imam ('a) is an act of disrespect. This miracle occurred during the month of Safar in 1276 A.H.

The conclusion derived from these two stories is that the Almighty Allah, through these strange happenings, wanted to explain the necessity of according respect to the Holy Imams (‘a).

When the Almighty Allah cannot accept that the back or feet of the dead should point to the grave of that Imam, how obligatory and important must be its respect on the living?

May Allah curse and increase His chastisement on those who consider themselves Muslims, and yet trespass on the sanctity of that holy tomb, put obstacles in the way of pilgrims; on the contrary, continue to torture and punish them, especially the accursed Mutawakkil Abbaside, who appointed some men to destroy the tomb and erase its signs. The strange fact is that in the end, Mutawakkil released those pilgrims, as mentioned in the book of Shaykh Shustari's Khasais ul-Husaynia.

133. Why The Corpse Does Not Decay?

A strange news report was published in Kayhan Daily, Thursday, 3rd Mardad 1353 A.H. No. 9319; its gist is as follows:

A 1300-year-old corpse was found in a perfect condition in a pit, which a few unknown thieves had dug in Yazd.

It was attributed to be of Bibi Hayat, a famous lady from the early period of Islam.

Yazd correspondent of Kayhan says that with an aim to steal antiques the thieves dug up a grave in Fahraj village in Yazd. This grave was attributed to Bibi Hayat and her un-decayed and perfect body came out from the grave.

After opening the grave of Bibi Hayat, villagers of Fahraj informed the department of culture and arts of Yazd, and the archaeological expert also saw the grave and the exposed body and certified that it was undamaged and that it most probably belonged to Bibi Hayat.

This dead body was buried in the Ziyarat place of martyrs nearly 1300 years ago, but had not decayed and deteriorated so far. Her face and eyebrows are in the original condition. The correspondent of Kayhan Daily in Yazd, who personally saw that body, says: The hair is completely black and distinct from the body.

Special expert of Department of culture and arts, Yazd and other government officers testified to this report and said: The grave and corpse belong to a prominent lady of the Muslim army, who fought the Jewish and Zoroastrian armies in the Shohada locality. Presently investigation is in progress in the neighboring places to find the facts. Head, Department of Culture and Arts, Yazd, Aga Darbani also certified this report and said: This grave and the body exposed from it belonged to members of the Muslim army. We are conducting investigation and study in this matter.

Fahraj locality is situated at a distance of thirty kilometers from Yazd and has many historical and ancient sites, including 'Ziyaratgah Shohada' and tomb of Bibi Hayat, who belonged to the early period of Islam; it is a place of pilgrimage for the natives.

The history of these relics shows that they are related to the early period of Islam. According to villagers of Fahraj, thieves opened the grave of Bibi Hayat to get at the items placed in the ancient graves and it is not known whether they found anything.

In Kayhan, Saturday, 5th Mardad, 1353 A.H. No. 9320, continuing from the previous edition, it is mentioned as follows:

Preservation Of The Corpse For 1300 Years

The correspondent of Kayhan in Yazd writes: Investigation continues about digging up the graves of Fahraj village in Yazd and the police department is making inquiries from the caretaker of pilgrimage centre.

The grave of Bibi Hayat, situated in a village of Yazd was opened by some unknown thieves and her body, buried 1300 ago, was found in perfect condition. According to the testimony of responsible personalities of Yazd, the body of this well-known lady of early period of Islam has not decayed. Her bones, face and hair are all in perfect condition.

Today it was announced in Yazd that members of the department of culture and arts, department of endowments and police department are busy investigating the incident of opening of the grave of Bibi Hayat. The police department has also issued a public appeal for help in investigation and is making inquiries from the caretaker of the pilgrimage centre.

Department of culture and arts of Yazd, has testified to the fresh condition of the corpse and also that it belongs to Bibi Hayat, and those who opened the grave of Bibi Hayat at night to get at the antiques, removed earth from two other spots as well in the pilgrimage centre, but when nothing was found there, they turned to the grave of Bibi Hayat. In spite of this, it is not clear whether some ancient relics were stolen from the grave or not.

He further said that the grave of Bibi Hayat, which is a pilgrimage centre for villagers of Fahraj, would soon be repaired and renovated.

134. Increase In Purse Money

Aga Hajj Muhammad Hasan Shirkat of Isfahan has written:

A relative of Aga Hajj Muhammad Jawad Bedabadi (regarding whom numerous stories are narrated in this book), who was a very nice man, narrated to me:

I lived with Late Aga Hajj for a period of time. He confided many secrets to me and my job was to visit his friend, Haji Sayyid Musa, who had a general store in Bedabad to get a hundred Dinars, while at that time it was a huge amount. Aga Bedabadi placed the money under his carpet, where he placed his feet and from morning till night, whoever visited him asking for monetary assistance, he took out the coins from there and gave him.

One day, his nephew (sister's son) asked me to convey to him that the money he gives him is less than that, which he gives to others.

When I stated this, he said: I don 't increase or decrease it on my own. I put my hand under the mattress and give whatever comes to any given person.

The narrator says: I was informed by those who received money from him that if they placed the coins given by him in a purse to seek divine increase, they were never short of funds.

135. Story Of Ahmad, The Cook

He has also written that my brother-in-law (sister's husband), who had a clinic in Bedabad locality has narrated from Mash-hadi Ahmad the cook, whose shop was located in Bedabad that:

One day I was in the condition of ritual spirituality (Janabat) and was not unable to take a bath. In haste, I picked up the rice and meat dish (Biryani) and went to the house of Haji Muhammad Jawad, who lived in Bedabad near my shop.

After responding to the greetings, he asked: Why have you come without performing the ritual bath? Don 't come like this to the shop, and also take this food back.

Mash-hadi Ahmad thought to himself that he might have made a wild guess, which proved true by chance. So one day he intentionally did not perform the bath and in condition of Janabat took the food and came to the Haji. He called him and asked in private:

Didn't I tell you that you should never come to the shop without bathing? Why did you do that? Get out and take this food back, I cannot eat it.

136. The European Held Condolence Meetings

Shaykh Muhammad, alias Maulavi Khandahari, from whom many stories were narrated, says:

Fifty years ago, on 14th Muharram at the Eidgah of holy Mashhad, the caretaker of Holy tomb, Shaykh Muhammad Baqir Waiz narrated as follows:

Once during Muharram, I was invited by the Iranian business community in France to deliver Muharram lectures and I went there for the same.

On the first night, a French jeweler came with his wife and son to the Iranian Center, where I was staying and requested the organizers that since he wanted to fulfill a vow, could they please bring their speaker to this place for ten nights to recite the Majalis.

When the attendants asked me about it, I agreed. Since the Majlis at Iranian Center was over, they took me to his place. I recited a Majlis, which was comprehended by my countrymen, but the host and his wife sat in grief as they could not understand Persian and did not even ask for a translation. This continued till the ninth.

On Ashura eve, due to recommended rituals, supplications and Ziyarat Nahiya, I could not go to his place. He came and complained about it the following morning. I mentioned the excuse that on Ashura night we perform some special rituals. This satisfied him, but he requested that instead I should come on the eleventh, so that his vow of ten Majalis is complete.

So, I went to his place that night and after the Majlis, he brought a hundred gold coins for me. I said: I would accept only if you tell me the reason for your vow. He said: During last Muharram, in Mumbai (India) my bag of jewels containing all my stocks was stolen. I was on the verge of death because of the shock and nearly had heart attack. There was a wide road below the place I was staying, where Muslims were taking out effigy of Zuljanah, beatings their chests and flagellating themselves with chains.

I also stepped down and joined those mourners and prayed to the one who was being mourned that if through his miracle, I got my stolen bag back, I vowed that next year, I would spend a hundred gold coins for Majlis programs wherever I might be. I had walked only a few steps when a person came and breathing heavily, pale in face, handed the briefcase to me and ran away. I returned to my lodging, opened the case and after counting the gems concluded that the thief had not taken even a piece from it.

May I and my parents be sacrificed for your, O Aba Abdullah!

Persian couplet:
Why would you deprive the friends, when you have graced even your enemies?

As mentioned before, problems of many non-Muslim persons were solved through mediation of Imam Husayn ('a) and their wishes were fulfilled. Such persons are present in the idolater community of India, who keep aside a part of their annual income to be handed over to the Shia for spending on Azadari ceremonies of Muharram and Safar, and they consider this participation as a means of earning divine blessings.

If a non-believer can seek the mediation of the Imam and his need is fulfilled, why a person of faith, who seeks forgiveness, salvation, mercy, intercession and security from pains and calamities of Purgatory (Barzakh), Judgment Day and Hell and desires the blessings of Paradise, would not be successful?

One who remained attached to him was never deprived and one who sought his refuge, is secure.

137. Punishment For Breaking Promise

The Maulavi has also narrated:

During those days, Nasir ul-Islam, Abu ‘l-Waizeen had arrived in the Holy Mash-had. During Holy Ramadhan, he spoke on ethical issues from the pulpit. In the evenings, he discussed miraculous incidents witnessed at the holy shrine of Imam Ali Al-Ridha (‘a).

He has narrated that among the nobles of Tehran, there was a man who had two wives from Husayni Sadaat (Sayyids) and they lived in the same house. They had entered into a pact to be sincere to each other and to avoid jealousy and malice at any cost; and also that they will not talk ill of each other to the husband and or create mischief for each other. They invoked Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) to witness this pact and stipulated that if one of them acted in contravention, the Imam may blind her.

After some time, one of them violated the agreement and committed dishonesty in their mutual pact. As a result of this she became blind that same week. No matter how regretful she became and repented for her sins, but it was to no avail.

She decided to perform the Ziyarat of Holy Mash-had and Nasir ul-Islam was her special reciter of mourning poems. He says:

We spent forty nights at the head side of the holy sanctuary, mostly in supplications, weeping and wailing. We remained awake till morning along with some Sayyids, scholars and a considerable number of people, but there was no sign of recovery.

On the forty-first night, I recited the farewell Ziyarat and helplessly decided that we will leave for Tehran the following morning. At dawn, a light appeared from the sepulcher and passed over the head of that woman. People present there raised slogans of Salawat and all became certain that she was cured. That effulgence passed out from the ventilator.

Suddenly there were sounds of clapping and Salawat arose from Darus Siyadat. We went there to check and learnt that an old lady from Kabul has been cured. Vision was restored to both her eyes, in spite of the fact that she had lived for years in blindness and had become used to it. Also, she had neither come to the shrine with the intention of being cured nor prayed for it. The Almighty Allah showed the miracle of nature, divine power and Imamate so that we should never consider oaths made to the caliph of God as insignificant and that we should fulfill them in the best way.

It becomes clear from this story how severe the punishment of breaking the vow made to God and His Messenger is. For example, if a person vows to abstain from a particular sin and then later on commits it; even though it is a small sin, but due to going against the word given to the Almighty Allah it becomes a greater sin. For more details and to learn about the severity of this sin, refer to the book of Greater Sins.

Regarding this story, if it is said that the helpless woman, after becoming blind, regretted her mistake and sought the refuge of the infallible Imam and wept and wailed for forty nights, and other people also prayed for her, and one who repents from a sin is as if he had not committed that sin, why her repentance was not accepted and how her eyes were not cured?

We would reply: First of all, it is not known whether she had repented with sincerity. A person should regret his or her act, should weep and wail for forgiveness with a firm intention of not repeating the same again. Thus, if he is regretful only due to its evil consequences and punishment, it is not true repentance.

In other words, his condition is such that if there had been no punishment, he would have had no qualms in disobeying the Almighty Allah again. That is why such repentance is not acceptable. Secondly, even if it is supposed that she performed true repentance, even then she should have asked for the forgiveness of her co-wife and made up with her and also corrected the mischief that she caused.

Thirdly, one who makes a vow to the Almighty Allah and then breaks it is liable to pay the legal penalty. As far as possible he should not delay the payment of the same, or he would not get salvation (penalty of breaking a vow is to emancipate a slave or to fast for sixty days or to feed sixty poor people).

Fourthly, we can say that the woman not being cured was a kind of grace and kindness on her and other people, so that all may know that God and the souls of the Holy Imams ('a) are present everywhere and they witness all the deeds of the people, and nothing is concealed from them. Also just as Allah is the most merciful of the merciful ones, in the same way, He is also the most severe punisher. After understanding this, one should not dare to commit the sin again and beware of His fury.

138. Fishes Rain From The Sky

The Maulavi has also narrated the following incident:

I was eight years old, when there was heavy rain and during that, I saw a fish drop from the sky and not even half a minute passed when a cat devoured it.

Similar to this incident is what passed on us during our Hajj journey. It was the time of the Second World War and I could not travel via Iran. So I set out by air and disembarked in Bahrain.

In Bahrain, there was a shortage of food due to war and people there were starving. In addition to wheat, stocks of gram, rice and moong were also exhausted. All of us gathered in Masjid Husaynia and collectively supplicated. After sometime we observed a smoke like thing rose up in the sea, which soon transformed into a cloud and then fishes began to rain down from it.

The fishes, which dropped from the heavens, provided us nourishment for a week, after which our rations arrived.

139. Potable Water In The Sea

Similar to this story of Mr. Khandahari, was one narrated to me by late Hajj Muhammad Kuwait around thirty-five years ago, when I performed Hajj in his company. He narrated:

Once my cousin had loaded coconuts on his ship and set out from Mumbai to Dubai. In normal circumstances, he should have reached there in a week's time, but even after three days there was no news of his.

We became certain that he was shipwrecked and drowned. So we also held a mourning assembly (Fatiha Khwani Majlis) for him. After one month, his ship appeared in the sea, but in such a way that his main sail post was broken and its canvas was gone. They brought themselves to the shore with the help of oars and narrated what had befallen them.

He explained: After setting out from Mumbai, suddenly one day a strange kind of storm occurred and it destroyed the sail post, to which the canvas was attached. The canvas was also torn up into pieces. After the sea fell quiet, we were forced to sail with the help of oars and were able to cover only a few kilometers everyday till our drinking water was exhausted. We were compelled to open the coconuts and drink its water.

At last, when the coconuts were also exhausted, due to extreme heat and thirst we lost out sense of perception, movement, fell into a swoon and were about to die. Suddenly a piece of cloud arrived and started raining on us. We opened our mouths. When water passed into our throats, we were able to move. We kept the utensils outside. When they were filled, we poured them into the water pot, till it overflowed.

Then the cloud went away and today when we have somehow reached Dubai, that water is also over.

140. Release From Imprisonment And Fulfillment Of Aim

In the same way, the Maulavi has narrated that a handsome sixteen-year-old youth, who was famous as Aga Zubairi, in the Paimpa Madressa of Holy Mash-had, which has now closed down, used to visit Shaykh Qanbar Tawassuli. He was a pious human being and was mostly in fasting state, except on the two Eids. He was very eager to see the folks of the cave and Imam Zaman ('a) and was trying a great deal to achieve this aim.

He says: I abstained from full dinner for forty days; only at the time of breaking the fast did I take a handful of powdered grams. This was my usual meal.

Among his good qualities was that even if he received a tiny amount of money from somewhere, he distributed it to the beggars. He escorted lepers and other diseased person to public bath and was very particular in this.

I met him after three or four years in Karbala Moalla. It was the grace of the Almighty Allah that on reaching Najaf al-Ashraf, he inquired about the location of my respected father, Mirza Ali Akbar Khandahari, who lived near Masjid Tusi and I met Aga Zubairi over there only. He narrated his story as follows:

Thanks be to Allah, my wish was fulfilled before meeting the folks of the cave or that I should depart for the Green Island. I set out from Mash-had to Iraq with my mother. After walking for nine days, when we reached the Iraqi border check post, we were arrested and we remained in detention for seventeen days.

Even though we pleaded that we are saintly people, who have renounced the world; and that we were going from holy Mash-had to Karbala Moalla, they did not release us. So we sought the mediation of Imam Zaman ('a).

The soldiers and guards committed immodest and obscene acts and we found all this extremely distasteful. Sometimes they gave us some bread and dates, which we took unwillingly. One day my pleadings assumed an increased tempo and the wailings intensified. Soon a motor car arrived there and stood at my door. There was a gentleman in it having an extremely illuminated face and his effulgence spread all around. He attracted my attention. When I glanced at the guards, I found them awestruck and senseless.

That bright faced gentleman called us. When I came to him, he asked: What are you doing here? I said: I and my mother are under detention since the last seventeen days and we would like to go to Karbala.

He said: Get your mother and board the vehicle. I brought her to the car, which did not have space previously, but later on it became spacious and fragrant.

I again observed the guards and found that not one of them was able to utter a word and all were in a strange shock.

The car had not even started moving for ten minutes when I found myself near the caravanserai of Farman Farma in Kazmain.

141. Panegyric In Praise Of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('A) And A Strange Dream

The respected author has also narrated:

I resided in holy Mash-had and in my youth, under the blessings of the kind and affectionate Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a), my oratory became more famous and more magnetic than my knowledge.

I was studying under Shaykh Ali Akbar Nahawandi, Sayyid Al-Ridha Quchani, Shaykh Ramadhan Ali Quchani, Shaykh Murtaza Bakhurdi and Shaykh Murtaza Ashtyani and in addition to Mash had, they sent me to Pakistan, Khandahar and the outskirts.

One night, I returned to holy Mash-had and reached Masjid Gauharshad. The call for prayer was just recited and Shaykh Ali Akbar Nahwandi started leading the prayer. I met him after the prayers; he asked about my well-being and we embraced each other. He took some snuff and then handed me his snuff box.

At that moment Hajj Qawam Lari stood up and started a recital of elegies (Raudha Khwan), in the beginning of which, he recited the following two couplets, which I had never heard before:

"It is right that Ali is a human being, but what a human being? His Lord has manifested himself in him and it has become apparent that he and the Absolute Being is having the position of effulgence and sight - he and the Creator of the world are like the sun and the moon."

A revolution came upon me on hearing these couplets. Aga Shaykh Ali Akbar Nahawandi said something. One of my ears was listening to him and another to the discourse of Hajj Qawam. I wanted that he should not anything else.

I came home in this condition, all alone and I perceived a movement in my mood and a wave of inspiration came upon me. I took up pen and paper and composed the following couplets:

"In other words, the Almighty Allah informed me: I am like the sun and Ali is like the moon. He is the absolute being instead of effulgence and sight and also the source of universe; as if they are moon and sun.

It is only love, which has created pain and grief and it is love, which has created the furor. It is love that is Ali, the lion of God.

He is such a human being that after kneading the clay of Adam they sowed tc seeds of worship in it.

His face is the mirror of all the eight gardens of Paradise and his hair is the earring of worshippers.

Make my essence into the philosopher's stone through your beneficence so that the nature of Houries and angels is created in it.

I am not an Ahl ul-Bayt hater (Nasibi) or an extremist (Ghulat). Love has written my fate in such a way that I prostrate for God in your prayer niche.

The extremist says: Ali is God, while he is not, although he is an expression of divine qualities.

One who is a displayer of religion is hungry for position and wealth. Due to ignorance he is the frog of a well.

He is familiar with Holy Kaaba and Hajar Aswad, but is unaware of the royal clan.

The Messenger of Allah (S) is the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate.

Turn to that Qibla of recognition and learn the lesson of your deeds from the Holy Qur’an.

O Ali, O treasurer of divine secrets and one, who increases the glory of the gardens of universe; your arrival honored the Holy Kaaba and Masjid Kufa became the first stage of your exaltation.

When your creator opened the door of creation, it implied only your love and affection and the aim of this love and affection was that the dinner spread of generosity and nobility should be spread before the people of universe.

What should I say about praise and glorification of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a) while all humans and jinns are helpless to recite his praise?

O king of religion and the world, this disgraced one, whose scroll of deeds is full of sins, has come to seek the refuge of Hazrat Qanbar.

If he gives, it would be a fulfillment and if he drives away, it would be a matter of regret.

O Ali, your Qanbar, if Allah wills will not turn away a beggar from his door.

O Qanbar, please throw a glance of kindness on me. I am intoxicated with the wine of the love of Ali.

Ali is my Paradise and Qanbar is Kauthar for me. It is right that Ali is a human being, but what a human being?

His Lord has manifested himself in him and it is apparent that he..."

Four years passed after this incident, but I didn't know whether this elegy was accepted.

One day, I was sleeping after lunch, when I saw in dream that I was on the Ziyarat of Karbala Moalla and was present in the verandah of the holy shrine, but the doors of the inner sanctum were closed and visitors are engrossed in reciting Ziyarat Waritha in the veranda itself.

I wondered why the doors were closed. Since 1 had arrived only a moment ago, I inquired whether they would be opened or not. People said that they would open after an hour. Right now, scholars of the past and future are engrossed in reciting the praises and tragedies of Ahl ul-Bayt ('a).

I came to the holy place of martyrdom in that dream and since was not getting peace of mind, I reached the aperture situated above the head side and saw a crowd of scholars among whom I recognized some: Majlisi, Mulla Mohsin Faiz. Sayyid Ismail Sadar, Mirza Hasan Shirazi and Shaykh Ja'far Shustari; all were present there and the sanctum was full of people. All were facing the holy sepulcher and their backs were towards the doors.

Their leader was late Haad Husayn Qummi. He sent each of them one by one to recite while others encouraged and extolled him and wept at the recitals. In this way I saw many persons, who went to the pulpit, presented their compositions and then came down to take a seat. In this dream, I fiddled with the ventilators like children and suddenly found myself in the sanctum, but except besides Aga Qummi, there was no vacant space, so I was compelled to take it.

I was much devoted to Aga Qummi when he was in Holy Mashhad, and was later on appointed as his representative also. He was compeering the program aloud.

When he decried me, he said: Maulavi Hasan? I said: May I be your ransom, what do you command? He said: Go on the stage and present your discourse. I hesitated and wondered how I should fulfill his order; which verse I should take as the subject and which traditional reports should I narrate to support my arguments. What method should I adopt to begin reciting the tragedy of Imam Husayn ('a)? Etc. Suddenly I received unseen inspiration and started my recital:

"lt is right that Ali is a human being, but what a human being? His Lord has manifested himself in him and it has become apparent that he...and so on."

When I awoke, my heart was in palpitation and I was perspiring profusely as if it was my end. I thanked God that praise to Allah, my poem was accepted in the court of the Almighty.

142. Reading Without Glasses

Aga Hajj Muhammad Hasan Eimania, from whom a number of stories were narrated in the beginning of this book, during the month of Rajah, 1394 A.H. performed the Ziyarat of Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) in holy Mash-had. After his return, he said:

There was such a huge crowd of people there; that it was very difficult to enter the holy sanctuary. One day I managed to enter after a great struggle and difficulty and opening the Mafatih put my hand inside my pocket to take out my glasses as I was unable to read and write without them since last few years.

At that moment I realized that I had forgotten my glasses in my room. I was extremely aggrieved and in despair that even though with great difficulty, I have managed to enter the tomb, I will not be able to recite the Ziyarat.

Just then my sight fell on the text of Mafatih; I realized that I could read the text clearly and easily. I was extremely elated. I recited the Ziyarat with complete decorum and thanked the Almighty. After the Ziyarat and on coming out of the tomb, I again opened the Mafatih and found that I could not read it without glasses as before; and I am in this same condition after that. I realized that it was only the grace of the same Imam.

143. Warding Off Calamity By Ziyarat Ashura

Aga Shaykh Hasan Farid Gulpaygani, who is among the topmost scholars of Tehran, has narrated from his late teacher, Ayatullah Hajj Shaykh Abd ul-Karim Yazdi Haeri (a.m.) that he said:

When I was studying religion in Samarrah, once the residents of that place became involved in epidemic of plague and every day there were a number of deaths.

Some scholars gathered at the place of my late teacher, Sayyid Muhammad Fisharki (a.m.) to find some solution. Suddenly Mirza Muhammad Taqi Shirazi (a.m.), who was a peer of the late Sayyid Muhammad Fisharki (a.m.) arrived there and discussion ensued about the epidemic: that presently all the people were in perilous circumstances.

The late Mirza asked: If I issue a command, would it be obeyed? All replied that it would be. He said: I order all the Shia of Samarrah, that from today for ten days, they should recite Ziyarat Ashura every day and gift its reward to the purified soul of Narjis Khatun, mother of Hazrat Hujjat (a.t.f.s.) so that they may remain safe from this calamity.

Scholars present there conveyed this to all the Shia and they started reciting Ziyarat Ashura as advised.

From the following day deaths among Shia stopped, but they continued among Ahl ul-Sunna till the matter became clear to all.

Some Sunnis asked their Shia friends: There are no more deaths among you people, what is the reason for that? He replied: Ziyarat Ashura. So, they also started reciting Ziyarat Ashura and were saved from this calamity.

Aga Farid said: Once when I was confronted with a severe problem, I recalled the instructions of that late scholar and began to recite Ziyarat Ashura from the first of Muharram, till I got relief in an unusual manner on the eighth day.

There is no doubt that the position of Mirza Shirazi is much more exalted that he should make a claim from his own side, and since this seeking of mediation through Ziyarat Ashura is not narrated in any traditional report from any Infallible, therefore that gentleman must have been ordered for it by the Imam in a true dream, intuition, or spiritual realization; and its effect also became clear.

Late Hajj Shaykh Muhammad Baqir, Shaykhul Islam, has narrated that in Karbala al-Moalla, gatherings of mourning (Majalis) were held during days of Ashura at the house of late Mirza Shirazi and on Ashura, in company of students and scholars, he went to the tombs of His Eminence, chief of martyrs and His Eminence, Abbas and perform the rituals of Azadari mourning.

It was the practice of Mirza that he recited Ziyarat Ashura in his room on the upper storey. After that he came down and participated in Majlis. One day, when I was also present there, before the usual time, the Mirza came down weeping and wailing and entering the gathering, said:

Today you all narrate the calamity of the thirst of Imam Husayn (‘a) and perform mourning rituals. All those present in the gathering became uncontrollable with grief and some even swooned. Then we came with the Mirza to the holy mausoleum and the blessed courtyard in that same condition.

As if the Mirza was appointed to deliver this reminder that one who recites Ziyarat Ashura of the chief of martyrs, with an intention of seeking his mediation [and not, because it is narrated from an infallible], would definitely find that it is effective in one, ten or forty days; and innumerable persons were successful in their great objectives.

Late Mirza Taqi Muhammad Shirazi passed away in Karbala al-Moalla in 1338 A.H. and was buried in the south-west courtyard.

144. Miraculous Acts Of A Pious Man

On 10th Jamadi ath-Thani, I was in Karbala al-Moalla in the mausoleum of Sayyid Mujahid (a.m.) with some scholars when Late Hajj Sayyid Muhammad Ali related an incident that:

The late Aga Sayyid Muhammad Ali was a very modest gentleman, having a very firm faith and extremely particular about enjoining good and forbidding evil. He was always striving in religious matters and was also in imprisoned for two years during the British rule in Iraq.

Among his qualities was that during his attendance in the holy shrine, he only recited supplications, Ziyarats and Prayers and did not speak a word to anyone, not even in response to someone's query, because he considered it against manners. He used to respond with gestures that he should ask him when he is out of there.

One day, he was seated on his prayer mat when a person [probably named Muhammad Ali] approached and in spite of the fact that he had no previous familiarity or introduction with him, said: Sayyid Muhammad, get up and arrange a house for me.

In spite of the fact that the late Sayyid, as per his habit was heedless of even prominent scholars, he became helpless and said: I am at your service. Then he came out of the shrine and took him to a house in the lane of the mausoleum of Late Shaykhul Ulama; which was in perfect and clean condition. He settled him in the house and returned.

The following day, he went to visit him. The Shaykh after seating him brought some pieces of lime lying in a corner of the room and said: See what it is. When he glanced at them, they were precious gems. After that he said: You can take them, if you like.

The Sayyid said: I don't need them. So he took them back and threw them on the ground and they resumed their previous form.

That same day or on some other day, he told the Sayyid: "Let us go for the Ziyarat of the grave of His Eminence, Hurr," and set out on foot from the bank of Euphrates. He started walking on the surface of water and reached to the centre of the river. Then he sat down and performed ablution. He told the Sayyid also to perform ablution there. Sayyid said that he was unable to walk on water.

That Shaykh completed the ablution and returned to the Sayyid, and they had hardly walked some distance when they decried a huge snake heading to them. When the Sayyid was extremely anxious and terrified, the Shaykh asked him if he was afraid. Yes, said the Sayyid, 1 am very fearful. He said: Do not fear. When the snake came near. he said: "Snake, die by the permission of Allah," and the serpent became lifeless.

The Sayyid says: I was extremely astonished and said to myself the next morning: I should go and check whether it was really a snake or just an illusion. Was it really dead. or it had become temporarily senseless and that after we left, it went away.

So, I reached there and saw that its corpse had been devoured by animals and some of it was lying there. I became certain that the Shaykh 's act was real. When I went to meet him, he said: It was better that you checked the snake, because absolute certainty is best.

The same day or the following day, he said: We will go for the Ziyarat of the folks of the grave. When we reached Wadi Aiman (cemetery of Karbala Moalla) and became engrossed in reciting Fatiha, he said: Bury me at this place. However, 1 did not accord much importance to his statement.

Then he asked: Would you like to come to Najaf al-Ashraf for the Ziyarat of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a). Yes, I replied. He said: Give me your hand and close your eyes. Then he told me to open my eyes after a short while. We were standing in the holy courtyard of Amir ul-Mu’minin ('a).

Both of us paid homage to the holy tomb and when we came out after Prayer and supplications. he asked: Do you prefer to spend the night in Najaf al-Ashraf or return to Karbala Moalla. I said: Returning is preferable. He again held my hand and I closed my eyes. Not much time passed, but that I saw myself standing in Karbala Moalla. He went to his lodging and I also came home and went to sleep.

When I arose the following morning, I went to meet the Shaykh. When I reached there, I saw the landlord weeping and saying: We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return. The Shaykh was dead. When I entered the room, I found him lying in the direction of the Qibla in a permanent sleep.

Apparently, that Shaykh was one of the special agents (Abdal) of Imam Zaman ('a) appointed by the Almighty Allah to impart certitude to the Sayyid and display some divine signs.

Similar to this is a story, which a prominent scholar has narrated:

A caretaker of Najaf al-Ashraf was having doubt about extraordinary happenings (miracles) and had prayed to Imam Husayn ('a) for the cure of this disease.

Once, I boarded a bus to travel from Karbala to Najaf al-Ashraf. Suddenly a stranger came and sat next to him and on the way spoke of unseen matters. Till the bus halted at a place and passengers alighted from it. That stranger led him to a pit, in which a dead bird was lying. He asked: Can you see that it is dead? Yes, he said. So that person addressed the dead bird: Get up by the permission of Allah. Instantly the bird revived and flew away.

The man said: To enliven the dead is child's play in this school. After that all boarded and the bus left. On reaching Najaf al-Ashraf that person asked the gentleman: Where can I meet you now? He replied: Tomorrow morning at the tomb of Kumail.

The following day, when that person reached the appointed place, he saw a corpse and was informed that it was that same gentleman.

145. Cure Through The Blessings Of Ahl ul-Bayt ('A)

On 16th Jamadi ul-Awwal 97 A.H. in Karbala, Aga Abd ul-Rasool. caretaker of the shrine of His Eminence, Abbas ('a), narrated: Some years ago, late Hajj Abd ul-Rasool Risalat Shirazi from Tehran informed through telegram that Aga Nasir Rahbari, dean of agricultural university, Tehran was arriving there for Ziyarat and he should be given all facilities during his stay in Karbala.

After some days, I was informed at my house that some Iranian pilgrims were searching for me. When I went to the car, I saw that there was a gentleman and a lady with him. The lady emerged from the car and explained to me slowly that the man was her husband, Aga Rahbari, who was unwell since a long time. The joints of his backbone had dried up and he was in the hospital since last eight years, but now the doctors have given up and the hospital has also declared that his malady was incurable and he was not going to live for long.

She said: We have come here to seek cure.

He was not able to move on his own, so two porters were hired; they put their hands below his arms and took him into the house. His chest and back were strapped with iron instruments and they could take him only one step at a time and that also very slowly.

He looked up, glanced at the dome and asked: Is that the tomb of Imam Husayn ('a) or the Moon of the Hashemites? I said: Moon of the Hashemites. He beseeched with a broken heart and teary eyes: Master, I have no standing in the court of Imam Husayn ('a), please request your brother, Husayn (‘a) to recommend to the Almighty that if my life is over, I should die here only, under your shade and if life is left, please assure that I don't return in same condition that enemies should be pleased and that they should try to cure me.

An eight-year-old child of his was also with him. He was also weeping, wailing and saying: O Moon of Hashemites, I am about to be orphaned. I attended your mourning programs (Majalis Aza) and used to gather tea cups; please cure my father.

Later the guest said: Take me to the holy tomb, so that I may perform the Ziyarat (visitation). I said that was not possible in such circumstances, but he did not agree and we took him to the two shrines in that same condition. It took around four hours to and fro and after that I laid him on a platform at my house. He was unable to move on his own; others were supposed to tum his sides.

The following day he asked me to take him to Najaf. We carried out his request with utmost difficulty, but he was unable to go inside the sanctuary. He recited the Ziyarat from outside. After that I brought him back to Karbala. Now, he asked me to take him to Kazmain and Samarrah. I said that there was mortal risk in that due to the stress of journey.

He said: If I have to die in any case, I should do so after visiting the holy places. I sent him there somehow. On return, his wife narrated:

After coming out of Samarrah, the driver asked: Would you like to perform the Ziyarat of Imamzadeh Sayyid Muhammad [son of Imam Hadi ('a)] also?

[During those days the grave of that holy personality was situated at some distance from the tarred road, and the unpaved road was very uneven.]

Aga Rahbari said: Take me there. So we performed the Ziyarat with great trouble. On the way back, an Arab gentleman in a green turban stopped the car and started speaking to the driver in Arabic and the driver also replied in the same language. Aga Rahbari asked: What is this gentleman saying? He replied: He is asking for a lift till the tarred road, but I told him that the car was reserved and I am not supposed to take other passengers. Aga Rahbari said: Take him abroad. He climbed on the front seat and greeted the occupants.

On the way, Aga Rahbari wept and wailed, saying: O Master of the Age! The Arab asked: What do you want from the Imam? I (Mrs. Rahbari) explained the problem. He said: Come to me. He replied: I cannot move. After that he tried and was able to move near.

The Sayyid stretched his hand and passed it over the joints of his backbone and said: If Allah wills you would be cured. This gave us fresh hope. I said: Aga. we would like to gift you something. He said: All right. I said: What is your name? He replied: Sayyid Abdullah (servant of God). Aga Rahbari asked: Where do you live, so that I may send it to you by post? He said: It does not reach us through post. Whatever you wish to gift me should be given to whomsoever you meet.

When we came to the main road, he said: Stop here. When he was alighting, he said: Aga Rahbari; today is Thursday and the Almighty Allah has guaranteed acceptance of supplication under the tomb of my grandfather, Imam Husayn ('a) and reposed cure in the clay of his grave. Go to his grave tonight and convey my message to him. He said: Sure, I will do that. Say: O Imam Husayn ('a), your son has prayed for me, please say: Amen. Then the Sayyid gentleman departed. When my husband regained his composure, he asked: Who was that gentleman? He also told the driver to see where he has gone. The driver searched everywhere. but in vain.

Thus, Aga Sayyid Abd ul-Rasool said: We took him to the shrine of Imam Husayn ('a) that same night and he was praying again and again:

Master, I just want an 'Amen' from you, because this is what your son said; and his condition was such that all those who were near him, were weeping at his condition. Then we brought him back to the house and laid him on the platform. Since he was absolutely exhausted from the journey, his condition worsened.

Before the Morning call for prayer, I was asleep when the maidservant called me from outside the room. I came out and asked what the matter was. She said: Come and see the spectacle; Aga Rahbari is reciting Prayer.

I was astonished and when I peeped through the glass, I saw him standing on the carpet, reciting the Prayer. I asked his wife about the matter and she said: At dawn, he called out to me to get water for ablution. I said that since he was unwell, he would not be able to perform ablution. He said: Imam Husayn ('a) has told in my dream that Almighty Allah has cured me. I should get up and pray. I also perceived strength in myself.

So I brought the water and he arose without any problem and performed ablution. Then he asked for the prayer mat. I said: Pray in the sitting position. He said: Since the Imam has informed, I can certainly pray in the standing position. Untie these metal straps from my chest and back. I was compelled by his persuasion and untied him. After that as you can see, he is engrossed in prayers.

I entered and embraced him and we started crying in thankfulness to the Almighty Allah.

Then we sent a telegram of good news to Tehran. Some relatives of his arrived and in full health, he performed the Ziyarat of Syria and then returned to Tehran and till date he is present over there in perfect health. After his recovery, he performed the Ziyarat of Karbala a number of times and once performed the Hajj pilgrimage also.

It seems that the Sayyid gentleman, who met them on way to the tomb of Sayyid Muhammad, was an unknown man, an Abdal [a confidante of Imam Mahdi ('a)] or a righteous servant of the Almighty Allah, who was appointed for the task of giving hope to the despairing patient and that others may get an opportunity to gain lesson from this incident.

The first point is that one should never fall into despair due to delay in acceptance of supplication.

Secondly, as narrated from Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq ('a): One should have confidence that supplication is accepted below the dome of Imam Husayn ('a).

Moreover, one should consider making a vow for the Almighty A llah to be a preferable act.

146. Immediate Acceptance And Gift Of Imam Al-Ridha ('A)

Aga Muhammad Husayn Rukni narrated:

In the year 1342, I had gone to the Ziyarat of Holy Mash-had with my wife and a six-year-old child. One afternoon, we were visiting the holy tomb and I was waiting in the courtyard, waiting for the wife and child. After a long time, my wife came out worried and said that the child was missing. I searched for him very much, but to no avail.

We informed the people in charge of maintaining the tomb and courtyard and also filed a complaint at the police station. After that I said to Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a): However, I may be, I am your guest, please convey my child to me before nightfall.

I walked around the courtyard on the roadside and asked anyone I saw on both the sides, till it was time for Evening Prayers. I turned to Imam Ali Al-Ridha ('a) and asked: Master, the day so over. What should I do?

Then I climbed the roof of the passage. Due to exhaustion, I was unable to remain standing. So I leaned on the iron pipes fixed to control the movement of people. Suddenly my hand trembled and it slipped and touched the head of a child below it, whom I had not noticed. He lifted his head crying and I realized that it was my own child.

It was learnt that due to exhaustion and fear, he had sat below the pipe and was observing the surroundings.

147. The Clay Becomes Blood

Abd ul-Hamid Hasani, son of Abd ul-Shahid Hasani, resident of Farashband Faras had read about the incident of blood smeared dust from grave of Imam Husayn ('a) before in Dastanhai Shaguft by Ayatullah Sayyid Abd ul-Husayn Dastghaib Shirazi. Then other family members also, who knew Persian. Before Muharram, his father traveled to Karbala and brought some clay from there.

He says: My sister, Sara Khatun Hasani placed a little quantity of that clay in a piece of cloth, which was also from the holy sanctuary. On Ashura eve, after remaining awake the whole night, she prayed to the Holy Imams ('a) and Lady Fatima Zahra (‘a): If in your view we are having the least importance, please change this clay into the condition mentioned by Aga in his book.

Then she glanced at it on Ashura day, eleven minutes after Noon Prayer and noon. My two sisters and two sisters-in-law (brothers' wives) suddenly fell down weeping when they noticed that it was in the same condition, which the Aga mentioned in his book and that it had turned into blood.

After that when I came from the Majid, I witnessed the same spectacle and took a small quantity to His Eminence, Ayatullah al-Uzma Dastghaib. That clay is still there with us and it has become dark brown and the little moisture, which appeared in it, dried up gradually after that date. It is still in the same condition.

A similar incident is that a little quantity of this clay was displayed in a public gathering in 1398 A.H. in Firashband Faras, Masjid Zahra Street in the house of Mash-Hadi Abd ul-Al-Ridha Naushadi; it turned to blood and everybody witnessed it.

148. Curing Of The Sick By Imam Zaman ('A)

The senior scholar, Shaykh Muhammad Taqi Hamadani, whose excellence and piety is testified by consensus of all Madrcssas of Qom and who is also the congregation leader of Masjid Farhang, Qom, has written about the miraculous cure of his wife through the mediation of Imam Zaman (‘a) and the same is quoted here:

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

On Monday, 18th Safar, 1397 A.H., a great tragedy befell us, which put me and my family into deep trouble; that is my wife fell into a coma due to the killings of our two sons in Kohistan Shamiran.

We consulted many doctors. but to no avail, till four days later on Thursday, 22 Safar, I retired to my bedroom on the upper storey. I recited some verses of Holy Qur’an and brief supplications of Thursday and then supplicated the Almighty to allow His Eminence, Hujjat Ibn ul-Hasan to come for our help.

The reason for not praying directly to the Imam was that around a month before this incident, my younger daughter, Fatima had persuaded me to narrate stories of those blessed by Imam Zaman ('a) and those bestowed something by him.

I accepted the demand of this ten-year-old daughter and read out to her from the book of Haji Noori's Najmus Thaqib. I thought why like hundreds of people, I should also not seek the mediation of that 12th Imam?

So I sought his mediation at around midnight and went to sleep with teary eyes. I woke up four hours later as was my practice and heard some mixed voices from the room on the ground floor, in which the indisposed wife was lying.

After a moment, these voices became louder. When it was beginning time of Morning Prayer, I came down to perform ablution. My daughter, who at that time was usually asleep, was awake and extremely elated. When she noticed me, she said: Aga, I want to give you some good news.

What is it, I asked? I thought that perhaps my brother or sister has come down from Hamadan. She said: Congratulations, the Almighty Allah has cured mummy. I asked: Who has cured her? She replied: Four hours after midnight, mother woke me up in great confusion (since this daughter and some other relatives like Haji Mahdi and my nephew, Engineer Ghiffari, had come down from Tehran to shift the ailing lady there).

She called out louder and was saying: "Get up and follow the Aga. Get up and follow the Aga." But when she realized that the Aga would go away before they came, although since the last four or five days she had been unable to move, she jumped from the bed and followed him till the door.

Her daughter, who was attending on her at that time, says that in order to see where her mother was going, she went after her to the door. By the time she reached there, the ailing lady came to her senses, but was unable to believe that she had walked till there herself.

She asked her daughter: Zahra; am I awake or asleep? The daughter said: Mummy, you have recovered, where is the Aga that you were saying: Get up and follow the Aga? I didn't see anyone.

He mother told her that a respectable gentleman arrived in the garb of a scholar, who was neither old nor young. He came to my bed and said: Get up; the Al mighty Allah has cured you. I said: I cannot. He said in a louder voice: You have been cured, get up. I got up due to his awe. He said: You have recovered, don 't take any medicines and also do not weep. When he was leaving the room, I woke you up, but when I saw that you were taking time. I went after him myself.

Thanks to Allah, after that attention and bestowal, the condition of that ailing lady stabilized and her left eye also, in which there was blurred vision, cleared up. She had not eaten since the last four days, but now she asked for something to cat. There was a glass of milk at home and she was given that. She gulped it down eagerly and asked for more food.

Her appearance returned to normal and as a result of the command of the Imam that she must not weep any more, all the sorrow was dispelled.

Since the last five years, she was suffering from rheumatism. With the grace of Imam ('a), she was cured of that also, although doctors had given up.

Moreover, it is worth mentioning that during days of Fatima, by way of thanksgiving, I held a Majlis program at home, in which I explained my wife's cure to Dr. Danishi. He said: The condition that I had seen was incurable without a miracle.

Praise be to Allah, and may Allah bless Muhammad and his infallible progeny.

Muhammad Taqi Ibn Muhammad Muttaqi Hamadani

25th Safar 1397 A.H

And peace be on you all and the blessings of Allah.

Topic Tags:

- Ethics [6]

- Morality [7]

- Role Model [8]

- Reflection (Tadabbur) [9]

Author(s):

- Sayyid Abdul Husayn Dastghaib Shirazi [1]

Translator(s):

- Sayyid Athar Husayn S.H. Rizvi [5]

Source URL: https://www.al-islam.org/amazing-stories-sayyid-abdul-husayn-dastghaib-shirazi

Links
[1] https://www.al-islam.org/person/ayatullah-sayyid-abdul-husayn-dastghaib-shirazi
[2] https://www.al-islam.org/printpdf/book/export/html/138445
[3] https://www.al-islam.org/printepub/book/export/html/138445
[4] https://www.al-islam.org/printmobi/book/export/html/138445
[5] https://www.al-islam.org/person/sayyid-athar-husayn-sh-rizvi
[6] https://www.al-islam.org/tags/ethics
[7] https://www.al-islam.org/tags/morality
[8] https://www.al-islam.org/tags/role-model
[9] https://www.al-islam.org/tags/reflection