Section One: Proof of his birth, its circumstances, its history, some information about his mother, and her names, peace be on them both
Comprised of 426 traditions
786.
Kitāb Faḍl b. Shādhān
: Narrated to us Muḥammad b. `Alī b. Ḥamza b. al-Ḥusayn b. `Ubaid-Allah b. al-`Abbās b. `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, Allah’s blessings be on him, who said:
(Imam) Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, said,“Indeed, the Guardian appointed by Allah (walī Allah), His Proof upon His servants, and my successor after me, has been born circumcised [from birth], at the dawn of Sha`bān 15, 255 AH. The first who washed (ghusl) him was Riḍwān-the caretaker of Paradise-while a group of archangels accompanied him. [They washed him] with the water of Kauthar and Salsabīl.
Then, my aunt, Ḥakīma bt. Muḥammad b. `Alī al-Riḍā, peace be on them washed him.”
Muḥammad b. `Alī b. Ḥamza, may Allah be satisfied with him, enquired about his mother. He replied,“His mother is Malīka who is sometimes called Sūsan and sometimes Rayḥāna. Her other names are Ṣaiqal, and Narjis.”
787.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. al-Walīd, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā al-`Aṭṭār, from Abū `Abd-Allah al-Ḥusayn b. Rizq-Allah, from Mūsā b. Muḥammad b. al-Qāsim b. Ḥamzat b. Mūsā b. Ja`far b. Muḥammad b. `Alī b. al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, peace be on them, from Ḥakīma, daughter of (Imam) Muḥammad b. `Alī b. Mūsā b. Ja`far b. Muḥammad b. `Alī b. al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, peace be on them, who said:
(Imam) Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan b. `Alī, peace be on him, called for me and said,“O Aunt! Break your fast this evening with us because it is the evening of the 15th of Sha`bān and Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, will reveal His proof (ḥujja) tonight and he will be His proof on earth.”
I asked,“Who is his mother?”
He replied,“Narjis.”
I exclaimed,“May Allah sacrifice me for you! But there is no sign [of pregnancy] in her!”
He replied,“It will [occur] like I am informing you.”
[So] I went [to their house], said hello and sat down. [Narjis] came to take off my shoes and said to me,“How are you my master [and the master of my family]?”
I replied,“No! You are my master and the master of my family.”
She denied what I said and replied,“O aunt! What are you saying?”
I said to her,“O my daughter! Surely, Allah, the Exalted, will soon grant you in this very night a son (who will be) a master in this world and the hereafter.”
On hearing this, she expressed shyness. When I finished my `Ishā’ prayers, I broke my fast, went to bed and slept. In the depth of the night, I got up for the night prayers.
When I finished my night prayers, I saw Narjis fast asleep while there were no signs [of pregnancy] in her. I sat and performed the rituals/supplications(ta`qībāt)
recommended after the prayers and then lied down. Then I got up again fearfully and she was still asleep. Then, she got up, prayed and went to sleep.
I went out to check if it was dawn yet [i.e. whether the time of prayers had arrived or not]. At the first break of dawn(al-fajr al-awwal)
, she was still fast asleep. At this juncture, I became slightly skeptical. Immediately, [Imam] Abū Muḥammad [al-`Askarī], peace be on him, cried out from where he was,“O Aunt! Don’t be in such a rush! Indeed the affair is near!”
I sat down and began reciting the suras of Sajda and Yāsīn. While I was busy [reciting them], she woke up startled. I leapt towards her and said,“I seek Allah’s protection for you! Do you feel anything?”
She replied,“Yes, O Aunt!”
I said to her,“Be calm and hold your heart. This is what I had told you.”
Then suddenly I felt a weakness in myself and she felt a weakness in herself. I came to with the sound of my master [the Mahdī] and removed the cloth from over him. He was in a state of prostration and was touching the earth with the places [which touch the ground during] prostration. I embraced him and he was absolutely clean and immaculate. (Imam) Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, called out to me,“O Aunt! Bring my son to me,”
and I did. He placed his hands beneath his lower-back and back and put his feet on his chest. Then, he put his tongue in his mouth and caressed his eyes, ears, and joints.
He then said,“Speak, O my son!”
He replied,“I testify that there is no god but Allah, He is One and has no partner. I testify that Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family.”
He then sent blessings on Amīr al-Mu’minīn and the Imams, peace be on them, until he reached his father. He then stopped and didn’t continue.
(Imam) Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, called out,“O Aunt! Take him to his mother so that he greets her and then bring him back to me.”
I took him to her and he greeted her, then, I took him back [to his father] and put him on the ground. He said,“O Aunt! Come back to us on the seventh day.”
In the morning, I went to greet (Imam) Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him. When I removed the curtain to see my master, I did not find him there. I said,“May I be sacrificed for you! What happened to my master?”
He replied,“We have entrusted him to whom the mother of Moses entrusted her son, peace be on him.”
On the seventh day, I went [to them], greeted them, and sat down. He said,“Bring me my son.”
I brought my master, peace be on him, while he was wrapped in a cloth. He did [with his son] what he had done earlier. Then, he put his tongue in his mouth as if he was feeding him milk or honey. He then said,“Speak, O my son!”
He declared,“I testify that there is no god but Allah,”
and he saluted and blessed Muḥammad, `Alī, Amīr al-Mu’minīn, and the infallible Imams, Allah’s blessings be on them all, and he paused [after] his father’s name. Then he recited,
“In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. And We intend to oblige those who have been rendered weak on earth and make them Imams and make them the inheritors. And to grant them power in the land, and show the Pharaoh and Haman and their armies what they feared.”
Mūsā (the narrator of this tradition), says,“I asked `Uqba, the servant, about this and he replied, ‘Ḥakīma has said the truth.’”
788.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Narrated to us Muḥammad b. `Alī Mājīlawayh and Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā al-`Aṭṭār, may Allah be satisfied with them, from Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā al-`Aṭṭār, from al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī al-Nīsābūrī, from Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad b. `Abd-Allah b. Mūsā b. Ja`far, peace be on them, from al-Sayyārī, from Nasīm and Māriya who both said:
When the Master of the Time came out of his mother’s womb, he bent on his knees, raised both index fingers towards the sky, then sneezed and said, “All Praise is for Allah, the Lord of the worlds. Blessings of Allah be on Muḥammad and his family. The oppressors thought that Allah’s Proof has been destroyed. Had we been permitted to speak, all doubts would have been dispelled.
789.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Muḥammad b. `Alī Mājīlawayh, Muḥammad b. Mūsā b. al-Mutawakkil, and Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā al-`Aṭṭār, may Allah be satisfied with them, narrated to us from Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā al-`Aṭṭār, from Isḥāq b. Riyāḥ al-Baṣrī, from Abū Ja`far al-`Amrī who said:
When the Master, peace be on him, was born, (Imam) Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, said,“Send someone to Abū `Amr.”
Someone was sent to him and when he came, [the Imam] said to him,“Buy ten thousand pounds (raṭl
) of bread and ten thousand pounds of meat and distribute it-I think he said among the Banī-Hāshim-and slaughter such and such number of sheep as his `aqīqa
.”
790.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Muḥammad b. Muḥammad b. `Iṣām, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Muḥammad b. Ya`qūb al-Kulainī, from `Alī b. Muḥammad who said:“The Master was born on Sha`bān 15, 255 AH.”
791.
Al-Ghayba by Faḍl b. Shādhān
: Aḥmad b. Isḥāq b. `Abd-Allah al-Ash`arī, from (Imam) Abū Muḥammad b. `Alī al-`Askarī, peace be on him, who said:
All praise is for the One who did not take me from this world until He showed me the successor after me, who is the most similar of people to the Messenger of Allah in creation and morals. Allah, Blessed and Exalted be He, will protect him in his occultation. Then, He will reveal him, and he will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with injustice and unfairness.
792.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Muḥammad b. Muḥammad b. `Iṣām, may Allah be satisfied with him, narrated to us from Muḥammad b. Ya`qūb al-Kulainī, from `Allān al-Rāzī who said:“Some of our companions informed me that when the spouse of (Imam) Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, became pregnant, he said to her, ‘You will soon give birth to a boy; his name will be Muḥammad and he is the Qā’im after me.’”
793.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm b. Isḥāq al-Ṭāliqānī, may Allah be satisfied with him, narrated to us from al-Ḥasan b. `Alī b. Zakariyyā at Madīnat al-Salām, from Abū `Abd-Allah Muḥammad b. Khalīlān, from his father, from his father, from his grandfather, from Ghiyāth b. Usaid who said:
I witnessed Muḥammad b. `Uthmān al-`Amrī, may Allah sanctify his soul, say,“When the successor, al-Mahdī, was born, a light radiated from his head to the outskirts of the sky. Then, he went down in prostration for his Lord, Exalted be His remembrance, then he raised his head while he was saying, ‘Allah testifies that there is no god but He and so do the angels and the possessors of knowledge who stand with justice. There is no god but He, the Invincible, the Wise. Verily, the religion [approved] by Allah is Islam.’
”
[Muḥammad b. `Uthmān] said,“His birth occurred on a Friday.”
794.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Narrated to us `Alī b. `Abd-Allah al-Warrāq, from Sa`d b. `Abd-Allah, from Mūsā b. Ja`far b. Wahb al-Baghdādī that a signed letter(tauqī`)
came from (Imam) Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, that read:“They thought that by killing me, they would destroy this generation; indeed Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, has refuted their saying and all praise is for Allah.”
795.
Tārīkh al-A’imma
: From amongst the reasons that have been narrated from (Imam) al-Ḥasan b. `Alī al-`Askarī, peace be on him, at the time of the birth of M-U-Ḥ-A-M-M-A-D b. al-Ḥasan, is what has been narrated from him numerous times:“The oppressors thought they would kill me to eliminate this generation; how did they find the power of the All-Powerful?”
And he named him the Hoped(al-Mu’ammal)
.
796.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Narrated to us Muḥammad b. Mūsā al-Mutawakkil, may Allah be satisfied with him, from `Abd-Allah b. Ja`far al-Ḥimyarī, from Muḥammad b. Aḥmad al-`Alawī, from Abū Ghānim, the servant, who said:
A boy was born to (Imam) Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, and he named him Muḥammad. On the third day, he showed him to his companions, saying,“He is your master after me and my successor upon you. He is the Qā’im who will be desperately awaited. When the earth becomes filled with injustice and unfairness, he will emerge and will fill it with fairness and justice.”
797.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Narrated to us Muḥammad b. `Alī Mājīlawayh, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā al-`Aṭṭār, from Abū `Alī al-Khayzarānī, from a slave girl whom he had gifted to (Imam) Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, who had fled from Ja`faral-Kadhdhāb
(the liar) when he had attacked the house and Abū `Alī (the narrator) had married her. Abū `Alī says:
She informed me that she had been present when the master was born and the name of the master’s mother is Ṣaqīl and Abū Muḥammad had informed her about the events that would befall his family. She had asked him to pray to Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, that He takes her life before him. She died while Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, was still alive. There is a tablet on her grave which says,“This is the grave of the mother of Muḥammad.”
I also heard this slave-maid mention that when the master, peace be on him, was born, she saw a light radiate from him towards the outskirts of the sky. She also saw white birds descend from the sky, caress his head, face, and, body with their wings and then soar again. When they had informed Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, about what they had witnessed, he had laughed and replied,“These were angels who had come to gain blessings from this newborn and they will be his helpers when he emerges.”
798.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. Aḥmad b. al-Walīd, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan al-Karkhī, from `Abd-Allah b. al-`Abbās al-`Alawī, from Abū l-Faḍl al-Ḥasan b. al-Ḥusayn al-`Alawī, who said:“I went to (Imam) Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan b. `Alī, peace be on him, at Sāmarrā’ and congratulated him on the birth of his son, the Qā’im.”
799.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Muḥammad b. Mūsā b. al-Mutawakkil, may Allah be satisfied with him, narrated to us from `Abd-Allah b. Ja`far al-Ḥimyarī, from Muḥammad b. Ibrāhīm al-Kūfī that“(Imam) Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, sent meat from a slaughtered sheep to some people whom he named for me and said, ‘This is from the `aqīqa
for my son Muḥammad, [Allah’s blessings and salutations be on him].’”
800.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Muḥammad b. `Alī Mājīlawayh, may Allah be satisfied with him, from Muḥammad b. Yaḥyā al-`Aṭṭār, from al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī al-Nīsābūrī, from al-Ḥasan b. al-Mundhir, from Ḥamzat b. Abī l-Fatḥ who said:
He came to me one day and said,“I have good news! A son was born to Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, yesterday and he has ordered that this news be kept a secret. He also ordered that three hundred sheep be slaughtered as his aqīqa.”
I asked him,“What’s his name?”
He replied,“His name is Muḥammad and his epithet is Ja`far.”
801.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Abū l-`Abbās Aḥmad b. al-Ḥusayn b. `Abd-Allah b. Mihrān al-Ābī al-Azdī al-`Arūzī at Marv, from Aḥmad b. al-Ḥasan b. Isḥāq al-Qummī who said:
When the righteous successor, peace be on him, was born, my grandfather Aḥmad b. Isḥāq received a letter from (Imam) Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan b. `Alī, peace be on him, in his own handwriting-the [same handwriting with] which he had written all his other signed letters. It had been written in it,“A son of ours has been born. Let this fact be hidden with you and unknown to the general masses. For surely, we have not revealed this information about him to anyone except the closest of relatives because of their nearness and those who have accepted his Guardianship (wilāya). We wished to inform you so that Allah may make you joyful through him like He has made us rejoice through him. Wa al-salām.”
802.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Abū Ṭālib al-Muẓaffar b. Ja`far b. al-Muẓaffar b. Ja`far b. Muḥammad b. `Abd-Allah b. Muḥammad b. `Umar b. `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, peace be on him, from Ja`far b. Muḥammad b. Mas`ūd, from Abū l-Naḍr Muḥammad b. Mas`ūd, from Ādam b. Muḥammad al-Balkhī, from `Alī b. al-Ḥasan [al-Ḥusayn] al-Daqqāq, from Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad al-`Alawī, from Nasīm the female servant of (Imam) Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, who said:
I went to see the master of this affair, peace be on him, one night after his birth and sneezed in front of him. He said to me,“May Allah have mercy on you.”
I became joyous at this remark. Then, he said to me,“Shall I give you good news about sneezing?”
I replied in the affirmative. He said,“It delays death for three days.”
803.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Through the same chain of narrators (i.e. the chain mentioned in the eighth tradition of this chapter) from Muḥammad b. `Uthmān al-`Amrī, who said:“The master was born circumcised. I heard Ḥakīma say, ‘Parturition blood was not seen in his mother and this is the custom of the mothers of all the Imams, peace be on them.’”
804.
Ghaybat al-Shaykh
: Aḥmad b. `Alī al-Rāzī, from Muḥammad b. `Alī, from `Abd-Allah b. Muḥammad b. Khāqān al-Dihqān, from Abū Sulaimān Dāwūd b. Ghassān al-Baḥrānī who said:
I read out for Abū Sahl Ismā’īl b. `Alī al-Naubakhtī the birth of (Imam) Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. `Alī b. Muḥammad b. `Alī al-Riḍā b. Mūsā b. Ja`far al-Ṣādiq b. Muḥammad al-Bāqir b. `Alī b. al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib, Allah’s blessings be on them all:“He was born in Sāmarrā’ in 256 AH. His mother was called Ṣaqīl and his epithet is Abū l-Qāsim-the same epithet as that of the Holy Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him and his family-who had said, ‘His name will be my name and his epithet will be my epithet. His title is Mahdī and he is the Proof, the Awaited, and the Master of the Time.’”
Ismā’īl b. `Alī said,“I visited Imam Abū Muḥammad al-`Askarī, peace be on him, during his illness in which he passed away. I was with him when he said to his servant `Aqīd-who was a black Nubian slave who had earlier served Imam `Alī b. Muḥammad and had brought up Imam al-Ḥasan al-`Askarī, peace be on him-, “O `Aqīd! Boil some mastic gum for me in water.”
He boiled it for him and then Ṣaqīl-the mother of the successor Imam, peace be on him-brought it for him. As he held the bowl in his hands and intended to drink, his hand started trembling and the bowl hit the teeth of Imam al-Ḥasan. So, he put it down from his hands and said to `Aqīd,“Go inside the house. You will see a child in prostration. Bring him to me.”
Ismā’īl b. `Alī said, `Aqīd said,“I entered [the house] to search for [the child], and lo! I saw a child in prostration. He had raised his index fingers towards the sky. I greeted him, due to which he shortened his prayers. I said, ‘My master has ordered you to come to him.’ At that very moment, his mother Ṣaqīl
entered, held his hand, and took him to his father (Imam) al-Ḥasan, peace be on him.”
Abū Sahl continued,“When the child stood before his father, he greeted him and his color was like a pearl, his hair had short curls in them, and he had fissures between his teeth. When (Imam) al-Ḥasan, peace be on him, saw him, he started crying and said, ‘O master of his Ahl al-Bait! Give me water to drink because I am going to my Lord.’ The child took the bowl of boiled mastic gum in his hand.
He moved his lips and the child helped him drink. When he finished drinking, he said, ‘Prepare me for prayers.’ A scarf was spread in his room. The child helped him perform ablution, step by step and wiped (masaḥa) his head and feet.
Then, Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, said to him, ‘Receive good news, O my son! You are the Master of the Time, you are the Mahdī, you are Allah’s Proof upon His earth, you are my son and my heir, and I am your father. You are Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan b. `Alī b. Muḥammad b. `Alī b. Mūsā b. Ja`far b. Muḥammad b. `Alī b. al-Ḥusayn b. `Alī b. Abī Ṭālib. The Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, is your ancestor and you are the last of the immaculate Imams.
The Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, has given glad-tidings about you and has named and mentioned your epithet in the [glad-tidings]. My father has taken a covenant from me on behalf of your pure forefathers. The blessings of Allah, our Lord be on the Ahl al-Bait. He is the Praiseworthy, the Majestic.’ Imam al-Ḥasan b. `Alī passed away at that moment; may Allah’s blessings be on them all.”
805.
Ithbāt al-waṣiyya
: Al-Ḥimyarī, from Aḥmad b. Isḥāq who said:
I went to see (Imam) Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, who asked me,“O Aḥmad! How were you feeling when the people were in doubt and skepticism?”
I answered,“O my master! When the letter reached us with the news of our master and his birth, no man, woman, or child who had attained understanding remained from us except that he spoke the truth.”
He continued,“Don’t you know that the earth will not become empty of Allah’s Proof?”
Then, (Imam) Abū Muḥammad ordered that his mother perform the Hajj in the year 259 AH and informed her about what will happen to him in the year 260 AH. Then, he called for the Master of the Time(Ṣāḥib al-Zamān)
and willed to him. He handed over the Great Name(al-Ism al-A`ẓam)
, the inheritances, and the weapon to him. (Imam) Abū Muḥammad’s mother and the master set off for Mecca and Aḥmad b. Muḥammad b. Muṭahhar Abū `Alī was in charge of fulfilling their needs. When they had gone some distance on the way to Mecca, some Bedouin tribes met them and informed them of the intense fear and scarcity of water. Consequently, most of the people returned except those who were in the [Holy] Region; they went ahead and were safe.”
806.
Al-Ghayba by Faḍl b. Shādhān
: Muḥammad b. `Abd al-Jabbār who said:
I said to my master (Imam) al-Ḥasan b. `Alī (al-`Askarī), peace be on him,“O son of Allah’s Messenger! May Allah sacrifice me for you! I would like to know who is the Imam and Proof of Allah upon His servants after you?”
He, peace be on him, replied,“The Imam and the Proof of Allah after me is my son whose name and epithet is the same as that of the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family. He is the last of Allah’s proofs and the last of His caliphs.”
I asked,“From whom will he be born?”
He replied,“From the daughter of the son of the Caesar, the Emperor of Rome. Know that he will soon be born and will be concealed from the people in a long occultation. Then, he will appear and will kill the Antichrist (al-Dajjāl) and will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with injustice and unfairness. No one is allowed to say his name or epithet before his reappearance, Allah’s blessings be on him.”
807.
Kamāl al-dīn
: Muḥammad b. `Alī b. Ḥātim al-Naufalī, from Abū l-`Abbās Aḥmad b. `Īsā al-Washshā al-Baghdādī, from Aḥmad b. Ṭāhir al-Qummī, from Abū l-Ḥusayn Muḥammad b. Baḥr al-Shaibānī who said:
I entered Karbala in 286 AH and visited the grave of the lonely [grandson] of the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family. Then, I left for Baghdad with the intention of visiting the graves of the Quraish [meaning the place where Imams Kāẓim and Javād, peace be on them, were buried] at a time when it was blazing hot and hot winds were blowing.
On my way-when I reached the shrine of al-Kāẓim, peace be on him-I inhaled the fresh air of his grave that was filled with mercy and surrounded with the gardens of forgiveness. I threw myself on it with tears flowing down unceasingly and non-stop sighs and moaning. My tears had concealed the vision of my eyes. When the flow of tears ceased and I stopped crying, I opened my eyes and saw an old man with a bent back and hunched shoulders who had callus on his forehead and palms.
He was saying to another person accompanying him at the grave,“O my nephew! Indeed, your uncle has been honored on account of the deep unseens (ghawāmiḍ al-ghuyūb) and privileged knowledge granted to him by the two masters. Such [knowledge] has not been given to anyone except Salmān.
Your uncles time is nearly up and his life is coming to an end but he has not found anyone from amongst the followers of wilāya [i.e. the Shias] to whom he could pass on his secrets.”
I thought to myself,“Trouble and hardships have always afflicted you because you have always been in pursuit of knowledge.
Now your ears are being pounded by words from this old man that indicate immense knowledge [and you can seek knowledge from him without any affliction].”
So I said,“O Shaykh! Who are these two masters?”
He replied,“The Two stars concealed by soil in the land of Sāmarrā’.”
I said,“I swear by the mastership and the revered position of these two masters of Imamate and inheritance, that I desire their knowledge and seek what they have left behind. I will try with utmost faith to conceal their secrets.”
He said,“If you are true in your speech, then come forth with what you have from what has been narrated from them.”
When he examined the books and read through the narrations he said,“You speak the truth. I am Bishr b. Sulaimān al-Nakhkhās and a descendant of Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī. I am one of the servants of (Imams) Abū l-Ḥasan and Abū Muḥammad (al-`Askarī) and their neighbor in Sāmarrā.”
I said,“Please honor your brother by narrating some of the things that you have witnessed from them.”
He said,“Our master Abū l-Ḥasan `Alī b. Muḥammad al-`Askarī, peace be on him, granted me deep knowledge about the [trade] of slaves and consequently, I never bought or sold any except with his permission.
Because of this, I kept away from ambiguous cases until my knowledge about it was complete. Thus, I excelled in differentiating between the permissible (ḥalāl) and the prohibited (ḥarām). One night, I was in my house at Sāmarrā’ and a part of the night had passed, when someone knocked on the door. I quickly ran [to the door] and saw Kāfūr, the servant, who had come as a messenger of our master, Abū l-Ḥasan `Alī b. Muḥammad, peace be on him, to invite me to [his house].
I put on my clothes and went to him. When I entered, I saw him speaking with his son Abū Muḥammad and his sister Ḥakīma from behind the curtain. When I sat down, he said, ‘O Bishr! Verily, you are from the descendants of the Anṣār. You possess [i.e. you have accepted our] guardianship (wilāya) and you inherit it one generation after another.
You are the reliable [people] for us Ahl al-Bait. Verily, I am going to increase your excellence and honor such that you will overtake the best of the Shias concerning [our] guardianship through a secret which I will tell you; and I will send you to purchase a slave-girl.’ Then, he wrote a letter in Roman handwriting and language and imprinted its seal with his ring. He brought out a yellow purse which contained two hundred and twenty dinars and said, ‘Take this and go to Baghdad.
Stand on the passageway of the Euphrates on so and so day after sunrise. When the boats of the captives are beside you and the slave-maids emerge from them, they will be encircled by groups of buyers representing the Abbasid leaders and by small groups of Iraqi youths. When you see this, keep a watch on a slave-trader by the name of `Umar b. Yazīd al-Nakhkhās
all day long from a distance. [He will] bring forth a slave-girl possessing such and such characteristics who is wearing two clothes made of pure silk and does not allow anyone to unveil or touch her.
Whoever attempts to see her will have to do so from behind a thin veil. The slave-trader will strike her and she will cry out and say something in Roman. Know that she is saying, “Woe for the ripping of my veil!”
One of the buyers will say,“Give her to me for three hundred dinars because her chastity has increased my desire for her.”
She will say to him in Arabic,“Even if you appear in the dress of Solomon and sit on the throne of his kingdom, I will never be inclined towards you. Do not waste your money on me.”
The slave-trader will plead,“What is the solution? I have no choice but to sell you.”
The slave-girl will say“Why are you rushing? It is necessary that I select a buyer whose trustworthiness and religiousness appeases my heart.”
After this, go to `Umar b. Yazīd al-Nakhkhās and say to him,“I have a sealed letter with me written in the Roman language and handwriting of a noble man. He has described in it his munificence, loyalty, nobility, and generosity. Hand it over to her so that she may consider the moral qualities of its author. If she is inclined towards him and is satisfied with him, then I am his representative to purchase her from you.”
’”
Bishr b. Sulaimān al-Nakhkhās continued,“I did everything as defined to me by my master (Imam) Abū l-Ḥasan, peace be on him, regarding the matter of the slave-girl. When she saw the letter, she started crying uncontrollably and said to `Umar b. Yazīd al-Nakhkhās, ‘Sell me to the writer of this letter.’ She then swore a solemn oath that if she was not sold to the writer of the letter, she would kill herself. Then, I started bargaining about her price until the amount reached the exact number of dinars given to me by my master, peace be on him, in the yellow purse.
He took the money from me and handed over the slave-girl who was very joyous and cheerful. I took her to the room I was staying in, in Baghdad. She was restless until she took out the letter of her master, peace be on him, from her pocket and started kissing it and placing it on her cheeks. She covered her eyes with it and rubbed it on her body.
I asked her out of amazement, ‘You are kissing a letter while you don’t even know its author?’ She said, ‘O weak and helpless regarding the stature of the descendants of the Prophets! Listen to me carefully and pay attention with your heart! I am Malīka, the daughter of Yashū`ā b. Caesar, the Emperor of Rome. My mother was from the descendants of the disciples (of Jesus) and related to his heir Simon (Sham`ūn). I will inform you of the strangest of things. My grandfather Caesar intended to marry me to his nephew when I was only thirteen years old.
So, he gathered in his palace three hundred men from the descendants of the disciples (al-ḥawāriyūn), priests (al-qissīsīn), and monks (al-ruhbān) along with seven hundred important people. Moreover, four thousand others from the commanders of the armed forces, military leaders, and tribal chiefs had also been invited.
He had placed a throne studded with precious stones on top of forty pillars in the guest room. When his nephew stood on top of it and was encircled with crosses and the bishops came forward with honor and the Bibles were opened, the crosses fell to the ground and the pillars crumbled and collapsed on the floor. The one who had mounted the throne fell down unconscious.
When the bishops saw this, the color of their faces changed and their shoulders started trembling. The archbishop said to my grandfather, “O Emperor! Please excuse us from this [task due to which] bad omens have become manifest because these are the signs of the demise of Christianity and the imperial religion.”
My grandfather too considered it as a bad omen. He ordered the bishops,“Put up the pillars and raise the crosses.
Bring the brother of this unlucky ill-omened [prince] to be married to this girl [instead], so that he might convert his bad-omen to welfare.”
When everything was prepared, the same thing happened again. The congregation broke up and my grandfather became very sad and went inside the palace and the curtains were brought down. That night, I dreamt that Jesus, Simon(Sham`ūn)
, and some of the disciples had gathered in my grandfather’s palace.
A pulpit was erected-which scraped the sky with elevation-in the royal palace in the same place where my grandfather had installed his throne. Soon after, Muḥammad, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, joined them accompanied by a young man and some of his descendants. Jesus came forward and embraced him.
Then [the Holy Prophet, Allah's blessings be on him and his family] said,“O Spirit of Allah! I have come here to ask your heir Simon, for the hand of her daughter Malīka, in marriage for my son here.”
He then pointed to Abū Muḥammad, the author of this letter. Jesus looked at Simon and said,“Great honor has come to you, bond with the messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family.”
He responded,“I accept.”
Then, Muḥammad, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, ascended the pulpit, delivered a sermon, and married me [to Abū Muḥammad] while Jesus, the descendants of Muḥammad, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, and the disciples were witnessing this marriage. When I woke up from sleep, I feared narrating this dream to my father and grandfather lest they kill me. So I kept it a secret in my heart and did not reveal it to anyone.
The love for Abū Muḥammad had filled my heart to such an extent that I could not eat or drink anything. As a result, I became very weak; my body became frail and I became severely ill. No Roman city remained except that its doctors had been summoned by my grandfather to come and treat me. When despair overtook him, he said,“O apple of my eye! Is there anything you desire so that I can fulfill it in this world?”
I replied,“O grandfather! I see all the doors of relief locked on me. If punishment is removed from the Muslim captives in your prison, there are chains removed, and you oblige them by releasing them, I hope that Christ and his mother may grant me health and cure me.”
When my grandfather did as I requested, I started putting on a little weight and ate a little food, which delighted my grandfather and he again honored the Muslim prisoners and showed munificence towards them.
After four nights, I dreamt that the Master of the Women [i.e. Fatima, peace be on her] had come to see me accompanied with Mary daughter of `Imrān and a thousand Heavenly maids. Mary said to me,“This is the Master of All Women, the mother of your husband, Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him.”
On hearing this, I held her, started crying and complained to her that Abū Muḥammad was not coming to see me. The Master of all Women, peace be on her, replied,“My son Abū Muḥammad will not visit you whilst you associate others with Allah and are a Christian. My sister, Mary, too testifies before Allah, the Exalted, that she dislikes your religion.
If you desire the satisfaction of Allah, Mighty and Majestic be He, the satisfaction of Christ and Maryam, and desire that Abū Muḥammad visits you, then say, ‘I testify that there is no God but Allah and I testify that Muḥammad-who is my father-is the Messenger of Allah.’ When I uttered these words, the Master of All Women hugged me to her chest and assured me by saying, “Now wait for Abū Muḥammad to visit you because I will send him to you.”
I woke up and cried out,“Oh, how much I desire to see Abū Muḥammad!”
The following night, Abū Muḥammad, peace be on him, came in my dream. I exclaimed,“O my beloved! You left me after you made my heart a prisoner of your love!”
He replied,“Nothing kept me away from you except your polytheism. Since you accepted Islam, I will visit you every night until Allah brings us together evidently [i.e. while awake].”
Until now, his visits to me have not ceased.’”
Al-Bishr continued,“I asked her, ‘How did you become a prisoner?’ She replied, ‘One night, Abū Muḥammad informed me that my grandfather would dispatch on so and so day, an army to fight against the Muslims and he will join them himself. [He told me] to join them disguised as a servant with the slave-maids who will accompany them and to take such and such path and I did accordingly.
The Muslim informers spotted us and thus, my situation is as you are seeing and witnessing. No one has found out that I am a Roman princess until now except you, and that too because I have informed you. An old man-in whose share I was given-asked me name and I hid my [real] name and said, “Narjis.”
He said,“That is a name given to the slave-maids.”
’”
Bishr continued,“I said, ‘Amazing! You are a Roman but are fluent in Arabic?’ She replied, ‘My grandfather loved me immensely. He desired to teach me lofty etiquette and hence he appointed a woman who was an interpreter to come to me. She would come in the morning and in the evening and would teach me Arabic. As a result, I learnt Arabic and became fluent in it.’”
Bishr said,“When I brought her to Sāmarrā’ and came to my master Abū l-Ḥasan al-`Askarī, peace be on him, he asked her, ‘How did Allah, the Almighty, show you the might of Islam, the humiliation of Christianity, and the excellence of the Ahl al-Bait of Muḥammad, Allah's blessings be on him and his family?’ She replied, ‘O son of Allah’s Messenger! How can I describe for you what you know better than me?’ He said, ‘I intend to dignify you. Which do you prefer: Ten thousand dirhams or good news for you about eternal honor?’ She replied, ‘I desire good news.’
He, peace be on him, said, ‘I give you glad-tidings about a son who will rule the East and the West of the world and will fill the earth with fairness and justice just as it will be filled with unfairness and injustice.’ She asked, ‘From Who?’ He, peace be on him, replied, ‘From the one whom the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family, asked your hand in marriage for, in such and such night, in such and such city, and in such and such Roman year?’ She replied, ‘[You mean] from Jesus and his successor.’
He said, ‘To whom did Jesus and his successor marry you to?’ She replied, ‘To your son, Abū Muḥammad.’ He said, ‘Can you recognize him?’ She responded, ‘Ever since I became a Muslim through his mother, the master of all women, he has been coming to me in my dreams every night.’
Then (Imam) Abū l-Ḥasan said, ‘O Kāfūr! Summon to me my sister Ḥakīma.’ When she came, he, peace be on him, said to her, ‘This is her.’ On hearing this, she hugged her for a long time and was very overjoyed. Our master advised her, ‘O daughter of the Messenger of Allah, Allah's blessings be on him and his family! Take her to your house and teach her the obligatory acts and the customs [of Islam]; for, she is the wife of Abū Muḥammad and the mother of the Qā’im, peace be on them.’”
The following traditions-directly and indirectly-show the above concept: 1-309, 543-545, 547, 549-558, 560-571, 574, 575, 580, 581, 589, 590, 608, 612, 614, 808-862, 864, 866-870, 873, 878, and 881-899 .
These are in addition to the fact that the mutawātir and correct traditions that confine the Caliphs to the twelve Imams-our masters, peace be on them-and also the authentic and reliable traditions which state that the earth can never be empty of a Divine Proof, can only be true if our master, the Master of the Time, has been born.
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Author: Ayatullah Lutfullah Safi Gulpaygani
