1
Chapter One: Holy Birth of the Imam of the Age (a.s.) and the circumstances of his respected mother
وُلِدَ ع لِلنِّصْفِ مِنْ شَعْبَانَ سَنَةَ خَمْسٍ وَ خَمْسِينَ وَ مِائَتَيْنِ
1-
Al-Kafi:
Imam (a.s.) was born in the year two hundred and fifty-five (Hijri).
2-
Ikmaaluddin:
Ibne Isaam has narrated from Kulaini from Allaan Razi that he said:
“Some of our associates have informed us that: When the slave girl of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) became pregnant, he told her, ‘You shall soon carry a male and his name is Muhammad; and he is my successor after me.’”
3-
Ikmaaluddin:
Ibne Walid Qummi from Muhammad bin Attar from Husain bin Razaqallah from Musa bin Muhammad bin Qasim bin Hamza bin Ali Ibne Musa Ibne Ja’far (a.s.) from Hakima Khatoon, daughter of Imam Muhammad Taqi (a.s.) that she said:
Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) sent for me and said: “O aunt, have yourIftar
tonight with us. This is the night of mid-Shaban and Allah, the High, will bring forth the Divine Proof on this night. He will be His Proof on His earth.” Lady Hakima says, I said to him, “And who is his mother?” “Narjis,” he said to me. “May Allah make me your ransom,” I said to him, “there is no sign in her.” “It is as I tell you,” he said.
Lady Hakima says: I came and when I greeted and sat, she came to take off my shoes and said: “My lady, how are you this evening?” “Rather,you
are my lady,” said I, “and the lady of my household.” She turned my word down and said: “What is this, dear aunt?” “My dear daughter, Allah, the Exalted, will grant you in this night of yours a boy, a master in this world and in the hereafter.” She sat and felt shy.
After I finished theIsha
prayers and hadIftar,
I went to bed and slept. When it was in the middle of the night, I got up to perform prayers. I finished my prayers and she was sleeping and there was no sign of any kind in her. I sat reciting thepost-prayer recitations,
then I went to the bed, and then I woke up suddenly. She was still asleep. She then woke up and arose and performed prayers.
Lady Hakima says: As doubts came to me, Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) called out, “Don’t make haste, aunt, the affair has come near.” I recited SurahSajdah
and SurahYasin.
And as I was doing that, she woke up suddenly; I rushed to her and read the name of Allah on her and then asked, “Do you feel anything?” “Yes aunt,” she said. “Pull yourself together and gather your heart,” I told her. “It will be as I told you.”
Lady Hakima said: “and then faintness overwhelmed me as parturition seized her. I woke up by sensing my Master, (a.s.); I removed the sheet from him, and there he was in prostration, touching the earth with his forehead
and palms and knees and toes; I pulled him to myself and there he was, pure and clean.
Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) called on me, “Bring my son to me, Aunt.” I took his son to him. He put his hands under his thighs and back and put the infant’s feet on his chest. He then put his tongue in his mouth and touched his eyes, ears, and joints with his hands. “My son, talk,” he said then. The baby said: “I testify that there is no god, except Allah, the One without a partner; and I bear witness that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger.” He then invoked blessings for Amirul Momineen (a.s.) and the Imams until he reached his father and then respectfully stopped.
Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) said: “Aunt, take him to his mother, so he may give her greetings and then bring him to me.” I took her to his mother and he greeted her. Then I brought him back and put him in the sitting room. He then said: “Aunt, come to us on the seventh day.”
Lady Hakima says, In the morning, I came to offer my greetings to Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.). I removed the curtain looking for my Master. Not seeing him, I asked his father, “May I be your ransom, where is my Master?” He said: “We entrusted him to the one that mother of Musa had entrusted Musa to.”
When it was the seventh day, I came and greeted and sat. He said: “Bring to me my son.” I brought my Master in a wrap. He acted towards his son in the same way he had acted the first time. Then he put his tongue into his mouth; as if feeding milk or honey. Then he said: “Talk, my son.” The blessed infant said: “I testify that there is no god, except Allah.” He then praised and invoked blessings on Muhammad and Ali, Amirul Momineen (a.s.), and everyone of the Imams, blessings of Allah be upon all of them, until his father. He then recited this verse:
وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوَارِثِينَ {5} وَنُمَكِّنَ لَهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنُرِي فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا مِنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَحْذَرُونَ {6}
“And We desired to bestow a favor upon those who were deemed weak in the land, and to make them the Imams, and to make them the heirs, and to grant them power in the land, and to make Firon and Haman and their hosts see from them what they feared.” (Surah Qasas 28:5-6)
Musa Ibne Ja’far, the narrator of this tradition says: I asked Aqaba, the servant, about this report and he authenticated and verified Lady Hakima’s narration.
4-
Ikmaaluddin:
Ja’far bin Muhammad bin Masrur from Husain bin Muhammad bin Aamir from Mualla Ibne Muhammad that he said:
When Zubairi was killed, a letter came from Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) as follows: “This is the punishment of one who attributes lies to Allah, the Exalted, with respect to His close friends. He had presumed that he would kill me while I do not have an offspring. So how did he witness the might of Allah, the Victorious and Exalted?” He sired a son and he named him M.H.M.D. This was in the year two hundred and fifty-six.
The same report is also mentioned in Ghaibat of Shaykh Tusi and he
narrates a similar letter through another chain. It is possible to remove inconsistency between this account and the accounts, which mention the
year of his birth as two hundred and fifty-five, on the grounds that in this narration the said year is the time of the writing of the letter or the year of the murder.
5-
Ikmaaluddin:
Ibne Isaam has narrated from Kulaini from Ali bin Muhammad that he said:
“The Imam (a.s.)
was born in mid-Shaban of year two hundred fifty-five.”
6-
Ikmaaluddin:
Majiluwayh and Attar have narrated from Muhammad bin Attar from Husain bin Ali Nishaburi from Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Musa bin Ja’far (a.s.) from Shari from Nasim and Mariya that:
“When the Master of the Age fell from the abdomen of his mother, he fell hobbling on his knees, while raising his two forefingers towards the heavens. He then sneezed and said: ‘Praise belongs to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and may Allah bless Muhammad and his household. The oppressors assumed that the Proof of Allah has expired. Should we be allowed to talk, doubts would disappear.’”
InGhaibat
of Shaykh Tusi, this report is mentioned through Allaan from Muhammad Attar.
7-
Ikmaaluddin:
Ibrahim bin Muhammad has narrated from Nasim, maidservant of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) that she said:
“When I came to him one night after his birth and sneezed in his presence, the Master of the Age (a.s.) said to me, ‘May Allah have mercy on you.’ I became very happy; so he said to me, ‘May I not give you glad tidings about sneezing?’ I said: ‘Please do.’ He said: ‘It is protection from death for three days.”
8-
Ghaibat Tusi:
Kulaini has directly narrated from Nasim that she said:
“When I came to him on the tenth night after his birth and sneezed in his presence, the Master of the Age (a.s.) said to me, ‘May Allah have mercy on you.’ I became very happy; he said to me, ‘May I not give you glad tidings about sneezing?’ I said: ‘Please do.’ He said: ‘It is protection from death for three days.”
9-
Ikmaaluddin:
It is narrated from Majiluwayh, Ibne Mutawakkil and Attar and together they have narrated from Ishaq bin Riyah Basri from Abi Ja’far Amari that he said:
“When the Master was born, Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) sent for Abu Amr (First representative of Imam Zamana and father ofAbu Ja’far Amari
) and he came. The Imam said to him, ‘Buy ten thousand pounds of bread and ten thousand pounds of meat and distribute them according to the status of people.’ He told him to distribute it to Bani Hashim and offer his Aqiqah of a certain number of sheep.”
10-
Ikmaaluddin:
Narrated Majiluwayh from Muhammad bin Attar from Abu Ali Khaizarani on the authority of a slave girl he had gifted to Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) that she said:
“I was present at the birth of the Master (a.s.) and the Master’s mother’s name is Saiqal; and that Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) had told the Master’s mother what will happen to his family. Therefore, she had asked Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) to pray for her that her death comes before his. Thus, she died during the lifetime of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.). There is a tablet on her tomb on which it is inscribed: This is Umme Muhammad.”
Abu Ali Khaizarani said: I heard this slave girl recall that when the Master was born, she saw a beam of
light shining from him and reaching the zenith; and that she saw some white birds descending from the heavens and touching their wings against his head and face and the rest of his body and then fly away. She said: We informed Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) about it. He laughed and then said: “These are angels from the heavens, who descended to be blessed by him. They would be his aides when he rises.”
11-
Ikmaaluddin:
Ibne Mutawakkil has narrated from Himyari from Muhammad bin Ahmad Alawi from Abi Ghanim, the servant that he said:
“A son was born to Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) whom he named ‘Muhammad’. He showed him to his companions on the third day and said: “This is your Imam after me and my successor over you. He is the Qaim whom people are waiting for. When the earth will be filled with oppression and corruption, he will rise and fill it with equity and justice.”
12-
Ghaibat Tusi:
A group of scholars has narrated from Abu Mufaddal Shaibani from Muhammad bin Bahr bin Sahl Shaibani that he said: Bushr bin Sulaiman, a slave trader from the descendents of Abu Ayyub Ansari and a sincere Shia of Imam Ali Naqi and Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) and their neighbor at Samarrah said:
“One day Kafur, the slave of Imam Ali Naqi (a.s.) came to me and summoned me to his master. When I went to the Imam, he said: “O Bushr, you are from
the descendents of Ansar. This devotion is your legacy, which your each coming generation inherits from the preceding generation. You are trustworthy men of us, Ahle Bayt. I am elevating you and ennobling you by an excellence, through which you will surpass all Shia in devotion, by sharing a secret with you and sending you to purchase a certain slave girl.”
He then wrote a very fine letter in Roman script and Roman language and imprinted his seal on it. He took out a yellow cloth in which were two hundred and twenty dinars. He said: “Take this and go with it to Baghdad.” He told me to go to the crossing of
the Euphrates on the noon of
such and such day.
“And when you reach the boats of
the captives, you will see slave girls in them. You will find buyers working for the procurers of
the Abbasids and a small group from
the Arab youths. When you see that, keep an eye on a man called Amr bin Zaid, the slave trader from a distance all day long, until a slave girl is brought to the buyers, who has such-and-such quality. Her dress
is two thick silks; she refuses to be seen or touched by the examiners; she does not submit to anyone who would want to touch her.
And you will hear a cry in Roman from behind a thin veil. You should know she is saying:Alas from the violation of the veil.
One of the buyers of Amr will say:Mine for three hundred dinars; her modesty has ever increased my desire for her.
She replies to him in Arabic:Even if you come in the form of Sulaiman, the son of Dawood and with a kingdom like his, I will not be interested in you. So, save your money.
“The slave-dealer says: Then what is the solution? I have to sell you. The slave girl replies: Why the haste? There must be a buyer that my heart finds rest in him and in his fidelity and honesty.
At that moment, go to Amr bin Zaid and tell him you have a kind-hearted letter from a certain man of nobility, which he has written in Roman language and in Roman script, describing therein his benevolence, his fidelity, his excellence, and his generosity, so she may discern from it the character of its author. Should she be interested in him and choose him, then I am his representative in buying her from you.”
Bushr bin Sulaiman says: I performed all that which my Master, Abul Hasan (a.s.) had ordered me to do with respect to the slave girl. When she saw the epistle, she cried very profusely and said to Amr bin Zaid: Sell me to the author of this letter. She took the solemnest of oaths that should he refuse to sell her to him, she will take her life. I negotiated the price with the dealer until it settled exactly on the amount my Master had given me.
The money being sufficient, I took the slave girl, who was so very happy and in laughter. I returned with her to the quarters I was residing at in Baghdad. She was very restless until she took out from her pocket the letter of our Imam. She would kiss it and put it on her eyes and place it on her cheeks and touch it to her body.
Astonished by this, I said: You are kissing a letter, you do not know who wrote it. “O incapable and feeble from knowing the position of the progeny of prophets,” she said: “lend me your ears and empty your heart for my words. I am Malika the daughter of Yashua, son of the Caesar of Rome. My mother is from the descendents of the Disciples of Isa(Hawariyin),
and her lineage goes back to the successor of Isa, Shamun. I will narrate to you the wondrous story.
My grandfather, the Caesar, wanted to marry me to his nephew when I was a girl of thirteen. So he gathered in his palace, three hundred priests and monks from the descendents ofHawariyin,
and from their men of stature seven hundred men. He gathered four thousand commanders of the army and officers of the military and leaders of the armed forces and chiefs of the tribes. He erected a throne from the dearest of his riches, which was adorned with varieties of jewels and raised over forty steps. When his nephew climbed, the crosses were fixed about, the bishops took their stands in great reverence, and the pages of Injeel were opened. Suddenly the crosses collapsed from the top and hit the ground. The pillars of the throne crumbled and crashed onto the floor.
My grandfather’s nephew, who had risen over the throne, fell down unconscious. The colors of the bishops changed and their chests trembled.
Their leader said to my grandfather, ‘Please excuse me from facing this evil, which forebodes the demise of this Christian religion and the royal creed.’ “My grandfather took this as an evil omen and said to the bishops, ‘Erect these scaffolds and raise the crosses and bring the brother of this deceased man, whose dreams have been ruined, so I may marry him this young girl; so the evil of his dead brother may go away through his fortune.’ “And when they did that, the same thing happened to the second as had happened to the first nephew. People scattered away. My grandfather, the Caesar stood in great distress and entered the quarters of the womenfolk.
I dropped the curtains and in the same night saw in my dream that Isa, Shamun, and a number of the Disciples(Hawariyin)
had gathered at my grandfather’s palace. They had installed there a pulpit of light that was defying heavens in height and elevation. It was in the same spot where my grandfather had installed his throne.
At this, Muhammad, (s.a.w.s.), his son-in-law and his successor, Amirul Momineen (a.s.) and a number of his sons entered. Isa went forward and embraced him. Muhammad (a.s.) said to him, ‘O Ruhallah, I have come to you to propose to your successor, Shamun for his daughter, Malika for this son of my mine, pointing to Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.), the son of the writer of this epistle. Isa looked at Shamun and said, ‘The greatest honor has come to you. Let your relation be bonded with the relation of Aale Muhammad (a.s.).’ ‘Shamun said: ‘It will be my honor to do so.’
He climbed over that pulpit. Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) said the rituals and married me to his son. Isa bore witness and the sons of Muhammad (a.s.) and theHawariyin
bore witness. When I woke up, I was scared to report this to my father or grandfather, fearing they would kill me. I was keeping this a secret and not revealing it to them.
Meanwhile, my heart throbbed with love for Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) so much that I forsook eating and drinking. I became weak and my body grew lean and I became very sick.
There was no physician left in the cities of Rome that my grandfather did not bring and ask him to heal me. When despair overwhelmed him, he said to me, ‘O solace of my heart, does any wish occur to your heart in this world, so I may fulfill it?’ “I said: ‘Grandfather, I see the doors of relief shut on me. However, if you save the Muslim captives in your prison from torture, and remove their chains, and do them favors, and kindly release them, I am hopeful that Isa and his mother will give me health.’
When he did that, I made effort to display health and ate a little food. This made him very happy and he became ever intense to confer kindness and respect upon the captives.
“I also saw in my dreams for fourteen nights the Mistress of the Women of the Worlds, Fatima (a.s.). She visited me along with Maryam, daughter of Imran, and one thousand serfs from the Gardens. Maryam says to me, ‘This is the Mistress of the Ladies (a.s.), the mother of your husband.’ So I hold her and cry and complain why Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) does not come to visit me. The Mistress of the Ladies (a.s.) said: ‘My son, Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) will not visit you as long as you believe in a partner with Allah
in the religion of the Christians. This is my sister Maryam, the daughter of Imran, and she turns to Allah with disdain from your religion.
If you want the pleasure of Allah, the Exalted, and the pleasure of Isa and his mother, and to have Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) visit you, say: I testify that there is no god, except Allah and Muhammad is the Last Messenger of Allah.’
“When I spoke these words, the Mistress of the Ladies of the World pulled me to her chest and my soul was blessed. She said: ‘Now expect the visitations of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.). I am sending him to you.’
I woke up in great excitement and expectation of meeting the Imam. When it was the next night, I saw Imam (a.s.) and as if I was saying to him, ‘You abandoned me, my beloved, while the remedy of your love ruined my soul.’ He said: ‘My delay was not but for your polytheistic belief. Now you have embraced Islam, I am going to visit you every night until Allah brings us together.’ Until now, his visitations to me have not ceased.”
Bushr bin Sulaiman says: I asked her, “How did you fall amongst the captives?” She said: “Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) told me on one of the nights: Your grandfather will shortly be dispatching an army to fight the Muslims on such and such day, and he will follow them. You have to join them in the train of servants along with a number of servants from such and such route.
I did that and the vanguards of Muslims encountered us, which led to my situation that you see. And no one knew that I am the granddaughter of the Roman Caesar until now, except you and that is because I told you. The gentleman in whose share of booty I fell, asked me of my name. I hid my identity from him and said: ‘Narjis.’ He said: ‘A flame of the servants.’
I said to her, “It is amazing that you are Roman and your language is Arabic.” She said: “Due to my grandfather’s persistence and encouragement that I should increase my learning, he appointed a woman to me, who was his interpreter, to visit me. She would come to me day and night and teach me Arabic, until I became fluent.”
Bushr says: When I brought her back to Samarrah, I came to my Master, Imam Ali Naqi (a.s.). He asked her, “How did Allah show you the glory of Islam and the disgrace of Christianity and the nobility of Muhammad and his Household?” She said: “How would I describe, O son of Allah’s Messenger, something, which you know better than me?” “I would like to confer kindness on you,” he said. “Which one is dearer to you, ten thousanddinars
or a happy tiding of eternal grandeur?” “Happy tidings of a son for me,” she said. “Rejoice the tidings of having a son, who would rule the world, from the east to the west, and fill it with equity and justice, as it will be filled with oppression and injustice.”
“From whom,” she asked. From the one for whom the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) proposed for you on such and such night, in such and such year, replied my Master in Roman. He said: “To whom Isa and his successor married you.” “From your son?” she asked. “Do you know him?” “Has there been a night he has not visited me since I have embraced Islam on the hands of Mistress of the Ladies!”
Imam Ali Naqi (a.s.) said: “Kafur, call my sister Hakima.” And when she entered, he said to her, “Here she is.” Lady Hakima embraced her long and was very much happy to see her. Imam Ali Naqi (a.s.) said to her, “O daughter of the Messenger of Allah, take her to your house and teach her the duties and traditions, for she is the wife of my son and the mother Qaim (a.s.).”
13-
Ikmaaluddin:
Muhammad bin Ali bin Muhammad bin Hatim has narrated from Muhammad bin Yahya Shaibani that he said:
“I entered Kerbala on the year two hundred and eighty-six and visited the tomb of the forlorn son of the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.) and then returned to Baghdad, intending towards the Cemetery called Maqabir Quraish, the Shrine of the Kadhimayn (a.s.). It was burning hot, so much so that it seemed that the noontime has been set ablaze and the heavens were burning in flames. When I reached from there at the shrine of Imam Kazim (a.s.) and smelled the breeze of his tomb that is engulfed in Divine compassion and encircled by gardens of forgiveness, I shed tears and took many grievous sighs blocking my eyes.
When my tears ceased and groans stopped and I opened my eyes, I saw an old man whose back was bent and his knees were curved and his forehead and palms had dried like the knees of a camel. Near the Tomb, he was saying to another gentleman who was with him, “O nephew, through the most esoteric secrets and the noblest of all knowledge, which the two Masters possess, your uncle has reached a nobility the like of which none has carried, but Salman Farsi. Your uncle has reached at the end of his time and the expiration of his life, yet he does not find in the people of the locality a man to confide his knowledge in.”
I said to myself, “O my soul, unkindness and suffering come from you, inasmuch as I exhaust the foot and the hoof in search of knowledge. Now my ears have caught from this old man a word, which alludes to the greatest knowledge and a magnificent affair.”
I said to the old gentleman, “O Shaykh, who are the two Masters?”
He said: “Two Heavenly Stars treasured on earth in Samarrah.” I said: “I take an oath by the love and the majestic position of Imamate and succession of these two Masters that I am a searcher of their knowledge and a seeker of their words. I profess the solemnest of the oaths to protect their secrets.”
He said: “If you are truthful in what you are saying, present the words from the narrators of their traditions.”
As he examined the books and the traditions therein, he said: “You are truthful. I am Bushr bin Sulaiman from the children of Abu Ayyub Ansari, one of the devotees of Imam Ali Naqi and Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) and their neighbor at Samarrah.”
I said to him, “Do favor on your brother by sharing some of the things you have seen from them.”
He said: “My master Imam Ali Naqi (a.s.) made me knowledgeable about slaves. I would neither buy nor sell but with his permission, which helped me avoid dubious occasions, until my knowledge of the subject
matured and I could make good distinction between the permissible and the illegal. As such, one night I was at my house at Samarrah, and a certain portion of the night had passed, when someone knocked at my door. I ran with speed and saw Kafur, slave and messenger of our Master, Imam Ali Naqi (a.s.) calling me to him. I put on my robe and went to him. I saw him talking to his son, Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) and his sister Hakima from behind the curtain. When I was seated, he said: ‘O Bushr, you are from the descendents of the Ansar, and this love has always been in you, with each coming generation inheriting it from the preceding one, and you are a trustworthy man of us, Ahle Bayt...,” thenit
continues with the tradition like Shaykh Tusi until its end.
14-
Ikmaaluddin:
Ibne Idris has narrated from his father from Muhammad bin Ismail from Muhammad bin Ibrahim Kufi from Muhammad bin Abdullah Mutahhari that he said:
I went to see Hakima Khatoon after the demise of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) to ask her about the Hujjah and the confusion in which people had split many ways. She said to me, “Sit down.” I sat down and she said: “O Muhammad, verily Allah, the Exalted, does not leave the earth without a Divine Proof, be he a speaking one or a silent one. He has not put it in two brothers after Hasan and Husain, as a token of distinction for Hasan and Husain and to mark their superiority, lest there will be their peer on earth.
However, Allah, the Exalted, gave excellence to the progeny of Husain over the progeny of Hasan, as He gave excellence to the progeny of Harun over the progeny of Musa, though Musa was Divine Proof over Harun. And this excellence is for his progeny until Judgment Day.
“There must be a trial for the Ummah,” said she, “in which falsifiers will fall in doubts, and in which verifiers will find salvation, lest people will have an argument against Allah after the apostles. This trial has occurred after the demise of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.).”
I asked her, “My lady, did Hasan (a.s.) have a son?” She smiled and then said: “If Hasan (a.s.) did not have a son, who is the Divine Proof after him? Considering I told you that Imamate will not be in two brothers after Hasan and Husain, (a.s.).”
So I said: “My lady, tell me about the birth of my master and his occultation.” She said: “Yes, there was a slave girl of mine called Narjis. My nephew came to visit me. He came forward intensely looking at her. I said: ‘My Master, perhaps you have a desire for her. So, I will send her to you.’ He said: ‘No, Aunt, on the contrary I wonder at her.’ I asked, ‘What makes you wonder’?’ he said: ‘She will give birth to a boy, who is much dignified before Allah, the Exalted, who would fill the earth through him with equity and justice as it will be fraught with corruption and oppression.’ I said: ‘So, I will send her to you, O my master.’ He said: ‘Seek my father’s permission in that regard.’
“I put on my clothes and came to the house of Imam Ali Naqi (a.s.). I greeted him and sat down. He initiated the conversation saying: ‘Hakima, send Narjis to my son.’ I said: ‘My Master, I came for this purpose to you to
seek your permission.’ He said: ‘O blessed lady, Allah, the Exalted, desired to give you a share in the reward and put a stake for you in the good.’
Lady Hakima said: “I did not stand and returned to my house and adorned her and gave her to Abu Muhammad, (a.s.). I facilitated the union between them at my house and he stayed with me a few days and then went to his father. I sent her with him.”
Lady Hakima said: “Imam Ali Naqi (a.s.) passed away and Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) took his father’s seat. I would visit him like I visited his father. One day Narjis came to me to take off my shoes and said: ‘My mistress, allow me to take off your shoes.’ I said: ‘Rather you are my mistress and the mistress of my household. By Allah, I will not forward my shoes to you so you take them off. Nor will you service me. Rather, I will serve you with pleasure.’ When the Imam heard this, he said: ‘May Allah reward you aunt.’ I stayed at his house until sunset. Then I called the slave girl and said: ‘Bring me my garment so I may leave.’
Imam (a.s.) said: ‘Aunt, stay with us, for tonight the infant who is dignified before Allah, the Exalted, will be born, through whom Allah, the Exalted, will revive the earth after its death.’ Not seeing any sign of pregnancy in Narjis, I asked, ‘From whom, my Master’?’ He said: ‘From Narjis; not from anyone else.’ Lady Hakima says, “I went to Narjis and I turned her on her abdomen, but I did not see any sign of pregnancy. I returned to him and told him of my observation.
Imam (a.s.) smiled and said: ‘Her example is the similitude of the mother of Musa. Pregnancy did not appear in her and none knew of it until the time of delivery, because Firon was cutting the abdomens of pregnant women in search of Musa. This is like Musa (a.s.).”
Lady Hakima said: “I was constantly watching her until the time of dawn. She was sleeping before me and was not moving from one side to the other. When it was the end of the night near the dawn, she got up nervously. I pulled her to my breast and took the name of Allah on her. Imam (a.s.) called out, ‘ReciteInna Anzalnah
on her.” I began reciting that and asked her, ‘How do you feel?’ She said: ‘The affair of which my Master has informed you has approached.’
I began reciting the verses, as had ordered me my Master. At this, the baby answered back to me from her abdomen; he was reciting like I was reciting and he greeted me.” Lady Hakima said: “I was shocked when I heard that. So Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) called out, ‘Do not wonder from the Command of Allah, the Exalted; He gives us speech at infancy and makes us Proof on earth at maturity.’
These words had not yet finished that Narjis disappeared from me. I did not see her, as if a veil had been erected between me and her. I ran to the Imam crying. He said to me, ‘Return, O aunt, you will find her in her place.’ She said: “I returned and it was but a moment that the veil was removed from between me and her. I saw her as glows of light on her strained my eyes.
I was seeing the baby (a.s.) that was prostrating on his face, hobbling on his knees, raising his forefingers towards the heavens and saying, ‘I bear witness that a deity other than Allah, the One without a partner, is not; and that my grandfather is the Messenger of Allah; and that my forefather is Amirul Momineen (a.s.).’ He then counted each and every Imam until he reached himself and said: ‘O Allah, fulfill me my promise, complete my enterprise for me, strengthen my position, and fill the earth through me with equity and justice.’
Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) called out saying, ‘Aunt, bring him here.’ I took the blessed baby to his father. When I appeared with him in my hands before his father, he greeted his father. Imam (a.s.) took him as birds were striking wings over his head. He called to one of the birds and said: ‘Carry him and protect him and return him to us every forty days.’
The bird flew away with him to the heavens, with the rest of the birds following. I heard Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) say: ‘I entrust you to the one that mother of Musa entrusted.’ Seeing this, Narjis wept, so he said to her, ‘Relax, he will not suckle but from your breasts. He will be returned to you as Musa was returned to his mother. It is His word:
فَرَدَدْنَاهُ إِلَى أُمِّهِ كَيْ تَقَرَّ عَيْنُهَا وَلَا تَحْزَنَ
“So We gave him back to his mother that her eye might be refreshed, and that she might not grieve.” (Surah Qasas 28:13)
Lady Hakima said: “I asked, ‘What is this bird?’ He said: ‘It is the Holy Spirit (Ruhul Qudus), who is assigned to the Imams to make them successful and firm and to facilitate their growth through knowledge.’ “When it was forty days, the boy was returned. My nephew (a.s.) sent for me and called me over. I went to him and saw a child moving about in front of him.
I said: ‘My Master, this is a boy of two years.’ He smiled and then said: ‘The sons of apostles and successors, when they are Imams, they grow differently than others. A child of ours talks in the womb of his mother, recites the Quran, and worships his Lord. At the age of suckling, angels obey him and descend to him every morning and evening.’
Lady Hakima said: “I always saw that child every forty days until I saw him as a grown man in a very few days prior to the demise of his father. I did not recognize him. I asked the Imam, ‘Who is this man that you ask me to sit in front of?’ He said: ‘The son of Narjis. And he is my heir after me. Soon you will not find me amongst you. So listen to him and obey him.’
“Imam (a.s.) passed away after a few days and people split different ways as you see. By Allah, I see him every day and night and he informs me of what you people ask about so I may answer you. By Allah, when I want to ask him about something, he answers me before I ask him. If something comes up, his answer comes to me immediately without my asking. He told me just yesterday about your coming to me and ordered me to inform you of the truth.”
The narrator, Muhammad bin Abdullah says: “By Allah, Lady Hakima told me of things that no one knew, except Allah, the Exalted. So I realized that this is the truth and rightfulness from Allah, the Exalted, and that He has informed him of which He has not informed anyone in His creation.
15-
Ikmaaluddin:
Taliqani has narrated from Hasan bin Ali bin Zakariya from Muhammad bin Khalilan from his father from his grandfather from Ghiyath bin Asad that he said:
“Imam Mahdi (a.s.)
was born on Friday. His mother was a woman of dignity called Raihana, Saiqal and Susan. She was called Saiqal because of the pregnancy. His birth was on the eighth night left from Shaban of the year two hundred and fifty-six. His representative was Uthman bin Saeed; and when Uthman died, he appointed his son, Abu Ja’far Muhammad Ibne Uthman, his heir; and Abu Ja’far appointed Abul Qasim Husain Ibne Ruh his heir; Abul Qasim appointed Abul Hasan Ali bin Muhammad Saymoori, his heir, may Allah be pleased with them. When Saymoori reached his demise, he was asked to designate a legatee, to which he replied, “For Allah is the command. He is its patron.” The Major Occultation is the one that began after Saymoori.
The author says: “She was called Saiqal because of her pregnancy,” it also alludes to the illumination and glow that overtook her due to the luminous pregnancy. When they polish and shine their swords, Arabs call them Saiqal.
16-
Ikmaaluddin:
It is narrated from Ali bin Husain bin Faraj from Muhammad bin Hasan Karkhi that he said: I heard Abu Harun, one of our Shia scholars say:
“I met the Imam of the Time (a.s.). His birth was on Friday, the year two hundred and fifty-six.”
17-
Ikmaaluddin:
It is narrated from Ibne Mutawakkil from Himyari from Muhammad bin Ibrahim Kufi that he said:
Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) sent a slaughtered sheep to me and said: “This is of the Aqiqah of my son, Muhammad.”
18-
Ikmaaluddin:
Majiluwayh has narrated from Muhammad bin Attar from Hasan bin Ali Nishaburi from Hasan bin Mundhir that Hamza bin Abil Fath came to me one day and said:
“Happy news! Last night a son was born to Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) at the House. He has ordered it to be kept a secret.” “What is his name?” I asked. “He has named him Muhammad and given him the patronymic of Abu Ja’far.”
19-
Ikmaaluddin:
Taliqani has narrated from Hasan bin Ali bin Zakariya from Muhammad bin Khalilan from his father from his grandfather from Ghiyath bin Asad that he said:
I heard Muhammad Ibne Uthman (q.s.) say, “When Imam Zamana (a.s.) was born, a light beamed from his overhead towards the heights of the heavens. He then fell on his face, prostrating before his Lord, Glory to His name. He then raised his head as he was saying, ‘I bear witness, and so do the angels and the possessors of knowledge, that a deity other than Him, standing in equity, is not. The religion before Allah is only Islam.” Muhammad Ibne Uthman said: “He was born on Friday eve.”
20-
Ikmaaluddin:
Through the same chains of narrators, it is narrated from Muhammad Ibne Uthman Amari that he said:
“The Master was born circumcised and I heard Lady Hakima say, ‘No blood was seen in her mother at his birth.’ This is the manner of the mothers of the Imams, peace be on them.”
21-
Ikmaaluddin:
It is narrated from Abul Abbas Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Mahziyar from Ahmad bin Hasan bin Ishaq Qummi that he said:
“When Imam Zamana (a.s.) was born, a letter came from Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) to my grandfather, Ahmad Ibne Ishaq. It was written in the handwriting in which his letters would come to my grandfather, “The Infant is born. This must remain a secret with you and hidden from all people, for we have not revealed it but to the closest of his relations and the fondest of his devotees. We desired to inform you, so may Allah make you happy through him as He has made us. And peace be on you.”
22-
Ikmaaluddin:
It is mentioned on the authority of Ibnul Walid from Abdullah bin Abbas Alawi from Hasan bin Husain Alawi:
“I came to Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) at Samarrah and congratulated him for the birth of his son, Qaim (a.s.).”
The same tradition is narrated through another chain of narrators inGhaibat
of Shaykh Tusi.
23-
Ikmaaluddin:
It is narrated from Ali bin Muhammad bin Habbab from Abil Adyan from Aqeed the servant from Abu Muhammad Ibne Khairuya Basri and narrated Hajiz Washa from Aqeed and also Abu Sahl Naubakhti has narrated from Aqeed that he said:
“The Bosom Friend of Allah, Hujjat Ibne Hasan Ibne Ali Ibne Muhammad Ibne Ali Ibne Musa Ibne Ja’far Ibne Muhammad Ibne Ali Ibne Husain Ibne Ali Ibne Abi Talib, bliss of Allah be for them all, was born on Friday eve in the month of Ramadan of the year two hundred and fifty-four after Hijra. His patronymic is Abul Qasim and it is also said that it is Abu Ja’far. His title is Mahdi and he is the Proof of Allah on His earth. People have split many ways on the subject of his birth: Of them are those who have let it be known, of them are those who have concealed it, of them are those who have been forbidden from mentioning him, and of them are those who have made his name public. And Allah knows the best.”
24-
Ghaibat Tusi:
A group has narrated for Talakbari from Ahmad bin Ali from Muhammad bin Ali from Hanzala bin Zakariya from Thiqa that he said: Abdul Abbas Alawi has narrated from Hasan Ibne Husain Alawi that:
“I came to Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) at Samarrah and felicitated him for the birth of our Master, the Master of the Age.”
25-
Ghaibat Tusi:
Ibne Abil Jayyid has narrated from Ibne Walid from Saffar from (Muhammad) Ibne Abdullah Mutahhari from Hakima binte Muhammad bin Ali Reza that she said:
“In the year two hundred and fifty-five at mid-Shaban, Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) sent for me saying, “Aunt, have your Iftar with me tonight, for Allah, the Glorious, will make you happy through His Wali and His Hujjah on His creation and my heir after me.” This made me so very happy. I put on my garments and left at once and reached him at his house. He was sitting in the yard of his house and his concubines were about him. I said: “May I be your ransom, O my Master, from whom would the successor be born?” He said: “From Susan.” I ran my eyes over them and did not see any slave girl with any sign of pregnancy, except Susan. After I prayed the Isha prayers, I brought the meal and Susan and I made Iftar. Arranging her and myself in one room, I fell asleep for a short while and then woke up. I was constantly thinking about the promise of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) with regard to the Wali of Allah.
I got up before the regular time I would wake up every night for prayers. I performed the midnight prayers and when I reached the watr prayers (last part), Susan rose suddenly and went out and made her ablution with great attention and piety. Then she came back and prayed the midnight prayers and reached watr. It occurred to me that dawn has neared and I rose up to check it. The first dawn had risen. Doubts entered my heart with regard to the promise of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.). He called me from his room, “Aunt, do not have doubts. It is almost as if you are witnessing the event at this hour and seeing him, God willing.”
Lady Hakima says, I felt embarrassed from Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.), because of the doubts that had occurred to me. I returned to the room feeling ashamed. Suddenly Susan finished her prayers and came out frightened. I met her at the door of the room and said: “My parents be your ransom, do you feel anything?” She said: “Yes, O aunt. I feel a great happening.” I said to her, “May you have no fears, Allah-willing.” I took a pillow and threw it at the center of the room and sat her on it. I sat in a position with respect to her in which a woman sits from another woman for the purpose of delivery. She seized my hand and squeezed it very hard. Then she groaned once and recited Kalimah. I looked beneath her, and there I was in the presence of the Wali of Allah, bliss of Allah be for him, who was touching the earth with his forehead, palms of hands, knees, and toes. I held him from his shoulders and sat him on my lap. He was clean and without any need to any attention.
Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) called, “O aunt, bring my son to me.” I took him to his father, who took him and brought out his tongue and touched it against the eyes of the baby, who opened his eyes. He then put his tongue into the blessed baby’s mouth, who sucked on it. He then put it into his ears. He sat him on his right palm. The Wali of Allah sat straight. Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) touched the baby’s head and said, “My dear son, speak with the power of Allah.” The Wali of Allah sought refuge of Allah from the cursed Satan and began:
بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمـَنِ الرَّحِيمِ وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوَارِثِينَ {5} وَنُمَكِّنَ لَهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنُرِي فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا مِنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَحْذَرُونَ
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. And We desired to bestow a favor upon those who were deemed weak in the land, and to make them the Imams, and to make them the heirs. And to grant them power in the land, and to make Firon and Haman and their hosts see from them what they feared.” (Surah Qasas 28:5-6)
And may Allah bless His Messenger and Amirul Momineen (a.s.).” He mentioned the Imams one after the other until he reached his father.
Then Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) gave him to me and said: “O Aunt, return him to his mother so her heart may rejoice and may she grieve not and so she may know that the promise of Allah is true, but the majority of the people do not know.
I returned him to his mother while the second dawn had brightened. I performed the Fajr prayers and then said my post prayers devotions until sunrise. I bid Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) farewell and returned to my house. When three days had passed, I became anxious to see theWali
of Allah. I went to them and started with the room where Susan was. I did not see any trace, nor heard any mention. I did not want to ask, so I came to Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.). I felt bashful to begin the conversation with him by asking him.
So, he began and said: “O aunt, he is in the protection of Allah, and His safeguard, and His curtain, and His eye, until Allah gives him permission. So when Allah hides my person and transfers me, and you see my Shia disputing, inform the reliable ones of them. This must remain with you and them as a secret, for Allah hides HisWali.
Allah hides him from His creation and He veils him from His servants. No one will see him until Jibraeel (a.s.) offers him his courser,in order that Allah may fulfill the enterprise that must be fulfilled.”
26-
Ghaibat Tusi:
Ahmad bin Ali has narrated from Muhammad bin Ali from Ali bin Sami bin Banan from Muhammad bin Ali bin Abil Dari from Ahmad bin Muhammad from Ahmad bin Abdullah from Ahmad bin Ruh Ahwazi from Muhammad bin Ibrahim from Hakima the like of the previous tradition, however, with this difference that she says:
“Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) sent after me on the night of mid-Ramadan of the year two hundred and fifty-five.” “I said to him, O son of Allah’s Messenger, who is his mother? He said: Narjis.” “When it was the third day, my anxiety for the Wali of Allah intensified. So I brought them a repast and began with the room where the slave girl was. There she was sitting like a woman who has delivered a child. She was wearing yellow clothes and her head was wrapped. I greeted her and looked at the side of the room. There was a cradle of a baby covered by green sheets. I turned to the cradle and removed the sheets and saw the Wali of Allah sleeping on his back, neither fastened nor tied. He opened his eyes and began laughing and calling me with his finger. I held him and brought him near my mouth to kiss. I smelt a fragrance from him that I have never smelt a better fragrant than that. Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) called me, ‘Aunt, come and bring my young man to me.’ I took him to his father. He said to him, my son, speak...”
Then the saying of the Wali of Allah is narrated and then she says, “I took him from his father while he was saying, ‘My dear son, I entrust you to the one mother of Musa entrusted him to. Be in the comfort of Allah, and His safeguard, and His protection and His company.’ He said: ‘Return him to his mother, aunt, and hide the news of this baby of ours and do not inform anyone till the time arrives.’ I brought him to his mother and bid them farewell.” Then the tradition continues like the previous one.
27-
Ghaibat Tusi:
Ahmad bin Ali has narrated from Muhammad bin Ali from Hanzala bin Zakariya that he said:
Narrated to me Thiqa from Muhammad bin Ali bin Bilal from Hakima
an identical tradition. In another narration on the authority of a number of great Shaykhs, it comes that Lady Hakima narrated this narrative and mentioned that it was the night of mid-Shaban and that his mother was Narjis. The narrative continues like the previous one until her saying, “There I was, sensing my Master and hearing the voice of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) as he was saying, ‘O my aunt, bring my son to me.’
So I removed the curtains from my Master, and there he was, prostrating, touching the earth through his forehead, palms, knees and toes. On his right forearm it was written:
جَاء الْحَقُّ وَزَهَقَ الْبَاطِلُ إِنَّ الْبَاطِلَ كَانَ زَهُوقًا
“The truth has come and the falsehood has vanished; surely falsehood is a vanishing (thing).”(Surah Isra 17:81)
I pulled him to myself and found him pure and clean. He did not need any sort of attention. I wrapped him in a sheet and carried him to Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.). They have mentioned the narrative the same way until his saying, “I bear witness that a deity other than Allah is not and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah and that Ali is by truth Amirul Momineen (a.s.).” Then he mentions the Imams one by one until himself. He prays for his devotees for relief on his hands. Then he stops.
She says: “Then something like a veil was erected between me and Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) and I did not see my Master. I said to Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.), ‘My Master, where is my lord?’ He said: ‘Someone who is worthier than you and us took him.”
Then they have mentioned all of the narration and added: When it was after forty days, I came to Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) and there was our Master, the Patron. He was walking about the house. I had never seen a face more beautiful than his, nor heard any tongue more eloquent than his. Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) said: “This is the baby who is dignified before Allah, the Glorified.” I said: “My Master, I see him in this condition and he is only forty days old.” He smiled and said: “My aunt, don’t you know that we Imams, grow in the day to the extent that others grow in a year.” I arose and kissed his forehead and returned. Then I came back and sought him, but did not see him. I said to Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.), “What have you done to our Master?” He said: “Aunt, we have entrusted him to the one mother of Musa entrusted him to.”
28-
Ghaibat Tusi:
It is narrated from Ahmad bin Ali from Muhammad bin Ali from Hanzala bin Zakariya that he said:
“Ahmad bin Bilal bin Dawood, the scribe, who was a Sunni and a Nasibi, having contempt to Ahle Bayt, which he did not hide, narrated this to me. He was my friend and would express his affection to me, as it is in the spirit of the people of Iraq. He would say every time he met me, “I have a news for you to rejoice, but I will not give it to you.” I would pretend to care less until one day we were brought together at a secluded spot. With much fervor, I asked him to tell me about what news he had. He said: Our houses were at Samarrah, in front of the house of Ibne Reza, (meaning the house of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.). For a very long time, I stayed away from the locality, going to Qazwin and other cities. Then destiny brought me back to Samarrah. When I arrived there, I had lost all whom I had left behind from my family and relatives, except an old woman who had raised me and she had a daughter with her.
She was of the original disposition, veiling, protective, and did not know lying. Also there were some of our cousins who had stayed at the house. I stayed with them for some days and then decided to leave. The old woman said: “How do you make haste to return after such a long absence? Stay with us, so we may take the pleasure of your stay.” I said to her in the way of jest, “I want to go to Kerbala.” This was a season when great many people were leaving either for mid-Shaban or the day of Arafa.
“I seek refuge of Allah for you, my son, to blaspheme through this talk of ridicule.” She said: “I am going to tell you what I have seen. This happened two years after you left us. I was in this house, sleeping near the main entry hall. My daughter was with me. I was in a condition somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, when entered a man of handsome face, clean clothes, fragrant smell, and said: so and so, some one will come at this hour to you to call you to your neighbor. Do not refuse to go with him. And do not be scared.
I was afraid and called my daughter, ‘Did you notice someone entering the house?’ She said: ‘No.’ I called Allah to my heart and recited some verses and went to sleep. The same man came again and said what he had said earlier. I cried out to my daughter. She said: ‘No one has entered the house. Remember Allah and do not be scared.’ I recited some verses and went to sleep again. When it happened the third time, the man came and said: So and so, the one who is calling you has come and is knocking the door. Go with him.’
I heard the knock and went to the door. ‘Who is this?’ I asked. ‘Open and fear not,’ someone said. I recognized his word and opened the door. It was a servant who had a lower garment sheet on him. He said: ‘A neighbor needs you for a very important matter. So come.’ He covered my head with the sheet and took me to the house, which I knew. There were sets of curtains fixed in the middle of the house. A man was sitting on the side of the curtains. The servant gestured to me with his eye and I entered. There was a woman in labor and another lady was behind her as if she was delivering her. The woman asked: ‘Would you help us in this?’
I helped them in the delivery. It was but a moment that a boy was born. I held him and shouted, ‘It is a boy! It is a boy!’ I put my head out from the side of the curtains to give the glad tiding to the man who was sitting. ‘Don’t shout,’ someone said. When I returned inside, the boy was not in my hand. The woman who was seated told me, ‘Don’t shout.’
The servant took my hand and wrapped my head with the sheet and took me out of the house. He took me to my house and gave me a bag and said: ‘Don’t tell anyone of what you saw.’ I entered the house and returned to my bed. My daughter was still sleeping. Waking her up, I asked, ‘Did you see me going out and coming back?’ She replied: ‘No.’ I opened the bag at that hour and there were ten dinars in it. I have not told this to anyone until today when you spoke these words in the way of ridicule. I narrated this to you to commiserate over you, for these people (Ahle Bayt) have a lofty status and high position before Allah, the Glorified, and everything they pray for is fulfilled.”
I was astonished by her narrative but passed on with ridicule and jest. I did not ask her of its time; however, I know for sure that I had left them in two hundred and fifty and some odd year and had come back to Samarrah at two hundred and eighty-one. The time when the old woman narrated this to me was during the ministry of Ubaidullah bin Sulaiman.
Hanzala, the narrator of this report says: I called Abul Faraj Muzaffar bin Ahmad and he also heard this story with me.
29-Ghaibat Tusi:
It is narrated that one of the sisters of Imam Ali Naqi (a.s.) had a slave girl, whom she had raised, called Narjis. When she had grown up, Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) entered and looked at her. She said to him, “I see, my Master, you are looking at her.” He said: “I did not look at her but wondering: Lo, the baby that is dignified before Allah will be from her.” Then he ordered her to seek permission of Imam Ali Naqi (a.s.) to offer her to him. She did that and Imam Ali Naqi (a.s.) ordered her to do so.
30-
Ghaibat Tusi:
It is narrated from Allaan Razi that he said:
“The Master (a.s.) was born in the year two hundred and fifty-six after Hijrat, two years after the demise of Imam Ali Naqi (a.s.).”
31-
Ghaibat Tusi:
It is narrated from Muhammad bin Ali Shalmaghani in the book of Al-Awsiya on the authority of Hamza Ibne Nasr, the slave of Abul Hasan (a.s.) who narrates from his father that:
“When the Master was born, the people of the house felicitated each other and rejoiced. When he grew, I was ordered to buy every day a bone with marrow and it was said: ‘It is for our young Master.’”
32-
Ghaibat Tusi:
Shalmaghani narrates that Ibrahim Ibne Idris said:
Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) sent me a sheep and said: “Offer this as Aqiqah of my son. Eat and feed your family.” I did that and met him afterwards, he said: “The son of mine that was born, died.”
Later, he sent me two sheep and wrote, “In the name of Allah the Merciful the Compassionate. Offer these two sheep as Aqiqah of your
Master. Eat, may Allah bless it for you, and feed your brothers.” I did that and saw him afterwards. He did not say anything.
33-
Ghaibat Tusi:
Muhammad bin Hamam has narrated from Ja’far bin Muhammad bin Malik and Himyari has narrated from Ibne Abil Khattab and Muhammad bin Isa and Abdullah bin Aamir all together have narrated from Ibne Abi Najran from Khashab from Maruf bin Kharbudh that Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s.) says, “Said the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.s.):
‘Verily the example of my Household in this Ummah is the similitude of the stars of the heavens. Whenever a star disappears, another star rises, until you stretch your eyebrows to him and point with your fingers at him, the angel of death comes and takes him. Then you remain a stretch of time not knowing one thing from another. The progeny of Abdul Muttalib will be equal in that. When you are like that, Allah will raise your star. So praise him and accept him.
The author says: The coming of the angel of death and taking him does not mean his death, but rather, that the angel of death was with the Ruhul Qudus when the latter took him to occultation.
34-
Kitabun Nujoom:
One of our associates has mentioned in the book of Al-Awsiya, which is a reliable book, narrated by Hasan Ibne Ja’far Saymoori, and its author is Ali Ibne Muhammad Ibne Ziyad Saymoori, who corresponded with Imam Ali Naqi and Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.), and was a trustworthy and reliable man - the following words, “Narrated to me Abu Ja’far Qummi, the son of my brother, Ahmad Ibne Ishaq bin Musaqqala, that:
“There was a Jewish astrologer in Qom, reputed for his accuracy in calculations. Ahmad Ibne Ishaq called him and said: An infant has been born in such and such time. See his fortune and check his destiny.
The astrologer looked at his charts and did certain calculations and told Ahmad Ibne Ishaq: ‘I do not see any star guiding me to conclude that this infant is yours. Such an infant is born only to an apostle or the successor of an apostle. Inference indicates that he will own the world, from east to west, land to sea, deserts to mountains; no one will remain on the face of the earth but will follow his religion and profess devotion to him.’”
35-
Kashful Ghummah:
Shaykh Kamaluddin Ibne Talha says:
“The birth of Hujjat Ibne Hasan (a.s.) was in Samarrah on the twenty third of Ramadan of the year two hundred and fifty-eight. His father is Abu Muhammad Hasan, and his mother is a slave girl named Saiqal; Hakima and other names are also mentioned for his mother. His patronymic is Abul Qasim; his title Hujjat, the Virtuous successor, and Muntazar (the Awaited) is also said to be one of his titles.”
36-
Irshad:
His birth was in mid-Shaban of the year two hundred and fifty-five. His mother is a slave girl, called Narjis. His age at the time of his father’s demise was five years in which Allah had given him wisdom and the decisive speech and had made him a Sign for the worlds. He gave him
wisdom like he gave Yahya wisdom in infancy; He made him an Imam like He made Isa Ibne Maryam, an apostle in the cradle.
He has two occultations before his rise, one of which is longer than the other. Traditions have reached us in this regard. The shorter one of the two is from the time of his birth until the end of the time of the emissaries between him and his Shia and the demise of the representatives through death. And the longer one is the one after the first one. At its end, he will rise with the sword.”
37-
Kashful Ghummah:
Abil Khashshab says: Narrated to me Abul Qasim Tahir bin Harun bin Musa Alawi from his father from his grandfather that Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) said:
“The Virtuous successor (Khalafus Salih
) is from my progeny. He is the Mahdi and his name is Muhammad. His patronymic is Abul Qasim. He will rise in the last period of time. His mother is called Saiqal.
Abu Bakr Darra, armor-maker told us: His mother is Hakima. And a third narration says that she is called Narjis and Susan, according to another account. Allah knows the best. His patronymic is Abul Qasim. He has two names, Khalaf and Muhammad. He will appear in the latter times. Clouds over his head will shade him from the sun. They go wherever he goes and they call in an eloquent voice:This is the Mahdi.
Also Muhammad bin Musa Tusi narrated to me, Abu Miskin narrated from a certain historian to me that the mother of al-Muntazir is called Hakima.
Ibne Khallikan says in hisTarikh
: He is the Twelfth of the Twelve Imams according to Shia belief. He is known as the Divine Proof (Hujjah) and he is the one that Shia believe is the Awaited Qaim and the Mahdi. He is the one, according to them, who was at the cellar (sardab). They have said much about him. They await his appearance at the end of the time from the cellar at Samarrah.
His birth was on Friday, mid-Shaban, year two hundred and fifty-five. At his father’s demise, his age was five years. His mother’s name is Khamat, and it is said: Narjis.
The Shia say that he entered the cellar in his father’s house as his mother was looking at him and did not come back to her. This happened in two hundred and sixty-five. His age on that day was nine years. Ibne Arzaq has mentioned inHistory of Miyafariqin
that the mentioned Hujjah was born on the ninth of Rabiul Awwal of the year two hundred and fifty-eight. It is also said that he was born on the eighth of Shaban, two hundred and fifty-six. This is the correct narration. When he entered the cellar, his age was four years, and it is said: five years. It is also said that he entered the cellar in the year two hundred and seventy-five, when his age was seventeen. And Allah knows the best.
The author says: I saw in the book of one of our scholars, a tradition as follows: Said our Masters, Imam Ali Naqi and Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.), “When Allah desires to create an Imam, he send down a drop from the water of Paradise into the clouds, which drops into a fruit of Paradise. The Hujjah
of the time eats it and when it finds its place in him, and forty days pass on him, he can hear voices.
When four months pass after he has been conceived, it is transcribed on his right arm:
وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلاً لاَّ مُبَدِّلِ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
“And the word of your Lord has been accomplished truly and justly; there is none who can change His words, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing.” (Surah Anam 6:115)
When he is born, he establishes the order of Allah, and pillars of light are erected for him in every place, in which he sees the people and their deeds. The commands of Allah descend on him in those pillars. The pillar is before his eyes, wherever he turns and looks.”
Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) says, “I came to my aunts and saw a slave girl of theirs, who was well adorned. Her name was Narjis. I looked at her and prolonged my stare. My aunt Hakima remarked, ‘I see you, my Master, looking at this slave girl closely.’ I said: ‘Aunt, my stare at her is not but for wondering at Allah’s will and choice.’
She said: ‘I reckon, my Master, you like her.’ So I ordered her to seek permission of my father, Ali Ibne Muhammad (a.s.) to submit her to me. She did that and my father commanded her to do so and she brought her to me.
Also in the book of Husain Ibne Hamadan, it is narrated from another reliable Shaykh that Hakima binte Muhammad Ibne Ali Imam Reza (a.s.) narrated that she used to enter upon Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) and pray for him that may Allah give him a son. She said: I came to him and said to him what I used to say and prayed as I used to pray.
He said: “Aunt, as for your prayers that may Allah give me a son, it will happen tonight.” It was a Friday eve, three nights left from Shaban of the year two hundred and fifty- seven. “Have your Iftar with us.” “Who is this blessed boy going to be born from, my Master?” I asked. “From Narjis, aunt.”
I said to him, “There is not one amongst your slave girls more cherished to me than her.” I rose and went to her. When I came to her, she did to me what she always did. I bowed on her hands and kissed them and did not allow her to do what she always did. She called me her lady; I called her the same. She said: “May I be your ransom,” she said. “I and the whole world be your ransom,” I returned.
She turned that down. I said to her, “Do not turn down what I did. For Allah will grant you in this night a boy, a Master in this world and the hereafter. He will be the relief of the believers.” She was bashful. I looked at her closely, but did not see any sign of pregnancy.
I said to my Master Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.), “I do not see any pregnancy in her.” He smiled and said: “We successors are not carried in the abdomens, but rather, we are carried on the sides. We do not come out from wombs, but rather from the right leg from our mothers. Because we are the Divine light to which impurities do not reach.”
“My Master,” I said: “you just informed me that he will be born in this night. In which time?” He said: “At dawn-break, the dignified before Allah will be born Insha Allah.”
Lady Hakima says: I got up and made Iftar and then slept near Narjis. Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) slept at the front of the house in which we were. I got up at the time of midnight prayers,. Narjis was asleep. There was not any sign of parturition in her. I began my prayers and then performed the watr prayers. As I was in thewatr
(last part), it occurred to me that it was already dawn.
As doubts came to my heart, Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) called out from outside, “Aunt, dawn has not come.” I finished the prayers fast and Narjis moved. I came near her and pulled her to me and mentioned the name of Allah on her. “Do you feel anything?” I asked her. “Yes,” she said. A faintness overwhelmed me that I could not hold my person and it put me to sleep. The same happened to Narjis. I did not wake up but by feeling my Master the Mahdi and hearing the call of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.), saying, “Aunt, bring my son to me.”
I kissed him and removed the veil from my Master. There he was, prostrating, touching the earth with his forehead, palms, knees and toes. There was transcribed on his right arm:
وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلاً لاَّ مُبَدِّلِ لِكَلِمَاتِهِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
“And the word of your Lord has been accomplished truly and justly; there is none who can change His words, and He is the Hearing, the Knowing.” (Surah Anam 6:115)
I pulled him to myself and found him to be pure and clean without need to any attention. I wrapped him in a cloth and carried him to Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.). He picked his son and sat him on his left palm and placed his right palm on his back. Then he inserted his tongue into the blessed baby’s mouth and touched his hand against the baby’s back, ears and joints. Then he said, “Talk, my son.” He said: “I bear witness that a deity other than Allah is not, and I bear witness that Muhammad is Messenger of Allah and that Ali, Amirul Momineen (a.s.), is the Wali of Allah.” Then he kept counting the Imams, one after the other, until he reached himself. He invoked relief for his devotees on his hands and then with great awe stopped.”
“Aunt, take him to his mother,” said Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.), “so that he may greet her. Then bring him back to me.” I took him. He greeted his mother and then I returned him to his father. Then the like of a veil was erected between me and Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) and I did not see my Master. I said to him, “My Master, where is our lord?” He said: “Someone who is nearer to him than you, took him. Come to us on the seventh day.”
On the seventh day, I came, greeted him and sat down. He said: “Bring my son to me.” I brought my Master, who was in a yellow dress. His father did the same things to him like the first time and put his tongue into his mouth and then said to him, “Talk, my son.” He said: “I bear witness that a deity other than Allah is not.” Then he praised Muhammad by invoking blessings for him and Amirul Momineen (a.s.) and the Imams one after the other until he stopped by mentioning his father. Then he recited:
بِسْمِ اللّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوَارِثِينَ {5} وَنُمَكِّنَ لَهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنُرِي فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا مِنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَحْذَرُونَ
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. And We desired to bestow a favor upon those who were deemed weak in the land, and to make them the Imams, and to make them the heirs. And to grant them power in the land, and to make Firon and Haman and their hosts see from them what they feared.” (Surah Qasas 28:5-6)
Then he said: “Read, my son, from the books that Allah has revealed upon His prophets and apostles.” My Master began with the book of Adam and read it in Assyrian; he read the book Idris, the book of Nuh, the book of Hud, the book of Salih, the scrolls of Ibrahim, the Torah of Musa, the Psalms of David, the Injeel of Isa, and the Quran of my grandfather, Muhammad (s.a.w.s.). Then he narrated the stories of the apostles and messengers until his own time.
After forty days, I went to the house of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) and suddenly saw that the Master of the Age was walking about the house. I had never seen a face more beautiful than his, nor heard a tongue more eloquent. Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.) said to me, “This is the boy dignified before Allah, the Exalted.”
I said to him, “My Master, he is forty days old and I see him like this.” He said: “My aunt, don’t you know that we legatees grow in a day as much as others grow in a week, and grow in a week as much as others grow in a year?” I rose and kissed his forehead and returned. I came back and looked for him, but did not see him. I asked my Master, Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.), “What has our Master done?” He said: “Aunt, we entrusted him to the one mother of Musa entrusted her son to.”
Then he said: “When my Lord granted me the Mahdi of this Ummah, He sent two angels, who carried him to the Pavilions of the Throne,
so much so they stood him in front of Allah, the Glorified. He said to him, ‘Blessed be you My servant for the support of My religion and manifestation of My command and guidance of My servants. I have taken an oath that through you I will seize, through you I will grant, through you I will forgive, through you I will punish. Return him, O two angels, return him. Return him to his father like a friend of Mine is returned. Convey to his father that he is in My protection, in My security, and in My eyes until I establish through him the truth, until I perish through him vanity, and until the religion is for Me forever.”
She said: “When he fell from the abdomen of his mother on earth, he was found kneeling, raising his forefingers. Then he sneezed and said: ‘All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. And may Allah bless Muhammad - a humble servant, neither proud nor arrogant - and his household.’
Then he said: ‘The oppressors presumed that the Hujjah of Allah has perished. If I were given permission, this doubt would perish.”
It is narrated from Ibrahim, the companion of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s.): Imam (a.s.) sent me four sheep and wrote to me, “In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Offer these as Aqiqah of my son, Muhammad
Mahdi. Eat! Blessed a food be it for you! And feed whosoever of our Shia you find.”
The author says: Shaheed Awwal says inAl-Durus
: “He was born at Samarrah on Friday eve on the fifteenth of Shaban, two hundred and fifty-five. His mother is Saiqal. It is said that she is Narjis. And it is said she is Maryam binte Zaid Alawiyya.” I would like to add that Shaykh Tusi inAl-Misbahain
and Sayyid Ibne Tawus inIqbal
and the rest of his books of supplications have specifically chronicled his date of birth as mid-Shaban. The author ofFusulul Muhimma
says: He was born at Surra Man Raa on the eve of mid-Shaban of the year 255.
It is narrated from the handwriting of Shaheed Awwal from Imam Sadiq (a.s.) that the Imam said: “The night in which Qaim (a.s.) will be born, no child will be born but he will be a believer; and if he is born in a land of polytheism, Allah will transfer him to faith through the blessing of the Imam (a.s.).”
0%
Author: Allamah Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi
