Shaykh Shushtarī’s Encounter with Imam al-Mahdi

Shaykh Shushtarī (may God have mercy upon him) related:

One day, while traveling to Syria, the weather was extremely hot. I set out to visit the grave of Miqdād and, after searching for a long time, I eventually found it. When I reached the grave, I suddenly heard a voice coming from it, saying:

“How much longer will you continue visiting the deceased Miqdād? Turn instead to the living Miqdād!”

Shaykh Shushtarī was a Shiʿa mystic who was said to possess insight into the inner states of people. He also used to visit certain elders and scholars who were believed to have knowledge of aspects of the Unseen.

On one occasion, he related:

Recently, I visited one of the elders who was believed to have insight into the Unseen. I asked him several questions, and he graciously answered them.

One of my questions was:

“Will the reappearance of Imam al-Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance) take place soon?”
He replied:

“The reappearance is closer than you imagine.”
At that point, another thought came to my mind.

Some Christians had gathered around the place where Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) is believed to have ascended to Heaven, saying that Christ (peace be upon him) had stated before his ascension:

“I will return two thousand years later.”
Therefore, I believe that Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) will return in 2033, since he was thirty-three years old when he ascended.

Note
Miqdād ibn al-Aswad was one of the distinguished companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). However, in this account, the expression “the living Miqdād” is used figuratively to refer to someone other than Imam al-Mahdi (may God hasten his reappearance), rather than to Miqdād ibn al-Aswad himself.