The second narration mentions the effect of writing letters to call for help [from Imam Mahdi (mgehr)]:
The righteous and pious scholar, the late Sayyid Muhammad, is the son of Sayyid Abbas who is now[1] alive and is living in the town Jubb-i Shayth[2], that is one of the towns of Jabal ‘Amil. He is one of the cousins of the nobleman and well-informed scholar, Sayyid á¹¢adr al-DÄ«n ‘ĀmilÄ« Iá¹£fahÄnÄ«, who is the son-in-law of Shaykh of Islamic jurists on his era, Shaikh Ja’far NajafÄ« (ra).
The aforesaid Sayyid Muhammad fled from his homeland without any wealth, due to the oppression of the tyrant rulers who wanted to force him into the army. It was in a way that he had only one Qamarī, which is only one-tenth of a Qeran, at the day he left Jabal ‘Amil, and he never asked anybody [for money].
He traveled for a while and he saw many wonders in sleeping and when awake. Finally he resided in the holy city of Najaf [beside the grave of Imam Ali (pbuh)]; in an upstair rooms of the blessed courtyard, towards Qiblah. He was spending his life in full distress and no one, but two or three people knew about his condition, until he passed away.
From the time he left his homeland until the time of his death, it took him five years and he was in contact with me. He was a very chaste and modest person, and was present during the days of mourning, and sometimes borrowed some prayer books.
My soul was about to separate from my body when Sayyid Raá¸Ä« al-DÄ«n arrived with a group and kept the people far from me. The supervisor of Mesopotamia had recorded the story and had sent it to Baqdad, so they became aware of it. Sayyid said, ‘Are you the man who is said to be healed and has caused this commotion in this city?’
I replied, ‘Yes!’ He got off his horse and untied my leg bandage. Since he already had seen the wound on my leg and now there was no trace of it, he fainted and lost his consciousness for an hour. He regained consciousness after a while and said, ‘Summon my minister and tell him that such a writing has come from Mashhad; they say that the person has something to do with you. Tell me the news as soon as possible’. Then he took me to the service of the minister who was Qomi and said that this man is my brother and my best friend.
The minister said, ‘Tell me the story’. I narrated everything that had happened to me, from beginning to end. The minister immediately sent for the doctors and surgeons. When they came, he asked, ‘Have you seen the wound of this man?’ They replied, ‘Yes’, ‘What is the medicine for it?’ the minister asked.
and he wouldn’t eat more than a few dates and drink the water of the holy courtyard, he cared a lot his reciting Mathurah prayers3 to get abundant sustenance. He was unlikely to forget a prayer or dhikr4, and he was busy with it, all day and night.
[Anyhow,] he began writing a request letter to the presence of His Excellency Hijjah [ImÄm MahdÄ« (mgehr)], and decided to care his soul [self] for forty days; in the way that, he would go out every daybreak, while the small gate of city that was facing the sea, was being opened. Then he would go rightward; almost some round about further than the castle, in order not to be seen by anyone. Then he would infuse the request letter in the mud and hand it to one of The Excellency’s The [Four] Deputies, and would left it in the water.
He repeated it for thirty-eight or thirty-nine days. Then he himself continued, ‘One day, I was coming back from the place, I used to leave the sheets of paper. I was nodding down, and really missed my mood. I suddenly found out someone who was wearing Arabic clothes, Keffiyeh5 and Ê¿IqÄl6, was following me for a short time. He said hello, but I replied shortly in a depressed mood and didn’t pay attention to him; since I didn’t feel like talking with anyone!
He came along with me for a short time, but I kept on my mood. Then he stated in Jabali7 dialect, ‘Sayyid Muḥammad! What made you come here for thirty-eight or thirty-nine days with today; before daybreak and go to such part of the sea, and leave a request letter in the water. Do you think, your ImÄm doesn’t know your wish?!’
Sayyid Muḥammad said, ‘I was surprised, because no one knew about what I was doing, especially these days and no one saw me by the sea. Also there was no one from Jabal Ê¿Ä€mel whom I do not know, especially with Keffiyeh and Ê¿IqÄl, which were not common in Jabal Ê¿Ä€mel.
Hence, I guessed it must be probably the great favor, and attaining the desire, of having honor to visit the occulted ImÄm ZamÄn (mgehr). And since I had heard in Jabal Ê¿Ä€mel that His Majesty’s hand is softer than any hands, I said to myself, ‘I will shake hands, and if I feel I am right, I will act the way that is proper to attend His Majesty’s blessed presence. So, I extended my hands and His Majesty also extended his two blessed hands.
Then I shook hands, and I found them very soft and tender. At that time, I made sure that I have achieved the great favor and blessed gift. So, I turned my face to kiss His blessed hand, but I saw no one.
[1] It refers to 1990 when this book was written.
[2] Jubb-i Shayth-i Nabiyullah [جÙبّ٠شَیث٠نَبیّ٠الله] is a town around Jabal ‘Amil, in the south of Lebanon.
3- The prayers by the 14 Infallible Shia ImÄms (pbu th).
4- Dhikr is a form of Islamic meditation in which phrases or prayers are repeatedly chanted in order to remember God.
5- It is a traditional Arabian headdress. It is fashioned from a square scarf, and is usually made of cotton.
6- It is an Arab men’s’ accessory. It is a black cord, worn doubled, used to keep a ghutrah in place on the wearer’s head.
7- It refers to the dialect of the people who live in mountains.