Hājj ʿAlī Baqdādī (One of the Righteous Men of His Time)

As for Hājj ʿAlī Baqdādī, he had to pay some of his Khums. So, he paid it to some Faqīh scholars and then headed toward Baqdād. He later narrated the rest of the story:

On the way, I met an honorable Sayyid. He wore a green turban and had a black mole on his cheek. The Sayyid greeted me, embraced me, and asked, “Where are you going? It is Thursday night; return to Kāẓimayn. In this way, that Shaykh and I will testify that you are a friend of my ancestor, ʿAlī (pbuh)!”

Hājj ʿAlī Baqdādī continued:

Before this journey, I had asked Ayatollah Āl Yāsīn to prepare a document for me and testify that “I am a friend of the Ahl al-Bayt of the Prophet (pbuh&h).” I had also asked him to place it in my shroud.

[Now, let us return to the story.] I asked the honorable Sayyid, “How do you know me and how can you testify to such a thing?”

He replied, “How could a person not know the one who has paid his religious dues in full?”

I wondered, “What dues?”

He replied, “The dues you gave to my deputy, Shaykh Muḥammad Ḥasan!”

I asked, “Is he your deputy?”

He replied, “Yes.”

I was greatly surprised by his words. At first, I thought he was one of my old friends because he had called me by my name. But when I heard him refer to one of the greatest scholars of the time as “my deputy,” I suddenly realized the extraordinary nature of the situation.

Then, in a short time, I found myself and the Sayyid at the shrine of Kāẓimayn, without having traveled the distance between the two places!

Anyway, we stood at the entrance of the shrine. We agreed that, since I could not read well, he would recite the Ziyārah for me. First, he sent peace and blessings upon the Prophet and all the Imāms (pbut), before reaching Imām Zamān (mGehr).

Then he asked me, “If you know your Imām Zamān (mGehr), send peace and blessings upon him!”

I recited:

“O Hujjah of Allah, O Sāhib al-Zamān! Peace be upon you!”

He smiled and replied, “May the peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you!”

Then, after the Evening Prayer, he disappeared, and I could not find him anywhere. It was then that I realized that he had been Walī al-ʿAṣr [Imām Zamān (mGehr)], whom I had not recognized.

1. Khums is a religious due that, according to Shiʿa jurisprudence, is divided into six shares, which are generally classified into two categories: the share of the Imām and the share of the Sayyids. The shares attributed to Allah, the Prophet (pbuh&h), and the kinsmen are given to the Prophet (pbuh&h), and after him, to the Infallible Imāms (pbut).