Nice visiting of Imam Mahdi and AlÄ« ibn MahziÄr

He stated, ‘Do you know ibn al-KhazÄ«b?’. I returned, ‘He has passed away.’ [Then] he stated, ‘May God bless him. He fasted during the days, kept praying during the nights and recited QurʾÄn a lot. He was one of our shite and companions.’

He asked, ‘Do you know AlÄ« ibn MahziÄr?’ I replied, ‘It’s me’. He stated, ‘O’ ibn al-Haá¹£an! Welcome.’ He kept on, ‘What did you do with the sign, that was [a secret] between you and His Majesty ImÄm Haá¹£an Ê»AskarÄ« (pbuh)?’ I returned, ‘It is with me.’

So he stated, ‘Take it out and show it to me.’ Then I took out a beautiful ring, it was engraved with “Muḥammad†(pbuh&h) and “Alī†(pbuh) on it. Based on another narration, it was engraved with “Ya Allah†or “Ya Muḥammad†(pbuh&h) or “Ya Alī†(pbuh). When his eyes fell upon it, he began to cry; so much that his clothes got wet.

He said, ‘O’ Abu Muhammad! God bless you. You were a just ImÄm. You were the ImÄm’s offspring, and the father of ImÄms. The Almighty God dwelled you with your forefathers in the high heaven.’

Then he asked, ‘What will you do after Hajj?’ I returned, ‘I am searching for the son of ImÄm Haá¹£an Ê»AskarÄ« (pbuh). He said, ‘Your wish is fulfilled. He has sent me to you. Now, come back to your home and get ready for the trip. [Also] keep it secret. [Then] when a third of the night passes, come to BanÄ« Ä€mer Shi’b [valley]. There, you will reach your dream!’

Ibn MahziÄr said, ‘I returned home, while my mind was preoccupied with it till the first third of the night. Then I rode my horse to the Shi’b1. As I reached to the Shi’b, I saw that young man there. He said, ‘Welcome, and good for you, who are permitted to enter’ And I followed him till we crossed MinÄ 2 and reached Ê¿ArafÄt 3.

When we reached to the down part of Aqabah of Ta’if4, he

said, ‘O, Abu al- Haṣan! Get off and get ready to pray.’ There, we prayed Nafl of Night together. Well, it was daybreak. So I prayed the morning prayer fast. But he ended the prayer with Salam6, prostrated and placed his face on the ground, and got on [his horse]. I got on too, and rode to the top of Aqabah. There he asked, ‘Look! Can you see something?’ As I looked there, I saw a verdant monument, full of greenery.

He kept on, ‘Look at the top of the sand dunes! Can you see something?’ As I looked, I saw a tent made of grapes, the light of which illuminated the whole sky and the valley! He continued, ‘Here is the extreme of dreams! May your eyes get bright! However, we went out of Aqabah and he ordered, ‘Get off the horse! Here every problem disappears!’ When we got off the horses, he ordered, ‘Release the camel and let it go!’ I wondered, ‘To whom should I leave the female camel?!’

He said, ‘This is a shrine to which, no one enters but Walīy [the Friend] of God. And no one gets out, but Walīy!’ After that, I wanted to enter His Excellency’s service. I reached near his holy illuminating tent. But [the young man] ordered, ‘Stay here, till I get permission for you.’ He got out, after a little time and said, ‘Blessed are you! You are permitted!

He had a spot on his right cheek, which was like a small black little thing on a silver screen. Also, his black amber smelling hair reached his earlobe length. With the outmost tranquility, dignity, modesty and good fortune, a light was radiating from his bright forehead, like a shining star.

There, he asked me about each shite. I reacted, ‘Living in Bani al-‘AbbÄs’s government, they endure extreme hardship, humiliation and contempt’. He stated, ‘There will be a day on which, you will overcome them, and they will be humiliated by you!’

Then he kept on, ‘I have promised my father not to dwell on the mortal earth, where it is most secluded and far away, so that I can stay away from the misdeeds of the erring and the rebellious of the ignorant until the time when The Almighty God allows me to emerge.

My father continued, ‘O, child! The Almighty God does not leave the classes of worshipers empty of the Hujjah and ImÄm, whom the people follow. He is a perfect Hujjah. O, dignified child! You are the one whom God has sent down, to spread the truth, overthrow the false, remove the enemies of religion and the extinction of the evil ones.

Therefore, live in secret places of the earth, and be far from the oppressing territories. You won’t be afraid of loneliness. Know that, the sincere people’s hearts will be willing toward you; as the birds flying to their nests.

They are of various types, who are apparently humiliated by the opponents. But they are respected and cherished by The Almighty God. They are also content people, and appeal to Ahl al- Bayt (pbu th) for help by their obedient. They deduce religion of their [of Ahl al- Bayt (pbu th)] works. And they fight with the enemies of the religion, in the path of truth.

God has made them special; so that, they can endure humiliations by the opposing people of the religion. God has made them special, to endure humiliations by opponents of the religion, until they are entrusted with eternal glory, in the world here after. O, child! Be patient with your activities and affairs, till The Almighty God provides the opportunity for your government.

There, yellow flags and white narrations flow between you between Hatīm7 and Zamzam. The sincere and pure people will run toward you, a crowd after another, near Hajar al-Aswad and pledge allegiance. These are a group that is essence is pure from the filth of hypocrisy. Their hearts are pure from the impurity of schism. And their natures are soft to accept religion and rigid in repelling the seditions of the misguided.

 

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1-     A Shi’b in Arabic is a “gorge” or “canyon” for a usually (stationary or temporary) dry river. Place names using the word are common in the Arabic peninsula.

2-     Mina (Romanized: MinÄ), also transliterated as Muna, and commonly known as the City of Tents is a valley and neighborhood located in the Masha’er district of Mecca in the Makkah Province of Saudi Arabia, 8 kilometers (5 miles) southeast of Mecca, covering an area of approximately 20 km2 (7.7 sq. mi). Mina incorporates the tents, the Jamarat area, and the slaughterhouses just outside the tent city.

3-     Mount Arafat (Romanized: Jabal Ê¿ArafÄt), also known by its Arabic name Jabal Arafat, and by its other Arabic name, Jabal ar-Rahmah (lit. ‘mountain of mercy’), is a granodiorite hill about 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Mecca in the Makkah Province of Saudi Arabia. The mountain is approximately 70 m (230 ft) in height. Its highest point sits at an elevation of 454 m (1,490 feet). According to some Islamic traditions, the hill is the place where the Prophet Muḥammad (pbuh&h) stood and delivered the Farewell Sermon, also known as the Khutbat al-Wada’, to his companions (sahabah) who had accompanied him for the Hajj towards the end of his life. Some Muslims also believe that Mount Arafat is the place where Adam and Eve (Hawa) reunited on Earth after falling from Heaven, believing the mountain to be the place where they were forgiven, hence giving it the name Jabal ar-Rahmah, meaning ‘Mountain of Mercy’. A pillar is erected on top of the mountain to show where this event is believed to have taken place.

4-     Aqabah of Ta’if: Aqabah is mountain pass five kilometers from Mecca, and Ta’if (Romanized: at-ṬÄʾif, lit. ‘The Pilgrim’) is a city and governorate in the Makkah Province of Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of 1,879 m (6,165 ft) in the slopes of the Hejaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarawat Mountains, the city has a 2020 estimated population of 688,693 people, making it the 6th most populous city in the kingdom.

5-    In Islam, a Nafl prayer (á¹¢alÄt al-Nafl) or supererogatory prayer, also called as Nawafil Prayers, is a type of    optional Muslim Salah (formal worship). As with Sunnah prayer, they are not considered obligatory but are thought to confer extra benefit on the person performing them. An example is the offering of four Raka’ahs of “Nafl” before the compulsory Zuhr prayers. “Nafl” not only draws one closer to Allah but also helps one attain the better success in the Afterworld i.e. Jannah (Paradise).

6-     According to Shiites, Salam includes these sentences:

O Prophet! God’s peace, blessing and grace be upon you, God’s peace be upon us, and upon those who perform prayers and upon pious servants of God, God’s peace blessing and grace be upon you/ believers.

7- Hijr-Ismail also known as HatÄ«m. is a low wall originally part of the Ka’ba It is a semi-circular wall opposite, but not connected to, the north-west wall of the Kaaba known as the HatÄ«m. This is 1.32 meters (4 ft 4 in) in height and 0.90 meters (2 ft 11 in) in width, and is composed of white marble. At one time the space lying between the HatÄ«m and the Kaaba belonged to the Kaaba itself, and for this reason it is not entered during the ṬawÄf. Pilgrims do not walk in the area between this wall and the Ka’ba.