7. BLESSING AND GREATNESS OF THE WILAYA
Hujjatul-Islam Quddas also says this: "One day the sheikh talked about the wilaya and its greatness. He said. 'One day, a Sayyid prepared food for ten or fifteen men from among the people of knowledge in the city of Najaf or al-Kazimiyya, but the messenger of this man made a mistake and called all the students of the school whose number exceeded sixty or seventy. When the guests arrived, the man noticed that the food was not enough for all these guests whom the place could not accommodate. He considered informing Ayatollah I lajj Sheikh Fath Ali al-Kazimi about it. When the latter heard about it. he said, 'Do not do anything till I attend.' When the sheikh
( 169 )
attended, he said, 'Bring me a clean piece of white cloth.' then he opened the pot and looked at the rice, covering it with the piece of cloth. He said, 'Bring me the plates. As I cool the food. you should distribute the food.' He kept repeating these words: `This Ali is the best of humans, and whoever denies it disbelieves.' He fed through the blessing of Ali's lofty status all the guests without the food decreasing one tiny bit.
"One of the students of the sheikh (Tehrani) narrated this incident in a different way thus: 'The sheikh used to narrate the incident like this: 'One day, the late Mirza Hussain Nawari. author of Mustadrak al-Wasa'il, asked someone to invite a hundred persons to partake of the food during the Thursday and Friday evenings, but that person invited a hundred persons to have dinner on a Thursday (whereas Mirza Hussain Nawari had prepared food for one person only on that day, and he meant to tell the man to prepare food-for the hundred persons-the next day). When the Mirza realized what had happened, he said, 'Inform the Akhund Mulla Fath Ali Sultani (who was then residing in Samarra) about it.' When the late Mulla became acquainted with the matter, he said, 'Do not do anything till I get there.' When he attended, he said, 'Bring me a good piece of cloth,' then he put that piece of cloth on the pot. rubbing his hand on it three times and saying each time, 'Ali (a.s) is the best of humans; whoever denies it commits apostasy,' then he ordered them to distribute the food. All the guests were fed.'"
8. VALUE OF SINCERITY IN ACTION
Sayyid Quddas also says this: "One day the sheikh talked about the rewards for a deed of righteousness (no matter how small ) saying, 'A scholar of Najaf offered one day by way of charity one dirham to a destitute man (whereas he had nothing in his
( 170 )
pocket other than that dirham), In his vision he saw that night that he was invited to a spacious orchard where a beautiful mansion was in it the like of which he never saw. He asked who the orchard and the mansion belonged to. He was told they were for him. He was very surprised and said to himself, 'I did not do anything to be worthy of all this recognition.' They said to him, 'Are you surprised?' He said, 'Yes.' They said, 'Do not be surprised; it is the reward for the dirham which you gave that poor man by way of charity in sincerity and in love for benevolence.'"
9. KEEPING A FIRM FOOT ON THE CREED
Sayyid Quddas also says the following:" One day the sheikh talked about keeping one's foot firm on the creed and safeguarding piety and Godliness. He said, 'One of the great spiritual leaders saw someone in the courtyard of the shrine of the Commander of the Faithul (a.s). His submission, humbleness and good manners drew attention to him, and his age, which exceeded seventy, increased his dignified look. The spiritual scholar went to that man and asked him about his condition, his state of mind and how his life was. The man said, 'Since I reached adolescence and till now, I never committed a sin deliberately.' There is no doubt that such precision, monitoring and persistence produce such fruits."
10. ATTENTION PAID BY THE IMAM OF THE
TIME (a.s) FOR TRUE SHIITES
Sayyid Quddas also says, "One day the sheikh said, 'A God-fearing doctor who believed in the wilaya of the Commander of the Faithful (a.s) wanted to know the names of the supporters of the Hujja Imam [al-Mahdi] (a.s). As he was sitting in his medical office, which was located in his house, a man entered, greeted him, sat and said, 'Your Holiness the Sayyid! The
( 171 )
supporters of the Hujja (a.s) are so-and-so,' naming them quickly one after the other. Among them was the name `Bahram'. Anyway, the man, in just few minutes, counted three hundred and thirteen names then said, 'These are supporters of al-Mahdi (a.s),' then he stood up, bade the doctor farewell and went out. The doctor said, 'When that man left, I woke up from my condition of unawareness and kept asking myself, 'Who was this man?! Was I asleep or awake? So, I asked my wife, who was in the next room, if anyone was in my room. She said, `Yes, a man came and he was speaking quickly'. I, therefore, realized I was not asleep, and that this man was not an ordinary person.'"
11. SEEKING THE LORD WHOLEHEARTEDLY
Sayyid Quddas also says the following, "One day the sheikh said, 'It was customary in Najaf al-Ashraf for the students to observe the times of the ziyara, perform the visit of the holy sites on foot in the form of crowds and groups, and they used to stop walking during the night to perform the night prayers individually. During one of those trips, a spiritual Sayyid (a sheikh who was accompanying one of those hordes) kept a distance between himself and the others so he could perform the night prayers by himself. Suddenly, the group heard the sound of a lion roaring nearby, so they were greatly frightened, but they saw the lion getting closer to that sheikh. They, therefore, said to themselves, 'We belong to Allah, and to Him shall we return" because they were unable to do anything at all about it. The lion got closer to the man till he stood beside him as the sheikh was (apparently) reciting the witr prayer. The lion stood near him for few minutes looking at him, and the sheikh was standing without making any motion. A few minutes later, the lion went away without harming the sheikh in the least. When it was a little bit far from them, the group went to the
( 172 )
sheikh and. after the sheikh had already completed his win. prayer. they said to him. 'How courageous and firm you are! You were not afraid of the lion and did not run away from it! How strong your heart is, and how great your courage is!' The sheikh said to them, was not only afraid of the lion but terrified! But I felt that fleeing away from it would be futHebecause 1 would not then be able to rid myself of it. so I told myself that if it was my destiny to die, it would be better I died as 1 was busy worshipping my Lord, so my soul stabilized and my firmness increased.'
"Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimeen Sayyid Tehrani narrated this incident to me from Ayatollah Bahjat thus: 'Sheikh Bahjat used to transmit the same incident from time to time this way: 'There was a man in Najaf who was famous for being unafraid of the lion and that he stood once near a lion in the desert. Once this man was asked about the truth in this story, so he said, 'No. I was, indeed, afraid of the lion. but I once was praying in the desert, and as I was busy performing the prayer, a lion came to me from the mountain side. 1 told myself that I would not be able to get rid of it; so, it would be better if I continued my prayers. It would be good if it ravished me as I was busy praying; therefore, I did not stop performing my prayers, and I did not undergo any reaction till the lion got near to me and circled me then returned from where it had come from.'"
12. CARE PAID BY AL-ZAHRA (a.s) TO HER OFFSPRING
Sayyid Quddas also says this: "One day the sheikh said, 'One of the wealthy men of Rasht, who was then living in al-Najaf al-Ashraf, married his daughter off to a poor Sayyid who descended from the lineage of the Imams (a.s), but she did not
( 173 )
care about her husband and did not prepare food for him because she had lived in the midst of a wealthy family. One day she saw in her dream Lady Fatima al-Zahra (a.s) saying this to her: 'Daughter! Why do you not improve your conduct with my son, and why do you not cook food for him?' She said, 'I am not ready to cook food for this man.' Lady Fatima alZahra (a.s) insisted on her, but she did not change her statement, whereupon Lady Fatima al-Zahra (a.s) said to her, 'Bring the ingredients needed to be cooked, place them in the pot and on the stove, and everything would be ready.' She woke up puzzled about this incident, but she wanted to try the matter. She placed the ingredients on the stove as al-Zahra (a.s) had ordered her. At the time of lunch or dinner. the food was ready, and the aroma of the stew was filling the house. This woman continued to cook the food this way, so much so that some guests who stayed over for the evening with her husband, having partaken of the food, said they had never tasted such food like that as long as they lived.'"
13. HOW FRIENDS OF ALLAH LIVE
Sayyid Quddas also says this: "The sheikh said the following one day: 'They carried the coffin of one of the good persons in al-Najaf al-Ashraf for burial there, and the coffin was escorted by a man who recited the Holy Qur'an and whom they had rented to accompany the coffin and recite the Qur'an till they would reach their destination. One night, everyone was asleep when the man started reciting Chapter Yasin. When he reached this sacred verse 'Did I not take your pledge, 0 descendants of Adam, ... etc.', he did not articulate the word 'pledge' properly, so he kept repeating the word trying to pronounce it correctly. It was then that he heard a voice from the coffin pronouncing this word correctly twice or three times for him. The senses of the man who was reciting the Qur'an were shaken, for how
( 174 )
could a deceased person, who had been dead for days, articulate this word like that?'
"Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimeen Sayyid Tehrani. one of the students of this sheikh, wrote this incident to me like this: 'I remember that the professor (Sheikh Bahjat) used to narrate this incident to us from time to time as follows: 'They were bearing the coffin of one of the scholars of al-Najaf al-Ashraf. When they reached a house on the way [to the cemetery], they placed the coffin in an unsuitable place. One of the persons who attended the funeral said, 'I saw the place was not suitable for the coffin, so I moved it somewhere else, sat beside it and started reciting Surat Yasin. When I reached this verse: 'Did I not take your pledge, 0 descendants of Adam, ... etc.', I could not pronounce the word 'pledge' properly because I am not an Arab. As I was reciting this verse, I heard a voice from inside the coffin articulating this word twice in a clear voice and in a sound Arabic pronunciation.'"
Sayyid Quddas also says this: "During the time of the Czar, a person had a room in one of the science schools in Tehran. This person was well known for his karamat, but he was restricted so he could not do anything that would indicate his status. One day, it was circulated among the students that the man could die of his own will whenever he wanted to. Some people went to him and said, 'We came today to you so we could see one karama [temporal miracle] performed by you.' He tried his best to be excused from having to do that, but they did not accept his excuse, so he felt obliged to accept (and I do not remember whether or not he took a pledge from them never to talk about this matter as long as he was alive) and said to them, 'I am going to sleep; so, do not pronounce my name and leave me alone.' He slept facing the Qibla, articulated the Shahada, then his soul departed from his body. They turned his
( 175 )
body from one side to the other, but he really was dead, or so they thought. They burnt his foot with a match so they would make sure that he was dead. He was, indeed, dead. A few minutes later, the man breathed again and woke up, sitting. He said to them, 'Did I not tell you to leave me alone?'"
14. CULTIVATING THE NAFS: A CONDITION TO
EARN SERVING THE IMAM OF THE TIME (a.s)
Hujjatul-Islam wal Muslimeen Quddas says that the sheikh one day said, "In Tehran, there was a scholar teaching the 'two lam'as' . One day, this scholar heard that one of his ordinary students was undertaking supernatural deeds. The knife of the professor which he used to use quite often for writing (they used to write at that time with reeds for which they needed a knife to sharpen their pens) was lost, so he was angry with his sons and family members thinking they were the ones who took it away from his pocket then lost it somewhere. Several days passed by and the knife could not be found. The professor did not forget about his knife even after the passage of this period. One day that student said to the professor after the end of the class, 'Your Holiness the sheikh! You forgot your knife in the pocket of your old vest; so, what sin did your children commit?' The professor remembered that he actually had put the knife in the pocket of his vest, but he wondered about the student and how he came to know about it. He realized that the student was connected with the friends of Allah, so he said this to him one day, 'I have some work with you after the class.' After the students had gone, he said to him, 'I am sure you are connected with the Imams (a.s); so, can you meet the Imam of the Time (a.s)?' He kept insisting on him to answer this question, so the student had to admit that he was connected with the Imam of the Time (a.s), whereupon the professor said to him, 'If you see the Imam again, convey my Salam to him
( 176 )
and tell him that I am eager to see him, and I request him that we meet even if it is for just few minutes.'
"Several days passed by and the student said nothing. The professor did not dare to ask him because he was concerned lest the Imam (a.s) should have refused to accept to meet him. but he found himself forced to ask him after his patience had run out: 'Did you convey my message to the Imam (a.s). and what was his answer?' The student tried to dodge the answer but the professor said to him, 'Tell me and do not be shy, for you are only a go-between messenger ("And the Messenger has only to convey the clear notification"). The student said. 'The Imam (a.s) said, 'It is not necessary that we should appoint a time for him to meet; so, let him cultivate himself, and I shall go to him myself.'
15. RESULT OF SEEKING NEARNESS TO ALLAH
THROUGH THE MEDIUM OF IMAM AL-RIDA (a.s)
Sayyid Quddas also says, "One day the sheikh told us that one of the scholars of al-Najaf al-Ashraf came from Tehran for medical treatment after being afflicted with a serious illness. Having visited the doctors and undergone complete tests. he was told he had to undergo a brain surgery. The sheikh. therefore, was very sad and asked the doctors to permit him to travel to holy Mashhad. After receiving this honor and pleading. to Allah through the medium of Imam (a.s), he saw in a vision one night that a gracious man came to him and said. 'Why are you sad like that? We Saw it is right that you should be treated by only medicine, and you do not need the operation.' He woke up and said to those in his company.
have obtained the result; so, let us go to Tehran.' When they went back to Tehran, the doctor said to him, 'Do not grieve, for we have seen that we should treat you with medicine only, and
( 177 )
you do not need the surgical operation.' He, hence, became more convinced, having seen how this statement which he heard when awake was similar to that which he had heard in the vision. He was healed from his sickness after having thus sought help from Allah through the medium of pleading to Imam al-Rida (a.s).'"
16. REAL ZIYARA
Sayyid Quddas also says that one day the sheikh said. "People in the past used to travel to the holy city of Mashhad on hacks of camels and mules. Once, some farmers of the Chasib area of holy Qum went to visit the shrine of Imam al-Rida (a.s). After their return, they saw on the road a man from their village carrying a large bundle of animal feed. They reprimanded him saying, '0 old man, leave working for this world, for it will not avail you, and go to Mashhad at lest once,' and they kept chiding and speaking ill of him. The sheikh said to them, 'You went to visit the Imam; did the Imam answer your greeting?' They said, "What is this you are talking about? Can a dead Imam respond to the greeting?' The sheikh said, 'What is the meaning of a dead or a living person? The Imam sees and hears our speech, and what is the use of a visit if it is undertaken by one side?' They said to him, 'Can you do that yourself?' He said, 'Yes.' Then he stood in the direction of Mashhad and said. 'Peace be with you. O Eighth Imam!' An answer was heard saying. 'And peace he with you. so-and-so!' The farmers. thereupon, regretted what they had said to the old man and felt ashamed of themselves."
17. SATISFACTION OF SHEIKH ANSARI
Sayyid Quddas also says this: "The sheikh was talking one day about the conviction of Sheikh Ansari. may Allah elevate his station, saying. 'The mother and grandmother of the sheikh's
( 178 )
daughter were living with the sheikh in the same house. One day, the sheikh wanted to discipline his granddaughter, so she sought shelter with her grandmother. The sheikh's mother asked him, 'What has she done?' The sheikh said, 'I gave her bread, but she cries and insists on getting food other than bread; does fresh bread need any other sort of food with it?'"
18. SEEING THE LIGHTS OF THE QUR'ANIC VERSES
Ayatollah Tehrani says that Grand Ayatollah Bahjat had said, "During the time of our youth, there used to be a blind man who would open the Qur'an and put his finger on any verse he is asked about. I wanted to tease him one day, so I asked him, 'Where is such-and-such verse?' He opened the Qur'an and put his finger on the verse. I said to him, 'No it is some other verse!' He said to me, 'Are you blind?! Do you not see the verse'?!'
19. SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDENT CULTURING
Ayatollah Sayyid Mousa Shubairi Zenjani says that Ayatollah Bahjat transmits this incident: "When Sheikh Mahmoud al-Hilli went to Najaf, we went to welcome him, then he came to our house to reciprocate the visit. When Ayatollah al-Khoei heard about the sheikh coming to our house, he came to visit him so people may have more regard for the sheikh. But Sheikh Mahmoud was one hour late, and Sayyid al-Khoei kept waiting till he came to the house. Sayyid al-Khoei said to him, 'I wished you had told us something about Agha Hassan Ali Nakhudki Isfahani so we may not depend on Quranic verses and narratives alone to prove the highest world but benefit from some individuals and their spiritual statuses, too.' Sheikh Mahmoud al-Hilli said, 'Sheikh Hassan Ali used to enjoy an abridged record of pursuits and worlds, and if you continue this
( 179 )
branch of knowledge (culturing the students) with a generous amount of care, you will serve Islam better. Moreover. Sheikh Hassan Ali was the mentor of one of you.' Sayyid Bahjat said, `He meant Sayyid Burujardi.'"
20. CONTEMPLATION IS BETTER
THAN A YEAR'S ADORATION
Sayyid Quddas says that Sheikh Bahjat said the following once: "One day, a scholar in al-Najaf al-Ashraf woke up during the sahar (pre-dawn) time to perform the night prayer. He called upon his son who was sleeping in his room to rise and perform the night prayer. The son said, 'Alright, I will rise.' The sheikh kept himself busy with the prayer, but the son did not leave his bed, so the sheikh called upon him once more to rise and pray. The son said, 'Alright, I will rise right now, father.' The sheikh rose to complete his prayer, but the son did not move from his place, so the sheikh called upon him for the third time. whereupon the son said, 'Father! I was thinking about the same thought about which Imam al-Sadiq (a.s) said, 'One hour's medication is better than a year of adoration.' Ayatollah Bahjat yelled at him and said..., well, Sheikh Bahjat did not articulate that word, but we understood it from the tone of his statement, that is, he said to him, 'You son of...! The thought which is better than a year of adoration (or better than sixty years according to some narratives) is the one that calls upon one to perform the night prayer, not to lie down on his bed till (morning) prayer time due to this excuse!'"
21. SUCCESS COMING FROM PROTECTION
AGAINST SINNING
Sayyid Quddas also says, "One day, the sheikh talked about the scholars and the righteous committing no sins, not even before they reach adolescence and said, 'One of the great scholars of
( 180 )
Najaf used to say: 'During my childhood, I was safeguarded from sinning in an obligatory, not optional, way. Whenever I wanted to do something prohibitive, something happened to me and prevented me from doing it.'
22. IMPACT OF THE "WAHSHA" PRAYER ON THE DEAD
Sayyid Quddas also says that one day Sheikh Bahjat talked about the impact of the righteous deed and the acceptance of the pure deed. He said, 'The late Ayatollah Hajj Sheikh Fath Ali Kazmini (one of the grand Ayatollahs who combined in them the knowledge off*, usool and irfan) was teaching in the holy precincts of the Jawad Imams (a.s) [al-Kadhimiyya city]. People used to quite often bring a coffin during his class, so it became customary for him to perform the "wahsha" prayer during the night for each coffin which he saw. One night he saw in his vision one of the dead dignitaries of alKazimiyya from among his kinsfolk, so he asked him about his condition. He said, 'My condition was bad, but the prayer of the sheikh came to my rescue and eased my condition.'
23. ROLE OF OBLIGATIONS IN THE
LIFESTYLES OF GREAT MEN
Sayyid Quddas also says that one day the sheikh [Bahjat] said, "Some Tehran merchants came once to al-Najaf al-Ashraf and went to Sheikh Ansari to pay the khums of their wealth to him. When they saw the lifestyle of the sheikh and the simplicity of his house, they kept whispering to each other saying, 'This is the meaning of imam and leader: living simply and humbly like the way Imam Ali (a.s) used to live, not the life of Mulla Ali Kunni who lives in a mansion.' The sheikh over-heard them thus talking as he was busy writing, so he yelled at them saying. `What are you saying?! I deal and live with some students, and
( 181 )
I do not need a life more complicated than this one. But the Akhund Mulla Ali Kunni lives with the likes of King Nasir ad-Deen. If he does not commend a life such as this, Nasir adDeen would not go to his house, for the Mulla is living his life in order to protect the creed.'"
And our last supplication is: Praise to the Lord of the Worlds.
