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SEEKING MEANS THROUGH HIS HOLINESS (A.S.)

IN HARDSHIPS (O’ MOHAMMAD, O’ ALI)

The great cleric, Iraqi (R.A.), states in his book ‘Dar-us-Salaam’ that:            

Mulla Qasim Rishti (R.A.) says:

            “I went to Isfahan and left for the cemetery of ‘Takht e Faulaad’ on a day other than Thursday. As I was a stranger in that city, I did not know that the people of that city visit their dead ones only on Thursday nights. On other days, these cemeteries remain quite empty and nothing can be seen there. While walking on the street, I thought of smoking Hookah. The servant who had accompanied me informed me that nothing can be found in that surrounding except on the eves of Friday.

            I said: I will not abandon my visit to the graveyard for smoking Hookah. I entered the graveyard and had just began reciting Fatiha when I witnessed a man sitting in a corner of the courtyard.

            That man asked: Mulla Qasim! Why did you not greet as per the Prophet’s tradition on entering here? I became embarrassed and apologized him, then said: I was far and wanted to greet you when I come close.

            He said: No. You clerics do not have moral ethics.

            I was awestruck by him. I went closer and greeted him. Then he took my parents’ name and said: They did not have a boy child and your father vowed that if Allah blesses him with a boy, he will make him a knower of Hadith and a noble person. Thereupon, Allah bestowed him with you and he also fulfilled his vow.

            I said: Yes, I have heard this.

            Then he said: If you wish to smoke Hookah, it is available with me in my bag. Pick it and prepare it so that we can smoke it together.

            I thought of commanding my servant to do it for me, but just when this thought struck my mind, he said: No, prepare it by yourself.

            I said: Surely. Then I prepared it and smoked, then passed it on to him and he smoked it as well. Then he returned it to me and said: I came here a few days ago. I had no liking for the people of this city or the city itself. I have a friend in Mazendaraan whom I want to visit. Then he said to me: In this graveyard, the graves of a number of Prophets are present. Rise and visit them alongside me.

            Then he stood up, lifted his bag and we went together until we reached a place, he said: Here lies the graves of prophets. Then he recited a supplication of Ziyarat which I had never seen anywhere in the books. Anyway, I recited them with him. Then he distanced himself from the graves and said: I am leaving for Mazenderaan, you can ask anything from me.

            I asked him to teach me the science of Alchemy.

            He said: I will not teach that to you.

            I insisted.

            He said: The livelihood and sustenance of every man is destined and defined. You will get that which you desire in the last stage of your life.

            I asked: What would happen if I obtain freedom from poverty?

            He said: This world has no value.

            I said: I have not made this demand out of love for this world.

            He asked: Then why do you ask only for the worldly affairs?

            But I kept on insisting on my demand.

            He said: If you meet me in the Sahla Mosque, I will fulfill your demand.

            I said: Then teach me a supplication.

            He said: I will teach you two supplications. One is specific to you and the other is for all. If a distressed believer recites it, it will certainly prove to be effective. Then he recited those supplications for me.

            I said: Unfortunately, I do not have a pen to write down these supplication and also lack the ability to memorize them.

            He said: Take pen and paper from my bag.

            I inserted my hand inside the bag and to my astonishment, the Hookah and other equipment which were previously in his bag, were no more there. It only had a pen and paper, enough to meet my need and for me to note down those two supplications.         

            I was highly astonished. He told me harshly: Be quick! Do not waste my time as I have to leave. I became frightened, lowered my head towards the ground and began to write. He read out the first supplication and I wrote it down. On reaching the second supplication, he recited it this way:

يا مُحَمَّدُ يا عَلِيُّ يا فاطِمَةُ، يا صاحِبَ الزَّمانِ أَدْرِكْني وَلاتُهْلِكْني.

            “O’ Mohammad, O’ Ali, O’ Fatima, O’ Master of the Time, take me over and do not destroy me”.

            I began to ponder over the text. When he found me lost in a thought, he asked: do you find this text to be wrong?

            I said: Yes, because you have addressed four people in it and your verb should be accordingly in a plural form.

            He said: You are mistaken. At present, it is Imam Mahdi (A.S.) who systemizes this world, and no one else can have possession over it. In our supplication, we regard those three noble personalities as our intercessors near Imam Mahdi (A.S.), and we seek help only from his holiness (A.S.).^[1]

            I felt that he stated a nice point and began to write the supplication, but when I lifted my head, I found no one there. I asked my servant about him.

            He said: I didn’t see anyone. I returned to my city with a condition that I never came across ever before. Then I entered the house of Haji Karbasi.

            He asked: Do you have fever?

            I said: No. Then I narrated the entire incident to him.

       He said: This supplication was taught to me by Sheikh Mohammad Bedabaadi and I have written it on the back side of my book. He stood up and brought that book but found that it was written: “Adrikooni wa la Tuhlikooni”. I erased it off and wrote: “Adrikni wa la Tuhlikni”.^[2]

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