THE APPRAISAL OF OUR MASTER, IMAM MAHDI (A.S.)

FROM ZIYARAT JAMIA KABEERA

Majlisi (R.A.), the first, says regarding the Ziyarat Jamia Kabeera that:

            This Ziyarat is the most comprehensive Ziyarat for all the Imams and can be recited in the shrine of each one of them. Whenever you wish to perform Ziyarat, with the intention of the Imam you have gone to visit, and also other Imams who are near or far from him, you can perform the Ziyarat for everyone. And it would be better if you intend one of the Imams (A.S.) in every Ziyarat, and intend others within the same; I myself make my intention in this very manner.

In my true dream, I visited Imam Reza (A.S.), who approved of this manner and regarded it as good. When I visited Imam Ali (A.S.) and began to fight my inner self in the vicinity of his holy shrine, with the grace of his holiness, Allah opened the doors of spiritual contemplations for me. Such revelations which cannot be endured by weak intellects.

In that state of spiritual contemplation – or you can call it the world between the states of sleep and awakening- while I was sitting in the courtyard of Imran, I found myself in Samarra. I witnessed the shrines of those two noble Imams (A.S.) with utter sublimity and beauty, and I saw a green covering on the graves of those two honorable men, which was from the clothes of the inhabitants of heaven, and I hadn’t seen anything like it in this world.

Meanwhile, I saw our Master, and the Master of all the humans, Imam Mahdi (A.S.), behind the grave, sitting in the direction of the shrine’s gate. Upon witnessing his holiness, I began to recite Ziyarat Jamia with a loud voice, like those panegyrists. After I completed the recitation of the Ziyarat, his holiness said: It was a good Ziyarat.

I politely said: O’ my Master, my soul be sacrificed on you! This is the Ziyarat of your honorable grandfather, the Ziyarat that has reached us from the holy threshold of your grandfather Imam Hadi (A.S.), and I indicated towards his grave.

He replied: Yes, come in.

After entering, I stood near the gate.

He said: Come forward.

I said: My Master, I fear of being disrespectful, and of having committed infidelity.

He said: If this act is done with our permission, there is no problem.

I walked a little ahead, and was frightened and shivering.

He said: Come forward.

Then I moved forward to such an extent that I was standing near his holiness.

He said: Sit down.

I replied: My Master, I am afraid.

He said: Don’t be afraid.

I sat just like a servant sits in front of his master.

He said: Be at ease, and sit comfortably. You are tired. You have arrived here walking and barefooted.

In short, his holiness bestowed his grace upon his servant, and had an invaluable conversation with him, the description of which is not possible here. And I have forgotten most part of it. Then I woke up from my dream and on that holy day, prepared the provisions of my Ziyarat, though the path was blocked from a long time, and great obstacles were to be faced through the way, but it opened by Allah’s grace, and all the obstacles weres remoed. I was able to walk barefooted for the Ziyarat, just as his holiness had said.

I stayed for that night inside the shrine and recited this Ziyarat several times. That night, on my way to the holy shrine, I witnessed numerous strange incidents. In fact, in better words, several astonishing miracles appeared before me, whose description will be quite lengthy.

To summarize it, I am doubtless that this Ziyarat has reached us from Imam Hadi (A.S.) and Imam Mahdi (A.S.) has approved of it. It is the best and the most comprehensive of all the Ziyarats. After the dream I saw, most of the time, I visit the Imams reciting this very Ziyarat, i.e. the Ziyarat Jamia. And I haven’t visited those holy personalities in their holy shrine without reciting this Ziyarat. Therefore, I delayed the explanation and commentary of all the other Ziyarats in order to explain the virtue of this noble Ziyarat.^[1]

---