THE ANECDOTE OF THE

SALAWAAT OF DARRAB AL-ISFAHANI

The honourable Sayyid Ali bin Taoos (R.A.) says: The Salawaat on Prophet and his Holy Progeny (peace be upon them) on Friday afternoon narrated from our Master Imam Mahdi (A.S.) holds such importance that if a person abandons the after-prayers of the Asr prayer for an excuse, he shouldn’t abandon this Salawaat due to the incident regarding which Allah informed us.

            The group which I have mentioned on different places earlier, with the same chain of authority reaching my grandfather, Abu Jafar Tusi (R.A.), informed me that he said: It was reported to me by Husain bin Ubaidullah who narrated from Mohammad bin Ahmad bin Dawood and Harun bin Musa Tal’Akbari that they said: It was reported to me by Abul Abbas Ahmad bin Ali Razi in the narration mentioned in his book ‘Al Sifaa wal Jilaa’ from Abul Husain Mohammad bin Jafar Al-Asadi who said: It was narrated to me by Husain bin Mohammad bin Aamir Al-Ash’ari Al-Qummi, and he said: It was narrated to me by Yaqoob bin Yusuf Darrab Ghassani while he was returning from Isfahan, and he said:

            In the year 281 Hijri, I performed Hajj with a group of Sunnis from my city. On reaching Mecca, some of them went ahead and rented a house for us on a street between the Night Bazaar (the name of the Bazaar); it was the house of Khadija (A.S.) known as ‘Dar ur Reza’. A wheatish old lady used to live there. I asked her (after knowing that its name was Dar ur Reza): How are you related to the owners of this house? And why is this house called by this name?

            The old lady said: “I am one of their maids and this house belongs to Ali bin Musa Ar-Reza (A.S.), and Imam Hasan Askari (A.S.) resided me in this house and I used to serve him.

            When I heard this word from her, I did not disclose it for my companions and became familiar with the old lady. After returning from Tawaf at nights, I used to sleep with my companions in the porch of the house and close the door keeping a big stone behind it.

            A few nights, we felt that the lamp’s light, in the porch we lived, was like that of a torch. And I saw that the door opened without anyone of us opening it and a large man with wheatish-yellow skin colour, with the sign of prostration on his face, wearing a thin attire on his body and covering himself, with arrow-shaped slippers in his feet, went upwards towards the room in which that old lady lived. The same room regarding which the old lady had stopped us from entering, saying that her daughter lives ther.

            I witnessed the same light seen before in the porch while the man was moving upwards on the stairs and also inside the room he entered, and there was no lamp to be seen there. And my companions witnessed the same thing as I did and they assumed that a man has arrived to conduct temporary marriage (Mut’aa) with the old lady’s daughter.

            They were saying: they are Alawis and they consider Mut’aa to be permissible (while it was forbidden in their religion). Anyhow, I saw that man entering and exiting while the big stone was intact in its place. We used to close the door fearing the loss of our wealth and never saw a person opening or shutting it, but that person easily entered and exited it. The stone was not moved by him but we used to shift it to a corner while exiting the room.

            When I witnessed this incident, my heart began to throb and his formidableness dominated my soul. I behaved with the old lady in a merciful way and wished to know more about that person from her.

            I said to her: O’ lady, I would like to speak to you but I do not want my friends to be aware of it; therefore, if you find me alone in my room, come to me so that I may ask you a few questions.

            The lady quickly replied: I want to share a secret with you as well, but I could not find an opportunity due to the presence of your friends.

            I said: What do you wish to say? She said: They say, and she did not take any names, that do not be harsh and cruel against your companions and partners, and do not get yourselves involved in a contradiction or conflict with them; as they are your enemies, you should be courteous with them.

            I asked: Who says this?

            She replied: I say this; and her awe did not allow me to question her any further in this regard.

            I asked: Regarding which of my companions are you speaking? (And I assumed that she meant the same companions who are travelling with me in this journey).

            She replied: The partners you have in your nation and are also accompanying you in this house.

            In my house, some harsh and aggressive debates had taken place between me and my companions regarding some religious topics, and they spoke against me until I evaded from that place and hided myself. This was how I understood that she meant those very companions.

            Then I asked her: How are you related to Reza (A.S.)?

            She said: I was the maid of Hasan bin Ali Al-Askari (A.S.).

            When I became certain that she was speaking the truth, I said to myself: I should ask her about the Imam (A.S.) living in occultation.

            I asked her: I adjure you in the name of Allah, have you seen him with your own eyes?

            She said: O’ my brother, I haven’t seen him with my eyes. When I left, my sister was pregnant. Hasan bin Ali Al-Askari gave me glad-tidings that I will witness the Imam (A.S.) in the last days of my life. Then he said to me: Serve him the same way you served me.

            From that day onwards, I lived in Egypt, until I received a letter sent by him through a man from Khurasan who did not know fluent Arabic. It has thirty dinars in it and I was commanded to go for Hajj that year. Thus I came her with the intention of visiting him.

            In the meantime, it came to my heart that it could be the same person who used to frequently visit this place. I had ten dirhams with me, one of which was a Razawiya coin on which the name of Imam Reza (A.S.) was casted. I had secretly hidden them with me so that I can place them on the Maqam e Ibrahim. I had vowed in this way and had this intention but then decided to give that sum of money to the lady and request her to give it away to one of the sons of Lady Fatima (S.A.) considering this intention nobler than the prior one.

            Therefore I said to her: Give these dirhams to one of the sons of Lady Fatima (S.A.), whomever you consider suitable. I assumed that she will give those dirhams to that same man. She took the sum of money from me and went upstairs, then came down after one hour and said, ‘he says: we do not have a right in these dirhams and spend it on the same place you had intended, but exchange this Razawiya coin from us and drop it on the place you have intended.

            I did the same and said to myself that the old lady has told me exactly what she has been told by that man.

            I had a copy of the letter issued by Imam (A.S.) for Qasim bin Alaa Azerbaijaani   . I showed it to the lady and said: Show this to someone who can verify the writing and letter of the holy Imam (A.S.).

            She said: Give it to me, I recognize it.

 I thought that she can read and verify that herself, but she said: I cannot recite it here. Then she went towards the room upstairs, then returned to me and said: It is correct.

            This was written in the letter: I am giving you a glad-tiding that I have not given to anyone else.

            The lady said: He says: When you recite Salawaat on your Prophet (P.B.U.H.), how do you recite it?

            I replied: I say:

            أَللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلى مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ ، وَبارِكْ عَلى مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ ، كَأَفْضَلِ ما صَلَّيْتَ وَبارَكْتَ وَتَرَحَّمْتَ عَلى إِبْراهيمَ وَآلِ إِبْراهيمَ ، إِنَّكَ حَميدٌ مَجيدٌ.

O’ Allah, bless Mohammad and his household (peace be upon them), and send mercy upon Mohammad and his household (peace be upon them), better than how you have blessed and showered mercy upon Ibrahim and his household (peace be upon them); indeed you are the Praised and the Majestic.

            She said: No, take the names of each one of them and recite Salawaat on all of them.

            I said: Sure.

            On the next day, when the lady ascended from the room upstairs, she had a small book with her. She said: Whenever you wish to recite Salawaat on the Holy Prophet and his Holy Progeny (peace be upon them), recite the Salawaat as per this manuscript.

            I took it from her and acted according to it. A few nights I witnessed her coming down from the room in such a state that the lamp’s light was glowing likewise. I used to open the door and walk behind that light. I witnessed the light on my way but not any man, until I reached the mosque.

            I witnessed a group of people belonging to different nationalities coming to the door of this house. Some of them used to give letters to the old lady and she also gave them some letters in return and spoke to them. They also had conversations with them which I could not understand. I saw a few of them on my path of return until I reached Baghdad.[1]