Sayyed Taqi Qateefi reports – On one eve of Friday, I decided to spend the night at Masjid Kufa. In those days, the road to the mosque was fraught with danger. It was for this reason that perhaps this road was not very frequented by travellers. Only those who travelled in groups or those who had the ability to defend themselves from thieves and dacoits could travel on that road. I went even though I was accompanied only by a student.When we entered the mosque, there was only one pious and devout person there. We began performing the special acts of the mosque till such time that the sun set. Due to the prevailing fearful conditions at that time, we closed the doors of the mosque and stacked up bricks and stones against it. We were now relieved and very confident that no person would be able to open the door of the mosque. We returned to our places and continued the acts of the mosque. When we completed the acts of worship of the mosque, both the student and I sat at Dakkatul Qaza facing the Qiblah (This is the place in Masjid Kufa where Hazrat Ameerul Momeneen (as) used to pass judgements). At that time, the pious worshipper was in the courtyard of the mosque, weeping profusely while he was reciting the supplication of Kumayl. The moon had risen till then and had cast its soft light in the mosque.
A thought just came to my mind and I looked towards the sky when I sensed a captivating fragrance in the air. The entire surroundings were perfumed by it. This fragrance was far better than musk or any other fragrance I had experienced before. Then I saw a light, so brilliant that it engulfed the light of the moon. I was observing this light when the sound of the supplication of the pious believer became silent. As I turned towards the direction of the believer, I saw a magnificent personality who was coming from the direction of the door of the mosque. He was dressed in the attire of the people of the Hejaz (Arabs). He had a prayer mat on his shoulder. With great splendour and majesty, he began walking towards the door near the shrine of Hazrat Muslim Ibne Aqeel.
At that time, a strange feeling came over me. Our eyes were dazzled by the brilliance of his countenance and we had lost all our thoughts. When he came close to us, he conveyed his salaams to us. My partner was so dumbstruck that he did not have the strength to even reply to the salaam. I too was mesmerised, but anyhow, I managed to reply to the salutation.
When this majestic personality entered the courtyard of the shrine of Hazrat Muslim, our senses returned as if miraculously. We looked at each other asking, who was this person? How did he enter the mosque while we had closed the door of the mosque in such a manner that it was impossible for any person to enter. We were still stumped with these questions when we decided to go to the pious believer who was earlier reciting Dua Kumayl. However we saw that he his condition was such that he was weeping like one overwhelmed by difficulties. We asked him, what is the matter? Why are you weeping so much?
He replied, I have been coming here for the last 40 Thursday nights with the intention of meeting Imam Mahdi (as). However, I am distressed that till now I have not been blessed with the opportunity of meeting the Imam (as). I was just reciting Dua Kumayl tonight, when a person came up to me and said, what are you reciting? I was overawed by his presence that I could not reply to his question and he went away as you just witnessed.
We rushed to the door of the mosque and saw that it was shut in the same secure way as we had left it and was blocked by stones and bricks. At that time, it struck us that the person we met in the mosque was none other than Imam Mahdi (as). We regretted that we were unable to recognise him.
Ref: Barakaate’ Hazrat Wali-e-Asr, page 150
Lessons from this incident
There are many lessons which can be derived from this incident. Some of these lessons are narrated below.
In this incident, the importance of performing the acts of Masjid Kufa on Shabe Jumuah is highlighted.
The recitation of Dua Kumayl, especially on Thursday night is a source of special attention of Hazrat Imam Mahdi (as). This can also be a cause for being granted an opportunity to meet with the Imam (as).
Often it is observed in incidents like these that the person realises only after the departure of the Imam (as) that perhaps the person whom I met was none other than the Imam of the Time (as).
This incident highlights that after performing the Ziyarat of Imam Husain (as), Hazrat Imam Mahdi (as) also comes for the Ziyarat of his envoy, Hazrat Muslim Ibne Aqeel. We too should try to recite the Ziyarat of Hazrat Muslim on Shabe Jumuah.
