A Meeting with Imam (a.t.f.s) – Ali b. Ibrahim Mahziyaar (r.a.)
Dear Children
Friday is an important day of the week. It is a very special day in the eyes of our beloved Imam – Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.). We should remember our Imam (a.t.f.s.) as much as possible on this day. One way to please Imam (a.t.f.s.) on this day is to take out Sadaqah on this day for his safety and to recite his Ziarat as mentioned in Mafateehul Jinaan.
When someone sincerely loves Imam (a.t.f.s.), then Imam (a.t.f.s.) also loves him and takes care of him. If one requests Allah to grant him Ziarat of Imam (a.t.f.s.), Allah answers his prayers and allows him a meeting with Imam (a.t.f.s.).
This is a very important point that we must keep in mind. We can meet Imam (a.t.f.s.) only if he wants to meet us, we cannot meet him on our own without his permission. Therefore, whoever claims that he can meet Imam (a.t.f.s.) on his own; he is a liar and should no be trusted.
Ali b. Ibrahim Mahziyaar (r.a.) was among the fortunate Shias who loved Imam (a.t.f.s.) sincerely. He was always sad and depressed at being away from his Imam (a.t.f.s.). That is why
his most important prayer was to be granted a chance to meet his Master (a.t.f.s.).
With this intention he would go for Hajj every year. This is because according to a tradition of Imam Sadiq (a.s.) – Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.) goes for Hajj every year while in Ghaibat. He recognises all the people over there, but they do not recognise him.
Ali b. Mahziyar (r.a.) went for Hajj with the intention of meeting Imam (a.t.f.s.) over there. But was not able to meet Imam (a.t.f.s.). He went for Hajj 20 times, but to no avail. However, he did not get disappointed.
Dear children, this proves that one who has faith in Imam (a.t.f.s.) is neither disappointed nor does he despair.
Then one day a thought came to his mind – Maybe it is not in my destiny to meet Imam (a.t.f.s.). Maybe my actions are not good enough to meet Imam (a.t.f.s.). I should not go for Hajj any more, because Imam (a.t.f.s.) does not want to meet me.
But suddenly another thought came to him – You should go for Hajj this year as well. It is possible that your wish gets fulfilled this year and you get to meet Imam (a.t.f.s.).
This thought encouraged Ali b. Mahziyar (r.a.) to go for Hajj. He prepared for the journey of Hajj.
Love for Imam (a.t.f.s.) and the expectation to meet him made the difficult journey easy for him. He went to Medina and did the Ziarat of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.a.) in Masjidun Nabawi. He did the Ziarat of Janabe Fatima Zahra (s.a.).He did the Ziarat of the respected Imams (a.s.) in Jannatul Baqi. But every moment his heart was awaiting the meeting with Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.). He was constantly searching for Imam (a.t.f.s.) amongst the people.
He remained in Medina for some days and was eagerly awaiting the meeting with Imam (a.t.f.s.). But when he could not meet Imam (a.t.f.s.) he became disappointed. With every passing day, this disappointment grew. He began thinking – what if I do not meet Imam (a.t.f.s.) this year also?
Then Ali b. Mahziyar proceeded towards Mecca. He performed the Umra. The days of the Hajj rituals drew nearer. In his Ehraam (loincloth worn in Hajj) he went to Arafaat, Masjidul Haraam and Mena. Then he went to the Holy Ka’bah and performed the Tawaaf. But his eyes were constantly searching for Imam (a.t.f.s.). He was constantly praying to Allah to grant him a meeting with Imam (a.t.f.s.).
Ali b. Mahziyar narrates, ‘I completed all the rituals of Hajj. I performed a few Umrah. I remained in Mecca for some days. One day I was near the Holy Ka’bah thinking about all this, when suddenly I came right in front of the door of the Holy Ka’bah.’ ‘I saw a very handsome man standing near the Ka’bah in the Ehraam. He had one cloth of Ehraam tied at his waist and another wrapped around on his shoulder. The Ehraam cloth had slipped off his shoulder, which was shining very brightly. I was in a strange condition at this beautiful sight and my state was such that it could not be described. I wanted to meet this handsome man and in my eagerness I started moving towards him. Suddenly, he looked at me and asked:
‘Where are you from? Which part of Iraq do you live in?’
Ali b. Mahziyaar – ‘I am from the city of Ahwaaz.’ ‘Do you know Husaini?’
Ali b. Mahziyaar – ‘Yes.’
‘May Allah have mercy on him. He used to worship Allah throughout the night. His eyes were always shedding tears out of fear for Allah. Do you know Ali b.Mahziyaar?’
Ali b. Mahziyaar – ‘I am Ali b. Mahziyaar.’ ‘O Abul Hasan, (Abul Hasan was the Kunniyat of Ali b. Mahziyaar and Arabs usually address each other with the Kuniyat and not the name), salutations of Allah be upon you! What you want? Why have you come over here?’
Ali b. Mahziyaar – ‘I have come to search for my beloved Imam who is in Ghaibat.’ ‘Your Imam is not hidden from you. Your bad actions have become an obstacle between you and your Imam (a.t.f.s.). Go to your group and await the meeting with Imam (a.t.f.s.). When the stars shine brightly in the sky, I will wait for you between Hajare Aswad and Safaa.’
‘I was delighted at the thought of meeting Imam (a.t.f.s.). I cannot explain my condition on being told about this. But I had to wait for that moment. It seemed like a very long wait. Every second seemed like ages. Finally the moment arrived. I took my belongings and proceeded towards the meeting place.’ ‘The same handsome man who had met me earlier was there. He called out – O
Abul Hasan, come here. He saluted me and said, ‘Come with me.’
‘I started walking with him. We traveled across many valleys until we reached Taif. Then he said, ‘O Abul Hasan, stop, let us pray Namaz-e-Shab. We stopped at that place, prayed Namaz-e-Shab and Namaz-e-Subh after that.’
‘Then he said – Let us proceed. We continued walking from one valley to another. Finally we reached a beautiful valley. When I saw carefully I noticed a tent that was shining brightly.’ ‘I said – I see a bright tent.’
‘My companion replied – Yes, you are right.’
‘He went down the valley and I followed him. He said – Leave the horse and walk along with me.’
‘I got off the horse. He said – Leave the horse and lets go.’
‘I said – But this horse will run away. How will I proceed without the horse?’
‘He said – Only believers (momineen) can enter this valley. And those who leave the valley are also believers.’
‘Then he ordered – Stay here, I will be back in some time. He went towards the shining tent.’
‘In that tent was my beloved Imam – the master of the earth and everything in it. I was thinking of this when a thought struck me – What if Imam (a.t.f.s.) does not give me permission to enter the tent!?. After coming so far what if I do not get a chance to meet my beloved Imam (a.t.f.s.).!?’
‘Finally, that man returned from the tent. He said – You are blessed, Imam (a.t.f.s.) has given you permission to meet him. I started moving towards the tent with the hope of meeting Imam (a.t.f.s.). I cannot explain how I felt at that moment. Finally I entered the tent, which was filled with the brightest light.’
‘I looked at Imam (a.t.f.s.) and did salaam to him.’
‘Imam (a.t.f.s.) replied to my salaam and said – We were waiting for you day and night. Why did you come so late?’
‘O my master! I could not find anyone to lead me towards you. I wanted to meet you for so many years.’
‘You could not find anyone to guide you towards me?!’
‘Then Imam (a.t.f.s.) wrote something on the ground and he said – No, it is not as you say that there was no one to guide you towards me:
1. You were busy gathering money and wealth.
2. You behaved proudly with the poor and weak believers.
3. You broke relations with your near ones.
Now, you tell me, after all these actions, is it possible for you to give an excuse that there was no one to guide you towards me?
‘I said – O my master! I am extremely sorry for the sins I have committed. Please forgive me and excuse my faults and sins.’
Imam (a.t.f.s.) said, ‘O Ali b. Mahziyaar, if some of you had not sought forgiveness for the others, all the people of this world would have been destroyed except for some special Shias. The special Shias are those whose actions are just like their words.’
(Dalaaelul Imamat by Muhammad b. Harir Tabari, pg. 539-542)