The Story of Imam Mahdi's Honorable Mother

The Story of Imam Mahdi's Honorable Mother

The mother of Imam Mahdi, as the one giving birth to the last divine savior, must have a highly exalted status of spiritual perfection. Unfortunately, for some reason, especially her being in a suffocating and unbearable climate, our understanding of that noble lady is very limited.

Following some Islamic narrations and historical reports, there are some general possibilities of her identity:

1. She was a Roman princess captured in a battle by Muslims;

2. She was a slave girl trained in the house of lady Hakīmah (the aunt of Imam ʿAskarī).

However, according to a well-known saying that is derived from some narrations, she was a slave captured subsequently joined the family of Imam Hassan ʿAskarī. As will be mentioned in the following story, there is no contradiction between these two narrations.

The courier of Imam al-Hādī

Bishr Ibn-e Sulaymān relates, “One night, Kāfūr, the slave of Imam Ali al-Naqī al-Hādī (the tenth Imam of Shia), came to me and summoned me to his master. I immediately got ready. When I went to the Imam, he was talking to his son, Imam ʿAskarī and his sister Hakīmah who was sitting behind a curtain. When I sat down Imam Hādī said, “O Bishr! You are from the descendants of the Ansār (the Helpers of the Prophet). This devotion to us (the Ahl al-Bayt) is your legacy which each coming generation of yours inherits from the preceding generation. You are trustworthy men of us. I am elevating you and ennobling you by excellence, through which you will surpass all Shia in devotion, by sharing a secret with you and sending you to purchase a certain slave girl.”

The Imam then wrote a very fine letter in Roman script and imprinted his seal on it. He took out a yellow cloth in which were two hundred and twenty dinars.

Then the Imam said, “Take this and go with it to Baghdad.” He told me to go to the crossing of the Euphrates on the noon of such and such day. And when you reach the boats of the captives, you will see slave girls in them. You will find buyers working for the procurers of the Abbasids and a small group from the Arab youths. When you see that, keep an eye on a man called ʿAmr bin Yazīd, the slave trader, from a distance all day long, until a slave girl who has such-and-such quality is brought to the buyers. Her dress is two thick silks; she refuses to be seen or touched by the examiners; she does not submit to anyone who would want to touch her. And you will hear a cry in Roman from behind the veil. You should know she is saying, "Alas for the violation of my hijab".

One of the buyers of ‘Amr says, ‘She is mine for three hundred dinars; her modesty has ever increased my desire for her'. She replies to him in Arabic, ‘Even if you come in the form of Solomon the son of David and with a kingdom like his, I will not be interested in you. So, save your money’.

“The slave-dealer says, ‘What is the solution? I have to sell you’. The slave girl replies, ‘Why the haste? There must be a buyer that my heart finds rest in him and his fidelity and honesty’.

Then the Imam continued, "At that moment, go to ‘Amr bin Yazīd and tell him you have a sealed letter from a certain man of nobility, which is written in Roman language describing therein his benevolence, his fidelity, his excellence, and his generosity. So she may discern from it the character of its author. Should she be interested in him and choose him, then I am his representative in buying her from you.”

The Roman princess among the prisoners

Bishr, going further, maintains, "I performed all that which my master, Imam Ali al-Naqī had ordered me to do concerning to the slave girl. When she saw the epistle, she cried very profusely and said to ‘Amr bin Yazīd, ‘Sell me to the author of this letter’. She took the most solemn of oaths that should he refuse to sell her to him, she will take her life'. I negotiated the price with the dealer until it settled exactly on the amount my master had given me."

The money being sufficient so, I took the slave girl who was so very happy and in laughter. I returned with her to the quarters I was residing in Baghdād. She was very restless until she took out from her pocket the letter of the Imam. She would kiss it and put it on her eyes and place it on her cheeks and touch it to her body.

Astonished by this, I said, "You are kissing a letter, you do not know who wrote it!"

The strange story of wedding ceremony

Bishr says, she told me, "O incapable and feeble from knowing the position of the progeny of prophets, lend me your ears and empty your heart for my words. I am Malīkah the daughter of Yeshua, son of the Caesar of Rome. My mother is from the descendants of the Disciples of Jesus (Hawārīyūn), and her lineage goes back to the successor of the prophet Jesus, Simon. I will narrate to you the wondrous story."

"My grandfather, Caesar, wanted to marry me to his nephew when I was a girl of thirteen. So he gathered in his palace, three hundred priests and monks from the descendants of Hawārīyūn, and their men of stature seven hundred men. He gathered four thousand commanders of the army and officers of the military and leaders of the armed forces and chiefs of the tribes. He erected a throne from the dearest of his riches, which was adorned with varieties of jewels and raised over forty steps. When his nephew climbed, the crosses were fixed about, the bishops took their stands in great reverence, and the pages of the Gospel were opened. Suddenly the crosses collapsed from the top and hit the ground. The pillars of the throne crumbled and crashed onto the floor."

"My grandfather’s nephew, who had risen over the throne, fell unconscious. The colors of the bishops changed and their chests trembled."

"Their leader said to my grandfather, ‘Please excuse me from facing this evil which forebodes the demise of this Christian religion and the royal creed.’ My grandfather took this as an evil omen and said to the bishops, ‘Erect these scaffolds and raise the crosses and bring the brother of this unconscious man whose dreams have been ruined, so I may marry him this young girl; so the evil of his brother may go away through his fortune.’"

“When they did that, the same thing happened to the second as had happened to the first nephew. People scattered away. My grandfather, Caesar stood in great distress and left the place. They dropped the curtains and with this stupendous event, the wedding ceremony came to an end."

"I, on the same night, saw in my dream that Jesus, Simon, and a number of the Disciples (Hawārīyūn) had gathered at my grandfather’s palace. They had installed there a pulpit of light that was defying heavens in height and elevation. It was in the same spot where my grandfather had installed his throne."

"At this moment, the prophet Muhammad, his son-in-law and his successor Ali bin Abī Tālib, and a number of his sons entered. The prophet Jesus went forward and embraced the Prophet. Prophet Muhammad said to him, ‘O the Spirit of Allah! I have come to you to propose to your successor, Simon for his daughter, Malīkah for this son of mine, pointing to Imam Hassan ʿAskarī, the son of the writer of the epistle.'"

"Jesus looked at Simon and said, ‘The greatest honor has come to you. Let your relation be bonded with the relation of the progeny of Muhammad.’ Simon said, ‘It will be my honor to do so.’"

"Prophet Muhammad then climbed over that pulpit, said the marriage contract and married me to his son, Imam Hassan ʿAskarī. Prophet Jesus bore witness and the sons of Muhammad and the Disciples (Hawārīyūn) bore witness. When I woke up, I was scared to report this to my father or grandfather, fearing they would kill me. I was keeping this a secret and not revealing it to them."

"Meanwhile, my heart throbbed with love for Imam Hassan so much that I forsook eating and drinking. I became weak and my body grew lean and I became very sick."

"There was no physician left in the cities of Rome that my grandfather did not bring and ask him to heal me. When despair overwhelmed him, he said to me, ‘O the light of my eyes! Does any wish occur to your heart in this world, so I may fulfill it?’ I said, ‘O Grandfather! I see the doors of relief shut on me. However, if you save the Muslim captives in your prison from torture, and remove their chains, and do them favors, and kindly release them, I am hopeful that Jesus and his mother will give me health.’"

"When he did that, I made an effort to display health and ate a little food. This made him very happy and he became ever intense to confer kindness and respect upon the captives. "

"Since this event, it was no longer than forty nights that I saw that Lady Fatima, the daughter of the prophet Muhammad and the mistress of the ladies of the worlds. She visited me along with Mary, the daughter of ʿImrān, and one thousand nymphs from Heaven. Mary says to me, ‘This is the Mistress of the Ladies, the mother of your husband.’ So, I hold her and cry and complain about why Imam Hassan does not come to visit me. Lady Fatima said, ‘My son, Imam Hassan will not visit you as long as you believe in a partner with Allah in the religion of the Christians. This is my religious sister Mary, the daughter of ʿImrān, and she turns to Allah with disdain from your religion.^[1]

If you want the pleasure of Allah, the Exalted, and the pleasure of prophet Jesus and his mother, and to have Imam Hassan visit you, say, ‘I testify that there is no god except Allah and Muhammad is the Last Messenger of Allah.’

“When I spoke these words, she pulled me to her chest and my soul was blessed. She said, ‘Now expect the visitation of Imam Hassan. I am sending him to you.’"

"I woke up in great excitement and expectation of meeting the Imam. When it was the next night, I saw the Imam and as if I was saying to him, ‘You abandoned me, my beloved, after you made me fall in love with you.’ He said, ‘My delay was not but for your polytheistic belief.^[2] Now you have embraced Islam, I am going to visit you every night until Allah brings us together.’ Until now, his visitations to me have not ceased.”

The war and captivity

Bishr says, "I asked her, ‘How did you fall amongst the captives?’

She said, "The Imam told me on one of the nights, ‘Your grandfather will shortly be dispatching an army to fight the Muslims on such and such day, and he will follow them. You have to join them in the train of servants along with some servants from such and such route.’"

"I did that and the vanguards of Muslims encountered us, which led to my situation that you see. And no one knew that I am the granddaughter of the Roman Caesar until now, except you and that is because I told you. The gentleman in whose share of booty I fell, asked me of my name. I hid my identity from him and said, ‘Narjis.’ He said, ‘This is the name of the servants.’"

Bishr says, "I said to her, ‘It is amazing that you are Roman and your language is Arabic.’"

She said, "Due to my grandfather’s persistence and encouragement that I should increase my learning, he appointed a woman to me, who was his interpreter to visit me. She would come to me day and night and teach me Arabic until I became fluent.”

In the house of Imam al-Hādī

Bishr says, "When I brought her back to Samarra, I came to my Master, Imam Ali al-Naqī (al-Hādī). He asked her, ‘How did Allah show you the glory of Islam and the disgrace of Christianity and the nobility of Muhammad and his Household?”

She said, "How would I describe, O the son of Allah’s Messenger! Something, which you know better than me?’ I would like to confer kindness on you,"

The Imam said. "Which one is dearer to you, ten thousand dinars or a happy tiding of eternal grandeur?’

"Happy tidings." She said. Then the Imam stated, “Rejoice the tidings of having a son who would rule the world from the east to the west, and will fill it with equity and justice as it is filled with oppression and injustice.”

"From whom?" she asked. The Imam answered, "From the one for whom the Messenger of Allah proposed for you on such and such night, in such and such year. To whom the prophet Jesus and his successor married you?’"

"Then The Imam continued, "Do you know him?" She replied, "Has there been a night he has not visited me since I have embraced Islam on the hands of Mistress of the Ladies."

Imam Hādī said, "O Kafur! Call my sister Hakimah." And when she entered, he said to her, "Here she is."

Lady Hakimah embraced her long and was very much happy to see her. Imam Hādī said to her, "O the daughter of the Messenger of Allah, take her to your house and teach her the duties and traditions, for she is the wife of my son and the mother the Qāim (Imam Mahdi).”^[3]

In the house of lady Hakīmah

Hakīmah eagerly accepted the newly arrived lady into her house, treated her warmly and heartily, helped her learn Islamic rulings and how to worship Allah"

Everyone aware of the situation attempted not to inform others about the newcomer girl lest the secret agents of the government became aware and the murderous Abbasid rulers kill the innocent girl.

One day, Imam ʿAskarī, who was young, went to the house of his aunt, Hakīmah. When he saw Narjis, he went into deep thought. Hakīmah asked him, "What happened? What do you think about?"

Imam Hassan answered, "Soon, this lady will give birth to a son who will enjoy an exalted level of spirituality with Allah. Allah, by the help of him, will make the earth a place full of justice and excellence when it is full of oppression and crime."

Hakīmah suggested, "I think it is proper to choose her as your wife."

Imam Hassan said, "I firstly, have to acquire the permission of my father."

Hakīmah said, "By hearing it, I changed my clothes and went to the house of my brother, Imam al-Hādī. I entered the room of the Imam, saluted him and sat down. But before saying anything to him, the Imam told me, ‘O Hakīmah! Please provide the required facilities for the marriage of Narjis with my son.'

Hakīmah said "I, soon, got up, said goodbye, returned to my home, and told Narjis about the matter. Narjis who realized that after those bitter events, her wishes were about to come true, became exceedingly joyful and shamefully smiled."^[4]

An auspicious marriage

The wedding ceremonies of Imam ʿAskarī and Narjis, despite the close observation and the total surveillance of Abbasid agents, took place and just a few of the bosom friends of Imam Hādī and some of their relatives were aware. They kept this event secret and did not let anyone become aware of this important event.

This was the reason that they called the wife of the Imam with different names like Malīkah, Narjis, Sūsan, and Sayqal. They, in this way, were trying to let no one recognize the real personality of her and the government investigators had no clue about what was going on. If the household of the Imam fell short of the responsibility of keeping this event secret, the cruel executioners of Abbasid agents would waste no time in killing her to prevent the birth of Imam Mahdi.

Her demise

There are two narrations regard­ing the demise of lady Narjis:

1- She requested Imam ʿAskarī to beseech Allah for her early demise during his lifetime. Consequently, she died during the life of Imam Hassan ʿAskarī and it is engraved on her grave, "This grave is of the mother of Muhammad (the real name of Imam Mahdi)."^[5]

2- According to another narration, she was alive after the martyrdom of Imam ʿAskarī. When the Imam murdered, the agent of Abbasids rushed to the house of Imam ʿAskarī and after inspecting the house found nothing but arrested Narjis and took her to Muʿtamid (the Abbasid Caliph) and asked her to unveil where her newborn son was. Narjis pretended to be pregnant. Muʿtamid gave her to Ibn Abi Shawārib al-Qāzī. After a while Abbasids involved in various forms of inner turmoil and neglected to keep her. Narjis took this opportunity and escaped. She lived a while after that and passed away in a normal way.^[6]

Source: The Final Hope, April 2020, Issue no. 1

Sayyed ‘Abd-al-Mahdi Tavakol