Repentance due to a meaningful sentence
One day one of the students of Allama Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi said to allama al-Majlisi, ‘I have a neighbor polluted with sins. Most nights he holds meetings of amusement and diversion with his friends in his house which bother me and the other neighbors. He is proud and conceited and I fear to enjoin him to do the right and to forbid him from the wrong and I cannot change my house with another.’
Allama Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi said to him, ‘When you invite him to have dinner with you one night, invite me too so that I can talk to him and that Allah may have mercy on him and make him refrain and repent of his bad doings.’
The faithful man invited his proud neighbor and he accepted his invitation. Allama Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi attended the meeting too. Some moments of silence passed and suddenly the proud man, who was astonished at seeing Allama al-Majlisi there, said addressing Allama al-Majlisi, ‘What do you say about this life, clergymen?’ Allama al-Majlisi said, ‘Would you please tell us what you yourselves say about this life and what you want?’ He said, ‘I and my likes have too much speech about it that we say and keep to. For example if one eats from another one’s food, he must observe the right of that food. He should not betray him (the man who gives the food) at all.’ Allama al-Majlisi asked him, ‘How old are you?’ He said, ‘Sixty years.’ Al-Majlisi said to him, ‘During these sixty years have you not eaten from the blessings and food of Allah? Have you observed His right even for one time?’ The proud man woke up of his inadvertence. He bowed his head ashamedly and his tears fell down. He left the meeting but he could not sleep until the morning. In the morning he came to his neighbor and asked him about the religious scholar who was in his house last night. His neighbor said to him, ‘He was Allama Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi’ and gave his address. He went to allama al-Majlisi and repented before him. Then he became one of the benevolent and virtuous people of that time.
Could you change the fate?
Allama Muhammad Taqi al-Majlisi was interested too much in the matter of enjoining the right, forbidding the wrong and refraining from sins. In his quarter some proud, dissolute and low persons lived. They did not refrain from drinking wine, gambling and holding meetings of amusement, diversion and the likes.
Allama al-Majlisi often enjoined them to do the right, forbade them from doing the wrong and advised them to abstain from sins and to worship Allah. But this behavior of al-Majlisi made the chief of these villains and his men angry; they waited for an opportunity to get rid of him.
One day they met one of al-Majlisi’s students. He was good-hearted, sincere and pure. They said to him, ‘Empty your house of your wife and children on the night of Friday, serve us dinner and invite Allama al-Majlisi too. Beware that no one should know about this meeting; otherwise it will be bad for you!’
Everything was alright and al-Majlisi thought that this sincere student had invited him to dinner.
The villain persons had agreed to gather in the house of that man at the beginning of the night and to bring with them a female dancer. When Allama al-Majlisi would come and the table would be served, the dancer would appear with a mandolin and a tambourine in her hands and she would dance before the all. Then one of the villains would go to tell the neighbors at the same time so that they would come to see by themselves al-Majlisi in such a bad meeting. They would do that in order to dishonor al-Majlisi before people and thus they would get rid of him.
When al-Majlisi came into the house, he did not see the owner of the house but instead he found a group of the villain and mean persons sitting in the room. He perceived, due to his insight, that there was a plot against him. Before no long a female dancer appeared from behind the curtains with a mandolin and a tambourine in her hands. She began dancing and singing. She sang this verse of poetry:
“Do not leave me alone in the place of the virtuous,
if you do not accept save with that, then change your fate!”
Al-Majlisi, who was a man of Gnosticism and love to the Lord, began crying and repeating the saying of the singer (dancer) while turning sincerely to Allah the Almighty: “If You do not accept save with that, then change Your fate!”
Suddenly the dancer covered her face and hair, threw the mandolin and the tambourine to the ground and prostrated herself before Allah with tears and she said, ‘O my Lord, I have repented and turned to You…’ The others woke up from their inadvertence and began crying when they saw this scene. They bowed to kiss the hand of that old man (al-Majlisi) and they repented of all their sins.
Wakefulness of ar-Rasheed’s son
The author of Abwab al-Jinan, al-Wa’idh as-Sabzuwari in his book Jami’ an-Norayn, p.317 and ayatollah an-Nahawandi in his book Khazeenatul Jawahir, p.291 mentioned that Haroon ar-Rasheed, the Abbasid caliph, had a good son with a pure nature as a pearl coming out of a polluted shell and salty water. This son loved the meetings of the ascetics and worshippers and due to associating with these people his heart turned way from the pleasures of this worldly life and he hated the authority and the throne of kingdom of his father. He paid much attention to purify his heart from the dirt of worldly lusts and satanic tendencies. He did not wear but simple and cheap woolen cloths. He always associated with the virtuous and benevolent people. His heart loved purity, humane aspects and bright truth. He often visited the graveyards to take lessons and always cries bitterly there.
One day the vizier of Haroon ar-Rasheed was present in the meeting when this son of Haroon, who was called Qassim and surnamed as al-Mu’taman, came to the meeting. The vizier Ja’far al-Barmaki laughed. Haroon ar-Rasheed asked why he had laughed and he said, ‘I laughed at this boy who has exposed you before the public. I wish you had no such a son! Look at his state, cloths, behavior and his sitting with the poor and needy!’
Haroon said, ‘He has the right to do that because we have not given him any position or high rank yet. It would be better to appoint him as the wali on one of the provinces.’ He ordered his son to sit beside him and he began advising him then said to him, ‘I want to entrust you with one of the provinces. Which one do you want?’
He said, ‘O father, leave me alone! I like to worship Allah more than to involve in the rule. Consider that you have not had this son!’
His father, Haroon, said to him, ‘Is it not possible to worship Allah besides the rule? You have to accept the position on one of the provinces and I will appoint a good vizier to you to help you in managing the affairs of the rule and then you can practice your worship and obedience.’
Haroon ignored or feigned inattention that the rule was the legal right of the infallible imams and the guardians of Allah and it was not permissible to accept the emirate or any position in the government from the unjust and oppressive rulers who had extorted the caliphate and consequently the verdicts of Allah could not be executed in such an extorted government and no worship would be accepted by Allah in such government. Accepting the emirate that is granted by unjust rulers and tyrants is considered as a great sin if it is illegal.
Qassim said, ‘I do not accept this at any cost and I do not accept any emirate in your government.’ Haroon said, ‘You are the son of the caliph and the ruler over the great state and it does not fit you to sit with the poor or associate with the common people. This causes me disgrace before the public and the notables.’ Qassim said, ‘You too, by your doings, shame me and disgrace me before the saints and the virtuous people…’ The advice of Haroon and the attendants in the meeting was of no use and Qassim insisted on his situation but he kept silent before their sayings.
Then they entrusted him to be the wali of Egypt and the attendants of the meeting congratulated him for that. When the night came, he fled from Baghdad to Basra. In the morning they looked for him everywhere but they could not find him.
A man from Basra, called Abdullah al-Basri, says, ‘I had a house in Basra whose wall was damaged. One day I went looking for a worker to mend the wall. I passed by the mosque and I found a young man busy reciting the Qur'an and putting a shovel and a basket in front of him. I asked him, ‘do you work?’ He said, ‘Yes, I do. Allah has created us to gain permissible livelihood by the toil of our hands and the sweat of our forehead.’ I said to him, ‘I want you to come with me to my house to mend a damaged wall.’ He said, ‘First how much is the fee?’ I said, ‘I pay you one dirham.’ He said, ‘Alright!’
He went with me and began working until the sunset. I saw that he had worked as much as the work of twelve men so I wanted to give him more than one dirham but he refused and said, ‘I do not take more than one dirham.’ In the next morning I went to look for him but I did not find him. I asked about him and it was said to me that he did not work except on Saturdays.
When Saturday came, I went early to the mosque and I found him there. I took him with me to the house. He began working. When it was time for prayer, he stopped working, washed his hands and legs and offered the obligatory prayer. When he finished his prayer, he continued his work until the sunset. I gave him his fee and he left. Since the wall was not completed yet, I waited until the next Saturday. I went to the same place but it was said to me that he had been ill since two or three days. I asked about his house and it was said to me that he lived in the old quarter in a ruined place. I went and saw him sleeping in the sickbed. I sat beside him and put his head in my lap. He opened his eyes and said, ‘Who are you?’ I said, ‘I am the man for whom you have worked for two days. I am Abdullah al-Basri.’ He said, ‘I knew you. Do you want to know me?’ I said, ‘Yes, who are you?’ He said, ‘I am Qassim the son of Haroon ar-Rasheed.’
I got up from my place and began shaking because of fear. My face turned pale. I said to myself, ‘If Haroon knew that his son had worked for me, he would punish me severely and would tear down my house!’ Qassim noticed my fear and said, ‘Do not fear! I have not introduced myself to anyone except you. If I did not see the signs of death, I would not tell you that too. I want you, when I leave this world, to give this shovel and basket to the one who will prepare a grave to me and give this Qur'an that was my entertainment to the people of the Qur'an.’ He gave me a ring and said to me, ‘My father appears to the public on Mondays. If you go to Baghdad, please go to him on that day, put this ring before him and say to him that his son Qassim has left this world. He says to you: since you have a great ability to collect monies in this world, add this ring to your wealth and answer (Allah) instead of me (Qassim) on the Day of Resurrection because I cannot tolerate punishment.’ He said that and tried to get up but he could not. He wanted to get up again but he could not. He said to me, ‘O Abdullah, please help me because Ameerul Mo’mineen (s) has come to me!’ I helped him to get up but suddenly his soul left this world as if he was a ray of light that lit and went out.
