Reward of Fair dealing and Offering Prayers in Time

Before leaving, my father asked that gentleman, "Who are you? For what did the Almighty God grant you so much honour and position that you are able to host even the whole world if you so desire? What is this place of residence?" The gentleman replied, "I belong to your native place and was selling meat in such and such street." People asked, "How did you get this high position and lofty rank?" He said, "It is all due to only two things. During my entire time I never gave less to buyers and I also never failed to offer prayer at the earliest hour. If I heard the call for prayer (Adhan) while weighting meat I used to leave my shop at once and rush to the Mosque. So the Lord of the worlds granted me this place after my death. Last week you had asked me to host you. At that time I did not have permission to accede to your wish. I have obtained it this week." Thereafter, one of us asked him about the duration of his age. He told the questioner, "You will live for ninety years", and that man is still alive. Then he told me, "You will live for so many years", according to which there are yet ten to fifteen years to go. All of us bade him goodbye. He saw us off. As we turned our face we found ourselves sitting by his grave as before."

Lasting Pleasure in the Realm of Barzakh Another specialty of the realm of Barzakh is its eternity or everlasting nature. Here (in this material world) nothing is everlasting. Beauty fades out soon. Food remains tasty only upto the time it is in the mouth, that is, only for a few moments. Same is the case with marriage and marital joy. These foods and fruits are also not long lasting. After sometime they rot and are, useless distasteful and foul. Nothing here is everlasting. But nothing gets deteriorated or corrupted in the realm of Barzakh because that world (in the Hereafter) does not depend on matter. Everything is everlasting there. As a testimony to what I have mentioned here, I would like to mention a case involving the great scholar and religious jurisprudent Allamah Shaykh Mahdi Naraqi. By the way, let me also say that presenting some truths while narrating an event in a nice way makes it easily comprehensible. That is why actual events and true happenings are also presented during the discussion of religious beliefs and doctrines. A Cloak Full of Rice in the Valley of Peace Shaykh Mahmood Iraqi, at the end of his book Darus Salam, quotes the late Naraqi (r.a.). He said, "When I was a caretaker of the Holy Najaf, there fell a severe famine. One day, I came out of my house. My children were hungry and crying for food. I went to the Valley of Peace with a view to seek the removal of our sorrow and gloom through the medium of the visit to the dead among the faithful. There I saw that some people brought a dead body and also told me, "You may also accompany us. We have come here for making this body join with pious souls of this Holy place." Then they took that corpse to a wide big garden and placed it in one of the palaces situated in that garden. All means of comfort were available in those palaces. When I saw all this, I also followed them and entered that palace along with them. There I saw a young man dressed in resplendent clothes sitting on a golden throne. When he saw me, he called me by my name and made me sit by his side very respectfully. Then he told me, "You do not recognize me. I am the same body, which has been just brought here. My name is so and so. I was a

resident of such and such city. The group, which you saw in my funeral procession, was that of the angels who brought me from my city upto this garden. This is one of the heavenly gardens." Hearing these things my gloom disappeared and I desired to see that garden thoroughly. When I got out of that palace I saw a number of such palaces. When I looked into them I found my parents and many other near and near ones. They made me their guest. I thoroughly enjoyed the eatables served by them. In the midst of these comfortable and luxurious moments, I suddenly remembered my family members and imagined how much hungry they were. This thought made me gloomy once again. My father asked, "What happened to you all of a sudden?" I replied, "My family members are restless due to hunger." My father said, "Here is a heap of rice, take it." I took off my cloak and filled it with that heavenly rice. My father told me to it for my family. When I lifted up the cloak, I found myself in the Valley of Peace. My cloak was, of course, full of that rice. I took it to my house. My wife asked, "From where have you brought this?" I replied, "What have you to do with it?" Briefly speaking we ate that rice for quite a long time but it never depleted. At last my wife forced me to tell her the true story. Thereafter when we went to take out that rice we found nothing." A similar event is recorded in the book Darus Salam. Interested readers may refer to it. Animals Hear the Voice of the Dead The aim of this discussion is to throw light on the perpetuality of the other world (Barzakh), be it regarding bounties or about their tastefulness or joy. On the other hand, the calamities of that world are also very hard and everlasting. May God protect! If a man gets entangled the torture in Barzakh and if we hear any of his terrible shrieks, all the terrible things of our world will appear nothing to us compared to that in Barzakh. It is mentioned in Biharul Anwar, Vol. 3, that the Holy Prophet said, "I was grazing sheep before I was made His messenger by Almighty God. During those days I used to observe (as you might have also) that goats and sheep were becoming still all of a sudden as if

shocked deeply by something. You might have also observed that sometimes poultry birds like hen jump off and stop picking their food even when no danger (like animal) is seen anywhere near them. After I began getting revelations, I asked for the reason of such unusual happenings and Jibraeel told me that in the realm of Barzakh, sinners get divine punishments. Their cries are heard by all except men and jinns. Such voices shock animals and they stop taking food etc." Cries Raised by a Hashimi Murderer in his Dream It is mentioned in Darus Salam of Allamah Noori that, as per a narration in the book of Sawabul Aamaal of Shaykh Sadooq (r.a.), an exceptionally handsome and good-looking youth who was a solider in the army of Umar bin Saad in Kerbala, was also the killer of one of the brothers of Imam Husain (a.s.). The narrator says, "I could see that the face of that fellow had become very black after the event of Kerbala. He had also become very thin and extremely weak. I inquired about his conditions from his neighbours. They said that ever since he returned from Kerbala, every night, he shrieks and cries loudly in his dreams awaking us also. I went to him and asked about the matter. He replied, 'At night time the Hashimi youth who was killed by me, comes in front of me and pushes me towards fire. It makes me cry loudly and I cannot sleep.'" Advice of a Perfumer and Demand by a Jew of His Trust There are many events in this world to prove the existence of Barzakh. Their description will become unduly lengthy so we suffice with only one such happening. The famous pious scholar Syed Hashimi Bahrani (r.a.) is quoted in Darus Salam [1] that: There was a perfumer in Najaf-e-Ashraf who used to give advice (admonition) to people at his shop daily after the mid-day prayer. Many people used to gather in his shop. A prince from India had become a resident of Najaf-e-Ashraf. Once he had to undertake a journey. So he went to [1] Vol. 1, P. 247

the said perfumer and gave him, as his trust, a bag containing precious stones and pearls etc. Then he went on his journey. Upon his return when he came to the perfumer to take back his trust the latter denied saying I do not know about any such trust. The prince became very uneasy and finally went to the Holy tomb of Ali (a.s.) and said, "O Ali! I left my comfortable residence just to live near your Holy Shrine for some time. I had left my precious property as a trust with such and such perfumer in Najaf. Now he is denying of any such trust. I have no wealth except that, nor have I any proof of depositing my property with that perfumer. Now there is none except you who can help me with justice." During that night, he saw Ali (a.s.) in his dream saying, "Next morning, when the gate of the city opens, you go out and demand your trust from the very first person you see. He will make your trust return to you." Accordingly that man went out of the city gate and saw a weak and aged pious man carrying firewood on his shoulders. He wanted to sell it for fulfilling the needs of his family. The Indian felt ashamed of asking anything from such a poor gentleman. So he did not say anything and returned to the Holy Shrine of Amirul Mo-mineen (a.s.). The following night also he saw the same dream and got the same order from Ali (a.s.). The next morning also he saw the same poor old man and did not tell him anything. During the third night too he saw Ali (a.s.) in his dream and heard the same words. The following morning, he told the wood seller his need explaining to him what had happen. After thinking for a while, the old man said, "Come to the perfumer's shop tomorrow after Zuhr prayer. I will arrange for the return of your trust." Next day when people gathered at the perfumer's shop, the old man said to the perfumer, "Today let me share in the duty of giving advice to people." That man agreed. The pious man began his talk, "O dear listeners! I am so and so and son of so and so. I am very fearful in the matter of observing rights of others. By the grace of God I have no greed for money at all. I am a contented man and have taken to a corner for worship. Yet, I have come into a difficult situation. I want to make you aware of it. I advice you all also to fear God's anger and the fire of hell. Once I had to take a loan due to

urgent need. I took a loan of ten Qiran [1] from a Jew and gave him a word that I would return it within twenty days paying him half Qiran daily. I did accordingly for five days. But thereafter I could not find that Jew. On making inquiries, I was told that he had left for Baghdad. After a few days, I saw in my dream that it is Resurrection and I and many other people have been made to stand in a counter for giving replies in the Divine Court. By the Grace of God, I got relief soon and then, joining the successful people, went towards paradise. When I reached the Sirat Bridge I heard the roar of hell. Then I saw that the creditor Jew leapt like a flame of fire from hell, came across my path and said, "Pay me back my five Qiran and proceed further only after doing so." I implored him humbly and earnestly saying, "I was in search of you for paying up the debt but you could not be found." But he said, "I will not allow you to go further unless you pay up my money." I said, "I have nothing here just now." He said, "Okay then allow me just to put my finger on your body." I agreed. When he touched my chest with his finger, it burnt my body so severely that I woke up crying loudly. I saw that my chest had a burn and it is still painful. I undertook many treatments but to no avail." Then he showed his chest to the gathering at the perfumer's shop. Seeing it, people began to weep fearing their own Hereafter. The perfumer also became very fearful of God's anger. He took that Indian to his house, returned his trust to him and begged for his pardon.