I, Hossein Ansayan, the writer of these lines( The land of lovers) together with a friend in the year 1345 on a Wednesday night entered Qum from the Jamkaran Mosque. The city of Qum was in complete darkness. Nobody was seen on the streets. We two were waiting for a taxi to take us to my house which was next to Ayatollah Hojjat’s home.
By chance a taxi arrived. The face of the driver was completely different from others. He seemed to be a thoroughly pious man. He asked our destination. My friend replied graveyard. The driver took us to the Vady Asselam Graveyard, telling us: I am a friend of the Janitor. Let me knock on the door. He knocked on the door. The keeper opened the door. We entered the place, each one of us went upto an empty grave, contemplating for some time.
At this time a cloak-wearing man approached us. The driver recognized him and called him, telling him: you are a man of God and you have been here since the beginning of the construction of this graveyard, You have been keeping this place and have been engaged to recite Quran for some of these dead people, receiving your salary from the heirs of these dead ones. If you know of any secret relating to this place, please let us know.
The Janitor said: I know a lot of things about this place; here I will narrate to you one of them.
One day a dead man was brought here from the city of Hamadan. From the relatives and companions it could be understood that the man used to be a pious man. When he was buried one of his children called me, saying: Are you ready to recite some verses of the Holy Quran over the grave of our father for certain period of time and receive your wage? I said I would do what they told me. For several months the Janitor recited some verses of the Quran on each Friday night over the grave. But one Thursday I was too busy to perform my duty. But the day after I went and did my job. The following week, the children of the dead man came upto me telling me: last Friday night our father came to us in our dream, complaining that you had deprived him of the God’s assets on that night.
The Adventure of Mohaddeth Qumi Relating to the Barrier
Haj Sheikh Abbas Qumi, the great narrator and scholar, who has written more than fifty volumes of useful books, is one of the most pious men of God whose chastity and faith nobody may doubt. He has had a lot of adventures, one of which I will mention here. It was narrated to me by his son Haj Mirza Ali Agha Mohaddes. He said;
Due to the great volume of edition and worship, my father fell ill in Nafaf. The physicians were unable to cure him. One day, while in great pain he told my mother: My dear and kind spouse, fetch me a teapot with an empty bowl. He asked us to raise him from his bed. He sat on his bed, telling us: using my fingers I have been writing “the God said,” “Imam Sadiq said,” and “Imam Baqir said,” for the last fifty years. These fingers should be spiritually effective now. If they are not so, they had better be cut off. Then he kept his fingers above the bowl, pouring water over them from the tea-pot. Then he drank the water. After some hours he was completely cured.
He, as well, narrated the following event from his father, telling us: My father, Mohaddes Qumi was suffering from a severe eye-ache. The Iraqi physicians were unable to cure him. One day, he asked my mother to take him the book called Osul Kafi. She gave it to my father. My father said: the writer of this book, Koleyni, was one of the most pious men of his day and his book is a source of miraculous, spiritual events. It could not be ineffective. He rubbed the book on his eyes once or twice. Two hours later, there was no sign of the pain.
He also narrated the following adventure: I became a preacher due to my father’s recommendation. It was arranged for me to preach for ten nights in the city of Qum. The people of Qum appreciated and welcomed me because of my eloquence in speech and due to the fact that I was my father’s son. One night I was discussing on a certain narration when a man named Haj sheikh Mehdi Pairn Shahri shouted among the audience, asking me: what is the source of this narration? I replied: I do not know the sourse, I have heard it from the religion scholars. But he shouted at me again warning me: Do not say anything you have heard when you are preaching. Find the source and then preach it.
This act of his was too much for me. I became so depressed that I decided on the spot to quit preaching for good and all. That night I saw my father in my dream. Smiling, he told me: My son forget about your wrong decision. This is because preaching is a significant craft. This task used to be carried out by Prophets. By the way, the narration under discussion is on such and such a book on page such and such. Tomorrow night refer to the source so that the sheikh might get satisfied.
Haj Mirza Ali Aqa said: When my father, Mohaddes Qumi passed away next to the grave of Imam Ali (s), the Imam of the Gnostics, and the sample for lovers, we buried him next to his teacher Haj Mirza Hossein Nury and went back home. There was commotion in our house till midnight. When I slept I saw my father in my dream. I asked him about his conditions. He answered: since my arrival at the Barrier, I have met Hossein (s) three times.
The Strange Adventure of Ayatollah Aqa Seyyed Jamaleddin Regarding the Barrier
He narrates the following: One day it was extremely hot when I attended the Vadi Asselam in the city of Najaf to read some verses from the Quran. To escape heat, I sat under the shelter over one of the graves. At this moment I noticed a crowd of the dead, dirty in appreance and clothed in shabby dress, approaching me and asking me to ask God to help them. They told me about their plight and asked me to interfere and ask God to forgive them. I blamed them for having been careless while they were in the world. I told them: Go away you aggressors!
He said these dead used to be Arab Sheikhs who used to live in abundance(The study of Resurrection Vol 1, P 142).
The honorable Prophet (s) has stated: Over any dead person there arrived two angels called Nakir and Monkar. They ask the dead one: What is your opinion on the Prophet? If the man is pious, he would say: The Prophet is God’s obedient servant and His Messenger. I confess that God is One and that Mohammad (s) is His Messenger. Then the two angels would say: we expected you to say such words. Next they widen his grave seventy meters by seventy meters and illuminate it like the day light. Then, they tell him: take your rest. He would, however, say: Let me go to tell my relatives on my conditions. However, they would tell him: Now close your eyes, take your rest. You are like that bride who will not wake up unless kissed by her bridegroom. Then he sleeps till he is summoned by God on the Doomsday.
But if the dead person were an infidel, having no relations with faith or religion, he would be ignorant of the prophet when he were asked relevant questions on religion. He would say: I am not sure; I repeat what I have heard from people. Then, the angels would say: We knew you would answer in such words. They order the grave to narrow to the extent that it tightens the dead person inside. The man will suffer continually till he is summoned on the Doomsday(Al-Mahajjah al-Baydhaa, Vol 8, P 309.).
Upon the end of the Barrier term, it is time for the Doomsday to start. On that day the good-doers and evil-doers will receive their rewards. According to the Holy Quran, the Doomsday starts with the trumpet being blown.
Refrence: The land of lovers by Professor Hossein Ansarian
source : The land of lovers by Professor Hossein Ansarian
