History of Masjid Jamkaran

How to Pray at Masjid Jamkaran

Imam al-Mahdi [a] said to Hasan b. Mathleh: “Call the people to visit this place and should adore (Allah) by offering four units (rakats) of prayer as follows:

(1) Salutation Prayer of the Holy Mosque

The first two units (rakats) should be offered with the intention (niyat) of paying one's respects to the mosque and should be offered in the following manner:

In each unit (rakat), after recital of Surah al-Hamd, Surah al-Ikhlas should be recited seven times. Also, during the genuflection (rukoo) and prostration (sujud) the invocation (dhikr) “subahana rabbi al-adhimi wa bihamdih” (Glorified is my Lord, the Cherisher, the Highest with Glory) or “subhana Allah” (Glory be to Allah); and “subhana rabbi al-a'ala wa bihamdih” (Glorified is my Lord the Cherisher, the Highest with Glory) or “subhana Allah” (Glory to Allah), should be repeated seven times respectively.

(2) Prayer of the Lord of the Age (Wali al-Asr [a])

After offering the first two unit (rakats) salutation prayer of the Holy Mosque, another two units with the intention (niyat) of “the prayer of Wali al-Asr [a]” should be recited in the following manner:

In each unit (rakat), whilst reciting Surah al-Hamd, when you reach at the verse: “iyyaka na 'budu wa iyyaka nasta'in” (You alone we worship and You alone we ask for help), repeat it one hundred times (you can count using a rosary) and then finish the rest of Surah al-Hamd. Then recite Surah al-Ikhlas only one time, but during the genuflection (rukoo) and the prostration (sujud), the invocation (dhikr) should be recited seven times (like the Prayer of the Salutation of Mosque).

After completing the prayer, the words “la ilaha illalah” (there is no god but Allah) should be recited once. Later on recite the Tasbih of Sayyida Zahra [a] (the daughter of the Holy Prophet [s]) which is as follows:

Allahu Akbar (Allah is Great): 34 times

Alhamdu lillah (All praise to Allah): 33 times

Subhanallah (Glory be to Allah): 33 times

Finally, prostrate and recite one hundred times: “Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa aali Muhammad” (Oh Allah! bless Muhammad and his progeny).

After prescribing the above acts of worship to Hasan b. Mathleh (see History of the Mosque), Imam al-Mahdi [a] said: “O Hasan! Anyone who has offered these prayers in this Holy Mosque is tantamount to having offered prayers in the Holy Kaba.”

Hasan b. Mathleh says: “As soon as I started to convey this message and having taken only a few steps, again I was commanded by the Lord of the Age (Wali al-Asr [a]) as follows:

“O Hasan! There is a goat in the herd of the shepherd Jaffer Kashani - a goat partly colored and hairy, having seven black and white spots altogether, three being on the right side, and the remaining four on the left side - you must purchase this goat with your own personal money, and with the help of other people bring this goat to this place the next night for sacrifice. After sacrificing the goat distribute the meat of sacrifice on Wednesday the 18th day of the blessed month of Ramadhan among the sick people. God Almighty will cure them through this meat of sacrifice (insha Allah).”

Hasan says: “After receiving these signs I returned home, and remained restless thinking about this episode throughout the night, and after offering the morning prayer I started off to complete my assignment.”

Because, our aim is to present only a brief summary of the above story, therefore it would not be appropriate to continue the remaining story as narrated by Hasan-bin-Mathleh, but in summary:

Hasan b. Mathleh described the previous night's episode to one of his close friends Ali b. Mandar, and together they went to visit the sacred place, which was shown to Hasan by the Imam [a]. As promised, they encountered the signs in the form of nails and chains marking the boundaries of the Holy Mosque; immediately they returned to Qum to see Sayyid Abul Hasan, who was eagerly awaiting for their arrival, because of his having seen the same whole episode in a dream the previous night.

Together, they started towards Jamkaran and encountered the herd of Jaffer Kashani. As soon as Hasan b. Mathleh approached this flock he saw a goat with the exact signs as described by Imam [a] coming behind the herd towards him. He approached the shepherd Jaffer Kashani for the payment of the goat, who in turn was completely surprised and swore that he had never before noticed this particular goat in his flock.

Finally, they brought the said animal towards the sacred place as directed by the Imam [a] for sacrifice and distributed the meat among the sick people who were cured. Then they started laying the foundation of the Holy Mosque of Jamkaran, and with the earnings of the real estates of Ardhaal, completed the roof of the mosque. The nails and chains left by the Imam [a] were taken by Sayyid Abul Hasan to his house and every time sick people, with sincerity and belief, neared themselves to these things, they became cured.

After Sayyid Abul Hasan's demise, one of his children became sick and seeking to get cured, he opened the box containing these chains and nails, only to find them missing; his search for finding these missing items produced no positive result. The story of Hasan b. Mathleh Jamkarani and his being assigned by the Imam [a] for the building of the Holy Jamkaran Mosque has been narrated in the following books:

  1. Bihar-ul- Anwar, Vol. 53, p. 230.

  2. Ambaqari al-Ahsan Vol. 2, p. 143.

  3. Najam ath-Thaqib, p.294.

  4. Alzam an-Nasib, Vol.2, p.55.