Qom and the Virgin of the City

Lamps in the Heart of Darkness

The snows of (Bahman) that year were falling heavily. Muhammad went into his room and closed the door while the storm remained blowing violently. When the snow fell while the wind was blowing, the (kolak)[110] would be badly cold. Therefore Muhammad gave up the idea of going home and he preferred to stay in his small room near the gate of qibla (in the holy shrine).

He could go home and come back to the haram of Lady Fatima early because he had to light the lamps in the minarets of the haram.

Muhammad was a middle-aged man. He had accustomed his family not to wait for him because he might think of spending his night in the shrine of Lady Fatima (s) to offer night prayers. He found in that the sweetness of faith especially in this holy peaceful place.

The mad storm at that night chilled the passer-bys and travelers. Muhammad preferred to stay in his small warm room.

The old heater gave a faint light and spread warmth about. He lit a small lamp and sat on his bed. His eyes

[110] Kolak is a snowstorm.

fell on some old books. Among them were books of du’a**[111]** and some books of history. In a special place on the shelf there was the holy Qur’an wrapped with a green kerchief.

He had read the holy Qur’an many times. When he wanted to recite the Qur’an, he used to close his eyes and then he whispered submissively with praying Allah to bless Muhammad and his family (s) then he opened the holy Book and recited the two pages.

As usual in the winter nights Muhammad opened the Holy Book and the sura of (Fussilat)[112] appeared to him. The first verse in the beginning of the right page was the verse (39). Muhammad began to recite the verses with a moving voice and pondered on their meaning in Persian because he was careful to understand what he read:

"And among His signs is this, that you see the earth still, but when We send down on it the water, it stirs and swells: most surely He Who gives it life is the Giver of life to the dead; surely He has power over all things."[113]

The wind was still whistling while roving through the curved narrow lanes of Qom. The sound of the wind mixed with Muhammad’s voice while reciting the Qur’an:

And if We had made it a Qur'an in a foreign tongue, they would certainly have said: Why have

[111] Du’a is praying or beseeching Allah for something.
[112] Sura no. 41.
[113] Qur’an, 41:39.

not its communications been made clear? What! a foreign (tongue) and an Arabian! Say: It is to those who believe a guidance and a healing…".[114] {.t0}

"And certainly We gave the Book to Musa, but it has been differed about, and had not a word already gone forth from your Lord, judgment would certainly have been given between them; and most surely they are in a disquieting doubt about it."[115]

The wind was still storming and Muhammad was reciting the Qur’an with a nice voice until he reached the last verse in the left page:

"We will soon show them Our signs in the Universe and in their own souls, until it will become quite clear to them that it is the truth. Is it not sufficient as regards your Lord that He is a witness over all things?."[116]

Muhammad kissed the holy Book and put it back in its place.

The warmth of bed and the whistling of the cold wind outside made him sleep early.

The snows were still falling heavily to cover everything; the streets, the lanes and the trees. The city became as heaps of carded cotton. Nothing of its marks could be seen.

Muhammad did not know how much time passed when he wakened from his sleep. There were some drops of

[114] Qur’an, 41:44.
[115] Qur’an, 41:45.
[116] Qur’an, 41:53.

sweat on his forehead. He looked at his old silver watch, whose hands told him that it was two o’clock after midnight. The sound that he had heard in the dream was still clear in his mind:

“Get up and light the lamps of the minarets!”

He got up from his bed and looked at the heavy falling snow. The minarets of the haram seemed silent waiting for the appearance of the dawn.

He thought that what he had seen in his sleep was just a confused dream so he went back to his warm bed.

Again he saw in his sleep the same young girl ordering him to get up. He did not see her face. She was standing behind white curtains emitting lights.

He got up from his bed. The sound filled his inners. He drove away his sleepiness. He put on his coat, held the lamp and went toward the stairs.

The minarets were lit. They became as springs of light. They seemed from far as if they were lighthouses in ports facing the wind.

Muhammad came back to his room. Three hours remained before the appearance of the dawn. He thought that his awake mind refused to sleep. The vision had shaken him and lit inside him thousands of lamps. The young girl, whom he had seen behind the white curtains with the emitted lights, was still dominating his mind. For the first time in his life he was invaded by irresistible feelings inviting him to know more and more about that virgin, who had stopped at Qom one thousand years ago. The old books on the shelf seemed as if they invited him to a journey to the bottom of history. Thus Muhammad had begun

his journey to probe the past so that he might see from near the virgin of Qom!

History is the memory of mankind…That old man drowned in the years and events, rubbed his forehead, which was full of wrinkles, to light a candle in this age or that, in this point of the wide world or that. So what had he talked about that young girl, who had come to Qom by the fate?

The cold wind was still blowing and the snow was still falling heavily. The small city slumbered. Only the travelers alone in that land, which had drowned in the night and snow, opened their eyes difficultly to move their steps on the right way. Muhammad was sitting with the sheikh listening to his loud silence.

* * *

The sun shone in a clear sky save from bits of clouds scattered here and there. The wind stopped blowing.

Muhammad put on his suit to stand at the gate of the shrine. The sun overcame the domes and minarets with its shining lights.

Muhammad was still under the effect of the vision. The angelic voice, which he had heard in his sleep, still circulated inside him.

The visitors from among the people of Qom began to come to the haram. Some of them saluted while approaching toward the dome.

Near the gate there were some travelers covering themselves with woolen cloths. They were sitting drinking tea and talking with each other.

One of them shook his head saying:

“How do we thank the Alawite lady for her favor on us last night?!”

The other said: “It was a terrible (kolak). We lost the way”

--“If lighting the minarets was delayed some minutes, we should have perished.”

--“Suddenly we saw a light shining like the light of lighthouses in the ports.”

--“O my friend, it is Ahlul Bayt (s)! They are the harbor for straying people.”

--“After tomorrow we shall go to Mashhad**[117]** to visit her brother ar-Redha (s).”

--“Let us stay for some days here near al-Ma’ssooma (s) and then we depend upon Allah to set out.”

Ar-Radhawi was listening to the talks of the travelers surprisedly. He approached to them and his eyes were full of tears. He said to them:

“O brothers, it was me, who lit the lamps of the minarets. I did not do that by myself. I saw in my sleep a young girl like a houri covered with light. She said to me:

“Get up and light the lamps of the minarets!”

She said that three times.”

One of the travelers cried astonishedly:

“Do you mean that the minarets are not lit at such a time?”

Ar-Radhawi replied:

[117] Mashhad is the city, in which the holy shrine of Imam Ali bin Musa ar-Redha (s) is.

“No, they are not. We put out the lamps before midnight and then we light them for one hour at the dawn.”

The eyes were filled with tears because of love, sincerity and devoutness.

Muhammad ar-Radhawi had recorded the details of this charisma.[118]

Every year when this warm anniversary came, Muhammad lit the lamps of the minarets to celebrate this occasion.

At those hours in every year when the heavy snows of Bahman fall, the travelers see the minarets shining like a port.

[118] Kareemat Ahlul Bayt (s) (in Persian).