The Blessed Birth of Imam Mahdi

Prologue

The decision of the emperor of Rome for the wedding of his two grandchildren is the beginning of this story; but the wedding did not took place on that day! This is the beginning of the relationship of Nargis with the holy family of Imamate.

The pain of Nargis for the absence of Imam Hasan `Askari and her request from the emperor of Rome is another point in this attractive story. Then, we shall narrate the secret conversion of Nargis to Islam that gave her an opportunity to see her future husband, who was none other than Imam Hasan `Askari. Then comes the Imam’s help and assistance to the princess Nargis to travel to Iraq, and this is the final section of this chapter.

The Wedding Party

Nargis was the daughter of Yeshoua the son of Caesar. Maternally, she had a relationship with Simon the Zealot, one of the disciples of Jesus the son of Mary.

When Nargis was thirteen years old, her grandfather, the Roman emperor, decided to give her in marriage to one of his grandsons, who was Nargis’s cousin.

So, the Roman emperor invited many personalities from his nation for the wedding ceremony: more than three hundred priests and clergymen, some illustrious men from the descendants of the twelve Apostles of Jesus the son of Mary, nine hundred men and women from the aristocratic families, and finally his military high ranking commanders.

The Strange Fall Of The Crosses

The servants of the palace took a precious litter, which was adorned with innumerable beautiful gems before the emperor of Rome. They installed many crosses around the precious litter for the marriage ceremony. Soon after the future groom came on and stood on the litter, the archbishops and bishops stood up from their seats to show him respect.

Everything was ready for the ceremony to get started according to the court etiquette. By the emperor’s order, the archbishops opened their Bibles to recite the wedding vows; but suddenly, the crosses around the litter fell down unexpectedly on the ground…! The pedestals of the litter began to tremble and moved from their places; so, the frightened groom fell down on the ground in front of the astonished people…!

When the archbishops saw that strange incident, they got deeply frightened and stunned, because of the fall of the crosses at the very beginning of the wedding ceremony was a terrible, sinister event for all Christians.

The archbishops came close to the Roman emperor and said respectfully: “O great Emperor! We beseech you! Let us not perform this doomed marriage ceremony! Maybe this unfortunate wedding would demolish the Christian government, the church of Christ, and its submitted societies in the near future…!”

Another Effort

The Roman emperor was astounded by that strange event, so he ordered to his servants, saying, “Rise up the litter and place the crosses on their places around it once again! Then, bring on the brother of this unfortunate young man to become the new groom! Maybe this time, he would be lucky unlike his ill-fated brother…!”

The servants and the courtiers did exactly what the emperor had ordered them. After a while, the new groom came on with a stunned face and stood obediently on the litter and got ready for the new ceremony, but when the group of the archbishops came to their places to begin once again the ceremony, the same incident was repeated just like before!

The emperor did not know what to do or think; at last he gave up his will to marry his grandchildren and he cancelled the ceremony with sadness and frustration… The guests went back homes silently, not knowing what to think... At the end of that day, everyone was wondering astonishingly about the strange events of that day. The young princess Nargis was as astonished as the others …

The Holy Prophet of Islam in Rome

At the very night of that strange day, princess Nargis, once more, saw in dream Jesus the son of Mary accompanied by Simon. There stood also some of the disciples of Jesus all of whom stood strangely at the same place where the archbishops and the clergymen stood on that day…

Then, she saw the Holy Prophet of Islam in her dream accompanied by the Commander of Believers `Ali ibn Abi-Talib and a number of his descendants. There was also a handsome young man … They came to the palace where princess Nargis lived and Jesus the son of Mary stood respectfully before the Prophet of Islam to say his greetings with utmost respect.

The Marriage Proposal

The Holy Prophet, referring to the young man beside him, said to Jesus the son of Mary, “O Spirit of God, I came here to ask for the hand of princess Nargis the descendant of your successor Simon for my beloved son Abu-Muhammad…!”

When Jesus heard these words of the Holy Prophet, he turned to Simon and, looking happily at him, said, “O Simon, dignity and honor have indeed come to you! You have been honored to give your daughter in marriage to the illustrious offspring of Imam Mahdi, Muhammad’s descendant…!”

Simon nodded his head down in deference and replied delightedly, “Oh my lord! What an honor! What a joy! I agree with gladness and happiness in my heart!”

When Simon declared acceptance, the Holy Prophet descended from his pulpit where he was seated and recited the wedding vows between his son Imam Hasan `Askari and princess Nargis while the holy Imams, Jesus, and the Apostles witnessed joyously the ceremony of the marriage of that beautiful bride and that handsome groom!

Illness Of Nargis

The next morning, princess Nargis woke up with surprise and while she was re-entering the real world around her, she remembered clearly her vivid dream, which appeared to have been a vision…

When she understood the real reason for those unfortunate events, she decided to keep her true vision for herself and hide it from everyone including her dearest grandfather! Maybe they would kill her if they came to know about her clandestine marriage with the descendant of the Prophet of Islam in a vivid dream!

A few days later, Nargis could not help thinking incessantly about her husband Imam Hasan… She had not said anything about her vision to anybody! But she longed to meet her husband again… And her waiting made her impatient and the longtime absence of Imam Hasan made her sad and ill, because she didn’t eat or drink anything. The illness of Nargis disturbed her family, especially her grandfather who loved her dearly. The Emperor invited the best physicians of his country to the palace to treat princess Nargis, but none of them could guess the real reason of her illness. So, their medicine did nothing to help the young woman…

A Request From The Emperor

When all attempts to heal Nargis failed, the emperor thought that the death of her granddaughter was imminent, so he went to see her. Sadly he said to her, “My lovely daughter, is there anything that you wish for? Anything I may do for you?”

Nargis waited for such a moment for long time; so, she said, “O grandfather, it seems that the doors of tranquility and comfort are closed in my face forever. I don’t like to be rude, but I believe that if you stop torturing the Muslim prisoners in your dungeons, have pity on them, and set them free to return to their homelands, I strongly hope that Jesus and her Holy Mother will cure me, no doubt…”

The Roman emperor gratified quickly and without any hesitation the request of Nargis and ordered his soldiers to behave kindly to Muslim prisoners. When Nargis found out that her grandfather had complied completely to her request, she then started to eat and drink in order to make her grandfather happy. After a few days, she seemed better and when the emperor came to visit her and saw her physical improvement, he reinforced his command to his soldiers so that they would continue to have a better behavior with Muslims more than ever.

Nargis in the Presence of the Sovereign Lady of all the Women of the World

After fourteen nights had passed from the request of princess Nargis from her grandfather, Lady Fatimah Zahra', along with Virgin Mary and thousands of Celestial Angels that accompanied them appeared in her dream once again.

Holy Mary the mother of Jesus looked at Nargis and said fondly, “My sweet daughter! This gracious lady is the Sovereign of all the women of the whole world, and she is the holiest lady in the entire universe; namely, Fatimah Zahra', your mother-in-law…”

After Nargis heard the sweet words of Virgin Mary, she started to cry happily. She then placed her soft head on Lady Fatimah Zahra'’s lap and asked her illustrious mother-in-law why her grandson Imam Hasan `Askari had not yet come to see her wife this time.

She then explained that she was deeply saddened by this fact and missed the absence of her husband painfully… That was why she had been so ill...

Lady Fatimah Zahra' smiled tenderly to Nargis, embraced her, and said, “O my lovely daughter-in-law! My son could not come to see you when you are still Christian… And because of the religion you follow, my holy sister Mary is not satisfied either. If you want Jesus and his holy mother Mary to be satisfied of you, and if you like my grandson to come and see you, please do repeat slowly all the things that I will say now...”

Then Lady Fatimah Zahra' uttered, “ashhadu an la ilaha illa allahu wa ashhadu anna muhammadan rasulu allahim (I testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.)”

So excited for this unforgettable meeting with these two holy ladies and willing to satisfy both of them, Nargis unhesitatingly complied and repeated delightfully, “ashhadu an la ilaha illa allahu wa ashhadu anna muhammadan rasulu allahim (I testify that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.)”

She wanted more than anything else to see once again her dearest husband!

Lady Fatimah Zahra' embraced her happily and said, “From now on, wait for my son Hasan! He will come and see you...”

Meeting With Her Husband

Nargis woke up the next morning and remembered clearly her dream. She was so sure that her husband Imam Hasan would come in her dream to see her the next night that she joyfully repeated the creed of Islam once more so as to make sure that everything was henceforth ready for her real meeting with her husband…

Nargis was sure about her husband’s presence at the very night in her dream. So she made herself ready to meet Imam Hasan and went quickly to sleep. Upon entering the realm of dreams, she met her beloved husband and after their greetings to each other she said to him, “My beloved husband! Why did you not come earlier to see your wife…? Do you know how much I love you and how much pain I suffered from your long absence…?”

Imam Hasan replied tenderly, “O my sweet wife! After your conversion to Islam, I promise you that from now on I will never leave you! I also promise you that I will come in your dream every night just to see you…”

Destination: Iraq

One night, Imam Hasan informed Nargis in dream, “In the near future, your grandfather will prepare a powerful army to fight against Muslims. He himself will be the commander-in-chief. Listen carefully, Nargis: you should change your clothes and put on the clothes of a simple slave and incognito, go along with your grandfather’s army. In due time, I shall inform you what to do after that. So, be aware and wait for my next instructions!”

Nargis did exactly what her husband had ordered her and dressed like a slave and went along with other slaves who had to accompany her grandfather’s army. On their way to battlefield, some Roman sentinels from her grandfather’s army poisoned some Muslim soldiers and Nargis got very sad about the future of the unfortunate Muslims. From that special night when Nargis had converted to Islam due to the kind assistance of Lady Fatimah Zahra' and even on her way to Iraq, Imam Hasan appeared in her dreams every night without exception and protected firmly his young bride from every danger.