ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Rays of the Sun Imam and the People A shortened ziyarat and serving others * * A scholar has narrated: One summer, we went for ziyarat to Mashad with Imam and several other scholars. There we hired a house. Our timetable was such that in the afternoons, after one or two hours rest, we would wake up and would head for the shrine together.

After ziyarat , prayers and supplication, we would return to the house and in the pleasant setting of the veranda, we would sit and drink tea. Imam’s timetable was that he would come with everyone to the shrine; however he would shorten his ziyarat and supplication and return to the house alone. He would sweep and wash the veranda, spread a rug, switch on the samovar (apparatus for making tea) and prepare the tea. When we returned from the shrine, he would serve everyone tea.

One day I asked him: ‘What is this? You shorten you ziyarat and supplications and return home in a hurry in order to make tea for your friends?’ Imam replied: ‘I don’t consider the reward of this act to be less than that of the ziyarat and supplications.’[^1] Hujjatul Islam Sayyid Hamid Ruhani It is the nafs that is inviting me When we were in Najaf, I remember hearing from some people that Imam was not being very friendly with them.

I relayed this to Marhum Hajj Agha Mustafa and asked him to tell Imam to be friendlier with these people. He said: “We have told him many times and Imam says: ‘This is from deceptions and plots of shaytan , i.e. in reality, it is my nafs that is inviting me to be friendlier to these people so that the number of people who like me increase.

However, so that this command becomes likeable to me, shaytan says: ‘This is for Allah and Islam!’ Therefore I cannot do this.’’”[^2] Hujjatul Islam Muwahidi Kirmani Imam’s best moments At the time Imam returned to Iran, the people were overtaken with fervour and joy. He himself also had an interesting interpretation of that moment. After the speech in Behesht-e-Zahra (as), Imam expressed a desire to go into the crowd.

There is a picture of the Imam where he doesn’t have a turban, nor a robe, and is caught in the middle of the crowd.