Then, why are you asking such questions?

Then, why are you asking such questions? Is he not an Imam? Is not your recognition about Imam Hadi (a.s.) like mine?’ Bishr queried, ‘What is your story?’ The slave girl commenced her story, ‘I am the daughter of Yashooa, the Caesar of Rome28. I saw Hazrat Mariam (a.s.) in a dream and through her, I became a Muslim. In my country, I was supposed to marry my cousin. But my wedding congregation was disrupted due to which I had become slightly disgruntled.

That very night, the Messenger of Islam (s.a.w.a.) and Hazrat Eesa (a.s.) appeared in my dream and I became engrossed in the thought of coming to the Islamic capital. In the same dream, I saw Imam Hadi (a.s.) that he was saying, ‘In the war raging between the Muslims and your father’s army, the latter will face defeat. You make use of this opportunity, line up yourself in the queue of slave girls, and come over to Baghdad.

Near the bridge of Baghdad, my representative shall come to you and hand over my letter.” Books of traditions and history have narrated this incident29. So, among the accepted facts of Imam-e-Zaman’s (a.t.f.s.) life history is that his mother was a Roman slave girl, whose name was Narjis or Sosan or Reyhana, or other names. She was given different names because of the various qualities that she possessed.

Even today, if a foreign girl comes to an Islamic country in marriage, she is given an Islamic name along with her previous name. This was the story of Narjis, the mother of Imam Mahdi (a.t.f.s.). During the 15th Sha’baan celebrations, the orators narrate this very narration of Bishr Ibn Sulaiman in detail. As stated earlier, even the inability to prove this tradition, will not harm the basic belief of Mahdaviyyat.

28 In Muslim terminology and according to Muslim historians, Rome implies Asia Minor and its surrounding countries. As the Roman empire had expanded far and wide, Asia Minor too had come under its rule and hence from the 5th Century A.D., Rome was divided into East and West. The Western side was Italy, the city of Rome being its capital, while the Eastern side was Asia Minor, whose capital was Istanbul.

Therefore, even after the invasion of the Saljuks and the Turks, that part of Asia Minor was called as Rome. (The Encyclopaedia of Dehkhuda-Under the word ‘Rome’). 29 Behaarul Anwaar, by Allamah Majlisi (a.r.), vol. 51, p. 6 Previous…