بشر بن سليمان البجلي

“One day Kafur, the slave of Imam Ali Naqi (a.s) came to me and summoned me to his master. When I went to the Imam, he said: “O Bushr, you are from the descendents of Ansar. This devotion is your legacy, which your each coming generation inherits from the preceding. You are trustworthy men of us, Ahle Bayt. I am elevating you and ennobling you by an excellence, through which you will surpass all Shia in devotion, by sharing a secret with you and sending you to purchase a certain slave girl.” He then wrote a very fine letter in Roman script and language; and imprinted his seal on it. He took out a yellow cloth containing two hundred and twenty dinars. He said: “Take this and go to Baghdad.” He told me to go to the crossing of the Euphrates on the noon of such and such day. He said: “When you reach the boats of the captives, you will see slave girls in them. You will find buyers working for the procurers of Abbasids and a small group of Arab youths. When you see that, keep an eye on a man called Amr bin Zaid, the slave trader from a distance all day long, until a slave girl is brought to the buyers, who has such-and-such quality. Her dress is two thick silks; she refuses to be seen or touched by the examiners; she does not submit to anyone who would want to touch her. And you will hear a cry in Roman from behind a thin veil. You should know that she is saying: Alas from the violation of the veil. One of the buyers of Amr will say: Mine for three hundred dinars; her modesty has ever increased my desire for her. She replies to him in Arabic: Even if you come in the form of Sulaiman, the son of Dawood and with a kingdom like his, I will not be interested in you. So, save your money. “The slave-dealer says: Then what is the solution? I have to sell you. The slave girl replies: Why the haste? There must be a buyer that my heart finds rest in; in his fidelity and honesty. At that moment, go to Amr bin Zaid and tell him you have a nice letter from a certain man of nobility, which he has written in Roman language and Roman script, describing therein his benevolence, fidelity, excellence and generosity, so that she may discern from it the character of its author. Should she be interested in him and choose him, then I am his representative in buying her from you.” Bushr bin Sulaiman says: I performed all that which my Master, Abul Hasan (a.s) had ordered me to do with respect to the slave girl. When she saw the epistle, she cried very profusely and said to Amr bin Zaid: Sell me to the author of this letter. She took the solemnest of oaths that should he refuse, she will take her life. I negotiated the price with the dealer until it settled exactly on the amount my Master had given me. The money being sufficient, I took the slave girl, who was so very happy and in laughter. I returned with her to the quarters I was residing at in Baghdad. She was very restless until she took out from her pocket the letter of our Imam. She would kiss it and put it on her eyes and place it on her cheeks and touch it to her body. Astonished by this, I said: You are kissing a letter you don’t know who wrote. “O incapable and feeble one from knowing the position of the progeny of prophets,” she said, “Lend me your ears and vacate your heart for my words. I am Malika, the daughter of Yashua, son of the Caesar of Rome. My mother is a descendent of the Disciples of Isa (Hawariyin), and her lineage goes back to Shamun, the successor of Isa. I will narrate to you the wondrous story. My grandfather, the Caesar, wanted to marry me to his nephew when I was a girl of thirteen. So he gathered in his palace, three hundred priests and monks from the descendents of Hawariyin, and from their men of stature seven hundred men. He gathered four thousand commanders of the army and officers of military, leaders of armed forces and chiefs of tribes. He erected a throne from the dearest of his riches, which was adorned with varieties of jewels and raised over forty steps. When his nephew climbed, the crosses were fixed about, the bishops took their stands in great reverence, and the pages of Injeel were opened. Suddenly the crosses collapsed from the top and hit the ground. The pillars of the throne crumbled and crashed to the floor. My grandfather’s nephew, who had risen over the throne, fell down unconscious. The faces of the bishops paled and their chests trembled. Their leader said to my grandfather, ‘Please excuse me from facing this evil, which forebodes the demise of this Christian religion and the royal creed.’ “My grandfather took this as an evil omen and said to them, ‘Erect these scaffolds and raise the crosses and bring the brother of this deceased man, whose dreams have been ruined, so I may marry him this young girl; so the evil of his dead brother may go away through his fortune.’ “And when they did that, the same thing happened to the second as had happened to the first nephew. People dispersed. My grandfather, the Caesar stood in great distress and entered the quarters of the womenfolk. I dropped the curtains and in the same night saw in my dream that Isa, Shamun, and a number of the Disciples (Hawariyin) had gathered at my grandfather’s palace. They had installed there a pulpit of light that was defying heavens in height and elevation. It was in the same spot where my grandfather had installed his throne. At this, Muhammad, (s), his son-in-law and his successor, Amirul Momineen (a.s) and a number of his sons entered. Isa went forward and embraced him. Muhammad (a.s) said to him, ‘O Ruhallah, I have come to you to propose to your successor, Shamun for his daughter, Malika for this son of my mine, pointing to Imam Hasan Askari (a.s), the son of the writer of this epistle. Isa looked at Shamun and said, ‘The greatest honor has come to you. Let your relation be bonded with the relation of Aale Muhammad (a.s).’ ‘Shamun said: ‘It will be my honor to do so.’ He climbed over that pulpit. Muhammad (s) performed the rituals and married me to his son. Isa bore witness and the sons of Muhammad (a.s) and the Hawariyin bore witness. When I woke up, I was scared to report this to my father or grandfather, fearing they would kill me. I kept this secret and did not reveal it to them. Meanwhile, my heart throbbed with love for Imam Hasan Askari (a.s) so much that I forsook eating and drinking. I became weak and my body grew lean and I became very sick. There was no physician left in the cities of Rome that my grandfather did not bring to heal me. When despair overwhelmed him, he said to me, ‘O solace of my heart, does any wish occur to your heart in this world, so I may fulfill it?’ “I said: ‘Grandfather, I see the doors of relief shut on me. However, if you save the Muslim captives in your prison from torture, remove their chains, do them favors and release them kindly, I am hopeful that Isa and his mother will give me health.’ When he did that, I made effort to display health and ate a little food. This made him very happy and he became ever intense to confer kindness and respect upon the captives. “I also saw in my dreams for fourteen nights the Mistress of the Women of the Worlds, Fatima (a.s). She visited me along with Maryam, daughter of Imran, and one thousand Houries from Paradise. Maryam says to me, ‘This is the Mistress of the Ladies (a.s), the mother of your husband.’ So I hold her and cry and complain why Imam Hasan Askari (a.s) does not come to visit me. The Mistress of the Ladies (a.s) said: ‘My son, Imam Hasan Askari (a.s) will not visit you as long as you believe in a partner with Allah in the religion of the Christians. This is my sister Maryam, the daughter of Imran, and she turns to Allah with disdain from your religion. If you want the pleasure of Allah, the Exalted, and the pleasure of Isa and his mother, and to have Imam Hasan Askari (a.s) visit you, say: I testify that there is no god, except Allah and Muhammad is the Last Messenger of Allah.’ “When I spoke these words, the Mistress of the Ladies of the World pulled me to her chest and my soul was blessed. She said: ‘Now expect the visitations of Imam Hasan Askari (a.s). I am sending him to you.’ I woke up in great excitement and expectation of meeting the Imam. The following night, I saw Imam (a.s) and as if I was saying to him, ‘You abandoned me, my beloved, while the remedy of your love ruined my soul.’ He said: ‘My delay was not but for your polytheistic belief. Now you have embraced Islam, I am going to visit you every night until Allah brings us together.’ Until now, his visitations to me have not ceased.” Bushr bin Sulaiman says: I asked her, “How did you fall amongst the captives?” She said: “Imam Hasan Askari (a.s) told me on one of the nights: Your grandfather will shortly be dispatching an army to fight the Muslims on such and such day, and he will follow them. You have to join them in the train of servants along with a number of servants from such and such route. I did that and the vanguards of Muslims encountered us, which led to my situation that you see. And no one knew that I am the granddaughter of the Roman Caesar until now, except you and that is because I told you. The gentleman in whose share of booty I fell, asked me of my name. I hid my identity from him and said: ‘Narjis.’ He said: ‘A name of slave girl.’ I said to her, “It is amazing that you are Roman and your language is Arabic.” She said: “Due to my grandfather’s persistence and encouragement that I should increase my learning, he appointed a woman to me, who was his interpreter, to visit me. She would come to me day and night and teach me Arabic, until I became fluent.” Bushr says: When I brought her back to Samarrah, I came to my Master, Imam Ali Naqi (a.s). He asked her, “How did Allah show you the glory of Islam and the disgrace of Christianity and the nobility of Muhammad and his Household?” She said: “How would I describe, O son of Allah’s Messenger, something, which you know better than me?” “I would like to confer kindness on you,” he said. “Which one is dearer to you, ten thousand dinars or a happy tiding of eternal grandeur?” “Happy tidings of a son for me,” she said. “Rejoice the tidings of having a son, who would rule the world, from the east to the west, and fill it with equity and justice, as it will be fraught with oppression and injustice.” “From whom,” she asked. From the one for whom the Messenger of Allah (s) proposed for you on such and such night, in such and such year, replied my Master in Roman. He said: “To whom Isa and his successor married you.” “From your son?” she asked. “Do you know him?” “Has there been a night he has not visited me since I have embraced Islam at the hands of Mistress of the Ladies!” Imam Ali Naqi (a.s) said: “Kafur, call my sister Hakima.” And when she entered, he said, “Here she is.” Lady Hakima embraced her long and was very much happy to see her. Imam Ali Naqi (a.s) said, “O daughter of the Messenger of Allah, take her to your house and teach her the duties and traditions, for she is the wife of my son and the mother of Qaim (a.s).”