الحسين بن عبد الله بن بنان

“Do you have any children?” He replied, “No.” Then Aba Mansoor asked him, “Why don’t you go to the Shrine of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) to pray to God near his tomb, and ask that God grant you a son. I have asked God the Highest for many of my needs there, and they have been fulfilled.” Then the ruler said, “I set out for the Shrine - may peace be upon its resident (Imam Ridha’) - and prayed to God near Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.)’s tomb and asked God to grant me a son. Then God the Honorable the Exalted granted me a son. Then I went to Aba Mansoor and informed him that God the Highest had fulfilled my prayer in this Shrine, favored me, granted me a son and honored me there upon.”The author of this book (a.s.heikh Sadooq) said, “I asked Rokn ul-Dowleh - the ruler - for permission to go on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.). He issued the permit in the (Arabic) month of Rajab of the year 352 A.H. (962 A.D.), and handed it over to me. When I left there, he called me in and said, “This is a blessed Shrine which I have already visited. I asked God the Highest for my personal needs and He fulfilled all of them for me. I ask you not to forget to pray for me there, and that you visit Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) on my behalf, since indeed prayers would be fulfilled in that Shrine. Then I promised him that I would pray for him, and I fulfilled my promise. When I returned from that place (the Shrine) - may peace and greetings be upon its resident - and went to see him (Rukn ad-Dawla), he asked me, “Did you pray for me?” Then I said, “Yes.” Then he told me, “Excellent! Indeed it has been proven to me that prayers said in that Shrine are fulfilled.”

One dark night while I was sleeping in the attic of my house in my hometown Nowqan, I woke up and looked towards the region in which the Shrine of Ali ibn Musa Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) is located in Sanabad. Then I saw lights radiating from the Shrine towards the sky that had filled up the entire Shrine illuminating the whole area as if it was daytime. I was in doubt about the affairs of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.), and did not believe that he (a.s.) was right. My mother who opposed him too, told me, ‘O my son! What is the matter with you?’ Then I told her, ‘I see lights that are radiating from the Shrine towards the sky that have filled up the Shrine in Sanabad.’ Then my mother told me, ‘This is impossible. This is one of the acts of Satan.’”Muhammad ibn Umar Al-Nowqani also said, “On another night that was even darker than before, I saw a similar light and the Shrine was completely illuminated with that light. Then I informed my mother about this, and brought her to that place so that she could see the light with her own eyes which the Shrine was filled up. She glorified this, and started to praise God. She, however, did not believe as I did. Then I set out towards the Shrine, and found its door closed. Then I said to myself, ‘O my God! If the Divine Leadership of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) is genuine, then open this door.’ Then I pushed against the door with my hand and it opened up. Then I told myself, ‘Perhaps this door was not closed at all, and I have made a mistake.’Then I closed the door and made sure that it could only be opened with a key. Then I said, ‘O my God! If the Divine Leadership of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) is genuine, then open this door.’ Then I pushed against the door with my hand and it opened up again. I entered, visited the Shrine, said the pilgrimage prayers, and was enlightened about the Divine Leadership of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.). From then on, I went on pilgrimage to the Shrine from Nowqan (in the land of Khorasan) every Friday night and prayed near him (Ar-Ridha’’s (a.s.) tomb) up until the present.”