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| Kazímayn, circa 1935 |
Every year, in the month of Dhi’l-Qádih, the Siyyid [Kazim] would
proceed from Karbilá to Kazímayn [1] in order to visit the shrines of the
imáms. He would return to Karbilá in time to visit, on the day of Árafih, the
shrine of the Imám Husayn. In that year, the last year of his life, he,
faithful to his custom, departed from Karbilá in the first days of the month of
Dhi’l-Qádih, in the year 1259 A.H., [November 23—December 23, 1843 A.D.] accompanied
by a number of his companions and friends. On the fourth day of that month he
arrived at the Masjid-i-Baratha, situated on the highway between Baghdád and
Kazímayn, in time to offer up his noonday prayer. He bade the Muadhdhin summon
the faithful to gather and pray. Standing beneath the shade of a palm which
faced the masjid, he joined the congregation, and had just concluded his
devotions when an Arab suddenly appeared, approached the Siyyid, and embraced
him.
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| Masjid-i-Baratha, circa 1935 |
“Three days ago,” he said, “I was shepherding my flock in
this adjoining pasture, when sleep suddenly fell upon me. In my dream I saw
Muhammad, the Apostle of God, who addressed me in these words: ‘Give ear, O
shepherd, to My words, and treasure them within your heart. For these words of
Mine are the trust of God which I commit to your keeping. If you be faithful to
them, great will be your reward. If you neglect them, grievous retribution will
befall you. Hear Me; this is the trust with which I charge you: Stay within the
precincts of the Masjid-i-Baratha. On the third day after this dream, a scion
of My house, Siyyid Kázim by name, will, accompanied by his friends and
companions, alight, at the hour of noon, beneath the shadow of the palm in the
vicinity of the masjid. There he will offer his prayer. As soon as your eyes
fall upon him, seek his presence and convey to him My loving greetings. Tell
him, from Me: “Rejoice, for the hour of your departure is at hand. When you
shall have performed your visits in Kazímayn and shall have returned to
Karbilá, there, three days after your return, on the day of Árafih, [December
31, 1843 A.D] you will wing your flight to Me. Soon after shall He who is the
Truth be made manifest. Then shall the world be illuminated by the light of His
face.”’”
A smile wreathed the countenance of Siyyid Kázim upon the
completion of the description of the dream related by that shepherd. He said:
“Of the truth of the dream which you have dreamt there is no doubt.” His
companions were sorely grieved. Turning to them, he said: “Is not your love for
me for the sake of that true One whose advent we all await? Would you not wish
me to die, that the promised One may be revealed?” This episode, in its
entirety, has been related to me by no less than ten persons, all of whom were
present on that occasion, and who testified to its accuracy. And yet many of
those who witnessed with their own eyes such marvellous signs have rejected the
Truth and repudiated His Message!
(Chapter 2, ‘The Dawn-Breakers’)
[1] The tombs of “the two Kázims,” the seventh Imám Músá
Kázim and the ninth Imám Muhammad-Taqí, about three miles north of Baghdád.
Around them has grown up a considerable town, inhabited chiefly by Persians,
known as “Kazímayn.”
