Story No. 458 – Some Foreseen Events in the life of Nargis Khatoon (sa)

Shaikh Tabarsi, one of the great scholars and traditionists of the fifth century, in his book titled Al-Gaiba (Seclusion ) reported Bishr Al-Ansari (a servant of 10th Imam, Imam Ali Al-Naqi (as)) as saying that one day, Imam Ali Al-Naqi (as) called him and said: “O’ Bishr, you are from the Ansars (inhabitants of Madina who believed in and supported Prophet Mohammad (SAW) when he migrated from Makkah to Madina in the early years of Islam) who have always been our loyal and our trustworthy through generations, therefore I want to exalt you and chasten you with the honor of carrying out a furtive mission.”

Bishr Al-Ansari said that he became very anxious as Imam Ali Al-Naqi (as) wrote a letter in Roman language, closed it and affixed his seal on it. Then he took out a yellow bundle containing 220 golden Dinars. Imam Ali Al-Naqi (as) handed me the gold bundle and the letter telling me to go to Baghdad and to be near the crossing of Euphrates there in the morning of so and so day. Imam Ali Al-Naqi (as) said: “when you see the arrival of ships with many captive women brought in for sale as slave girls, stay put as various panders for the Abbasid and a number of young Arab buyers gather around. Watch from distance a slave trader by the name of Umar bin Yazid Al-Nakhas, until he brings out a slave girls wearing silk and looks so and so. She will refuse to take the veil off her face, she will decline to show herself off or even let anyone touch her. She will cry out in Roman language to save her chastity from being attacked.”

Imam Ali Al-Naqi (as) added: “One buyer will admire her chastity and offers the salve trader 300 Dinars to buy her from him. She will say to him: I have no desire for you even if you wore King Solomon’s clothes and owned a kingdom like his, so do not waste your money on me. The slave trader will say to her: What’s the idea? You are to be sold anyhow. She would reply: Why the hurry? I will choose a buyer whom my heart likes and accepts his loyalty and honesty. Then you approach the slave trader and tell him that you have a letter from a nobleman written in Roman language and inscription describing his generosity, loyalty, benevolence and noblesse. Show her this letter, and that if she tends to accept the vices of the writer, then you could buy her for him.”