Story No. 480 – Imam Mehdi (a.t.f.s.) and Allamah Shaikh Muqaddas Ardebeli (a.r.)

Many people have been graced with the opportunity to meet Imam-e-Zamana (as) in person. Following are the two examples:

Allamah Shaikh Muqaddas Ardebeli (a.r.) was an illustrious Shia scholar. It is well known about him that whenever he used to encounter a difficult problem which he was unable to solve, he used to go to the tomb of Ameerul Momineen, Imam Ali ibne Abi Talib (as) and present his problem. Imam Ali (as), invariably provided the solution.

One of the students of Allamah Shaikh Muqaddas Ardebeli (a.r.) who was following his teacher closely states: “It was near midnight when being tired of studying, I was strolling in the courtyard of the shrine of Ameerul Momineen, Imam Ali ibne Abi Talib (as). In the luminous night, when all the doors of the sanctum were locked, I saw a person coming towards the tomb of Ameerul Momineen, Imam Ali ibne Abi Talib (as). For a moment, I thought that it was a thief who intended to commit a robbery. I followed him.

But when he reached the main door, to my utter amazement, the door swung open and the padlock opened by itself in welcome. He continued to move towards the grave and whenever he neared a door, it opened by itself till he entered the sanctum of Ameerul Momineen, Imam Ali ibne Abi Talib (as) in a grand manner. He stood there and saluted Ameerul Momineen, Imam Ali ibne Abi Talib (as). He received the reply to his salutations and commenced the conversation. When the dialogue ended, he emerged and headed towards the mosque of Kufa.

I followed him in order to get to the bottom of the mystery. When he reached the mosque of Kufa, he entered the Mihrab (niche of prayers where the Imam stands) and began to converse with someone in a subdued voice. After the conversation was over, he came out of the mosque and walked back to Najaf al-Ashraf. It was almost dawn when he was near the gate of the twin city. Suddenly, I felt like sneezing and though I tried my best to suppress it, I could not. The person ahead of me turned around and came towards me. On a closer look, I recognized him to be my honorable teacher, the great scholar Allamah Shaikh Muqaddas Ardebeli (a.r.).

After conveying my salaam to him, I said, “From the time, you entered the Holy Mausoleum till now, I have been following you. I beg to know with whom were you talking at the mausoleum of Ameerul Momineen, Imam Ali ibne Abi Talib (as) and the mosque of Kufa?”

Allamah Shaikh Muqaddas Ardebeli (a.r.) first put me under an oath not to disclose this secret till he was alive. Then proceeded to tell me that whenever he came across a difficult problem in Islamic laws which he could not solve, he used to present this query to Ameerul Momineen, Imam Ali ibne Abi Talib (as) and obtain the solution for the same. Last night, Ameerul Momineen, Imam Ali ibne Abi Talib (as) directed me to contact Imam-e-Zamana (as) and said, “My son Mahdi (as) is at the Mosque of Kufa. He is the Imam of your time. Go to him and seek the solution of your problem.”

Obeying the order of Ameerul Momineen, Imam Ali ibne Abi Talib (as), I went to the mosque of Kufa and found Hazrat Imam-e-Zamana (as) standing in the Mihrab. I presented my problem to my Master and received the solution.