On 16th Jamadi ul-Awwal 97 A.H. in Karbala, Aga Abd ul-Rasool. caretaker of the shrine of His Eminence, Abbas ('a), narrated: Some years ago, late Hajj Abd ul-Rasool Risalat Shirazi from Tehran informed through telegram that Aga Nasir Rahbari, dean of agricultural university, Tehran was arriving there for Ziyarat and he should be given all facilities during his stay in Karbala.

After some days, I was informed at my house that some Iranian pilgrims were searching for me. When I went to the car, I saw that there was a gentleman and a lady with him. The lady emerged from the car and explained to me slowly that the man was her husband, Aga Rahbari, who was unwell since a long time. The joints of his backbone had dried up and he was in the hospital since last eight years, but now the doctors have given up and the hospital has also declared that his malady was incurable and he was not going to live for long.

She said: We have come here to seek cure.

He was not able to move on his own, so two porters were hired; they put their hands below his arms and took him into the house. His chest and back were strapped with iron instruments and they could take him only one step at a time and that also very slowly.

He looked up, glanced at the dome and asked: Is that the tomb of Imam Husayn ('a) or the Moon of the Hashemites? I said: Moon of the Hashemites. He beseeched with a broken heart and teary eyes: Master, I have no standing in the court of Imam Husayn ('a), please request your brother, Husayn (‘a) to recommend to the Almighty that if my life is over, I should die here only, under your shade and if life is left, please assure that I don't return in same condition that enemies should be pleased and that they should try to cure me.

An eight-year-old child of his was also with him. He was also weeping, wailing and saying: O Moon of Hashemites, I am about to be orphaned. I attended your mourning programs (Majalis Aza) and used to gather tea cups; please cure my father.

Later the guest said: Take me to the holy tomb, so that I may perform the Ziyarat (visitation). I said that was not possible in such circumstances, but he did not agree and we took him to the two shrines in that same condition. It took around four hours to and fro and after that I laid him on a platform at my house. He was unable to move on his own; others were supposed to tum his sides.

The following day he asked me to take him to Najaf. We carried out his request with utmost difficulty, but he was unable to go inside the sanctuary. He recited the Ziyarat from outside. After that I brought him back to Karbala. Now, he asked me to take him to Kazmain and Samarrah. I said that there was mortal risk in that due to the stress of journey.

He said: If I have to die in any case, I should do so after visiting the holy places. I sent him there somehow. On return, his wife narrated:

After coming out of Samarrah, the driver asked: Would you like to perform the Ziyarat of Imamzadeh Sayyid Muhammad [son of Imam Hadi ('a)] also?

[During those days the grave of that holy personality was situated at some distance from the tarred road, and the unpaved road was very uneven.]

Aga Rahbari said: Take me there. So we performed the Ziyarat with great trouble. On the way back, an Arab gentleman in a green turban stopped the car and started speaking to the driver in Arabic and the driver also replied in the same language. Aga Rahbari asked: What is this gentleman saying? He replied: He is asking for a lift till the tarred road, but I told him that the car was reserved and I am not supposed to take other passengers. Aga Rahbari said: Take him abroad. He climbed on the front seat and greeted the occupants.

On the way, Aga Rahbari wept and wailed, saying: O Master of the Age! The Arab asked: What do you want from the Imam? I (Mrs. Rahbari) explained the problem. He said: Come to me. He replied: I cannot move. After that he tried and was able to move near.

The Sayyid stretched his hand and passed it over the joints of his backbone and said: If Allah wills you would be cured. This gave us fresh hope. I said: Aga. we would like to gift you something. He said: All right. I said: What is your name? He replied: Sayyid Abdullah (servant of God). Aga Rahbari asked: Where do you live, so that I may send it to you by post? He said: It does not reach us through post. Whatever you wish to gift me should be given to whomsoever you meet.

When we came to the main road, he said: Stop here. When he was alighting, he said: Aga Rahbari; today is Thursday and the Almighty Allah has guaranteed acceptance of supplication under the tomb of my grandfather, Imam Husayn ('a) and reposed cure in the clay of his grave. Go to his grave tonight and convey my message to him. He said: Sure, I will do that. Say: O Imam Husayn ('a), your son has prayed for me, please say: Amen. Then the Sayyid gentleman departed. When my husband regained his composure, he asked: Who was that gentleman? He also told the driver to see where he has gone. The driver searched everywhere. but in vain.

Thus, Aga Sayyid Abd ul-Rasool said: We took him to the shrine of Imam Husayn ('a) that same night and he was praying again and again:

Master, I just want an 'Amen' from you, because this is what your son said; and his condition was such that all those who were near him, were weeping at his condition. Then we brought him back to the house and laid him on the platform. Since he was absolutely exhausted from the journey, his condition worsened.

Before the Morning call for prayer, I was asleep when the maidservant called me from outside the room. I came out and asked what the matter was. She said: Come and see the spectacle; Aga Rahbari is reciting Prayer.

I was astonished and when I peeped through the glass, I saw him standing on the carpet, reciting the Prayer. I asked his wife about the matter and she said: At dawn, he called out to me to get water for ablution. I said that since he was unwell, he would not be able to perform ablution. He said: Imam Husayn ('a) has told in my dream that Almighty Allah has cured me. I should get up and pray. I also perceived strength in myself.

So I brought the water and he arose without any problem and performed ablution. Then he asked for the prayer mat. I said: Pray in the sitting position. He said: Since the Imam has informed, I can certainly pray in the standing position. Untie these metal straps from my chest and back. I was compelled by his persuasion and untied him. After that as you can see, he is engrossed in prayers.

I entered and embraced him and we started crying in thankfulness to the Almighty Allah.

Then we sent a telegram of good news to Tehran. Some relatives of his arrived and in full health, he performed the Ziyarat of Syria and then returned to Tehran and till date he is present over there in perfect health. After his recovery, he performed the Ziyarat of Karbala a number of times and once performed the Hajj pilgrimage also.

It seems that the Sayyid gentleman, who met them on way to the tomb of Sayyid Muhammad, was an unknown man, an Abdal [a confidante of Imam Mahdi ('a)] or a righteous servant of the Almighty Allah, who was appointed for the task of giving hope to the despairing patient and that others may get an opportunity to gain lesson from this incident.

The first point is that one should never fall into despair due to delay in acceptance of supplication.

Secondly, as narrated from Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq ('a): One should have confidence that supplication is accepted below the dome of Imam Husayn ('a).

Moreover, one should consider making a vow for the Almighty A llah to be a preferable act.