206. Nasim, The Servant Of Abu Muhammad
Nasim was the servant of Imam al-'Askari ('a), and was present at the time of the birth of Imam al-Mahdi ('aj).1 In some of the books on bibliographies she is listed as Nasim al-Khadim (the male servant) of Abu Muhammad, which would make it appear that she was a man and not a woman.2 However, close examination of the related tradition shows that the feminine subject pronoun was used proving that she was a woman.
She has related traditions from Imam al-Mahdi ('aj), and al-Sayyari has related traditions from her.
Shaykh al-Saduq based on his documents has related from al-Sayyari that he said, "Nasim and Mariyyah came to me and told me this tradition: When Imam al-Mahdi ('aj) was born he sat on his two knees and raised his pointer finger toward the sky. He sneezed and said, 'Praise and thanks be to God who is the Lord of the two worlds, and greetings upon Muhammad and his descendants. The oppressors have claimed that the being of the Proof of God (Hujjah) is illogical. If they give me a chance to speak, all doubt will be removed.'"3
Shaykh al-Saduq has said, "Ibrahim Ibn Muhammad Ibn 'Abdullah has said that Nasim, the servant of Abu Muhammad ('a), said, 'One night I came upon Imam al-Mahdi ('aj). When I sneezed, he said, 'May God bless you.'
Nasim said, 'I became happy from this and he told me: Would you like me to give you glad tidings about sneezing.' Then, she said, 'Yes, O my master?' He told her, 'Sneezing postpones death for three days.'"4
Shaykh al-Tusi has related a similar tradition from Nasim al-Khadim (the male servant).5 However, considering the fact that the feminine pronoun was used for these two people and that a male servant couldn't be present at the time of birth it may be concluded that Nasim was a female servant.
