Articles/Submissions > Sayyada Narjis Khatoun

Sayyada Narjis Khatoun
By Azra

Ref:  Bihar Al- Anwar, Volume 51
The Book of Occultation
By Allamah Muhammad Baqir al Majlisi

A man stands at the slave market watching the buying and selling of slaves.  He observes a lady who has been brought to be sold.  This lady refuses to be seen or touched by the examiners.  Everyone wants to buy her but she refuses.  The slave dealer gets annoyed.  “I have to sell you”, he says.  The lady replies, “What is the rush?  There must be a buyer that my heart finds rest in and in his fidelity and honesty.”

At that moment, the man moves forward towards the slave dealer.  He tells the slave dealer that he has a letter from a man of nobility.  He asks the slave dealer to give the letter to the lady to see if she would be interested in being sold to the writer of the letter.  As soon as the lady sees the letter, she cries profusely and says to the slave dealer, “Sell me to the author of this letter”.  Price is negotiated and the lady is sold to the owner of the letter.

As the lady goes with the man, she takes out the letter from her pocket, kisses it, puts it on her eyes and places it on her cheeks.  The man is astonished and asks her, “You are kissing a letter you do not know who wrote it.”

Upon hearing this, the lady tells the man her story.  “I am Malika the daughter of Yashu’a, son of the Caesar of Rome.  My mother is from the descendents of the Disciples of Jesus (Hawariyin), and her lineage goes back to the successor of Jesus, Shamun.”

She continues with her story.  “My grandfather the Caesar wanted to marry me to his nephew when I was a girl of thirteen years of age.  So he gathered in his palace, three hundred priests and monks from the descendents of the Hawariyin, and from their men of stature seven hundred men.  He erected a throne from the dearest of his riches, which was adorned with varieties of jewels and was raised over forty steps.” 

However as soon as the nephew went to the throne, the crosses collapsed from the top and hit the ground.  The nephew became unconscious and then died.  The grandfather asked that the I be married to the brother of the groom.  However the same thing happened and the other nephew also died.  Everyone was distressed. 

The lady continues her story.  “in the same night, I saw in my dream that Jesus, Shamun, and a number of the Disciples had gathered at my grandfather’s palace.  They had installed there a pulpit of light that was defying heavens in height and elevation.  At this moment, Prophet Muhmmad(pbuh) and Imam Ali (a.s.) and many of his sons entered.  The Prophet then said to Jesus ‘O Ruhallah, I have come to you to propose to your sussessor Shamun for his daughter Malika for this son of mine, pointing towards Abu Muhammad (a.s.).’  Jesus looked at Shamun and said to him ‘The greatest honor has come to you.  Let your relation be bonded with the relation of the house of Muhammad (pbuh)’.  The lady said that she was then married in her dreams to the son of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).  She, however, could not tell this to her father or grandfather.  She then relates that her heart throbbed with the love of Abu Muhammad (a.s.) and she forsook eating and drinking and became really weak.  Her grandfather was very upset to see her condition and asked if there was anything that would bring her peace.  She asked him to stop torturing the muslim captives.  Her grandfather complied and she made an effort to show her happiness and started to eat.

The lady continued to narrate that she saw, in her dreams for 14 nights Sayyada Fatema (a.s.).  She asked why her husband did not come to visit her.  She was told that she needed to declare the shahada before her husband would visit her.  The lady said she declared the shahada and it was after that she started being visited by Abu Muhammad Imam Hasan Askary (a.s.). 

The man who had bought the lady was curious to find out how the lady found her way with the captives.

The lady told him that she was told by Abu Muhammad (a.s.) that her grandfather was going to dispatch an army to fight the Muslims, and that she should change her clothes and follow the servants.  No one knew she was the granddaughter of the Roman Caeser.  She hid her identity and called herself Narjis which was the name of one of the servants.
***
The man who had bought the lady was Bishr Ibn Sulayman who was asked by Abul Hasan, ImamAli An-Naqi (a.s.) to go to the market and buy this lady.  He was given the description of the lady, the letter and two hundred dinars which was the final price he negotiated with the seller.

The lady was no other than Sayyada Narjis Khatoun, the mother of our 12th Imam, Imam Al Mahdi (a.s.).

Bishr brought the lady to Samara (known as Surra Man Raa then).  When she was brought to the 10th Imam, one of the questions he asked her was “Which one is dearer to you, ten thousand dinars or a happy tiding of eternal grandeur?”  “Happy tidings of a son for me,” she said.  “Rejoice,” said the Imam, “the tidings of having a son who will rule the world, from the east to the west, and will fulfill the earth with equity and justice, as it will be filled with oppression and corruption.”  “From whom?” she asked.  “From the one for whom the Messenger of Allah proposed for you …to whom Jesus and his successor married you!”