Narjis (a): Difference between revisions

'''Narjis''' (Arabic: نرجس ) is the name of [[Imam Hasan al-'Askari (a)]]'s wife. She was the mother of [[Imam Mahdi (a)]]. She was also called: Malika, Rayhana and Susan.

[[Mas'udi]] is the first historian who has reported about the mother of Imam Mahdi (a). According to his report, Imam Mahdi's (a) mother was a slave woman named Narjis. [[Al-Shaykh al-Tusi]] narrated a [[hadith]] which says that her name was Rayhana but it follows that she was also called Narjis, Sayqal and Susan.

[[Al-Shahid al-Thani]] has reported from an unknown source that she was Maryam bt. Zayd al-'Alawiyya.

It is possible that her original name was Narjis and the other name except for Sayqal was given to her by her mistress, Hakima, the daughter of [[Imam al-Jawad (a)]]. People of that time called their servants by various names for optimism. Narjis, Rayhana and Susan are all flower names(daffodil, basil and lily).

The first narration about her nationality goes back to [[286]]/899. [[Al-Shaykh al-Saduq]] is the first scholar who brought up this topic. According to this narration, she was a Christian from Roman Empire who was captured by Muslims. Nakhkhas –one of the companions of [[Imam al-Hadi (a)]]- bought her from the slave market in [[Baghdad]] and sent her to Imam Hadi (a) in [[Samarra]].

However, this narration loses its authenticity afterward and looks more like a fairy tale. It continues that the mother of 12th Imam was Malika bt. Yusha' the grand-daughter of Caesar from his daughter, and her mother was a descendant of Simon, the disciple of [[Jesus (a)]]. When Malika was in his grand-father's palace, she dreamed [[Mary]], Jesus's mother, and [[Lady Fatima (a)]], the Prophet's (s) daughter. Lady Fatima (a) invited her to embrace [[Islam]] and convinced her to let herself to be captured by Muslims.

First, there was no major conflict between [[Abbasid]] and Romans after [[242]]/856 and there is no report in the sources that the Roman Emperor asked Abbasid to free her grand-daughter.

Second, early authors such as [[Qumi]], [[Nawbakhti]], [[al-Kulayni]] and [[Mas'udi]] who were contemporaneous with [[Shaybani]] (the narrator of the hadith) did not mention this hadith in their works. Also, [[Kashshi]], who was acquainted with Shaybani, asserts that he was from [[Ghulat]].

Third, al-Kulayni reported that Imam Mahdi's (a) mother was a slave woman from [[Nawba]], northern province of [[Sudan]].

Additionally, [[al-Nu'mani]] and [[al-Saduq]] have narrated other hadiths which say that she was a black slave woman.

But why later Shi'a scholars ignored these hadiths and believed that Shaybani's hadith is authentic? It is possible that it was because Shaybani's hadith implies that Imam Mahdi's (a) mother was from a noble family with a high social rank.

Also, the relation between Imam Mahdi (a) and Jesus (a) in this hadith fascinated them, because there are some hadiths from the Prophet (s) which imply that they both rise up together and save the world from injustice and tyranny.

According to the three previously mentioned points, one can reject Shaybani's hadith; although [[al-Shaykh al-Tusi]] and [[Ibn Rustam al-Tabari]] authenticated it.

Apparently, [[al-Shaykh al-Mufid]] has narrated a [[sahih]] hadith about the mother of Imam Mahdi (a). He narrated: "she was a slave women who was brought up in the house of Hakima, Imam Hadi's sister, and when Imam (a) saw her face, foretold that she will bear a child by the special blessing of God."

According to al-Shaykh al-Saduq, she passed away before her husband, Imam 'Askari (a), in [[260]]/874. But according to [[al-Najashi]], she was alive after this year and hid in the house of  [[Muhammad b. Ali b. Hamza]] who was a close companion of Imam 'Askari (a).