On the Reward of Visiting the Shrine of Imam Ali ibn Musa Ar-Ridha عليه السلام

66-35 Ahmad ibn Ziyad ibn Ja’far al-Hamazani - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashem quoted on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abdul Salam ibn Saleh al-Harawi, “I heard De’bel ibn Ali al-Khoza’ee say, ‘I recited this poem for my Master Ar-Ridha’ عليه السلام which starts with:The schools for the Qur’anic verses are void of reciting nowand the landing site of revelations is left like a barren desert!Then I reached the following verses:A Divine Leader shall rise - surely he is to riseIn God’s name and His Blessing he shall riseHe will distinguish between right and wrong for usHe will reward the good-doers and the bad-doers he shall chastise.Then Ar-Ridha’ عليه السلام cried hard. He عليه السلام raised up his head towards me and said, ‘O De’bel Khoza’ee! It was the Holy Spirit who made these verses flow out from your tongue. Do you know who that Divine Leader is? When will he rise?’Then De’bel said, ‘No my Master! I have only heard that a Divine Leader from your progeny shall rise and cleanse the earth of corruption. He shall fill it with justice.’Then the Imam عليه السلام said, ‘O De’bel! The Divine Leader coming after me is my son Muhammad; then after Muhammad his son Ali; then his son Hassan; and then his son al-Hujjat the Riser the Awaited one (Imam al-Mahdi) who will come during his absence (Ghayba). He will be obeyed when he appears. God shall prolong time even if there is only one day left for him to rise and fill the earth with justice, since it has been filled with oppression and injustice. But when will it be? This is like informing the people about the time of the arrival of the Resurrection Day. My father quoted on the authority of his father, on the authority of his forefathers, on the authority of Ali عليه السلام who narrated that God’s Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم was asked, ’O Prophet of God! When shall the Riser who is from your progeny rise?’ The Prophet صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم replied, ‘The similitude of that is like the similitude of the Hour (of Resurrection), ‘None but He can reveal as to when it will occur. Heavy were its burden through the heavens and the earth. Only, all of a sudden will it come to you.’”