Hello beloved imam

Hello beloved imam

I am Mahdi, your Imam of the Time, the son of Imam Hasan
al-Askari and Lady Narjis. For nearly twelve centuries, I
have been hidden from sight, living in an unknown way
among people to stay safe from the harm of enemies.
During this period of my occultation, many books have
been written about me. Now, coinciding with my birthday,
middle of Sha’ban, a new and engaging book about me
has been published, offering a fresh perspective. In this
book, children speak to me, asking questions, and they
hear the answers directly from me. The book’s title is
beautiful: ‹Hello Beloved Imam›.

Text from the book Hello beloved imam

Dear Imam!

When and where were you born?

I was born on a Friday night, in the middle of the month of Sha’ban, in the year 255 AH,
in the city of Samarra in Iraq.
Samarra is a city in the north of Iraq, right next to the Tigris River. It’s one of the
oldest cities in Iraq! Back in the days of my great-grandfather Imam Hadi and my father
Imam Hassan Askari, Samarra was the capital of the Abbasid government.
Long before I was born, my dad lived in this city. The ruler then, Al-Mutawakkil, a notso-nice leader of the Abbasids, forced my great-grandpa Imam Hadi in the year 233 AH
to move from Medina to Samarra. Al-Mutawakkil wanted to keep Imam Hadi away from
his followers and keep an eye on what he was doing.
After my grandpa passed away in Samarra, my dad couldn’t go back to Medina. The
oppressive Abbasids made him stay in Samarra too, in a house in the military area of
the city, just like they did with Imam Hadi.
My dad also stayed in Samarra for the rest of his life. Both he and my grandpa are
buried in this city, and their graves are very special places there.

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