The 15th of Shaʻbān marks the birthday of the living Imām, Imām al-Ḥujjah b. al-Ḥasan (may Allah hasten his reappearance). Some of the titles of the twelfth Imām are Baqīyatullah (whom Allah has kept alive as a source of mercy and benefit), al-Mahdi (the guided), al-Muntaẓar (the awaited), and al-Qā’im (who stands / uprises [for truth]).
Lady Ḥakīmah, the sister of Imām al-Hādi (a), narrates that one night her nephew Imām al-ʻAskarī (a) came to her and said, “O aunt! Come and spend the night with us, for surely tonight someone who is distinguished in the eyes of Allah, the Powerful and Sublime, will be born. Through him Allah will give life to the Earth after its death.”
Ḥakīmah said “From whom (will he be born) O my master? I don’t see any signs of pregnancy on Narjis!” The Imām said, “From Narjis and no one else.” Ḥakīmah inspected Imām al-ʻAskari’s wife Narjis and when she did not see any signs of pregnancy on her she again repeated this to the Imām. He smiled and said, “When the time of daybreak comes you will see the signs of pregnancy on her. Her example is like the example of the mother of Mūsā; there were no signs of pregnancy on her and no one knew of her situation until the time of birth…”
So Ḥakīmah spent the night at the house of Imām al-ʻAskarī and Narjis. She ate ifṭār and slept the night there. Every hour, she would wake up and check on Narjis. However, there were no signs. Ḥakīmah also spent a good portion of the night engaged in prayer. As the time of daybreak approached, she noticed that Narjis was becoming anxious. At the instruction of Imām al-ʻAskari (a), she began to read sūrah al-qadr. Much to Ḥakīmah’s surprise, the baby who was in the womb of Narjis said salām to her and began to read the sūrah as well!
A short while later, Imām al-Ḥujjah was born. When Imām al-ʻAskarī (a) held him for the first time he said, “O my dear son! Speak by the power of Allah.” Imām al-Ḥujjah said:
أَعُوذُ بِاللَّـهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ. بِسْمِ اللَّـهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ وَنُرِيدُ أَن نَّمُنَّ عَلَى الَّذِينَ اسْتُضْعِفُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنَجْعَلَهُمْ أَئِمَّةً وَنَجْعَلَهُمُ الْوَارِثِينَ. وَنُمَكِّنَ لَهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَنُرِيَ فِرْعَوْنَ وَهَامَانَ وَجُنُودَهُمَا مِنْهُم مَّا كَانُوا يَحْذَرُونَ.
I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shayṭān. In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. And We desired to bestow a favor upon those who were deemed weak in the land, and to make them the Imams, and to make them the heirs, And to grant them power in the land, and to make Firon and Haman and their hosts see from them what they feared. (28:5-6)