Abu Talib Al-Husayn ibn Abdullah ibn Banan Al-Ta’ee narrated that he had heard Muhammad ibn Umar Al-Nowqani say, “One dark night while I was sleeping in the attic of my house in my hometown Nowqan, I woke up and looked towards the region in which the Shrine of Ali ibn Musa Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) is located in Sanabad. Then I saw lights radiating from the Shrine towards the sky that had filled up the entire Shrine illuminating the whole area as if it was daytime. I was in doubt about the affairs of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.), and did not believe that he (a.s.) was right. My mother who opposed him too, told me, ‘O my son! What is the matter with you?’ Then I told her, ‘I see lights that are radiating from the Shrine towards the sky that have filled up the Shrine in Sanabad.’ Then my mother told me, ‘This is impossible. This is one of the acts of Satan.’”

Muhammad ibn Umar Al-Nowqani also said, “On another night that was even darker than before, I saw a similar light and the Shrine was completely illuminated with that light. Then I informed my mother about this, and brought her to that place so that she could see the light with her own eyes which the Shrine was filled up. She glorified this, and started to praise God. She, however, did not believe as I did. Then I set out towards the Shrine, and found its door closed. Then I said to myself, ‘O my God! If the Divine Leadership of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) is genuine, then open this door.’ Then I pushed against the door with my hand and it opened up. Then I told myself, ‘Perhaps this door was not closed at all, and I have made a mistake.’

Then I closed the door and made sure that it could only be opened with a key. Then I said, ‘O my God! If the Divine Leadership of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) is genuine, then open this door.’ Then I pushed against the door with my hand and it opened up again. I entered, visited the Shrine, said the pilgrimage prayers, and was enlightened about the Divine Leadership of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.). From then on, I went on pilgrimage to the Shrine from Nowqan (in the land of Khorasan) every Friday night and prayed near him (Ar-Ridha’’s (a.s.) tomb) up until the present.”

 Abu Talib Al-Husayn ibn Abdullah ibn Banan Al-Ta’ee narrated that he had heard Aba Mansoor ibn Abdul Razzaq ask the ruler of Toos known as Al-Biwardi, “Do you have any children?” He replied, “No.” Then Aba Mansoor asked him, “Why don’t you go to the Shrine of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) to pray to God near his tomb, and ask that God grant you a son. I have asked God the Highest for many of my needs there, and they have been fulfilled.” Then the ruler said, “I set out for the Shrine - may peace be upon its resident (Imam Ridha’) - and prayed to God near Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.)’s tomb and asked God to grant me a son. Then God the Honorable the Exalted granted me a son. Then I went to Aba Mansoor and informed him that God the Highest had fulfilled my prayer in this Shrine, favored me, granted me a son and honored me there upon.”

 (Sheikh Sadooq) said, “I asked Rokn ul-Dowleh - the ruler - for permission to go on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.). He issued the permit in the (Arabic) month of Rajab of the year 352 A.H. (962 A.D.), and handed it over to me. When I left there, he called me in and said, “This is a blessed Shrine which I have already visited. I asked God the Highest for my personal needs and He fulfilled all of them for me. I ask you not to forget to pray for me there, and that you visit Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) on my behalf, since indeed prayers would be fulfilled in that Shrine. Then I promised him that I would pray for him, and I fulfilled my promise. When I returned from that place (the Shrine) - may peace and greetings be upon its resident - and went to see him (Rukn ad-Dawla), he asked me, “Did you pray for me?” Then I said, “Yes.” Then he told me, “Excellent! Indeed it has been proven to me that prayers said in that Shrine are fulfilled.”

Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Al-Husayn al-Dhabbi was a Nasibite1. He was extremely biased and I had never met anyone more biased than him before. He used to say, “O God! Blessings be upon Muhammad (a.s.) alone.” He refused to send blessings upon the Members of the Prophet’s Holy Household. He narrated that he had heard from Aba Bakr al-Hammamy al-Farra’ - one of the tradition narrators - in a place called Sekkat el-Harb in Neishaboor in Khorasasn - the following, “Someone had entrusted me with some property which I buried in the ground. Later on, I forgot where I had buried that property. I was confused and did not know what to do. The property’s owner accused me of having stolen it. Then I left my house in grief wondering what to do. I saw a group of people who were traveling towards the Shrine of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.). Then I went to Mashhad along with them, and prayed to God the Honorable the Exalted to help me remember where I had buried what was entrusted to my care. Then when I was there I had a dream. I saw someone come and tell me, “You buried what you were entrusted with in such and such a location.” Then I returned to the property owner and directed him towards the location I had seen in my dream, while I did not myself believe in what I had dreamt. Then the property owner set out for that location, dug up the ground, and found his property still sealed up as he had done so when he had given it to me. From then on, the owner of the property used to express this experience to the people and encourage them to visit the Shrine in Mashhad - may greetings and peace be upon its resident (Imam Ridha’).

Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn Abil Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Al-Fadhl al-Tamim al-Harawi - may God forgive him - narrated that he had heard Abal Hassan Ali ibn Al-Hassan al-Qohestani say, “I was in Marvrood where I met an Egyptian man called Hamza who was traveling there. He told me that he had left Egypt to go on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.) in Toos. He arrived there at sunset. He had visited the Shrine and said his prayers while no one else was visiting there. After saying his evening prayer, the Shrine servant decided to tell him to leave the Shrine and lock the door. Then Abal Hassan Ali asked the Shrine servant to let him stay there overnight to pray and lock him in the Shrine. Since he had come from a distant town, it was not necessary to have him leave the Shrine. Then the servant left him in there and locked the door. Abal Hassan Ali prayed there alone until late at night when he got tired.

Abu Ali Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Mo’athi al-Neishaboori narrated that Abul Hassan Ali ibn Ahmad ibn Ali al-Basri al-Mo’addil said, “One of the good-doers saw the Prophet of God (a.s.) in his dream. He asked the Prophet (S), ‘O Prophet of God! Which of your offspring should I go to visit?’ The Prophet (S) said, ‘A few of my descendants who have been poisoned have come to me. Also a few of my offspring who have been murdered have come to me.’ Then he asked the Prophet (S), ‘O Prophet of God! Given the great distances between their shrines (or locations), which one of them do you recommend me to go and visit?’ The Prophet (S) said, ‘Visit the one who is closest to you - that is whom you are near to and is buried in the land of loneliness.’ Then he asked the Prophet (S), ‘O Prophet of God! Do you mean Ar-Ridha’ (a.s.)?’ God’s Prophet (S) said, ‘Say: God’s Blessings be upon him. Say: God’s blessings be upon him three times.’”