The repentance of the thief

One night I have got the honor of offering the prayer in holy Qum behind the great scholar and the lofty knowledgeable, the teacher of ethics the deceased Hajji Redha Baha’uddeeni. After the prayer I said to this great scholar, “I am in need of your advice and precious words.” He said, “Let your hope be in Allah the Generous, the ever abundant giver. He does not prevent anyone from His care and mercy. He Himself prepares the ground and the means for the guidance and deliverance of His people.” Then he mentioned to me a wonderful event narrated by a caravanner from Urumiya (north of Iran) who brought with him a caravan of pilgrims and travelers to holy Mashhad every year. The caravanner said, “Traveling by cars has recently started. A traveler at that time put his baggage with him in the same place where he sat because the cars then were trucks. Travelers sat in the place of baggage and furniture and beside them they accumulated their baggage.
In one of the travels to visit the holy shrine of Imam ar-Ridha’ (as) there were thirty travelers with me in the car. Our travel was decided to be at the beginning of the following week. I saw Imam ar-Ridha’ (as) in my sleep. He said to me with special kindness and love, “Bring with you in this travel Ibraheem the thief who steals the pockets of people.” I awoke astonishedly. I thought about the reason that had made Imam ar-Ridha’ (as) ask me to bring this dissolute man who was famous of debauchery and whose fame among people was too bad. I thought that this dream was just one of the confused and untrue dreams. In the following night I saw the same dream but nevertheless I paid no attention to it. In the third night, I saw in my sleep Imam ar-Ridha’ (as) who was angry. He said to me angrily, “Why did you not do what I have ordered you?”
On Friday I went to the quarter in which the wicked and dissolute people often gathered. I saw this Ibraheem among them. I went near him and greeted him. I invited him to visit the holy shrine of Imam ar-Ridha’ (as). He became astonished and said to me, “The shrine of Imam Ridha’ (as) is not fit to be visited by those who are polluted with sins. There are many pious and pure lovers. Please exempt me from this travel.” I insisted on him but he did not accept. Then he said to me sharply and angrily, “I do not have the cost of travel. In fact, I have just thirty Rials and I have got them illegally. I have stolen them from a poor old woman.” I said to him, “I do not want any fare from you for this travel. I am responsible for your going and coming. You are my guest in this travel.” Atlast, he agreed to come with me to Mashhad. It was decided that the caravan would set out on Sunday.
We set out and our travel began. All the travelers were astonished at the presence of Ibraheem, the thief, among them but no one of them dared to ask such a question.
The car moved with all these travelers and their baggage to cross along earthy way through mountains and valleys. We arrived near Zaydar. It was unsafe area and it was the place of the Turkmen highwaymen. Suddenly we saw that the way was closed by one of the wicked highwaymen. The car stopped and the highway man got on. He shouted at the travelers, “Throw all the money you have in this bag and do not try to resist because definitely you will be killed.”
He took all the monies the driver and the travelers had and left the car. The car moved and after several hours it reached Zaydar. It stopped in front of a café. The travelers got down and sat at the side of the way shadowed by a cloud of sorrow and pain because of what they had faced. The unhappiest one among them was the driver who said, “No money remained with me at all. I do not have even the price of gasoline and the spending of the car; therefore it is too difficult for us to arrive at our destination.” Then he burst into tears because of distress. But suddenly and before the astonished eyes of the travelers Ibraheem, the thief, got up and took a pouch of money out of his pocket and said to the driver, “How much money did the highwayman take from you?” The driver mentioned a certain amount and Ibraheem paid him that amount. Then Ibraheem came to the travelers one by one and gave them the stolen monies and then nothing remained in the pouch except thirty rials. Ibraheem said, “These thirty rials are what have been taken from me.” The all became astonished and asked Ibraheem where he had brought this money from. He answered, “I was standing near the door of the car. When the highwayman took the money from the travelers and put it in his pocket, he became certain that he had succeeded. When he wanted to leave the car, I stole the pouch from his pocket. He got down without feeling anything. The car moved quickly to be far away from that place until we arrived here. This is your money which has been stolen from you.”
The caravanner went on his speech saying, “I cried loudly. Ibraheem said, “I brought your money back to you. Why are you crying now?” I told him about what I have seen in my dream and said to him, “Now I understand why Imam ar-Ridha’ (as) insisted on me to bring you with us. He wanted to save us from the danger by you.” When Ibraheem heard this, his condition changed strongly and he burst into crying. He kept on that until we arrived at holy Mashhad and the golden dome of the holy shrine appeared to us. There he said, “Tie my neck and hands with chains and pull me in this manner to the holy shrine.” When we got down of the car, we carried out his saying and pulled him in this manner to the holy shrine. He was in a wonderful state of humbleness and submission during our movement to the holy shrine. He repented in a wonderful repentance. He threw the money of that unknown old woman in the holy shrine (asalms). He beseeched Imam ar-Ridha’ (as) to intercede with Allah for him to forgive his sins. The travelers envied him his guidance and blessing. Our travel came to an end with the utmost happiness and delight and we all came back to Urumiya except that repentant one who remained to reside in the holy shrine.”