This is a story told by the late interpreter of the Quran and Bible: Mohammed-Ali Hassan Al-Hilly happened to him when he was young, may be in the thirties of the last century:

" One day, I traveled from Hilla to Diwania [: two cities in Iraq, to the south of Baghdad, about seventy miles apart.] I stayed there for four days working as a photographer.


On the fifth day, I decided to return back to Hilla; so when I went to bed, I asked God to send for me someone to awaken me from sleep at half past nine p.m. [This was according to the Arabic timing calculated from sun-set time], i.e. two hours before dawn to go to the railway station and travel by train to Hilla; the train leave Diwania about ten o'clock p.m.; so that I would have one hour from my awaking until the departure of the train, and it would be enough time because Diwania station was near to the city. [ I think this story happened about the year 1935, or few years before or after – the translator.]

Then I slept in 'Al-Bahrany Hotel', to awake few hours later from sleep. There wasn't in that room anybody other than I;

I asked myself :"I don't know what's the time now!"; I didn't know was it late so that it was morning time, or was it early so that I can return to sleep again. I said these words with myself, but my lips moved slightly so that if a person puts his ears on my mouth, he cannot hear that from me, and it was inspired into my mind that the time was 9.25 p.m.

This was just as if there was somebody beside me and he told me the time; his words were fixed in my mind, I understood them, and recognized the direction of the speech too, and I would not forget the talking was inspired into me from the right side, i.e. from the direction of the middle of the room, not from its wall direction.

I went on repeating those words with my tongue saying: "twenty-five minutes past nine", but I didn't hear to those words any voice, but only they were inspired into my mind with an inspiration,

so that I astonished of that and said to myself: "Who is a one who knew what I thought with myself, so that he answered me about it?"

Therefore, he answered me about that and I understood from that inspiring person that he said: "I am your brother Salih!"

So my astonishment increased furthermore, and I lifted my head from the pillow, and turned my face right and left; but I did not find anyone in the room other than myself.

But I didn't bother myself with his talking and his saying: "I am your brother Salih!"; but in stead I said to myself that my brother had died when he was seven years old and was buried at Kerbala city, then how does he talk to me the while he is dead!? And how does he come to me at Diwania, the while he was buried at Kerbala?

Then, I got up from sleep, and picked my watch [: a pocket watch] from the pocket of my jacket, which was hanged on the wall beside me; I looked at it, and it was half past nine minus two minutes, so that three minutes of time had passed, i.e. from the moment when my brother told me the time until I saw the watch; so that the time was exactly as did he tell me with no increment or decrease of even one minute; therefore, that added more to my astonishment.

Many other questions came to my mind, and I wished that he might answer me about them, but I did not hear from him any answer, and that was, as I think, because the air in the room started to move and wave because of the movements and coughing that I did. So that his talking stopped and I did not understand anything more from him for this reason.

I say: No doubt that God - be exalted – sent to me the soul of my brother to awaken me from sleep as an answer to my prayer and supplication; then when my brother awakened me and heard my question about the time, he answered me about it and acquainted me about the time. Then when he heard me asking about who was the talking person, he answered me: "I am your brother Salih!"

After that, I got up, wore my clothes and went to the station, and I took the train and returned to Hilla.

I say that my brother Salih did not come from the city of Kerbala to Diwania at that time, but I think that he descended from heaven, and God - be exalted – sent him to awaken me, as had I asked from Him.

Moreover, as regards the children of the faithful, after their death, the angels take them to Paradise, and they do not stay upon the earth except those who exceeded ten years of age.

This is confirmed by the observations that I saw in the world of souls, when I fell down from a high place, and that has been mentioned in this book under the title of Was it death or fainting?:
and I saw my sister, in our house, whose age had been twelve years. I saw also my uncle Ali who had been a young man,

but I did not see my little brothers in the house, who died before my birth; because the angels had taken them to Paradise; specially, my brother Salih who had been seven years old [when he had died], and who prayed, sometimes during his Worldly life], but his prayer was not by reciting the opening soora[2], but he complained to God his needs; because he was an orphan, and there was none to give him the toys, clothes and other things that he liked. Therefore, no doubt that God - be exalted – gave him what he wished, but in Paradise."

[ How can souls inspire us? ]