To be Grouped with Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.)
Hakam ibn Utaybah: I was in Imam al-Baqir's(A.S.) presence and his room was packed with visitors. Suddenly an old man leaning on his walking stick came in and said: Peace be upon you! O son of the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.), May Allah's bounties and mercy be upon you! And he remained silent. Imam al-Baqir (A.S.) replied: Peace be upon you and may Allah's bounties and mercy be upon you too.
Then the old man faced the crowd in the room and said: Peace be upon you all and remained silent. Till all who were present greeted him back. Then he turned to Imam al-Baqir(A.S.) and said: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.)! May I be sacrificed to you! Let me sit close to you, because I love you and I love those who love you, and I swear to Allah that I do not love you and your followers out of a desire for worldly gains. I swear to Allah I hate your enemies and I swear to Allah that this hatred and reluctance is not the result of hatred and animosity between me and them. I swear to Allah I consider lawful whatever you consider lawful, and I consider unlawful whatever you consider unlawful, and I wait for your order: May I be sacrificed to you! Do you have any hope for my salvation in such conditions? Imam al-Baqir (A.S.) said: Come closer! Come closer! And asked him to sit next to himself and then said: O Sheikh (old man): Once a man came to Ali ibn al-Husayn(A.S.) and asked my father a question as yours. My father told him: When you depart from this world, you shall meet the Messenger of Allah (S.A.W.) and Ali (A.S.), al-Hasan(A.S.) and al-Husayn(A.S.). Your heart shall be filled with joy and shall be soothed and you shall have clear visions, and when your breath reaches here- the Imam pointed to his throat-the noble writers [Kiram al-Katibin] will welcome you warmly and enthusiastically, and if you remain alive, you shall see something [the advent of Qa'im(A.S.) and the government of Ahl al-Bayt(A.S.)] by which Allah shall light up your life and shall be of the highest rank with us.
The old man said: What did you say O Imam Abu Ja'far? And he repeated what he had said before. The old man said: Allah is the greatest, O Abu Ja'far! When I leave this world will I see Ali (A.S.), al-Hasan(A.S.) Messenger of Allah(S.A.W.) and Ali ibn al-Husayn(A.S.); and will I be with al-Husayn(A.S.) and my heart be soothed and when my breath reaches here the Noble Writer welcome me, and if I remain alive will I witness something which lights up my life and will be at the highest status along with you ?! At this time the old man started to weep and fell on the ground. Those who were present started to weep loudly. Imam al-Baqir(A.S.) wiped the tears from the eyelids of the old man with his own hand.
The old man then raised his head and said to Imam al-Baqir(A.S.): O son of the Messenger of Allah(S.A.W.); may I be sacrificed to you! Give me your hand. The Imam stretched his hand. The old man kissed it and placed it on his eyes and cheeks; then uncovered his chest and belly and placed the Imam's hand on them. Then he stood up and took his leave.
Imam al-Baqir(A.S.) looked at his back and said to the people there: Whoever likes to see a man who will go to Paradise, should see this man. Hakam ibn 'Utaybah says: I have never seen such a lamentation rite in my whole life.
Source:
Ahl al-Bayt (A.S.) in The Qur'an and Hadith
By: Muhammadi Rayshahri
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