Love is one of the inseparable\ningredients of human\u2019s life; we all love some people and express our love\ntowards them, while avoid others and dissociate ourselves from them. But what\nare the criteria which govern choosing our friends and enemies? How can we know\nwhat true love and hatred is, and towards whom they should be expressed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hakam ibn Utaybah, a companion of Imam\nBaqir (PBUH) narrates the following story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One day, we were sitting with Imam\nBaqir (PBUH) and the room was filled with people. At this time an old man\nholding a long staff entered the room. He stopped at the door and said, \u201dPeace\nbe upon you, O son of the Messenger of Allah!\u201d Imam Baqir (PBUH) replied to his\ngreeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, the old man greeted all the\naudience and they replied his greeting. After that, he addressed the Imam\n(PBUH) by saying, \u201dO son of the Messenger of Allah! Let me sit beside you\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next, he continued by saying, \u201dI swear\nto Allah that I love you; and I love your friends; and my love towards you and\nyour friends is not out of greed. I swear to Allah that I hate your enemies and\navoid them; and I take Allah as my witness that this hatred and animosity is\nnot because of any personal grudges with them. I consider lawful whatever you\ndeem lawful, and I consider forbidden whatever you deem forbidden; I await the\nrelief (Faraj) of your family. O son of the Messenger of Allah! Is there any\nhope for my salvation?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Baqir (PBUH) replied, \u201dCome\ncloser! Come closer!\u201d The Imam (PBUH) seated the man beside himself and said to\nhim,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cO man! A person\nasked the same question from my father Ali ibn Hussain (PBUH). My father\nresponded by saying, \u2018If you die in this state, you will meet with the\nMessenger of Allah (PBUH&HP), Ali (PBUH), Hassan (PBUH), Hussain (PBUH),\nand Ali ibn Hussain (PBUH); your heart will be consoled, and you will become\ncalm; you will be pleased and your eyes will be brightened. When your life\nreaches here (he pointed to his neck), you will face the angels responsible for\nregistering your deeds with ease and pleasure. Moreover some things will happen\nto you in your life that will brighten your eyes, and you will be with us in an\nhonorable position\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The old man became so excited after\nhearing this status that he wanted the Imam (PBUH) to repeat his words. Thus,\nhe said, \u201dO son of the Messenger of Allah! What did you just say?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Baqir (PBUH) repeated his\nstatement. Then, the man said, \u201dAllah is great! O Aba Ja\u2019far! If I die, I will\nmeet with the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP), Ali (PBUH), Hassan (PBUH),\nHussain (PBUH), and Ali ibn Hussain (PBUH)? My heart will be consoled, my eyes\nwill be brightened, and I will be pleased? I will face the angels responsible\nfor registering my deeds with ease and pleasure, and will be with us in an\nhonorable position?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said these words and started crying\nloudly, and after a while, he bid farewell and left the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Baqir (PBUH) kept watching the\nman with a special attention as long as he was walking out. When he was gone,\nhe turned towards the people and said, \u201dWhoever wishes to see a man of Paradise\nmay look at this man (1)\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed, as Imam Baqir (PBUH) has\ntaught us, these two great properties everyone has, namely love and hatred,\nbecome valuable only when they are in accordance with the Divine principles and\nlogical criteria, not worldly intentions. So how do we apply our love and\nhatred, and what do we exchange them for?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The above is a\nselection taken from \u201cThe Practical Lifestyle of the Ahl al-Bayt (PBUT), Imam\nBaqir (PBUH)\u201d, by Sayyid Kadhim Arfa\u2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Website congratulates all\nMuslims, especially you dear friend, upon the 3rd of Safar, the birthday\nanniversary of the heir of Prophetic knowledge and the fifth generation of the\npurified family, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Al-Kafi, vol.\n8, pp. 77-78<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Love is one of the inseparable ingredients of human\u2019s life; we all love some people and express our love towards them, while avoid others and dissociate ourselves from them. But what are the criteria which govern choosing our friends and enemies? How can we know what true love and hatred is, and towards whom they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9231,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[21256,21255,18482,20229,20590,17940,20937,21257,18200,18418,18897],"class_list":["post-4360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2010-01-21","tag-a-man-of-paradise","tag-following","tag-forbidden","tag-friends","tag-human","tag-imam-baqir","tag-lawful","tag-love","tag-occasion-letters","tag-story"],"yoast_head":"\n