Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari, the old\nand great companion of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP), who had become old\nand decrepit, was on his deathbed. His shining face was a clear sign of his\nsincerity and purity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Baqir(PBUH) went to visit Jabir\nin his house. So he sat beside Jabir and said to him with kindness, \u201cO Jabir!\nHow are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jabir replied,\u201d I am in a condition\nthat I prefer being old over being young, and I love death more than life, and\nI like illness more than well-being\u201d. (He meant to say that he was patient and\nresistant against any difficulty of hardness).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Baqir (PBUH) said to Jabir,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201dBut I like\nwhatever Allah (SWT) likes. If He wants me to become old, I like it; or if He\nwants me to be young, I like that. Illness or well-being, death or life,\nwhichever He likes, I like the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Jabir heard this, he became\nhappy, kissed Imam Baqir(PBUH), and said, \u201dThe Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP)\nwas right when he said to me,\u201d You will be alive and shall meet my son Baqir.\nSo convey my greetings to him\u2026\u201d\u201d (1)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though Jabir was full of\nexperience and knowledge at that old age and had faced so many difficulties and\nhardships in his life, he assumed that the highest level of faith is that one\nprefers illness over well-being or being old over being young. Therefore, he\nwanted to tell Imam Baqir (PBUH) that \u201cI have reached a level that not only the\ndifficulties do not disturb me, in fact I am more eager towards them\u201d. However,\nImam Baqir (PBUH) taught this sincere old man a higher concept, namely being\nsatisfied with what Allah (SWT) wills. Imam Baqir(PBUH) taught Jabir that after\nfulfilling the duties and endeavoring to perform the responsibilities, one\nshould be satisfied with what Allah (SWT) has willed for him\/her, be it\npleasant or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(The above is a\nselection taken from \u201cA Look into the Life of Imam Baqir (PBUH)\u201d, by Muhammad\nMuhammadi Ishtihardi (with some additions))<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Website congratulates all\nMuslims, especially you dear friend, upon 3rd of Safar, the birthday\nanniversary of the fifth Divine guardian and the spreader of knowledge, Imam\nMuhammad al-Baqir(PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. A\u2019yan\nal-Shia, vol. 15, p. 141; Majaalis al-Mu\u2019minin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jabir ibn Abdullah al-Ansari, the old and great companion of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH&HP), who had become old and decrepit, was on his deathbed. His shining face was a clear sign of his sincerity and purity. Imam Baqir(PBUH) went to visit Jabir in his house. So he sat beside Jabir and said to him […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[21282,17778,18658,21281,20937,18426,18418,21283],"class_list":["post-4364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2011-12-28","tag-allah","tag-great","tag-i-like-whatever-he-likes","tag-imam-baqir","tag-messenger","tag-occasion-letters","tag-shining"],"yoast_head":"\n