Rajab 1 is the birthday of Al-Imam Muhammad bin Ali Al-Baqir (AS). People called him al-Ba`qir because of his great knowledge. It was also said that he was given the nick-name of al-Ba`qir because of his many prostrations (in worship). Thus, he split open his forehead. (Mir'at al-Zaman fi Tawarikh al-A'yan, vol. 5, p. 78). Moreover, he was given the nick-name (of al-Ba`qir) because of these words of his: "The truth called me for help after the untruth had gathered it in its abdomen. So, I split open its flank and brought out the truth from its hiding, so it appeared and spread after it had been hidden. (Mir' at al-Zaman fi Tawarikh al-A'yan, vol. 5, p. 78). Following are some of his quotations: The ink of the scholar is more Holy than the blood of the martyr. For those unable to go for the ziyarat of Imam Husain (A.S.) on the day of A'shura, Imam Baqir (A.S.) mentions the manner of performing A'zadari as follows: He should mourn over Husain (A.S.), weep for him and instruct the members of the house to weep for him. He should establish the mourning ceremony in the house by exhibiting lamentations and grief over him; the people should meet one another in their homes and offer condolences and consolations to each other over the calamities which befell him. Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (AS) once said to one of his companions: "O Jabir it is not enough that a person says; I am a Shi'ah and I love the Prophet (Pbuh&hp) and the Prophet's family and the Imams. By Allah, a Shiah is the one who is perfectly pious and obedient to Allah's commands. Anyone else is not a Shiah no matter how much they say they love Hazrat Ali (AS) and no matter what they call themselves. O Jabir Our Shi'ahs are known by these signs: a) They are truthful, trustworthy and loyal; b) They always remember Allah; c) They offer their prayers, observe fasts, and recite Qur'an; d) They help their neighbors, take care of orphans, and say nothing but good of people; e) They act nicely towards their parents; f) They are worthy of peoples trust and confidence. Imam said, Our followers are of three kinds, one who follows us but depends on others, one who is like a glass involved in his own reflections, but the best are those who are like gold, the more they suffer the more they shine. Whenever Allah wants to assist a sinner, He inflicts a disease on that person. If this does not happen, He makes that person dependant on another one. If this also does not happen, the Almighty makes his death a really hard one so that his sins are compensated. Ref Al Kaafi vol 2 pg# 444 The scholar who derives benefit from his knowledge is better than 70,000 devotees. Man's tongue is the key to all good and evil. Therefore, a believer should lock his tongue like he would keep his gold and silver locked up. Ref- Biharul Anvaar vol 78 Pg# 178 If man knew the rewards for hardships and suffering, he would cut himself to pieces (to suffer)! Ref Biharul Anvaar vol 81 Pg# 192 O Jabir, is it enough for one, to say that 'I love Ali (a.s.) and I have achieved his Wilayat,' whereas he does not act upon it?" the nearness of Allah is not achieved without His obedience. When our Shias do not have obedience and action (to their credit) we have no authority to free them from Hell. Merely a verbal claim, "I am a Shia" is not sufficient argument for Allah. " ... One who does not cultivated patience for confronting the troubles of life becomes weak. A famous saying of Imam Muhammad bin Ali Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) is “I admonish you regarding five things: if you are wronged, do not commit wrong doing to others; if you are betrayed, do not betray anyone; if you are called a liar, do not be furious; if you are praised, do not be jubilant; if you are criticized, do not fret and think of what is said in criticism.”
source : abna
