Ahl al-Bayt and Absorption in Allah

In a narration, we read that in the Battle of U¦ud, an arrow pierced Imam `Al¢’s leg. The pain was so severe that he would not allow anyone to take it out of his leg. When the Holy Prophet was informed, he said, “Postpone it to the time of prayer.” When Imam `Al¢ (a.s) was engaged in prayer, the arrow was taken out of hi leg because he was so absorbed in prayer that he did not feel the pain.

Imam al-¯¡diq (a.s) reported that when Imam Zayn al-`ªbid¢n was reading a part of Imam `Al¢’s Book on prayer, he would say to himself,

مَنْ يُطِيقُ هَذَا؟ مَنْ يُطِيقُ هَذَا؟

“Who can have such tolerance? Who can have such tolerance?”

He would then try the same prayer.[1]

One day, J¡bir ibn `Abdull¡h asked Imam Zayn al-`ªbid¢n, “O Son of Allah’s Messenger! Do you not know that Allah created Paradise for you and for your friends, and created the Fire for the ill-wishers and for your enemies? So, what is all this hard working for?” Imam Zayn al-`ªbid¢n said:

O Companion of Allah’s Messenger! Do you not know that Allah forgave all the past and future faults for my ancestors? Nevertheless, the Holy Prophet never put aside obeisance and submission to Allah and kept on worshipping Him. May my parents be sacrificed for him! When he was asked, “Has not Allah said in His Book, ‘…that Allah may forgive your community their past faults and those to follow’?” Allah’s Messenger answered, “Should I not be a grateful servant?”[2]

Imam al-¯¡diq (a.s) said:

كَانَ أبِي يُصَلِّي فِي جَوْفِ اللَّيْلِ فَيَسْجُدُ السَّجْدَةَ فَيُطِيلُ حَتَّى نَقُولَ: إنَّهُ رَاقِدٌ.

My father was praying in the middle of the night. His prostration was so long that we would think that he had gone to sleep.[3]

This is the Ahl al-Bayt’s station of absorption in Allah in a way that they are being separated from their bodies and this world, and “They are nearer to Allah’s spirit than the rays to the sun.”[4]

As for Imam °as¡n’s worship, it is narrated that he was the most pious of his time. During the season of °ajj, he would walk barefooted from Medina to Mecca. Whenever he would think of death, he would start weeping. When the word ‘grave’ was mentioned to him, he would start weeping, for he would think of the Judgment Day. Whenever he though of Sir¡§, he would weep; and whenever he thought of Reckoning before Allah, he would cry and faint. When he was preparing himself for prayer, he would shiver out of fear of Allah; and whenever he was speaking of heaven and hell, he would become disturbed. Then, he would pray Allah for heaven and seek His refuge from Hellfire. Whenever he recited a verse beginning with ‘O you who believe’, he would say, “Here I am, O Allah, here I am.”[5]

When the Imam was performing ablution, his limbs trembled and his face got pale.

When he was asked, “Why are you in such a state?” He would say, “O Allah! Your guest is at your threshold; O Forgiving Allah! A Sinner has come to you! O Allah! Forgive my sins by Your Greatness.”[6]

In a narration, we read: One day Imam al-B¡qir (a.s) went to see his father, Imam Zayn al-`ªbid¢n. Imam al-B¡qir was thinking that his father had reached a stage in devotion that no one had ever reached. So, he says: Since my father was thoughtful, he became aware of my presence after sometime. When he saw me weeping, he said, “Fetch me one of Imam `Al¢’s writings about prayer.” As I did, he said, “Who can pray like `Al¢ ibn Ab¢-±¡lib?”[7]

As for Imam al-K¡¨im (a.s), it is related that he was the most pious, the most knowledgeable, the most generous, and the most honorable of his time. He would always perform his supererogatory prayers at nights linking them to the Morning Prayer and would be engaged in recommended acts of worship until sunrise. Then he would prolong his prostration until Noon Prayer, saying:

أللَّهُمَّ إنِّي أسْألُكَ الرَّاحَةَ عِنْدَ الْمَوْتِ وَالْعَفْوَ عِنْدَ الْحِسَابِ.

O Allah! I am asking You ease at death and forgiveness at Reckoning.

In one of his prayers, he would say:

عَظُمَ الذَّنْبُ مِنْ عَبْدِكَ فَلْيَحْسُنِ الْعَفْوُ مِنْ عِنْدِكَ.

Grave has been the sin of Your servant; so, let forgiveness from You be nice.

He would weep for fear of Allah. He cared for his own family and relatives more than others. He would go to the needy at nights with a basket full of coins, flour and dates. He was in the prison of the `Abb¡sid tyrannical rulers for years until he was martyred. He influenced other prisoners so greatly that they all repented to Allah. It is narrated that whenever H¡r£n al-Rash¢d went to the top of the prison, he would see some clothes in one of its corners. One day he asked the jailor, “What are those clothes I see everyday?” The jailor said, “These are not clothes; this is M£s¡ ibn Ja`far who is in prostration every day from sunrise to sunset!”

About the torturers of Imam °as¡n `Askar¢ (a.s), ¯¡li¦ ibn Wa¥¢f, the chief jailor, says, “What is to be done? I appointed two persons to torture him. After observing the Imam’s worship, they were so impressed that they themselves started worshipping Allah in such a manner that surprised everybody. I summoned up them, asking why they had changed, why they had stopped torturing him, what they had seen from them. They said, “What should we say about a man who fasts the days and is engaged in prayer at nights? When he looks at us, our bodies start shivering and such a horror overwhelms us that we cannot control ourselves.”[8]