'O God, carry us in the ships of Thy deliverance, give us to enjoy the pleasure of whispered prayer to Thee, make us drink at the pools of Thy love, let us taste the sweetness of Thy affection and nearness, allow us to struggle in Thee, preoccupy us with obeying Thee, and purify our intentions in devoting works to Thee, for we exist through Thee and belong to Thee, and we have no one to mediate with Thee but Thee!' Imam Sajjad ('A); Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya

Thursday 5 November 2009

Imam Sajjad (as) and The Caravan to Hajj

A caravan of Muslims was headed towards Makkah. As it arrived in Madina, it rested a few days, and continued on towards Makkah.
On their way from Madina to Makkah, a man joined the group. This man noticed one of them who had the appearance of a guided person. He was eagerly busy in service of the passengers. The man recognized him. With much surprise, he asked the pilgrims if they knew this man who was at their service.
''No, we don't know him. He joined us in Madina. He is a decent and pious man. We haven't asked him for help. But he has been eager in helping us."
"Obviously you don't know him. For if you did, you would never have allowed a man like him to be at your service."Who is this person?"
"This is 4th Imam, Imam Sajjad (as)."
The group stood with shame and apologized to Imam Sajjad (as). Then complaining to him, they said:
"Why did you treat us as such? We may have gone beyond our bounds in our ignorance, and would have committed a big sin in being disrespectful to you."
Imam Sajjad (as): "I intentionally joined your group, for you didn't know me. When I join a group, where people know me, for the sake of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh), they are very kind to me. They don't allow me to be of some service. Thus I was eager to join a group where I will be anonymous, so that I may have the honor of being of some service to my brethren."
Moral: Service to fellow Muslims should be a pleasure, something we should go out of our way to do! Besides it being one of the fundamentals of the spiritual journey - Hajj!

No comments:

Post a Comment