Le chapitre du sens de la parole d'al-Baqir, que la paix soit sur lui : « Aucun d'entre vous n'atteindra la vérité de la foi jusqu'à ce que la mort lui soit plus chère que la vie, que la pauvreté lui soit plus chère que la richesse et que la maladie lui soit plus chère que la santé ».

1. My father, may Allah grant him mercy, said: We were told by Sa’d bin Abdullah, from Ahmad bin Abu Abdillah, from Muhammed ibn Ali, from Harith bin Hasan al-Tahhan, from Ibrahim bin Abdullah, from Fudail bin Yasar, from Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, that he said: None of you will reach the truth of faith until there is in him three traits: until death is more beloved to him than life; poverty is more beloved to him than wealth; and illness is more beloved to him than health. We said: And who is as such? He said: All of you. Then he said: Which one is more beloved to you, that you die (whilst believing) in love to us, or that you live (whilst believing) in hate to us? So I said: That we die, by Allah, (believing) in love towards you is more beloved to us. He said: And so is (it that it applies to) poverty, wealth, illness and health. I said: Yes, by Allah.