Muhammad ibn Muslim: I went to Madinah with an aching and heavy body. Imam al-Baqir (A.S.) was informed that Muhammad ibn Muslim is ill and painful. The Holy Imam ordered his servant to bring me a bowl of potion which was covered with a piece of cloth, the man asked me to drink it. He said the Imam has given an order to him not to return until I would drink it.
I took the bowl and smelt the fragrance of the musk. It was cool and delicious. When I drank it, the servant said that the Imam wished to see me.
I thought about what he said; that I was unable to stand up or walk, but as soon as the potion was absorbed, I felt ease and lightness and went to the Imam and asked the permission to enter the house. The Imam said to me loudly: May you be healthy! Come in. I went inside weeping, greeted him and kissed his hands and head. The Imam Said: O Muhammad! Why are you crying? I replied: May I be sacrificed to you because I feel nostalgic and I am poor and cannot stay near you and also because of the long journey [to another world]. The Imam said: But as for your poverty, Allah has destined calamities and hardships to happen for his friends, but what you said about homesickness and nostalgia, remember Imam al-Husayn (A.S.) in a far off land near the Euphrates and consider him as an example, and about the long Journey, know that a believer is a stranger among these perversions, till he would go to the abode of Allah's mercy. And as for saying that you desire to be close to us and see us, but you are not able to do so; know that Allah is aware of what is occurring in your heart and will give you the rewards accordingly.
