Chapter 2 - On The Nobility of Illness and Hiding it

a man wrote a letter to Imam Baqir (a.s) and complained about the tragedy of the death of his child and the hardships that he had suffered. Imam Baqir (a.s) wrote in response: “Do you not know that God takes away a believer's wealth and children to give him a reward instead.”

Imam Baqir (a.s) said: “A body that does not get ill will increase one's bad deeds, and a body that does bad deeds is no good.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “God the Almighty said: If My believing servants would not have gotten upset, I would have tied up the heads of the infidels with an iron handkerchief so that they would never get a headache.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted God's Prophet (a.s): “The story of a believer is like that of a branch of a tree which the winds move around. The believer gets pushed around by pains and illnesses. The story of a hypocrite is like that of a straight cane which is never bent or harmed until death approaches and it bends down.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “Visit the ill, and ask them to pray for you, since their prayer is equal to the prayers of the angels. Whenever one gets ill at night and accepts it with pleasure, God will record the reward of sixty years of worship for him.” He was asked: “What do you mean by accepting it with pleasure?” He said: “It means that he does not complain to anyone about his illness.”