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.