I give you glad tidings...

I give you glad tidings; God has accepted your mother’s prayers and Jibraeel has informed me that you shall be my companion in Paradise!”[^5] The Curse of a Mother In the tribe of Bani Israel, there lived a pious person by the name of Jareeh, who used to engage himself in God’s worship, in his monastery. One day, his mother approached him while he was busy in prayer and, as a result, he did not respond to her. She approached him for a second time, but again, Jareeh did not answer.

When this happened for the third time, she became angry and cursed him saying, “I pray to God that He does not help you!” The next day a prostitute came up to his monastery and giving birth to a child there, declared: “This is Jareeh’s child whom I have given birth to.” This created uproar among the people, who thought: *“*The very person, who used to rebuke us for fornication, has committed it himself.” The king ordered him to be sent to the gallows.

When Jareeh’s mother came to know of this, she began beating her face in distress whereupon he said to her, “Keep quiet, for it is due to your curse that I find myself in this predicament.” The people asked him, “O’ Jareeh! How can we know that you speak the truth?” He told them to bring the child to him.

When the child was brought, he prayed and then questioned the child, “Who is your father?” The child, with divine power and permission, said, “My father is such and such a shepherd belonging to such and such a tribe.” This incident saved Jareeh’s life after which he vowed never to separate from his mother and to serve her throughout her life.[^6] The Truthful Barber The distinguished scholar, Sheikh Baqir Kadhimi, who lived near Najaf-e-Ashraf, narrates that a truthful barber, once related the following story: I had an old father, whom I served diligently.

I exercised such great care never to be neglectful towards him, that I would even place water for him in the toilet and remain in wait outside till he emerged. All throughout (the week) I would be watchful of him, except on Wednesday evenings when I would proceed to Masjid-e-Sahlah hoping to meet Imam Mahdi (a.s.). One Wednesday I was very busy and did not find a spare moment until it was almost sunset. Nevertheless, I set off towards Masjid-e-Sahlah alone in the dark.

It was a moonlit night and I still had one third of the journey to cover when suddenly I observed an Arab, seated on a horse, coming towards me.