When he and his brother al-Husayn passed by some riders...

When he and his brother al-Husayn passed by some riders during their going to make the hajj to the Kaaba, the riders dismounted as a sign of admiration and respect for them. The masses of hajjis found it difficult to perform the hajj on foot. So they talked to Sa’d bin Abi Waqqas in this respect, and he went to Imam al-Hasan and said to him: “O Abu Muhammad, the hajjis have found it difficult to perform the hajj on foot. When they see you, they are not pleased with riding their camels.

If you please ride (a camel) as a sign of showing mercy towards them” The Imam answered: “We will not ride, for we have made a covenant with Allah that we go to His House on foot, but we will avoid the public way.”[^2] Imam al-Hasan put on an excellent garment, rode a brisk mule, and walked through a street of Yathrib. His holy face shone with light. His servants and retinue surrounded him. A stupid Jew saw him and said to him: -O son of Allah’s Apostle, I have a question. -What is it?

-Your grandfather, Allah’s Apostle (a.s) has said: “The world is the prison of a believer and garden of an unbeliever!” You are a believer and I am unbeliever. The world is but a garden for you. You enjoy it, while you are a believer. As for me, it is just a prison; its heat has destroyed me; and its poverty has exhausted me. - In the hereafter Allah has prepared for me and believers things of which no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, and that which has not come to someone’s mind.

If you looked at that, you would come to know that I had been in prison during this condition and before my moving to it. And if you looked at that which Allah had prepared for you and the unbelievers in the hereafter such as the flame of the Hellfire, severe, everlasting, and painful chastisement, you would see that you were in a wide garden and an inclusive blessing.[^3] Then the Imam went away, while the Jew was bursting with rage and malice. [^1] A‘lam al-Wara fi A‘lam al-Huda, p. 125.

[^2] Al-Manaqib, vol. 2, p. 142. A‘yan al-Shi‘a, vol. 4, p. 20. [^3] Ibn al-Sabbagh, al-Fusool al-Muhimma, p. 161.