فقال أبو محمد للرجل...

فقال أبو محمد للرجل: (2) Abdul Wahid bin Abdullah bin Younus al-Moossili narrated from Muhammad bin Ja'far from Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Khalid from Abu Hashim Dawood bin al-Qassim al-Ja’fari that Imam Abu Ja'far Muhammad bin Ali al-Baqir (as) had narrated from his fathers (as): “One day Amirul Mo’mineen came with his son al-Hasan and Salman al-Farisi where Amirul Mo’mineen was leaning on Salman’s hand. They came into the mosque and sat down.

A handsome and neat man came, greeted Amirul Mo'mineen and sat before him. He said: “O Amirul Mo'mineen, I want to ask you three questions.” Amirul Mo'mineen said: “Ask whatever you like.” The man said: “Would you tell me if man sleeps where his soul goes to? How does man remember and forget?

How do man’s children look like their uncles; their father’s brothers and mother’s brothers?” Amirul Mo'mineen (as) turned to his son al-Hasan (as) and said to him: “O Abu Muhammad, answer him!” Imam al-Hasan (as) said to the man: أمّا ما سألتَ عنه عن أمر الرجل إذا نام أين تذهب روحه، فإنّ روحَه معلّقة بالريح، والريح بالهواء معلقة إلى وقت ما يتحرك صاحبها باليقظة، فإنْ أذِن الله تعالى بردِّ تلك الروحِ على ذلك البدَن جذبت تلك الروح الريح، وجذبت الريح الهواء فاستكنت في بدن صاحبها، وإنْ لم يأذن الله بردِّ تلك الروح على ذلك البدن جذب الهواء الريح، وجذبت الريح الروح فلا ترد على صاحبها إلى وقت ما يبعث.

“As for your question that when man sleeps whereto his soul goes, his soul is hanging in the air until he moves during his wake, so when Allah permits that that soul is to go back to the body, the soul attracts the air to settle in its body but if Allah does not permit that soul to get back to that body, the air will attract the soul away from the body until the Day of Resurrection.

وأما ما ذكرت من أمر الذّكر والنسيان، فإن قلبَ الانسانِ في حُقّ وعلى الحق طبق، فإذا هو صلّى على محمّد وآل محمد صلاةً تامّة انكشف ذلك الطبق عن ذلك الحق فأضاء القلبَ وذكّر الرجل ما نسيَ، وإن هو لم يصلِّ على محمد وآل محمد أو انتقصَ من الصلاة عليهم وأغضى عن بعضها انطبق ذلك الطبقُ على الحق فأظلم القلب وسهى الرجل ونسيَ ما كان يذكره. But as for what you asked about remembering and forgetting, the heart of man has been created to comply with the truth and there is a cover on the truth.