Imam Baqir’s (a.s.) Conversation with a Christian Scholar

Compiled by Engineer Afsaneh Cooper

 

Imam Sadiq (A.S.) said, “one day myself and my father came out of the assembly of Hasham. We happened to pass by a place where a group of Christians had come to ask questions from their scholar. We too went there to see what the affair was. We saw an old man with grey hair and grey eyebrows sitting among them. We also sat among the aggregation. The followers of Jesus Christ were sitting before him like worthless children, and were asking him questions. The old man’s eye caught the sight of my father Imam Mohammad Baqir (A.S.)  and he said “Are you from among us or among the followers of Muhammad (P.B.U.H.).’’ my father said, “I am not from the ignorants.’’ The old said, ‘’shall I ask you question or you ask me.’’ My father said,’’You question me.’’

 

The aged man was surprised. He looked upon my father and said, ‘’Oh servant of God, let me know about the time which is neither day nor night.’’ My father replied, ‘’between the dawn and the sunrise. ’’ He asked, ‘’from which time is it? “ My father said, ‘’From the times (hours) of the Paradise and the ailing ones gain their senses in this hour (time) and the pains become relieved and that one who had sleepless night goes to sleep at this time“.

 

The man said, ‘’the people in paradise eat and drink but do not excrete anything. Is there anything in the world similar to them?’’ My father said, ‘’Yes the embryo which eats in the mother’s womb but nothing segregates from whatever it eats. “

 

The man said, ‘’Let me know if there is anything in the world similar to your claim that people in paradise eat and drink but nothing is lessened and shortened and that returns to its original shape.’’ My father said, ‘’Yes it is a candle that if a hundred other candles are lit by it nothing gets lessened out of it.’’ The Christian scholar got up from his place and said, ‘’this man is wiser than me.’’ When he knew that he was Imam Mohammad Baqir (A.S) he embraced Islam“.