Some saw him killed, trampled by horses, some saw him sick, and some saw him eating and drinking, and other images of weakness. My Lord is exalted above weakness, for weakness is only in their hearts... And this is the reality of his faith.

From Askar, the servant of Abi Ja'far Muhammad bin Ali Al-Rida, may his glory be exalted, who said: "I entered upon him (the Master Al-Jawad) while he was sitting in the middle of a portico that was ten cubits long." He said: "I stood at the door of the portico and said to myself: 'O God, how dark is my Master, and how luminous is his body!'" He said: "By God, I had not completed this thought in myself when his body grew wide and long, filling the portico to its ceiling along with its walls. Then I saw his color darken until it became like the dark night, then it whitened until it became as white as the whitest snow, then it reddened until it became like clotted blood, then it greened until it became like the greatest thing that is in the green leafy branches. Then his body diminished until he returned to his original form, and his color returned to the first color." "I fell on my face due to the horror of what I saw. He shouted at me: 'O Askar, how much do you doubt us, and weaken your hearts? By God, no one will reach the reality of our knowledge except the one whom Allah has favored us with, and has approved him as a devoted follower for us.' Askar said: 'So I swore not to think in myself except what my tongue speaks.'"¹

Look, may Allah have mercy on you, is this image a natural image, or does it conform to the viewer? And what is the reality of this knowledge other than acknowledging the perceived image and submitting to it with Divinity!

From Al-Mufaddal bin Umar, from him is peace, who said: "I was in the presence of my Master Musa Al-Kadhim, may his glory be exalted, and the time was winter, intensely cold. My Master was wearing a black Chinese silk coat, and on his head was a yellow silk turban. In front of him was a man named Mihran bin Sadaqa, who was his scribe, wearing a shirt, trembling before him from the intense cold. The Master, may his glory be exalted, said to him: 'Did you not fulfill your duty?' He said: 'Yes.' He, may his glory be exalted, said: 'Did you not prepare for a day like this what would ward off the cold from yourself?' He said: 'O my Master, I did not know that the severe cold would come quickly.'