Al-Kafi reports that Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, on the day of his death, heard Imam Zayn al-Abidin calling him to come quickly. The report is preserved as an early Imami narration. Al-Majlisi later graded the same report in Mir’at al-‘Uqul as weak in chain but close to the muwaththaq category.
Al-Kafi preserves a report transmitted from Imam al-Sadiq concerning the final day of his father, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir. According to the report, Imam al-Baqir said that on the day of his death he heard Imam Ali ibn al-Husayn, known as Imam Zayn al-Abidin, calling him and urging him to come quickly. The report therefore presents the call as something heard on al-Baqir’s final day itself.
The central feature of the account is that Imam Zayn al-Abidin had already died, yet Imam al-Baqir is reported to have heard his call. The wording is brief but striking: the deceased Imam was calling him to come quickly. It does not present a long conversation or a series of messages. The event is remembered through this short summons and through its timing, because the report explicitly connects it with the day on which Imam al-Baqir died.
This timing is important for understanding the story. The report does not place the call several days before his death and then describe a later, separate passing. Rather, it says that Imam al-Baqir heard the call on the day of his death. In that sense, the transmitted account links the summons and his final day directly, while leaving the story itself simple and focused on what he is reported to have heard.
The account is preserved in al-Kafi as an early Imami report and is transmitted through Imam al-Sadiq. A later hadith assessment appears in Mir’at al-‘Uqul, where al-Majlisi grades this report “da‘if ka-l-muwaththaq,” meaning weak in chain but close to the muwaththaq category. This later grading accompanies the report while the event itself remains the brief summons described in al-Kafi.
The account therefore closes with the same brief scene: on the day of his death, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir is reported to have heard Imam Zayn al-Abidin calling him to come quickly. The report is preserved in al-Kafi, with al-Majlisi’s later grading recorded in Mir’at al-‘Uqul.
The central feature of the account is that Imam Zayn al-Abidin had already died, yet Imam al-Baqir is reported to have heard his call. The wording is brief but striking: the deceased Imam was calling him to come quickly. It does not present a long conversation or a series of messages. The event is remembered through this short summons and through its timing, because the report explicitly connects it with the day on which Imam al-Baqir died.
This timing is important for understanding the story. The report does not place the call several days before his death and then describe a later, separate passing. Rather, it says that Imam al-Baqir heard the call on the day of his death. In that sense, the transmitted account links the summons and his final day directly, while leaving the story itself simple and focused on what he is reported to have heard.
The account is preserved in al-Kafi as an early Imami report and is transmitted through Imam al-Sadiq. A later hadith assessment appears in Mir’at al-‘Uqul, where al-Majlisi grades this report “da‘if ka-l-muwaththaq,” meaning weak in chain but close to the muwaththaq category. This later grading accompanies the report while the event itself remains the brief summons described in al-Kafi.
The account therefore closes with the same brief scene: on the day of his death, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir is reported to have heard Imam Zayn al-Abidin calling him to come quickly. The report is preserved in al-Kafi, with al-Majlisi’s later grading recorded in Mir’at al-‘Uqul.
Conclusion
The report centers on one brief scene: on his final day, Imam Muhammad al-Baqir is said to have heard Imam Zayn al-Abidin calling him to come quickly.
Sources
Al-Kafi 1/4/47/7 reports from Imam al-Sadiq that, on his father al-Baqir’s final day, al-Baqir referred to hearing Ali ibn al-Husayn call him to come quickly.
Displayed grading for the same al-Kafi hadith: ضعيف كالموثق.