Hadhrat Junaid Baghdadi (r.a.) in the throes of death

Hadhrat Junaid Baghdadi (r.a.) was in the throes of death. The talqin (repetition) of... (shahadah) was made in his presence. He responded by saying, "What, do you think that I have forgotten my Allah Ta'ala that I should be reminded of Him now?" What he is saying is that He is in his heart all the time.

A STORY : THE PRINCESS & HER FATHER

There is another STORY of Hadhrat Junaid Baghdadi (r.a.). He states:
"Once, I left home with the intention of performing Haj (the Pilgrimage to Makkah). The camel I was riding turned its direction towards Constantinople. I tried very hard to stop it from proceeding in this direction and get it to turn back in the direction of Makkah, all to no avail - it persisted in going in the direction of Constantinople . When it repeatedly turned in this direction, I left it to proceed on its own.

"We finally reached Constantinople. When we entered the city we found the inhabitants very agitated. Very much perplexed at this state of the people, I enquired as to the reason for this. I was informed that the king's daughter had become insane and the people, rushing about here and there, were in search of a physician. I told the people, 'I will undertake her treatment immediately. Take me to her.'

"When I reached the place where she was kept, the princess called out to me from inside, 'O Junaid! Although you tried to turn your camel away from my direction, but just see how my jazbah (brimming enthusiasm) forcefully drew you to me!'

"When my gaze fell on her I saw that the princess was laden with a heavy iron yoke around her neck and that her feet were bound in chains. She addressed me again, saying, 'O Junaid! Prescribe some medicine for my ailment!'
"I told her, 'Recite... (SHAHADAH) The moment she recited the Shahadah the iron yoke on her neck and the chains on her feet split asunder and fell to the ground and she immediately became well.

The princess's father, the king, saw this amazing recovery and remarked, 'You appear to be an excellent physician! Prescribe some medication for me as well.'

"I said, 'You also recite this Kalimah.'
"The king also recited the kalimah and became a Muslim. With him many others also became Muslim."

Respected friends! This Kalimah enjoys such a high status that Allah Ta'ala has prescribed for His bandas (bondsmen) all acts of worship and all obedience - in fact, the whole of the Shariat - for the purpose of embedding and maintaining it. This Kalimah is the means for attaining Ma'rifat-e-ilahi (Gnosis of Allah Ta'ala), through worship and obedience. Whether the wird (repetitive recitation) of this Kalimah is done in the inner recesses of the heart, or whether done by a person who is an arif-billah, having tasted the delight of the affection and the ma'rifat of the Exalted Creator, he will be blessed with the enrapturing delight of both life and death.

"If the enrapture of the one who has a passion for death were to be narrated,
Even (Hadhrat) Isa and (Hadhrat) Khidr (r.a.) would yearn for death!"