One day, some people had come to the house of Imam Sajjad (a.s) as guests. Preparing the meals, one of Imam’s (a.s) servants hastily pulled out the kebabs from the oven; as he did so, the skewers of the kebabs slipped from his grasp, fell upon the head of Imam Sajjad’s (a.s) child, who had been standing below the ladder, and caused his death. The servant stood aghast and terribly perturbed, but the Imam (a.s) said: “You have not done it on purpose. Go away, for I have freed you in the way of Allah.” He then ordered that the child be given ablution, shrouded and buried.6
Sufiyan Thauri relates: “One day, arriving in the presence of Imam Sadiq (a.s) I found him to be disturbed and unsettled. I sought to know the reason for it whereupon he (a.s) said: “I had prohibited everyone from climbing atop the roof of the house, however when I entered the house, I observed one of the slave-girls, who had been entrusted the responsibility of educating one of my children, standing atop the ladder with my infant in her arms. But as soon as she saw me, she was left dumbfounded and began to tremble as a result of which my son dropped out of her hands onto the ground and died. I am disturbed and uneasy over the fear that overtook the slave-girl because of me. Nevertheless, I told her: “There is no sin upon you and I have set you free for the pleasure of Allah.” ( Muntahal A’mal, vol. 2, pg. 4. )