Al-Sadiq (as) exhorts Taqwa

I requested Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him: ’Guide me.’ He said: ’My admonition to you is to be mindful of your duties to Allah (taqwa), to refrain from that which is forbidden and to make a strenuous effort (to win His Pleasure). And you should know that any effort, which is not coupled with abstaining from that, which is forbidden, has no benefit. And always look at those who are lower than you, and do not look at those who are above you. For how often has Allah, Most High, advised His messenger: ’So do not be deluded by their wealth and their children’, (al-Tawbah, 9:55), and again He said: ’And do not even look at the wordly wealth. We have let some pairs of disbelievers to gain, it is only an allurement of the life of this world....’ (Taha, 20:131)." And if your passion (or desires) drive you towards any of those things, then you should be aware that the Prophet, peace be upon him, and his progeny, had barley for daily subsistence, dates for his sweet dish, when available, and the source of warmth (firewood, fuel) was from the branches of the palm tree. And when any calamity befalls you, then remember how you were tested by the passing away of the Prophet, peace be upon him; for the people will never face a similar tribulation ever again."