The Sixty-Fourth Assembly, the Assembly of Tuesday, the Sixth of Jumada al-Ula, 368 AH.

`Ali b. Musa al-Rida (as) said, regarding the saying of Allah, "The faces on that day will be bright, looking at their Lord" (75:22-23). He said: Meaning, [their faces will be] illuminated, looking at the rewards of their Lord.

Muhammad b. Isma`il b. Bazi` narrated to me. He said: Abu’l Hasan `Ali b. Musa al-Rida (as) said, regarding the saying of Allah: "Sight comprehends Him not, yet He comprehends all sight." (6:103) He said: The imagination of the hearts cannot comprehend Him, so how could the sight of eyes comprehend him?!

Isma`il b. al-Fadl narrated to us. He said: I asked Aba `Abdillah Ja`far b. Muhammad al-Sadiq (as) about Allah; will He be seen in the Resurrection? So, he said: May Allah be glorified greatly above that! O Ibn al-Fadl! Surely, sights only comprehend that which has a colour and a modality, and Allah is the Creator of colours and modalities.

Abu Hanifa departed from al-Sadiq (as) one day and encountered Musa b. Ja`far (as) along the way. So, he said to him: O young man! Who is responsible for the committing of sin? So, he said: There are only three possibilities: (1) It is committed by Allah, which is impossible, because it is not proper for the Merciful to punish His servants for things they have not done. (2) The sin is committed by both Allah and the servant, but it is not proper for a Powerful partner to oppress a weak partner. (3) It is the servant that commits the sin. This is the case. If Allah punishes him, it is due to the sins that he has committed, and if Allah forgives him, it is due to His generosity.

I said to al-Rida (as): O son of the Messenger of Allah! What do you say about the ḥadith that the people narrate from the Messenger of Allah (s), which says: "Allah descends on the eve of Fridays to the heaven of this world?" So, he (as) said: May Allah curse those who distort the words from their places! By Allah, the Messenger of Allah (s) has not said that. Rather, he said: "Allah sends down an angel to the Earth’s atmosphere in the last third of every night, and the first part of Friday eve. He commands him to call: 'Is there an asker, so that I may grant him?’; ‘Is there a repenter, so that I may forgive him?’; Is there one asking for forgiveness, so that I can pardon him? O ones who seek good, come forward! O ones who seek evil, keep away!' He does not stop calling this until the sunrise. At sunrise, he returns to his position in the kingdom of heaven." This was narrated to me by my father from his grandfather from his forefathers (as) from the Messenger of Allah (s).

When a worshiper says whilst in prostration: "O Allah, O Lord, O Master! (ya Allah, ya rabbah, ya sayyidah)" three times, He responds: "Here I am, My servant, ask for your need."

Surely, a woman only moved something in the house of her husband from one place to another, wanting to rectify it, and Allah looked to her - and whoever Allah looks to, He will not punish. So, Umm Salama (ra) said: All good has gone to men, so what is for poor women? So, he (s) said: Rather, when a woman becomes pregnant, she is of the status of one who is fasting, standing [in prayer], and striving with his soul and his wealth in the way of Allah. When she gives birth, she receives a reward that she cannot comprehend due to its greatness. When she breastfeeds, her reward with each suckle is like freeing one from the descendants of Isma`il. When she stops breastfeeding, an angel hits her on her side and says: Continue working, for Allah has forgiven you.

There are three whose goodness cannot ever be hoped for: (1) He who does not fear Allah in private, (2) he who does not become pious after old age, and (3) he who is not ashamed of his faults.

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: Surely, a servant will be imprisoned for a sin from his sins for one hundred years while looking at his wives and brothers in Paradise.

None will be brought up from the earth on the Day of Resurrection except that two angels will take him by his arms and say: Answer the Lord of Glory.

I was afflicted with extreme poverty, so I visited Abi’l Hasan `Ali b. Muhammad (as) and he permitted me in. When I sat down, he said: O Aba’l Hashim! Which of the blessings of Allah over you would you like to give thanks for? Abu’l Hashim said: I remained silent because I did not know what to say to him. So, he (as) preceded me, saying: He has given you faith, by which He has prohibited your body from the Fire. He has given you wellness, by which He supported you in obedience [to Him]. He has granted you contentment, by which He separated you from spending too much. O Aba’l Hashim! I only preceded you with this because I thought that you wanted to complain to me about the One who has done this to you. I have prepared one hundred gold coins for you, so take them.

I heard Aba `Abdillah al-Sadiq (as) say: There is no prayer (salat) for a haqin, nor a haqib, nor a haziq. A haqin is one who has urine [and cannot control it]. A haqib is one who has gas [and cannot control it]. A haziq is one whose feet have been injured.

Abu `Abdillah (as) said to me one day: Do you know how to pray, O Hammad? He said: I said: O my master! I comply with the book of Hariz about prayer. He said: So he (as) said: Worry not! Stand and pray. He said: So, I stood in front of him, facing the qibla. Then I commenced the prayer and I bowed and I prostrated. So, he (as) said: O Hammad! You do not know how to pray. How repulsive is it for a man to have had sixty years or seventy years pass him by, and he has not established a single prayer with all its limits?! Hammad said: So, abasement befell me within and I said: May I be your sacrifice! Please teach me the prayer. So, Abu `Abdillah (as) stood facing the qibla, erect. Then he placed both his hands together on his thighs, his fingers joined together, and he drew his feet near until they were three digits apart. And he turned, with all the toes of his feet, neither of his feet deflected from the qibla, with submissiveness and complete surrender (tranquility), and said: Allah is the Greatest (Allaahu Akbar)! Then he recited Surat al-Hamd and qul huwallahu ahad with intonation (tartil). Then he paused a little for a measure of one breath while he was standing. Then he said: Allah is the Greatest (Allaahu Akbar) – while he was standing. Then he bowed and spread his palms over the knees and pushed his knees backwards until his back was straight; were a drop of water or fat to be poured on him, it would not slide down due to the straightening of his back and the pushing back of his knees, and he erected his neck and looked down. Then he glorified thrice with intonation and said: Allah listens to the one who praises Him (sami`allahu liman hamidah). Then he recited the takbir while he was standing and raised his hands opposite his face. And he prostrated and placed his hands on the ground prior to his knees and said: Glorified is my Lord, the Most High, and I praise Him (subhana rabbiya 'l-a`laa wa bi hamdih), thrice, and he did not place (i.e. rest) anything (any part) of his body against anything from it. And he prostrated upon eight major [parts]: the forehead and the palms and the kneecaps and the tips of the big toes of the feet and the nose; then these are seven, plenty (seven are required). And the positioning of the nose over the earth is recommended. And it is [out of] compulsion (i.e. the nose is forced to rub the ground when the forehead is on the ground). Then he raised his head from prostration and when he was seated, he said: Allah is the Greatest (Allahu akbar)! Then he sat on his left side and he placed the outside of his right foot over the inside of his left foot, and said: I seek forgiveness of Allah, my Lord and I turn towards (repent unto) Him (astaghfirullaha rabbi wa atubu ilayh). Then he recited the takbir while he was seated and he prostrated a second time and said what he had said in the first and he did not resort to anything from his body against another from it either in the ruku` or the sujud, and he was winged (i.e., the placement of his hands appeared as if there were wings on either side) and he did not place his arms on the ground. Then he prayed the second unit similarly, then said: O Hammad! Pray this way. And do not turn, nor play with your hands or your fingers and do not spit from your right nor your left nor in front of you.

`Ali (as) said: My religion is the religion of the Prophet (s), and my judgment is the judgment of the Prophet. So, whoever insults my religion and my judgment has surely insulted the Messenger of Allah (s).

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: Surely, I have left among you the two heavyweights: (1) the Book of Allah, and (2) my progeny, my Ahl al-Bayt. Surely, they are the two vicegerents (khalifatan) after me. They will not separate until they return to me at the Pond.

When Amir al-Mu’minin (as) wanted to set out to Nahrawan, an astrologer came to him and said to him: O Amir al-Mu’minin! Do not go at this hour. Go after three hours have passed from the day. So, Amir al-Mu’minin (as) said to him: Why is that? He said: Because if you go at this hour, you and your companions will be afflicted with severe harm. If you go in the hour that I have commanded you to go in, then you will triumph and achieve all that you seek. So, Amir al-Mu’minin (as) said to him: Do you know what is in this beast, whether it is male or female? He said: If I calculate, I will know. Amir al-Mu’minin (as) said to him: Whoever ratifies you in this saying has belied the Quran, “Surely, it is Allah with whom rests the knowledge of the Hour; and He sends down the rain, and He knows what is in the wombs. No one knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no one knows in which land he will die. Surely, Allah is Knowing, Aware.” (31:34) Muhammad (s) would not claim what you are claiming. Do you allege that you can guide to the hour that steers one away from harm, and [identify] the hour that, if one travels in it, he incurs harm? According to this view, whoever ratifies you in this saying has become needless of Allah, and has made it more necessary to seek you to repel hateful things from him, and makes it incumbent on himself to give you all praise at the expense of his Lord. Whoever believes in you in this has taken up an equal counterpart to Allah. Then, he (as) said: O Allah! There is no warning except Your warning, and there is no harm except Your harm, and there is no goodness except Your goodness, and there is no god besides You. Then, he turned to the astrologer and said: Rather, we bely you and oppose you. We will travel in the hour that you have prohibited.