Preserving the secret of the Prophet’s Family

“Do you like Allah and His messenger to be considered as liars? Talk to people with what they know and do not tell them what they deny.”

“I heard the Prophet (S) saying: “Do not tell people of what they do not know. Do you like Allah and His messenger to be considered as liars?”

“Abu Abdullah Ja’far bin Muhammad (Imam as-Sadiq) said to me: “O Abdul A’la, undertaking our matter is not by knowing and accepting it. It is by preserving and keeping it secret from those, who are not reliable. Deliver to them (the Shia) my greeting and tell them that he (Imam as-Sadiq) says to you: May Allah have mercy upon one, who brings himself and us people’s love by showing them what they know and refrain from telling them what they deny. He, who makes war against us, is not worse than one, who fabricates against us what we hate.”

“Knowing this matter is not enough to prove your loyalty unless you keep it secret from those, who are not reliable. It suffices you to say what we have said and to be silent on what we have been silent on. If you tell of what we have said and submit to what we have kept silent, then you have believed in what we have believed in. Allah says: "And if they believe in the like of that which ye believe, then they are rightly guided." (2:137) Ali bin al-Husayn has said: “Tell people of what they know and do not burden them with that they cannot bear then you will lead them to avoid us.”

“Undertaking our matter is not by believing and accepting it only. Undertaking our matter is by preserving and keeping it secret from those, who are not qualified for it. Deliver my greeting to them (the Shia) and tell them that he (Imam as-Sadiq) says to you: May Allah have mercy upon one, who brings me and himself people’s love by telling them of what they know and concealing what they deny. By Allah, he, who makes war against us, is not more harmful to us than one, who accuses us of what we hate.”

“He, who spreads our (secret) traditions, is like one, who denies our right.”

“When I tell someone a tradition and he spreads it as he hears it from me, he will deserve to be cursed and repudiated.”
He meant that if that someone would spread the tradition among those who were not reliable or qualified. Imam as-Sadiq’s saying showed that he wanted some of the traditions to be kept secret and not to be spread.

I heard Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (as) saying: Some people pretend that I am their imam. By Allah, I am not their imam. May Allah curse them. Whenever I put a curtain they tore it! I say so and so and they say: he means so and so. Definitely I am the imam of whoever obeys me.”

“By Allah, if your mouths were bound with bands, I would tell every one of you something. By Allah, if I found (atqiya’) among you, I would talk. Allah is the Assistant!”

I heard Abu Ja’far (Imam al-Baqir) saying: “It is a secret that Allah has revealed to Gabriel, Gabriel revealed to Muhammad, Muhammad revealed to Ali and Ali revealed to those, whom Allah willed, one after the other but you are spreading it in the streets!”

“I hold your hand as Abu Abdullah (as) has held my hand and said to me: “O Mufadhdhal, this matter is not achieved by saying only. No, by Allah, it is not so until (our companions) preserve it as Allah has preserved it, honor it as Allah has honored it and care for it deservingly as Allah has ordered.”

“I came to Abu Abdullah (as) when his mawla al-Mu’alla bin Khunays was killed. He said to me: “O Hafs, I have told al-Mu’alla of some things but he spread them then he was afflicted with (iron). I have said to him: We have some traditions, which if someone keeps secret Allah will save his religion and life and if he spreads, Allah will deprive him of his religion and life. O Mu’alla, if one hides the serious traditions of ours, Allah will make that as light between his eyes and grant him with glory among people and if one spreads the serious traditions of ours, he will not die until he is bitten by weapon or he dies confusedly.”