علي بن الحسين زين العابدين

“Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.), has said, ‘Wine is made of five substances: Dates, raisins, wheat, barley and honey.’” Muhammad ibn Yahya from Muhammad ibn Ahmad has narrated from ibn abu Najran Safwan al- Jammal from ‘Amir ibn al-Simt from Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.), a similar Hadith.

His grandfather, Imam `Ali, the Commander of the Faithful, delivered the following sermon seven days after the death of the Prophet (SA), after he had completed the compilation of the Qur`an: All praise be to Allah, who, although He is the Existent, cannot be conceived by the imagination. Intellects are prevented from imagining His Essence through likeness and form. His Essence does not alter. He is indivisible in His Perfection. He is the Distinguisher, but not through differences of place. He is the Establisher, but not through composition. He is the Knower, but not through instruments. His Knowledge does not depend on instruments.. There is no knowledge besides Him. If it is said: `He was there’ then it is based on the eternity of His Existence. And if it is said: `He is still there’ then it is due to negating His non-existence. Thus, praise be Him and Exalted is He from the words of he who serve s other than Him and take a god other than Him, the Elevated, High. We extol Him with the praise that He approved for His creation, and made mandatory upon Himself to accept it. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, Alone, without associates, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger. The two witnesses elevate the statement, and multiply the deeds. The scale of actions becomes lighter when these two witnesses are removed form it, and it becomes heavier when these two are places in it. With these two is the achievement of Paradise, escape from Hell, and crossing of the Bridge (al-Sirat). With the two witnesses people may enter Paradise, and with sending blessings [salawat] people attain mercy. Therefore, increase the blessings you send to your Prophet (SA) and his Progeny (AS): Verily, Allah and His Angels bless the Prophet; O you who believe, send blessings unto him and salute him with a salutation worthy of respect. O people! There is no honor greater than Islam, no nobility more respectful than piety, no refuge safer than godliness, no intercessor better than the repentance, no treasure more beneficial than knowledge, no respect higher than forbearance, no value more emphatic than manners, no relation lower than anger, no beauty more attractive than intellect, no bad deed worse than lying, no protection more effective than quietness, no dress more beautiful than health, and no absence closer than death. O people, whoever has walked on the surface of the Earth will certainly fall to its depth. The night and day are speedy in demolishing lives, and for every spark of life there is nourishment. For every seed there is a consumer, and you are the nutrients of death. Most certainly he who recognizes time does not neglect to get prepared (for the Hereafter). No one escapes death, neither the rich through wealth, nor the poor through poverty. O people! Whoever fears his Lord refrains from oppression. He who does not guard his tongue, obscene language overtakes him; and he who does not know the difference between right and wrong belongs to the animal kingdom. How small is suffering compared to tomorrow’s need (the Day of Judgment)! How far it is! Your ignorance (of God) is caused by your defiance, and your sins. How close it: the comfort from exhaustion and the misery from ease. Calamity is not calamity if it is followed by Paradise and the welfare is not welfare if it is followed by Hell. Every ease other than Paradise is inconsiderable and every tribulation other than the Hell is relief.

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.), married a slave-girl who belonged to al-Hassan ibn Ali (a.s) and ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan was informed about it. He wrote a letter to him (the Imam) that said, ‘I have heard that you have become the husband of a slave-girl!’ Ali ibn al-Husayn wrote back to him saying, ‘With Islam, Allah has removed the lowliness and has completed the shortcomings, exonerated of the blame and there is no blame on a Muslim. Blame certainly is the blame of ignorance. The Messenger of Allah (s.w) arranged marriage for his male slave and married with his slave-girl.’ When the letter reached ‘Abd al-Malik he asked those near him, ‘Tell me who is such a man that when something that makes people low and humiliating comes to him it increases for him nothing other than honor?’ They replied, ‘That is ’Amir al-Mu’minin (‘Abd al-Malik).’ He (‘Abd al-Malik) said, ‘No, by Allah that is not it.’ They then said, ‘We do not know anyone to be as such except ’Amir al-Mu’minin.’ He said, ‘No, by Allah, he is not ’Amir al-Mu’minin but he is Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.)’”

"O' people, there is no honor higher than Islam, No dignity more precious than piety, No fortress more secure than restraint, No intercessor more successful than repentance, No treasure more beneficial than knowledge, No dignity more elevated than forbearance, No lineage more effective than good manners, No burden heavier than anger, No beauty more adorned than intellect, No disgrace worse than lying, No guard more vigilant than silence, No attire more beautiful than well-being, And no absent thing closer than death. O' people, whoever walks on the surface of the earth will eventually end up in its depths. The night and day hasten in demolishing the lifespan, and for every living soul, there is sustenance; for every grain, there is a consumer; and you are the sustenance of death. Whoever understands the nature of time will not neglect to prepare. Neither the wealthy due to their wealth nor the poor due to their lack will escape death. O' people, whoever fears his Lord (azj) will restrain his oppression. Whoever does not guard his speech reveals his foolishness. Whoever does not distinguish between good and evil is like the cattle. How insignificant is affliction compared to the great deprivation that awaits tomorrow! Alas! The only reason you have become estranged from each other is due to your sins and transgressions. How near is relief after hardship, and distress after prosperity! No evil is truly evil if followed by Paradise, and no good is truly good if followed by Hellfire. Every comfort short of Paradise is insignificant, and every trial short of Hellfire is safety.

“Ali ibn al-Husayn, ‘Alayhim al-Salam, has said that the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, has said, ‘Do not swear except by Allah and one who swears by Allah must be considered truthful. One must agree with an oath by Allah. If one does not agree with an oath by Allah, is not of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious.’”

Salman al-Farisi (rh) said: One day, I was sitting with the Messenger of Allah (s) when `Ali b. Abi Talib (as) came forward. So, he said to him: O `Ali! Shall I not give you glad tidings? He said: Of course, O Messenger of Allah. He said: My beloved Gabriel informs me from Allah that He has given your lovers and your Shi`a seven characteristics: gentleness at death, harmony in the solitude [of the grave], light in the darkness [of the grave], security at the shock [of the Resurrection], rightly justice at the Scale, a permit on the Path, and entry into Paradise eighty years before the rest of the people of the nations.

"All praise is due to Allah (swt), Who fed us, gave us drink, sufficed us, supported us, sheltered us, blessed us, and bestowed His favor upon us. All praise is due to Allah (swt), Who feeds and is not fed."

“I am ready to give my hand for (abolishing) two negative characteristics in the Shiites: impatience and not keeping secrets.”

Prophet (MGB) told him, “Paradise is eager for you - Ali, Ammar, Salman, Abuzar and Miqdad.”

“The last advice of al-Khizr (MGB) to Moses - the son of Imran (MGB) was as follows: ‘Never blame anyone for their sins. The best deeds in the Opinion of God are the following three deeds: moderation at times of being wealthy; forgiving at times of being in power; and being kind to the servants of God (i.e. the people). If anyone treats others with kindness in this world, God the Honorable the Exalted will treat him with kindness on the Resurrection Day. The foremost form of wisdom is fearing the Blessed the Sublime God.’”

The Prophet, peace be upon him and his progeny, said: "Faith is a statement to be uttered, a deed to be acted upon, and an acknowledgement by intellectual recognition." Abu al-Swalt said: I related this tradition in a sitting with Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and he said: "O Abu Swalt! If this chain of narration were to be read over the insane people, they would recover."

Animals can recognize four things: their Lord - the Blessed the Sublime; death; male and female; and pastures.”

God’s servant has four eyes: two eyes with which he sees the affairs of this world and his religion; and two inner eyes with which he sees the affairs of the Hereafter. When God wishes good for His servant, He opens the servants inner eyes which are in his heart, so that he can see the affairs related to the Hereafter. However, when God wishes anything else, He shall close his inner eyes. ”

Ali (asws) Bin Al-Husayn (asws) has said: ‘By Allah (azwj)! There will not come out any one from us (asws) before the coming out of Al-Qaim (asws) except that his example would be of a nestling trying to come out from its nest before its wings have been formed, so the young boys grab hold of it and play with it’.

Imam Sajjad (a.s) said: “Whoever is content with what God has destined for him is one of the richest persons.”

Imam Zeyn al-Abedin (a.s) said: “The best form of holy war is to watch out what you eat, and restrict your sexual relationships to what is legitimate.”

Imam Sajjad (a.s) said: “The best religious efforts are to watch what you eat and guard your chastity.”

Imam Ali ibn Hussein (a.s) said: “Whoever gets married for the sake of God, and visits his relations of kin, God will place a royal crown on his head on the Resurrection Day.”

Imam Sajjad (a.s) said: “Whoever visits his believing brother for the sake of God will be accompanied by seventy thousand angels, and an angel will say “You did a good act, may you enjoy Heaven” from his behind his back. When he shakes hands with him, he will be immersed in God's Mercy.”

Imam Sajjad (a.s) said: “The best practice near God is the practice of traditions, even if a little.”