على بن محمد بن سعد الأشعري

“He (the Imam) (a.s.), has said, ‘People in the meeting with the recipient of a gift all have a share in that gift.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘Cure your illnesses by giving charity, repel misfortunes with prayer, and allow means of sustenance to descend upon you by giving charity. Charity finds its way through the beards of seven hundred Satans. No other thing is heavier upon Satan than when you give charity to a believing person. It finds its place in the hand of the Lord, the Most Blessed, the Most High, before finding its place in the hand of a servant (of Allah).”’

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘One day a Jewish man passed by the Holy Prophet, who said, “Assam Alaykum,” and the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, said, “Wa ‘Alayka” (the same to you). His companions said, ‘What the Jewish person said meant “death to you.’” The Holy Prophet said, ‘I said the same to you.’ The Holy Prophet then said, ‘A black serpent will bite him (Jewish man) on his back, and it will kill him.’ The Jewish man went and collected a great deal of firewood, then carried it on his back; after a short while, he returned. The Messenger of Allah asked him to leave his firewood on the ground. He agreed, not realizing there was a black serpent biting on a twig inside the bunch of firewood. The Messenger of Allah asked, ‘What did you do today, Jewish man?’ He replied, ‘I did not do anything other than collecting this firewood and moving. While returning, I ate one of the two cakes I had, and gave the other one as charity to a destitute person.’ The Messenger of Allah said, ‘Because of that charity, Allah protected you. Giving charity repels bad forms of death from man.’”

“The Beneficent God is dominant over the Throne (of the realm).” (20:5) “No single thing is closer to Him than any other thing. The far is not far for Him and the close is not closer to Him. All are the same to Him.”

I asked Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, about the saying of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He: «except for the weakened ones from the men, women and children» (4:98) - the verse. He said: O Sulayman, among these weakened ones, there are those with a thicker neck than you. The weakened are a people who fast, pray and whose bellies and private organs are modest; they do not believe that the truth is with other than us. They hold onto the branches of the tree. For those, Allah might pardon them if they were to adhere to the branches. Moreover, if they were to not know those, then if Allah was to pardon them, it would be due to His mercy, and if He was to torment them, it would be due to their aberration from what He made them know.

“When abu al-Hassan (a.s.), had lunch and the hand-basin was brought, he (the Imam) was the first to wash his hand while he (the Imam) was sitting in the middle of the assembly room, and he (the Imam) said, ‘Begin with one who is on your right side . 5 When one made wudu the servant wanted to remove the hand-basin, but abu al-Hassan (a.s.), said to him, ‘Leave it so that you can wash your hands in it . 555

“It refers to Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.) and the Imams from his descendants.”

“I saw Yahya ibn ‘Umm Tawil standing at al-Kunasa (an open area in Kufah) calling at the peak of his voice, ‘O group of friends of Allah, I disavow whatever you hear. Whoever abuses Ali (a.s.) allow the condemnation of Allah be upon him. We renounce the people of the family of Marwan and all that they worship besides Allah.’ He then would lower his voice and say, ‘Do not sit with those who abuse the friends of Allah. Do not sit with those who doubt our belief and do not accept them as your judge. If any of your brothers (in belief) would need to ask you questions (help), then you have violated your trust with him (for not helping before his appeal).’ He then would read, ‘. . . For the unjust We have prepared a fire which will engulf them with its flames. Whenever they ciy for help they will be answered with water as hot as liquefied brass, which will blister their faces. How terrible is such a drink and such a resting place!”’ (18:29)

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Wherever three or more believing people gather together an equal number of angels also attend it (gathering). If they pray for a good purpose the angels say Amen! If they seek protection (from Allah) against an evil matter, the angels pray to Allah to divert it from them. If they pray so their wishes come true, the angels intercede for them before Allah and pray to Him to grant their wishes. Wherever three or more rejectors (of belief) gather together, ten times their number, Satan also attends it. If they speak Satan also speaks likewise, if they laugh, they (Satans) laugh with them. If they succeed (in abuse) against the friends of Allah, they (Satans) do the same. If any of the believing people is trapped among them and when they involve themselves in such behaviors he should move away from them so he does not become of the attendance along with Satan; the wrath of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, is insurmountable and His condemnation is irremovable.’ The Imam (a.s.) then said, ‘If he cannot do so (move away) he must condemn it in his heart and stand up even for a short while and move a little, like the time of allowing the young animal to have its share of milk while milking the mother.’”

"Whoever claims that Allah is from something, or in something, or on something, has committed disbelief." I asked, "Explain this to me." He said, "I mean by 'from something' that He is contained by something, or held by something, or preceded by something." In another narration, he said, "Whoever claims that Allah is from something has made Him a created being, and whoever claims that He is in something has confined Him, and whoever claims that He is on something has made Him dependent." This is in reference to the verse: "And He is the One who is God in the heavens and God on the earth." [43:84]

“There are three kinds of gatherings that Allah despises and sends His anger upon the attendance therein. You must not sit there to associate with them: a gathering wherein there is one whose tongue speaks lies in his Fatwas (legal opinion), a gathering wherein our enemies are praised freshly and we are mentioned as old (of less value) ones, and a gathering wherein obstacles are created for us and you know it.’ The Imam then read three verses from the book of Allah as if they were in his mouth (or as if they were on his palms): ‘O believers, do not say bad words against the idols lest they (pagans) in their hostility and ignorance say such words against Allah. ’(6: 108) ‘When you see people mocking Our revelations, turn away from them so that they may change the subject. . . .’ (6:68) ‘(Unbelievers), do not follow whatever your lying tongues may tell you is lawful or unlawful to invent lies against Allah. . . .’” (16:116)

“The Holy Quran is one. It has come from One, however, the differences come from the narrators.”

“I asked abu Ja’far (a.s.), about the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, ‘Hasten to remember Allah. . . .’ (62:9). He replied, ‘It means do good deeds and do it promptly; it is a busy day for the Muslims. The reward for the deeds of the Muslims is proportionate to the degree of its business. Both good and bad deeds double on this day.’ The narrator has said that abu Ja’far (a.s.), has said, ‘By Allah, I have received reports that the companions of the Holy Prophet would prepare themselves on Thursday for Friday; it is a busy day for the Muslims.’”

“I took an oath with my self that I will not any food during the day until the rise of Al-Qa’im (the rise of al-Mahdi with Divine Authority). I then went to see abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.).” The narrator has said, “A man from you Shi‘a (followers) has imposed on himself on oath not to eat any food during the day until the rise of Al-Qa’im from the family of Muhammad (s.a) (the rise of al-Mahdi with Divine Authority).” The Imam (a.s.) said, “Fast, then O Karram. Do not fast on the two ‘Id days and the three days of Tashriq (11,12,13) of the month of Dhil Hajj. Also do not fast when you are on a journey or when you will have an illness. It is because when al-Husayn was murdered the heavens and the earth and all the angles in them mourned and lamented before the Lord. They said, “Lord, grant us permission to destroy the creature and purge the earth from them because of their disregard of you reverence and their murdering your chosen people. Allah then inspired them, “My angels, My heavens and My earth be patient and relieved.. He then removed a barrier of the barriers and there appeared Muhammad and the twelve executors of his will. He then held the hand of so and so, Al-Qa’im (the one who will rise with Divine Authority) from among them and said, ‘O My angels, My heavens and My earth through this I will grant support for this.” He said it three times.”

abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) has said the following about the verse of the Holy Quran below. “God is the light of the heavens and the earth. A metaphor for His light is a lantern in which there is a lamp placed in a glass. The glass is like a shining star which is lit from a blessed olive tree that is neither eastern nor western. Its oil almost lights up even though it has not been touched by the fire. It is light upon light. God guides to His light whomever He wants. God uses various metaphors. He has the knowledge of all things.” (24:35) The Imam (a.s.) said that the lantern metaphorically stands for the Holy lady, Fatima (a.s.), the lamp stands for Imam al-Hassan (a.s.) and the glass stands for Imam al-Husayn (a.s.). The shining star stands for the Holy lady Fatima (a.s.) who shines among the ladies of the world. The blessed olive tree stands for Prophet Abraham. Neither eastern nor western means not Jewish nor Christian. ‘Its oil almost lights up’ means that it almost bursts up with knowledge. ‘Light up on light’ means that there will one Imam after the other Imam (a.s.) ‘God guides to His light who ever He wants’ means that Allah guides through the Imams whomever He wants.” About ‘God uses various metaphors’ I said, “Or it (the deeds of the unbelievers) are like the darkness of a deep, stormy sea with layers of giant waves, covered by dark clouds. It is darkness upon darkness whereby even if one stretches out his hands he can not see them. One can have no light unless God gives him light. (24:40) The Imam (a.s.) said, “ ‘darkness’ refers to the first and his friend, ‘with layers of giant waves’ refers to the third, ‘covered with darkness’ refers to the second. ‘it is darkness up on darkness’ refers to Mu‘awiya and the disasters caused by the Amavides. ‘even if one stretches out his hands’ means that even if a true believer would stretch his hands in such disastrous condition ‘he can not see them’. ‘One can have no light unless God gives him light, means the light from the children of the Holy Lady, Fatima (a.s.) ‘Can have no light’ means an Imam on the Day of Judgment.” The Imam (a.s.) said that, “On the Day of Judgment you will see the believers with their light shining in front of them and to their right. They will be told, “Paradise wherein streams flow is the glad news for you today. You will live therein forever. This is the greatest triumph.” (57:12), the shining light in front . .’ is a reference to the Imams (a.s.) whom would walk in front and on the right of the true believers until they all enter paradise.” Ali ibn Muhammad and Muhammad ibn al-Hassan have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Musa ibn al-Qasim al-Bajali and Muhammad ibn yahya from al-‘Amrakiy ibn Ali altogether from Ali ibn Ja‘far (a.s.) from his brother a similar Hadith.

“I heard abu Ja’far (a.s.) say, “O Thabit, Allah, the Most Holy, the Most High, had set up a time limit for it in the year seventy but when al-Husayn (a.s.) was murdered Allah’s anger became more intense on the people on earth. He delayed it until one hundred forty. When then spoke to you about it and you publicized this hadith and disclosed the secret. Allah thereafter has not set up a time limit for it available with us. Allah deletes whatever He wants and establishes whatever He wants, with Him is the original book. Abu Hamza has said, “I narrated the above Hadith to abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.) and he said, “It was as you said.”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘It is permissible for one after experiencing sexual relation to walk in all kinds of Masjid but he must not sit in them. This does not apply to Masjid al- Haram and Masjid of the Messenger of Allah.’”

“I once said to abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, the Imam is one Rak‘at ahead of me which is the first for me and the second for him. Do I say Tashahhud (testimonies of belief) when I sit down? He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, Tashahhud (testimonies of belief) is but a blessing.’”

“I once asked abu Ja‘far al-Thaniy (a.s.), about furs if performing Salah (prayer) with it is permissible. He (the Imam) asked, ‘Which kind of fur is it?’ I replied, ‘Fennec, squirrel and sable. He (the Imam) said, ‘You can perform Salah (prayer) with fennec and squirrel. Do not perform Salah (prayer) with the fur of sable.’ I then asked about foxes. He (the Imam) said, ‘No, you cannot perform Salah (prayer) with it but you can wear it after Salah (prayer). I then asked, ‘Can I perform Salah (prayer) with the layer of clothes next to it?’ He (the Imam) said, ’No, you cannot do so.’”

“I once asked one of the two Imam, ‘Alayhim al-Salam, about a patient who faints and then gains consciousness, if he is required to perform his Salah (prayer) again. He (the Imam) said, ‘He is required to perform only those Salah (prayer) again for which there was still time after his gaining consciousness.’”