على بن حديد بن حكيم

“I once asked abu al-Hassan (a.s.), ‘I may visit a people after late afternoon prayer while I am fasting and they offer me food, saying, “discontinue your fast.’” He (the Imam) said, ‘Accept the offer; it is better.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), said to me, ‘If one of you may think of doing something, he should perform two Rak‘at Salah (prayer), then praise Allah, speak of His greatness and say, “Allahumma Salli ‘Ala Muhammad wa ‘Ali Muhammad (O Allah grant Muhammad and his family a compensation worthy of their serving Your cause).” Thereafter say, “O Lord, if this matter is good for my religion and worldly matters, please make it possible for me with ease; and if it is otherwise, keep it away from me.’” I then asked, ‘What should I read in the two Rak‘at Salah (prayer)?’ The Imam replied, ‘You may read whatever you like. You can read Chapter 112 or 109.’”

“Zakat is not due on gold. Zakat becomes due only on dinars and dirhams.”

“Once abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), and I were between Makkah and al-Madinah. We passed by a man who had thrown himself near the trunk of a tree. He (the Imam) said, ‘Allow us to see this man. I am afraid he is thirsty. We went to him. He was a man from the Farasin (a certain people) and had long hairs. He (the Imam) asked, ‘Are you thirsty ? He replied, ‘Yes, I am thirsty. He (the Imam) said, ‘O Musadif, dismount and give him water. I went and gave him water. Then we left and I said, ‘He is a Christian man. Do you give charity to a Christian man? He (the Imam) replied, ‘Yes, I give them charity if they are found in that condition. ‘“

O ’Amir al- Mu’minin, I wish you grant me the honor of having food with me. ’Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.), said, ‘I accept your invitation, provided, that you do not overburden yourself by acting formally’. He (the Imam) went to his house. Harith brought a piece of bread and ’Amir al-Mu’minin began to eat. Al-Harith said, ‘I have a few dirham’ and he showed them. They were in his sleeves. ‘If you give permission I like to buy something for you besides these pieces of bread.’ ’Amir al- Mu’minin (a.s.), said, ‘This is what is in your house (so it is sufficient).”’

"Woe to the one whose one triumphs over his ten (meaning the verse 160, Surah al-Ana’am: ’Whoever brings one good deed shall have ten fold the like of it and whoever brings one evil deed shall be recompensed only the like of it...’)" And Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him used to say: "A defrauded person is one whose life is wasted hour by hour." And ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon him, said: "Expect nothing from the others and that is true self-sufficiency, and minimize your needs from them, for being needful is instant poverty. And be cautious of doing things for which you may have to offer an excuse; and when you stand for daily prayers, do so as if you were offering the last and farewell prayers; and if you can manage to be better today than yesterday, or tomorrow better than today, then do so."

Abu Abdillah Ja’far ibn Muhammad, peace be upon both, said: "Always pray in the mosques and be good neighbours to the people. And always uphold your trust and covenants and attend the funerals. For surely, you cannot do without the people! No man’s life can go on without needing the people! As for us, we attend their funerals, and it is for you to do the way your leaders do! People have no alternative but to remain dependent upon each other till death does them apart; then every community will retire to join those they love." Then he said: "Always offer your prayers properly and work for your next world and make the best choice for yourselves. Indeed, a man may be sagacious in his worldly affairs, till it is said: ’How wise is so and so!’ But surely, the sagacious is one who is wise about the hereafter."

I heard Abu Abdillah, peace be upon him, say: "Whenever anyone of you is determined to do good, then he should not delay doing it. For it might so be that a slave of Allah offered prayers or kept a day’s fast and then he is told: Do whatever you desire after this, for I have forgiven you."

“Ali ibn al-Husayn, ‘Alayhim al-Salam, lived in serious financial condition and people of al-Madinah began to speak about it. It came to his notice. He assigned one thousand dirham and sent it to the governor of al-Madinah saying, ‘It is the charity due on our assets.’”

“In the presence of Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) there was a man from our people, also called Shalqan. The Imam had appointed him over his household expenses (included among his dependents) but he had bad manners so he was removed from the job (by Murazim). One day the Imam asked me, ‘O Murazim, have you talked to ‘Isa (Shalqan)?’ I said, ‘Yes, I have talked to him.’ The Imam said, ‘You have done the right thing; there is nothing good in being neglectful. ’”

“’Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.), when climbing on al-Safa’, would face the Ka‘bah, raise his hands and then say, ‘O Allah, forgive my every sin that I have committed. If I will return to sin, return to me with forgiveness, You are Forgiving and Merciful. O Allah, do for me what is worthy of You to do for me; if You do for me what is worthy of You to do for me, You will have mercy on me; but if You punish me, You do not need to do so. I however, need Your mercy. O the One whose mercy I need, grant me kindness and mercy. O Allah, do not do to me what is worthy of me; if You do for me what is worthy of me, You will punish me and in doing so You will not be doing any injustice to me. I am anxious of Your justice but I am not afraid of Your injustice. So, O the One who is just and never does injustice to anyone, be kind and merciful to me.’”

I heard Abū ʿAbdullāh (peace be upon him) say: 'By Allah, you are a light in the darkness of the earth, and by Allah, the inhabitants of the heavens look upon you in the darkness of the earth as you look upon a brilliant star in the sky. Indeed, some of them say to others: 'O so-and-so, how astonishing it is that so-and-so was able to attain this status!' And it is the saying of my father (peace be upon him), by Allah, I am not astonished by those who perish — how they perish — but rather, I am astonished by those who are saved — how they are saved.'"

"I was with Abu Abdullah (a.s) and a group of his followers were also present. The discussion turned to the topics of intellect and ignorance. Abu Abdullah (a.s) said: 'Recognize intellect and its soldiers, and ignorance and its soldiers, and you will be guided.' Sama’ah said: 'I said, "May I be your ransom, we know only what you have taught us."' Abu Abdullah (a.s) replied: 'Indeed, Allah the Mighty and Majestic created intellect, and it was the first creation among the spiritual beings, on the right side of the Throne, from His light. Then He said to it, "Move back," and it moved back. Then He said to it, "Come forward," and it came forward. Then Allah, blessed and exalted, said: "I created you as a great creation and honored you over all My creations." Then He created ignorance from the dark, salty sea. He said to it, "Move back," and it moved back. Then He said to it, "Come forward," but it did not come forward. He said to it, "Did you act arrogantly?" So He cursed it. Then He made for intellect seventy-five soldiers. When ignorance saw the honor Allah had bestowed upon intellect and what He had given it, it harbored enmity towards it. Ignorance said: "O Lord, this is a creation like me. You created it, honored it, and strengthened it, and I am its opposite. I have no power over it, so give me soldiers like those You have given it." Allah said: "Yes, but if you disobey after that, I will expel you and your soldiers from My mercy." Ignorance said: "I am satisfied." So He gave it seventy-five soldiers.
Among what He gave to intellect from the seventy-five soldiers were: goodness, which is the minister of intellect, and He made its opposite evil, which is the minister of ignorance; faith, and its opposite disbelief; affirmation, and its opposite denial; hope, and its opposite despair; justice, and its opposite injustice; contentment, and its opposite discontent; gratitude, and its opposite ingratitude; greed, and its opposite hopelessness; reliance (on Allah), and its opposite covetousness; compassion, and its opposite hardness; mercy, and its opposite anger; knowledge, and its opposite ignorance; understanding, and its opposite folly; chastity, and its opposite promiscuity; asceticism, and its opposite desire; gentleness, and its opposite coarseness; fear, and its opposite audacity; humility, and its opposite arrogance; deliberation, and its opposite hastiness; forbearance, and its opposite foolishness; silence, and its opposite verbosity; surrender, and its opposite arrogance; acceptance, and its opposite doubt; patience, and its opposite impatience; forgiveness, and its opposite vengeance; wealth, and its opposite poverty; remembrance, and its opposite forgetfulness; preservation, and its opposite neglect; kindness, and its opposite cutting off; contentment, and its opposite greed; sharing, and its opposite withholding; friendship, and its opposite enmity; loyalty, and its opposite betrayal; obedience, and its opposite disobedience; submission, and its opposite insolence; safety, and its opposite affliction; love, and its opposite hatred; truthfulness, and its opposite lying; truth, and its opposite falsehood; trustworthiness, and its opposite treachery; sincerity, and its opposite hypocrisy; discernment, and its opposite dullness; understanding, and its opposite stupidity; recognition, and its opposite denial; diplomacy, and its opposite disclosure; safeguarding the unseen, and its opposite cunning; concealment, and its opposite revelation; prayer, and its opposite neglect; fasting, and its opposite breaking the fast; striving (in Allah's way), and its opposite retreat; pilgrimage, and its opposite breaking the covenant; protection of speech, and its opposite slander; righteousness to parents, and its opposite disobedience; reality, and its opposite ostentation; virtue, and its opposite vice; concealment, and its opposite display; precaution, and its opposite publicity; fairness, and its opposite bias; preparation, and its opposite transgression; cleanliness, and its opposite filthiness; modesty, and its opposite shamelessness; moderation, and its opposite aggression; rest, and its opposite fatigue; ease, and its opposite difficulty; blessing, and its opposite curse; well-being, and its opposite affliction; uprightness, and its opposite excess; wisdom, and its opposite desire; dignity, and its opposite frivolity; happiness, and its opposite misery; repentance, and its opposite insistence (on sin); seeking forgiveness, and its opposite deception; preservation, and its opposite neglect; supplication, and its opposite disdain; activity, and its opposite laziness; joy, and its opposite sadness; unity, and its opposite separation; generosity, and its opposite stinginess.
These qualities from the soldiers of the intellect are not all found together in anyone except in a prophet, or the successor of a prophet, or a believer whose heart Allah has tested for faith. As for the rest of our followers, none of them is free from having some of these soldiers until they are complete and cleansed from the soldiers of ignorance. At that time, they will be in the highest degree with the prophets and successors. This can only be achieved by recognizing intellect and its soldiers and avoiding ignorance and its soldiers. May Allah grant us and you success in obeying Him and seeking His pleasure.'"

Gabriel descended upon the Messenger of Allah (sw) and said: ‘O Muhammad, indeed Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has accepted your intercession on behalf of five: the one who carried you in her womb, Āmina bint Wahb ibn ‘Abd Manāf; the one through whom you came from his loins, ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib; the one who cared for you, ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib ibn Hāshim; the one who sheltered you in his house, ‘Abū Ṭālib, ‘Abd Manāf ibn ‘Abd al-Muṭṭalib; and a brother who was with you during the pre-Islamic period.’ He was asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, who was this brother?’ He replied, ‘He was my companion, and I was his, generous and charitable in feeding others.’ The compiler of this book (ra) said: ‘The name of this brother was al-Julās ibn ‘Alqamah.’”

Swearing is of three kinds. There is one kind of swearing, which does not require expiation, the kind that requires expiation, and the false swearing which causes the fire. The kind, which does not require expiation, is the swearing in which one has sworn by Allah for a good cause not to do it and its expiation is doing such thing. The kind of oath, which requires expiation, is that which a man takes for not to do a sinful deed but he does it, then expiation becomes obligatory. Al-Ghumus oath is that which causes the fire and is that in which a man swears against the right of a Muslim man to withhold his assets.”’ Ali ibn Ibrahim has said the following: “He (the Imam) (a.s.), has said that swearing is of three kinds. There is the kind of swearing because of which fire becomes obligatory, the oath, which makes expiation obligatory, and the kind, which does not make the fire or expiation obligatory. The kind of swearing which makes the fire obligatory is the swearing of a man who swears and denies the assets of another. In this way, he takes it away from him or swears against a Muslim man falsely to tangle him or seek the support of Sultan and so on against him in which he succeeds and causes the loss of his life or his assets. For this kind, fire becomes obligatory. The oath because of which expiation becomes obligatory is that which a man takes about a lawful act in the sight of Allah to do it or swears to do something, which is not lawful not to do it, then he repents, in such case expiation becomes obligatory. The kind of oath, which does not require expiation, is that which one takes to cut off good relations with relatives or the Sultan forces him or against his wishes his father or his wife urges him. He swears for an act which is in disobedience to Allah, he swears to do so although he commits a sin, but there is not any expiation on him.’”

“If your body shakes, your tears flow and you fear (God) wholeheartedly, then you can be hopeful of God’s forgiveness, since you have achieved your goal.”

“I once was with abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), on his land where they were harvesting and someone asking for help came. I said, ‘Allah gives you.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Wait. You cannot say that until you give him three times. When you give him three times thereafter if you give, it is for you, and if you stop giving him is also for you.’”

Abu Abdullah (asws) said: ‘It is inherent in the hearts to love the one who benefits it, and hate the one who harms it’.

a man came up to the Rasool Allah (saww) and said, ‘O Rasool Allah (saww)! Can I make half of my Salats for you (saww)?’ So he (saww) said: ‘That would be preferable for you’. So he said, ‘O Rasool Allah (saww), so when I Pray, can I make the whole of my Salat for you (saww)?’ So the Rasool Allah (saww) said: ‘Then Allah (azwj) would Suffice for you for what concerns you from the affairs of your world and your Hereafter’. Then Abu Abdullah (asws) said that: ‘Allah (azwj) Mandated the Rasool Allah (saww), with what He (azwj) never Mandated anyone from His (azwj) creatures. He (azwj) Mandated to him (saww) that he (saww) should go out to all of the people alone, by himself (saww), even if he (saww) could find a group who would fight alongside him (saww). And He (azwj) never Mandated this to anyone from His (azwj) creatures before him (saww), nor after him (saww)’. Then he (asws) recited this Verse: “[4:84] Fight then in Allah’s way; this is not imposed on you except In relation to yourself”. Then said: ‘And Allah (azwj) Made it such that he (saww) should take for Him (azwj) what he (saww) takes for himself (saww). So Allah (azwj) Said: “[6:160] Whoever brings a good deed, he shall have ten like it”, and Made the Salat to the Rasool Allah (saww) by ten (times) the Rewards’.

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘If after completing an obligatory Salah (prayer), one remains in his place for ta‘qib (praying and speaking to Allah) up to the time of the next Salah (prayer), he is a guest of Allah and it is a right in his favor before Allah to honor His guest.’”