فرقد

“I told Abū ʿAbdillāh (a), ‘By your right,[1] this world and what it contains does not please me.’ He said, ‘Fie upon this world and what it contains! And what is it O Dāwūd? Is it anything other than two pieces of cloth and that which fills your belly?’”

“I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) saying, ‘Verily the righteous deed goes to Paradise and paves the way for its doer just as a man sends his servant boy to prepare a place for him.’ Then he recited: ‘As for those who believe and do good deeds, they prepare for themselves [their eternal abode] (Q30:44).’”

“I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘[It is written] in the book of the Messenger of Allah (ṣ)[1]: When you employ what your right hand possesses[2] for something that is difficult for them, then work with them [and assist them] in it.’ He [also] said, ‘Verily my father would instruct them saying, “Stay as you are [and wait for me],” then he would come and see [the work]. If it was heavy [and difficult], he would say bismillāh and then he would [join them and] work with them, but if it was light, he would leave them [to do it themselves].’”

“The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Be ashamed in front of Allah with true shame.’ Someone asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, who is [considered to be] ashamed in front of Allah with true shame [and how can this be achieved]?’ He (ṣ) said, ‘Whoever wants to be ashamed in front of Allah with true shame, let him always keep his death before his eyes, be abstemious in this world and [uninterested in] its embellishments, protect the head and all that it perceives [of sight, sound, taste, and thought] as well as the stomach and all that it digests [from that which is forbidden], and [let him] never forget the graves and the decrepit ruins [which show that this world is evanescent].’”

“Woe be to the one who does not obey Allah through enjoining good and forbidding evil.” He [further] said, “Whoever says ‘There is no god but Allah’ will never go through the heavenly realms until his statement is complemented with righteous action. And one who submits to Allah without following a just Imām has no religion; and one who submits to Allah yet obeys an unjust person has no religion.” He [also] said, “All communities were deluded by seeking more [of this world than others], until they visited the graves.” He [further] said, “One who does good and does not sin is better than one who does good and [also] sins. And one who does good and sins is better than one who [only] sins and does no good.” And he said, “Stopping when in doubt is better than plunging into destruction.”

“A bedouin came to the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, teach me one thing, for I am a man who journeys [regularly] and I stay in the desert.’ He said, ‘Do not get angry.’ The bedouin found that to be too trivial, so he returned to the Prophet (ṣ) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, teach me one thing, for I am a man who journeys [regularly] and I stay in the desert.’ So the Prophet (ṣ) said to him, ‘Do not get angry.’ The bedouin took that to be trivial [advice] so he returned once more and repeated his request. So the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) answered him [in the same way]. The man thought to himself, ‘I will not ask about anything else after this. I understand that he has advised me and warned me not to accuse [anyone] falsely when I get angry, and not to kill [or fight with anyone] when I get angry.’” Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) said, “Anger is the key to all evil.” And he said, “Iblīs used to be with the angels and the angels considered him to be one of them, yet in the knowledge of Allah he was not one of them. When the command to prostrate before Ādam was issued, he was filled with prejudice and anger, so Allah brought out what he held within himself of prejudice and anger.”