معروف

"I wrote to Abu Ja'far al-Baqir (as) or I told him, 'May God make me your sacrifice, we worship the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, the One, the Unique, the Eternal.' He said, 'Indeed, whoever worships the name without the Named has associated partners (with God), disbelieved, and denied. He has not worshipped anything. Rather, worship God, the One, the Unique, the Eternal, who is named by these names, not by the names themselves. The names are attributes, and He has described Himself with them.'"

“Abu Bilal al-Makkiy narrated to me saying, ‘I saw abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), doing Tawaf around the House then say two Rak‘at salat (prayer) between the door and the Black Stone. I asked him, “I have not seen anyone of you say salat (prayer) at this place.’” He (the Imam) said, “This is the place where Adam received attention and forgiveness.’””

“’Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.), 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, ‘When Allah becomes angry with a people on whom He has not sent any suffering, He makes their prices to become costly, shortens their life span, takes away profit from their trade, their fruits do not become clean, their canals do not over-flow and He withholds their rain and makes their wicked ones to dominate them.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that when the sun declines (toward the west at noontime), it is the time for two Salah (prayer) except that this is before that.” “Also Sa‘d has narrated from al-Husayn ibn Sa’eed and Muhammad ibn Khalid al-Barqiy and al- ‘Abbas ibn Ma’ruf all from al-Qasim and Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from al-Barqiy from al-Qasim: “In a similar Hadith it is said, Time for al-Dhuhr and al- ‘Asr together has come’ and in addition, it is said that you are in the time for both of them (al-Dhuhr and al- ‘Asr Salah (prayer)) until it is sunset.”

“I once asked abu al-Hassan (a.s.), about a woman who is affected mentally and she has an asset which is in the hands of her brother, if there is Zakat on it. He (the Imam) said, ‘If her brother does business with it Zakat is obligatory.’” A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from ibn abu Nasr from Muhammad ibn Sama‘ah from Musa ibn Bakr from Salih a similar Hadith.”

“I once heard Abu Ja‘far (a.s.) say, ‘Do you know what is the meaning of the words of Allah, ‘. . . that they must not disobey you in lawful matters?’ (60:13) I replied, ‘No, I do not know.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘The Messenger of Allah (sw) once said to Fatimah (sa), ‘When I die, you must not cause abrasion to any face, do not spread for me any hairs, do not cry ‘woe is me’ and do not call any gathering to mourn for me.’ He (the Imam) then said, ‘This is the lawful matter about which Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, has spoken.’”

I was present with Abu Ja’far al-Baqir (as) when a man from the Khawarij entered upon him and said: “O Abu Ja’far, what do you worship?” He said: “Allah, the Exalted.” The man asked: “Have you seen Him?” He replied: “No, but the eyes do not perceive Him through physical sight, but the hearts have seen Him through the realities of faith. He cannot be known through analogy, nor can He be comprehended by the senses, nor can He be compared to people. He is described by the signs and known by the indications; His judgment does not err. That is Allah; there is no deity except Him.” The man then left, saying: “Allah knows best where He places His message.”

“Once Amir al-Mu’minin (Ali ibn abu Talib) (a.s.) prayed the morning prayer with people in Iraq. After prayer he gave a speech on having fear of Allah. He wept and made people weep. He then said, ‘By Allah, I lived with a people, in the times of my beloved one, the Messenger of Allah, who were ragged, dusty and slim-bellied. Between their eyes it looked like the hooves of a goat. They spent the night in prostration and in standing position before their Lord, only resting on their feet or forehead. They whispered to their Lord to set their necks free from the fire and, by Allah, I saw them in such condition and they still were afraid and anxious (because of the next life).”’

I followed the instruction: then Allah removed my shortcoming and my children became many.’ Muhammad ibn Rashid has said, ’I remained ill all the time as well as a group of my servants and family (wife), so I would remain alone at home without anyone to help. I heard it from Hisham, I then practiced it and Allah removed the illnesses from me and my family. All praise belongs to Allah.’”

“Abu Ja‘far (a.s.) has said, ‘When you speak of anything ask me for its law in the book of Allah. He also has said in his Hadith, ‘The holy Prophet prohibited much squabbling and brawling, spoiling of property and much questionings.’” A person then asked, “O descendent of the holy Prophet, where is this in the holy Quran?” The Imam (a.s.) replied, “Allah, the Most Glorious, the Most Majestic, says, ‘There is nothing good in much of their secret talks except for that which is for charity, justice, or for reconciliation among people to . (4:114) Do not give to people weak of understanding your property for which God has made you to supervise . (4:5) Believers, do not ask about things which, if revealed to you, would disappoint you . (5:101)”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), once asked me, ‘Do you know how the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, pledged allegiance with women?’ I replied, ‘Allah knows best and the child of His Messenger knows best.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘He (the Messenger of Allah) called them to come together around him (the Messenger of Allah) and asked for a bowl. The place was Baram (near al-Baqi‘). He (the Messenger of Allah) poured water in the bowl just to moisten it and immersed his hand in it, then said, ‘Listen all of you. I pledge allegiance with you with the condition that you will not call anything as partners of Allah, you must not steal, you must not fornicate, you must not kill your children, you must not accuse falsely fabricating all by yourselves and you must not disobey your husbands in lawful matters. Do you confirm and acknowledge?’ They replied, ‘Yes, we confirm.’ He (the Messenger of Allah) then moved his hand from the bowl then said to them, ‘Immerse your hands in the bowl and they also did so. The purified and holy hand of the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, must not have touched female hands who were not of his relatives.’”

“I asked Imam abu ’Abdallah (a.s.) about the words of Allah, ‘Say, ‘He is Allah, One . .’” The Imam replied, “These verses define Allah’s relation to His creation. He is the One, Unique, Eternal, and Absolute. He does not have shadow so one can hold Him but it is He who holds things by their shadows. He knows the unknown and is known to every ignorant person. He is only One. He is not in His creatures and His creatures are not in Him. He does not feel nor others can feel Him (physically). Eyes cannot see Him. He is so High that is near and is so near that He is far. Although disobeyed, yet He forgives. When obeyed, He is appreciative. His earth does not contain Him, nor do His heavens bear Him. He holds all things through His power and He is Everlasting and Eternal. He does not forget or amuse Himself. He does not make any mistakes or play. There is no lapse in His will. His judgment is rewarding and His commands are effective. He does not have a child to become His heir nor is He begotten so His power would be shared. And there is no one like Him.”

“I wrote through ‘Abdal Malik ibn ’a‘yan to Imam abu ‘Abdallah (a.s.). “In Iraq there are people who attribute to Allah forms and lines. If you consider it proper, may Allah take my soul in your service, please write for me the correct belief in the issue of the Oneness of Allah.” The Imam wrote for me, “May Allah grant you blessings. You have asked about the Oneness of Allah and the belief of the group before you. Exalted is Allah, to Who nothing is similar. He is All-hearing and All-seeing. Allah is above what certain people attribute to Him and analogize Him with His creatures and the lies of those who speak lies about Him. Note that the true doctrine in the Oneness of Allah is what is revealed in the Quran in about the attributes of Allah, the Almighty, the Exalted. Keep away from the belief in Allah, the Most High, all ideas that amount to ignoring His existence altogether and those that amount to analogizing Him with the creatures. Neither should His existence be negated nor should He be considered similar to anything. He, Allah, the Most High exists. Exalted is He and far above what is falsely attributed to Him. Do not exceed the limits of the Quran lest you go astray after the clear presentation of Truth.”

I was listening, said, ‘My father has narrated from the people of his family from their ancestors, Alayhim al-Salam, that he said to a certain one of them (ancestors), “In our location there is a place called Qazwin for keeping guard against the enemy called al-Daylam. Is Jihad or Ribat (guarding) obligatory?” He (the person of our ancestors) said, “You must not miss performing al-Hajj around this House.” He repeated the Hadith he had just said and the answer was again, “You must pay attention to this House to perform al-Hajj around it. Do you not agree that one of you stays home to spend on his family of his gains and wait for our cause to materialize? If he finds himself in such a day he is considered like those who were present with the prophet on the day of Badr. If he dies, while waiting for our cause to materialize, he is considered like one standing with the one from us, who will rise with divine authority, in his tent like this” - holding his two index fingers together - saying, “I do not say like this” - holding his index and middle fingers together -“because this one is taller than this.’” Abu al-Hassan al-Rida (a.s.), then said, ‘He had spoken the truth.’”

“When the Messenger of Allah (sw) liberated Makkah, men pledged allegiance; then women came to pledge allegiance; and Allah, most Majestic and most Glorious, said, ‘O Prophet, when believing women come to pledge allegiance with you not to call anything as partner of Allah, not to steal, not to commit fornication, not to kill their children, not to accuse falsely of their own making, must not disobey you in lawful matters, then pledge allegiance with them and ask forgiveness from Allah for them, Allah is forgiving and merciful.’ (60:13)
Hind then said, ‘We brought up children from the time they were infants but you killed them when they grew up.’ Umm Hakim daughter of al-Harith ibn Hisham, wife of ‘Ikramah ibn Abu Jahl asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is that ‘lawful matters’ that Allah has commanded us not to disobey you? He replied, ‘Do not slap any face, abrade it, pull out any hair, tear apart front part of a shirt, blacken clothes and do not cry ‘woe is me’.’
The Messenger of Allah (sw) pledged allegiance with them on this and then she said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, how can we pledge allegiance to you?’ He (the Messenger of Allah) said, ‘I do not place my hand in the hands of women.’ He (the Messenger of Allah) then asked for a bowl of water and immersed his hand in it and then moved it and told them to immerse their hands in the bowl and that was pledging allegiance.’”

“Abd al-Malik ibn A’yan and I wrote to Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) asking him, ‘What is belief?’ He then wrote to us. ‘You, may Allah grant you favors, have asked about belief. Belief is affirmation, with the tongue, that is established in the heart and by the deeds of the body. Beliefs are from each other. Belief is a house. So also, Islam is a house. Rejection (of Islam) is a house. Sometimes a servant (of Allah) is a Muslim before he becomes a believer but he cannot become a believer before becoming a Muslim. Therefore, Islam is before belief and it shares belief. Whenever a servant (of Allah) commits one of the major sins or one of the minor sins that Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, has prohibited he is out of belief and belief falls off of him but the name ‘Muslim’ still applies to him. When he repents and asks forgiveness he returns to the house of belief. Nothing takes him out to rejection but rejection of what is lawful, such as saying to what is lawful, ‘It is unlawful’ or saying lawful to what is unlawful and living thereby (such attitude) as a religion. In such a case one is out of Islam and belief and is in rejection. It is like one’s entering the Sacred Mosque then the Holy Ka’ba wherein he invents an act of heresy. He then is taken out of the Holy Ka’ba and the Sacred precinct and is decapitated and that turns him to hell (for his act of defiant and treachery).”’

‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, is there Zakat on rice and similar things like beans and lintel?’ He (the Imam) ‘Alayhi al-Salam, signed, ‘Pay charity from everything that is measured.’”

“I once wrote to abu Muhammad, Alayhi al-Salam, and asked about the case of a man who sells a piece of land to another man. He does not know its limits, and so he does not appoint any witness to the deal, saying that when the limits are defined then witnesses are appointed; if it is permissible to bear witness or not. He (the Imam), Alayhi al-Salam, signed the answer that said, ‘Yes, it is permissible, all praise belongs to Allah.’ A man wanted to leave for Makkah. He had certain pieces of land in a town, which was a certain distance away from his home. He did not define the limits of the land. He only knew the limits of the town, all of its four sides. He said to the witnesses to bear witness that he has sold the whole town of such and such limits of all four sides one, two, three and four, to so and so. In fact, he only owned a piece of land in the town; if buying as such is permissible, when he has confirmed for him the selling of the whole town. He (the Imam) signed the answer that said, ‘It is not permissible to sell what does not belong to him, however, the purchase of what he owns has become binding in favor of the buyer.’ A man wrote to him (the Imam) asking if it is permissible for the witnesses whom he had appointed to bear testimony for the selling of the whole town to testify about the limits of the land that he owns in the town. He may have come to know such limits of such land through the people of the town if they are just people. He (the Imam) signed the answer that said, ‘Yes, it is permissible about something which is known and understood.’ A man wrote saying that a man says to another man to bear witness that the whole of the house that he owns in such and such place with its limits, all of it is for so and so with all that is in the house of assets; if the buyer can have all that is in the house. He (the Imam), Alayhi al-Salam, signed the answer that said, ‘It is permissible for all that the buying has covered, by the will of Allah.’”

“I heard ’ Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali (a.s.), saying to Shurayh, ’Keep an eye on those who delay payment of debts on them and on the procrastinators and on defending the rights of people against the capable and the affluent ones who throw the wealth of the Muslims to the ruling parties. Take the rights of people from them and sell for this purpose real properties and buildings; I heard the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, saying, “The procrastination of an affluent Muslim is injustice to the Muslim.” Those who do not own real properties and homes or other assets, there is no way against them. You must take notice that people cannot be made to do the right thing except by stopping them from falsehood. Be comforting for the Muslims by the appearance of your face, words and sitting manners so that people with nearness to you cannot expect you to be unjust and your adversary loses hope of your justice. Make a plaintiff to take an oath along with testimony; it clears up the blindness and confusion and solidifies the judgment. You must take notice that Muslims are all just people toward each other except those whipped for penalty who have not repented, those well- known for presenting false testimony and a doubting pessimist. You must always stay away from censuring and hurting people in an adjudicating session, for conducting of which Allah has made the recompense obligatory with good rewards for those who render the right judgment. You must keep in mind that arranging a settlement is permissible among the Muslims, except a settlement that makes the lawful as unlawful and the unlawful as lawful. You must set a time limit for those who claim to have absent witnesses. If they present such witnesses then restore their rights; but if they did not present such witnesses, then you must issue judgment against them. You must never issue a judgment in equitable retaliation or a penalty of the penalties, which Allah has sanctioned for the rights of the Muslims without first showing it to me, by the will of Allah. Do not sit (to eat) in the adjudicating session until you complete eating.”’

Abu Ja’far (asws) said that ‘Allah (azwj) has winds of Mercy as well as winds of Punishment. So if Allah (azwj) Desires that He (azwj) Turns the winds of Punishment into the winds of Mercy, He (azwj) Does it, but He (azwj) never Makes (winds of ) Mercy to be turned into the wind of Punishment’. He (asws) said: ‘And it is never the case that He (azwj) is Merciful to all people who obey Him (azwj) and that their obedience should become an affliction for them, except after theirs having turned from their obedience. He (asws) said: ‘That is how He (azwj) Acted with the people of Yunus (as). When they believed, Allah (azwj) Bestowed mercy upon them after having had Ordained for them the Punishment. He (azwj) had Decided, then Enclosed them with His (azwj) Mercy. So He (azwj) Made the Punishment that was pre-destined for them as a Mercy. He (azwj) Turned it away from them and it had already descended upon them and overwhelmed them, but they pleaded before Him (azwj)’. He (asws) said: ‘And as for the wind of the destruction (Al-Aqeem), so it is a wind of Punishment. Neither, does it inseminate anything from the wombs or anything from the seeds, and it is a wind which comes out from the underneath the seven earths, and not a (single) wind came out from it at all except upon the people of Aad when Allah (azwj) was Wrathful against them. So He (azwj) Commanded the Keepers to take from it a measure of the size of a ring’. He (asws) said: ‘It rebelled against the Keepers, so there came out from it a measure of the nostril of a bull being wrathful against the people of Aad’. He (asws) said: ‘So the Keepers grumbled to Allah (azwj) from that. They said, ‘Our Lord (azwj)! It has rebelled against our orders. We are afraid that it would destroy the ones who have not been disobedient to You (azwj) from Your (azwj) creatures who built Your (azwj) City’. He (asws) said: ‘So Allah (azwj) Sent Jibraeel towards it who faced it with both his wings and returned it back to its place and said to it: ‘Come out of the ones whom you have not been Commanded for’. He (asws) said: ‘So it came out from the ones against whom it had not been Commanded for, and destroyed the people of Aad and those who were present with them (their supporters)’.