عنبسة بن بجاد العابد

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘If you cannot weep then make a weeping-like face.’”

“I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘Much laughing eliminates the dignity of one’s face.’”

I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) say the following: “Joking is a minor form of name-calling.”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Allah loves that a servant asks Him for help in great crimes and He hates the servant who considers trivial sins insignificant.’”

“I once asked abu ‘ Abd Allah (a.s.), to give me an advice. He (the Imam) said, ‘Prepare your supplies, send them ahead of you, be the executor of your own will and do not say to others to send for you what is good for your well-being. 5 ”

‘The Rasool Allah (saww) said to Ali (asws): ‘These are your (asws) Shites from whom your (asws) children would be safe from being killed’.

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘Whenever food was brought to the Messenger of Allah in which there were dates, he began with dates.’”

we were with him [the Imam] when the rulers of Bani Umayya were mentioned so Abu Ja`far عليه السلام said: no one will rebel against Hisham [the Umayyad Caliph] except that he [Hisham] will kill him, he also said: his [Hisham’s] rule will be for twenty years. He [Jabir] said: we were overcome with grief [on hearing that] so he said: what is with you – don’t you know that if Allah Mighty and Majestic wishes to destroy the ruler of a people he orders an angel so he [the angel] journeys swiftly through the celestial sphere and accomplishes what he intends? He [Jabir] said: we relayed these words to Zayd so he said: I witnessed the messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وآله being abused in the presence of Hisham but he did not repudiate it nor did he put a stop to it – so by Allah if there is no one except myself and my son I would still rise up against him!

Abu Abdillah عليه السلام said: If you are not one who can cry outrightly (i.e. when reciting the Qur’an and in supplication) then make like you are crying (i.e. force yourself)

A man came to al-Sadiq Ja`far b. Muhammad (as) and said: Advise me. So, he said: Prepare your belongings and ready your supplies for a long journey. Be an advisor to yourself, and do not depend on someone to give you that which will rectify you.

beware of argumentation in the religion for it diverts the heart from the remembrance of Allāh Mighty and Majestic, leads to hypocrisy, brings about rancour and justifies borrowing lies (to win).

Beware of arguing in religion, for it distracts the heart from the remembrance of Allah, it bequeaths hypocrisy, it forms grudges, and it makes lying easy.

`Anbasa b. Bijad al-`Abid narrated to me. He said: When Isma`il b. Ja`far b. Muhammad died and we left his funeral, al-Sadiq Ja`far b. Muhammad (as) sat down, and we sat down around him. He was melancholy. Then, he raised his head and said: O people! This world is the abode of departure – an abode of crookedness and not an abode of straightness. Departure is a tragedy that cannot be repelled and a woe that cannot be deterred. Surely, people are only distinguished by beautiful mourning and good contemplation. Whoever does not mourn for his brother, his brother will mourn for him. Whoever does not have a child, then he is the one who will proceed [toward death] without a child. Then, he (as) presented the poem of Abi Khurash al-Hadhali when he mourned for his brother: “Do not think that I have forgotten his covenant, but rather, my patience – O Amim – is beautiful.”

‘We were in the presence Abu Ja’far (asws), and the authority of the Clan of Umayya was mentioned, so Abu Ja’far (asws) said: ‘No one comes out (rebels) against Hisham except that he gets killed’. ‘And he (asws) also mentioned that his government would last for twenty years’. He (the narrator) said, ‘That grieved us’. So he (asws) said: ‘What is the matter with you? Whenever Allah (azwj) Mighty and Majestic Intends to Destroy the authority of a people, He (azwj) Commands the Angel to quicken the pace of the orbit in accordance to what He (azwj) Intends to’. He (the narrator) said, ‘So we said to Zayd, ‘This is the discussion we had’. So he said, ‘I witnessed Hisham, and the Rasool Allah (saww) was insulted in his presence, so he neither denied that, nor did he change it. By Allah (azwj)! Even if there is no one except for myself and my son, I would come out (in rebellion) against him’.