حمزة

“Whoever is content with what Allah has given him for his sustenance is the richest person of the people.”

“Ali ibn al-Husayn (a.s.), has said, the Messenger of Allah, O Allah, grant compensation to Muhammad and his family worthy of their services to Your cause, has said, ‘Three things work as means of salvation for a person and he described moderation, in both poverty and financial well-being, to be one of such means.’”

“ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (a) said, ‘One who acts upon what Allah has made obligatory on him, he is among the best of people; and whoever eschews what Allah has forbidden him, he is among the most devoted of people; and whoever is content with what Allah has allotted for him, he is among the richest of people.’”

foiiowing: “I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), ’Can a less affluent person accompany affluent people during the journey to Makkah, when he cannot spend as much as they do?’ He (the Imam) replied, ’I do not like his humiliating himself. He should accompany people of his own status.’”

2. Imam Ja’far Sadiq (a.s.) narrates from his predecessors that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said, “O poor ones! Be happy. Allah’s pleasure is granted to your hearts. Allah will pay the price of your poverty. If you had not been poor there was no reward for you.”

I heard ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon him, say: "He who obediently acts according to what Allah has commanded him to do, he is the best of men on earth! And he who obediently refrains from that which Allah has forbidden him, he is the most worshipping servant, the most pious. And whoever is content with what Allah has apportioned to him, is the richest of all men."

“Patience and satisfaction with Allah is the head of obedience to Allah. If one exercises patience and satisfaction with Allah in all the matters which he loves or dislikes, Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, will not make any decision in any of his affairs which he loves or dislikes but that the decisions are in his best interest.”

“I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), if a believing person can have ten shirts. He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, he can do so.’ I then asked, ‘Can he have twenty.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, he can do so.’ I asked, ‘Can he have thirty?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, he can do so. This is not profligacy and lavishness. Profligacy is when you make your dress to maintain your dignity the cloth of your disgraceful condition.’”

Hudhayfa b. al-Yaman called for his son when he died, and he advised him, saying: O my son! Neglect that which is in the hands of the people, for in that is richness. Beware of demanding things from people, for that is manifest poverty. Be better today than you were yesterday. When you pray, pray in bidding farewell to this world as though you will not return to it. Beware of committing to that which you must back out of.

“A man complained before Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) that he works and earns but is not content and his soul’s desires compel him to find more. The man asked the Imam to teach him something to benefit him. Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) said, ‘If it (earnings) is enough for your necessities then it should make you rich. Thus, the minimum should suffice you. If this does not suffice then all things that are there will not suffice you.’”

My father ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn, peace be upon him, used to say that whoever has four characteristics in him, his faith will be deemed complete, and he will be purified of his sins, and he will meet his Lord having earned His pleasure: "He who fulfils his duty towards people for the sake of Allah, and he who is always truthful with people, and he who feels ashamed of committing any ugly deed before people and before Allah, and he who puts on the best behaviour with his family."

“A wise man pursued another wise man for seven-hundred Farsakhs for seven pieces of advice. Once he met him he asked, ‘O Sir! Please tell me what is higher than the sky; what is wider than the Earth; what is deeper than the sea; what is harder than the rocks; what is hotter than fire; what is colder than bitter cold; and what is heavier than the mountains?’ The wise man replied, ‘Truth is higher than the skies; justice is wider than the Earth; self-contentment is deeper than the sea; an atheist’s heart is harder than rocks; the greed of a miser is hotter than the fire; disappointment for obtaining God’s Mercy is colder than bitter cold; and finally accusing an innocent person is heavier than the mountains.’”

A wise man followed another wise man for seven hundred farsakhs [1] in seven words, and when he reached him, he said to him: O you, what is higher than the sky, wider than the earth, richer than the ocean, harder than stone, of more intense heat than fire, of more intense coldness than severe frost and heavier than immovable mountains? So he said to him: O you, indeed, the truth is higher than the sky; justice is wider than the earth; the soul’s sufficiency is richer than the ocean; the heart of the disbeliever is harder than stone; the desirous, the greedy, is of more intense heat than fire; the despair from the mercy of Allah, Exalted and Glorious is He, is of more intense coldness than severe frost; and slander against the innocent is heavier than immovable mountains.

A wiseman sought a wiseman for seven hundred parasangs to attain seven words. When he caught up to him, he said to him: O you! What is higher than heaven, wider than Earth, richer than the sea, harder than stone, hotter than the Fire, colder than Ice Hell (zamharir), and heavier than the stabilizing mountains? So, he said to him: Truth is higher than heaven, justice is wider than Earth, a rich soul is richer than the sea, the heart of a disbeliever is harder than stone, the greedy and possessive is hotter than the Fire, one who loses hope in the mercy of Allah is colder than Ice Hell, and slandering the innocent is heavier than the stabilizing mountains.