أحمد بن محمد

“Abu Ja’far (a.s.) has said, ‘Serenity (al-Sakinah) is belief.”

"God - Blessed and Exalted - distinguished His Messenger (ṣ) with the most noble mannerisms. Test yourselves, therefore, and if you find them within yourselves, then praise God and desire from Him that He increases in them." Then he mentioned that they were ten: "Certainty, contentment, patience, gratitude, satisfaction, good manners, generosity, shame for your household, bravery, and manliness."

Surely, Allah distinguished His Messenger (s) with noble character (makarim al-akhlaq). So, test yourselves – if you have [some of] it, then praise Allah and wish for Him to increase it in you. They are ten [characteristics]: (1) certainty, (2) contentment, (3) patience, (4) gratitude, (5) forbearance, (6) beautiful character, (7) generosity, (8) protectiveness, (9) courage, and (10) chivalry.

“A believer is stronger than a mountain. A mountain loses its parts but no loss takes place in the religion of a believer.”

“Abu al-Hassan (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, “When one who believes with certainty in receiving reward (from Allah), his soul allows him to spend generously.’””

Abu Abdillah عليه السلام said to me: if you are sure that you have broken your Wudhu then renew it, beware of ever renewing a Wudhu unless you are certain that you have broken it.

“Abu Ja’far (a.s.), has said, ‘O Husayn, you must spend (for deserving causes) and be certain about Allah’s replacing what you have spent. Any male or female servant (of Allah) who withholds spending for deserving causes that please Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious, ends up spending a double amount on such things that displeases Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Glorious.”

“Once I asked Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) ‘I may have mentioned those feeble-minded people and I say that those people and we are in homes of paradise.’ Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) said, ‘Allah will never do that to you.’”

“I heard abu Ja’far (a.s.) saying, ‘There is the heart in which there is no belief or disbelief, like a chunk of flesh. Does any one of you feel it is as such sometimes?’”

“Once I asked abu Ja’far (a.s.) about the words of Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious, ‘He sent down serenity into the hearts of the believers. . . (48:4) The Imam said, ‘It (serenity) is belief.’ I (the narrator) then asked him about the words of Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious, ‘He supported them with a spirit from Him. . . .’ (58:22) The Imam said, ‘It (spirit) is belief.’”

“The heart vibrates between the chest and the throat until it forms belief, when it does so it rests as is in the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘Whoever believes in Allah his heart calms down.’” (64:11)

I asked Al-Ridha (s) about faith. He (s) said, ‘Faith is belief in the heart, expression by the tongue and enacting by the body parts. Anything else would not be faith.’”

“Once I asked Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) about the feeble-minded people. The Imam said, ‘They are the people under guardianship.’ I then asked, ‘What kind of guardianship is it?’ The Imam said, ‘It is not a religious guardianship. It is guardianship in marriages, inheritance and social affairs. They are neither believers nor unbelievers. There are those among them for whom one may hope in the command of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy.’”

Prophet (s) said: He who says ‘La ilaha illa (A)llah’ –there is no god but Allah- sincerely will be in Paradise. Sincerity, here, means that this saying should prevent him from violating the things that Allah forbids.

“The heart beats noisily inside in search of the truth. If it finds the truth it calms down and rests.’ The Imam then recited this verse: ‘Allah will open the hearts of whomever He wants to guide to Islam, but He will tighten the chest of one whom He has led astray, as though he were climbing high up into the sky. Thus, God places wickedness on those who do not accept the faith. (6:125)’”

“Once I said to Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) ‘What do you say about the feeble-minded people?’ The Imam asked me in a manner similar to one frightened, ‘Have you left anyone to be considered feeble? By Allah, girls behind the curtains have heard about your cause (Divine Authority of Ahl al-Bayt ) and water carriers in the street of Madina speak about it.’”

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: The first things to rectify this Nation are asceticism and certainty, and the last things to destroy it are stinginess and wishful thinking.

“Say:
‘O Allah, I appeal before You to grant my soul certainty, forgiveness and good health in this life and in the next life. O Allah, You are my trustee, my hope, my shoulder (power) and my supporter. With Your help I disembark and travel.’
Allahumma inni as'aluka li nafsiya al-yaqina wal-'afwa wal-'afiyata fi al-dunya wal-akhirah. Allahumma anta thiqati wa anta raja'i wa anta 'adudi wa anta nasiri. Bika ahullu wa bika asiru.
He (the Imam) said, ‘If one travels alone he should say:
‘Whatever Allah wills happens. There is no power without the help of Allah. O Allah, comfort me in my fear, help me in my loneliness and make the end of my absence (from my home) closer.’”
Ma sha'a Allah la quwwata illa billah Allahumma anis waḥshatī wa-aʿinnī ʿalā waḥdatī wa-add ghaybatī.

“Once I was in the presence of Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) sitting to his left side and Zurara was sitting to his right side. Abu Basil’ came in and he asked, ‘What do you say if one doubts in Allah?’ The Imam said, ‘He is an unbeliever, O abu Muhammad.’ Abu Basir then asked, ‘What if one has doubts in the Messenger of Allah?’ The Imam said, ‘He is an unbeliever.’ The narrator has said that the Imam then turned to Zurara and said, ‘He (such a person) is an unbeliever only if he rejects.’”

Amir al-Mu’minin `Ali b. Abi Talib (as) was asked: What keeps faith steadfast? So, he said: Piety. So, it was said to him: What causes it to decline? He said: Greed.