الحسن

2. Imam Amirul Momineen (a.s.) said, “If cheaters would not have been hellish, I would have been the greatest fraudster of the Arabs.”

“Once when I was selling al-Sabiriy (a certain kind of fabric) in the shade, abu al-Hassan (a.s.), passed by and said to me, ‘O Hisham, selling in shade is cheating and cheating is not lawful.’”

“It was mentioned before the Imam that a certain man loves to have leadership. The Imam said, ‘Two fierce wolves in a flock of sheep, whose shepherd is far away, are not more harmful to the flock than seeking leadership to a Muslim’s religion is.’”

“Once we were in the presence of abu al-Hassan (a.s.), while in front of him there were certain pieces of dinars. He (the Imam) looked at one piece and picked it up and broke it into two pieces. He (the Imam) said to me, ‘Throw it in the trash so an adulterated thing is not purchased anymore.’”

“Once, a man who sold flour came before abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.). He (the Imam) said to him, ‘Beware of cheating; one who cheats in matters of properties, cheating takes place in his properties, if he does not have any property cheating takes place in his family (wife).”’

The Messenger of Allah (s) said: Whoever is a Muslim should not scheme or deceive others, for surely, I heard Gabriel (as) say: “Scheming and deception are in the Fire.”

God’s Prophet (S) said, “One who is a Muslim should not plot and play tricks as I heard Gabriel (a.s.) say: Indeed one who plots and plays tricks will be thrown into the Fire.” God’s Prophet (S) then added, “Whoever fools a Muslim is not from our nation. Whoever cheats a Muslim is not from our nation.” Then God’s Prophet (S) said, “Gabriel - The Holy Spirit descended to me from the presence of the Lord of the Two Worlds and said, “O Muhammad! I advise you to be good-tempered as this will cause the good of this world and the Hereafter. Know that those of you closest in looks to Me are the ones who are the best-tempered.”

Mu`awiya said one day to `Amr b. al-`As: O Aba `Abdillah! Which of us is worse? `Amr said: I am [worse] in [my] impulsiveness, and you are [worse] in [your] scheming. Mu`awiya said: You have put me over yourself when I am worse than you in impulsiveness. `Amr said: Where was your slyness on the day you raised the codices (al-masahif)? He said: With this you have overcome me, O Aba `Abdillah. Shall I not ask you about something regarding which you will agree with me? He said: By Allah, lying would be repugnant, so ask what you wish me to agree with. So, he said: Did you cheat me when you advised me? He said: No. He said: Rather, by Allah, you did cheat me – I am not saying in all instances, but in one particular instance. He said: In what instance was this? He said: The day `Ali b. Abi Talib challenged me to a duel, and I sought your advice; I said: “What do you think, O Aba `Abdillah?” So, you said: “It would be honourable.” So, you advised me to duel him whilst you knew who he was; so, then I knew that you had cheated me. He said: O commander of the faithful! A man challenged you to duel him with great honour and great danger. Had you dueled him you would have achieved any of two good outcomes. Either you would have killed him, which would have been the killing of the ages, by which you would have increased in honour and have been free to rule, or you would have accompanied the martyrs and the righteous, which would have been the best of company. Mu`awiya said: This [second outcome] is worse than the first. By Allah, I surely know that, had I killed him, I would have gone to the Fire; and had he killed me, I would have gone to the Fire. `Amr said to him: So, what caused you to go and fight against him? He said: Rulership has no blood bonds; and no one will hear this from me after you.