Abu Ja`far Muhammad b. `Ali b. al-Husayn b. Musa b. Babuwayh al-Qummi (ra) narrated to us. He said:
Muhammad b. al-Qasim al-Astarabadi (rh) narrated to us. He said: `Abd al-Malik b. Ahmad b. Harun narrated to us. He said: `Ammar b. Raja’ narrated to us. He said:
Yazid b. Harun narrated to us. He said:
Muhammad b. `Amr informed us from Abi Salama from Abi Hurayra. He said: `Ammar b. Raja’ narrated to us. He said: Yazid b. Harun narrated to us. He said
Muhammad b. `Amr informed us from Abi Salama from Abi Hurayra. A man came to the Messenger of Allah (s) and said: O Messenger of Allah! Did you see how so-and-so travelled the sea with just a few things, went to China, went quickly around the globe, and returned with great spoils, so much so that his relatives envied him, so it was distributed among his relatives and his neighbours? So, the Messenger of Allah (s) said: Surely, whenever the wealth of this world increases in quantity and greatness, its owner increases in trial. So, do not glamourize the people of wealth, except for one who is generous with his wealth in the way of Allah. However, shall I not inform you of one who carries even fewer things than your companion, who travels faster than him, who has greater spoils, and who has goodly things preserved for him in the treasuries of the Throne of the Merciful? They said: Of course, O Messenger of Allah. So, the Messenger of Allah (s) said: Look to the one who is coming toward you. So, they looked, and they found a man from the Ansar with a shabby appearance. So, the Messenger of Allah (s) said: Today, this person has climbed to the highest of goodness and obedience – if you were to divide it among the people of the heavens and the Earth, then the least of them would still have had his sins forgiven and Paradise would be obligatory for him. They said: Why, O Messenger of Allah? So, he said: Ask him to inform you of what he did today. So, the companions of the Messenger of Allah (s) went to him and said to him: Congratulations to you over the glad tidings that the Messenger of Allah has given regarding you. What have you done today so that such can be recorded for you? So, the man said: I do not know what I did [special] today, except that I left my house seeking a need that I have been slow with. I feared that I had missed out on it, so I said to myself, “I will make up for it by looking at the face of `Ali b. Abi Talib (as)”, for I have heard the Messenger of Allah (s) say: “Looking at the face of `Ali is worship.” So, the Messenger of Allah (s) said: Yes, by Allah, it is worship, yes, it is worship! O servant of Allah! You went out to gain a gold coin to support your family, but you missed out on that. So, you made up for it by looking at the face of `Ali. You are a lover of him, and you believe in his virtue. That is better for you than having the whole world in pure gold and spending it in the way of Allah. You will be able to intercede for every breath that you take, and Allah will free one thousand people from the Fire through your intercession.