Tuhaf Al-uqul ( the Masterpieces of the Mind )

Short Maxims of Imam As-sadiq

1. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He who treats people kindly will be accepted as arbiter.

2. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said:

To trust everybody in times of injustice and cheating is disability.

3. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: If problems are added to each other, they will give birth of relief.

4. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: To recognize the actuality of your friend, you should enrage him. If he keeps up his friendship, he is true friend lest, he is false.

5. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Do not appreciate one's affection before you enrage him three times.

6. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Do not trust your friend perfectly, because the knockdown of the trustful is incurable.

7. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Islam is a definite rank. Faith is one rank higher than Islam. Conviction is one rank higher than faith. People have been given a rank lower than conviction.

8. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said:

To remove a mountain is easier than removing faith.

9. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Faith is in heart and conviction is a number of inspirations.

10. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The desire for the worldly pleasures causes grief and sadness. Abstinence from the worldly pleasures brings about the rest of both heart and body.

11. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Life is to rent a house and buy bread.

12. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He who gains oppression is not gaining welfare. He who mistreats people should not complain when people mistreat him.

13. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: In homelands, exchanging visits is the means of association. In travel, correspondence is the means of association.

14. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: A believer is not perfectly virtuous unless he enjoys three characters-knowledgeability of the religious affairs, moderation in living, and steadfastness against misfortunes.

15. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: An actual believer is that whose sexual appetite does not overcome him and whose stomach does not shame him.

16. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: A twenty-year friendship is kinship.

17. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Favors should be done only to the highborn or the religious. Those who show gratitude are very few.

18. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Enjoining good and forbidding evil should be practiced with a faithful believer that he would learn a lesson, or an ignorant that he would earn. Enjoining good and forbidding evil become surely worthless when they are applied with the powerful tyrants.

19. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Those who enjoin good and forbid evil should enjoy three characters: they should be aware of the matters that they enjoin and the matters that they forbid, fair in the matters that they enjoin and the matters that they forbid, and lenient in the matters that they enjoin and the matters that they forbid.

20. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He who suffers a misfortune due to obtruding upon an unjust ruler will be neither rewarded nor endowed with patience.

21. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: As some people showed ingratitude for God's graces, He changed the graces into crises. As other people showed steadfastness against the misfortunes that inflicted them, God changed the misfortunes into graces.

22. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The prosperity of coexistence and association are three thirds: two thirds are acumen and one is overlooking.

23. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Revenging on the pauper is extremely ugly.

24. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about personality, he answered: Personality stands for that God should not see you in situations against which He warned, and miss you in situations of which He ordered.

25. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Thank him who did you favor, and confer upon him who thanked you. Graces that are shown gratitide will not removed while those that are shown ingratitude will not persist. Thanks increase the graces and saves against poverty.

26. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: To miss a need is better than asking it from other than its people. Bad mannerism in a misfortune is more catastrophic than the misfortune itself. 27. As a man asked him a short item of instruction that collects the welfare of this world and the world to come, the Imam, peace be upon him, said: Never tell untruths.

27. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about eloqunece. He answered: Eloquence is to express the idea in as few as possible words. The eloquent is that who attains his demand in the least effort.

28. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Debt is grief at night and humility in day.

29. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: If your worldly demands are attainable, you should check your religion.

30. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Treat your fathers piously so that your sons will treat you piously. Keep yourselves away from the strange women so that your harem will be chaste.

31. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He who entrusts a betrayer with a deposit will be deprived of God's warranty.

32. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said to Humran bin A'yun: O Humran, look to him who is less powerful that you are and do not look at him who is more powerful so that you will be more satisfied with what God has allotted for you and will be a greater motive to deserve the Lord's increase. Know that little permanent deed with conviction is more favorable to God than the many deeds that are lacking conviction. You should know also that no piety is more profitable than avoiding committing the prohibited matters and the abstinence from harming and backbiting the believers. No living is more pleasant than good mannerism, no fortune is more advantageous than satisfaction with the sufficient and the little, and no ignorance is more harmful than self-conceit.

33. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Pudency is of two faces- one is weakness while the other is power, submission, and faith.

34. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Negligence of others' rights is humility. Certainly, the neglector of rights needs for forgery in this regard.

35. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: It is sufficient for one of the group to salute. Similarly, it is sufficient for one of the group to respond the salutation.

36. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Salutation is voluntary while responding is obligatory.

37. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Do not answer those who speak before they greet you.

38. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Shaking hands is the perfect greeting of the resident and embracement is the perfect greeting of the traveler.

39. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Shake hands, because this will confiscate malice. 41. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Fear God even if to some extent. Construct a screen between Him and you even if transparent.

40. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: As for those who control themselves in rage, desire, fear, and lust, God will prevent Hell from burning their bodies.

41. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Good health is a light grace; it is forgotten when found and mentioned when missed.

42. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: In good days, God endows with the grace of consent. In distress, He endows with the grace of purification.

43. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: It often happens that God endows a servant with a grace that he does not expect. It also happens that one hopes for something while his goodness is in its opposite. It also may happen that one is running for his doom, while he goes slowly for his goodness.

44. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He who does not arrange show steadfastness agains every misfortune, show gratitude for every grace, and show easiness for every complexity will surely be too short to continue. Be broad-minded whenever a misfortune inflicts you, whether in your son, wealth, or other matters. The fact of every misfortune is that God receives his loan and takes his gift back so as to test your tolerance and thanking.

45. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Everything has limits. The limit of conviction is not to fear anything besides God.

46. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The (faithful) believer should enjoy eight characters; he should be venerable in shaking situations, steadfast against misfortunes, thankful in luxury, satisfied with what God has decided to him, avoid oppressing the enemies, avoid overtaxing the associates, should fatigue his body, and make people feel glad with him.

47. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Knowledge is the comrade of the faithful believer, clemency is his supporter, patience is the commander of his army, lenience is his brother, and charity is his father.

48. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said to Abu Ubayda who asked him to supplicate to God for saving him from making his earnings pass by the mediation of the servants: God has arranged to make people's earnings in other people's hands. You should supplicate to God to make your earnings in the hands of the charitable people, because this is a sort of happiness, and not to make your earnings in the hands of the vicious, because it is a sort of despondency.

49. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: As for those who practice without guidance, they are like him who walks without choosing a definite path. The more he walks, the remoter he becomes.

50. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The meaning of God's saying, "Have fear of God as you should be," is that God should be obeyed in such a way that He should not be disobeyed, mentioned in such a way that He should not be neglected, and thanked in such a way that He should not be shown ingratitude.

51. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He who recognizes God accurately will fear Him. He who fears God accurately will disregard the worldly pleasures.

52. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The actual fearful is that who cannot speak due to the intensity of fear.

53. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about the manners of some people who were committing the acts of disobedience to God and claiming that they were desiring for the mercy of God and kept on doing so until death attacked them. He (peace be upon him) said: As for those who act disobediently and claim expecting God's mercy until they die, they are rocking on hopes. They are surely liars. They do not expect God's mercy. He who expects something should seek it. Likewise, he who fears something should escape it.

54. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: We love those who are intelligent, knowledgeable, perceptive, expert, clement, courteous, patient, veracious, and loyal. God gave the noble characters exclusively to the prophets (peace be upon them). He who enjoys such characters should thank God for them. He who does not enjoy them should supplicate to God for them.

As he was asked about these noble characters, Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The noble characters are piety, satisfaction, patience, gratefulness, clemency, pudency, generosity, bravery, enthusiasm, veracity, charity, fulfillment of the trusts, conviction, good mannerism, and chivalry.

57. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The firmest handle of faith is to love, hate, give, and deprive-all for God's sake.

58. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Nothing will follow a dead person except three things: an alms that God gave permanently in his life and it will follow him after death, a norm of guidance that others pursue, and a virtuous son that supplicates to God for his favor.

59. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Lying invalidates the ablution (for the prayers) and breaks the fasting.

The attendants said: "But we use to tell lies." He (peace be upon him) said: I do not mean lying due to garrulity, but I mean forging lies against God, His Apostle, and the Imams (peace be upon them).

The Imam (peace be upon him) then added: Fasting is not abstaining from food or drink only. Mary (peace be upon her) said, -as the Quran reported- "I have promised the Beneficent God to fast." This means to keep silent. Thus, you should keep silent, turn the sights away (from whatever God has forbidden), and stop envying and disputing with each other. Envy consumes the faith like the fire when consumes the wood.

60. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The Divine Throne will be shaken when one makes God the witness of a false matter .

61. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: God knew that sin is better for the believer than self-conceit lest, God will never test the believers through the commitment of sins.

62. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He whose conducts are bad is tormenting himself.

63. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Favor is well-known. Except its reward, nothing is better than doing favor. It is God's gift to the servants. Not everyone who likes to do people favor can do it, not everyone who desires for doing favor will be able to do it, and not everyone who can do favor will be permitted to do it. If God wills to offer a grace to a servant, He gathers the desire, ability, and permission to do favor for him. This is the perfect pleasure and honor for both the seeker and the doer.

64. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Nothing like thanks in increasing the favorable matters and nothing like patience in decreasing the unfavorable matters.

65. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The most effective soldiers of Eblis are women and rage.

66. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The world is the believer's jail, patience is his fortress, and Paradise is his residence. The world is the disbeliever's paradise, grave is his jail, and Hell is his residence.

67. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: God has not created doubtless conviction more similar to unspoiled doubt than death.

68. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Whenever you see a servant (of God) pursuing people's flaws and neglecting his own flaws, you should then realize that he has been trapped (by the Shaitan).

69. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The server of food who thanks (God for so) will be rewarded as same as those who fast just for gaining the rewards of God, and the individual who is cured and thanks (God for curing him) will be rewarded as same as the diseased one who is steadfast against that disease (for the sake of God).

70. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Those who are not scholars should not be regarded as happy, those who are not amiable should not be regarded as laudable, and those who are not tolerant should not be regarded as perfect. Those who do not guard themselves against the scholars' blame and censure should not be expected to gain the welfare of this world and the world to come. The intelligent should be veracious and thankful so that their sayings will be trusted and they will be given increasingly.

71. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: You should not trust the betrayer after you had tested him and you should not accuse him whom you trusted.

72. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about the people who are most respected by God. He answered: The people who are most respected by God are those who mention and obey Him more than the others.

He, then, was asked about the people that are most disrespected by God, Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) answered: The people that are most disprespected by God are those who accuse Him.

"Is there anyone who accuses God?" I asked. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: He who seeks God's decision and dissatisfies himself with it when it comes opposite to his will is accusing God.

"Who else?" asked I. He (peace be upon him) answered: Then come those who complain against God.

"Is there anyone who complaimns against God?" I asked. The Imam (peace be upon him) said: They are those who exaggerate in complaining about the misfortunes that they are suffering.

"Who else?" asked I. He (peace be upon him) answered: Then come those who neglect showing gratitude when they are endowed with a grace and show intolerance when they are inflicted by a problem.

"Who are the most respected by God?" asked I. He (peace be upon him) answered: The most respected people are those who show gratitude when they are given a grace and treat with their problems tolerantly.

73. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The weary are friendless and the envious are fortuneless. Much looking into wisdom pollinates the mind.

74. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Fear of God is sufficient knowledge and deceit is sufficient ignorance.

75. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The best adoration is to know God and behave humbly with Him.

76. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: One scholar is better than one thousand worshippers, one thousand ascetics, and one thousand hardworking persons in worship.

77. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Everything has its tax and the tax of knowledge is to teach its people.

78. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Judges are four categories three of whom will be in Hell while one only will be in Paradise. The judge who judges unjustly intentionally will surely be in Hell. The Judge who judges unjustly inadvertently will be in Hell. The judge who judges justly but unintentionally will be in Hell. The judge who judges justly intentionally will be in Paradise.

79. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about the character of decency. He said: The decent is that who turns his sight away from the forbidden views, holds up his tongue from the ill wording, and abstains from oppressing others.

80. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: God will not ask people about things that are screened from them before He identifies them.

81. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: To put your hand to the elbow between the jaws of a dragon is better than asking those who have newly had fortune.

82. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The settlement of needs is God's, but the ways are in the people's hands. You should thank God for the settlement of your needs, and you should submit, accept, and tolerate if they are not settled. Unsettlement of a need may be for your good. God knows your good while you do not know.

83. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: A man's begging from another man is an ordeal: if he gains what he asked for he will then thank the one who did not give him and if he is refuted, he will censure the one who did not refute him.

84. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: God has installed the whole goodness in leniency and courtesy.

85. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Beware of associating with the lowly, because the association with them will never lead to welfare.

86. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: As a man worries about a little humility, this may engage him into a greater one.

87. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The most advantageous thing is to precede people to the recognition of your own flaws. The heaviest thing is to hide your poverty. The less fortunate thing is to provide the advice to him who refuses it and to live next to an acquisitive individual. The most relaxing thing is to despair of people's giving. Never be weary or obscure. Be modest by submitting to the opinions of him who is higher than you (in rank) and who did you favors when such opinions oppose yours. You have submitted to his being higher than you so as to avoid disagreeing with him. He who does not submit to anybody's favor is surely self-conceited. You should know that he who does not humble himself before God will never gain pride and he who is not modest before God will never gain haughtiness.

88. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: To wear rings on the fingers is a prophetic tradition.

89. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The most favorable friend to me is that who shows me my flaws.

90. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Friendship is nil unless its limits are kept. He who does not keep these limits should not be regarded as friend. The first limit is that the inner self and the appearance should be identical. The second limit is that the friend should regard your goodness and his goodness and your evil as his evil. The third limit of friendship is that a position or fortunes should not change the friend's relation with his friends. The fourth limit is that the friend should not deprive his friend of anything that he is capable of doing. The fifth limit -which is the most comprehensive-, is that the friend should never leave his friend alone in calamities.

91. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Comity is one third of the mind.

92. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The believers' laughter should be only a smile.

93. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: There is no difference between depositing a trust with a betrayer or a negligent.

94. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said to Al-Mufaddel: I instruct you to stick on six characters and relate them to my adherents -Shia-. You should fulfill the trust of him who entrusts you with anything. You should like for your brother whatever you like for yourself. You should know that every matter has an end; therefore, you should beware of the outcomes of matters. Similarly, every matter has a sudden event; hence, beware of the sudden events. Beware of climbing an easy mountain if its slope is uneven. Never promise your brother of a matter that you cannot fulfill.

95. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: God has not permitted people in three matters: they should treat the parents kindly whether they are righteous or wicked, abide by the pledge whether to the righteous or the wicked, and fulfill the trust whether to the righteous or the wicked.

96. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: I feel sympathetic to three classes of people. Anyhow, they should be treated mercifully. They are those who suffered humiliation after honor, those who became needy after having been wealthy, and the scholars whom have been belittled by their folks and the ignorant people.

97. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He whosever heart is attached to the fondness of this world will be suffering three matters-an everlasting care, an unattainable hope, and an unachievable expectation.

98. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Lying and treachery are not within the ethics of the believers. Two characters are not found together in the hypocrites: they are good-looking and understanding of a tradition.

99. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: People are equal like the teeth of a comb. With the support of his brothers, a man can be regarded as great. No goodness is expected in the friendship of those who do not like for their friends whatever they like for themselves.

100. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Understanding is the ornament of faith, self-possession is the ornament of understanding, kindness is the ornament of self-possession, leniency is the ornament of kindness, and easiness is the ornament of leniency.

101. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: You should regard him who became angry with you three times without addressing any bad saying to you as a true friend.

102. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: People will live in a time when nothing will be dearer than a good friend and a legally gotten dirham.

103. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He who intrudes in situations of accusation should never blame those who mistrust him. He who conceals his secrets will possess the options. Every secret that exceeds more than two persons will spread. Regard the best meaning of your brother's saying and never search for an ill meaning in his saying if there is a probability of good intention. You should adhere to the veracious friends because they will be the allies in good days and the shelter in misfortunes. Regarding your affairs, you should counsel with those who fear God. You should regard your friends according to their God-fearing. Keep yourself away from the vicious women and beware of the good-natured ones. If they enjoin a good matter, you should oppose them so that they will not seek the evil for you.

104. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The hypocrites will surely forge lies if they relate something to God and His Apostle, will break their promises to God and His Apostle, and will betray God and His Apostle if they become rulers. This is God's saying: God will, for their disregard of their promise and their telling lies, place hypocrisy in their hearts which will not leave them until they face the consequences of their deeds.

Do not be surprised that they want to be dishonest with you; they have always been dishonest with God. However, He has power over them. God is All-knowing and All-wise.

105. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: It is a sufficient disgrace to wear a scandalous dress or ride on a scandalous aimal.

Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about the scandalous riding animal. He said: The scandalous riding animal is the piebald animal.

106. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: You will not attain the actual faith unless you love the remotest and hate the nearest all for God's sake.

107. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He who attributes the grace that he acknowledges to God is showing gratefulness properly even if he does not use the tongue (for verbal thanks). He who believes that God will punish him for the sin that he committed is seeking God's forgiveness even if he does not say it orally.

The Imam (peace be upon him) then recited God's saying: God will call you to account for all that you may reveal from your souls and all that you may conceal. God will forgive or punish whomever He wants. God has power over all things.

108. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Beware of the two annihilating characters-they are issuing verdicts out of your own opinion and betaking what you do not know as creed.

109. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said to Abu Baseer: O Abu Mohammed, do not spy on people's beliefs lest you will become friendless.

110. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The gracious forgiveness is to stop punishing for a sin and the gracious patience is that which is empty of complaint.

111. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He who enjoys veracity, pudency, good mannerism, and gratitude is a faithful believer even if he is fully sinful.

112. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: You will not be faithful believer before you become fearful and hopeful. You will not be fearful and hopeful before you work for what you fear and hope.

113. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Faith is not identified through outer appearances and hopes. Faith is that which is pure in the hearts and assured by deeds.

114. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: If a man is more than thirty year old, he is middle-aged. If he is more than forty year old, he is old man.

115. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Regarding monotheism, people are of three classes: believer, denier, and anthropomorphist. The denier is wrong, the believer is faithful, and the anthropomorphist is polytheist.

116. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Faith is declaration, practice, and intent. Islam is declaration and practice.

117. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Never break the respect between your friends and you. If respect is broken between you, pudency will vanish. Your amiability will endure as long as there is respect.

118. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He who puts his friend to shame will be deprived of his relationship with him. He who grieves his friend will lose respect. 119. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) answered those who asked him about his seclusion in Wadi Aqeeq -a place- (or with one of his wives whose name was Aqeeq): If you taste the good flavor of seclusion, you will feel an aversion for even yourself. At least, seclusion saves you from treating people punctiliously.

119. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Whenever God opens a door to the worldly pleasures, He will open two to acquisitiveness.

120. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The believer is strange in this world. He should not feel worry of its humility and should not compete with its people for gaining its honor.

121. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about he path of rest. He answered: The path of rest is the opposite of whims.

The Imam (peace be upon him) then was asked when would the sertvants find rest. He answered: The servants (of God) will find rest on the first day in Paradise.

123. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: God does not gather good-looking, understandability, and good mannerism for the hypocrites and the corruptive.

124. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The flavor of water is life and the flavor of bread is power. The source of the physical weakness and power is the fats of the kidneys. The place of the mind is the brain while severity and tenderness are in the heart.

125. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Envy is of two sorts: the seditious envy and the inadvertent envy. As an example of the latter sort is the angels' saying to God, when He decided to choose a deputy on earth, "Are you going to appoint one who will commit corruption and bloodshed therein, even though we (are the only ones who) commemorate Your Name and glorify You?" This means that they suggested that the deputy should be one of them. This suggestion was not out of seditious, rejecting, and denial envy to Adam. As an example of the previous sort of envy, which causes atheism and polytheism, is the Shaitan's envying Adam (peace be upon him) and refuting God's order when he rejected to prostrate (himself before Adam).

126. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Regarding the concept of fatalism and indeterminism, people opt three different opinions. Those who claim that everything is optional are belittling God's predominance. They are wrong. Those who claim that God dragged the servants to disobey Him and charged people with what is over their capability are misjudging Him. They are wrong, too. There are also those who claim that God charged the servants with what they can do and did not oblige them to do what they cannot; hence, the servants thank Him when they do good and seek His forgiveness when they do wrong. These are surely the proper Muslims.

127. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Hasty walking removes the believers' brightness and extinguishes their illumination.

128. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: God surely hates the oppressive wealthy man.

129. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Rage eliminates the intelligence of the wise. He who cannot control his rage will not be able to control his mind.

130. Al-Fudhayl bin Ayadh related: Abu Abdillah (As-Sadiq) (peace be upon him) asked me, 'Do you know who is the avaricious?' 'The avaricious is the niggardly,' I answered. He (peace be upon him) said: The avaricious is eviler than the niggardly. The niggardly withholds what is in his hand, while the avaricious resents people to gain something and withholds what is in his hand. He wishes he would gain whatever is there in people's possession whether legally or illegally. Moreover, the avaricious is never satisfied and never profits by what God gives.

131. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The niggardly is that who gains wealth illegally and spends it unsuitably.

132. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) asked one of his adherents about the reason why one of his friends had been complaining against him. The man said, 'He complained just because I had demanded him with my rights wholly.' The Imam (peace be upon him) became angry as he said: Do you think that demanding with the whole rights is not offense? Have you seen those people about whom God said, "They fear the bad judgment?" Do they fear that their Lord may oppress them? No, at all. They fear that their Lord will demand with the rights perfectly. Hence, He named it, 'the bad judgment'. Surely, demanding with the whole rights is offense.

133. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Muchness of the ill-gotten properties will eradicate the earnings.

134. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Misdemeanor is embittered life.

135. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Faith is one rank higher than Islam and God-fearing is one rank higher than faith. However, they are parts of one another. It happens that a believer speaks some bad wording of which God did not threaten Hell. God says: If you avoid violating the grand sins that which has been prohibited, your sins will be forgiven and you will be admitted into an exalted dwelling. It also happens that another believer, who is more quick-witted, is more sinful. However, both are believers. Conviction is one rank higher than God-fearing. Conviction is the most difficult thing ever given to people. Some people are more certain than others. Some are more steadfast against misfortunes, poverty, ailment, and fear than others.

136. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Richness and dignity are touring. Whenever they notice a place of depending on God, they reside there.

137. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Good mannerism is a part of the religion. It increases the earnings.

138. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Morals are of two forms: one is intent while the other is nature.

Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked, 'Which of them is better than the other?' He answered: The intentional morals are better than the natural, because the owner of natural morals cannot change them, while the owner of the intentional morals is preserving the acts of obedience (to God).

139. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The hearts of the pious harmonize with each other as velocious as the mixture of the water of rivers and the rainfall, even if they do not show harmony. The hearts of the irreverent disagree with each other like the animals when they show conflict after eating in one manger, even if they show agreement. 140. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said:

The actual generous charitable individual is that who spends his wealth for fulfilling the rights of God. 141. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: O people of faith and deposits of concealment! Ponder over things and remember when the oblivious are inadvertent. 142. Al-Mufaddel bin Omar said: I asked Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) about ancestry, generosity, and sovereignty. He (peace be upon him) said: Ancestry is the fortune, generosity is God-fearing, and sovereignty is openhandedness. Have you not noticed that Hatem became the master of his people because he was not the most generous? 143. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said:

Personality is of two sorts. The personality of residence is the recital of the Quran, presence in mosques, association with the good people, and studying the jurisprudence. The personality of traveling is to offer victuals, joke in matters other than these which cause God's satisfaction, reduce disagreement with the companions, and reduce accusing them of bad things when you leave them. 144. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: You should know I will fulfill the trust of even the killer of Ali (peace be upon him) if he deposits something with me or seeks my advice or consultation.

145. Sufian said: I asked Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) whether it is acceptable to praise oneself or not. He answered: It is acceptable to praise oneself in cases of necessity. Joseph the prophet (peace be upon him) said: "Put me in charge of the treasuries of the land. I know how to manage them." The virtuous servant (of God) also said: "I am a trustworthy advisor for you." 146. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said:

God revealed to David the prophet (peace be upon him): O David, you will and I will. If you satisfy yourself with that which I will, I will provide you with what you will. If you reject that which I will and seek that which you will, I will exhaust you without gaining what you will, and there will be only that which I will.

147. Mohammed bin Qays said: I asked Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) whether it is acceptable to sell weapon to the two parties both of whom is wrong. He (peace be upon him) said: Sell to them only defensive weapons: armors, shields, helmets, and the like.

148. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Four characters are invalid in four situations: treachery, seizing excessive shares, stealth, and usury are invalid in hajj, umrah, jihad, and almsgiving.

149. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: God gives the worldly pleasures to those whom He loves as well as those whom He dislikes, while He gives the faith only to whom He selects among the creatures.

150. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He who declares himself as the leader while there is someone who is more knowledgeable is heresiarch and deviant.

151. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) was asked about the commandment of Luqman. He answered: In the commandment of Luqman for his son, there were the marvels. The most marvelous statement of that commandment was his saying to his son: "Fear God so intensely as if He will punish you even if you provide the good deeds of all people and all jinn, and trust Him so perfectly as if He will be merciful to you even if you burden on your back the sins of all people and all jinn."

Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) then said: Every believer inevitably has two illuminations in the heart: one is the illumination of fear and the other is the illumination of hope. These two illuminations are so equal that one will never be heavier than the other in any amount.

152. Abu Basseer related: I asked Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) about faith and Islam. He answered: Faith is the avoidance of acts of disobedience to God. Islam is to practice our rites and slaughter animals as we do.

153. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He whosever word of guidance is followed will be gaining the same reward of those who follow it. He whosever word of deviation is followed will be charged of the same punishment of those who follow it.

154. As some mentioned that the Christians claim that Jesus (peace be upon him) was born on the twenty forth of December, Imam as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) commented: They lied. Jesus the Christ was born in the middle of June. Day and night become equal in the middle of March.

155. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Ishmael was five years older than Isaac. He was 'the slain'. Listen to the saying of Abraham (the prophet, peace be upon him): Lord, grant me a righteous son. This means that Abraham is supplicating to God to give him a righteous son. God says in Sura of As-Saaffat: We gave him the glad news of the birth of a forbearing son.

This refers to Ishmael. Then God says: We gave him the glad news of the birth of Isaac, one of the righteous prophets.

Hence, he who claims that Isaac was older than Ishmael is belying what God revealed in the Quran.

156. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Piety, openhandedness, steadfastness against misfortunes, and administration of the believers' rights-these four characters are within the ethics of the prophets. 157. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: You should not regard a misfortune against which you are granted steadfastness and due to which you are rewarded as a true misfortune. The true misfortune is that which you are deprived of its reward and prize.

157. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: There are definite servants of God on this earth to whom people beseech for settling their needs of this world and the world to come. They are the true faithful believers. They will be secured on the Day of Resurrection. Certainly, the most favorable believers to God are those who meet the living needs of the poor believers and those who support, benefit, and protect the believers against evil.

158. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Exchanging visits with the relatives and charity will make the Judgment easier and guard against sins. Hence, Build good relations with your brothers and treat them charitably by good greeting and response at least.

159. Sufian Athawri related: I visited As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) and asked for a commandment that I would apply on myself after him. 'Will you surely apply it, Suffian?' wondered Imam as-Sadiq (peace be upon him). 'Yes, son of the Prophet's daughter, I will,' answered I. The Imam (peace be upon him) spoke: O Sufian, the liars enjoy no personality, the envious are persistently restless, the kings keep no fraternity, the proud keep no friends, and the ill-mannered should not enjoy leadership. As the Imam stopped, I asked for more. He (peace be upon him) added: O Suffian, trust in God and you will be knowing. Satisfy yourself with that which God has allotted for you and you will be rich. Associate with others in the same way they associate with you and you will have more faith. Do not accompany the lecher so that they will not teach you matters of their lechery. Seek the advice of those who fear God the Glorified.

As the Imam stopped, I asked for more. He (peace be upon him) said: O Suffian, he who searches for honor without sovereignty, might without need of brothers, and dignity without possessing wealth should shift from the humility of the acts of disobedience to God to the nobility of His obedience.

As he stopped, I asked for more. He (peace be upon him) said: O Suffian, my father instructed me three matters and warned me against three. He instructed me that whoever associate with the vicious will not be saved, he who does not opt for good wording will regret, and he who intrudes himself in bad matters will be indicted.

O son of the Prophet's daughter,' I asked, 'What about the three against whom your father warned you?' He (peace be upon him) spoke: My father warned me against associating with the envious, those who rejoice at others' misfortunes, and the talebearers.

161. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Bad-temperedness, bad humor, envy, obduracy, and oppression-these six characters should never be in the believers' behavior.

162. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The believer should live between two fears-the past sin that he does not know what God will do about it and the remaining days that he does not know what misfortunes he will encounter through them. Thus, the believer begins his day fearfully and ends his day fearfully. Except fear, nothing mends the believer.

163. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: God will accept the few deeds of those who satisfy themselves with the little sustenance. He who satisfies himself with the few legal gotten sustenance will have light burdens and pure earnings and will be released from the frame of incapability.

164. Suffian Athawri related: I attended before Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) and said, 'O son of the prophet's daughter, how is your morning?' He answered: Truly, I am grieved and my heart is engaged.

I asked, 'What made you grief and what engaged your heart? He (peace be upon him) answered: O Athawri, he whose heart is occupied by the purity of the decency of God's religion will surely be distracted from everything. O Athawri, what is the world? What is its reality? Is it more than a meal that you had, a dress that you put on, or a pack animal that you rode? The believers do not trust the world and always expect the imminent coming of the world to come. This world is the place of the fated lapse while the world to come is the place of the eternal settlement. The people of this world are the people of inadvertence. The God-fearing ones are the people of the lightest burden and the most supportive. When you are oblivious, they remind you and when they remind you, they lead you to knowledge. You should regard this world as a lodging that you are temporary taking and you will sooner or later leave it, or as a fortune that you got in dreams, but when you woke up you found nothing of it in your hands. It often happens that the matters for which the desirous have often longed would distress them. It also happens that the neglectors of matters will find happiness with them when they have them effortlessly.

165. The Imam (peace be upon him) was asked about the evidence on the existence of the One God. He answered: The evidence is the need of the creatures to Him.

166. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: You will not be regarded as (true) believers before you see the misfortunes as graces and the luxury as disaster.

167. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The possession of four thousand dirhams is fortune. The possession of twelve thousand dirhams is treasuring up. Twenty thousand dirhams cannot be amassed by legal ways. The possessor of thirty thousand dirhams will surely be suffering perdition. The possessors of one hundred thousand dirhams are definitely not reckoned with our adherents -Shia-.

168. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The signs of the accuracy of a Muslim's conviction is to avoid pleasing people by means that enrage God, thanking them for receiving God's sustenance, and blaming them for matters that God has stopped. The earnings of the Muslims cannot be driven into them due to somebody's acquisitiveness and cannot be stopped due to somebody's refutation. If you try to escape getting your earnings as same as you escape from death, it will surely catch up with you as same as death when it will unquestionably catch up with you.

169. Imam as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Among our adherents -Shia- are those whose voices do not exceed their hearing and whose detestation does not exceed their bodies . They avoid praising us declaratorily, regarding those who hate us, disputing with our supporters, and sitting with those who revile at us.

Mihzam asked: "What about those who claim being Shia?" The Imam (peace be upon him) answered: They will be distinguished, discriminated, and inflicted by misfortunes. In few years, they will be perishing, suffering plague, which will kill them, and encountering disagreements that will scatter them. Our true adherents do not bark like dogs, covet like craws, or beg even if they starve. Someone asked: "Where can I find such adherents?" The Imam (peace be upon him) answered: You will find them living in the outskirts. Their living is hardly sufficient. Their dwellings are roving. When they are present, they are not recognized. When they are absent, they are not missed. When they are ailed, nobody visit them. When they betroth, nobody agree to them. When they noticed an evil, they show displeasure. When the ignorant dispute with them, they say, 'salaam' (or use nice wording with them). When the needy seek their support, they treat mercifully. When death comes near to them, they do not show grief. Although they live in different countries, their hearts will not be different.

170. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: He who desires for enjoying a long age should do things precisely. He who desires for having his burdens -sins- lightened should put the screen of pudency. He who desires for being praised and estimated should hide his beliefs.

171. Imam as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: The best deeds of the servants are three: they are to treat the believers fairly, to console the friends, and to mention God in every situation. Some asked: "What is the meaning of mentioning God in every situation?" The Imam (peace be upon him) answered: This means to mention God when you want to commit a sin so that He will prevent you from committing it.

172. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Hamza -A symbol in the Arabic script representing the glottal stop- is an addition in the Quran .

173. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Beware of joking, because it causes rancor and drives into malice. Joking is the lesser revilement.

174. Al-Hasan bin Rashid reported: Abu Abdillah (peace be upon him) said: When a misfortune inflicts you, you should not complain about it to the embracers of other sects. You should complain about it to your brothers. You will certainly gain one of four: you will either find a solution, get a financial help, win a responded supplication, or have a counsel of wisdom. 175. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Do not roam in marts frequently. Do not buy the minute things yourself. It is abominable for the religious and the highborn to buy the minute things themselves except in three states: buying the real estates, the slaves, and the camels.

175. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Do not discuss matters that do not concern you. Leave discussing most of the matters that concern you until you find the appropriate time. It often happens that the rightful discusser of a matter that concerns him will be exhausted because he uses improper time. Do not dispute anyone; whether foolish or clement. The clement overcomes you and the ignorant embarrass you. Mention your absent friends in the same way you like him to mention you when you are absent. This is the true action. When you act, you should be certain that you will be rewarded for good deeds and punished for evildoings.

176. Younus related: Before Imam as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) I said: "My loyalty to you -the Prophet's family- and recognition of your rights are most favorable to me than this world with all of its insides." I noticed the Imam was enraged. After a while, he (peace be upon him) said: "O Younus, you have evaluated us in an improper measurement. What is the world and what are its insides? It is no more than relief of a trouble or screening of a defect. By loyalty to us, you are gaining the endless life.

177. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: O adherents of Mohammed's family, for those who do not possess themselves in rage, those who do not respect the companionship and association and compromise of their companions and associates and parties, and those who do not oppose others in a peaceful way, all these are not belonging to us. O adherents of Mohammed's family, exert all your efforts in fearing God. All might and power belong to God.

178. Abdul-A'la reported: Abu Abdillah (peace be upon him) asked me whether I had been associating the people of Medina. I answered affirmatively. He told me to inform him of their news. I told that once I was sitting among people of Medina when they were talking about openhandedness. A man, named Abu Dukein, spoke, 'It is surely Ja'far except that he is like this.' He then closed his hand. As he listened to this story, the Imam (peace be upon him) commented: Woe to Abu Dukein! His like is the feather; the wind flights it whenever it blows.

After a pause, he (peace be upon him) added: The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Any favor is charity. The best alms is that which does not influence one's expenditure of his family members. Begin, when you give alms, with those whose provisions are obligatory upon you. The hand of the giver is better than the hand of the receiver. God does not censure for the minimum sustenance." Do you think that God is ungenerous or there is something more generous than Him? The true generous and master is that who carries out God's rights correctly. He who gains money illegally and spends it unrightfully is not generous. Most surely, I desire for meeting God without taking anything that is illicit for me. I have fulfilled the rights of God entirely. I passed no single night without defraying God's rights in my fortune.

180. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Suckling after weaning is void. Continuous fasting is void. Orphanage after maturity is void. Keeping silent a day up to night is void. Migration after the conquest of Mecca is void. Migration to the non-Muslim countries (after living in a Muslim country) is void. Divorcement before marriage is void. Manumission before slavery is void. The oath of sons, slaves, and wives regarding their fathers, masters, and husbands is void. Vow of an act of disobedience (to God) is void. Oath of rupturing relations is void.

181. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: No one can attain good livelihood -even if he is so lucky- without passing through misfortunes. Days will usurp the opportunities of those who waste today's opportunity due to their expectation of tomorrow's opportunities. Days' custom is the usurpation of opportunities and the habit of time is wasting them.

182. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Doing favors is the tax of graces, intercession is the tax of the power, diseases are the tax of bodies, and forgiveness is the tax of success. Everything whose tax is defrayed will be guarded against loss.

183. In misfortunes, Imam as-Sadiq (peace be upon him) used to say: All praise is due to Allah Who did not make my misfortune in my religious affairs. All praise is due to Allah Who could, if He willed, make my misfortune more catastrophic than what it is now. All praise is due to Allah for the matter that He willed to be, and it was as He willed.

184. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: God says: For him who saves a confused individual, I will consider him as thankful and will lodge him in My Paradise.

185. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: If the world advances to some people, it will garb them with the others' charms. If it leaves some people, it usurps their own charms.

186. Imam As-Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: Daughters are advantages and sons are graces. You will be rewarded for the advantages and asked about the graces.