Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

The battalions

As for the battalions that the Prophet (a.s.) had sent to some districts and villages, the purpose of them was to show the power and authority of Islam there and not to let those villages join the enemies of Islam. From the other goals, it was to spread the high principles and values among those people and to liberate them from idolatry and the bad habits of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance.

Anyhow, we mention here the battalions that the Prophet (a.s.) sent here and there and entrusted their leaderships to some of his companions. They were thirty-eight as the following:

1. The battalion of Zayd bin Haritha

The Prophet (a.s.) sent Zayd bin Haritha on a battalion from the Muslim army to attack a trading caravan of Quraysh headed by Abu Sufyan. Zayd with his battalion could find and arrest the caravan with all the goods, whereas all the men of the caravan ran away.[1] The purpose of this attack was to weaken the power of the main enemy of Islam; the tribe of Quraysh.

2. The battalion of Khalid

The Prophet (a.s.) sent some battalions to the villages around Mecca inviting their people towards Allah alone. He sent a battalion under the leadership of Khalid bin al-Waleed to the Banu Juthaymah to invite them to Islam and not to fight them. When Khaild arrived there, he ordered the people of Juthaymah to put their arms aside. Jahdam, a man from the tribe, suspecting Khalid, said to his tribe, “How bad it is to you, O Banu Juthayma! It is Khalid. By Allah, there is nothing after the putting aside of arms except capturing, and there is nothing after the capturing except beheading. By Allah, I will not put my weapon aside.”

Some men of his tribe denied him and said, “O Jahdam, do you want to shed our bloods? The people have turned Muslims and put their arms aside. The war has been cancelled and people have felt secure.”

They insisted on him until they could take off his sword. When they all put aside their arms, Khalid ordered them to be tied, and then he killed many of them by the sword. When the news came to the Prophet (a.s.), he became very angry and felt great pain. He raised his hands towards the heaven and said, “O Allah, I am free to you from what Khalid has done.”

Then, the Prophet (a.s.) sent for Imam Ali (a.s.) and ordered him to go to the Banu Juthaymah to repair the affairs. Imam Ali (a.s.) set out carrying with him monies which the Prophet (a.s.) had given to be paid as blood-money of the killed ones. Imam Ali (a.s.) paid to and recompensed them for everything even for a dog’s broken drinking vessel. Nothing of shed blood or damaged property remained except that Imam Ali (a.s.) paid money for it. Some money remained with the Imam, but he gave it to them saying, “I give you the remainder of this money as a precaution for the messenger of Allah from what he does not know and what you do not know.”

Imam Ali (a.s.) went back to the Prophet (a.s.) and told him of what happened. The Prophet (a.s.) thanked him and said, “You have done well and right.” Then the Prophet (a.s.) raised his hands towards the heaven and said, “O Allah, I am free to you from what Khalid has done.” He said that three times.[2]

This event shows that Khalid did not care for the Islamic morals. He did not regard any covenant. In fact he was eager to shed bloods. His famous story with Malik bin Nuwayrah was another evidence that very clearly confirms this fact.

3. The battalion of Abdullah bin Rawaha

The Prophet (a.s.) sent Abdullah bin Rawaha with thirty horsemen to Yusayr bin Rizam the Jew. The Prophet (a.s.) had been informed about the evil and the plotting of this villain Jew who was gathering people in order to fight against the Prophet (a.s.) and his companions. When Abdullah bin Rawaha met Yusayr, he said to him, “The messenger of Allah has sent us to you (to tell you) that he has decided to appoint you the wali over Khaybar.” After insistence, he responded and went with the Muslims accompanied by thirty men from his people like the number of the Muslims accompanying Abdullah bin Rawaha. When they arrived in Qarqarat Niyar (six miles from Khaybar), Yusayr regretted what he had done, and so he fell down to take the sword of Abdullah bin Rawaha who noticed that and he struck Yusayr’s leg and cut it. Yusayr hit Abdullah with a stick that was in his hand and he wounded his head. Then every Muslim attacked the Jew that was before him. All the Jews were killed except one who could run away, whereas no one of the Muslims was killed. When Abdullah came back, the Prophet (a.s.) saw the wound in his head. He treated the wound with his saliva and it got well.[3]

4. The battalion of Basheer bin Sa’d

The Prophet (a.s.) sent Basheer bin Sa’d with thirty horsemen to the Banu Murrah in Fadak who fought him and killed all the men with him. Basheer was patient in fighting them. He fought courageously until he could escape them safely and go back to Medina.

Then, the Prophet (a.s.) sent to them Ghalib bin Abdullah with some great companions among whom was Usamah bin Zayd and ibn Mas’ud. Usamah fought against Mardas bin Nehik, and when he was able to kill him, Mardas said, “There is no god but Allah”. However, Usamah did not care for that and he killed the man. The companions blamed Usamah for that. The Prophet (a.s.) was too much distressed for that and he said to Usamah, “O Usamah, who is to you without ‘there is no god but Allah’?” Usamah felt great regret for the great sin he committed.[4]

5. The battalion of Abu Hadrad

Rifa’ah bin Qays and some men from the Banu Jusham bin Mo’awiya camped in a forest trying to gather some other people in order to fight against the Prophet (a.s.) and his followers. The Prophet (a.s.) sent for Abu Hadrad and other two Muslims and ordered them to deal with the trouble of Rifa’ah. They set out until they were near the camp of Rifa’ah and his men. In the night, Abu Hadrad could kill Rifa’ah, and then he with his two companions went back to the Prophet (a.s.).[5]

6. The battalion of Amr bin al-Aas

The Prophet (a.s.) sent Amr on the head of a battalion to mobilize the Arab tribes towards Sham. No fight took place during this expedition. Its task was just to call people to attack Sham.

7. The battalion of Zayd bin Harithah

Zayd bin Harithah attacked, with a battalion, Wadi al-Qura in which there was a people from the Banu Fazarah. In this fight, Zayd was wounded. He took an oath that he would not sleep with his wife except after defeating the Banu Fazarah. He went back to the Prophet (a.s.) who made him the leader of an army that marched again towards the Banu Fazarah who were killed in this battle and the rest of them were taken prisoners.[6]

The mentioned above are some of the military tasks that the Prophet (a.s.) had sent to guide people to Islam or to defeat some groups of polytheists or unfaithful powers that were hostile to Islam and Muslims. There were other military tasks that we see it is not necessary to mention them all here. Ibn Hisham mentions in his Seera that those tasks were thirty-eight ones in the form of battalions the Prophet (a.s.) had sent here and there under the leadership of some of his companions.[7]

The signs of the departure

Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) carried out the mission of his Lord to His people perfectly. He saved them from ignorance and bad habits and freed their minds from their rigidity and guide them to see the vast horizons of the noble life in this world and the afterworld.

The Prophet (a.s.) suffered all kinds of calamities and hardships from the tyrants of Quraysh, the arrogants of the Arabs, and the cruel Jews. They accused him of madness, lying, and magic. They encouraged their children and fools to throw him with earth and stones. They punished those who followed him with the severest kinds of harms and torments. Because of that punishment, Yasir and Sumayyah (Ammar’s parents) were martyred at the beginning of the mission. Then, the first Muslims were obliged to leave their homes and emigrate to Abyssinia.

At that period, the protector and defender of the Prophet (a.s.) was his uncle Abu Talib the faithful of Quraysh, but after his death, the arrogants of Quraysh found the Prophet (a.s.) alone and they deemed him weak. They sent forty men from their villains to surround his house in order to do away with him, but Allah made him escape them under the darkness of night towards Medina after having left his brother Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s.) to sleep in his (the Prophet) bed wrapping himself in his (the Prophet) garment. Thus, the Prophet (a.s.) was saved by the mercy of Allah the Almighty.

When the Prophet (a.s.) arrived in Medina, he found among its people protection, security, and powerfulness until he took it as his capital. The people of Quraysh were filled with grudge and spite. They prepared armies to fight him from time to time; the battle of Badr, Uhud, al-Ahzab…all under the leadership of Abu Sufyan, the father of Mo’awiyah and the grandfather of Yazid.

However, all their attempts failed and they returned empty-handed but with disgrace. Allah supported His messenger and honored him with great victories until he won the greatest of them; the conquest of Mecca that made people embrace Islam groups by groups and made the arrogant men of Quraysh submit to the rule of Islam and Muslims.

Anyhow, after having carried out the mission of his Lord, the signs of the departure from this world to the better world appeared on the Prophet (a.s.). From the signs of this departure was the following:

First, the Holy Qur'an was reviewed to him twice in that year whereas it was reviewed to him once a year before.[1] Therefore, he felt that his inevitable death was near.[2] He began announcing his coming death to the Muslims. He said to his daughter Fatima (a.s.), “Gabriel used to review the Qur'an to me once every year, but this year he reviewed it to me twice. I do not see that for anything except that my death is near.”[3]

Second, the following verses were revealed to him, (Surely you shall die and they (too) shall surely die. Then surely on the Day of Resurrection you will contend one with another before your Lord).[4]

After the revelation of these verses, Muslims heard him saying, “I wish I knew when that shall be.”

Third, the Sura of an-Nasr was revealed to him and he felt that his death was about to come. After that, he often kept silent for a while in the prayer, and when Muslims asked him why, he said, “I am consoled for my life (I have been told that I am about to die).”[5]

The farewell Hajj

When the Prophet (a.s.) was certain that he would soon leave to the better world, he saw that he should make a pilgrimage to the Inviolable House and to show to his nation the ways of its rescue and deliverance that would keep it safe from disasters and seditions and make it prevail over the nations of the earth. Therefore, he performed the hajj to the Kaaba to announce there before all Muslims that that was the last year that Muslims could see him among them. He said,

“I do not know. Perhaps, I will not meet you after this year in this place forever.”

The hajjis felt worried and they said one to another: “the Prophet informs about his death.”

In order to assure a good future for his nation, the Prophet (a.s.) said, “O people, I leave among you the two weighty things; the Book of Allah and my progeny, my household.”

When the Prophet (a.s.) finished the rites of the hajj, he stopped at the well of Zamzam and ordered Rabee’ah bin Khalaf to stand beside him and to repeat loudly what he would say. The Prophet (a.s.) said (before the hajjis), “Do you know which country this is? Do you know which month this is? Do you which day this is?”

They all cried out, “Yes, this is the inviolable country, and the inviolable month, and the inviolable day.”

The Prophet (a.s.) began announcing his high values saying, “Allah has prohibited to you your bloods and your properties[6] as the inviolability of this country, as the inviolability of this month, and as the inviolability of this day… Have I informed?”

They all said, “Yes, you have.”

The Prophet (a.s.) added, “Fear Allah and do not diminish the things of people, and do not act corruptly in the land. Whoever has had a trust, let him give it back to its owner…People in Islam are equal…all are from Adam and Eve. There is no preference for an Arab to a foreigner or for a foreigner to an Arab except by the fear of Allah…Have I informed?”

They all said, “Yes, you have.”

He said, “O Allah, bear witness!

Do not come to me with your lineages[7] but come to me with your deeds…Have I informed?”

They said, “Yes, you have.”

He added, “O Allah, bear witness. Every blood (that was shed) in the pre-Islamic era is put under my foot, and the first blood that I put under my foot is the blood of Rabee’ah bin al-Harith bin Abdul Muttalib. Have I informed?’

They said, “Yes.”

He said, “O Allah, bear witness.”

Then he said, “Every usury in the pre-Islamic era is put under my foot, and the first usury that I put under my foot is the usury of al-Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib. Have I informed?”

They said, “Yes, you have.”

He said, “O Allah, bear witness.”

Then he said, “O people, postponement (of the sacred month) is only an excess in disbelief whereby those who disbelieve are misled; they allow it one year and forbid it (another) year, that they may make up the number of the months which Allah hath hallowed…

I recommend you to be kind to women for they are deposits with you. They are weak. You have taken them by the deposit of Allah, and married them by the Book of Allah. You have rights on them and they have rights on you. They have a right on you that you provide them with clothes and sustenance, and you have a right on them that they should not betray you with anyone in your beds, and not permit anyone into your houses except with your knowledge and permission. … Have I informed?”

They said, “Yes, you have.”

He said, “O Allah, bear witness.”

Then he said, “I recommend you to be kind to what your hands possess (servants). Feed them with what you (yourselves) eat and clothe them with what you (yourselves) wear…Have I informed?”

They said, “Yes, you have.”

He said, “O Allah bear witness.”

Then he said, “A Muslim is a brother to a Muslim. He should not cheat, betray, or backbite him. His blood (killing) is not lawful to him, nor anything of his property except by his permission willingly. Have I informed?”

They said, “Yes, you have.”

The Prophet (a.s.) kept on his precious speech that was full of Islamic morals, manners, and rulings. He ended his speech saying, “Do not turn back after me unbelievers leading people astray and subjugating one another. I have left among you what if you keep to, you shall not go astray; the Book of Allah and my progeny, my family. Have I informed?”

They said, “Yes, you have.”

He said, “O Allah, bear witness.”

Then he said to them, “You are responsible. Let the present of you inform the absent!”[8]

The conference of Ghadeer Khum

When the Prophet (a.s.) performed his last hajj, he (with the Muslims) began his journey back to Medina. When he (and the Muslims) arrived in Ghadeer Khum, Gabriel came down to him carrying with him a very important message from the Heaven. It was to appoint Ameerul Mo'minin Ali bin Abi Talib a caliph over the Muslims (after the Prophet) and to announce that openly and with no moment of delay. The message of the Heaven was revealed in this verse, (O Messenger! deliver what bas been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect you from the people).[9]

Historians mention that this verse was revealed to the Prophet (a.s.) in the Ghadeer Khum[10] and it had a strict warning to the Prophet (a.s.) that if he did not carry out this order, it would be as if he had not carried out the mission of his Lord, and his efforts would go in vain.

The Prophet (a.s.) determined to fulfill the will of Allah. He stopped at the desert and ordered the caravans of the hajjis to do the same. It was a very hot summer day that men put the ends of their abas under their legs to guard against hot. When Muslims, who were about one hundred thousands or more as historians say, gathered together, the Prophet (a.s.) began making a speech before them. First, he explained to them what he suffered for the sake of their guidance and to save them from the superstitions of the age of ignorance into a safe, noble life. Then, he said,

“See how you will obey me through (being loyal to) the two weighty things.”

Some one cried out, “O messenger of Allah, what are the two weighty things?”

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “The major weighty thing is the Book of Allah; its one end is in the hand of Allah and the other end is in your hands. Keep to it and do not deviate. The other is the minor weighty thing; it is my progeny. Kind Gabriel told me that they (the Book of Allah and the progeny) will not separate until they will come to me at the pond (in the Paradise), and I prayed my Lord to do that for them. Do not antecede them that you may perish, and do not lag behind them that you may perish…”

Then, the Prophet (a.s.) took Imam Ali’s hand and announced his guardianship over the Muslims and appointed him a general leader over the nation. He raised Imam Ali’s hand until the white of their (the Prophet and Imam Ali) armpits appeared and he addressed the Muslims loudly;

“O people, who is worthier of the believers than themselves?”

They all said, “Allah and His messenger are more aware.”

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Allah is my guardian and I am the guardian of the believers, and I am worthier of them than themselves. Whoever I am his guardian Ali is to be his guardian.”

He repeated that three times and then said, “O Allah, guard whoever follows him, be an enemy to whoever opposes him, love whoever loves him, hate whoever hates him, support whoever supports him, let down whoever betrays him, and turn the truth with him wherever he turns. Let the present inform the absent…”

The homage to Imam Ali

After the Prophet’s speech, Muslims came to Imam Ali (a.s.) congratulating and paying homage to him. The Prophet (a.s.) ordered his wives to pay homage to Imam Ali (a.s.) and they did.[11] Umar bin al-Khattab shook hand with the imam and said to him, “Congratulations O son of Abi Talib! You have become my guardian and the guardian of every believing man and believing woman.”[12]

On that eternal day, this verse was revealed to the Prophet (a.s.), (This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor on you and chosen for you Islam as a religion).[13]

The religion was perfected and the great favor was completed to the nation by announcing the guardianship of Imam Ali (a.s.), the pioneer of the truth and justice in Islam. The Prophet (a.s.) had gathered his nation together on knowledge, faith, and piety by paying the homage to Imam Ali (a.s.), for there was no one at all from among the Prophet’s companions or family like Imam Ali (a.s.) in any one of his qualities and ideals. The allegiance to Imam Ali (a.s.) was a part from the mission of Islam and a pillar from the pillars of the religion, and whoever denies that as if he has denied Islam as Allama al-Ala’ili says.

The Prophet and the caliphate

The Prophet (a.s.) cared greatly about the matter of caliphate and imamate that would lead the nation after him. It was the continuity of his sharia and rule that he compared it to his mission of Islam at its beginning when he invited his family to believe him and believe in the principles he had received from the heaven. However, no one from his family responded to him except Ali bin Abi Talib (a.s.). The Prophet (a.s.) put his hand on Ali’s neck and said, “This is my brother, vizier, guardian, and caliph (successor) among you after me. So you listen and obey him.”[14]

The Prophet (a.s.) also said, “Whoever dies while unknowing the imam (leader) of his time, he dies as unbeliever (of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance).”

The Prophet (a.s.) dealt with all affairs of Muslims and found irrefutable solutions to them. The most important one of them was the appointment of a caliph after his death to achieve justice and to rule the nation due to the pure laws of Allah the Almighty. It is completely untrue to say that the Prophet (a.s.) ignored this matter of the caliphate which was the first key of the nation’s happiness and safety from deviation. Definitely, ignoring this matter would destroy the social structure that Prophet Muhammad (a.s.) had built and would throw the nation into many dangers.

The disasters and violent disagreements that Muslims faced throughout most of their ages were, undoubtedly, the result of the purposely neglecting of the clear traditions and orders of the Prophet (a.s.) that concerned the matter of caliphate. Surely, the Prophet (a.s.) had appointed the caliphs after him and limited that to his progeny, who were the centers of the Divine Revelation and who were the propagandists of Allah in the earth.

Muhammad al-Keylani says, “The people disputed on the position of caliphate in a way that was unequalled in other nations. They committed for the sake of that what we ourselves refrain from nowadays. And consequently, many souls were ruined, towns were destroyed, villages were torn down, houses were burnt, women were made widows, children were made orphans, and great masses of Muslims were killed.”[15]

Anyhow, the Prophet (a.s.), who was sent by Allah the Merciful as mercy to people, would definitely not leave his nation in anarchy without appointing the leader who would be able and well-qualified to manage all its affairs.

The Prophet chooses Ali for the caliphate

The definite thing according to the sources of history, the scientific studies, and the pondering on the Prophet’s life and conducts is that the Prophet (a.s.) had actually appointed Imam Ali (a.s.) as the caliph after him. He announced his leadership over the nation in many occasions. There are many true traditions transmitted from the Prophet (a.s.) confirming this fact. According to these traditions Imam Ali (a.s.) was the gate of the Prophet’s town of knowledge, and he was with the truth and the truth was with him, and was to the Prophet as was Aaron to Moses, and other than that mentioned in hundreds of traditions all showing the virtues and high standing of Imam Ali (a.s.).

Many people ask that why the Prophet (a.s.) had chosen Imam Ali (a.s.) to be the caliph and preferred him to his family and companions.

The answer to that is that the Prophet thought deeply of his family and companions, and he could not find anyone better than Imam Ali (a.s.) or worthier of the caliphate than him; not because Imam Ali (a.s.) was the closest one to the Prophet (a.s.), but because he was the most aware of the mission from among all Muslims at all and the most aware of the rulings of Islam at all, and the best of the nation after the Prophet (a.s.) at all. Most surely the Prophet (a.s.) did not follow his emotions and sentiments in anything.

The Prophet (a.s.) chose Imam Ali (a.s.) to be the caliph after him according to the abilities and the high qualities he had that no one other than him from among all Muslims had ever had. The following are some of those qualities that made Imam Ali (a.s.) unequalled and incomparable:

First, Imam Ali (a.s.) had had scientific abilities that no one other than him had ever had especially what concerned the rulings of the Sharia, the affairs of religion, and the cases of judgment. He was the first authority after the Prophet (a.s.) in all of that. Umar often said, “Were it not for Ali, Umar would perish.” No one of the Prophet’s companions was compared to Imam Ali (a.s.) in judgment.

Besides, Imam Ali (a.s.) was the best leader in the Islamic world concerning the political and administrative affairs. His book to Malik al-Ashtar was the clearest evidence on this fact. Whoever reviews the political documents mentioned in Nahjol Balagha will find wonderful pictures of the successful, honest policy that has adopted justice in all its faces.

As Imam Ali (a.s.) was the most aware in the just political affairs that did not involve cheating, hypocrisy, and misleading, he was the most aware among all Muslims in other sciences like theology, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and others. Al-Aqqad says, “The Imam (a.s.) opened many doors of sciences that were more than thirty sciences. With all these abundant scientific treasures how was it possible for the Prophet (a.s.) not to choose him for the position of the caliphate on which the independence, freedom, and prosperity of the nation were based?

The infinite scientific abilities that the imam had determines, according to the Islamic logic that prefers the general interest to anything else, that he must be the candidate to lead the nation other than anyone else, for Allah the Almighty has said, (Are those who know equal with those who do not know?).[16]

There is nothing more ridiculous than to believe in the possibility of preferring the good one to the better one. Certainly this unscientific thought contradicts the Islamic values that make it obligatory to prefer the knowledgeable people to other than them and to nominate them to the important positions. To prefer other than them to them destroys the noble values and wrongs knowledge.

Second, Imam Ali (a.s.) was the most courageous and the bravest one of all people. He said, “If all the Arabs gather together to fight me, I will not run away before them.” Indeed, Islam was established by his sword and built by his struggle and efforts. He was the man of the memorable situations on the days of Badr, Hunayn, and al-Ahzab when he harvested with his sword the heads of the polytheists and did away with their heroes and chiefs and spread in their houses terror and sorrows. No gap was opened against Islam by its enemies except that he was the one who closed and silenced it. For all that, the Prophet (a.s.) preferred him to all others in entrusting him with the leadership of the Muslim armies. He did not lead Muslims in a war except that victory was theirs. It was he who subjugated and defeated the Jews and conquered their strong forts and finished off their power.

Surely courage is one of the main aspects that a man, who assumes the leadership of a nation and the management of its affairs, must have, but if he is weak and cowardly, the nation shall face different kinds of disasters.

Since courage in the full sense of the word was available in Imam Ali (a.s.), then how was it possible for the Prophet (a.s.) not to choose him for the caliphate and the leadership of the nation after him?

Logically and due to the incomparable aspects that Imam Ali (a.s.) had, he must be the only one to be chosen to lead the nation even if there was no decree from the Prophet (a.s.) concerning him.

Third, from the most important aspect that one, who assumes the leadership of a nation, must have is altruism and the preference of the interests of the nation to everything else. Undoubtedly, this aspect was so prominent in Imam Ali’s personality that Muslims had never seen like him in asceticism and altruism. All historians mention unanimously that Imam Ali (a.s.), during his reign, was so just in dealing with the public treasury that he did not take for himself or his family even one dirham. In fact, he spent even his own salary on the poor and the needy. He ran Muslims with utmost just policy in giving. He equaled the all in rights and duties. It did not happen in every religion or doctrine like what he legislated of high values and ideals of justice and truth.

Fourth, from the aspects that must be available in one, who assumes the leadership of a nation, is piety and righteousness in order not to prefer anything to the obedience of Allah. Definitely, no Muslim at all was better than Imam Ali (a.s.) in this concern. It was he who said, “By Allah, if I am given the seven districts with all that under their skies to disobey Allah in a bran of a grain of barley that I deprive from a mouth of a locust, I will never do.”

Surely, Imam Ali (a.s.) was the best of Muslims at all after the Prophet (a.s.). From the piety of the imam was that he refused to respond to the conditions of Abdurrahman bin Ouf who insisted on him to assume the caliphate after the murder of Umar bin al-Khattab on condition that the imam must act according to the policies of Abu Bakr and Umar in leading the nation. Imam Ali (a.s.) refused and said that he would act, in his policy, according to the Book of Allah, the Sunna of His prophet, and his own opinion. If the imam wished for rule and authority, he would respond to Abdurrahman first, and then he would act according to his (Imam Ali) policy, and if Abdurrahman objected to him, he would arrest and throw him into prison.

Humanity in all its experiments in the world of politics could not (and will not be able to) find throughout all periods of history a ruler like Imam Ali (a.s.) in virtue, justice, honesty, knowledge, altruism, and abstinence.

Definitely and with no any bit of doubt, the Prophet (a.s.) had appointed Imam Ali (a.s.) a caliph and highest authority over the nation not according to the base of heredity or other accounts, but because of the unequalled qualities available in Imam Ali (a.s.). It is not true at all to say that the Prophet (a.s.) neglected the matter of the caliphate and the succession after him and left the nation to face anarchy and troubles after him.

Wonderful maxims and teachings

The Prophet (a.s.) established wonderful methods of education, morals, and good manners. The Prophet’s maxims were a perfect method that could raise man to an exalted position and take his life high in the world of virtues, so that he really would be the deputy of Allah in the earth.

The Prophet’s maxims are an important part from the Islamic heritage that deals with all man’s issues and gives answers to all of his suffering in the different fields of life. Here are some examples of them:

Good morals

The Prophet (a.s.) very actively undertook the invitation to the good morals which was the most important task that he cared too much for. He said, “I have been sent but to complete the nobilities of character.” The following are some of the Prophet’s traditions concerning high morals:

1. He said, “The best of people in faith are the best of them in morals, and the best of you in morals is the kindest of you to his family (wife), and I am the kindest of you to my wife.”[1]

2. He said, “The most of that which takes people to the Paradise is the fear of Allah and good morals.”[2]

3. He said to his companions, “Shall I tell you about the most beloved of you to me and the nearest of you to me in seating on the Day of resurrection? They are the best of you in morals who is intimate and is intimated.”[3]

4. He said, “You shall not include people by your wealth, so include them by your morals.”[4]

5. He said, “Good morals are the half of religion.”[5]

6. He said, “The first thing that shall be put in the Scales (on the Day of Judgment) is the good morals.”[6]

7. He said, “There is no ancestry like good morals.”[7]

8. He said, “Good morals take their owner high to the degree of a fasting worshipper.” It is said to the Prophet (a.s.), “What is the best of that which is given to a servant?” He said, “Good morals.”[8]

9. He said, “Good morals fix love (among people).”[9]

10. He said, “The most perfect one of the believers in faith is the best of them in morals.”[10]

And about bad morals, the Prophet (a.s.) said, “Bad morals are evil omen.”[11]

Gaiety

From the aspects that the Prophet (a.s.) invited to, was gaiety and smiling at every one when meeting. He said, “From the morals of the prophets and the truthful is the gaiety when they visit each other and the shaking of hands when they meet.”[12] He also said, “Happy miens take grudge away.”[13]

Reason

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Allah has not given to people anything better than reason; the sleeping of a reasonable person is better than the staying awake (at night) of an ignorant one, and the staying of a reasonable person in his country is better than the journey of an ignorant one (on a task). Allah did not sent a prophet or a messenger except after he had had perfect reason and that his reason would be better than the whole reasons of his nation. What a prophet hides inside himself is better than fatwas of mujtahids. A servant has not to perform the obligations of Allah until he would have sound reason. All worshippers do not reach with the virtue of their worshipping what a reasonable one can reach. The reasonable are the very men of understanding about whom Allah has said, (But none remember except men of understanding).[14] ”[15]

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Reason is a gift (from Allah).”[16]

He said, “The friend of every man is his reason and his enemy is his ignorance.”[17]

He said, “Allah has divided reason into three parts that whoever has had them his reason is perfect, and whoever has not had them has no reason; (they are) the well knowing of Allah, good obedience to Allah, and good patience with the decree of fate of Allah.”[18]

He said, “If you are informed about some man that he is good, then notice his good reason, because man is rewarded due to his reason.”[19]

He said, “If you see some man of much praying and fasting, do not be pride of him until you see how his reason is.”[20]

He said, “At the beginning when Allah created reason, He said to it: Come! And it came. Then He said to it: Go! And it went. Allah said: by My glory and honor, I have not created a creature more honored to me than you; by you I take, and by you I give, by you I reward and by you I punish.”[21]

He said, “A man does not obtain (anything) like a sound reason that guides him to guidance and holds him back from perishment. A servant’s faith is not completed and his religion is not straight until his reason is completed.”[22]

Aa’isha narrated, “I said to the messenger of Allah, ‘With what are people preferred to each other in this life?’ He said, ‘With reason.’ I said, ‘And in the afterlife?’ He said, ‘With reason.’ I said, ‘Shall they not be rewarded due to their deeds?’ He said, ‘O Aa’isha, do they work except inasmuch as the reason that Allah the Almighty has given to them? Therefore, as much as the reason they have been given their deeds are, and as much as their deeds they shall be rewarded.’”[23]

Foolishness

Foolishness is one of the worst qualities. The Prophet (a.s.) said, “A fool may ravage by his foolishness much more than the error of a disobedient.”[24]

Knowledge

Knowledge is the most important pillar on which the civilization of a nation is based, and it is the main basis of its development in all fields of life. It is impossible for any nation to have an important position under the sun while it is burdened with the ties of ignorance.

Islam insistingly invites its followers to seek knowledge, and it has made that obligatory on every Muslim man and every Muslim woman. The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Seeking knowledge is an obligation on every Muslim man and every Muslim woman. Surely Allah loves the seekers of knowledge.”[25]

The reward of scholars

Imam Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (a.s.) narrated that his grandfather the messenger of Allah (a.s.) said, “Whoever walks in a way seeking in it knowledge, Allah will put him in a way towards the Paradise. The angels shall lower their wings for a seeker of knowledge as pleased with him. Whoever in the heaven and in the earth and even whales in the sea pray Allah to forgive the seekers of knowledge. The preference of a scholar to a worshipper is like the preference of the moon to the rest of stars in the night when the moon is full. Scholars are the heirs of the prophets. The prophets did not bequeath a dirham or a dinar, but they bequeathed knowledge, so whoever took from it (knowledge), took full fortune.”[26]

The punishment of scholars who quit their knowledge

Imam Ali (a.s.) narrated that the Prophet (a.s.) said, “Scholars are two men; one works due to his knowledge and he shall be saved, and the other one gives up his knowledge and he shall perish. The people of the Fire shall be disgusted with the smell of the scholar who has quitted his knowledge. The most one among the people of the Fire in regret and remorse is a man that invites someone to Allah, glory be to Him, and he responds and accepts from him, and so Allah takes him to the Paradise, while the inviter himself is taken to the Fire because he quits his knowledge, follows his desire, and keeps to long hope. As for the following of desire, it keeps one away from the truth, and as for long hope, it makes one forget the afterlife.”[27]

The nation’s rightness is by its scholars and leaders

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “There are two kinds of people that if they are right all other people become right, and if they are corrupted, all other people become corrupted; scholars and leaders.”[28]

Jurisprudents are trustees of the messengers

Imam Abu Abdullah as-Sadiq (a.s.) narrated that his grandfather the messenger of Allah (a.s.) said, “Jurisprudents are the trustees of the messengers as long as they do not involve in this life.” It was said, “O messenger of Allah, what is their involvement in this life?” He said, “Following the rulers; if they do that, then you have to beware of them as to your religion.”[29]

Learning knowledge

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Learn knowledge, because learning it is a good deed, the studying of it (with others) is tasbih (glorification of Allah), searching for it is jihad, teaching it to those who do not know it is charity, and affording it to its people is as approaching to Allah, because it is the manifestation of halal (lawful things) and haram (unlawful things). It (knowledge) puts its seeker in the paths of the paradise. It is entertainment in loneliness, a friend in emigration, a guide to prosperity, a weapon against enemies, and beauty of companions. Allah the Almighty raises by it peoples and makes them imams in goodness to be imitated that their deeds are regarded, and their works are acquired, and the angels wish for their company, because knowledge is the life of hearts, the light of sights against blindness, and the strength of bodies against weakness, and that Allah puts its carrier (the people of knowledge) in the positions of lovers, and grants them the meeting with the pious in this life and the afterlife.

By knowledge Allah is obeyed and worshipped, and by knowledge Allah is known and professed as One and Only, and by it kinship is maintained and lawful and unlawful things are known. Knowledge is the leader of mind.”[30]

The death of a scholar

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Knowledge does not die by pulling it out of people, but the knowledgeable die, until when there is no one of them, people take ignorant leaders who are asked and who give fatwas without knowledge, and so they go astray and make people go astray.”[31]

Surely, it is a great loss when a society is afflicted by the death of scholars whose place is occupied by ignorant persons who undertake people’s affairs with no knowledge.

Knowledge is a treasure

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Knowledge is treasuries whose keys are questions. Therefore, ask, may Allah have mercy on you, because there are four persons who are rewarded; the asker, the speaker (answerer), the listener, and one who loves them.”[32]

He also said, “Often ask the knowledgeable, speak with the wise, and associate with the poor.”[33]

The fatwa with no knowledge

The Prophet (a.s.) warned against giving fatwas with no knowledge. He said, “Whoever gives a fatwa to people with no knowledge the angels of the heavens and the earth shall curse him.”[34]

The giving of a fatwa with no knowledge may make a lawful thing unlawful or an unlawful thing lawful, and thus it throws people into sins; therefore, Islam has prohibited the giving of fatwas with no knowledge.

Knowledge for pride

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Let him, who learns knowledge to vie in glory with the fools or pride before scholars or attract the notables towards him to honor him, take his seat in the Fire, because authority is not fit except to Allah and to its deserving people. Whoever put himself in a position other than the position in which Allah has put him, Allah will hate him, and whoever calls for himself and says: ‘I am your leader’ while he is not so, Allah will not look at him until he shall refrain from what he says and repent of what he claims.”[35]

Teaching kindly

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Teach and do not chide, because a knowledgeable teacher is better than a chiding one.”[36]

Dispraising of ignorance

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “…and the description of an ignorant is: that he wrongs those who associate with him, trespasses those who are lower than him, and is impudent to those who are higher than him. His speaking is without thinking; if he speaks, he errs, and if he keeps silent, he becomes inadvertent. If a sedition faces him, he hastens to it, and it makes him perish, and if he sees a virtue, he stays behind. He does not fear for his old sins, nor does he refrain from sins in what remains of his life. He lingers and delays before charity heedlessly to what he has missed or lost from that. These are (ten) features of an ignorant person who has been deprived of reason.”[37]

Thinking deeply on affairs

The Prophet (a.s.) often advised Muslims to think deeply on matters before trying to do them. One day, some man came to the Prophet (a.s.) and said to him, “Offer recommendations to me, O messenger of Allah!”

The Prophet (a.s.) said to him, “Will you follow my recommendations?” He repeated that three times.

The man said, “Yes I will, O messenger of Allah.”

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “I recommend you that when you intend to do something, you are to think deeply on its result; if it is good, you can do it, and if it is bad, you are to give it up.”[38]

Kinship and pardon

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Maintain relationship with one who cuts his with you, give to one who deprives you, and pardon one who wrongs you.”[39]

Praising of benevolence

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Allah the Almighty has made for benevolence some of His creatures that He has endeared to them benevolence and endeared to them its deeds, and He has guided to them the seekers (who are in need) of benevolence and made the giving of it easy to them as He has made easy the falling of rains to the barren land to enliven it and enliven its people. Allah the Almighty, as well, has made to benevolence enemies from among His creatures that He has made benevolence hateful to them and made its deeds hateful to them, and He has prevented the seekers of benevolence from asking them and prevented them (the enemies of benevolence) from giving it as He prevents rains from falling down on the barren land to destroy it and destroy its people with it, but what Allah pardons is much more. The doing of benevolence protects one from bad death.[40] The people of benevolence in this life are people of benevolence in the afterlife. The first people to enter into the Paradise shall be the people of benevolence. The charity in secret puts out the wrath of the Lord, and the maintaining of kinship increases one’s age.”[41]

Virtues

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “There is no property more profitable than reason. There is no loneliness lonelier than self-conceit. There is no reason like thinking deeply, no determination like piety, no companion like good morals, no scales like good manners, no benefit like successfulness, no trade like good deeds, no profit like the reward of Allah, no god-fearing like abstaining at ambiguity, no abstinence like the abstinence from unlawful things, no knowledge like pondering, no worship like performing the obligations, no faith like modesty and patience, no ancestry like humbleness, no honor like knowledge, and no assistance like consultation. So keep the head and what it contains, and the abdomen and what it includes, and remember death and long trials.”[42]

Generosity

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Allah the Almighty has chosen this religion for Himself, and it is not fit for your religion except generosity and good manners; therefore, adorn your religion with them.”[43]

Generosity and open-handedness are from nobilities and perfection, and they are high qualities that every man is honored by them. The Prophet (a.s.) used to prefer the generous to others in giving. Once, a delegation from the Arabs came to him. He gave them (from the treasury) and preferred to them some man from among them. The Prophet (a.s.) was asked about that and he said, “All the people (of that tribe) are dependants on him.”[44]

Doing good

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Do good throughout your life and be liable to the donations of Allah’s mercy, because Allah has donations from His mercy which He grants to whomever He likes from His servants; and ask Allah to cover your private parts (honors) and calm down your fears.”[45]

Surely the doing of good is one of the main concepts that Islam has emphasized on. Allah says, (therefore hasten to (do) good deeds).[46]

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “A word of goodness that a believer listens to, works due to it, and teaches it (to others) is better than the worship of a year.”[47]

Charity

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Hearts have been created with the nature of loving whoever does good to them and hating whoever does wrong to them.”[48]

Bad and prohibited features

The Prophet (a.s.) warned strongly against bad qualities that would take man to woe, destruction, and the wrath of Allah, such as:

Hypocrisy

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “That which I fear most for my nation from is every hypocrite of cunning tongue.”[49]

Treason

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “A banner shall be installed for a traitor on the Day of Resurrection and it shall be said: this is the treason of so-and-so the son of so-and-so.”[50]

Betrayal of trust

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “A man, who has been entrusted with a trust, shall be brought on the Day of Judgment and it shall be said to him: Pay back your trust. He shall say: O my Lord, the worldly life has gone. It shall be said: take him to the Hell. He shall fall into it (Hell) until he shall reach to its bottom and he shall find it (the trust) there as it was. He shall carry it on his shoulder and come up with it. When he shall see that he shall have come out, it (the trust) shall slip and fall down, and he shall fall down after it (and so on) forever.”[51]

False testimony

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “On the day of Resurrection, birds shall beat with their beaks, eject what there shall be in their craws, and shake their tails because of the great terror of the Day of Resurrection, and (on that day) a giver of false testimony shall not be talked to, and his feet shall not fix on the ground until he shall be thrown into the Fire.”[52]

Oppression

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “The promptest thing in being punished for is oppression.”[53]

He also said, “There is no sin nearer to punishment that Allah hastens for its committer in this life, besides what shall be saved for him in the afterlife, than oppression and cutting off kinship.”[54]

Rejoicing at others’ distress

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Do not show rejoicing at your brother’s distress that Allah may deliver him (from it) and afflict you.”[55]

Surely rejoicing at others’ distresses is a feature of villains whereas Islam has built its society on high morals, nobilities, the love of others, and honesty.

Haughtiness

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Whoever draws his garment as a kind of arrogance Allah will not look at him.”[56]

He also said, “He, who has in his heart inasmuch as the weight of a grain of mustard seed of arrogance, shall not enter the Paradise.”[57]

He said, “He, who glorifies himself and struts in his walking, shall meet Allah while angry at him.”[58]

Talebearing

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Cursed is a triad!” He was asked, “What is a triad, O messenger of Allah?” He said, “It is he who betrays his friend near his ruler, and thus he destroys himself, his friend, and his ruler.”[59]

He also said, “Let him, who believes in Allah and the Last Day, not convey to us a defect of his believing brother.”[60]

Envy

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Envy eats good deeds as fire eats firewood.”[61]

Envy causes calamities and disasters to people and throws them into great evils. As a result of envy, the Prophet’s immaculate progeny were kept away from their right in the caliphate when some companions, after the Prophet’s death, announced: “The prophethood and the caliphate should not gather in one family!” Therefore, the caliphate was seized from its actual people who were kept away from the political life, and consequently the nation suffered and is still suffering the bitterest kinds of disasters.

Evil plotting

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Beware of evil plotting, because Allah has determined that (the evil plotting shall not beset any except the authors of it).”[62]

Lying

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Beware of lying, because it leads to disobedience, and disobedience leads to the Fire. Speak truthfully, because truthfulness leads to piety, and piety leads to the Paradise.”[63]

Stinginess

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “No two wolves that are sent to a flock of sheep and they ravage it worse than man’s stinginess of wealth.”[64]

He said, “The son of Adam gets old and two things grow with him; stinginess of wealth and stinginess of life.”[65]

Pride

There are many traditions transmitted from the Prophet (a.s.) on dispraising pride. Here are some of them:

He said, “I am the master of the children of Adam but with no pride.”[66]

He said, “People are from Adam and Eve like the contents of a vessel that shall not be filled (they shall not reach perfection). Allah does not ask about your ancestries. He does not ask except about your deeds. Surely the most honored of you to Allah is the most pious of you.”[67]

He said, “Your prophet is the same and your father is the same. There is no preference for the black to the red, nor for an Arab to a foreigner except by piety.”[68]

He said, “Allah has removed from you the defect of the pre-Islamic age and its pride and He replaced it by self-esteem. People are children of Adam, and Adam is from earth; (they are either) a pious believer or a cursed disobedient. Let some peoples stop priding on their men; they are but coals from the coals of the Hell, or they shall be meaner to Allah than dung beetles which push their dung with their noses. Allah the Almighty has said, (O Noah! he is not of your family. He is of evil conduct).[69] ”[70]

Injustice

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “When it is the Day of Resurrection, a caller shall call out: where are the unjust, the assistants of the unjust, and the likes of the unjust even him who has sharpened to them a pen or prepared to them an inkpot. They shall gather in an iron coffin and then they shall be thrown into the Hell.”[71]

He also said, “May Allah have mercy on a servant that has had an act of injustice in honor or property against his brother, and he comes to him to absolve him from it before the Day of Resurrection shall come where there shall be neither a dinar nor a dirham with him.”[72]

He said, “There are two men from my nation whom my intercession shall not include; an unjust, oppressive ruler, and an excessive one in religion and astray from it.”[73]

Impudence

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “The worst of people in position on the Day of Resurrection is he whom people has left alone to be safe from his impudence.” And He said, “From the worst of people are those who are honored (by others) just to be safe from their tongues.”[74]

Double-faced

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Certainly a double-faced one is not trusted near Allah.”[75]

He said, “He, who has two faces in this life, shall have two tongues of fire on the Day of Resurrection.”[76]

He said, “A double-faced one should not be notable.”[77]

Uncertainty

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “I do not fear for my nation except from uncertainty.”[78]

Supporting of falsehood

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “He, who supports falsehood to refute by his falsehood a truth, shall be away from the protection of Allah and the protection of His messenger.”[79]

He said, “He, who goes with an unjust one to support him while knowing that he is unjust, shall be out of Islam.”[80]

Praising the disobedient

The Prophet (a.s.) prohibited the Muslims to praise a disobedient one because that would deaden justice and be disobedience to Allah the Almighty.

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “When a disobedient person is praised, the Throne shall shake for that and the Lord will be angry for it.”[81]

He said, “Allah is angry when a disobedient one is praised.”[82]

Terrifying a Muslim

Islam has prohibited the terrifying of a Muslim. The Prophet (a.s.) said, “It is enough evil for one to terrify his Muslim brother.”[83]

Praiseworthy attributes

Five qualities

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “A servant does not obtain full faith until he has five qualities; relying on Allah, entrusting (all his affairs) to Allah, believing in all Allah’s orders, being satisfied with Allah’s decree of fate, and being patient with Allah’s trials. He, who loves for the sake of Allah, hates for the sake of Allah, gives for the sake of Allah, and holds back for the sake of Allah, shall be with full faith.”[84]

Four qualities

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “There are four things that whoever is given is given the goodness of this life and the afterlife; a grateful heart, a mentioning tongue, a body patient with affliction, a wife who betrays neither him nor his properties.”[85]

Satisfaction

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “He, who is submissive (to Allah), is made successful, granted (sustenance) sufficiently, and Allah will make him satisfied with what He has given to him.”[86]

He also said, “Satisfaction is a treasure that does not run out.”[87]

Economics

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “He, who is economical, shall not be needy.”[88]

Obedience of Allah

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Whomever Allah has moved from the meanness of disobediences to the honor of piety He has enriched him with no wealth, honored him with no tribe, and entertained him with no entertainer. Whoever fears Allah, Allah will make everything fear him.”[89]

Seeking forgiveness

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “A servant may commit a sin that takes him to the Paradise.” He was asked, “O messenger of Allah, how can it take him to the Paradise.”

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “He may be repentant of it (that sin) and be asking for forgiveness until he shall enter into the Paradise.”[90]

He also said, “Whoever often seeks forgiveness Allah will make to him a deliverance and release him from every distress, and grant him sustenance from where he does not expect.”[91]

The inviolability of a believer

Once, the Prophet (a.s.) looked at the Kaaba and said, “Welcome to the House! How great you are and how great your sanctity is! By Allah, a believer is more inviolable near Allah than you, because Allah has prohibited one thing concerning you, but three things concerning a believer; (the shedding of) his blood, (the plundering of) his money, and to be mistrusted.”[92]

Pardoning

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Pardon the slips of the notables except the penalties.”[93]

He said, “He, whose brother apologizes to him but he does not accept, shall not come to me at the pond (in the Paradise).”[94]

Hating the sinners

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Approach to Allah by hating the sinners, and seek His pleasure by avoiding them.” His companions asked, “With whom shall we associate?” He said, “Those, the seeing of whom reminds you of Allah, and whose logic increase your understanding, and whose deeds make you wish for the afterlife.”[95]

The most beloved people to the Prophet

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “The happiest one of people to me is a simple believer of good prayers and whose sustenance is least and he is patient with it until he shall meet Allah, and who worships Allah well and obeys Him in secret, and is unknown among people; whose death is hastened, whose inheritance is little, and the weepers for him are few.”[96]

Wisdom

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Wisdom is the long-sought goal of believers.”[97]

Reciting the Qur'an

The Prophet (a.s.) said to Anass, “My son, do not forget the reciting of the Qur'an in the evening, because the Qur'an enlivens the dead heart, and forbids indecency and vice.”[98]

Leniency

Once, a group of Jews came to the Prophet (a.s.) and said to him, “As-Sam alayk.”[99] The Prophet (a.s.) replied, “and on you.” Aa’isha, the Prophet’s wife, became angry and said to them, “but, death and curse be on you.” The Prophet (a.s.) said to her, “O Aa’isha, Allah loves leniency in all affairs.” She said to him, “Have you not heard what they said?” The Prophet (a.s.) said to her, “And I said (to them): and on you.”[100]

The Prophet (a.s.) also said, “Whoever is lenient to my nation Allah will be lenient to him, and whoever is severe to my nation Allah will be severe to him.”[101]

The advantage of fasting

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Fasting is the zakat of one’s body.”[102]

He said, “A faster shall have two joys; one is at breaking his fasting and the other is at meeting his Lord.”[103]

Prayer

The prayer is the main pillar of the religion and the sacrifice of the pious. Because of its importance, the Prophet (a.s.), whenever distressed, he resorted to offering prayer.[104]

Comfort in food

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “He, who is eating some food while there is a two-eyed creature looking at him but he does not give to himit, shall be afflicted with an incurable disease.”[105]

Economic in food

The Prophet (a.s.) often advised Muslims to be economical in food and not to be excessive or wasteful, because excessiveness in having food would cause many illnesses.

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Allah has not adorned man with an adornment better than the abstinence of his abdomen.”[106]

He also said, “He, whose eating is little, his abdomen shall be sound and his heart shall be clear, and he, whose eating is much, his abdomen shall be ill and his heart shall be severe.”[107]

He said, “The son of Adam does not fill a vessel worse than the stomach. It suffices man from his food what can sustains him, but if the son of Adam denies, let him make a third for food, a third for drinks, and a third for breath.”[108]

Honoring old people

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “From the glorifying of Allah is the honoring of aged Muslims.”[109]

Trust of meetings

From the Islamic morals is that one should not reveal a speech taking place between him and another one, for that may cause a harm. The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Meetings are a trust.”[110]

Once, Abdul Melik bin Marwan, the Umayyad caliph, parted with his guards in his way. He saw a nomad and asked him, “Do you know Abdul Melik?” The nomad said, “He is oppressive, aggressive.” Abdul Melik said to the man, “Woe unto you! I am Abdul Melik.” The man kept on abusing and criticizing the caliph.” When the guards arrived, the man said to the caliph, “O Ameerul Mo'minin, keep what has happened secret, because meetings are a trust.”

Consultation

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “He, who seeks what is best near Allah, shall not be disappointed, and he, who consults (with others), shall not regret, and he, who is economical, shall not be needy.”[111]

Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) said, “He, who consults (with others), shall not miss, at doing right, a praiser, and at doing mistake, an excuser.”

The Prophet (a.s.) often consulted with his companions on different matters. In the battle of Badr, the Prophet (a.s.) (and his army) stopped at the nearest well to the place of the battle. Al-Hubab bin Munthir said to him, “O messenger of Allah, has Allah the Almighty ordered you to stop at this place that you should neither exceed nor stay behind?” The Prophet (a.s.) said, “No, but it is my thought.” Al-Hubab said, “O messenger of Allah, this is not a suitable place. March with the people until we reach the nearest well to the people (the opponents) to stop there. Then, we build a pool around it and fill it with water. Then, we begin fighting them, and so we will have water to drink, but they won’t.” The Prophet (a.s.) said, “You have suggested the right suggestion.” The Prophet (a.s.) did as his companion suggested.[112]

Unity

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “Unity is mercy and separation is torment.”[113]

He said, “He, who keeps away from unity (of Muslims), shall die the death of the pre-Islamic age (as unbeliever).”[114]

He said, “Whoever parts with the unity a span of the hand, Allah will take the noose of Islam off his neck.”[115]

The jihad for the sake of Allah

The Prophet (a.s.) said, “The nearest of deeds to Allah is the jihad in the way of Allah and nothing equals it.”[116]

He said, “The best deed of a believer is the jihad in the way of Allah.”[117]

He said, “Struggle against polytheists with your wealth, souls, and tongues.”[118]