MAXIMS OF IMAM AS-SAJJAD
The following sayings are related to Imam Ali bin Al-Hussein (peace be upon him), master of the worshippers.
Imam As-Sajjad’s Advice to his companions and adherents on Fridays
O people, fear God and know that you will inevitably return to Him, when every one will see his good and bad deeds right before his very eyes, he will wish for the longest period of time to separate himself from his bad deeds. God warns you about Himself.
Woe is you, son of Adam. You are negligent but not neglected. Your death is the hastiest to you. It is approaching you with sure steps. It is targeting at you and is about to hit you and you will soon take your age in full, the angel of death seizes your soul, and you will be alone in your grave. There, your soul will be given back to you and the two angels, namely Munkar and Nakeer, will break in to your grave to examine and interrogate you so difficultly.
First of all, they will ask you about the lord that you were worshipping, the prophet whom was sent to you, the religion that you were following, the book that you were reciting (and taking as guide), and the imam to whom you were adhering loyally. Moreover, they will ask you how you have finished your age, and the source of your wealth and the fields in which you have spent your wealth.
Be cautious, look upon yourself, and prepare answers for the test, examination, and interrogations.
If you are faithful, knowledgeable of your religion, loyal to the truthful, and following God’s disciples, God will prompt you to provide acceptable confirmation and will make you speak accurately, so that you will say the correct answer and you will be foretold of gaining Paradise and God’s consent and the angels will receive you with comfort and happiness.
If you are not, your tongue will stammer, your proof will be rejected, you will be unable to answer, Hell will be advanced to you, and the angels will receive you with the anguish of the dwelling of boiling water and heat of Hell.
Furthermore, you - son of Adam - should realize that what is to come on the Day of Resurrection will be greater, more terrible, and more heartbreaking. On that day, all people will be gathered and others will be witnessing it. God, therein, will gather the ancient people and the later generations. On that day, the trumpet will be sounded and the graves will be turned over. That is the day of approaching when, because of hardship and frustration, their hearts will almost reach up to their throats. On that day, stumbles will not be raised, ransoms will not be accepted, apologies will not be excused, and repentance will not be admitted. Nothing will be there except the rewarding for the good deeds and the punishment for the evildoings. Any believer who has done a good deed that is as slight as an atom’s weight will find its reward, and any believer who has done an evildoing that is as slight as an atom’s weight will find its punishment.
Beware, O people, of sins and acts of disobedience (to God) against which God has warned and exhorted in the truthful Book and the articulate rhetoric. Do not feel secure from the retribution and destruction of God when the Shaitan urges you enjoying the transitory passions and pleasures of this world. God says:
When a satanic thought starts to bother the pious ones, they understand and see the light.
Take God-fearing as the slogan of your hearts and always remember that God promised you of the good rewarding and warned you against the painful anguish when you will be returned to Him. He whoever fears something will certainly beware of it, and whoever bewares of something will desert it.
Do not be with the inadvertent ones who incline to the temporary pleasures of this world and who devised evil plans. God the Exalted says:
Can they who have devised evil plans expect to be safe from the command of God to the earth to swallow them up, or from a torment which might strike them from an unexpected direction? Are they confident that God will not seize them while they are on a journey? They will not be able to escape from God. Are they confident that God will not slowly destroy them?
I warn you lest you will encounter the same retribution that God imposed upon the unjust ones and mentioned in the Book. Do not feel safe from suffering a part of the anguish with which God threatened the unjust people in His Book. God has surely provided other people as means of admonition to you. The very happy is that who learns lessons from others. God, in the Book, has also attracted your attentions to the punishments that He imposed upon the unjust people who preceded you. He says:
How many unjust towns did We destroy and replace them with other nations. When they found Our torment approaching them they started to run away from the town. We told them, "Do not run away. Come back to your luxuries and your houses so that you can be questioned."
(When agony befell them,)They said, "Woe to us! We have been unjust.
You, people, may claim that these Verses refer to the polytheists only.
God says:
We shall maintain proper justice on the Day of Judgment. No soul will be wronged the least. For a deed even as small as a mustard seed, one will duly be recompensed. We are efficient in maintaining the account.
You should know, O servants of God, that the proper scales and the records will not be maintained or opened for the polytheists, for they will be taken to Hell in hoards. The proper scales and the records will be maintained and opened for the Muslims.
Fear God, O servants, and know that God the Exalted has not like for any of His disciples to enjoy this world. Besides, He has not attracted their attentions to its pleasures, transitory amusements, or surface enjoyments. As a matter of fact, God has created this world as a field of testing people so that He will see which of them is most virtuous in the deeds.
By God I swear, examples were cited for you and a variety of evidences are shown to the heedful ones. O believers, include yourselves with the heedful ones.
All power belongs to God.
Abstain from the transitory pleasures of this world from which God has ordered you to abstain. He, the Most Truthful, says:
The example of the worldly life is like the water sent down from the sky which becomes mixed with the earth's produce that people and cattle consume. When the land becomes fertile and pleasant, people think that they have control over it. At Our command during the night or day, the land becomes as barren as if it had no richness the day before. Thus, do We explain the evidence (of the truth) for the people who reflect.
Do not be inclined to this world, for God has said to Mohammed (peace be upon him and his family):
Do not be inclined towards the unjust ones lest you will be afflicted by Hell. Besides God, no one can be your protector nor will anyone be able to help you.
Do not imitate those who are inclined to this world as if it is their permanent residential place and settlement. This world is certainly a short-lived lodging, a transitory house, and an abode of working. Supply yourselves with the good deeds before the scattering of this world’s days and before God gives the permission to ruin it. As He created and originated it, God can ruin it, for He is its custodian and can give it in inheritance to anyone He wishes.
God provide you and us with aid to supply with God-fearing and asceticism, make you and us with the abstinent from the transitory pleasures of this world and the desirous for the reward of the life to come. We are only for Him, and through Him can we do. Peace and God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.
Wording of Admonition, Ascetics, and Wisdom
God guard you and us against the trickeries of the oppressors, the tyranny of the envious, and the violence of the despots.
O believers, do not be misled by the tyrannical rulers and their fellows who are desiring only for the pleasures of this world, tending to it, deceived by its attractions, approaching it as well as its destruction and smashes which will certainly terminate and be ruined in the morrow.
Beware of matters against which God has warned you. Abstain from matters from which God has ordered you to abstain. Do not copy the inclination of those who regarded this world as a permanent abode.
All that which is in this world is evidence on its lowliness. Its ornamentation, changeability of manners, variableness of conditions, lessons, playing with people - all these are proofs on its lowliness.
It surely exalts the mean and demeans the noble. It will drive some people into Hell. This is an efficient lesson, trial, and warning for the heedful.
The everyday conditions, including the gloomy seditious affairs, the heresies, the consecutive authorities of injustice, the misfortunes, the fear from the rulers, and the incitement of the Shaitan - all these shake the pure intentions of the hearts and stop against the existent right guidance and the recognition of the rightful, except the hearts of those whom God the Majestic protects. Surely, no one can realize the changeability and the variableness of the worldly conditions, as well as the result of its harmful sedition, except those whom God has protected. They are those who took the very right path and followed the straight way. They, then, sought the aid of abstinence through thorough pondering (over things) and learning lessons from others. So, they abstained form receiving the transitory pleasures of this world, deserted its lusts, desired for the bounty of the life to come, worked hard for obtaining them, watched for death, and refused to live the life with the oppressors. Thus, they looked at this world with eagle eye and keen sight and understood the seditious events, heretic deviation, and rulers’ injustice.
By God, You have been shown sufficient proofs, through the misfortunes that befell the ancient people, on the necessity of avoiding the misleading ones as well as people of heresies, tyranny, and (amiss) commitment of sins on this earth.
Seek God’s help and return to the obedience to Him and those whose obedience should be preferred to those whom are currently followed and obeyed.
Be thoroughly careful before you suffer regret and sorrow when you will be taken to God to stand before him (for maintaining judgment).
By God I take the oath, any people who direct to the disobedience to God will surely suffer His agony, and any people who prefer the worldly pleasures to the life to come will surely suffer grievous end and ill fate.
The acknowledgement of God and the pursuance of the acts of obedience to Him are connected to each other. He whoever acknowledges God will fear Him, and whoever fears God will be urged acting obediently to Him.
Scholars and their disciples worked hard for the sake of God and desired for Him after they had acknowledged Him.
In this regard, God says:
Only God's knowledgeable servants fear Him.
Do not receive anything from the pleasures of this world through committing an act of disobedience to God. Spend your times with performing acts of obedience to God, seize the opportunities of this world, and work for matters due to which you will be saved from the agony of God. This way will decrease your sins, make your apologies more excusable, and increase your opportunities of salvation.
Precede the fulfillment of God’s instructions and the acts of obedience to Him and to them whose obedience is incumbent upon you to your other affairs.
Do not precede the acts of obedience to the tyrannical rulers and the pleasures of this world to the fulfillment of God’s instructions and the acts of obedience to Him and to them whose obedience is incumbent upon you.
You should know that you, as well as we, are the servants of God, Who prevails us and will be the Only Judge tomorrow when He will subjugate you to interrogation. Prepare the answers for that interrogation before it falls and before you are standing ahead of the Lord of the worlds. On that day, no one will speak before obtaining His permission.
You should also know that God will not believe the liars, belie the truthful, reject the excusable apology, or excuse the unjustifiable apology. God’s is the whole argument against the creatures through His messengers and their successors.
Fear God and keep on reforming yourselves, performing acts of obedience to Him and to His representatives. It happens that one feels sorry for his past negligence and omission of God’s dues and rights. Seek God’s forgiveness and repent to Him, for He accepts the repentance, pardons the evildoings, and knows well whatever you do.
Beware of associating with the disobedient (to God), supporting the oppressors, and neighboring the sinful. Beware of the seditious affairs of such people and be away from their fields. You should know that those who oppose the disciples of God, opt for a religion other than God’s, and prefer their own opinions to the opinions of God’s disciples (the Imams) will be suffering flaming fire (in Hell) that will consume their bodies [from which the souls are absent] and whose hardheartedness overcame them; [therefore, they are dead as they do not feel the heat of Hell].
Learn lessons, people of sights, and thank God for His guiding you. You should know that you cannot move away from the control of God’s ability to anything else. God will watch your actions and you will be gathered before Him. Benefit by the lessons and imitate the ethics of the virtuous ones.
The Treatise of Rights
Know - God have mercy upon you- that God has rights against you and that these encompass you in every movement you make, every stillness you choose, every place in which you reside, every limb which you employ, and every instrument which you put to work. Some of these rights are greater and some less.
The greatest of God’s right against you is the right, which He the Blessed the Exalted has made incumbent upon you for Himself and which is the root of all rights and from which every right branched forth, then those that He has made incumbent upon you in yourself, from your crown to your foot, in keeping with the diversity of your organs. He has given your eye right against you, your tongue right against you, your hearing a right against you, your leg a right against you, your hand a right against you, your stomach a right against you, and your private part a right against you. These are the seven organs through which acts take place.
Then He the Majestic gave your acts rights against you: He gave your ritual prayer a right against you, your fasting a right against you, your charity a right against you, and your offering a right against you.
Then these rights extend out from you to others who have rights against you. The most incumbent of them against you are the rights toward your leaders (Imams), then the rights toward your subjects, then the rights toward your relatives.
From these rights branch out other rights. The rights of your leaders are three: the most incumbent upon you is the right of him who trains you through authority, then of him who trains you through knowledge, then of him who trains you through property. Each trainer is a leader.
The rights of your subjects are three: the most incumbent upon you is the right of those who are your subjects through authority, then the right of those who are your subjects through knowledge - for the man of ignorance is the subject of the man of knowledge - then the right of those who are your subjects through property, such as wives and what is owned by the right hand (slaves).
The rights of your relatives are many; they are connected to you in the measure of the connection of the nearness of the relationship. The most incumbent upon you is the right of your mother, then the right of your father, then the right of your child, then the right of your brother, then the next nearest, then the next nearest - the most worthy, then the next most worthy.
Then there is the right of your master who favors you (by freeing you from slavery), then the right of the slave whose favors reach you (by the fact that you free him), then the right of him who does a kindly act toward you, then the right of the muezzin who calls you to the ritual prayer, then the right of the imam who leads the prayer, then the right of your sitting companion, then the right of your neighbor, then the right of your companion, then the right of your partner, then the right of your property, then the right of him who has a debt he must pay back to you, then the right of him whom you owe a debt, then the right of your mate, then the right of your adversary who has a claim against you, then the right of your adversary against whom you have a claim, then the right of him who asks you for advice, then the right of him whom you ask for advice, then the right of him who asks your counsel, then the right of him who counsels you, then the right of him who is older than you, then the right of him who is younger than you, then the right of him who asks from you, then the right of him from whom you ask, then the right of him who does something evil to you through word or deed, intentionally or unintentionally, then the right of the people of your creed, then the right of the people under your protection, then all rights in the measure of the causes of the states and the occurrence of events. Therefore happy is he whom God aids in the rights, which He has made incumbent upon him and whom He gives success therein and points in the proper direction.
RIGHTS OF GOD AGAINST ONESELF
1. The greatest right of God against you is that you worship Him without associating anything with Him. When you do that with sincerity, He has made it binding upon Himself to you sufficiency in the affair of this world and the next and to keep for you whatever you like from the pleasures of this world and the life to come.
2. The right of your self against you is that you employ it in obeying God; then you deliver to your tongue its right, to your hearing its right, to your sight its right, to your hand its right, to your leg its right, to your stomach its right, to your private part its right, and you seek help from God in all that.
3. The right of the tongue is that you consider it too noble for obscenity, accustom it to good, familiarize it to moralities, dedicate it to the situations of needs and benefits of this world and the life to come, refrain from any meddling in which there is nothing to be gained and a harm is expected. It is the witness and the evidence on the existence of intelligence. The tongue is also the ornament of the intelligent and the maker of good reputations.
All power belongs to God the High the Great.
4. The right of hearing is to keep it pure from making it the direct way to your heart unless a good wording that influences your heart sympathetically or acquaints you a noble character is said. Hearing is the door to the heart through which various matters, including good and bad characters, find its way to the heart.
All power belongs to God
5. The right of sight is that you lower it before everything which is unlawful to you, and that you leave using it except in situations that act as lessons or instructors for you. Sight is certainly the door to learning lessons.
6. The right of your two legs is that you walk not with them toward that which is unlawful to you. You should not use them in the way that will not lead its takers. Your legs will carry you to lead you to the course of the religion and make you win the prize.
All power belongs to God.
7. The right of your hand is that you stretch in not toward that which is unlawful to you lest you will suffer God’s punishment afterwards and suffer people’s censure currently. You should not grip your hand against what God had imposed upon it, but you should reverence it by gripping it against many lawful things and open it for many recommendable things. If it is respected and honored in this world, it will be binding for it to gain the good rewarding afterwards.
8. The right of your stomach is that you make it not into a container for that which is unlawful to you, whether much or little. You should treat it moderately, avoid move it from the extent of strengthening to the extent of weakening and removal of personality, and control it when it fells hungry and thirsty, for excessive satiation causes laziness, indolence, and prevention from every act of piety and charity. Similarly, the excessive quenching of thirst causes idiocy, ignorance, and lack of personality.
9. The right of your private part is that you protect it from everything that is unlawful for you and seek help by lowering the sight - for it is surely the best helper-mentioning death frequently, and threatening and warning oneself with and against God’s agony. All guard, support, and power are God’s.
RIGHTS OF ACTS
10. The right of your ritual prayer is that you know that it is an arrival before God and that through it you are standing before Him. When you know that, then you will stand in the station of him who is lowly, vile, beseeching, trembling, hopeful, fearful, and abased, and you will magnify Him who is before you through stillness and dignity, reverence of the limbs, the good secret discourse (with God), and beseeching Him to save your neck which is surrounded by your faults.
All power belongs to God.
11. The right of fasting is that you know it is a veil, which God has set up over our tongue, your hearing, your sight, your stomach, and your private part to protect you from the Fire (of Hell). This meaning is asserted in the hadith: “Fasting is a shelter against the fire (of Hell).” If your limbs settle beyond the screen of fasting, you will wish for being screened (from Hell). If you leave your limbs shaking behind the screen and raising its margins to look at matters that are unlawful for them to look, since they incite to an appetite, and exceed the limits of God-fearing, you will have torn God’s protective covering away from yourself.
All power belongs to God.
12. The right of charity is that you know it is a storing away with your Lord and a deposit from which you will have no need for witnesses. If you know that and deposit it in secret, you will be more confident of it than if you deposit it in public. You will also be worthy of keeping the matters that you publicize secret with God and making all your affairs of charity secret with God in every condition. You should also not let your hearing and sight witness the alms that you give as if they are more confidential and as if you do not guarantee that your deposits will be given back to you. Finally, you should not remind others of your favors because you have done these favors for yourself, not anyone else. If you remind others of your favors, you will not be saved against being reminded of others’ favors to you. Moreover, this will prove that your intendment of giving charity was not purely for yourself. If you have intended yourself purely, you will not feel that others owe you great obligation for your giving alms.
13. The right of the offering is that through it, you desire God exclusively and through it, you desire only the exposure of your soul to God’s mercy and acceptance, not the observers’ eyes. If you are so, you will not be excessive or artificial. You will only intend for God’s sake. You should know that God is sought through moderation, not excessiveness. He also wants His creatures to offer Him easily, not excessively. In the same manner, modesty is preferred to arrogance, for the latter causes excessiveness and artificiality. Modesty and humility are empty of excessiveness and artificiality because they are the scenery and they exist in nature.
All power belongs to God.
RIGHTS OF IMAMS
14. The right of the possessor of authority is that you know that God has made you a trial from him. God is testing him through the authority He has given him over you. You should provide him your advice purely. You should not expose yourself to his displeasure when he has full dominance over you, for thereby you cast yourself by your own hands into destruction and you will also cause him destruction. You should be humble and kind so that you will show him satisfaction due to which he will not harm you and you will save your religion from injury. Seek God’s help in this regard. Do not oppose him in his power and do not resist him. If you do so, you will have behaved improperly with him and yourself by exposing it to encounter his detested punishment and expose him to destruction. Moreover, you will become his partner in his sin when he brings evil down upon you.
All power belongs to God.
15. The right of the one who trains you through knowledge is magnifying him, respecting his sessions, listening well to him, attending to him with devotion, and help him convey to you the knowledge that you need indispensably. You can do so by emptying your mind for (receiving) his information, lend him your comprehension, purify your heart for him; open your eyes widely before him by means of abandoning the appetites and deserting the passions. You should also know that you are considered as his messenger when you will convey the information that he provides you to the ignorant ones that you meet. Therefore, it is binding upon you to convey on his behalf properly, avoid betraying him when you are conveying his message and representing him.
All power belongs to God.
16. The right of him who trains you through property is as same as the possessor of authority upon you. The difference between the both is that you are bound to obey this one in every matter, whether small or big, unless obeying him would displease God or would preclude you from fulfilling the rights of God and His creatures. If you fulfill these rights, you will be able to engage yourself with fulfilling his rights.
All power belongs to God.
RIGHTS OF SUBJECTS
17. The right of your subjects through authority is that you should know that you have been given authority upon them due to your power and they have been made subjects through their weakness and humility. Thence, nothing should be preferred to those who saved you from their evil through their humility and weakness, became your subjects, and became submissive to your judgments. They do not possess power and authority due to which they can protect themselves from you. They cannot find a supporter against your power except God through mercy, prudence, and clemency.
You should also be basically thankful for God Who has given you such power and predominance over them through which you have controlled others. God will increase His graces to those who thank Him.
All power belongs to God.
18. The right of your subjects through knowledge is that you should know that God made you a caretaker over them only through the knowledge He has given you and His storehouses, which He has opened up to you. If you do well the missions that God has chosen you for, treat them as same as the treatment of the merciful caretaker who respects his master in the affairs of the slaves and the clement steadfast one who always offers money for the needy ones, then you will be on the right way faithfully, otherwise you will be regarded as betrayal, unjust to the creatures, and expose yourself to encounter God’s seizing His graces and power from you.
19. The right of your subject through matrimonial contract, namely the wife, is that you know that God has made her repose, a comfort, a delight, and a shelter for you. Each of you should thank God for the other and realizes that the other is God’s favor toward him. It is obligatory to care for God’s favors well and to honor her and treat her gently. Yet, her right toward you is more incumbent and she should obey you in every matter that you like or detest except in acts of disobedience to God. She should enjoy the rights of mercy and amicability. You should care for her in the through the consummation of the lust that should be consummated. That is surely great.
All power belongs to God.
20. The right of your slave is that you should know that he is the creature of your Lord and your flesh and blood. You own him, but you did not make him; God made him. You did not create his hearing and sight, nor do you provide him with his sustenance; on the contrary, God gives you the sufficiency for that. Then He subjugated him to you, entrusted him to you, and deposited him with you so that you may be safeguarded by the good you give to him and feed him what you eat and clothe him what you garb. Do not overburden him. If you dislike him, replace him, but do not torment a creature of God.
All power belongs to God.
RIGHTS OF RELATIVES
21. The right of your mother is that you know that she carried you where no one carries anyone, she gave to you the fruit of her heart that which no one gives to anyone, and she protected you with her hearing, sight, hand, leg, hair, and skin as well as all her organs. She was highly delighted, happy, eager, and enduring the harm, pains, heaviness, and grief until the hand of power saved her from you and took you out to this earth. She did not care if she went hungry as long as you ate, if she was naked as long as you were clothed, if she was thirsty as long as you drank, is she was in the sun as long as you were in the shade, if she was miserable as long as you were happy, and if she was deprived of sleeping as long as you were resting. Her abdomen was your container, her lap your seat, her breast your container of drink, and her soul was your fort. She protected you from heat and cold. You should thank her for all that. You will not be able to show her gratitude unless through God’s help and giving success.
22. The right of your father is that you know that he is your root and you are his branch. Without him, you would not be. Whenever you see anything in yourself which pleases you, know that your father is the root of its blessing upon you. Therefore, praise God and thank Him in that measure.
All power belongs to God.
23. The right of your child is that you should know that he is from you and will be ascribed to you, through both his good and his evil, in the immediate affairs of this world. You are responsible for what has been entrusted to you, such as educating him in good conduct, pointing him in the direction of his Lord, and helping him to obey Him. So, act toward him with the action of one who knows that he will be rewarded for good doing toward him and punished for evildoing. In his affairs, act like the actions of those who adorn their children with their good deeds and those who are justified before their Lord as long as they did well in the discipline and the custody of their sons.
All power belongs to God.
24. The right of your brother is that you know that he is your hand that you extend, your back to whom you seek refuge, your power upon whom you rely, and your might with which you move. Take him not as a weapon with which to disobey God, nor as equipment with which to wrong God’s creatures. Do not neglect to help him against his ill intentions and enemy, prevent him from joining his devils, give him good counsel, and associate him for God’s sake. If he obeys God and responds to Him properly, well and good, but if not, you should prefer and honor God more than him.
All power belongs to God.
RIGHTS OF OTHERS
25. The right of your master who has favored you (by freeing you from slavery) is that you know that he has spent his property for you and brought you out of the abasement and estrangement of bondage to the exaltation and comfort of freedom. He has freed you from the captivity of possession and loosened the bonds of slavery form you. He has made you smell the perfume of honor, brought you out of prison of weakness, saved you from hardship, extended to you the tongue of fairness, made you behave freely in the whole world, given you ownership of yourself, freed you from captivity, and given you leisure to worship you Lord. For all the previous, he has encountered decrease of his fortune. You should know that he is, after your near relatives, the closest of God’s creatures to you in your life and your death and that he is the most meritorious of your aid, support, and help in God’s sake. Do not prefer yourself to him in anything he needs.
26. The right of the slave whom you have favored by freeing him is that you know that God has made you his protector, shelter, supporter, and refuge and made your freeing him a means of access to Him and made. This is a sufficient reason to consider him as a veil against the Fire (of Hell). Your immediate reward is to inherit for him - if he does not have any maternal relatives - as a compensation for the property you have spent from him and fulfilling his rights thereafter. If you do not fulfill his rights, it will be expected that you will not take pleasure in his inheritance.
All power belongs to God.
27. The right of him who does a kindly act toward you is that you thank him and mention his kindness; you reward him with beautiful words and you supplicate to him sincerely in that which is between you and God. If you do that, you have thanked him secretly and openly. Then, if you are able to repay him one day, you repay him. If not, you should be his loyal protector.
28. The right of the muezzin is that you know that he is reminding you of your Lord, calling you to your good fortune, and helping you to accomplish what God has made obligatory upon you. So, thank him for that just as you thank one who does good to you. If you are grieved at your house, you should not accuse God (of being the source of that grief). You should know that everything that befalls you is undoubtedly one of God’s graces. Associate the graces of God properly, by showing gratitude, in every condition.
All power belongs to God.
29. The right of your imam in your ritual prayer is that you know that he has taken on the role of mediator between you and your Lord and has visited God on behalf of you. He speaks for you, but you do not speak for him; he supplicates for you, but you do not supplicate for him; he has beseeched for you and you do not beseech for him. He has spared you the terror of standing before God and the question of interrogation for the prayer, but you do not spare him that. If he performs the prayer imperfectly, that belongs to him and not to you; if he commits a sin during the prayer, you will not be his partner. He had no excellence over you. So, protect yourself through him, protect your prayer through his prayer, and thank him in that measure.
All power belongs to God.
30. The right of your sitting companion is that you treat him mildly, behave with him leniently, show fairness toward him while vying with him in discourse, not look at him deeply, use a language that he understands, and do not stand up from sitting with him without his permission. However, it is permissible form him who sits with you to leave without asking your permission, but you should not leave him before asking his permission.
31. The right of your neighbor is that you guard him when he is absent, honor him when he is present, and aid and support him in the two states (whether he is absent or present). You do not pursue anything of his that is shameful and do not try to know his faults; if you know of any evil from him unintentionally or accidentally, you should take the role of the fortified stronghold and the veiling screen. You should keep him in such a manner that nothing of his defects should be found even if they are inspected through spears. Do not listen any wording that is said about him when he is absent. Do not disappoint him in hardship. Do not envy him for a favor. Release him from his stumble and forgive his sins. Do not hide your clemency when he behaves ignorantly with you. Treat him peacefully in every situation: answer those who revile at him, frustrate the trickeries against him, and associate with him gently.
All power belongs to God.
32. The right of the companion is that you act as his companion with bounty whenever it is possible. If not, you should treat him with fairness. You honor him as he honors you, guard him as he guards you, and you do not let him be the first to act with generosity. If he is the first, you repay him. Do not neglect any part of amicability that he deserves. Commit yourself to advise him, associate with him, help him perform the acts of obedience to his Lord, and protect him against committing any act of disobedience to his Lord. Be a mercy for him, not a chastisement.
All power belongs to God.
33. The right of the partner is that if he should be absent, you suffice him in his affairs, and if he should be present, you show regard for him. You make no decision without his decision and you do nothing on the basis of your own opinion before you discuss it with him. Safeguard his wealth and save him from betrayal in that of his affair, which is difficult, or of little importance, for God’s hand is above the hands of two partners as long as they do not betray each other.
All power belongs to God.
34. The right of your property is that you take it only from what is lawful and you spend it only in what is proper. Do not use it in other than its proper places and do not spend it in other than rightful situations. Do not make its expenditure to anyone other than God, for God is its source. Make it a way taking to God. Through it, you should not prefer over yourself those who will not praise you, for they may do not represent you well in your inheritance or they may spend it in fields other than these of obedience to God and, hence, you will be their partner in such ill deeds. You may bequeath your property to a person who expends it in fields of obedience to God in a way better than yours and, therefore, he will gain the reward while your share will be sin, regret, and sorrow in addition to the punishment.
All power belongs to God.
35. The right of him to whom you owe a debt is that, if you have the means, you pay him back, meet his need, make him rich, and avoid delaying and procrastinating him, for the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: “The procrastination of the rich is wrongdoing.” If you are in straitened circumstances, you satisfy him with good words, ask him (for respite) tenderly, send him away with gentleness, and avoid adding your maltreatment to your being the reason of the vanishing of his property. That will be surely meanness.
All power belongs to God.
36. The right of the mate is that you should not deceive, cheat, lie to, fool, and trick him. Moreover, you should not behave with him like the behavior of the enemy who alienates all his friends. If he is sure of you, you should prefer him to yourself. You should realize that to betray the inattentive is (a sort of) usury.
All power belongs to God.
37. The right of the adversary who has a claim against you is that, if what he claims against you is true, you submit to his proof and avoid acting for canceling his petition. You should dispute yourself for proving his due, be the fair judge against yourself, and give witness to it against yourself. That is the right of God, which is incumbent upon you. If what he claims against you is false, you act with kindness toward him and you show nothing in his affair other than kindness; you do not displease your Lord in his affair.
All power belongs to God.
38. The right of the adversary who is defendant is that, if your claim was right, you should use nice wording while you are filing your claim, for the claim is harsh for the defendant. You should also provide your evidences with lenience, respite, best statement, and complete gentleness. You should not dispute with him about gossips lest, your proofs will be weakened and will lose opportunity to prove them.
All power belongs to God.
39. The right of him who asks you for advice is that, if you can supply him with a correct opinion, you exert all efforts for advising him and suggest to him to opt for the matter that you will choose if you were him. You should do so with lenience and kind style, for lenience entertains the estranged while unkindness estrange in situations of cordiality. If you do not have an accurate opinion to supply him with, you direct him to someone that you trust and are sure he has the proper opinion. In this case, you do your best for advising him and exert all efforts to lead him to the good.
All power belongs to God.
40. The right of him whom you ask for advice is that you do not make accusations against him for an opinion that does not conform to your own opinion. It is natural that the opinions are divergent and people have various views about their affairs. Therefore, you should have the freedom of choice in the question of acting upon his advice if you doubt it. However, it is unacceptable for you to accuse him of ill advice as long as you regard him as one of those whose opinions are worthy of being followed. Do not leave thanking him for the good opinions with which he supplies you. If his opinion fits you, you should thank God for so and appreciate it for your brother by means of thankfulness and remuneration.
All power belongs to God.
41. The right of him who asks your counsel is that you give him your counsel that you think it will benefit him. You should opt for the lenient wording that he receives acceptably and use the language that is suitable to his intelligence, for each mind has a definite class of language for which it responds and recognize. Choose mercy as your course.
All power belongs to God.
42. The right of your counselor is that you act gently toward him, give ear to him, and open your hearing for him so that you understand his counsel and look in it deeply. If he presents you with the right course, you praise God, accept the advice from him, and acknowledge his favor. If he does not agree with you, you should use compassion toward him and make no accusations against him; you should know that he spared no efforts for supplying with the best advice, but he has made a mistake, and you do not take him to task for that, unless he should be deserving of accusation. Then attach no more importance to his affair.
All power belongs to God.
43. The right of him who is older than you is that you show reverence toward him because of his age and you honor him because he converted into Islam if he has been one of those who preceded others to Islam. You leave off confronting him in a dispute, you do not precede him in a path, you do not go ahead of him, and you do not consider him foolish. If he should act foolishly toward you, you put up with him and you honor him because of the right of Islam and the respect due to it. The right of age should be considered when compared with the measure of Islam.
All power belongs to God.
44. The right of him who is younger is that you show compassion toward him, teach him, educate him, pardon him, cover his faults, be kind to him, help him, cover up the sins of his juvenility because he accepts repentance, be courteous with him, and leave wrangling him. That will bring him near to righteousness.
45. The right of him who asks from you is that you give to him if you are certain he is truthful and able to meet his need. You should also supplicate to God to relieve him from his misfortune, and help him settle his needs. If you doubt his truthfulness, accuse him (of dishonesty), and determine not to give him since he may be one of the trickeries of the Shaitan, try to deprive you from your share, and prevent you from offering to God, then you should not uncover him and you should reject his demand gently. If you overcome your passions in his regard and give him what he asked for, then that is a part of faith and determination.
46. The right of him from whom you ask is that you accept from him with gratitude and recognition of his bounty if he gives, and you accept his excuse if he withholds and think well of him. You should realize that if he withholds, he is withholding his own property, and he cannot be blamed for withholding his own property. If he was wrong, then man is certainly wrong and disbelieving.
47. The right of him through whom God makes you happy is that you first praise God - if he made you happy intentionally - and then you thank him according to the measure of his gift, reward him for his favor of incipiency (in gifting), and dedicate a prize to him. If he has brought you happiness unintentionally or accidentally, you praise God, thank him (the person), realize that he chose you exclusively for that and loved so because he has been one of the causes of God’s graces upon you. You should hope for him only goodness. The causes of graces are certainly blessings wherever they are, even if they are provided unintentionally.
All power belongs to God.
48. The right of him who does evil to you, through a word or a deed, is that you pardon him if you know that he did (or said) so intentionally. Pardon, in fact, is more acceptable, because it brings about restraint and good mannerism as well as many other nobilities of character. God says:
Those who successfully defend themselves after being wronged will not be questioned. Only those who do injustice to people and commit rebellion on earth for no reason will be questioned. They will suffer a painful torment. To exercise patience and forgive (the wrong done to one) is the proof of genuine determination.
He, the Majestic, also says:
If you want retaliation, let it be equal to that which you faced. But if you exercise patience it will be better for you.
If he who does evil to you has done it unintentionally, you should not oppress him by insisting on retaliation lest, you will be punishing him intentionally for something that he had done unintentionally. You should also be kind with him and answer him as gently, as possible.
49. The right of the people of your creed is harboring safety for them, showing compassion toward them, showing kindness toward their evildoer, treating them with friendliness, seeking their well-being, and thanking him who does favor to you and himself, for he whoever does favor to himself is doing you favor as he keeps his harm away from you, saves you from settling his sustenance, and detains his evildoing from you. Include them (people of your creed) all in your supplication to God and back them all with your support. You should regard each of them in the place he deserves: their old men stand in the place of your father, their children in the place of your sons, and their youths in the place of your brothers. You should care for him who comes to you so gently and compassionately. Regard your brother as properly as possible.
50. The right of the people under the protection of Islam (Dhimmis) is that you accept from them what God has accepted for them, fulfill their rights that God pledged and assured, entrust them to God in the matters that they are asked to carry out, judge among them with the judgments of God that He commanded in the conditions of treating with them, and you do no wrong to them as long as they fulfill God’s covenant. The pledge of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) is a barrier against oppressing them, for he (the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family) is reported to have said: “I am the adversary party of him whoever oppresses a Dhimmi.” Fear God.
All power belongs to God.
These have been fifty rights that surround you and you cannot avoid in any condition. It is incumbent upon you to care for them and exert all efforts for carrying them out. You should seek the help of God the Majestic in that regard.
All power belongs to God.
All praise is due to Allah the Lord of the worlds.
Imam As-Sajjad’s Wording of Abstinence
Imam Ali As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
The character of the abstinent from the worldly pleasures and the desirous for the life to come is that they desert every mate and associate, and they abandon every friend that does not take their trend. The very wisher for the reward of the life to come is the abstinent from the transitory pleasures of this world, the ready for death, and the hardworking who precede caution before the fall of death and the coming of the inevitable event. God the Majestic says:
When death approaches one of the unbelievers, he says, ‘Lord, send me back again so that perhaps I shall act righteously for the rest of my life.’
You should regard your residence in this world as the residence of that who is returned to it and feeling regret for the past negligence of good doing.
O servants of God, you should know that he who anticipates waylaying leaves (laying on) the pillow, refrains from sleeping, and abstains from some of food and drink. This is for those who fear a powerful one in this world. Woe to you, son of Adam, How should you behave when you anticipate the waylaying of the powerful Lord, His painful attack, and His ambush for the committers of sins and acts of disobedience to Him, including the strikers of death at night and in day? That is surely the inescapable waylaying from which there is no shelter or getaway.
O believers, imitate the people of conviction and God-fearing in their fear of God’s waylaying, for God says:
This is for those who are afraid of Me and of My warning.
Beware of the pleasures, deceit, and evils of this world and remember the harm that is originated from inclination to it, for its ornamentation is a trial and the fondness of it is a sin.
Woe is you, son of Adam, The severity of the gluttony, nature of the inclination (to this world), drunkenness of the satiation, deception of authority - all these matters cause laziness and tardiness from acting, make one forget the reference (to God), and divert from the imminence of death. Those who are afflicted with the fondness of this world are as same as the mad out of inebriety.
The mindful of God, the fearful of Him, and the hardworking for His sake train themselves and accustom to tolerate starvation, so that they will not long for satiation, in the same way racehorses are trained for competitions.
O servants of God, fear God like the fearing of those who desire for gaining His rewards and those who shrink from His punishment. God has certainly had enough excuses, warned, wrought up, and frightened. Nevertheless, you neither long for the abundant reward of which He has promised and work for it, nor do you fear the painful punishment with which He has threatened and stop. In His Book, He has told you that, “The reward of the righteously striving believers will not be neglected. We are keeping the record of their good deeds.
”
He, the Exalted, then cited examples for you in His Book and simplified the evidences so that you may beware of the transitory pleasures of this world. He said:
Your property and children are a trial for you, but the reward (which one may receive from God) is great.
Fear God as much as possible, listen, and obey.
Fear God and learn lessons from the examples that God cite.
I am sure that most of you were fagged by the consequences of your acts of disobedience to God before you could beware of them. Moreover, they (these acts of disobedience to God) injured the religion of most of you before you detest them. You should have heard God censuring and belittling them as He says:
Know that the worldly life is only a game, a temporary attraction, a means of boastfulness among yourselves and a place for multiplying your wealth and children. It is like the rain, which produces plants that are attractive to the unbelievers. These plants flourish, turn yellow, and then become crushed bits of straw. In the life hereafter there will be severe torment or forgiveness and mercy from God. The worldly life is only an illusion. Compete with one another to achieve forgiveness from your Lord and to reach Paradise, which is as vast as the heavens and the earth, and is prepared for those who believe in God and His Messenger. This is the blessing of God and He grants it to whomever He wants. The blessings of God are great.
God also says:
Believers, have fear of God. A soul must see what it has done for the future. Have fear of God for He is All-aware of what you do. Do not be like those who forget about God. He will make them forget themselves. These are the sinful people.
O servants of God, fear God, ponder over Him, and work for that for which you have been created. God has definitely not created you out of play and He will not leave you vainly after He has introduced Himself to you, sent His messengers, and revealed His Book in which He has presented the legal and illegal matters in addition to His arguments and examples.
Fear God Who has claimed against you (thoroughly). He said:
Have We not given him two eyes, a tongue, and two lips? Have We not shown him the ways of good and evil?
This is God’s claim against you.
Do your best in the field of fearing God as long as all power belongs to Him and all entrustment is to Him.
God bless Mohammed the Prophet and his family.
Imam As-Sajjad’s Message of Admonition
to Mohammed bin Muslim Az-Zuhri
God save you and us from seditious matters and guard you against the Fire (of Hell) out of His mercy. You have been enjoying a state due to which it is serving for anyone who knows you to show compassion to you. You have been overburdened with the graces of God Who has given you a good physical health and a long age. Furthermore, He has constituted His claims against you when He charged you with the responsibility of His Book, made you understand His religion, introduced to you the traditions of His Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him and his family). He has also imposed upon you a responsibility in every favor that He has done to you and every claim that He has instituted against you. He has tested your gratitude in every matter that He has done to you and every grace through which He has shown His favors to you. He says:
If you give thanks, I shall give you greater (favors), but if you show ingratitude, know that My retribution is severe.
Consider to which party you will be added when you will (inevitably) stand before God Who will ask you about His graces; how you acted upon them, and about His claims; how you treated them. Never think that God will accept your unjustifiable excuses or will be satisfied with your negligence. Too far is that! Too far is that! It is definitely not in that manner.
God has ordered the scholars (to show people and not to hide any part of it) in His Book when He said:
When God made a covenant with the People of the Book saying: Tell the people about it without hiding any part.
You should know that the least of concealing knowledge and the lightest burden is to entertain the estrangement of an unjust person and pave the way of seduction to him through responding to him when he sought your nearness and called upon you. I am too afraid that you will acknowledge your sins with the betrayers tomorrow and will be asked about whatever you have gotten due to your supporting the unjust in oppression, since you have taken the gift that was not yours, you have been close to him who did not give back anyone’s right, you have not rejected a wrongdoing when he approached you, and you have responded to him who antagonized God.
As the unjust ones invited you, they make you the axis of the hand-mill of their wrongdoings, the bridge on which they cross to their misfortunes, and the stairs to their deviation.
You have been the propagandist of their temptation when you took their courses. They have employed you as the means through which they aroused doubts against the scholars and dragged the hearts of the ignorant to them. The best one in their government and the most powerful of them could not achieve success like that which you have attained through showing their corrupt affairs as honest and attracting the attentions of the celebrities as well as the ordinary people to you.
If you compare what you have done to them with what they have given to you, you will find it too little. Likewise, they have built for you very trivial thing while they ruined your great things.
Look in yourself, for no one will look in you except you yourself, and maintain judgment with yourself as if you are the judge.
Look into your gratitude to Him Who nourished you with His graces when you were little and when you became old. I am too afraid you will be one of those about whom God says in His Book:
Their descendants who inherited the Book gained (by bribery only) worthless things from the worldly life saying, "We shall be forgiven (for what we have done).
You are not living in a permanent abode; you are in a temporary house that you will leave soon. How does a man stay after the departure of his matches? Blessed be those who are fearful of this world. How miserable those who die and leave their sins after them are!
Beware; you have been told. Take the initiative; you have been respited. You are dealing with Him Who is never ignorant. He who counts your deeds is never remiss. Supply yourself (with the necessary provisions); the long journey is approaching you. Correct your guilt; it has been inflicted by a cureless malady.
Do not think that I wanted only to censure, reproach, and dishonor you. I only wanted God to revive the opinions that you have missed and give you back your religious affairs that you have lost. This is because I remembered God’s saying:
Keep on reminding them. This benefits the believers.
You neglected the reference to your old men and friends who passed away while you remained after them like a hornless sheep.
See whether they had suffered what you suffered or faced what you faced. Had they neglected a good-deed that you did or had they been unaware of something that you retained?
The only difference between you and them is that you have occupied a distinctive standing in people’s minds that they have been pursuing your opinions and carrying out your orders. They deem lawful anything that you deem lawful and deem unlawful anything that you deem unlawful. You are not fit enough for so. It is, in fact, the departure of their scholars, the prevalence of ignorance upon them and you, the fondness of leadership, and the seeking of the worldly pleasures that they, as well as you, enjoy - these matters made them overcome you through their desire to gain what you have in possession.
Can you not feel the ignorance and deception that you live, while people are indulging into misfortunes and sedition? You have exposed them to misfortunes and tempted them by precluding them from their earnings because of what they have seen from you. Hence, they longed for attaining the level of knowledge that you have attained or obtaining, through it, what you have obtained. They therefore have drowned in a bottomless ocean and an immeasurable misfortune.
God give you and us. He is the One Whose help is sought.
So then, leave all that in which you are engaged so that you may catch up with the virtuous ones whom were buried with their tatters while their bellies were stuck to their backs. No screen was put between God and them. The worldly pleasures could not charm them and they paid no attention to them (such pleasures). They longed for (God), sought (Him), and soon caught up (with Him).
If this world makes you in such a manner, while you are attaining such an age, enjoying such a deep-rooted knowledge, and being so near of death, how can then a juvenile be saved (against the worldly pleasures), while he is ignorant, weak-minded, and brainless?
We are Allah’s and to Him we will return.
Upon whom should we depend? Whom should we blame?
We should only complain of our grief and what are we suffering to God. We only charge our misfortune about you to God’s account.
Look into your gratitude to Him Who nourished you with His graces when you were little and when you became old, your magnifying Him Who makes you handsome among people through His religion, your preserving the dress of Him Who covered you up among people through His dress, and your closeness or remoteness from Him Who ordered you to come near and be modest to Him.
Why do you not wake up from your slumber, and reform yourself after your stumble? You should have said: By God I swear, I have not done any act for the sake of God and for stimulating one of the rites of His religion or terminating one of the wrong customs.
Do you show gratitude to Him Who settled all your needs in this way?
I am too afraid you are one of those about whom God the Exalted says:
(They) neglected their prayers and followed their worldly desires. They will certainly be lost.
God has ordered you to carry His Book and deposited His knowledge with you, but you have wasted them both. We thank God Who has saved us from that with which He has inflicted you.
Salaam.
Short Maxims of Imam As-Sajjad
1-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
The highest grade of conviction is to satisfy yourself with the detested act of God.
2-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
He who honors himself will debase the worldly life.
3-
As he was asked to define the greatest of people, Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
The greatest of people is that who does not see the world as great.
4-
Before Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him), a man said: “O Allah, make me do without people.” The Imam instructed:
This is not accurate. People are in the service of each other. You should say: O Allah, make me do without the evil ones.
5-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
The richest of people is that who is satisfied with what God has chosen for him.
6-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
A deed that accompanies God-fearing will not be decreased. How can an accepted deed be decreased?
7-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
Avoid telling lies, whether they were significant or venial, or in serious or humorous situations, for a man who tells a trivial lie will surely dare to tell a big one.
8-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
To see your enemy plunging in acts of disobedience to God because of you is a sufficient victory from God to you.
9-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
The whole goodness is to protect yourself (against all that which is unacceptable).
10-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said to one of his sons:
O son, God has accepted me (as a father) for you and has not accepted you (as a son) for me; hence, He has commanded you (to obey me) and has not commanded me (to obey you). Adhere to charity; it is surely a small gift.
11-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) answered the man who asked him a definition for ascetics:
Ascetics is of ten grades the highest of which is the lowest grade of piety. The highest grade of piety is the lowest grade of conviction. The highest grade of conviction is the lowest grade of satisfaction. Ascetics is (summarized) in God’s saying:“…so that you would not grieve over what you have lost nor become too happy about what God has granted to you.
”
12-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
Asking from people is the humility of life, the remover of pudency, and the debasement of reverence. It is the permanent poverty. Lack of asking from people is the permanent richness.
13-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
The most favorable of you to God is certainly the owner of the best deeds. The doer of the best deed to God is the most desirous (for God’s bounty and rewards). The most saved from God’s agony is the most fearful of God. The closest to God is the most well-mannered. The most acceptable by God is the most generous to His family members. The most honorable for God is the most God-fearing.
14-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said to one of his sons:
O son, do not associate, talk, or accompany five classes of people.
“Who are they, father?” asked the son, and the Imam (peace be upon him) answered:
Beware of associating with the liar, for he is as same as mirage: he shows you the near as remote and shows you the remote as near. Beware of associating with the sinful, for he will disappoint you for a single bite or even something less valuable. Beware of associating with the stingy, for he will let you down when you are in urgent need of his property. Beware of associating the foolish, for he harms you when he intends to do you favor. Beware of associating with the disregardful of his relatives, for I found him cursed in the Book of God.
15-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
Knowledge and the perfect religion is to avoid intruding into unconcerned matters, dispute others rarely, show clemency and steadfastness, and be well-mannered.
16-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
O son of Adam - man-: You are on the right as long as you are admonished by your own self, care very much for maintaining judgment with yourself, and betake fear as your slogan and caution as your garment. O son of Adam: You will unquestionably be dead, resurrected, and standing before your Lord the Majestic. You should prepare an answer for all that.
17-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
No Koreishite and no Arab (should take pride in his) lineage without modesty. No generosity without God-fearing. No deed without (honest) intention. No worship without knowledge. The most hated of people to God is he who believes in an imam’s traditions but does not copy his deeds.
18-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
For his supplication (to God), the believer gains one of three things: the supplication is saved for him, he is responded immediately, or he is saved for the befalling of an imminent misfortune.
19-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
The very hypocrite is that who warns people (against evil deeds) but he does not stop committing them and orders them (to do good acts) but he does not do (such acts). When he stands for offering the prayer he turns right and left, when he genuflects (in the prayer) he huddles, and when he prostrates himself, he pecks. In evenings, his only concern is dinner while he was not fasting. In mornings, his only concern is to sleep while he has not passed (the last) night with worship.
The believer, on the other hand, mixes his acts with clemency; he sits down so that he may learn (something); he keeps silent so that he may save himself; he does not divulge his secrets before his friends (even); he does not conceal witnessing for the strangers; he does not act any rightful action out of showing off; he does not neglect any act out of pudency; if he is praised, he fears sayings of the eulogists and seeks God’s forgiveness for what they do not know; he does not care for the ignorance of those who ignore him.
20-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said to a man who had just been cured from an ailment:
Congratulations for the acquittal of the sins. God has referred to you; therefore, you should mention Him, and has saved you; therefore, you should thank it for Him.
21-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
If you ride for obtaining these five things, you will extremely fatigue your riding animals before you can attain them. They are as follows:
The servant (of God) should fear nothing except his sins and hope for nothing except his Lord. The ignorant (of a certain question) should not be too shy to learn.
The relation of patience to faith is same as the relation of a head to a body. On that account, the impatient are faithless.
22-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
God says: O son of Adam, satisfy yourself with that which I have given to you and you will be the most abstinent of people. O son of Adam, carry out the duties that I have made incumbent upon you and you will be the best worshipper of people. O son of Adam, avoid acting matters that I have deemed forbidden and you will be the most pious of people.
23-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
Many are those whom are deceived by commendation. Many are those whom are swindled by the firm covering up (of their sins). Many are those whom are trapped by favors and graces that they receive.
24-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
How bad are those whose ones overcome their tens.
(One good deed will be rewarded tenfold, while bad deeds will be recompensed one for one.)
25-
Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
This world is about to turn tail and the life to come is about to approach. Each this world and the life to come has its sons. Thus, line up with the sons of the life to come and do not be the sons of this world. Be with those who abstain from (chasing) the worldly pleasures and desire for the (permanent bliss of the) life to come. The abstinent are those who betake the land of God as mat, dust as bed, rocks as pillow, water as odor, and they cut their livelihood in this world. You should know that he whoever longs for Paradise dashes to the good deeds and forgets the passions. Whoever is concerned about the Fire (of Hell) takes the initiative to repent to God from the sins and stops committing the forbidden matters. Whoever disregards this world will look upon its misfortunes as ineffectual and will not hate it. There are the servants of God whose hearts are deeply attracted to the life to come and its rewards. They behave as if they have seen the people of Paradise living therein eternally with ultimate bliss and seen the people of Hell suffering agony therein. People are saved from the evils and troubles of such ones, because their hearts are engaged in fear of God and away from people. Their sights are lowered against the forbidden and their needs for people are light. They satisfied themselves with the few livelihood of God - namely the food. They tolerated short days for the sake of being saved from the long regret on the Day of Resurrection.
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As a man said to him, “I love you very much for God’s sake,” Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) nodded the head down and said:
O Allah, I seek your guard against my being loved for Your sake while You dislike me.
The Imam kept silent for a while, then he (peace be upon him) said:
I love you for Him for the sake of Whom you love me.
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Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
God certainly dislikes the stingy that asks others importunately.
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Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
Many are those who are deceptively proud. They begin their days with amusement and guffaw. They eat and drink blissfully while they do not know that God has become discontent with them so intensely that they will surely endure the fire of Hell.
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Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
To spend moderately in times of poverty, give generously in times of luxury, treat people fairly, and greet them initiatively - these manners are within the characters of the believers.
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Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
Three conducts save the believers: to stop saying bad wording or backbiting people, engage oneself in matters that will benefit in the Last Judgment as well as this world, and weep heavily for one’s guilt.
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Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
L
ooks of mutual affection and amiability between the believers is a sort of worship.
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Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
A believer who enjoys the following three characters will be under the care of God Who will cast a shadow over him on the Day of Resurrection under His Divine Throne and will save him from the horror of the Grand Day. These three characters are to offer people what you ask them to offer you, to stop extending a hand or treading a single step before you know whether they will be in the obedience or disobedience to God, and to stop finding a fault with somebody before you get rid of that fault. A man’s faults are sufficient concerns that engage from plunging into others’ faults.
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Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
After the acknowledgement of God, nothing is more favorable for Him than moderation in eating and (sexual) chastity. The most favorable act to God is to supplicate to Him.
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Imam As-Sajjad said to his son Mohammed (peace be upon them):
Do favor to everybody who asks for it; if he deserves it, then you have hit the target, otherwise you have become one of people of favors. Accept the apology of him who reviled at you from your right side, then turned to your left to make an apology.
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Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
Sitting with the virtuous ones urges virtue, adherence to the ethics of the scholars improves intelligence, compliance with the men of authority (namely the sinless Imams, peace be upon them) is the perfect dignity, investment of the property is the perfect personality, guiding the seeker of counsel is a fulfillment of the rights of graces, and abstinence from harming people is a part of the perfection of mind. It also achieves the immediate and gradual physical comfort.
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Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) used to say whenever he recited God’s saying: “
Had you wanted to count the bounties of God, you would not have been able to do it;
”
All praise be to Him Who has not enabled anybody to acknowledge all His favors except through the acknowledgement of the failure to acknowledge them properly. He also has not enabled anybody to acknowledge His Essence properly except through the knowledge that God is beyond knowledge. He, the All-powerful the Majestic, has thanked the acknowledgement of the knowledgeable one’s being too short to know Him perfectly. He has also regarded their acknowledgement of their failure to acknowledge Him perfectly as their showing Him gratitude. Similarly, God has regarded the knowledgeable one’s acknowledgement of His being beyond knowledge as faithful believing (in Him). This is because He has comprehended the servants’ limits that they cannot exceed.
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Imam As-Sajjad (peace be upon him) said:
All praise be to Him Who has regarded the acknowledgement of His favors as praise. All praise be to Him Who has regarded the acknowledgement of the failure to thank Him properly as showing him gratitude.
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Author: Al-Hasan bin Ali bin Al-Hussein bin Shu'ba Al-Harrani
