Introduction

God is One and Only

Abandoning the Present to Attain the Promised

Oppressive Characteristics

Characteristics Rooted in Love for Religion

One Characteristic for Five Characteristics

A Characteristic for a Characteristic

A Saving Characteristic

The Loftiest Characteristic of the Religion

No Two Things Combined which are Better than the Combination of Two Characteristics

A Characteristic that is the Honor of This World and the Hereafter

The Most Knowledgeable Person Is One who Combines One Characteristic with Another One

There Is One True Prosperity And One True Misery

A Characteristic for Which the People Deserve to be Rewarded or Punished

A Characteristic that Is the Noblest Holy War

The Hardest Thing is One Characteristic that Cannot Be Avoided Unless We Abandon Another Characteristic

A Believer’s Honor Is in One Characteristic and His Glory Is In Another Characteristic

One Characteristic Is the Key to All Evil

A Characteristic Due to Justice

A Characteristic Due to Which We Are Interested in How Others Judge About Us

Seek Nearness to God with One Characteristic

God Has Not Tested the Servants with Anything Harder Than One Characteristic

A Characteristic that Is the Result of Being Kind

A Characteristic that Stabilizes One’s Faith and One that Makes Him Lose His Faith

A Characteristic that Destroys a Believer’s Dignity

A Good Characteristic Which No Other Characteristic Is Better Than, and a Bad Characteristic That No Other Characteristic Is Worse Than

A Characteristic That Guarantees Who Will Not Become Poor

The Form of Chivalry of the Members of the Holy Household

A Characteristic Due to One’s Chivalry

A Characteristic that Is Not Good for a Dignified Man

God Loves One Characteristic and Despises One Characteristic

One Who has This Characteristic Would Not Be Thankful for Blessings

A Characteristic Due to Humbleness

A Characteristic that Is Close to Blasphemy and A Characteristic that Might Change Destiny

A Characteristic that Destroyed Previous Nations

Martyrdom Is Expiation for Every Sin Except for One’s Debt

God the Almighty Has Sent Muhammad (sw) and His Nation a Gift That He Has Not Given to Any Other Nation

A Characteristic that One Should Have If He Wants to Increase Goodness in His House

God Will Look at Whom He Likes. Once He Looks at Him, He Shall Grant Him One of Three Gifts

The Hereafter is the Wedding of the Pious Ones

A Characteristic That is Like its Opposite

The Most Wicked People Are Those Who Are Respected for Possessing One Characteristic

A Characteristic in This World is Abstinence, and a Characteristic That is Gratitude for all Blessings

Nothing Deserves to Be Restrained More Than the Tongue

Whoever Raises his Aspirations Does Wrong

Good Deeds Are Recorded for a Muslim as Long as He Remains Quiet

A Characteristic Having Which Will Result in God Saving You From the Fear of the Hereafter

The Most Intelligent Characteristic

The Most Pious, the Best Worshipping, the Most Ascetic and the Most Hard-Working People

Becoming Sorry Is the Same as Repenting

Whoever Earns More Than His Meals fom This World

A Characteristic That Deserves to Be Willed

A Characteristic That Causes One to Be Thrown Out and a Characteristic That Causes One to Be Joined

Lofty Characteristics and Bad Characteristics for the People of the World

There Is No Honor Except Through One Characteristic. There Is No Nobility Except Through Another Characteristic

When God Loves a Servant He Will Make Him Suffer from a Great Calamity

A Characteristic That Leads to Hemorrhoids

A Hand on Which There Is an Iron Ring Is Not Clean

Do Not Respond to Whoever Talks Before He Greets You

A Characteristic That if Practiced Implies Despise for Muhammad’s Religion

Only One of the Proverbs of the Prophets Has Remained

When God Wishes a Servant Well, He Will Expedite His Punishment in This World, and When He Wishes Someone Bad, He Will Procrastinate His Punishment

Be Patient with the Enemies of the Blessings

The Prophet (sw) and Ali Ibn Abi Talib Were Created from the Same Root

A Characteristic That is Gratitude for All Blessings

Religion Is the Same as Love

When Two Believers Shake Hands They Shall Depart from Each Other Void of Any Sins

A Characteristic That Revives the Hearts

A Characteristic That Revives the Affairs of the Almighty God’s Proofs

God the Almighty Has Not Created Anything More Delightful Than This Characteristic

A Characteristic That Constitutes Nine-Tenths of Religion

Whoever is Pleased with His Destiny or is Displeased with it

A Characteristic for Which Even Red-Haired Camels Are Not Loved

A Characteristic That Increases the Daily Bread

A Characteristic That Leads to Hypocrisy and Poverty

The First Gift Given to a Believer Due to a Characteristic

A Characteristic for Which One Who Has No Good Deeds is Forgiven on the Resurrection Day

A Characteristic That is the Root of All Sins

How Awkward It Is If a Man Enters Heaven Having Lost His Honor

A Characteristic Doing Which Will Cause the Almighty God to Have Mercy Upon You

A Characteristic Doing Which Will Cause Increased Good for One’s House

On Him Whose Health Has Overcome His Illness but He Treats Himself and Dies

A Characteristic Which a Believer Avoids

Nothing Ruins Faith as Much as One Characteristic Does

One Who Lives to See his Successor Is Prosperous

A Believer’s Honor is More Than That of the Ka’ba

It Suffices for a Believer to See God’s Aid in the Form of His Enemies Engaged in the Almighty God’s Disobedience

A Gift Will Eliminate Animosities

Prosperous Be the One Who is Indifferent

A Characteristic That Will Make One Poor in the Hereafter

A Group of People Who Are the Masters of Heaven

God’s Prophet Made His Ablutions One Organ at a Time

The Characteristic That Is the Best Goodness

The Prophet Put off His Special Prayer for One Characteristic

A Characteristic That is the Best Form of Worshipping and a Characteristic That is the Noblest Form of Being Religious

What Is A Lot but Its Doers Are A Few

A Characteristic That Constitutes Half of the Religion

A Characteristic That is the Best Thing Given to a Muslim

The Prophet and Ali Ibn Abi Talib Were Created from One Light

A Servant’s Well-Being Depends Upon the Well-Being of One of His Organs

21-1 حدثنا محمد بن إبراهيم بن إسحاق الطالقاني رضي الله عنه قال: أخبرنا أحمد بن محمد بن سعيد الكوفي قال: حدثنا علي بن الحسن بن فضال، عن أبيه، عن أبي الحسن علي بن موسى الرضا عليهما السلام قال: للامام علامات يكون أعلم الناس، وأحكم الناس، وأتقى الناس، وأحلم الناس، وأشجع الناس، وأسخى الناس، وأعبد الناس، ويولد مختونا، ويكون مطهرا، ويرى من خلفه كما يرى من بيـن يديـه، ولا يكون لـه ظل، وإذا وقـع على الارض من [بطن] امه وقع علىراحتيه رافعا صوته بالشهادة، ولا يحتلم،وتنام عينه ولا ينام قلبه، ويكون محدثا ويستوي عليه درع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله، ولا يرى له بول ولا غائط لان الله عز وجل قد وكل الارض بابتلاع ما يخرج منه،ويكون له رائحة أطيب من رائحة المسك، ويكون أولى الناس منهم بأنفسهم وأشفق عليهم من آبائهم، وامهاتهم، ويكون أشد الناس تواضعا لله عز وجل، ويكون آخذ الناس بما يأمرهم به وأكف الناس عما ينهى عنه، ويكون دعاؤه مستجابا حتى لو أنه دعا على صخرة لانشقت نصفين، ويكون عنده سلاح رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وسيفه ذوالفقار، ويكون عنده صحيفة فيها أسماء شيعته إلى يوم القيامة وصحيفة فيها أسماء أعدائهم إلى يوم القيامة، ويكون عنده الجامعة وهي صحيفة طولها سبعون ذراعا فيها جميع ما يحتاج إليه ولد آدم، ويكون عنده الجفر الاكبر والاصغر إهابماعز وإهاب كبش فيهما جميع العلوم حتى أرش الخدش وحتى الجلدة ونصف الجلدة وثلث الجلدة، ويكون عنده مصحف فاطمة عليها السلام

21-1 Abul Abbas Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ishaq al-Taleqani - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Muhammad ibn Sa’id al-Kufy quoted Ali ibn al-Hassan Ibn Faz’zal, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abil Hassan Ali ibn Musa al-Ridha (MGB), “There are certain signs designating the Imam. He is the most knowledgeable, the wisest, the most pious, the most patient, the bravest, the most generous, and the person who worships the most among the people. He was born circumcised. He is pure and clean. He sees the back as well he sees the front. He has no shadow. When he fell out of his mother’s uterus onto the ground, he fell onto the palms of his hands and loudly declared the twotestimonial declarations (that there is no god but God, and that Muhammad is God’s Messenger). He has no nocturnal pollution. His eyes go to sleep, but his heart will not go to sleep. He is inspired . The armor of God’s Prophet (MGB) fits him. His urine and feces cannot be seen since the Almighty God has appointed the Earth to swallow whatever he excretes even though it smells like musk. He has power over the people, although he is kinder to them than their own parents are. He is the humblest of all people before the Almighty God. He acts upon what he advises the people to do more than anyone else. He abstains from what he admonishes the people against. His prayers are accepted such that if he wishes a rock to be divided into two parts, it will. He has the weapon of the Prophet of God (MGB). He has his sword - the Zul-Faqar . He has a list of the names of his followers up until the Resurrection Day. He has a list of the names of his enemies up until the Resurrection Day. He possesses Al-Jame’a - that is a nearly thirty-five meter long text which encompasses all of the needs of the human beings. He also possesses the Jafr-i-Akbar and Jafr-i-Asqar that are a goat-skin and a ram-skin which include all knowledge - even the punishment for a scratch or one, a half or a third of a crack of a whip. He also possesses the Blessed Fatimah’s (MGB) Mushaf.

21-2 وفي حديث آخر إن الامام مؤيد بروح القدس وبينه وبين الله عز وجل عمود من نور يرى فيه أعمال العباد وكلما احتاج إليه لدلالة اطلع عليهوقال الصادق عليه السلام: يبسط لنا فنعلم، ويقبض عنا فلا نعلم، والامام يولد ويلد، ويصح ويمرض، ويأكل ويشرب، ويبول ويتغوط، ويفرح ويحزن، ويضحك ويبكي، ويموت ويقبر، ويزاد فيعلم، ودلالته في خصلتين: في العلم واستجابة الدعوة، وكلما أخبر به من الحوادث التي تحدث قبل كونها كذلك بعهد معهود إليه من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله توارثه من آبائه عليهم السلام. وكون ذلك مما عهده إليه جبرئيل عن علام الغيوب، وجميع الائمة الاحد عشر بعد النبي صلى الله عليه وآله قتلوا، منهم بالسيف، وهو أميرالمؤمنين والحسين عليهما السلام، والباقون عليهم السلام قتلوا بالسم، وجرى ذلك عليهم على الحقيقة والصحة، لا كما يقوله الغلاة والمفوضة لعنهم الله بأنهم يقولون: إنهم لم يقتلوا على الحقيقة، وإنما شبه للناس أمرهم، وكذبـوا ما شبـه أمر أحـد من أنبيـاء الله وحججـه علىالناس إلا أمر عيسى بن مريم عليهما السلام وحده لانه رفع من الارض حيا وقبض روحه بين السماء والارض، ثم رفع إلى السماء ورد عليه روحه، وذلك قول الله عز وجل: "إِذْ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَاعِيسَى إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّ" وقال عز وجل حكاية عما يقول عيسى يوم القيامة "وَكُنتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا مَا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِي كُنتَ أَنْتَ الرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَنْتَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ" ويقول المتجاوزون للحد في أمر الائمة عليهم السلام: إنه إن جازأن يشبه أمر عيسى للناس، فلم لا يجوزأن يشبه أمرهم أيضا؟ والذي يجب أن يقال لهم: إن عيسى هو مولود من غيرأب فلم لا يجوز أن يكون مولودين من غيرأب، وإنهم لا يجسرون على إظهار مذهبهم لعنهم الله في ذلك ومتى جاز أن يكون جميع أنبياء الله وحججه عليهم السلام مولودين من الآباء والامهات وكان عيسى من بينهم مولودا من غيرأب جاز أن يشبه أمره للناس دون أمر غيره من الانبياء والحجج عليهم السلام كما جاز أن يولد من غيرأب دونهم وإنما أراد الله عز وجل: إن يجعل أمره آية وعلامة ليعلم بذلك أن الله على كل شيء قدير

21-2 And in another tradition we read, “The Imam is certified by the Holy Spirit. There is a column of light between him and God with which he sees the deeds of the people. He is informed about what he needs by it.As-Sadiq (MGB) said, “This column of light is sometimes opened up to us and we get to know and it sometimes gets closed and we no longer know. The Imam is born. He also has children. He gets ill and he gets cured. He eats and drinks. He urinates and defecates. He gets sad. He laughs and cries. He lives and then dies. He is buried and the people go to visit his shrine. These conditions for him are general. There are two specific and important signs for him: his knowledge and the fulfillment of his prayers. He has heard the news that he gives about the events in the future from his grandfathers and they do so from the Prophet of God (MGB). The Prophet of God (MGB) has heard them from Gabriel. Gabriel has heard them from the Almighty God. All the eleven Imams after the Prophet (MGB) were martyred. Some were martyred by the sword - that is the Commander of the Faithful Imam Ali (MGB) and Al-Hussein (MGB). The rest of them were poisoned by the disobedient rulers of their time. The martyrdom of the Imams has been a real issue - not the way the Boasters believe and those who believe in turning over the authority believe - May God’s Curse Be on Them. They say, ‘In fact, they were not killed. The people thought they were. They are liars. May God’s Wrath be upon them. There areno cases of the Prophets and the Imams in which the people just thought they were killed, but they were not; except for Jesus the son of Mary (MGB), since he was taken up alive from the Earth. His spirit was taken away in between the heavens and the Earth. Then he was taken up to the heavens where his spirit was returned to him. The followings Words of the Almighty God refer to this, “Behold! God said, O Jesus! I will take thee and raise thee to Myself and clear thee (of the falsehoods) of those who blaspheme.” The Almighty God also expressed what Jesus (MGB) will say on the Resurrection Day as follows, “... And I was a witness over them whilst I dwelt amongst them. When Thou didst take me up, Thou was the Watcher over them, and Thou art a witness to all things.” And the people who have transgressed beyond bounds regarding the Immaculate Imams (MGB) say, “If it is allowed for the people to think Jesus (MGB) who was not killed was killed, why should a similar issue not hold true for the Imams?” Their reply is, “Jesus (MGB) was created without a father. Why is it not allowed that the Immaculate Imams (MGB) be also created without having a father?” They will not dare express their opinion on this issue. May God Damn Them! When all the Prophets, Messengers and Imams after Adam have been created from a father and a mother - with Jesus being the only exception having only a mother - it is allowed for the people to think he was killed while he was not. This doesn’t hold true for other Prophets and Imams. The Almighty God wished to establish Jesus (MGB) as a sign and a symbol for us to know that God is able to do anything.

21-3 حدثنا أبي رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا سعد بن عبد الله، وعبد الله بن جعفر الحميري، ومحمد بن يحيى العطار، وأحمد بن إدريس جميعا قالوا: حدثنا أحمد بن محمد ابن عيسى، ومحمد بن الحسين بن أبي الخطاب، عن محمد بن سنان، عن حذيفة بن منصور، عن معاذ بن كثير، ويقال له: معاذ بن مسلم الهراء، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: شهر رمضان ثلاثون يوما لا ينقص والله أبدا

21-3 (The compiler of the book narrated) that his father - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Sa’ed ibn Abdullah, Abdullah ibn Ja’far al-Homayry, Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Attar and Ahmad ibn Idris quoted Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa and Muhammad ibn al-Hussein ibn Abil-Khat’tab, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Sin’an, on the authority of Hazifat ibn Mansoor, on the authority of Mu’az ibn Kasir, on the authority of Mu’az ibn Muslim al-Hara that Aba Abdullah as-Sadiq (MGB) said, “The month of Ramazan is thirty days. I swear by God that it never is less.”

21-4 حدثنا محمد بن علي ماجيلويه رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا علي بن إبراهيم ابن هاشم، عن أبيه، عن ياسر الخادم قال: قلت للرضا عليه السلام: هل يكون شهر رمضان تسعة وعشرين يوما؟ فقال: إن شهر رمضان لا ينقص عن ثلاثين يوما

21-4 Muhammad ibn Ali Majiluyih - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim quoted his father, on the authority of Yasir - the servant (of Imam Al-Ridha (MGB)), “I asked Al-Ridha (MGB), ‘Would the month of Ramazan ever be twenty-nine days?’’ The Imam (MGB) replied, ‘No. The month of Ramazan will never be less than thirty days.’”

21-5 حدثنا محمد بن علي ماجيلويه رضي الله عنه قال: حدثني عمي محمد بن أبـي القاسـم، عن أحمـد بن أبي عبـد الله البـرقي، عن أبي الحسن علي بن الحسينالرقي عن عبد الله بن جبلة، عن معاوية بن عمار، عن الحسن بن عبد الله، عن أبائه، عن جده الحسن بن علي بن أبي طالب عليهما السلام قال:جاء نفر من اليهود إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله فسأله أعلمهم عن مسائل فكان فيما سأله أن قال: لاي شيء فرض الله الصوم على امتك بالنهار ثلاثين يوما وفرض على الامم أكثر من ذلك؟ فقال النبي صلى الله عليه وآله: إن آدم لما أكل من الشجرة بقي في بطنه ثلاثين يوما ففرض الله عز وجل على ذريته ثلاثين يوما الجوع والعطش والذي يأكلونه تفضل من الله عز وجل عليهم كذلك كان على آدم ففرض الله ذلك علي امتي، ثم تلا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله هذه الاية "كتب عليكم الصيام كما كتب على الذين من قبلكم لعلكم تتقون أياما معدودات" قال اليهودى صدقت يا محمد

21-5 Muhammad ibn Ali Majiluyih - may God be pleased with him - narrated that his uncle Muhammad ibn Abil-Qasim quoted Ahmad ibn Aba Abdullah al-Barqy, on the authority of Abil Hassan Ali ibn al-Hussein al-Reqqi,on the authority of Abdullah ibn Jaballe, on the authority of Muawiyah ibn Ammar, on the authority of Al-Hassan ibn Abdullah, on the authority of his forefathers, on the authority of his grandfather Al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn Abi Talib (MGB), “Several Jews went to see the Prophet of God (MGB) and one of them asked him several questions which included the following question, ‘Why has God made it incumbent upon your nation to fast for thirty days while He has made it incumbent for other nations to fast for more days?’ The Prophet (MGB) said, ‘Indeed when Adam ate from the tree, the fruit remained in his stomach for thirty days before it was digested. That is why the Honorable the Exalted God made it incumbent upon his offspring to abstain from eating and drinking for thirty days. What they are allowed to eat and drink during these thirty days is due to the Honorable the Exalted God’s Nobility. God has imposed the same restrictions on my nation that He imposed on Adam (MGB). Then the Prophet (MGB) recited the following verse, ‘Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint,- (Fasting) for a fixed number of days;’ The Jew said, ‘O Muhammad! You are right!’”

21-6 حدثنا محمد بن موسى بن المتوكل رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا محمد بن أبي عبد الله الكوفي، عن موسى بن عمران النخعي، عن عمه الحسين بن يزيد النوفلي، عن علي ابن حمزة، عن أبي بصير قال: سألت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام عن قول الله عز وجل: " ولتكملوا العدة " قال: ثلاثين يوما

21-6 Muhammad ibn Musa ibn al-Mutevakil - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Muhammad ibn Aba Abdullah al-Kufy quoted Musa ibn Imran al-Nakha’ee, on the authority of his uncle Al-Hussein ibn Yazid al-Nawfaly, on the authority of Ali ibn Hamzih, on the authority of Abi Basir, “I asked Aba Abdullah as-Sadiq (MGB) about the meaning of ‘the prescribed period in the following words of the Honorable the Exalted God, ‘(He wants you) to complete the prescribed period… ’’ The Imam (MGB) replied, ‘Thirty days.’”

21-7 حدثنا أبي ومحمد بن الحسن بن الوليد رضي الله عنهما قالا: حدثنا سعد بن عبد الله، عن محمد بن الحسين بن أبي الخطاب، عن محمد بن إسماعيل بن بزيع، عن محمد ابن يعقوب بن شعيب، عن أبيه، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام أنه قال في حديث طويل: شهر رمضان ثلاثون يوما لقول الله عز وجل: "وَلِتُكْمِلُوا الْعِدَّةَ" والكاملة التامة

21-7 (The compiler of the book narrated) that my father and Muhammad ibn al-Hassan al-Walid - may God be pleased with them - narrated that Sa’ed ibn Abdullah quoted on the authority of Muhammad ibn al-Hussein ibn Abil-Khat’tab, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Isma’il ibn Bazi’a, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Yaqoob ibn Shoayb, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Aba Abdullah as-Sadiq (MGB) that in a part of a long narration he (MGB) said, “The month of Ramazan is thirty days as the Honorable the Exalted God says, ‘(He wants you) to complete the prescribed period…’ Here complete means thirty full days.”

21-8 حدثنا أحمد بن الحسن القطان قال: حدثنا أحمد بن يحيى بن زكريا القطان، عن بكـر بن عبـد الله بن حبيـب، عن تميم بن بهلول قال: حدثنا أبو معاوية، عنإسماعيل بن مهران قال: سمعت جعفر بن محمد عليهما السلام يقول: والله ما كلف الله العباد إلا دون ما يطيقون، إنما كلفهم في اليوم والليلة خمس صلوات، وكلفهم في كل ألف درهم خمسة وعشرين درهما، وكلفهم في السنة صيام ثلاثين يوما، وكلفهم حجة واحدة، وهم يطيقون أكثر من ذلكقال مصنف هذا الكتاب رضي الله عنه: مذهب خواص الشيعة وأهل الاستبصار منهم في شهر رمضان أنه لا ينقص عن ثلاثين يوما أبدا، والاخبار في ذلك موافقة للكتاب ومخالفة للعامة فمن ذهب من ضعفة الشيعة إلى الاخبار التي وردت للتقية في أنه ينقص ويصيبه ما يصيبه الشهور من النقصان والتمام اتقى كما تتقى العامة، ولم يكلم إلا بما يكلم به العامة، ولا قوة إلا بالله

21-8 Ahmad ibn al-Hassan al-Qat’tan narrated that Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Zakaria al-Qat’tan quoted Bakr ibn Abdullah ibn Habib, on the authority of Tamim ibn Buhlool, on the authority of Abu Muawiyah, on the authority of Isma’il ibn Mihran that he had heard Ja’far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (MGB)say, “I swear by God that God has not placed a burden on His servants more than they can bear. He has only required that they pray five times each day and night; has established only twenty-five Dirhams of alms-tax for each one-thousand Dirhams; has only required them to fast for thirty days during a year; and has only required them to go on the Hajj pilgrimage once in their lifetime.”The compiler of the book - may God be pleased with him - said, “The Shiites and their wise men consider Ramazan as never being less than thirty days. The narrations which have been written in this chapter are in agreement with the Quran but against the public opinion (that sometimes the month of Ramazan may be less than thirty days). Those people with little faith in the Shiites who have maintained that Ramazan is thirty days every now and then, and twenty-nine days every now and then, have resorted to the concealment of faith. They have supported the general viewpoint of the public. There is no power nor any strength but in God.”

Al-Khiṣāl

Book 22, Chapter 1