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

4-14 6 حدثنا محمد بن علي ماجيلويه رضي الله عنه، عن عمه محمد بن أبي القاسم قال: حدثني أبوسمينة محمد بن علي الكوفي، عن موسى بن سعدان، عن عبد الله بن القاسم، عن صالح بن سهل، عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام في قول الله عز وجل: "فَخُذْ أَرْبَعَةً مِنْ الطَّيْرِ فَصُرْهُنَّ إِلَيْكَ ثُمَّ اجْعَلْ عَلَى كُلِّ جَبَلٍ مِنْهُنَّ…" قال: أخذ الهدهد والصرد والطاووس والغراب، فذبحهن وعزل رؤوسهن، ثم نحز أبدانهن في المنحاز بريشهن ولحومهن وعظامهن حتى اختلـطت، ثم جزأهن عشـرة أجزاء على عشرة أجبل، ثم وضع عنده حبا وماء، ثم جعل مناقيرهن بين أصابعه، ثم قال: آتين سعيا بإذن الله عز وجل، فتطاير بعضها إلى بعض اللحوم والريش والعظام حتى استوت الابدان كما كانت وجاء كل بدن حتى التزق برقبته التي فيها رأسه والمنقار، فخلى إبراهيم عن مناقيرهن فوقعن وشربن من ذلك الماء، والتقطن من ذلك الحب، ثم قلن: يا نبي الله أحييتنا أحياك الله، فقال إبراهيم: بل الله يحيى ويميت، فهذا تفسير الظاهر، قال عليه السلام وتفسيرة [في] الباطن خذ أربعة ممن يحتمل الكلام فاستودعهم علمك ثم ابعثهم في أطراف الارضين حججا لك على الناس وإذا أردت أن يأتوك دعوتهم بالاسم الاكبر يأتونك سعيا باذن الله عز وجل قال مصنف هذا الكتاب رضي الله عنه: الذي عندي في ذلك أنه عليه السلام أمر بالامرين جميعا، وروي أن الطيور التي أمر بأخذها الطاووس والنسر والديك والبط، وسمعت محمد بن عبد الله بن محمد بن طيفور يقول في قول إبراهيم عليه السلام "رَبِّ أَرِنِي كَيْفَ تُحْيِي الْمَوْتَى…" إن الله عز وجل أمر إبراهيم أن يزور عبدا من عباده الصالحين فزاره فلما كلمه قال: إن لله تبارك وتعالى في الدنيا عبدا يقال له إبراهيم اتخذه خليلا، قال إبراهيم: وما علامة ذلك العبد؟ قال: يحيى له الموتى فوقع لابراهيم أنه هو فسأله أن يحيي له الموتى "قَالَ أَوَلَمْ تُؤْمِنْ قَالَ بَلَى وَلَكِنْ لِيَطْمَئِنَّ قَلْبِي" يعني على الخلة ويقال: إنه أراد أن يكون له في ذلك معجزة كما كانت للرسل، وإن إبراهيم عليه السلام سأل ربه أن يحيي له الميت فأمره الله عز وجل أن يميت لاجله الحي سواء بسواء، وهو أنه لما أمره بذبح ابنه إسماعيل وإن الله عز وجل أمر إبراهيم عليه السلام أن يذبح أربعة من الطير طاووسا ونسرا وديكا وبطا، فالطاووس يريد به زينة الدنيا، والنسر يريد به الامل الطويل، والبط يريد به الحرص، والديك يريد به الشهوة. يقول الله عز وجل إن أحببت أن يحيى قلبك ويطمئن معي فاخرج عن هذه الاشياء الاربعة فانه إذا كانت هذه الاشياء في قلب فانه لا يطمئن معي. وسألته كيف قال: "أَوَلَمْ تُؤْمِنْ" مع علمه

4-146 Muhammad ibn Ali Majiluyih - may God be pleased with him - narrated that his uncle Muhammad ibn Abil-Qasim quoted Abu Samina Muhammad ibn Ali al-Kufy, on the authority of Musa ibn Sa’edan, on the authority of Abdullah ibn al-Qasim, on the authority of Salih ibn Sahl that Aba Abdullah as-Sadiq (MGB) said the following regarding the Honorable the Exalted God’s words, ‘Take four birds. Tame them to turn to thee. Put a portion of them on every hill and call out to them. They will come to thee (flying) with speed. Then know that God is Exalted in Power, Wise.’The Imam (MGB) said, “Abraham (MGB) took a hoopoe, a shrike, a peacock and a crow. He chopped them into pieces and mixed them up. Then he placed a part of their mixed flesh on top of (each of) the ten hillsaround there. He held each bird’s beak in his hand. He placed some seeds and water near himself and called out to them. The various parts of each bird started to fly towards each other and formed a perfect body. Each body went towards its own head and joined it to become a live bird. Then Abraham (MGB) let their beaks go. The birds flew and then landed. They drank the water and ate some seeds and said, ‘O Prophet of God! You have revived us. May God revive you.’ Abraham (MGB) said, ‘It is God who revives and takes away life. He has power over all things.’ This is the superficial interpretation.”The Imam (MGB) added, “However, the deep interpretation of this verse is as follows: Find four of the wise people. Teach them your knowledge. Send them around the world to invite the people to worship God.”The compiler of the book - may God be pleased with him - said, “I believe that Abraham (MGB) was ordered to do both things. The birds which he was ordered to catch were: a peacock, an eagle, a rooster and a duck. I heard Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Tayfur say the following regarding the following verse of the Holy Quran, ‘Behold! Abraham said, "My Lord! Show me how Thou givest life to the dead." He said, "Dost thou not then believe?" He said, "Yea! but to satisfy My own undertaking." He said, "Take four birds; Tame them to turn to thee; put a portion of them on every hill and call to them: They will come to thee (Flying) with speed. Then know that Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.”’“Indeed the Honorable the Exalted God ordered Abraham to visit one of His good servants. When Abraham saw him, the man told him, ‘Indeed the Blessed the Sublime God has a servant in this world called Abraham whom He has taken as His friend.’ Abraham asked him, ‘What are the signs of this servant?’ The man said, ‘God will bring back to life the dead for him.’ Then Abraham had doubts that he himself may not be that servant. That is why Abraham asked God to bring the dead back to life for him. ‘He said, "Dost thou not then believe?" He said, "Yea! but to satisfy My own undertaking."’That was when he was ordered to offer his son Ishmael. Indeed the Honorable the Exalted God ordered Abraham (MGB) to offer four birds - a peacock, an eagle, a duck and a rooster. The peacock referred to the adornments of this world. The eagle referred to great expectations. The duck referred to being needy, and the rooster referred to lustfulness. Indeed, in order to revive Abraham’s heart, the Honorable the Exalted God told him that he should abandon these four characteristics, since as long as he have them you cannot be with God.”The Imam (MGB) was asked, ‘Why did God ask Abraham whether or not he believed in God, although God is well-aware of his secrets and conditions?’ The Imam (MGB) replied, ‘When Abraham (MGB) said, ‘My Lord! Show me how Thou givest life to the dead?’ It seems that on the surface Abraham had doubts. However, this was asked so that he may be given a chance to answer and be acquitted of any such accusations.”

Al-Khiṣāl

Book 5, Chapter 115