Hadith

 أَبِي رَحِمَهُ اَللَّهُ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ عَلِيِّ بْنِ اَلصَّلْتِ عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنِ اَلسِّنْدِيِّ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ قَالَ : قَوْمٌ تَبِعَ تَبِعُوا أَمِيرَ اَلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ع فَالْتَفَتَ إِلَيْهِمْ قَالَ مَا أَنْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ قَالُوا شِيعَتُكَ يَا أَمِيرَ اَلْمُؤْمِنِينَ قَالَ مَا لِي لاَ أَرَى عَلَيْكُمْ سِيمَاءَ اَلشِّيعَةِ قَالُوا وَ مَا سِيمَاءُ اَلشِّيعَةِ قَالَ صُفْرُ اَلْوُجُوهِ مِنَ اَلسَّهَرِ خُمْصُ اَلْبُطُونِ مِنَ اَلصِّيَامِ ذُبُلُ اَلشِّفَاهِ مِنَ اَلدُّعَاءِ عَلَيْهِمْ غَبَرَةُ اَلْخَاشِعِينَ .

 My father, Allah may have mercy upon him, narrated to us from Mohammed bin Ahmed bin Ali bin as-Salt from Ahmed bin Mohammed from as-Sindi bin Mohammed that Amir ul-Mu’minin (a) turned his face to the group who were following him and asked them about their beliefs. “We are your Shia, Amir ul-Mu’minin,” they answered. He said, “But I cannot see the marks of the Shia on your faces.” “What are the marks of the Shia?” asked they. He (a) spoke: The Shia are pale-faced because of staying up at nights, atrophied-stomached because of fasting, and dry-lipped because of prayers to Allah. The dust of the submissive covers them.

Ṣifāt al-Shīʿa

Book 1, Chapter 20