Hadith

 أَبِي رَحِمَهُ اَللَّهُ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا سَعْدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ عَنْ عَلِيِّ الناسخ بْنِ اَلسَّائِحِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اَللَّهِ بْنِ مُوسَى بْنِ جَعْفَرٍ ع قَالَ : سَأَلْتُهُ‌ عَنِ اَلْمَلَكَيْنِ يَعْلَمَانِ اَلذَّنْبَ إِذَا أَرَادَ اَلْعَبْدُ أَنْ يَفْعَلَهُ أَوْ بِالْحَسَنَةِ قَالَ فَقَالَ ع أَ فَرِيحُ اَلْكَنِيفِ وَ اَلطِّيبِ عِنْدَكَ وَاحِدَةٌ قَالَ قُلْتُ لاَ قَالَ ع اَلْعَبْدُ إِذَا هَمَّ بِالْحَسَنَةِ خَرَجَ نَفَسُهُ طَيِّبَ اَلرِّيحِ فَقَالَ صَاحِبُ اَلْيَمِينِ لِصَاحِبِ اَلشِّمَالِ قِفْ فَإِنَّهُ قَدْ هَمَّ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَإِذَا هُوَ فَعَلَهَا كَانَ لِسَانُهُ قَلَمَهُ وَ رِيقُهُ‌ مِدَادَهُ فَيُثْبِتُهَا لَهُ وَ إِذَا هَمَّ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ خَرَجَ نَفَسُهُ مُنْتِنَ اَلرِّيحِ فَيَقُولُ صَاحِبُ اَلشِّمَالِ لِصَاحِبِ اَلْيَمِينِ قِفْ فَإِنَّهُ قَدْ هَمَّ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَإِذَا هُوَ فَعَلَهَا كَانَ لِسَانُهُ قَلَمَهُ وَ رِيقُهُ مِدَادَهُ فَيُثْبِتُهَا عَلَيْهِ .

 My father, Allah may have mercy upon him, narrated to us from Sa’d bin Abdullah from … Ali bin Saaih that Abdullah bin Musa bin Ja’far (a) related: I asked my father (Imam al-Kadhim) whether the Keeping Angels know the good or bad deed before the servant acts them. He asked me: Is the smell of the toilet as same as the perfume? I answered: Of course not. He (a) said: In the same manner, when a servant intends to do a good deed, his breath becomes sweet-smelling. In this case, the angel on the rightsays to the angel on the left, ‘Stop it. He intends to do a good deed.’ If the servant does that good deed, his tongue stands for the pen (with which the good deed will be recorded) and his saliva stands for the ink and, hence, the angel will record it for him. When the servant intends to do an evil deed, his breath becomes stinking. In this case, the angel on the left says to the angel on the right, ‘Stop it. He intends to do an evil deed.’ If the servant commits that evil deed, his tongue stands for the pen (with which the good deed will be recorded) and his saliva stands for the ink and, hence, the angel will record it against him.

Ṣifāt al-Shīʿa

Book 1, Chapter 62