Translator’s Introduction

On silence Except when Speaking what is Good, Abandonment of what does not concern one, and Slander

On Etiquette and Encouraging Others to do Good

On Good Character, Kindness and Anger

Virtue and Vice

Kindness to Parents, Relatives, Kinsfolk and Severance of Ties

The Rights of Neighbors

What has come in Reference to Slaves

What has come in Reference to this World and One who Seeks it

The Two Angels and what they Record

Humility and Arrogance

Showing off, Hypocrisy, Self-Admiration, and Conceit

Repentance, Seeking Forgiveness, Regret, and Admission (of Guilt)

Crying out of Fear of Allah

Remembering Death and the Grave

What the Believer and Disbeliever will See (Before Dying)

Questioning in the Grave, Chastisement in the Grave, and Barzakh

Resurrection, Reckoning, Standing Before Allah, the Exalted, and al-Ṣirāṭ

Intercession and Those who will come out of the Fire (of Hell)

Traditions About Paradise and Hell

Enjoining Good and Forbidding Evil

حدثنا أبو الحسن علي بن حاتم بن أبي حاتم قال: أخبرنا الحسين بن سعيد بن حماد (عن حماد) عن الحسين بن المختار قال: حدثني بعض أصحابنا عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام قال: كفى بالمرء عيبا ان يبصر من عيوب الناس ما يعمى عنه من أمر نفسه أو يعيب على الناس أمرا هو فيه لا يستطيع التحول عنه إلى غيره وان يؤذى جليسه بما لا يعنيه.

1.Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Ḥātim ibn Abī Ḥātim [1] narrated to us saying, “We were informed by al-Ḥusayn ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥammād, from al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Mukhtār who said, ‘One of our companions narrated to me from Abū Jaʿfar (a) who said, “It is sufficient as a flaw in a person that he sees those faults in others which he is blind to [and disregards] in himself, or that he should fault other people for a matter which is also in himself, and which he cannot turn away from; and that he disturbs the one who sits with him by [discussing] that which does not concern [or benefit] him.”’”

2 - القاسم بن محمد عن صفوان الجمال عن الفضيل قال: سمعت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول: طوبى لكل عبد لؤمة (نومة) عرف الناس قبل معرفتهم به.

2.Al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad narrated from Ṣafwān al-Jammāl, from Fuḍayl who said, “I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh [al-Ṣādiq] (a) say, ‘Blessed be every unknown [critical] [1] servant [of Allah] who recognizes the [nature] of people before they recognize him.’”

3 - محمد بن سنان عن معاوية بن وهب عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: من يضمن لي أربعا بأربعة أبيات في الجنة؟ أنفق ولا تخف فقرا وانصف الناس من نفسك وافش السلام في العالم واترك المراء وان كنت محقا.

3.Muḥammad ibn Sinān narrated from Muʿāwiyah ibn Wahb, from AbūʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Who will guarantee four things for me in return for four houses in Paradise? [To] give charity without fear of poverty, treat all people with fairness, spread [the message of] peace in the world, and eschew argumentation even when you are right.’”

محمد بن سنان عن جعفر بن إبراهيم قال: سمعت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول: من علم موضع كلامه من عقله قل كلامه فيما لا يعنيه وقال أبو عبد الله عليه السلام قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: إياكم وجدال المفتون فان كل مفتون ملقى حجته إلى انقضاء مدته فإذا انقضت مدته أحرقته فتنته بالنار

4 Muḥammad ibn Sinān narrated from Jaʿfar ibn Ibrāhīm who said, “I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘One who knows the appropriate position of his speech in relation to his intellect reduces his speech about that which does not concern him.’ And Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) reported that the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Beware of arguing with a deluded individual, for indeed every deluded individual has an  argument that lasts only until his time comes to an end, and when his time is up, his delusion burns him with the Fire.’” [1]

علي بن النعمان عن ابن مسكان عن داود عن أبي شيبة الزهري عن أحدهما عليهما السلام قال: بئس العبد عبدا يكون ذا وجهين وذا لسانين يطرى أخاه شاهدا ويأكله غائبا ان اعطى حسده وان ظلم خذله.

5.ʿAlī ibn al-Nuʿmān narrated from Ibn Muskān, from Dāwūd, from Abū Shaybah al-Zuhrī, from one of the two (Imam al-Bāqir or al-Ṣādiq) (a) who said, “The worst servant [of Allah] is he who possesses a doubleface and a forked-tongue, he compliments his brother in his presence yet backbites him in his absence. When he is given, he envies him and when he is wronged, he abandons him.”

محمد بن سنان عن أبي عمار بياع الأكسية عن الزيدي عن أبي أراكة قال: سمعت عليا عليه السلام يقول: إن لله عبادا كسرت قلوبهم خشية الله فاستنكفوا عن المنطق وانهم لفصحاء بلغاء ألباء نبلاء يستبقون إليه بالاعمال الزاكية لا يستكثر ون له كثير ولا يرضون له القليل يرون أنفسهم انهم شرار وانهم الا كياس الأبرار.

6.Muḥammad ibn Sinān narrated from Abū ʿAmmār Bayyāʿ al-Aksiyah,[1] from al-Zaydī, from Abū Arākah who said, “I heard ʿAlī (a) say, ‘Verily Allah has some servants whose hearts have been humbled by the awe of Allah, so they abstain from speech despite being eloquent, articulate, wise, and noble. They race towards Him with pure actions, not considering their numerous [good] deeds to be much, nor being satisfied with [only] little. They consider themselves to be vile while they are [truly] sagacious and virtuous.’”

محمد بن سنان عن عمار بن مروان والحسين بن مختار عن أبي بصير عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: إياكم وما يعتذر منه فان المؤمن لا يسئ ولا يعتذر والمنافق يسيئ كل يوم ويعتذر منه.

7.Muḥammad ibn Sinān narrated from ʿAmmār ibn Marwān and al-Ḥusayn ibn Mukhtār, from Abū Baṣīr, [1] from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “Beware of that for which apology is required, for indeed the believer does not do wrong and does not [have to] apologize, while the hypocrite does [something] wrong every day and [then repeatedly] apologizes for it.”

النضر بن سويد عن عبد الله بن سنان قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله وآله: الا أخبركم بشراركم؟ قالوا بلى يا رسول الله قال المشاؤن بالنميمة والمفرقون بين الأحبة والباغون للبراء العيب.

8.Al-Naḍr ibn Suwayd narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn Sinān who said,[1] “The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Should I not inform you about the most vile among you?’ They said, ‘Yes, O Messenger of Allah!’ He said, ‘[They are] those who go about spreading slander [and gossip], those who cause separation between loved ones, and those who endeavor to find faults in one who is innocent.’”

فضالة بن نزار عن الحسين بن عبد الله قال: قال أبو جعفر عليه السلام: من كف عن اعراض الناس أقاله الله نفسه يوم القيامة ومن كف غضبه عن الناس كف الله عنه غضبه يوم القيامة.

9.Faḍālah ibn Nizāz [1] narrated from al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbdillāh who said, “Abū Jaʿfar [al-Bāqir] (a) said, ‘One who refrains from [impugning] the honor of people, Allah will pardon him [and protect his reputation] onthe Day of Resurrection, and whoever restrains his anger from the people, Allah will restrain His anger from him on the Day of Resurrection.’”

الحسن بن محبوب عن علي بن رئاب عن أبي عبيدة الحذاء عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: الحياء من الايمان والايمان في الجنة والبذاء من الجفاء والجفاء في النار.

10.Al-Ḥasan ibn Maḥbūb narrated from ʿAlī ibn Riʾāb, from Abū ʿUbaydah al-Ḥadhdhāʾ[1], from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “Modesty is part of faith, and faith leads one into Paradise. Immodesty is part of depravity, and depravity leads one into the Fire.”

الحسين بن علوان عن عمرو بن خالد عن زيد بن علي عن آبائه عن علي عليه السلام. قال: سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله يقول: الكلام ثلاثة فرابح وسالم وشاجب فاما الرابح فالذي يذكر الله واما السالم فالذي يقول ما أحب الله واما الشاجب فالذي يخوض في الناس.

11.Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿUlwān narrated from ʿAmr ibn Khālid, from Zayd ibn ʿAlī, from his fathers, from ʿAlī (a) who said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) say, ‘Speech is of three types: the profitable, the sound, and the detrimental. As for the profitable [speech], it is that where Allah is mentioned. As for the sound [speech], it is that wherein what Allah likes is spoken. And as for the detrimental [speech], it is that in which people are spoken about [in a negative way].’”

عثمان بن عيسى عن عمير بن أذينة عن سليمان بن قيس قال: سمعت أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام يقول: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: ان الله حرم الجنة على كل فحاش بذى قليل الحياء لا يبالي ما قال وما قيل له فإنك ان فتشته لم تجده الا لغية أو شرك شيطان فقال رجل يا رسول الله أو في الناس شرك شيطان؟ فقال: أما تقرأ قول الله: وشاركهم في الأموال والأولاد فقيل: وفى الناس من لا يبالي ما قال وما قيل له؟ فقال: نعم من تعرض الناس فقال فيهم وهو يعلم أنهم لا يتركونه فذلك الذي لا يبالي ما قال وما قيل له.

12.ʿUthmān ibn ʿĪsā narrated from ʿUmayr [1] ibn Udhaynah, from Sulaymān ibn Qays who said, “I heard Amīr al-Muʾminīn (a) say, ‘The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, “Verily Allah has forbidden Paradise to every foul-mouthed, obscene, shameless person who does not care about what he utters and what is said to him. If you investigate him, you will not find him but of illegitimate birth or a partner of Satan.” Upon hearing this, one man asked, “O Messenger of Allah, are there really people who are partners of Satan?” He (ṣ) replied, “Have you not read the statement of Allah [where he tells Satan]: And partner with them in their wealth and children (Q17:64)?” Then someone asked, “And are there [really] some people who do not care about what they utter or what is said to them?” So he (ṣ) responded, “Yes. He who criticizes the people and speaks [negatively] about them while he knows that they will not leave him [and will react against what he has said]; such a person does not care about what he utters and what is said to him.”’”

النظر بن سويد عن عاصم بن حميد عن أبي حمزة عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام قال: سمعته يقول: إن أسرع الخير ثوابا البر وأسرع الشر عقوبة البغى وكفى بالمرء عيبا أن يبصر من عيوب الناس ما يعمى عنه من نفسه وأن يعير الناس بما لا يستطيع تركه وأن يؤذى جليسه بما لا يعنيه.

13.Al-Naḍr ibn Suwayd narrated from ʿĀṣim ibn Ḥumayd, from Abū Jaʿfar (a) whom he heard saying, “Verily the good deed that brings the quickest reward is kindness, and the evil deed that brings the quickest punishment is unjust aggression. And it is sufficient as a flaw for a person to look at those faults in others which he turns a blind eye to in himself, and to censure the people for that which he is [himself] incapable of abandoning, and to disturb the one who sits with him by [discussing] that which does not concern him.”

صفوان بن يحيى عن أبي خالد عن حمزة بن حمران عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: أتى النبي صلى الله عليه وآله اعرابي فقال له: أوصني يا رسول الله فقال: نعم أوصيك بحفظ ما بين رجليك

14.Ṣafwān ibn Yaḥyā narrated from Abū Khālid, from Ḥamzah ibn Ḥumrān, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “A bedouin came to the Prophet (ṣ) and said, ‘Advise me, O Messenger of Allah!’ He (ṣ) replied, ‘Yes. I advise you to guard that which is between your legs.’” [1]

عثمان بن عيسى عن بعض أصحابه عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: إن الله تبارك وتعالى أوحى إلى موسى عليه السلام ان بعض أصحابك ينم عليك فاحذره فقال: يا رب لا اعرفه فأخبرني به حتى اعرفه فقال: يا موسى عبت عليه النميمة وتكلفني ان أكون نماما قال: يا رب وكيف أصنع؟ قال الله تعالى: فرق أصحابك عشرة عشرة ثم أقرع بينهم فان السهم يقع العشرة التي هو فيهم ثم تفرقهم وتقرع بينهم فان السهم يقع عليه قال: فلما رأى الرجل ان السهام تقرع قام فقال يا رسول الله انا صاحبك لا والله لا أعود ابدا.

15.ʿUthmān ibn ʿĪsā narrated from one of his companions, from Abū ʿAbdillāh who said, “Verily Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, revealed to Mūsā (a) that one of your companions is speaking ill of you so be wary of him. So he said, ‘O Lord, I do not know him; inform me who he is so that I may know him.’ He replied, ‘O Mūsā, I have found fault with him for his slander [and defamation], and you wish Me to [also] be a defamer!’ He said, ‘Then what should I do, O Lord?’ Allah, the Exalted, replied, ‘Divide your companions into groups of ten, then cast lots between them; the arrow will fall on the group of ten which he is part of. Then divide them again and cast lots between them and the arrow will fall on him.’” He (the narrator) said, “When the man saw that lots were being drawn, he stood up and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I am the companion [who spoke ill of you]! By Allah, I will never repeat it again.’”

حماد بن عيسى عن شعيب العقرقوفي عن أبي بصير عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: بينما (بينا) رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله (ذات يوم) عند عايشة (إذا) فاستأذن عليه رجل وقال (فقال) رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: بئس أخو العشيرة وقامت (وقالت) عايشة فدخلت البيت (و) فاذن له رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله فدخل فاقبل عليه (إليه) رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله حتى إذا فرغ من حديثه خرج فقالت له عايشة يا رسول الله (بينا) بينما أنت تذكره (تذاكره) إذا أقبلت عليه بوجهك وبشرك فقال لها: ان من أشر عباد الله من تكره مجالسته لفحشه.

16.Ḥammād ibn ʿĪsā narrated from Shuʿayb al-ʿAqarqūfī, from Abū Baṣīr, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “Once, when the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) was with [his wife] ʿĀʾishah, a man sought permission to see him. So the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘What a bad brother of the tribe [he is]!’ ʿĀʾishah stood up and entered the inner chamber, and the Prophet (ṣ) allowed the man to enter. As he came in, the Prophet (ṣ) went to meet him and he spoke to him until he had said what he came to say and left. So ʿĀʾishah said to him, ‘O Messenger of Allah, you mentioned him in that way, yet you still welcomed him with a smile on your face?’ So he said to her, ‘Verily among the worst servants of Allah is one whose company is disliked because of his foul-mouthedness.’”

الحسين بن علوان عن عمرو بن خالد عن زيد بن علي عن آبائه عن علي عليهم السلام قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: تحرم الجنة على ثلاثة: على المنان وعلى المغتاب وعلى مدمن الخمر.

17.Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿUlwān narrated from ʿAmr ibn Khālid, from Zayd ibn ʿAlī, from his fathers, from ʿAlī (a) who said, “The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Paradise is forbidden to three: to the one who puts others under obligation, to the one who backbites, and to the one who is a habitual drinker.’”

إبراهيم بن أبي البلاد عن أبيه رفعه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وهل يكب الناس في النار إلا حصائد ألسنتهم؟

18.Ibrāhīm ibn Abī al-Bilād narrated from his father who attributed it to the Messenger of Allah (ṣ), that he said, “And will anything plunge people into the Fire [of Hell] other than what their tongues reap?”[1]

النضر بن سويد عن القاسم بن سليمان عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: سمعت أبي يقول: من حسن اسلام المرء تركه ما لا يعنيه.

19.Al-Naḍr ibn Suwayd narrated from al-Qāsim ibn Sulaymān, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “I heard my father say, ‘It is from the beauty of a person’s [devotion to] Islam to eschew that which does not concern him.’”

علي بن النعمان عن عمرو بن شمر عن جابر عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: ان الله يحب الحيي الحليم الغنى المتعفف الا وان الله يبغض الفاحشة البذي السائل الملحف.

20.ʿAlī ibn al-Nuʿmān narrated from ʿAmr ibn Shimr, from Jābir, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Verily Allah loves the modest, clement, independent, chaste individual. And indeed Allah hates the shameless, obscene, scrounging, importune individual.’”

محمد بن سنان عن ابن مسكان عن الحسن الصيقل قال: كنت عند أبي عبد الله عليه السلام جالسا فبعث غلاما له أعجميا في حاجة إلى رجل فانطلق ثم رجع فجعل أبو عبد الله عليه السلام يستفهمه الجواب وجعل الغلام لا يفهمه مرارا قال: فلما رأيته لا يتغير لسانه ولا يفهم ظننت ان أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يستغضب عليه قال: وأحد أبو عبد الله عليه السلام النظر إليه ثم قال: أما والله لئن كنت عيي اللسان فما أنت بعيي القلب ثم قال: إن الحياء والعفاف والعي - على اللسان لا على القلب - من الايمان والفحش والبذاء والسلاطة من النفاق.

21.Muḥammad ibn Sinān narrated from Ibn Muskān, from al-Ḥasan al Ṣayqal who said, “I was sitting with Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) when he sent one of his non-Arab servant boys on an errand to a person. The boy left and then returned so Abū ʿAbdillāh began asking him and seeking an explanation from him, but the young lad did not understand him, and this happened a number of times.” He (the narrator) said, “When I saw that his speech did not change and he was not able to understand, I thought that Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) would get angry on him. [However,] Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) looked at him sternly and then said, ‘By Allah, even if you are unable to speak with your tongue, you are not unable to communicate with your heart [and mind]!’ Then he said, ‘Verily modesty, chastity, and inarticulateness – the inarticulateness of the tongue, not of the heart – are part of faith, [1] while immodesty, obscenity and insolence are part of hypocrisy.’”

قال ابن مسكان وقال الحسن: سمعنا أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول: مرت برسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله امرأة بذية وهو يأكل فقالت يا محمد صلى الله عليه وآله: انك لتأكل اكل العبد وتجلس جلوسه فقال لها: ويحك وأي عبد أعبد منى؟ فقالت إما فناولني لقمة من طعامك فناولها رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله لقمة من طعامه فقالت: لا والله الا إلى في من فيك قال: فاخرج اللقمة من فيه فناولها إياها فأكلتها قال أبو عبد الله عليه السلام فما أصابت بذاء حتى فارقت الدنيا.

22.Ibn Muskān said, and so did al-Ḥasan, “We heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘A foul-mouthed woman once passed by the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) while he was eating, and said, ‘O Muḥammad, you are indeed eating the food of slaves sitting as a slave would sit.’ So he (ṣ) said to her, ‘Woe be to you! And who is a more submissive slave [of Allah] than me?’ She said, ‘Then share with me a morsel of your food.’ So the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) gave her some of his food. She said, ‘No, by Allah. I want a morsel from your mouth to [enter] my mouth!’ So he took out a morsel from his mouth and gave it to her, and she ate it.” Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) said,“After that, she never uttered an obscene word until she left this world.”

فضالة عن عبد الله بن بكير عن أبي بصير عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام قال: كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله يقول في خطبته سباب المؤمن فسق وقتاله كفر واكل ماله معصية وحرمة ماله كحرمة دمه.

23.Faḍālah narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn Bukayr, from Abū Baṣīr, from Abū Jaʿfar (a) who said, “The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) used to say in his sermon, ‘Cursing a believer is transgression and fighting him is disbelief. Consuming his property [without permission] is a sin and his property is as inviolable as his blood.’”

Kitāb al-Zuhd

Book 2, Chapter 1