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 الحسين بن سعيد قال: حدثنا محمد بن أبي عمير عن عبد الرحمان بن الحجاج قال سمعت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول: أفطر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله عشية الخميس في مسجد قبا فقال: هل من شراب؟ فاتاه أوس بن خولة الأنصاري بعس من لبن مخيضة بعسل فلما وضعه على فيه نحاه ثم قال: شرابان ويكتفى بأحدهما عن صاحبه لا اشربه ولا أحرمه ولكني أتواضع لله فإنه من تواضع لله رفعه الله ومن تكبر خفضه الله ومن اقتصد في معيشته رزقه الله ومن بذر حرمه الله ومن أكثر ذكر الله أحبه الله.

1.Al-Ḥusayn ibn Saʿīd narrated to us, “Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿUmayr narrated to us from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Ḥajjāj who said, ‘I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, “The Messenger of Allah opened his fast on a Thursday night at Masjid Qubā. He asked, ‘Is there anything to drink?’ So Aws ibn Khawlah al-Anṣārī brought him a cup of buttermilk [mixed] with honey. When he placed it on his lips [and took a sip], he set it aside and then said, ‘Two drinks [in one] while any of them would suffice on its own. I will not drink it, but I do not forbid it. Rather, I humble myself before Allah, for indeed whoever humbles himself before Allah is elevated by Allah, and whoever is arrogant is abased by Allah. Whoever is moderate in his lifestyle is granted [an increase in] sustenance by Allah, but whoever is wasteful [and extravagant] is deprived by Allah. And whoever remembers Allah often is loved by Allah.’”

عبد الله بن سنان عن علي بن شجرة عن عمه بشير عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام قال: مر النبي صلى الله عليه وآله بسوداء تلتقط من الأرض سرقينا أو بعرا فقال المسلمون: الطريق، رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله فقالت: السوداء: الطريق واسع فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: دعوها فإنها لجبارة.

2.ʿAbdullāh ibn Sinān narrated from ʿAlī ibn Shajarah, from his uncle Bashīr, from Abū Jaʿfar who said, “The Prophet (ṣ) once passed by a dark-skinned lady picking up manure or camel dung from the ground, so the Muslims [who were there] said, ‘Make way for the Messenger of Allah!’ The lady said, ‘The path is wide enough [for him to pass].’ So the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said to them, ‘Leave her alone, for she is insolent.’”

حسن بن محبوب عن علي بن رئاب عن أبي عبيدة الحذاء عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام قال: لما كان فتح يوم مكة قام رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله في الناس خطيبا فحمد الله وأثنى عليه ثم قال: أيها الناس ليبلغ الشاهد الغائب ان الله تبارك وتعالى قد اذهب عنكم بالاسلام نخوة الجاهلية والتفاخر بآبائها وعشائرها أيها الناس انكم من آدم وآدم من طين ألا وإن خيركم عند الله وأكرمكم عليه اليوم أتقاكم وأطوعكم له ألا وان العربية ليست بأب والد ولكنها لسان ناطق فمن طعن بينكم وعلم أنه يبلغه رضوان الله حسبه الا وان كل دم أو مظلمة أو أحنة كانت في الجاهلية فهي تظل تحت قدمي إلى يوم القيامة.

3.Al-Ḥasan ibn Maḥbūb narrated from ʿAlī ibn Riʾāb, from Abū ʿUbaydah al-Ḥadhdhāʾ, from Abū Jaʿfar (a) who said, “On the day of the conquest of Makkah, the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) stood up among the people and gave a sermon. He praised Allah and glorified Him, then he said, ‘O People, let the one who is present convey [this message] to the one who is absent: Verily Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, has removed from you, through Islam, the haughtiness of the Age of Ignorance and the mutual boasting about forefathers and clans [that was prevalent] in it. O people, verily you are [all] from Ādam and Ādam was [created] from clay. Behold, verily the best of you in the sight of Allah and the noblest of you before Him on this day are those who are most Godwary and most submissive to Him. Know that being Arab is not [defined] through parentage; rather, it is a language that is spoken. So whoever is reviled among you [for being of a different race] and knows that it (his faith) will make him attain the pleasure of Allah, that is sufficient for him. Know that verily all the blood [that was shed], or the injustice [suffered], or the malice [borne] during the Age of Ignorance will remain under my feet [discarded henceforth] until the Day of Judgment.’”

النضر بن سويد عن الحسن بن موسى والحسن بن رئاب عن زرارة قال: سمعت أبا جعفر عليه السلام يقول: أصل المرء دينه وحسبه خلقه وكرمه تقواه وان الناس من آدم شرع سواء.

4.Al-Naḍr ibn Suwayd narrated from al-Ḥasan ibn Mūsā, and al- Ḥasan ibn Riʾāb from Zurārah who said, “I heard Abā Jaʿfar (a) say, ‘The background of a person is his religion, his status is his character, and his nobility is his Godwariness; verily all people are from Ādam, with the same origin.’”

محمد بن سنان عن بسطام الزيات عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: لما قدم جعفر بن أبي طالب من الحبشة قال لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله أحدثك يا رسول الله: دخلت على النجاشي يوما من الأيام وهو في غير مجلس الملك وفى غير رياشه وفى غير زيه فهييته بتحية الملك وقلته له: يا أيها الملك مالي أراك في غير مجلس الملك وفى غير رياشه وفى غير زيه؟ فقال: انا نجد في الإنجيل من أنعم الله عليه بنعمة فليشكر الله ونجد في الإنجيل ان ليس من الشكر لله شئ يعدله مثل التواضع وانه ورد على في ليلتي هذه ان ابن عمك محمد صلى الله عليه وآله قد أظفره الله بمشركي أهل بدر فأحببت ان اشكر الله تعالى بما ترى

5.Muḥammad ibn Sinān narrated from Bisṭām al-Zayyāt, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “When Jaʿfar ibn Abī Ṭālib returned from Abyssinia, he said to the Messenger of Allah (ṣ), ‘Should I tell you about something that happened, O Messenger of Allah? I went to visit al-Najāshī one day and found that he was neither seated on his royal throne nor was he dressed in his kingly attire, and he appeared different than he normally would. So I greeted him the way kings are greeted and said to him, “O king, why is it that I see you seated in a different place, dressed in different apparel, and having an altered appearance?” He replied, “Verily we find in the Gospels: whoever is given a blessing by Allah, let him show gratitude to Allah [for that blessing]. We also find in the Gospels: there is no form of gratitude to Allah which is comparable to humility. And verily I have received word on this night that my cousin Muḥammad (ṣ) has been granted victory by Allah over the polytheists at Badr, so I wanted to thank Allah, the Exalted, in the way that you see.”’”

محمد بن سنان عمن اخبره عن أبي بصير قال: سمعت أبا جعفر عليه السلام يقول: إن موسى بن عمران عليه السلام حبس عنه الوحي ثلاثين صباحا فصعد على جبل بالشام يقال له: أريحا فقال: يا رب لم حبست عنى وحيك وكلامك الذنب أذنبته؟ فها انا بين يديك فاقتص لنفسك رضاها وان كنت حبست عنى وحيك وكلامك لذنوب بني إسرائيل فعفوك القديم فأوحى الله إليه ان يا موسى أتدري لم وخصصتك بوحيي وكلامي من بين خلقي؟ فقال: لا اعلمه يا رب قال: يا موسى انى اطلعت إلى خلقي اطلاعة فلم أر في خلقي شيئا أشد تواضعا منك فمن ثم خصصتك بوحيي وكلامي من بين خلقي قال: فكان موسى عليه السلام إذا صلى لم ينفتل حتى يلصق خده الأيمن بالأرض وخدا لا يسر بالأرض.

6.Muḥammad ibn Sinān narrated from the one who informed him, from Abū Baṣīr who said, “I heard Abā Jaʿfar (a) say, ‘Verily divine revelation was withheld from Mūsā ibn ʿImrān (a) for thirty days, so he ascended a mountain in al-Shām which was called Arīḥā, and said, ‘O Lord, why have You withheld Your revelation and Your communication from me? Have I sinned in any way? Then here I am before You so punish me as You please! And if You have withheld Your revelation and communication from me due to the sins of the Banī Isrāʾīl, then Your forgiveness is pre-eternal!’ So Allah revealed to him saying, ‘O Mūsā, do you know why I chose you for My revelation and communication among My creation?’ ‘I do not know that, O Lord,’ he replied. He said, ‘O Mūsā, I examined My creation, inspecting them, but did not see anyone among them as intensely humble as you. That is why I chose you for My revelation and communication among My creation.’” He (the Imam) said, “When Mūsā (a) used to pray, he did not turn aside [from his prayers] until he placed his right cheek on the earth and [then] his left cheek upon the earth [in humility before Allah].”

النضر بن سويد عن ابن سنان عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: لا أحب الشيخ الجاهل ولا الغنى الظلوم ولا الفقير المختال.

7.Al-Naḍr ibn Suwayd narrated from Ibn Sinān, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘I do not like an old man who is ignorant, nor a rich man who is oppressive, nor a poor man who is vain.’”

فضالة بن أيوب عن سيف بن عميرة عن علي بن المغيرة عن أخ له قال: سمعت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: ما ذئبان جايعان في غنم قد فرقها راعيها أحدهما في أولها والاخر في آخرها بافسد فيها من حب المال والشرف في دين المرء المسلم.

8.Faḍālah ibn Ayyūb narrated from Sayf ibn ʿAmīrah, from ʿAlī ibn al-Mughīrah, from his brother who said, “I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, “Two hungry wolves among a flock of sheep that has been separated from their shepherd, one in front of the flock and the other behind it, are not more harmful to it than love of wealth and status is [harmful] to the religion of a Muslim.”

ابن أبي عمير عن حماد بن عيسى قال: ما رأيت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يأكل متكئا ثم ذكر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله فقال: ما اكل متكئا حتى مات.

9.Ibn Abī ʿUmayr narrated from Ḥammād ibn ʿĪsā who said, “I never saw Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) eat while reclining.” Then he remembered the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) and said, “He never ate while reclining until he passed away.”

النضر بن سويد عن علي بن رئاب عن زرارة قال: قلت لأبي جعفر عليه السلام: الناس يروون عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله أنه قال: أشرفكم في الجاهلية أشرفكم في الاسلام فقال عليه السلام: صدقوا وليس حيث تذهبون كان أشرفهم في الجاهلية أسخاهم نفسا وأحسنهم خلقا وأحسنهم جوارا واكفهم اذى فذلك الذي إذا أسلم لم يزده اسلامه الا خيرا.

10.Al-Naḍr ibn Suwayd narrated from ʿAlī ibn Riʾāb, from Zurārah who said, “I told Abū Jaʿfar (a), ‘People are narrating that the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, “The most honourable among you during the Age of Ignorance are the most honourable among you in Islam.”’ He (a) said, ‘They have spoken the truth, but it is not as they understand it. The most honourable of them during the Age of Ignorance were the most generous among them, those who had the best character, were most neighbourly, and least likely to cause harm [to anyone] – this is the kind of person whose acceptance of Islam increased him in nothing but goodness.’”

النضر بن سويد عن علي بن رئاب عن زرارة عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام قال: إن علي بن الحسين عليهما السلام رأى امرأة في بعض مشاهد مكة فأعجبته فخطبها إلى نفسه وتزوجها فكانت عنده وكان له صديق من الأنصار فاغتم لتزويجه بتلك المرأة فسأل عنها فأخبر انها من آل ذي الجدين من بنى شيبان في بيت على من قومها فاقبل على علي بن الحسين عليهما السلام فقال: جعلني الله فداك ما زال تزويجك هذه المرأة في نفسي وقلت: تزوج علي بن الحسين امرأة مجهولة ويقوله الناس أيضا فلم أزل أسئل عنها حتى عرفتها ووجدتها في بيت قومها شيبانية فقال له علي بن الحسين عليهما السلام: قد كنت أحسبك أحسن رأيا بما أرى ان الله أتى بالاسلام فرفع به الخسيسة وأتم به الناقصة وكرم به من اللوم فلا لوم على المسلم إنما اللوم الجاهلية.

11.Al-Naḍr ibn Suwayd narrated from ʿAlī ibn Riʾāb, from Zurārah, from Abū Jaʿfar (a) who said, “ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (a) saw a lady in one of the ceremonial precincts of Makkah and was impressed by her. He thus proposed to her and married her, and she stayed with him. He had a friend among the Anṣār who was distressed by his marriage to this woman, so he asked about her and was informed that she was from the family of Dhī al-Jaddayn from the Banī Shaybān in a prestigious household among her clan. So he went to ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (a) and said, ‘May Allah make me your ransom! Your marriage to this woman was continually occupying my thoughts, and I said to myself: ʿAlī ibn al- Ḥusayn has married an unknown woman, and this is something that people are also saying. So I kept asking about her until I found out who she was and came to know that she is from the clan of Shaybāniyyah.’ So ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (a) said to him, ‘I used to consider you to be someone with a better judgement than what I now see. Verily Allah sent Islam and through it He raised the lowly one, perfected the deficient one, and ennobled [the people] from rebuke [and false accusation]. Hence, there is no [undue criticism or] blame upon the Muslim; rather, the blame is only [for] ignorance.’”

النضر بن سويد عن حسين بن موسى عن زرارة عن أحدهما عليهما السلام قال إن علي بن الحسين عليهما السلام تزوج أم ولد عمه الحسن عليه السلام وزوج أمه مولاه فلما بلغ ذلك عبد الملك بن مروان كتب إلى: يا علي بن الحسين كأنك لا تعرف موضعك من قومك وقدرك عند الناس تزوجت مولاة وزوجت مولاك بأمك فكتب إليه علي بن الحسين: فهمت كتابك ولنا أسوة برسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله فقد زوج زينب بنت عمه زيدا مولاه وتزوج مولاته صفية بنت حي ابن اخطب.

12.Al-Naḍr ibn Suwayd narrated from Ḥusayn ibn Mūsā, from Zurārah, from one of them (al-Bāqir or al-Ṣādiq) (a) who said, “ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (a) married the slave wife of his late uncle, al-Ḥasan (a), and got his mother married to his [manumitted] slave.[1] When ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān heard about that, he wrote to him saying, ‘O ʿAlī ibn al- Ḥusayn, it seems you do not know your position in the eyes of your community and your station among the people! You married a slave woman and got your slave married to your mother?!’ So ʿAlī ibn al- Ḥusayn wrote back to him, ‘I have [read and] understood your letter, yet our exemplar is the Messenger of Allah (ṣ). He married off his own cousin Zaynab to his [freed] slave Zayd, and he himself married his slave maiden Ṣafiyyah bint Ḥayy ibn Akhṭab.’”

بعض أصحابنا عن علي بن شجرة عن عمه بشير النبال عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: قدم اعرابي على النبي صلى الله عليه وآله فقال يا رسول الله تسابقني بناقتك هذه قال: فسابقه فسبقه الأعرابي فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: انكم رفعتموها فأحب الله ان يضعها ان الجبال تطاولت لسفينة نوح عليه السلام وكان الجودي أشد تواضعا فحط الله بها على الجودي.

13.One of our companions narrated from ʿAlī ibn Shajarah, from his uncle Bashīr al-Nabbāl, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “A bedouin approached the Prophet (ṣ) and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, will you race me with this camel of yours?’ So he raced him and the bedouin won the race. The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘You had all raised it (my camel) but Allah liked that He should lower it. Verily the mountains vied for the ark of Nūḥ (a), but al-Jūdī was the most humble, so Allah made the ark stop at al-Jūdī.’”

ابن أبي عمير عن بعض أصحابنا عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: لا يدخل الجنة من في قبله مثقال حبة من كبر

14.Ibn Abī ʿUmayr narrated from one of our companions, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “One who has even a [tiny] seed’s weight of pride in his heart will not enter Paradise.”

ابن أبي عمير عن معاوية بن عمار عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: سمعته يقول: إن في السماء ملكين موكلين بالعباد في من تواضع لله رفعاه ومن تكبر وضعاه.

15.Ibn Abī ʿUmayr narrated from Muʿāwiyah ibn ʿAmmār, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) whom he heard saying, “Verily there are two angels in the sky who have been placed in charge of [observing] the servants, so whoever humbles himself before Allah is elevated by them and whoever is haughty is abased by them.”

ابن أبي عمير عن محمد بن أبي حمزة وحسين بن عثمان عن إسحاق بن عمار عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: الكبر رداء الله فمن نازع الله ردائه أكبه الله في النار على وجهه.

16.Ibn Abī ʿUmayr narrated from Muḥammad ibn Abī Ḥamzah, and Ḥusayn ibn ʿUthmān, from Isḥāq ibn ʿAmmār, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “Pride is the robe of Allah, so whoever attempts to take Allah’s robe from Him, Allah will throw him face-first into the Fire.”

ابن أبي عمير عن هشام بن الحكم عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام ومنصور عن الثمالي عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام قال: كان علي بن الحسين عليه السلام يقول: ما أحب أن لي بذل نفسي حمر النعم وما تجرعت جرعة أحب إلى من جرعة غيظ لا أكافي بها صاحبها.

17.Ibn Abī ʿUmayr narrated from Hishām ibn al-Ḥakam, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a), and Manṣūr [narrated] from al-Thumālī, from Abū Jaʿfar (a) who said, “ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (a) used to say, ‘I would not like to have [even] the best of comforts [and wealth] if it entails humiliating myself, and I have not swallowed anything that I liked more than the suppressed rage for which I do not retaliate against the one who caused it.’”

Kitāb al-Zuhd

Book 2, Chapter 10