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 النضر بن سويد عن ابن سنان عن حفص قال: سمعت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول: ما من عبد مؤمن يذنب ذنبا الا أجله الله سبع ساعات من النهار فان هو تاب لم يكتب عليه شيئا وان لم يفعل كتبت عليه سيئة فاتاه عباد البصري فقال له: بلغنا انك قلت: ما من عبد يذنب ذنبا الا اجله الله سبع ساعات من النهار فقال: ليس هكذا قلت ولكني قلت: ما من عبد مؤمن يذنب ذنبا الا اجله الله سبع ساعات من نهاره هكذا قلت.

1.Al-Ḥusayn ibn Saʿīd narrated to us, “Al-Naḍr ibn Suwayd narrated to us, from Ibn Sinān, from Ḥafṣ who said, ‘I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, “There is no believing servant who commits a sin but that Allah delays for him [the recording of that sin] for seven hours of the day. If he repents [in that time], nothing is recorded against him but if he fails to do so, one evil deed is recorded against him.” So ʿAbbād al-Baṣrī came to him and said, “We have been informed that you said there is no servant who commits a sin but that Allah delays [its recording] for him for seven hours of the day?” So he (a) replied, “That is not how I said it. Rather, I said: there is no believing servant who commits a sin but that Allah delays [its recording] for him for seven hours of his day – that is how I said it.”’”[1]

فضالة بن أيوب عن القاسم بن بريد العجلي عن محمد بن مسلم قال: قال أبو جعفر عليه السلام (انه كان يقال) ان من أحب عباد الله إلى الله المحسن التواب.

2.Faḍālah ibn Ayyūb narrated from al-Qāsim ibn Burayd al-ʿIjlī, from Muḥammad ibn Muslim who said, “Abū ʿJaʿfar (a) said, ‘It used to be said: verily among the most beloved of the servants of Allah to Allah is the doer of good who repents often.’”

محمد بن أبي عمير عن محمد بن حمران عن زرارة قال: سمعت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول: ما من عبد أذنب ذنبا الا أجل من غده إلى الليل فان استغفر الله لم يكتب عليه.

3.Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿUmayr narrated from Muḥammad ibn Ḥumrān, from Zurārah who said, “I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘There is no servant who commits a sin but that he is given respite from that morning until nightfall, so if he repents to Allah [within that time], it is not written against him.’”

محمد بن أبي عمير عن سلمة صاحب السابري عن جابر عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: من تاب في سنة موته تاب الله عليه ثم قال: وان السنة لكثير من تاب في شهر موته تاب الله عليه ثم قال: وان الشهر لكثير، من تاب في يوم موته تاب الله عليه ثم قال: وان يوما لكثير، من تاب قبل موته بساعة تاب الله عليه ثم قال: وان الساعة لكثير، من تاب وقد بلغت نفسه هيهنا - وأشار بيده إلى حلقه - تاب الله عليه.

4.Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿUmayr narrated from Salamah Ṣāḥib al Sābirī,[1] from Jābir, from Abū Jaʿfar (a) who said, “The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Whoever repents in the year of his death, Allah forgives him.’ Then he said, ‘Verily a year is too long. Whoever repents in the month of his death, Allah forgives him.’ Then he said, ‘Verily a month is too long. Whoever repents on the day of his death, Allah forgives him.’ Then he said, ‘Verily a day is [still] long. Whoever repents an hour before his death, Allah forgives him.’ Then he said, ‘Verily [even] an hour is long. Whoever repents when his soul reaches here – and he pointed with his hand to his throat – Allah forgives him!’’[2]

محمد بن عمير عن جميل بن دراج قال: سمعت أبا جعفر عليه السلام يقول: إذا بلغت النفس هذه لم يكن للعالم توبة وكان للجاهل توبة.

5.Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿUmayr narrated from Jamīl ibn Darrāj who said, “I heard Abā Jaʿfar (a) say, ‘When the soul reaches this place (meaning the throat), there is no repentance for the knowledgeable, but there is [a possibility of] repentance for the ignorant.’”

محمد بن أبي عمير عن أبي أيوب عن أبي بصير عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: من عمل سيئة أجل فيها سبع ساعات من النهار فان قال: استغفر الله الذي لا اله الا هو الحي القيوم، ثلاث مرات، لم يكتب له.

6.Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿUmayr narrated from Abū Ayyūb, from Abū Baṣīr, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “Whoever does an evil deed is given a respite of seven hours of the day. If he says, ‘I seek repentance from Allah, besides Whom there is no god, [He is] the Living, the Eternal’ three times, it (the sin) will not be recorded for him.”

محمد بن أبي عمير عن أبي أيوب عن محمد بن مسلم عن أبي بصير قال: قلت لأبي عبد الله عليه السلام: ما معنى قول الله عز وجل: (يا أيها الذين آمنوا توبوا إلى الله توبة نصوحا) قال: هو الذنب الذي لا يعود فيه ابدا قلت: وأينا لم يعد فقال يا أبا محمد ان الله يحب من عباده المفتن التواب.

7.Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿUmayr narrated from Abū Ayyūb, from Muḥammad ibn Muslim, from Abū Baṣīr who said, “I asked Abū ʿAbdillāh (a), ‘What is the meaning of the verse wherein Allah, the Almighty, says: O you who believe, turn to Allah in sincere repentance (Q66:8)?’ He said, ‘It is the sin which he never repeats again.’ I said, ‘Who among us never repeats [a sin]?’ So he said, ‘O Abā Muḥammad, verily Allah loves from among His servants the one who is tested [by sin] and repents often.’”

عبد الله بن المغيرة عن جميل بن دراج عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: إذا هم العبد بسيئة لم تكتب عليه وإذا هم بحسنة كتبت له

8.ʿAbdullāh ibn al-Mughīrah narrated from Jamīl ibn Darrāj, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “When a servant intends to do an evil deed, it is not recorded against him, but if he intends to do a good deed, it is recorded for him.”

محمد بن أبي عمير عن علي الأحمسي عمن ذكره عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام أنه قال: والله ما ينجو من الذنب الا من أقربه.

9.Muḥammad ibn Abī ʿUmayr narrated from ʿAlī al-Aḥmasī, from the one who mentioned it, from Abū Jaʿfar (a) that he said, “By Allah, no one can be saved from sin except the one who admits [and confesses] it.”

علي بن المغيرة عن ابن مسكان عن أبي عبيدة الحذاء قال: سمعت أبا جعفر عليه السلام يقول: الله افرح بتوبة عبده حين يتوب عن رجل ظلت راحلته في ارض قفراء وعليها طعامه وشرابه فبينما هو كذلك لا يدرى ما يصنع ولا أين يتوجه حتى وضع رأسه لينام فاتاه آت فقال: يا هذا هل لك في راحلتك؟ قال: نعم قال: هو ضده

10.ʿAlī ibn al-Mughīrah narrated from Ibn Muskān, from Abū ʿUbaydah al-Ḥadhdhāʾ who said, “I heard Abā Jaʿfar (a) say, ‘Allah is more pleased with the repentance of a servant when he repents than the man whose mount, that was carrying [all] his food and drink, gets lost in the wilderness. Then, as he is in that state [of perplexity] not knowing what to do or where to turn, he places his head down to sleep when suddenly a person approaches him and says, “O man, have you lost your mount?” He replies, “Yes.” He says, “Here it is.”’”

صفوان بن يحيى عن الحرث بن المغيرة عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: إن الله يحب المقر التواب قال: وكان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله يتوب إلى الله في كل يوم سبعين مرة من غير ذنب قلت: يقول: استغفر الله وأتوب إليه؟ قال: كان يقول: أتوب إلى الله.

11.Ṣafwān ibn Yaḥyā narrated from al-Ḥarth ibn al-Mughīrah, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “Verily Allah loves the one who admits [his sins] and repents often.” He [then] said, “The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) used to turn to Allah in repentance seventy times a day without having committed any sin.” The narrator asked, “Would he say: I seek forgiveness from Allah and turn back to Him in repentance?” He (a) replied, “He would say: I turn [penitently] to Allah.”

القاسم بن محمد عن حبيب الخثعمي قال: سمعت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام السلام يقول: انا لنذنب ونسئ ثم نتوب إلى الله متابا. قال الحسين بن سعيد: لا خلاف بين علماءنا في أنهم عليهم السلام معصومون من كل قبيح مطلقا وأنهم عليهم السلام يسمون ترك المندوب ذنبا وسيئة بالنسبة إلى كما لهم عليهم السلام.

12.Al-Qāsim ibn Muḥammad narrated from Ḥabīb al-Khathʿamī who said, “I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh say, ‘Verily we sin and we forget, then we turn back penitently to Allah.’” Al-Ḥasan ibn Saʿīd said, “There is no difference of opinion among our scholars that they (the Imams) are infallible and free of every type of ugliness [in their actions]. They (a) refer to the abandoning of what is recommended as a sin and a misdeed in relation to their own perfection [and that is why they repent].”

بعض أصحابنا عن علي بن شجرة عن عيسى بن راشد عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: سمعته يقول: ما من مؤمن يذنب ذنبا الا أجل سبع ساعات فان استغفر الله غفر له وانه ليذكر ذنبه بعد عشرين سنة فيستغفر الله فيغفر له وان الكافر لينسى ذنبه لئلا يستغفر الله.

13.One of our companions narrated from ʿAlī ibn Shajarah, from ʿĪsā ibn Rāshid, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) whom he heard saying, “There is no believer who commits a sin but that he is given respite for seven hours, so if he seeks forgiveness from Allah [during that time], he is forgiven. Indeed, he may recall his sin after twenty years and thus seek forgiveness from Allah and he is [thereby] forgiven. But as for the disbeliever, he forgets his sin so that he may not seek forgiveness from Allah.”

بعض أصحابنا عن حنان بن سدير عن رجل يقال له: روزبه - وكان من الزيدية (عن أبي حمزة الثمالي قال: قال لي أبو جعفر عليه السلام: ما من عبد يعمل عملا لا يرضاه الله الا ستره الله عليه أولا فإذا ثنى ستره الله عليه فإذا ثلث اهبط الله ملكا في صورة آدمي يقول للناس: فعل كذا وكذا.

14.One of our companions narrated from Ḥanān ibn Sadīr, from a man who was known as Rūzbih and was one of the Zaydīs, from Abū Ḥamzah al-Thumālī who said, “Abū Jaʿfar (a) said to me, ‘There is no servant who performs an action that Allah is not pleased with but that Allah initially conceals it [from the people]. If he repeats it a second time, Allah hides it [again], but if he repeats it once more, Allah sends down an angel in the form of a man to tell the people, ‘He did such and such.’”

إبراهيم بن أبي البلاد قال: قال أبو الحسن عليه السلام انى استغفر الله في كل يوم خمسة آلاف مرة ثم قال لي خمسة آلاف كثير.

15.Ibrāhīm ibn Abī al-Bilād said, “Abū al-Ḥasan [al-Kāẓim] (a) said, ‘Verily I seek forgiveness from Allah five thousand times every day.’ Then he said to me, ‘Five thousand is a lot.’”

الحسن بن محبوب عن أبي حمزة الثمالي عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام قال: إن الله عز وجل أوحى إلى داود عليه السلام أن أئت عبدي دانيال فقل له: انك عصيتني فغفرت لك وعصيتني فغفرت لك وعصيتني فغفرت لك فان أنت عصيتني الرابعة لم اغفر لك فاتاه داود عليه السلام فقال: يا دانيال انى رسول الله إليك وهو يقول لك انك عصيتني فغفرت لك وعصيتني فغفرت لك وعصيتني فغفرت لك فان أنت عصيتني الرابعة لم أغفر لك فقال له دانيال: قد أبلغت يا نبي الله فلما كان في السحر قام دانيال فناجى ربه فقال: يا رب ان داود نبيك اخبرني عنك انني قد عصيتك فغفرت لي وعصيتك فغفرت لي وعصيتك فغفرت لي وأخبرني عنك انى ان عصيتك الرابعة لم تغفر لي فوعزتك وجلالك لئن لم تعصمني لأعصينك ثم لأعصينك ثم لأعصينك.

16.Al-Ḥasan ibn Maḥbūb narrated from Abū Ḥamzah al-Thumālī, from Abū Jaʿfar (a) who said, “Verily Allah, the Almighty, revealed to Dāwūd (a), ‘Go to My servant Dānyāl and say to him: [My Lord says] you have disobeyed Me yet I forgave you, and you disobeyed Me [again] yet I forgave you, and you disobeyed Me [again] yet I forgave you. But if you disobey me a fourth time, I will not forgive you.’ So Dāwūd (a) went to him and said, ‘O Dānyāl, I am indeed a messenger of Allah to you; and He says to you: Verily you have disobeyed Me yet I forgave you, and you disobeyed Me [again] yet I forgave you, and you disobeyed Me [again] yet I forgave you. But if you disobey me a fourth time, I will not forgive you.’ So Dānyāl said to him, ‘You have conveyed [the message] O Prophet of Allah!’ Then, when the time of pre-dawn (saḥar) came, Dānyāl whispered to his Lord and said, ‘O Lord, verily Your Prophet, Dāwūd, informed me of Your message that I have disobeyed You and You forgave me, and I disobeyed You [again] yet You forgave me, and I disobeyed You [again] yet You forgave me, and he conveyed to me from You that if I disobey You a fourth time, You will not forgive me. But by Your might and Your majesty, if You do not protect me [from sin], I will surely disobey You, then I will disobey You [again], then I will disobey You [again].’”

ابن أبي عمير عن جميل عن بكير عن أحدهما عليهم السلام قال: إن آدم عليه السلام قال: يا رب سلطت على الشيطان وأجريته منى مجرى الدم فاجعل لي شيئا فقال: يا آدم جعلت لك ان من هم من ذريتك بسيئة لم تكتب عليه فان عملها كتبت عليه سيئة ومن هم منهم بحسنة فإن لم يعملها كتبت له حسنة وان هو عملها كتبت له عشرا قال: يا رب زدني قال: جعلت لك ان من عمل منهم سيئة ثم استغفر غفرت له قال: يا رب زدني قال: جعلت لهم التوبة أو قال بسطت لهم التوبة حتى تبلغ النفس هذه قال يا رب حسبي.

17.Ibn Abī ʿUmayr narrated from Jamīl, from Bukayr, from one of the two [Imams] (a) who said, “Verily Ādam (a) said, ‘O Lord, You allowed Shayṭān to prevail over me and You made him flow in me like blood [flowing in my veins], so grant me something [to counter him].’ So He said, ‘O Ādam, I have [hereby] granted you that whoever among your progeny intends [to do] an evil deed, it will not be recorded against him, and if he does it, one evil deed will be recorded against him. And whoever among them intends to do a good deed but does not do it, one good deed is recorded for him, and if he does it then ten good deeds are recorded for him [for that one act].’ He said, ‘O Lord, give me something more!’ He said, ‘I have [hereby] granted you that whoever among them and then seeks forgiveness [for it], I shall forgive him.’ He said, ‘O Lord, give me something more!’ He said, ‘I have granted them repentance.’ [Or He said, ‘I have granted them the opportunity to repent until the soul reaches here (the throat)’.] He said, ‘O Lord, that is sufficient for me.’”

حماد بن عيسى عن إبراهيم بن عمر عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام: قال من قال ثلاثا: سبحان ربى العظيم وبحمده استغفر الله ربى وأتوب إليه، قرعت العرش كما تقرع السلسلة الطشت.

18.Ḥammād ibn ʿĪsā narrated from Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUmar, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “Whoever says three times, ‘Glory be to my Lord, the Great, and praise be to Him. I seek forgiveness from my Lord and turn penitently to Him,’ the Throne [of Allah] makes a sound like the sound of chains striking a bowl.”

حماد بن عيسى عن إبراهيم بن عمر عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال ليس منا من لم يحاسب نفسه في كل يوم فان عمل خيرا (حسنا) استزاد الله منه وحمد الله عليه وان عمل شرا استغفر الله منه وتاب إليه.

19.Ḥammād ibn ʿĪsā narrated from Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUmar, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “One who does not hold himself to account every day is not from us. [Every believer should take account of his actions daily and] if he has done a good deed, he should seek more of it from Allah and praise Allah for it, and if he has done an evil deed, he should seek forgiveness from Allah for it and turn penitently to Him.”

Kitāb al-Zuhd

Book 2, Chapter 12