4. He said: Abul Qasim Ja’far ibn Muhammad ibn Qawlawyh - may Allah bless him with mercy, reported to me from ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn Musa ibn Babawayh, who reported from ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim, from Ahmed ibn Muhammad ibn Isa, from al-Haytham ibn Abi Masrooq al-Nahdi, from Yazid ibn Ishaq, from al-Husayn ibn Atiyyah, that:

Abu Abdillah Ja’far ibn Muhammad, peace be upon him, said: "Nobility and virtue has ten characteristics and if you can acquire them, do your best. For a man may have them and his son may not. Or a son may have them, while the father may not. A slave may have them, while a free man may not." They asked: "What are those traits, O son of the messenger of Allah?" He said: "Truthful speech, faith at the time of hardship and peril, honesty and trustworthiness, mending relations with the consanguinal kith and kin, hospitality, feeding the beggar, to be rewarding and grateful for a good turn, to protect the neighbour, to protect the friend and above all, to be bashful and modest."