Friendliness

“For everything there is a lock and the lock for belief is friendliness.”

abu Ja’far (a.s.) who has said the following: “Whoever has received a share of friendliness has received a share of belief.”

“Allah, the Most Blessed, the Most High, is compassionate and He loves friendliness. Of the examples of His compassion to His worshippers is His reducing and easing off of their feeling grudge, resentment and hatred that confronts their wish and their heart. It is of the examples of His compassion toward them that He calls upon them to obey one of His commands to remove a certain evil (practice) from them for compassionate reasons so that the ring and the weight of belief do not fall upon them at once to make them weak. When He wants to make such a decision (of easing up on them) He cancels one command by another command and it becomes abrogated.”

“The Messenger of Allah has said, ‘Friendliness is a blessing and detachment is evil.’”

“Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, is compassionate. He loves kindheartedness and awards for it with such things that He does not give due to rudeness.”

“The Messenger of Allah has said, ‘There is nothing in which friendliness is placed but that such thing is beautified. There is nothing from which friendliness is removed but that such thing is shunned.”’

“In friendliness, certainly, there are increased blessings. One dispossessed of (faculty) friendliness is deprived of goodness.”

“If kindheartedness goes away from a family, goodness departs them also.”

“Any family who has received their share of kindheartedness, Allah has certainly increased their livelihood. Friendliness in matters of earning a living is better than great wealth. Friendliness does not cause any weakness but a spendthrift habit leaves nothing in place. Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, is compassionate and He loves friendliness.”

“The narrator has said, ‘A conversation took place between a man of the group and me and the Imam said to me, ‘Be friendly with them or else one of them may reject in anger and there is nothing good in rejection that may come from anger.”’

“Friendliness is half of livelihood.”

“The Messenger of Allah has said, ‘Allah, certainly, loves kindheartedness and He supports one to achieve it. If you ride a weak animal allow it to rest whenever needed. If it is a barren land pass it quickly, and if it is a fertile land, allow them to rest as they need.’”

“The Messenger of Allah has said, ‘If kindheartedness were to be seen like a creature, nothing of the creatures of Allah could have been as good as kindheartedness.

“Allah is compassionate and He loves kindheartedness. Of the examples of His compassion is His reducing and easing off of your feeling of grudge and hatred that confronts your wish and your heart. When He decides to change a worshipper’s habits He issues a command and then changes it with an abrogating command so that the truth does not fall very heavy on him.”

“The Messenger of Allah has said, ‘Whenever two things accompany each other the recipient of greater reward and the most beloved of the two before Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, is the kindhearted one to its companion.’”

“I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) say, ‘Whoever is friendly in his affairs achieves what he wants from people.’”