Chapter 10 - On Good Words and Deeds

“Note traditions along with their references. If they are correct, you will share in the reward in the Hereafter, and if they are wrong, the sin will be for the original authors to whom you referred.”

“Say good words to be known for that, and do good deeds to be one of the good-doers.”

“I do not accept all the words of wise men, rather I accept ones will and efforts. If his will and efforts are for Me, I will establish his words and deed as My worship, even if he has said nothing.”

God's Prophet (a.s) said: “God told me in one of His supplications: “O' Muhammad! Whoever hurts one of my friends has indeed set out to fight with Me. I will fight with whoever sets out to fight with Me.”

“O' Lord! Who are your friends on whom your shade will be spread on the Day when there is no other shade? God revealed: “They are people with pure hearts and empty hands. They are people who say words of God’s remembrance whenever they remember God. They are people who are pleased with obeying Me, just as babies are pleased with their mother's milk. They are people who take refuge in My mosques, just as hawks take refuge in their nests. They are people who get angry whenever they see that what I have forbidden is allowed. They get as angry as leopards get.

a man went to see the Prophet of God (a.s) and said: “O' Prophet of God! Please teach me something.” The Prophet (a.s) said: “Do not place hopes in what others own. This would constitute being needless.” The man asked him to teach him more. The Prophet (a.s) said: “Whenever you decide to do something, think about its outcome. Do that if its outcome is goodness and guidance, but abandon that plan if its outcome is deviation and corruption.”

“O' people! Who are without inheritors among you?” They said: “Those who die without leaving a child behind.” He said: “A real person without any inheritors is one who dies without already having sent a child to claim his loss as a loss for God's sake, even if he leaves many children behind.” Then he asked: “Who is poor among you?” They said: “Those who have no property.” He said: “A real poor person is one who has not sent anything ahead of him to claim it to be for God's sake, even if he leaves a lot of wealth behind.” He then asked: “Who is a wrestling champion among you?” They said: “One whom no one can defeat.” He said: “A real champion is one who remembers God and patiently quenches his anger whenever Satan beats his heart with it's fist to raise his anger.”

“O' Prophet of God! Do you want to return to this world?” The Prophet (a.s) said: “No. I have perfected my mission”. Gabriel asked the same question again. “The Prophet (a.s) said: “No. I just want God.” Then he turned to the people who had surrounded him and said: “O' people! There will be no Prophet or religion after me. Whoever makes such a claim, his claim and innovation belongs to the Fire (of Hell). Kill him. Whoever follows him will go to Hell, too. O' people! Respect the law of retaliation. Return the rights to whomever they belong. Do not get disunited. Accept Islam, submit (to God) and remain healthy. God has decreed: “It is I and My apostles who must prevail, for God is One full of strength, able to enforce His Will.” [The Holy Quran: Mujadila 58:21]

“I heard the Imam (a.s) say: Those who always return to God are the ones who repent.”

O' grandson of the Prophet! We are a group of passers-by. We were unable to become your companions no matter how hard we tried. Please give us some advice.” The Imam (a.s) said: “I advise you to adhere to piety, honesty, trustworthiness, treating others with kindness, greeting, feeding the poor, praying in the mosques, visiting the ill, and attending funeral processions. My father told me: “Our followers were always the best people. If there was a jurisprudent, he was a Shiite. If there was a caller to prayer, a prayer leader, an orphan keeper, a trustworthy person, or a depositor, he was one of the Shiites. Now you be the same way, and make us loved by the people, not hated by them.”

“There is nothing better than the performance of obligatory deeds for My servants to get to like Me. However by performing recommended prayers, he gets inclined to Me and I will love him. If I love him, I will be his ears to hear with, his eyes to see with, his tongue to speak with, and his hands to give charity with. I will then not hesitate to do what I must do, like hesitation in the death of a believer. He dislikes death, and I am unhappy about his unhappiness.”

Imam Baqir (a.s) said: “God the Almighty loves anyone who jokes without using indecent language, thinks when he is alone, takes lessons from others, and stays up at night to pray.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “Doing each of the following deeds will take you to Heaven: Giving water to a thirsty person, feeding a hungry person, providing clothing for one who does not have any clothes, or freeing a slave.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted God's Prophet (a.s): “Whoever makes ablution, prays, pays the alms tax, quenches his anger, watches his tongue, repents, and wishes well for the members of the Holy Household of the Prophet has perfected the true aspects of religion, and the gates of Heaven will be open to him.”

Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: “God is so noble that He will not oblige the people to do what is beyond their ability. God is so powerful that nothing can happen which He has not willed.”

“The intent of a believer is better than his deeds, and the intent of a corrupt person is worse than his actions. Everybody will be rewarded according to his intentions.”

“Hold firmly to what We have given you” [The Holy Quran: Baqara 2:63], Does this “hold firmly” refer to the body or the soul?” Imam Sadiq (a.s) replied: “It refers to both.”