hadith
2544
۞
Imam al-Sadiq (AS), when 'Abdullah b. Sinan asked him, ‘Is man better or the angels?, replied, ‘The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said, ‘Allah, the Exalted, gave the angels intellect without desire, He gave the beasts desire without intellect, and He gave both to the sons of Adam. So a man whose intellect prevails over his desire is better than the angels whilst a man whose desire prevails over his intellect is worse that the beasts.
الإمامُ الصّادقُ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) ـ وقد سألَهُ عبدُ اللّهِ بنُ سِنانٍ : الملائكةُ أفضلُ أمْ بَنو آدمَ ؟ ـ : قالَ أميرُ المؤمنينَ عليُّ بنُ أبي طالبٍ (عَلَيهِ الّسَلامُ) : إنّ اللّهَ عزّ وجلّ ركّبَ في الملائكةِ عقلاً بلا شَهوةٍ ، وركّبَ في البهائمِ شَهوةً بلا عقلٍ، وركّبَ في بني آدمَ كِلْتَيْهما ، فمَنْ غلَبَ عقلُهُ شهوتَهُ فَهُو خيرٌ مِن الملائكةِ ، ومَن غلَبتْ شَهوتُهُ عقلَهُ فهُو شَرٌّ مِن البهائمِ.
Similar narrations
- Mishkāt al-Anwār #1487 “God the Almighty gave the angels intellect and no lust, and gave the animals lust and no intellect, and gave man both lust and intellect....