Islamic Manners of Du’a - آداب الدعاء

Duás favorable time: 

Imam Ali (s) said: Seize the opportunity to pray at four occasions: 

When Quran is being recited, when athan is being recited, when it is raining and when the two armies meet for martyrdom. 

في الأوقات المرجوة لاستجابة الدعاء 

عن أمير المؤمنين (ع) قال : اغتنموا الدعاء عند أربع .. عند قراءة القرآن ، وعند الأذان ، وعند نزول الغيث، وعند التقاء الصفين للشهادة .ق

Imam Jafer al-Sadiq (s) said: When you feel you are being compassionate seize the opportunity to pray, for a compassionate heart asks sincerely.

عن أبي عبد الله (ع) قال: إذا رق أحدكم .. فليدع ، فإن القلب لا يرق حتى يخلص

Imam al-Baqir (s) said: Almighty Allah favors every hard praying servant. So seize the opportunity to pray just before daybreak until sunrise; it is a time in which heaven’s gates are opened, subsistence is distributed and major prayers are granted.

عن أبي جعفر الباقر (ع) قال : إن الله عز وجل يحب من عباده المؤمنين كل عبد دعاء ، فعليكم بالدعاء في السحر إلى طلوع الشمس فإنها ساعة تفتح فيها أبواب السماء ، وتقسم فيها الأرزاق، وتقضى فيها الحوائج العظام

Fatima: The Perfect Role Model

Amongst the fourteen infallibles, it was necessary for one of them to be a woman as if all of them were men, then all of the advice, recommendations and teachings which we see directed towards the women of the community – things such as how to take care of ones’ spouse, how to maintain the home, how to take care of the children, the style and function of the hijab, how to modestly maneuver within society, patience and submission to God in the face of challenges and the hundreds of other teachings would have been mere words which were spoken and simple theological discussion to be studied. It is possible that women of all ages would have said to themselves: “If there was at least one infallible woman from amongst all of these people that God sent for guidance, a woman who knew what we as women go through, how we feel and how our emotions are formulated, then all of these pieces of advice we have been given and responsibilities which have been put on our shoulders would not have been there – as these men just don’t understand us!”

Lesson 2; Death part 1 of 5

One of the fearsome stages of the Hereafter is the grave, which calls out daily: “I am the abode of loneliness, I am the house of terror, I am the home of worms”.

 

Terror of the Grave

It is quoted in Man La Yahzaruhul Faqih, that when a dead body is brought for burial, it should not be buried immediately. For there is no doubt that the terror of the grave horrifies the dead person, and he seeks refuge from Allah's wrath. The dead body should be laid to rest for sometime far from the grave, so that it prepares itself, and gets accustomed to it. Again one should stop and then take it to the grave. Allamah Majlisi while commenting on the above, says that even though the spirit is separated from the body, it is still maintains relation with it, and remains somewhat attached to it. The darkness & loneliness, questioning by ‘Munkir & Nakeer’, Squeezing in the grave (Fishar), and the chastisement in hell are some of the frightful stages. Hence it is necessary for man to take lessons from a dead man's state, and reflect upon it, because one day he himself will have to pass through these stages. Yunus narrates that one day he asked Imam Moosa-al-Kazim (A.S.) that, “Whenever I think about the door of a house, the house becomes narrow in my sight, why is it so”? Imam (A.S.) replied, “It is so because whenever you take a dead body for burial, you should lay it to rest for sometime near the grave, so that the dead person may ready itself to enter there in, and collect strength to answer the questions of ‘Munkir’ & Nakeer’”.

Bara bin Azib, one of the companions (Ashab) of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S) says that one day I was in the presence of the Prophet, when we saw a group of people gathered. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S) asked them as to why they had gathered? They replied that they had gathered to dig a grave. As soon as the Prophet heard the name of the grave, he hurried towards it and sat on one side of the grave. I sat on the other side facing him so as to get a clear view of what he did. I saw that the Prophet (S.A.W.S) started weeping bitterly so much so that his face became wet, then he looked at us and said, “O my brothers! Prepare yourselves for this house”.

Shaikh Bahai says that at times he saw many kings and rulers regretting their sins and wailing over their lives while dying. The Shaikh asked one such person who was about to die as to what was the reason for such regret. The dying king replied, “What do you have to say about the person who is proceeding for a journey without having gathered any provisions for it, and devoid of a helpful companion. He is stopped on the way in a horrifying grave, to be produced later before the Almighty Ruler, without having any goodness in store”.

Allamah Qutubuddin Rawandi says, that after the death of Hazrat Maryam (A.S.), her son Prophet Isa (A.S.) called her, “O mother! Please speak to me, and tell me whether you are desirous of returning back to this world”. Hazrat Maryam (A.S.) answered, “Yes, I desire to return back, so that during the cold winter nights I could recite Namaz, and during the hot summer days I could fast. O my dear! Verily the way to the hereafter is very difficult.”

It is narrated that when the last moments of Hazrat Fatema (A.S.) neared, She called Amirul Mo'meneen Ali (A.S.) and said, “When I die, you bathe me, shroud me, pray Namaz over my dead body, and bury me. When you do so, sit near my grave for sometime and recite the Holy Qur'an, and pray for my forgiveness. For verily after death the dead person relies totally on the prayers (dua's) and affection of the living ones”.

When Hazrat Fatema binte Asad (the mother of Hazrat Ali) died, Amirul Mo'meneen (A.S.) came weeping to the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S) and gave Him the new of her death. The Prophet was grieved and said, “My mother has died”. History bears witness that she had brought up the Prophet affectionately like a mother. The Prophet (S.A.W.S) gave her his own gown for the shroud (Kafan), and Himself lay in the grave for sometime before burying her. After burying her, he stood near the grave and called out: “Your son, your son, not Aqeel, nor Ja'far”. People were surprised and asked him the reason for uttering these words. The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S) replied that, “One day we were discussing about Qayamat, and I said that on that day people will be come out of their graves in a state of nakedness. My aunt (Fatema binte Asad) started crying, so I assured her that I would give her my own gown for shroud, so she would not have to face that humiliation. She was scared of the squeeze in the grave (Fishare Qabr) , so I lay myself in her grave so as to save her from this too. After burying her, Munkir & Nakeer came to question her. They asked her about her Lord, she replied that Almighty Allah was her Lord. Then they asked her about Prophet hood (Nabuwwah), she bore testimony that I was Allah's Apostle. But when they questioned her about her Imam, she was a bit confused. Hence I called out to her that “Your son, your son, not Aqeel nor Ja'far (but Ali)”. Fatema binte Asad was a distinguished lady, who had the honor of giving birth to a son like Ali (A.S.), and herself remaining in the Ka'bah for three days as Allah's guest. She was the second woman who accepted the Prophet hood of the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S) the first being Hazrat Khadija (A.S.) even then she was fearful of the hereafter and wept. And we being sinful have forgotten our end, and do not take account of our deeds, but are averse to the terror of the hereafter.

Sayyed ibne Tawoos relates from the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S) that he said that the first night is the most fearful and difficult for the dead person, hence give Sadqa for his safety. If you do not have to give anything as ‘Sadqa’ then recite two unit (Rak'at) Namaz: In the first Rak'at after Surah-al-Hamd recite twice Surah-at-Tawheed, and in the second Rak'at after Surah-al-Hamd recite ten times Surah-at-Takasur. After finishing the Namaz recite the following dua:

اَللّهُمَّ صَلِّ على مُحَمَّدٍ وآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وابْعَثَ ثَوابَها اِلى قَبْرِ ذِلِكَ المَيِّتِ فُلان بن فُلان.

(here take the name of the dead man)

Allah will immediately send one thousand Angels to the grave of the dead person with attires of Paradise, and expand his grave till Qayamat. And for the one who recites this Namaz, Allah will offer him great rewards and exalt his position forty times.

The other Namaz to be recited on the first night of burial is as follows: Two Rak'at Namaz is to be recited, in the first Rak'at after Surah-al-Hamd recite once Ayatal Kursi, and in the second Rak'at after Surah-al-Hamd recite ten times surah-al-Qadr. After finishing Namaz say:

اَللّهُمَّ صَلِّ على مُحَمَّدٍ وآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وابْعَثَ ثَوابَها اِلى قَبْرِ فُلان

(here take the name of the deceased person).

My teacher Allamah Mirza Husain Noori (may Allah exalt his position) quotes in his book Darus Salaam from his teacher Haj Fath Ali Sultanabadi that he said: It was my routine that whenever I heard about the death of follower (Shi'ah) of Ahlulbait (A.S.), whether known or unknown to me, I recited (the above stated) Namaz, and this was not known to anyone else except myself. One day I met one of my friends who told me that the previous night he saw in a dream a Shi'ah who had died some days ago. May friend asked him as to how his state was. He replied that he was in deep trouble facing the consequences of his deeds, till one so and so (he took my name) person recited Namaz for him. He said that, “May Allah bless his father, he rescued me from severe chastisement”. My friend asked me regarding the Namaz and I had to tell him.

 

Those deeds which are beneficial for warding off fear of the Grave.

One of them is performing Ruku' with entire recitation. Imam Mohammad-al-Baqir (A.S.) says, that a person reciting entire recitation of Ruku' in Namaz will be saved from the fear of the grave. And one who recites.

لا إلهَ إلاّ اللهُ المَلِكُ الحَقُّ المُبينُ

100 times daily, will be saved from anxiety in the grave, will become prosperous  and the doors of Paradise will be opened for him. It is also related that the person who recites Surah-al-Yaseen before going to bed, and the following Namaz (Namaze Laylatur Raghaib), he will be saved from the terror of the grave. The first night of the month of Rajab is known as Laylatur Raghaib.

The Holy Prophet Mohammad (S.A.W.S.) used to fast on the first Thursday of the month of Rajab, and between Maghrib and Isha Prayers recite twelve Rak'at Namaz (in si sets of two units) as under:

In every Rak'at after Surah-al-Hamd recite three times Surah-al-Qadr and twelve times Surah-an-Naas. After Salaam recite seventy times:

اَللّهُمَّ صَلِّ على مُحَمَّدٍ النَّبيِّ الأمِّي وَعلى آلِهِ

Then go into prostration (Sajdah) and say seventy times:

سُبُّوحٌ قُدُّوسٌ رَبَّ المَلائِكَةِ والرُّوحِ

Then sit erect and say seventy times:

رَبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ وَتَجاوَزْ عَمَّا تَعْلَمُ إنَّكَ أنْتَ العَليُّ الأعْظَمُ

Then again go into Sajdah and say seventy times:

سُبُّوحٌ قُدُّوسٌ رَبَّ المَلائِكَةِ والرُّوحِ

It has been related that a person who fasts for twelve days in the month of Sha'ban, Allah will send seventy thousand Angels daily to his grave. And if a person visits an ailing man, Allah appoints an Angel for him who accompanies him in his grave till Qayamat.

Abu Sa'eed Khudri says, that he heard the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.S) telling Amirul Mo'mineen Ali (A.S.), “O Ali! Give glad tidings to your Shi'ahs that their death will be eased, and they will be saved from the terror of the grave and Qayamat”.

Narrowness of. and Squeeze in the Grave (Fishare Qabr).

This event is so horrifying, that it makes a person shiver with fright in this very world. Amirul Mo'meneen Ali (A.S.) says: “O the servants of Allah! The state in the grave of a person whose sins are not forgiven is more horrifying than death it self. Fear it's (grave's) narrowness, it's squeezing, it's imprisonment  and it's loneliness. Verily the grave calls out daily: I am the house of loneliness, of terror and worms. Grave is like a garden of Paradise for a good doer, while it is like a dungeon of hell for the evil doer. Allah tells His enemies that He will send ninety nine serpents in their graves, who will tear their flesh and smash their bones, and this punishment will continue till the outbreak of Qayamat. If one of the serpents exhales towards this earth, all plants and trees will be destroyed. O servants of Allah! Your souls are tender, and your bodies delicate, you cannot confront any ordinary serpent of this world, how then will you face them”. It is related that Imam Ja'far-as-Sadiq (A.S.) used to get up daily in the middle of the night and call out in a loud voice so that everyone in the house could hear, and would say:

اللّهُمَّ أعِنِّي عَلى حَوْلِ المُطَّلَعِ وَوَسِّعْ على ضِيقِ المَضْجَعِ وَارْزُقْني ما قَبلَ المَوتِ وارْزُقني خَيرَ ما بَعدَ المَوتِ.

One of his (A.S.)'s Supplication (Du'a) is also stated:

اللّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لي في المَوتِ اللّهُمَّ أعِنّي على سَكَراتِ المَوتِ اللّهُمَّ أعِنّي على غَمِّ القَبْرِ اللّهُمَّ أعِنّي على ضَيْقِ القَبْرِ اللّهُمَّ أعِنّي على وَحْشَةِ القَبْرِ اللّهُمَّ زَوِّجْني مَنَ الحُورِ العِينِ.

 

Love for AhlulBayt

قالَ الإمامُ مُحَمَّدٌ الباقِرُ (ع) :

اَفضَلُ ما يَتَقَرَّبُ بِهِ العِبادُ إِلى الله عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ طاعَةُ الله وَ طاعَةُ رَسُولِهِ وَ طاعَة اُولِي الأمرِ قالَ اَبُو جَعفَـرٍ (ع): حُبُّنا إيمـانٌ وَ بُغضُنا كُفرٌ

الكافي/1/187

Imam Baqir [a.s.] said: "The best means by which servants can obtain nearness to Allah, Mighty and Glorious, is the obedience to Allah, the obedience to His Messenger, and the obedience to those charged with (spiritual) authority."

Then, he [a.s.] added: "The love of us (Ahlul Bayt) is Faith and the hatred of us is infidelity."

Al-Kafi, vol. 1, p. 187

Imam Sadiq (as) about Bondage

The roots of conduct have four aspects: conduct with Allah, conduct
with the self, conduct with creation (i.e. people), and conduct with this
world. Each of these aspects is based upon seven principles, just as there
are seven principles of conduct with Allah: giving Him His due, keeping
His limits, being thankful for His gift, being content with His decree, being
patient with His trials, glorifying His sanctity, and yearning for Him.
The seven principles of conduct with the self are fear, striving, enduring
harm, spiritual discipline, seeking truthfulness and sincerity, withdrawing
the self from what it loves, and binding it in poverty (faqr).
The seven principles of conduct with creation are forbearance, forgiveness,
humility, generosity, compassion, good counsel, justice and
fairness.
The seven principles of conduct with this world are being content with
what is at hand, preferring what is available to what is not, abandoning
the quest for the elusive, hating overabundance, choosing abstinence
(zuhd), knowing the evils of this world and abandoning any desire for it,
and negating its dominance.
When all these qualities are found in one person, he is then one of
Allah's elite, one of His close bondsman and friends (awliya')

[From the book: Lantern of Path, Chapter 2]

Imam Ali (as) said: Your eyes can't see Allah, but the eyes of your heart can... Just open them...
People asked how shall we?
Imam Ali (as) said: When you strengthen your Eiman, then they open, right now they're closed in a sleep!

Who's a true Shia? Hadith 9

Abu Abdullah (Imam Sadiq) has said: “The believer is firmer than
blocks of iron. Iron is changed when it is subjected to fire, while the
believer will not be changed even if he is killed, cut by a saw, and
then killed a new.” (19)











_______________________________________
19 - Sifat ash-Shia, hadith 47

Imam Ali (as)'s sermon of Faith

In this sermon, Imam Ali (peace be upon him) refers to faith and its supports and aspects, and atheism and its supports and aspects.

When God began the matters, He chose for Himself what he willed and extracted what He liked. Within the matters that He liked was faith. He accepted it; therefore, he derived the name of faith from His Name and gifted it with whomever He loved among His creatures. He then showed it. Hence, He made its springs within reach for whoever wants to have it and made its supports difficult for the opposites to penetrate. He also made faith the fort of him whoever is loyal to it, the security of him whoever wants to enter into it, the guidance of him whoever betakes himself to it, the adornment of him whoever wants to have its beauty, the religion of him whoever braces it, the refuge of him whoever seeks its refuge, the bond of him whoever clings to it, the evidence of him whoever speaks of it, the honor of him who knows it, the wisdom of him whoever utters it, the light of him whoever seeks light from it, the proof of him whoever discusses about it, the claim of him whoever advances it as plea, the knowledge of him who understands, the narration of him who relates, the rule of him who judges, the forbearance of him who recounts, the reason of him who ponder over things, the understanding of him who meditates, the conviction of him who recognizes, the insight of him who determines, the sign of him who scrutinizes, the lesson of him who learns lessons, the salvation of him who believes in it, the Lord’s love for him who is virtuous, the nearness of him who seeks nearness, the confidence of him who depends (upon God), the rest of him who entrusts (with God), the color of him who does charitably, the welfare of him who takes haste steps (toward God), the shelter of him who endures, the dress of him who fears (God), the purification of him who seeks right guidance, the safety of him who submits (to God), and the spirit of the honest.

Faith is the principal of right. Right guidance is the way of the principal of right. Righteousness is its quality and glory is its feat. The course of faith is bright. Its signpost is brilliant. Its lights are luminous. Its extreme is high. Its racetrack is easy. Its milking is ready. Its prize is very precious. Its people are old. Its knights are noble. The virtuous deeds are its signboard. Chastity is its lights. Death is its extreme. The world is its racetrack. The Resurrection is its milking. Paradise is its prize. Hell is its punishment. God-fearing is its equipage. The charitable are its knights. By way of faith, the virtuous deeds are shown. By way of the virtuous deeds, the understanding is gained. By way of understanding, death is feared. Death is the seal of the world. Through the world, the other life is approached. Through the Resurrection, Paradise is loomed. Paradise is the regret of the people of Hell. Hell is the admonition of God-fearing. God-fearing is the origin of charity. God-fearing is a purpose the follower of which will never lose. Likewise, he who applied God-fearing to himself will never be regret because it is the course through which the winners achieved triumph. The losers were beaten because of disobedience. Will the intelligent learn and the God-fearing ones remember?

Faith stands on four supports: on endurance, conviction, justice, and jihad.

Endurance again has four aspects: eagerness, fear, abstention (from the world) and anticipation (of death). So, whoever is eager for Paradise will ignore the passions; whoever fears the Fire (of Hell) will refrain from prohibited acts; whoever abstains from the world takes hardships lightly; and whoever anticipates death will hasten towards good deeds.

Conviction also has four aspects: prudent perception, intelligence and understanding, drawing lessons from instructive things and following the precedents of past people. So, whoever perceives with prudence, wise knowledge will be manifest to him, and to whomsoever wise knowledge becomes manifest he appreciates instructive objects, and whoever appreciates instructive objects he is just like past people.

Justice also has four aspects: keen understanding, deep knowledge, good power of decision and firm forbearance. Therefore, whoever understands comes to acquire depth of knowledge; whoever acquires depth of knowledge drinks from the spring of judgment; and whoever exercises forbearance never commits evil actions in his affairs and leads a praiseworthy life among the people.

Jihad also has four aspects: to ask others to do good, to keep away others from doing evil, to fight (in the way of Allah) sincerely and firmly on all occasions, and to detest the vicious. So, whoever asks others to do good provides strength to the believers; whoever desists others from evil humiliates the unbelievers; whoever fights sincerely on all occasions discharges all his obligations; and whoever detests the vicious and becomes angry for the sake of Allah, then Allah will be angry in favor of him and will keep him pleased on the Day of Judgment.

Unbelief stands on four supports: on lechery, exaggeration, doubt, and sedition.

Lechery has four aspects — coarseness, blindness, inadvertence, and rebellion. The coarse will disgrace the believers, hate the jurists, and insist on guilt. The blind will disregard the remembrance, have ill mannerism, challenge the Creator, and be stirred by the Shaitan. The inadvertent will aggrieve themselves, turn over their backs, regard their seductions as rightness, be deceived by expectations, be befallen by regret, be uncovered, and will suffer what he has not supposed. He who rebels against God will doubt. God will exalt on anyone who doubts. Then He will humiliate him by His power and disgrace him by His Majesty. This is because he neglected and disregarded the Generous Lord.

Exaggeration has also four aspects: hankering after whims, mutual quarreling  deviation from the truth, and dissension. So, whoever hankers after whims does not incline towards right. Except sinking in the whims, he will not obtain anything more. Whenever a seditious matter leaves him, another will cover him. He is living in confusion. He whoever quarrels and disputes will be befallen by failure and his affairs will be ragged. He whoever deviates from truth, for him good becomes evil and evil becomes good and he remains intoxicated with misguidance. He whoever makes a breach (with Allah and His Messenger), his path becomes difficult, his affairs become complicated, and his way of escape becomes narrow. He who takes a course other than the believers will surely be apostatizing his religion.

Doubt has also four aspects: unreasonableness, fear, wavering, and undue submission to every thing. So, about which of the bounties of your Lord can the disputers persistently dispute? He who is afraid of what befalls him has to run on his heels. He who wavers in doubt the tardy will left him behind, the last will catch up with him, and the Shaitans will trample him under their feet. He who submits to the destruction of this and the next world will perish in them both. Only the bearers of conviction may be saved.

Sedition has four aspects: fondness of the adornment, self-enticement, crooked interpretation, and confusion of the right and the wrong. Adornment will preclude evidence. Self-enticement leads to passion. Crookedness takes its adopter to a twisted inclination. Confusion is complicated groups of darkness. This is atheism and its supports and aspects.

Hypocrisy stands on four supports: whims, carelessness, rancor, and greed.

Whim has four aspects: oppression, aggression, passion, and insubordination. For those whoever oppress, their problems will be increasing and they will be disappointed and defeated. For those who aggress against other, they will not be secured against misfortunes, and their hearts will not be sound. He who does not stop against his whims will plunge into griefs. He who disobeys (God) will be intentionally deviating lacking any excuse or evidence.

The aspects of carelessness are arrogance, pride, negligence, and excessive expectation. Arrogance takes away from the right. Taking pride in the present leads to negligence of the coming. Negligence is an involvement in blindness. Because of expectation, man will have knowledge of the account of his present manners. If he knows the account of his present manners, he will die secretly due to the horror and fear that he concludes.

The aspects of rancor are conceit, boast, zeal, and tribalism. The conceited will fall behind. The boastful are dissolute. The zealous are stubborn. The tribalist is unfair. How bad is the matter that is lying among falling behind, dissolution, and stubbornness.

The aspects of greed are complacency, fun, disputation, and haughtiness. Complacency is abominated for God. Fun is vanity. Disputation is misfortune for it drives to sinning. Haughtiness is ill amusement, play, engagement, and substituting the bad for the good.

That was hypocrisy with its supports and aspects.

God is prevailing over His servants. His mentioning is exalted, His authority is upright, His power is firm, His blessing is widespread, His wisdom is luminous, His claim is evident, His religion is pure, His word is accurate, His ranks are present, His attribution is wholesome, His scales is fair, His messages are conveyed, and His keeping angels are attendant. He then made the sin as guilt, the guilt as sedition, and the sedition as profanity. He also made kindness as profit, apology as repentance, and repentance as purity. He whoever repents to God will be guided. He whoever follows seditious matters will surely be deviant unless he repents to God, confesses of his guilt, and believes in the kindness. God will not ruin except the perishing.

What great is God! How extensive are his repentance, mercy, good tidings, and forbearance! How intense are the fetters, fire, power, omnipotence, and vengeance the He has! He whoever wins obedience to God will choose for His honor, and he whoever is keeping himself in disobedience to Him will taste the harsh torture of His punishment. There is lying the blissful end.

• Located in Tuhaful-Uqool and also Nahjul-Balagha

Really, Isn't Imam Naqi (as) worth a read?

There is a narration from Saleh ibn Saeed, who says he was once in the company of the Imam (as) and said, "O my Moula, these people want to harass you and extinguish the light of Allah (you) and so they have deliberately lodged you with the poor and the pauper in the Caraven-serai, to belittle you!" The Imam (as) said, "O ibn-Sayeed, do not be upset and perturbed; you do not know us truly" and saying this, the Imam pointed out with his hand and said, "Look there", and when I lifted up my gaze, behold! I saw lush green gardens, with Angels and Houris walking gently through them, birds chirping on the branches, gazelles and deer playfully romping around and streams of sweet water rippling by ! I was amazed and dazzled by what I saw. The Imam (as) said, "This is from Allah for me". 

[From the book, Basaaer Ul-Darajaat, page 406]

‘Your Lord has no donkey?’

[Reason and Reward]

Usul al-Kafi, book of reason and ignorance, pg 28

‘Ali ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abdillah al-Ibrah narrates from ibn Is'haq al-Ahmar from Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Daylami from his father, who said : 
I told Abu ‘Abdillah [a], ‘Such and such a person is praiseworthy for his devotion and religious practice.’ 
The Imam inquired, ‘How is his reason?’ 
I replied, ‘I know nothing about his reason.’ 
Upon this, the Imam explained,
‘The Divine reward is in relation to one's reason. 
There was a person from Bani Israil who used to worship God devotedly in an island full of lush green and clear water. An angel happened to watch that person, and asked God, ‘Kindly show me the rewards meant for that person.’ 
When the angel was shown the rewards by God, they appeared to be very little to him. Upon this God suggested to him to go and stay with that person (for some time). 
The angel appeared before that man in human guise. The man asked the angel, ‘Who are you?’ The angel replied, ‘I am also one of the devotees of God and I have heard about this place and your worship in it. Therefore, I have come to you so that I can also pray to Almighty God with you.’ 
So the angel stayed with him for a day. When it was morning, the angel remarked, ‘This is a pleasant place; no place could be better than this for worshiping God.’ 
Then the devotee-replied, ‘There is only one defect in this place.’
The angel asked what it was and the man replied, ‘My Lord has no animal. If He had a donkey, we could pasture it in this place, for the grass is going waste.’ 
The angel remarked, ‘Your Lord has no donkey?’
The man further said, ‘If He (Allah) had a donkey such a quality of grass would not be wasted.’
Then Almighty God revealed to the angel, ‘My rewards are in relation to a person's reason.’"