5 short maxims of Imam Al-Jawwad (as).

1. Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) said:

God revealed to one of His prophets: Your asceticism will give you comfort. Your devotion to Me will endear you to Me. But, did you antagonize My enemies and cherish My disciples?

2. It was related that highway robbers stole the large amounts of cloth that belonged to Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him). The head of the caravan sent the Imam a message in which he informed him of that news. The Imam (peace be upon him) answered him:
Our souls and riches are within the pleasant gifts and the deposited loans of God Who makes us enjoy some of them pleasantly and delightedly and seizes whatever He wills with rewards and merits. He whosoever intolerance overcomes his steadfastness will waste his rewards. God protect us against so.

3. Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) said:
He who detested a matter that he witnessed is as same as those who were absent from it, and he who was absent from a matter that he loved is as same as those who witnessed it.

4. Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) said: 

He whoever listens to a caller is serving him. If the caller was God’s representative, he is then serving God

the caller was the Shaitan’s representative, he is then serving the Shaitan.

Dawud bin Al-Qasim related: I asked Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) about the meaning of ‘samad’. He said:

1. Everything that lacks navel is ‘samad’.
   I said that people claim that ‘samad’ is everything that lacks interior. Imam Al-Jawad (peace be upon him) commented:
   Everything that lacks interior lacks navel.

Short Maxims of Imam Muhammed Al-Baqir (as)

1. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: Use kind words with the hypocrite, love the faithful believer sincerely, and regard your association with (even) the Jew who sits with you.
2. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: No mixture is better than the mixture of clemency and knowledge.
3. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: The whole perfection is knowledgeability of the religious affairs, steadfastness against misfortunes, and moderation in living.
4. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: By God (I swear), the arrogant is trying to strip God.
5. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him), one day, asked the attendants, “What is personality?” Each of them provided his own opinion. Afterwards, he (peace be upon him) said: Personality is to avoid greed so as not to be humble, avoid begging so as not to be disgraced, avoid niggardliness so as not to be insulted, and avoid ignorance so as not to be opposed.
   “Who can do all these?” wondered they. He (peace be upon him) answered: He who wants to be like him who looks into the pupil of the eye, the musk in an odor, and enjoys the same standing of a present caliph –king- will be able to do so.
6. Before Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him), a man said: “O Allah, make us do without people.” The Imam instructed: Do not say such a statement; you should say: O Allah, make us do without the evil ones. A faithful brother cannot do without his brother.
7. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: Do the right and seclude from whatever does not concern you. Avoid your enemy. Beware of your friend except the honest ones who fear God. Never accompany the sinful and never show him your secrets. Seek the consult of those who fear God.
8. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: A twenty-year friendship is kinship.
9. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: You would better deal with no one except him whom you did a favor.
10. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: Three manners are the charities of this world and the world to come: they are to pardon him who oppressed you, regard him who ruptured relations with you, and possess yourself when one’s ignorance inflicts you.
11. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: Oppression is of three sorts; a sort God will not forgive, another God will forgive, and a third God will not overlook it. Regarding the first one, it is polytheism. The second is the secret oppression of oneself. The third is the servants’ oppressing each other.
12. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: The servant (of God) who abstains from supporting his brother and exerting efforts for settling his need will suffer from exerting efforts for settling a need that causes him to commit a sin and deprives him of the reward. The servant who abstains from spending alms that pleases the Lord will spend many folds of those alms in a field that displeases God.
13. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: Anything of God’s act is good for the faithful believer.
14. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: God dislikes people who beg each other importunately, but he loves it for Himself. Hence, God the Glorified likes people to beg Him and ask for what He has in possession.
15. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: People’s admonitions will not benefit him whom God does not make him learn lessons of admonition from his own self.
16. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: The scale of him whose outer appearance is more preferable than his conscience is weightless.
17. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: It happens that you address to a man, ‘May God fling your enemy,’ while that man’s only enemy is God.
18. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: Three categories of people should not say salaam: they are those who are in their ways for offering the (congregational) Friday Prayer, those who walk in a funeral, and those who sit in a public bathroom.
19. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: A scholar whose knowledge is advantageous (for people) is better than seventy thousand worshippers.
20. Imam Al-Baqir (peace be upon him) said: A servant will not be scholar before he gets rid of envying those who precede him and belittling those who are less than him in (grade) of knowledge.
    
    
    (Tuhaful-Uqool)

5 short maxims of Imam Al-Askari (as)

1. Imam Al-Askari (peace be upon him) said: Do not dispute (with others) lest you will lose splendor and do not joke (with everyone) lest you will be disrespected.
2. Imam Al-Askari (peace be upon him) said: As for those who accept to sit in a place other than the first row of a session, God and His angels will bless them until they leave that session.
3. Imam Al-Askari (peace be upon him) answer the man who asked him a miracle or a proof of Imamate: The punishment will be doubled for those who refuted the miracle or proof of Imamate after it had been presented to them according to their demand. He who shows patience will be supplied with the support of God. People are accustomed to publicize false missives that they themselves forge.¹ We supplicate to God for guiding us (to the right). Matters are either submission or destruction. The end results of everything belong to God.
4. Imam Al-Askari (peace be upon him) answered the man who reported to him the disagreement of Shias: God has addressed to the intelligent exclusively. People are of different classes: some are the discerning on a way of
   ___________________________________________

1 In this statement, Imam Al-Hasan Al-Askari (peace be upon him) may refer to God’s saying (in the Holy Quran, Sura of Al-Muddetthir –74- Verse –52-): “Is it that everyone of them wants to receive a heavenly book addressed to him personally?” Hence, the Imam may want to say that people are naturally disposed for the wish to receive a heavenly book for God addressed to them personally.

salvation; they are holding fast to the right and clinging to the branch of the origin; they are neither doubtful not suspicious; they do not consider a shelter other than me. Some are those who have not received the right from its very people; they are like those who embarked on a ship; they ripple when the sea is wavy and calm down when the sea is calm. Some are those are dominated by the Shaitan; their one and only job is to refute the people of the right and substitute the wrong for the right out of envy. Hence, leave those who went astray to the right and left. When a shepherd wants to gather the hoard, he will not need to exert efforts for so. Beware of divulging our secrets and seeking power, for these two things drive into perdition. 

Imam Al-Askari (peace be upon him) said: 
Within the unforgivable sins are the sins whose committers wish if they would not commit anything else.
Imam Al-Askari (peace be upon him) then said: 
Polytheism of people is more hidden that the creeping of ants of a black piece of cloth in a gloomy night.

• (Tuahful-Uqool)

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

Some beautiful Maxims of Imam Al-Kadhem (as).

All of the Ahadith below are mentioned in Tuhaful-Uqool:

Anyone who acknowledges God should not complain when his earnings are delayed and should not accuse God of His acts.

As a man asked him about conviction, Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) answered:
The conviction is to depend upon God, submit to Him, consent to His acts, and entrust Him with the affairs.

Abdullah bin Yahya said: Within the supplication that I wrote to Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him), there was the sentence, ‘Praise be to God as much as the utmost of His knowledge.’ The Imam answered my missive saying: Do not say, ‘the utmost of His knowledge,’ because His knowledge has no limits. You may say, ‘the utmost of His satisfaction.’

As a man asked him about the munificent, Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) answered: Your question has two references. If you refer to the created munificent, I can tell you that he is the one who fulfills what God has imposed upon him, while the miserly is the one who withholds what God has imposed upon him. If you refer to the All-munificent God, I can tell you that He is the All-munificent whether He gives or not. If He gives, He gives you what is not yours, and if He does not give, He deprives you of what in not yours.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said to one of his adherents:

 Fear God and say the truth even if it will cause you to perish, for your salvation lies in telling the truth. Fear God and leave the wrong even if it will save you, for your perdition lies in telling the wrong.

As his agent swore he had not betrayed him, Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said to him:

To betray me and waste my wealth are the same. However, betrayal is more harmful for you.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:

Beware of depriving anyone in fields of obedience to God lest, you will lose two folds in fields of disobedience to God.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said: 
The believer is like the two pans of a balance — the more faith he enjoys the more misfortunes he faces.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said as he stopped near a grave: 
It is quite proper to leave the first of a matter the end of which is this (grave). It is also quite proper to fear the end of a thing the first of which is this (grave).

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said: 
He who speaks in the Essence of God will perish, he who seeks power will perish, and he who feels self-conceited will perish.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said: 
The supplies of this world and the religion are difficult. Whenever you extend your hand towards any source of the worldly supplies, you will found out that a sinful has preceded you there. When you intend to obtain a source of the religious supplies, you will not find anyone helping you.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said: 
Four deeds are originated from extreme solicitude. They are eating soil, crumbling the clay, clipping the nails with the teeth, and biting the hair of the beard. Looking at three things improves the sight. They are verdure, flowing water, and handsome faces.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said: 
Good neighborhood is not abstinence from harm. It is to tolerate the harm (of the neighbors).

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:

Do not take liberties with your friend. You should keep any quantity of respect among you lest you will lose pudency.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said to one of his sons:
O son, let not God see you committing an act of disobedience against which He warned you, and let Him not miss you in an act of obedience to Him of which He ordered you. Keep serious and do not convince yourself that you are worshiping and obeying God perfectly, because no one can achieve perfection in the fields of worshiping God. Beware of joking because it extinguishes the illumination of your faith and disgraces you personality. Beware of indolence and laziness because they both prevent you from receiving your shares of the pleasures of this world and the world to come.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:
When injustice predominates over the right, it is unacceptable to expect good from anybody before investigation.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:
Kissing on the mouth is not acceptable except from the wife and the little child.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:
Try to divide your time into four parts. The first part should be dedicated to (secret) supplication to God, the second to seeking earnings, the third to associating with the friends and the trusty people who show you your defects and treat you sincerely, and the fourth to your legal pleasures. Through this part, you can manage the other three parts. Do not think of poverty and long age. He who thinks of poverty will be stingy and he who thinks of long age will be acquisitive. Offer a share of the worldly pleasures to yourselves by enjoying moderately the legal pleasures that do not injure your personality. Make such pleasures help you fulfill your religious duties perfectly. It is said that, “As for those who neglect the legal worldly pleasures completely and adhere to the religious duties or neglect the religious duties and adhere to the worldly affairs, they are not from us.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:
Learn the religious question, for jurisprudence is the key of intelligence, the perfection of worship, and the means to the high standings and the respectful positions in this world and the world to come. The priority of the knowledgeable over the worshiper is as same as the priority of the sun over the stars. God will not accept the deeds of those who avoid learning the religious questions.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said to Ali bin Yaqttin:
The expiation of working with the (unjust) rulers is to treat the friends with kindness.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:
Whenever people perpetrate unprecedented sins, God will inflict upon them unexpected misfortunes.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:
In the time of the just ruler, you should thank and he will gain rewards. In the time of the unjust ruler, you should tolerate and he will burden the punishment of the sin.

Abu Hanifa related: After I had performed the hajj I went to Medina to visit Abu Abdillah As-Sadiq (peace be upon him). I entered his house and sat in the entrance waiting for his permission. After a while, a male toddler went out. “O boy,” I asked, “where should the stranger excrete in your country?” The boy asked for a respite before he sat to a wall and spoke:

You should be away from riversides, places were fruits fall, yards of mosques, and roadbeds. You should also hide against a wall, lift up your dress, avoid turning the face or the back to the kiblah, and then you can excrete anywhere. 

I was highly admired by the wording of that boy. I therefore asked about his name. “I am Musa bin Ja’far bin Mohammed bin Ali bin Al-Hussein bin Ali bin Abi Talib,” answered he. I then asked him about the source of the acts of disobedience to God. He answered: 

The source of any sin is unquestionably one of three: either the God, the God and the servant, or the servant. If God is the source of sins –yet He is not-, then it is improper for Him to punish the servants for what they did not commit. If God and the servants are together the source of sin –yet this is not accurate-, then it is improper for the stronger partner to wrong the weak partner. If the servant is the source of the sins –and this is quite accurate-, then the Lord may pardon out of His generosity and liberty or punish for the commitment of such a sin. 

After I had heard so, I left before I could meet Abu Abdillah since that wording was sufficient for me.

Abu Ahmed Al-Khurasani asked Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) whether atheism preceded polytheism or the opposite. ‘You have not been accustomed to ask such questions,’ answered the Imam, ‘I do not know that you intrude yourself in the theological discussions.’ Abu Ahmed confessed that it had been Husham bin Al-Hakam who ordered him to put such a question before the Imam. The Imam, then, answered:

 
Atheism preceded polytheism. The foremost atheist was Eblis about whom God says: 
He refused and he was proud, and he was one of the unbelievers –atheists-.¹

Atheism is one thing while polytheism is not. Polytheism is to believe in one (god) and associate others with him.
As he noticed two men reviling at each other, Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) commented:
The first person to revile is the more wrongful. He should burden –the inconvenience- of his sin as well as the sin of the other unless the other was the aggressor

.
Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:

On the Day of Resurrection, a caller will summon those whose rewards should be presented by God individually. Except those who forgave and reformed themselves, no one will attend.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:

The liberal well-mannered ones are in the shelter of God Who will not abandon them until they reside in Paradise. Prophets of God are all liberal. My father incessantly commanded me to hold on liberality and noble manners until he departed.

As-Sindi bin Shahek² narrated: When Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) was dying, I offered to enshroud him. He answered:
We, the Prophet’s family, should cover the expenditure of our first pilgrimage, the dowries of our women, and our coffins from our legal fortunes.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said to Fadhl bin Younus: 

Convey the good, say the good, and do not be yes-man. 
“What is yes-man?” asked Fadhl, and the Imam instructed: 
Do not say, ‘I am with people,’ or ‘I am like others,’ for the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: “O people, they are only two ways — either good or evil. Do not prefer the way of evil to that of good.”

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) passed by an ugly villager, greeted him, sat with him, talked with him for a considerable time, and then asked him to settle his needs when he will be in need for him. Some said,

“O son of God’s Messenger, how do you sit with this one and ask him to settle your needs while he is in need for you?” The Imam (peace be upon him) answered: 
He was one of God’s servants, a brother in the Book of God, and a neighbor in the lands of God. He and we enjoy the same best father — Adam (peace be upon him) and the same best religion that is Islam. Perhaps, our need will someday be in his hand and we will have to sit modestly before him. 

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) then recited a poetic verse: 

We regard even those who do not deserve our regard so that we will not be friendless.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:

Asking for –financial- help is acceptable only in blood money that is imposed on an insolvent, heavy debts, and extreme poverty.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:

The best kind of alms giving is to help the weak.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:

The astonishment of the ignorant at the intelligent is greater than the astonishment of the intelligent at the ignorant.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:

For the steadfast, the misfortune is one, while it is two for the impatient.

Imam Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him) said:
Only the sufferers of injustice can realize its intensity.
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1 The Holy Quran, Sura of Al-Baqara (2) Verse (35)
2 As-Sindi bin Shahek was appointed by Harun Ar-Rashid as the jailer of Imam Musa Al-Kadhim (peace be upon him).

Imam Al-Kadhim’s Wording to Harun ar-Rashid

Imam Al-Kadhim (as) visited Harun Ar-Rashid¹ who had intended to arrest him for accusations that were forged against the Imam.² Ar-Rashid gave the Imam (peace be upon him) a long roll that contained many sayings that were falsely ascribed to Shiism.

After he had read the content, the Imam (peace be upon him) spoke:

O Amirul Muminin, we are the household who had to face fabricated lies. Our Lord is forgiving and coverer. He does not accept to reveal the secrets of His servants before the day when He will settle the account with them. “The day on which property will not avail, nor sons. Except him who comes to Allah with a heart free from evil.”³

My father told me that his father told him that Ali told that the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: “When two individuals of the same family touch each other, their kinship will be stirred up and them relax.” Now, Amirul Muminin can cause our kinship to stir up by shaking hands with me.

As soon as he heard these words, Ar-Rashid jumped from his seat and extended his hand to the Imam (peace be upon him). Then he took him from the right hand, embraced him, and asked him to sit to his right. He then spoke, “I declare that you are honest, your father was honest, your grandfather was honest, and the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) was honest. When you first visited me, I was the most malicious and enraged with you because of what has been said to me about you. But when you uttered your words and shook hand with me, I was relieved and my rage was changed into satisfaction.

After a while, Ar-Rashid said to the Imam (peace be upon him), “I would like to ask you why was Ali preceded to Al-Abbas⁴ in the matter of the heritage of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), while Al-Abbas was the Prophet’s uncle and his father’s brother. The Imam asked the caliph to release him from answering this question. “No,” insisted the caliph, “By God, I will not allow you avoid answering this question. You should answer it, now.” Therefore, the Imam said, “If you will not free me from answering this question, will you then guarantee my safety?” “Yes,” said Ar-Rashid, “I guarantee your safety.”

The Imam (peace be upon him) spoke:

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) did not bequeath those who did not migrate (to Medina) while they were able to migrate. Al-Abbas, your father, believed but did not migrate, while Ali believed and migrated. God says:

The believers who did not leave their homes are not your guardians until they too leave their homes.⁵

The color of Harun’s face changed. Hence, he asked, “Why are you not ascribed to Ali your father, but ascribed to the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family) who is your grandfather?”

The Imam (peace be upon him) answered:

God ascribes Jesus to Abraham the intimate (peace be upon them) from the side of his mother the Virgin Mary –whom was never touched by any human being-. This is clear in God’s saying:

We gave (Abraham) Isaac and Jacob. Both had received Our guidance. Noah received Our guidance before Abraham and so did his descendants: David, Solomon, Job, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron. Thus is the reward for the righteous people. We also gave guidance to Zechariah, John, Jesus, and Elias, who were all pious people.⁶

God ascribes Jesus to Abraham from the side of his mother only. In the same way, God ascribes David, Solomon, Job, Moses, and Aaron to Abraham from the side of both their fathers and mothers so that God will give Jesus an exclusive characteristic and an elevated standing for his mother alone. This is in God’s saying about Mary (peace be upon her):

"Behold," the angels told Mary, "God had chosen you, purified you, and given you distinction over all women.⁷

God gave Mary distinction over all women by the Christ who was born without the means of a father.

Likewise, our Lord chose Fatima (peace be upon her), purified her, and gave her distinction over all women by Al-Hasan and Al-Hussein (peace be upon them), the masters of the youth of Paradise.

Harun was confused by what he had heard. Therefore, he asked the Imam, “How do you claim that an illegitimacy may occur on the part of women or fathers to the man who does not settle the Khums?” The Imam (peace be upon him and his family) said:

Except you, no ruler, including Taim (Abu Bakr), Edi (Omar), and the Umayyads at all asked such a question. No one of my fathers was asked about such a question; therefore, do not cause me to divulge it.

Harun threatened, “I will cancel my pledge of safety to you if I know that you have divulged it.” “I agree,” said the Imam (peace be upon him).

Harun asked, “Numbers of the miscreants are increasing in Islam. The miscreants whom are brought to us are ascribed to you. For you, the Prophet’s family, what is the miscreant?” The Imam (peace be upon him) answered:

The miscreants are everyone who rejects God and His Messenger. They are those who oppose God and His Messenger. God says:

You will not find any people of faith in God and the Day of Judgment who would establish friendship with those who oppose God and His Messenger, even if it would be in the interest of their fathers, sons, brothers, and kinsmen. God has established faith in their hearts and supported them by a Spirit from Himself.⁸

They are also the apostates who deviated from monotheism into atheism.

Harun asked the Imam about the first one who apostatized and became an atheist. The Imam (peace be upon him) answered:

The first one who apostatized and became an atheist in the heavens was Eblis the cursed. He showed arrogance and took pride in himself against Adam (peace be upon him) the choice and confidant of God. The cursed said –as it is mentioned in the Quran-:

I am better than Adam, for You have created me out of fire and Adam out of clay.⁹

Thus, he rejected the Lord’s orders and became atheist. His offspring inherited atheism from him.

Harun wondered whether Eblis has offspring. The Imam (peace be upon him) answered:

Eblis has offspring. Listen to God’s saying:

When We told the angels to prostrate before Adam they all obeyed except Eblis. He was a jinn and he sinned against the command of his Lord. Why do you (people) obey him and his offspring instead of Me, even though they are your enemies? How terrible will be the recompense that the wrong doers will receive! I did not call (the unjust) to witness the creation of the heavens and earth nor to witness their own creation nor did I want to be helped by those who lead people astray.¹⁰

They mislead the offspring of Adam through their false vanities and lies. Meanwhile, they declare that there is no god but Allah. God describes them in His following saying:

If you ask them, "Who has created the heavens and the earth," they will certainly say, "God has created them." Say, "It is only God who deserves all praise, but most of them do not know."¹¹

This means that they declare so only with their tongues because they used to say so as one of their customs. He who does not believe, even if he declares with the tongue, will be suspicious, envious, and resistant. The Arabs therefore used to say: “He who had no knowledge of something will antagonize it, and he who cannot attain something will dishonor and disbelieve in it.” This is because he is ignorant, not knowledgeable.¹²

Then Harun Ar-Rashid requested, “By the right of your forefathers I beseech you, brief for us comprehensive statements regarding what we have discussed.” The Imam agreed. An inkwell and papers were fetched. The Imam (peace be upon him) recorded:

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

All the matters of the religions are gathered in four forms:

First, there is the unanimous matter. It is the consensus of the umma on the necessary matters that they have to face.

Second, there are the generally accepted narrations. All the suspicious matters are advanced to such narrations, and every result is extracted from them, for they are the consensus of the umma.

Third, there is the matter that may be doubted or denied. Such a matter should be treated through providing evidence, from the Book of God, provided that its interpretation is unanimous, or evidence from the Prophet’s tradition provided that it is unanimously accepted.

Fourth, there is the law that the intelligent accede to its justice and neither the scholars nor the ordinary people can suspect or deny it. These two matters relate to the question of monotheism and whatever comes below and the question of the retaliation of a scratching and whatever comes above. The previous has been the matters to which the religious affairs are advanced. You should opt for only what is proved evidently and should shun what is suspected or obscure. Any of these three matters (the Book of God, the Prophet’s tradition, and the logical law) is the final authority to which God refers in His saying:

Say, "Final authority belongs only to God. Had He wanted, He would have given you all guidance.¹³

The final authority is attained by both the ignorant through his ignorance and the knowledgeable through his knowledge. This is because God is Just and He will never treat anybody wrongly. He provides to His creatures attainable arguments and call them to what they know, not ignore or deny.

Harun Ar-Rashid offered gifts to the Imam (peace be upon him)…

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1¹ Harun ar-Rashid (763-809) is the fifth Abbasid caliph of Baghdad 786-809.

2 We choose definite statements of this long narration.

3 The Holy Quran, Sura of Ashu’araa (26) Verses 89-90.

4 Al-Abbas bin Abdul-Muttalib is the Prophet’s uncle and the forefather of Harun Ar-Rashid.

5 The Holy Quran, Sura of Al-Anfal (8) Verse (72)

6 The Holy Quran, Sura of Al-An’aam (6) Verses 84-5

7 The Holy Quran, Sura of Aal Imran (3) Verse 42

8 The Holy Quran, Sura of Al-Mujadila (58) Verse (22)

9 The Holy Quran, Sura of Al-A’raf (7) Verse (12)

10 The Holy Quran, Sura of Al-Kahf (18) Verses (50-1)

11 The Holy Quran, Sura of Luqman (31) Verse (26)

12The Imam (peace be upon him) then had a long discussion with Abu Yousuf the Judge. We do not refer to that discussion because it is not our subject.

13 The Holy Quran, Sura of Al-An’aam (6) Verse (149)

• Tuhaf-ul-Uqool

Imam Ar-Reza’s Account of Imamate, Imam, and Position of the Imams

Abdul-Azeez bin Muslim related: We were accompanying Imam Ar-Reza (peace be upon him) in Marw. Once, we were in the central mosque when people discussed the matter of imamate and referred to the great variance of people’s opinions in this regard. I then visited my master Ar-Reza (peace be upon him) to inform him of people’s discussion. He then smiled and said:

"O Abdul-Azeez, people are ignorant and unaware of their religion. Almighty God did not made His Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) die before He had perfected the religion for him. He revealed to him the Quran in which there is the explanation of everything and the manifestation of the halal, haram, doctrinal provisions, rulings, and everything tha people may need completely. God the Majestic says:

Nothing is left without a mention in the Book.¹

During the Farewell Pilgrimage, which was the last days of the Prophet’s lifetime, God revealed to him:

On this day I have perfected your religion, completed My favors to you, and have chosen Islam as your religion.²

The imamate is a part of the perfection of the religion.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) did not depart this world before he had manifested to his umma the points of their religion, showed them the –right- courses that they should

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1 The Holy Quran, Sura of Al-An’aam (6) Verse (38)

2 The Holy Quran, Sura of Al-Ma’ida (5) Verse (3)

take, situated them on the right path, and assigned Ali (peace be upon him) as the leader and Imam for them. As a matter of fact, the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) did not leave anything without thorough manifestation. He whoever claims that God has not perfected His religion is denying the Book, and whoever denies the Book is converting to atheism.

Do they acknowledge the true standing of Imamate and its position in the umma, before they choose for themselves?

God gave Abraham the prophet (peace be upon him) imamate as a third rank after prophecy and intimacy and as a virtue by which He conferred honor upon him –Abraham- and praised him. God says:

When his Lord tested Abraham's faith, (by His words) and he satisfied the test, He said, "I am appointing you as the imam of mankind." Abraham asked, "Will this imamate also continue through my descendants?" The Lord replied, "The unjust do not have the right to exercise My authority."¹

Abraham the prophet (peace be upon him) was highly delighted for gaining this rank; therefore, he hoped it would be passed to his descendants.

This Verse cancels the imamate of any unjust one until the Day of Resurrection, and dedicates it to the choice ones exclusively. Then God honors this imamate when He decides it to be in the offspring of the immaculate choice ones. He says:

We granted him –Abraham- Isaac and Jacob as a gift and helped both of them to become righteous people. We appointed them as imams to guide the people through Our command and sent them revelation to strive for good deeds, worship their Lord, and pay religious tax. Both of them were Our worshiping servants.²

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1 The Holy Quran, Sura of Al-Baqara (2) Verse (124)

2 The Holy Quran, Sura of Al-Anbiyaa (21) Verses (73-4)

The successive generations kept on receiving the imamate in inheritance in that order until it reached the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him and his family).

In this regard, God says:

The nearest people to Abraham, among mankind, are those who followed him, this Prophet (Muhammad) and the true believers.¹

In this manner, the imamate became exclusive for them.² Then the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) gave it to Ali (peace be upon him) to be successive in his choice offspring upon whom God conferred knowledge and faith. This is indicated in God’s saying:

Those who have received knowledge and have faith will say, "By the decree of God, you have remained for the exact period which was mentioned in the Book of God about the Day of Resurrection. This is the Day of Resurrection, but you did not know."³

This Verse shows the decree of God regarding the question of imamate that will persist in the Prophet’s progeny until the Day of Resurrection, since there will be no prophet after the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him and his family).

After all, how can those ignorant people choose for imamate out of their opinions?

Imamate is the rank of the prophets and the heritage of the prophets’ successors.

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1 The Holy Quran, Sura of Aal Imran (3) Verse (68)

2 This very form is also recorded in ‘Uyounu Akhbarir Reza’ and An-Nu’mani’s ‘Al-Ghaiba’, but in ‘Al-Kafi’, it is recorded in this form:

In this manner, the imamate became exclusive for him –the Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny)-. This form seems to be more suitable.

3 The Holy Quran, Sura of Ar-Roum (30) Verse (56)

Imamate is the representation of God the Majestic and His Messenger (peace be upon him and his family), the position of Amirul Muminin, and the succession¹ of Al-Hasan and Al-Hussein (peace be upon them).

The Imam is the head of the religious affairs, the system of the Muslims, the goodness of the world, the stronghold of the believers.

The Imam is the rising principal and the noble branch of Islam.

The accomplishment of the prayers, zakat, fasting, hajj, jihad, the availability of spoils and alms, the execution of the doctrinal provisions and the rules, and the protections of the fronts and the borders—all these are achieved through the Imam.

The Imam legalizes whatever God deems legal, forbids whatever God deems illegal, executes the doctrinal provisions that God enacts, protects the religion of God, and calls to the path of God through wisdom, good advice, and strong evidence.

The Imam is as same as the shining sun whose light covers the whole world while it stands erect in the horizon and neither sights nor hands can catch it.

The Imam is the luminous full moon, the bright lamp, the rising light, the guiding star in tenebrous gloom, the guide to the right, and the savior from demise.

The Imam is the guiding fire on highlands, the heat to the seekers of warmth, and the rescuer from dangers. He whoever departs the Imam will surely perish.

The Imam is the raining clouds, the torrential downpour, the shady sky, the plain land, the abundant spring, the brook, and the garden.

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1 In ‘Uyounu Akhbarir Reza’, ‘Al-Ghaiba’, and ‘Al-Kafi’, the word ‘inheritance’ is recorded instead of ‘succession’.

The Imam is the lenient custodian, the humane father, the full brother, the like of the sympathetic mother to her baby, and the shelter of the servants.

The Imam is the trustee of God on His land and creatures, the argument of God against the servants, the successor of God in His countries, the caller to God, and the protector of the sanctities of God.

The Imam is purified from sins, freed from defects, given knowledge exclusively, characterized with forbearance, the system of the religion, the stronghold of the believers, the punishment of the hypocrites, and the perdition of the disbelievers.

The Imam is the unique in his time. No one can catch up with him and no scholar can amount to him. There is no substitute for him and there are no like or match to him. The whole virtue is dedicated to him without seeking or acquisition. It is only the choice of the Favorer Endower God.

How is it then possible for anybody to understand the reality and the quality of the Imam? How impossible this is! Minds are too astray, intellects are too lost, wits are too perplexed, the speakers are too mute, the poets are too unversed, the authors are too impotent, the eloquent are too wordless, and the scholars are too weak to describe a single feature or a single virtue of the Imam’s features and virtues. As a consequence, they confessed of their shortcoming and inadequacy to do so. How is it then possible to describe him as a whole or portray his manners? How it is possible to find anyone who can do his role or represent him? How is this possible while the Imam is as far as stars from the reach of the debaters and the describers? Do they think they can find imamate in anybody other than the Prophet’s family?

They are deceived by their opinions and they are indulging in the false hopes. They are surely climbing a rugged ascent and a slippery mount that will surely cause them to stumble to the rock bottom because they have intended to nominate an imam out of their opinions. How can they nominate an imam while the true Imam is permanently knowledgeable that ignorance never reaches him and a custodian that never betrays? He is the core of the prophecy whose lineage is too honorable to be criticized and no highborn individual can ever dare him. The Imam’s tribe is Koreish, his clan is Hashim, his root is the Messenger of God (peace be upon him and his family), the master of the celebrities, and he is the offspring of Abd Menaf.

The Imam is that whose knowledge is increasing and whose forbearance is perfect. He is cognizant of policy and worthy of leadership. The obedience to him is obligatory. He is the executor of God’s commandments and the adviser of God’s servants.

God leads the prophets and their successors (peace be upon them) to success and the right, and gives them (a part of His stored) knowledge and wisdom exclusively so that they become the most knowledgeable of people. God the Majestic says:

Is the one who guides to the Truth a proper guide or one who himself cannot find guidance unless he is guided (by others)? What is wrong with you that you judge (so unjustly)?¹

Relating the story of Saul, God says:

God has chosen him as your ruler and has given him physical power and knowledge. God grants His authority to anyone whom He wants.²

About David the prophet (peace be upon him), God says:

David slew Goliath and God granted David the kingdom and wisdom and also taught him whatever He wanted.³

Addressing to the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him and his family), God says:

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1 The Holy Quran, Sura of Younus (10) Verse (35)

2 The Holy Quran, Sura of Al-Baqara (2) Verse (247)

3 The Holy Quran, Sura of Al-Baqara (2) Verse (251)

God has revealed the Book to you, has given you wisdom, and has taught you what you did not know. Certainly God's favor to you has been great.¹

About the Imams of the Prophet’s family, progeny, and offspring, God says:

Are they jealous of the favors that God has done to some people (the Imams)? We have given to the family of Abraham the Book, Wisdom, and a great Kingdom. Some have believed, others have disbelieved and tried to prevent people from believing. For these people, only the intense fire of hell is a sufficient punishment.²

When God selects someone (the Imam) for managing the affairs of His servants, He grants him the inclination to do so, fills in his heart with springs of wisdom, and bestows upon him with fluency. Hence, he will have the ability to answer any question and will say nothing but the truth. The Imam is therefore granted success-fullness  right guidance, and advocacy and will be saved from error and flaw.

He is given such characteristics so that he will be an argument against the creatures and a witness on the servants (of God). Can they then ensure such characters for the one they choose as imam out of their opinions?

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1 The Holy Quran, Sura of An-Nisa (4) Verse (113)

2 The Holy Quran, Sura of An-Nisa (4) Verse (54-5)