Kitāb al-Zuhd

إبراهيم بن أبي البلاد عن أبيه رفعه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله وهل يكب الناس في النار إلا حصائد ألسنتهم؟

18.Ibrāhīm ibn Abī al-Bilād narrated from his father who attributed it to the Messenger of Allah (ṣ), that he said, “And will anything plunge people into the Fire [of Hell] other than what their tongues reap?”[1]

النضر بن سويد عن القاسم بن سليمان عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: سمعت أبي يقول: من حسن اسلام المرء تركه ما لا يعنيه.

19.Al-Naḍr ibn Suwayd narrated from al-Qāsim ibn Sulaymān, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “I heard my father say, ‘It is from the beauty of a person’s [devotion to] Islam to eschew that which does not concern him.’”

علي بن النعمان عن عمرو بن شمر عن جابر عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: ان الله يحب الحيي الحليم الغنى المتعفف الا وان الله يبغض الفاحشة البذي السائل الملحف.

20.ʿAlī ibn al-Nuʿmān narrated from ʿAmr ibn Shimr, from Jābir, from Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) who said, “The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) said, ‘Verily Allah loves the modest, clement, independent, chaste individual. And indeed Allah hates the shameless, obscene, scrounging, importune individual.’”

محمد بن سنان عن ابن مسكان عن الحسن الصيقل قال: كنت عند أبي عبد الله عليه السلام جالسا فبعث غلاما له أعجميا في حاجة إلى رجل فانطلق ثم رجع فجعل أبو عبد الله عليه السلام يستفهمه الجواب وجعل الغلام لا يفهمه مرارا قال: فلما رأيته لا يتغير لسانه ولا يفهم ظننت ان أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يستغضب عليه قال: وأحد أبو عبد الله عليه السلام النظر إليه ثم قال: أما والله لئن كنت عيي اللسان فما أنت بعيي القلب ثم قال: إن الحياء والعفاف والعي - على اللسان لا على القلب - من الايمان والفحش والبذاء والسلاطة من النفاق.

21.Muḥammad ibn Sinān narrated from Ibn Muskān, from al-Ḥasan al Ṣayqal who said, “I was sitting with Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) when he sent one of his non-Arab servant boys on an errand to a person. The boy left and then returned so Abū ʿAbdillāh began asking him and seeking an explanation from him, but the young lad did not understand him, and this happened a number of times.” He (the narrator) said, “When I saw that his speech did not change and he was not able to understand, I thought that Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) would get angry on him. [However,] Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) looked at him sternly and then said, ‘By Allah, even if you are unable to speak with your tongue, you are not unable to communicate with your heart [and mind]!’ Then he said, ‘Verily modesty, chastity, and inarticulateness – the inarticulateness of the tongue, not of the heart – are part of faith, [1] while immodesty, obscenity and insolence are part of hypocrisy.’”

قال ابن مسكان وقال الحسن: سمعنا أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول: مرت برسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله امرأة بذية وهو يأكل فقالت يا محمد صلى الله عليه وآله: انك لتأكل اكل العبد وتجلس جلوسه فقال لها: ويحك وأي عبد أعبد منى؟ فقالت إما فناولني لقمة من طعامك فناولها رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله لقمة من طعامه فقالت: لا والله الا إلى في من فيك قال: فاخرج اللقمة من فيه فناولها إياها فأكلتها قال أبو عبد الله عليه السلام فما أصابت بذاء حتى فارقت الدنيا.

22.Ibn Muskān said, and so did al-Ḥasan, “We heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘A foul-mouthed woman once passed by the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) while he was eating, and said, ‘O Muḥammad, you are indeed eating the food of slaves sitting as a slave would sit.’ So he (ṣ) said to her, ‘Woe be to you! And who is a more submissive slave [of Allah] than me?’ She said, ‘Then share with me a morsel of your food.’ So the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) gave her some of his food. She said, ‘No, by Allah. I want a morsel from your mouth to [enter] my mouth!’ So he took out a morsel from his mouth and gave it to her, and she ate it.” Abū ʿAbdillāh (a) said,“After that, she never uttered an obscene word until she left this world.”

فضالة عن عبد الله بن بكير عن أبي بصير عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام قال: كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله يقول في خطبته سباب المؤمن فسق وقتاله كفر واكل ماله معصية وحرمة ماله كحرمة دمه.

23.Faḍālah narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn Bukayr, from Abū Baṣīr, from Abū Jaʿfar (a) who said, “The Messenger of Allah (ṣ) used to say in his sermon, ‘Cursing a believer is transgression and fighting him is disbelief. Consuming his property [without permission] is a sin and his property is as inviolable as his blood.’”

حدثنا الحسين بن سعيد عن فضالة بن أيوب عن أبي المغرا * عن زيد الشحام عن عمرو بن سعيد بن هلال قال: قلت لأبي عبد الله عليه السلام انى لا ألقاك الا في السنين فأوصني بشئ حتى آخذ به قال: أوصيك بتقوى الله الورع والاجتهاد وإياك ان تطمح إلى من فوقك وكفى بما قال الله عز وجل لرسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله: فلا تعجبك أموالهم ولا أولادهم وقال: ولا تمدن عينيك إلى ما متعنا به أزواجا منهم زهرة الحياة الدنيا فان خفت شيئا من ذلك فاذكر عيش رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله فإنما كان قوته من الشعير وحلواه من التمر وقوده من السعف إذا وجده وإذا أصبت بمصيبة في نفسك أو مالك أو ولدك فاذكر مصابك برسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله فان الخلايق لم يصابوا بمثله قط.

1.Al-Ḥusayn ibn Saʿīd narrated to us from Faḍālah ibn Ayyūb, from Abū al-Maghrāʾ, from Zayd al-Shaḥḥām[1], from ʿAmr ibn Saʿīd ibn Hilāl who said, “I told Abū ʿAbdillāh (a), ‘I only get to meet you once every few years, so give me some advice that I can adopt [in the meantime].’ He said, ‘I advise you to be mindful of Allah, to espouse piety, and struggle [for the sake of Allah]. And beware of aspiring to the position of one who is above you. Indeed, what Allah, to Whom belong might and majesty, told the Messenger of Allah (ṣ) [about this] is sufficient: So do not be impressed by their wealth and children (Q9:55). And He said: And do not extend your gaze [yearningly] at what We have provided their groups of the embellishment of the life of this world (Q20:131). Indeed, if you fear any of this [happening to you] then recall the life of the Messenger of Allah (ṣ),

فضالة بن أيوب عن الفضيل بن عثمان عن عبيد بن زرارة قال: سمعت أبا عبد الله عليه السلام يقول: انى لأبغض رجل يرضى ربه بشئ لا يكون فيه أفضل منه فان رأيته يطيل الركوع قلت: يا نفس وان رايته يطيل السجود قلت يا نفس.

2..Faḍālah ibn Ayyūb narrated from al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿUthmān, from ʿUbayd ibn Zurārah who said, “I heard Abā ʿAbdillāh (a) say, ‘Indeed I dislike a man who seeks to please his Lord with something while not having anything better than it [to offer]. So when I see him prolonging his bowing I say: O [base] soul! And when I see him prolonging his prostration, I say: O [base] soul!’”[1]

حدثنا علي بن النعمان عن ابن مسكان عن سليمان بن خالد عن أبي جعفر عليه السلام قال: الا أخبركم بالاسلام فرعه وأصله وذروته سنامه؟ قلت بلى جعلت فداك قال: إما أصله فالصلاة واما فرعه قال زكاة واما ذروته وسنامه فالجهاد.

3.ʿAlī ibn al-Nuʿmān narrated to us from Ibn Muskān, from Sulaymān ibn Khālid, from Abū Jaʿfar (a) who said, “Should I not inform you about Islam: its branch, its root, its summit and its peak?” I said, “Yes, indeed, may I be your ransom!” He said, “As for its root [and foundation], it is prayer; as for its branch, it is zakāt (alms-tax); as for its summit and peak, it is jihād (holy struggle).”

حماد بن عيسى عن إبراهيم بن عمر اليماني يرفع الحديث إلى علي بن أبي طالب عليه السلام انه كان يقول: إن أفضل ما يتوسل به المتوسلون إلى الله الايمان بالله ورسوله والجهاد في سبيل الله وكلمة الاخلاص فإنها الفطرة وأقام الصلاة فإنها الملة وايتاء الزكاة فإنها من فرايض الله وصوم شهر رمضان فإنه جنة من عذابه وحج البيت فإنه منفاة للفقر وداحضة الذنب وصلة الرحم فإنها مثراة للمال ومنسأة في الاجل وصدقة السر فإنها تذهب الخطيئة وتطفى غضب الرب وصنايع المعروف فإنها تدفع ميتة السوء وتقى مصارع الهوان الا فاصدقوا فإن الله مع من صدق وجانبوا الكذب فان الكذب يجانب الايمان الا الاوان الصادق على شفا نجاة وكرامة الاوان الكاذب على شفا مخزاة وهلكة الا وقولوا خيرا تعرفوا به واعملوا به تكونوا من أهله وأدوا الأمانة إلى من أئتمنكم وصلوا أرحامكم وعودوا بالفضل عليهم.

4.Ḥammād ibn ʿĪsā narrated from Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUmar al-Yamānī who attributed the statement to ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (a), that he would say, “The best things through which the supplicants can entreat Allah are: faith in Allah and His Messenger, jihād in the way of Allah, acknowledgement of [His] oneness (kalimat al-ikhlāṣ) – for indeed it is something [that is embedded] in the innate nature (fiṭrah), establishing prayer – forindeed it is the [pillar of the] creed (millah), giving the zakāt (alms-tax) – for indeed it is part of what is obligatorily due to Allah, fasting in the month of Ramaḍān – forindeed it is a shield from His chastisement, pilgrimage to the House [of Allah] – forindeed it alleviates poverty and wipes away sin, maintaining ties with near of kin – for indeed it is a means of increasing one’s wealth and delaying one’s death, giving charity in secret – for indeed it does away with sin and extinguishes divine wrath, and [doing] good turns – for indeed they repel tragic death and protect [one] from falling into disrepute [and disgrace]. Ensure that you are [always] honest, for Allah is with the one who is truthful, and turn aside from falsehood, for indeed lies take one away from faith. Know that the truthful one is close to salvation and honor, while the liar is on the brink of humiliation and destruction. Speak [only] what is good and you will be known for it, act upon it and you will become one of its folk. Return the trust to the one who entrusted it to you, and keep ties with the near of kin and turn towards them in kindness.”