Ways to Fight One's Faults

On One's Faults and Ways to Fight
them
1438- In Al-Mahasin it is narrated that Imam Sadiq (a.s) told someone: "They have made you your own doctor, and have told you what is wrong with you. They have taught you the signs of healing and have also guided you regarding its medication. Now let's see how you protect yourself."
1439- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Guard yourself since no one else will guard you."
1440- Imam Sadiq (a.s) told someone: "Get closer to your heart, and talk to it. Consider your deeds as your father whom you follow. And consider your own self as an enemy with whom you are at war. Consider your wealth as a loan you have to return."
1441- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Before you lose your soul, hinder yourself from what harms you. Try to free yourself from your selfishness just as you try to earn a living, since it is subject to your deeds."
1442- Imam Kazim (a.s) said: "Do not follow your selfish desires since it will ruin you. The cure is abandoning selfish desires."
1443- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Detecting your faults before you seek other people's faults is most beneficial."
1444- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "It is not proper for a believer to humiliate himself." Someone asked: "How would a believer humiliate himself?" The Imam (a.s) said: "He should not do something for which he will have to apologize later on."
1445- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God the Almighty has given a believer authority over all his affairs except for humiliating himself."
1446- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "It is not proper for a believer to humiliate himself." They asked him how he might humiliate himself. He said: "He engages in doing things beyond his power, and gets humiliated as a result."
1447- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "Whoever does not recognize his own level of abilities will be ruined. Anyone who thinks he is better than he really is has a mental defect."
1448- Imam Reza (a.s) said: "One of the Israelites worshipped God for forty years. Then he made a sacrifice but it was not accepted. He said to himself that it must be his own fault. God the Almighty revealed to him "Your blaming yourself was better than the forty years of worshipping."
1449- Imam Sajjad (a.s) said: "The best religious efforts are to watch what you eat and guard your chastity."
1450- In Rauzat al-Vaezeen it is narrated that God's Prophet (a.s) said: "God will make whoever blames himself more than he blames others immune from the fear of the Resurrection Day."
1451- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "The Prophet of God (a.s) sent a group of peoples to fight the infidels. When they returned he said: "Bravo! You did well in this holy battle, but your holy war is left." They asked: "What is the holy war?" He said: "It is fighting your own self."
1452- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "The best jihad is the one with your own self."
1453- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "If your knowledge can overcome your selfish desires, then it is beneficial. If you overcome your lust, Satan will even escape from your shadow."
1454- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "What I fear the most for my nation is following their selfish desires, and having high hopes. Selfish desires will make you deviate from the right path, and having high hopes will make you forget the Hereafter."
1455- In Tahzeeb al-Ahkam it is narrated that Ja'far ibn Hafs ibn Ghayath asked Imam Sadiq (a.s): "Is Jihad recommended or obligatory?" He replied: "There are four types of Jihad: Two types are obligatory; one type is recommended but it is performed as obligatory; one last type is recommended. The greatest jihad is fighting yourself trying not to commit any sins. This is obligatory. Fighting with the infidels who attack you is also obligatory. But the third type of Jihad is fighting against the enemies and it is obligatory for all people. If they abandon it, punishment will descend upon them. This type of Jihad is recommended for the Imam (a.s). At the most the enemies attack the people, and they will fight back. But the type of Jihad that is recommended is reviving the traditions. If you decide to establish a good tradition and make an effort in developing it, your deeds are of the best deeds since it is to revive the traditions."
1456- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "Whoever establishes a good tradition will be granted the reward of those who act according to that tradition until the Resurrection Day, without any decrease in the reward of those who act to it."
1457- In Rauzat al-Vaezeen it is narrated that God's Prophet (a.s) said: "Whoever possesses at least one or all of the following traits shall be protected by the shade of God on the Day when there is no other shade. He gives to the people from what he himself likes to have. He does not do anything unless he makes sure whether this will please God or raise His anger. He does not blame others for what he has not corrected in himself. Whoever tries to improve himself will never have a chance to seek the flaws of other people."
1458- Imam Sajjad (a.s) said: "The right of your self over you is to make it work in God's way."
1459- Imam Ali ibn al-Hussein (a.s) said: "O' children of Adam! As long as you watch over your soul, and you are worried about being accountable for your deeds, and fear of God covers you up as your underclothes do, you will be prosperous. You will die, and will be resurrected and questioned in front of God. Therefore prepare yourself for the reckoning."
1460- Imam Reza (a.s) said: "Whoever does not reckon his own deeds everyday does not belong to our nation. If he has done any good deeds, he should ask God to give him an opportunity to do more, and if he has done any bad deeds he should repent and ask God for forgiveness."
1461- In Al-Seyed Nasih al-Din it is narrated that Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "Your soul is always attracted to impoliteness, and you are supposed to be polite. One's self naturally opposes you, but you most try to prevent it from doing evil deeds. If you let yourself go, you will be a partner in the corruption that follows. If you aid your self in following selfish desires, you are a partner in spiritually killing your own soul."
1462- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "If you control yourself when you get pleased or angry, God will forbid the Fire to touch your body."
1463- Jameel ibn Dor'raj asked Imam Sadiq (a.s): "What should I do when I get afraid." Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Say there is no god but God" in such circumstances." Jameel reported that this helped alleviate his fear.
1464- Al-Sokuni narrated that Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Whenever your mind gets distracted during prayer, strike your left hand with your right hand and say: In the Name of God. By God! I rely on God. I seek refuge from the One who hears and the cursed Satan."
1465- Muhammad ibn Muslim narrated that Imam Ali (a.s) climbed up the pulpit and after praising God he said: "O' people! Indeed in the beginning sedition started from following selfish desires and innovations in religion, and from the men who praise those of their own ranks. If people acted to pure truth, then no wise men would be corrupted. But when you mix a little bit of truth with some falsehood, and act according to it, Satan will overcome his friends, and only those with a good background near God will be saved."
1466- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Avoid fighting with the seditious people. Their arguments will be invalidated with the passage of time. When their time is over, they will be busy with their deeds which will burn them."

On the Intellect
1467- In Al-Mahasin it is narrated that Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "When God created the intellect, He said: "Come forward." It came forward. Then God the Almighty said: "Go back." Then the intellect went back. Then God said: "I swear by My Majesty and Honor that I have not created any better creature than you. I will question through you, I will forgive through you, and I will reward through you."
1468- Imam Ali (a.s) narrated that Gabriel descended upon Adam (a.s) and said: "O' Adam! I have been appointed to let you choose one of the following three and let go of the other two." Adam asked: "O' Gabriel! What are they?" Gabriel said: "They are intellect, shame and religion." Adam said: "I will choose the intellect." Gabriel ordered shame and religion to leave, but they said: "O' Gabriel! We are appointed to accompany the intellect wherever it is." Gabriel said: "Do as you please" and ascended to Heaven."
1469- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "There is no use in a person who lacks the following five: religion, intellect, politeness, freedom, and being good-tempered."
1470- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "Whenever they admire someone for his good behavior, consider his good intellect since he will be rewarded according to his intellect."
1471- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "God does not love a weak believer who cannot resist."
1472- Imam Kazim (a.s) said: "God did not appoint any Prophets who lacked intelligence. Some of the Prophets were superior to others. The Prophet David did not let Solomon take his place until after he tested his intelligence. David appointed Solomon to take his position when he reached the age of thirteen, and he ruled for forty years."
1473- Imam Baqir (a.s) quoted on the authority of Imam Sajjad (a.s): "Whenever God decides to have something done, He will take away the people's intellect, and return it afterwards. Have you not heard the people say: "I was out of my mind when I did that!"
1474- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "There is a ruling in the Quran for whatever the people quarrel over, but the people's intelligence is not enough to realize it."
1475- Imam Reza (a.s) narrated that once when a mule bit and injured the Prophet of God (a.s), a group of the people of Quraysh went to visit him and said: "It should have been better if there were two or three of your servants next to you when you wanted to ride it." The Prophet (a.s) said: "When God the Almighty wants something done, He will place a curtain between man and his heart. When what He wished gets done, He will return the intellect to all the intelligent people."
1476- In Rauzat al-Vaezeen it is narrated that Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "The intellect is a sharp sword. Use it to fight with your selfish desires."
1477- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "The highest level of intelligence other than faith in God is expressing love for the people."
1478- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "God has divided the intellect into three parts. Whoever possesses all three is perfectly intelligent, but whoever lacks them lacks intelligence. They are: a thorough recognition of God, performance of one's duties to God, and good perseverance in carrying out God's commands."
1479- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "No less than five characteristics are distributed among the servants of God: certitude, contentment, perseverance, and gratitude, and intelligence which perfects them all."
1480- Imam Reza (a.s) was asked: "What is the intellect?" He replied: "Swallowing your sorrow, shrewdness with the enemy, and treating friends with kindness."
1481- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "The chest of the intelligent is his box of secrets. Nothing makes you more self-sufficient than intelligence. Nothing makes you more poor than ignorance. No inheritance is better than politeness. Whenever you hear some news, think about it. Analyze it rather than narrating it, since there are many who narrate but there are only a few who think. No wealth is more stable than intelligence, and no intelligence is better than management. An intelligent person should be a model in improving his living conditions, considering his Hereafter, and seeking pleasures that are not forbidden. God Has lent you the intellect and He will one day take it back."
1482- They asked the Prophet of God (a.s) about the intellect. He said: "The intelligent people are those who obey God and act accordingly."
1483- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "God the Almighty created the intellect from light which was hidden in His treasure of knowledge from before, and none of the appointed Prophets or nearby-stationed angels had any access to that treasure. He then established knowledge as its life, understanding as its soul, abstinence as its head, shame as its eyes, wisdom as its tongue, kindness as its concern, and mercy as its heart. He then strengthened it with certitude, faith, honesty, tranquility, sincerity, kindness, generosity, contentment, submission and perseverance. Then God ordered it to go back and it did. Then God ordered it to come forward, and it did. Then God ordered it to talk. It said: "Praise be to God, who has no one to oppose Him, no one to equal Him, no one to be like Him and no one to match Him- the One to whom everything is humble, and everything is in humility". God then said: "I swear by My Majesty and Honor and I have not created any creatures better, nobler, dearer, or more obedient than you. I am recognized to be the only One to be worshipped through you. I am called by you. I am the place for the people to turn to for hope through you. The people will fear Me and are cautious through you. Reward and punishment is given through you.
The intellect was proud of hearing these words and fell prostrate to worship. This prostration in worship lasted one thousand years. Then God the Almighty said: "Now raise your head, and ask Me to grant you, and intercede to be accepted by Me. Then the intellect raised its head and said: "I ask You to accept my intercession on behalf of any one who is intelligent." God, may His Majesty be Exalted told the angels: "Witness that I have accepted its intercession on behalf of anyone to whom I grant intelligence."
1484- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "The intellect of women is in their beauty, and the beauty of men is in their intelligence."
1485- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "Man's essence is his wisdom, and his intellect is his religion. We can recognize his manliness through what he engages himself in. Times change, but all the people are related to each other all the way up to Adam."
1486- Imam Baqir (a.s) said: "A man's esteem is due to his religion, manliness and intelligence."
1487- Imam Sadiq (a.s) has been narrated to have said: "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. Whoever can use his intellect to overcome his lust is better than the angels, and whoever whose intellect is overwhelmed by lust is worse than animals."
1488- In Elal al-Sharayeh it is narrated that Imam Reza (a.s) said: "One's intellect is his friend, and one's ignorance is his enemy."
1489- The Prophet (a.s) said: "O' Ali! Whenever the people seek to approach God with their good deeds, you should try to approach God with your intellect so that you get ahead of them. We, the Prophets of God, talk with the people according to their level of intelligence."
1490- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "I am appointed to talk with the people according to their level of intelligence."
1491- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "Do not be amazed at someone accepting Islam until you realize what he firmly believes in."
1492- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "There is a reward for any act, and the best reward is intelligence."
1493- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "God has not distributed anything better than intelligence among his servants. the sleeping of an intelligent person is better than a foolish person's being awake. God perfected the intellect of anyone He appointed as a Prophet, in such way that he was the most intelligent person in his nation, even though there might have been ones who tried harder than him to worship God."
1494- People were talking about the wealth of the Syrians and the poverty of the Iraqis in the presence of Ameer al-Momineen (a.s). He said: "Do you not know that one's intelligence is also counted as a part of his daily bread?"
1495- In Al-Zuhd it has been narrated that either Imam Baqir (a.s) or Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "When God created the intellect, He said: "Come forward." It came forward. Then God said: "Go back." Then the intellect went back. Then God said: "I swear by My Majesty and Honor that I have not created any creature better than you. I will question through you, I will forgive through you, and I will reward through you."
1496- Imam Kazim (a.s) said: "God created the intellect, then He said: "Come forward, and go back." It came forward and went back. Then God said: "I swear by My Majesty and Honor that I have not created anything better and dearer than you. I will question through you, and I will forgive through you."
1497- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Man's pillar is the intellect. Wisdom, understanding and knowledge are all rooted in the intellect, and are perfected by it. The intellect is man's guide, vision and key to his affairs. When man's intellect is certified by divine light, he will become understanding, wise, (a mental), guardian (of the Quran), and knowledgeable. Then he will know where he is, what he is and why he is there. He will know his friends and his enemies. Then he will know the way to live, to arrive and depart. He will sincerely confess to the unity of God and obey Him. Then he can make up for what is lost, and be in control of the future. He will know his position, why he is where he is, and where he has come from, and to where he is going. All these are certified by the intellect."
1498- In Al-Mahasin it is narrated that Soma'at ibn Mehran narrated that he and some friends of Imam Sadiq (a.s) were with Imam Sadiq (a.s) once when they started to talk about intelligence and ignorance. Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Get to know intelligence and its troops and ignorance and its troops to be guided." Soma'at said: "O! May I be your devoted servant. We know nothing except for what you teach us." Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God, Exalted is His Praise created the intellect. It was one of His first creatures which He created using His own light from the right side of the Throne. He then ordered it to go back, and it did. He then ordered it to come forward, and it did. God said: "I created you as a great creature, and honored you above all My creatures." Then God created ignorance and told it to go back and it did. Then God ordered it to come forward, but it did not accept. God said: "You rebelled." Then God cursed it. God then established seventy-five troops for the intellect. When ignorance saw God's grant to the intellect, it became its enemy and said: "O' God! You created it and honored it and strengthened it. It is a creature like me. I am opposed to it and have no power over it. So please grant me of the troops you grant it." God said: "OK I will, but if you disobey I will throw you and your troops out of the domain of My Mercy." It said it was pleased, and it was also granted seventy-five troops. The seventy five troops are as follows: Goodness is the minister for the intellect and evil is the minister for ignorance; faith for the intellect and infidelity for ignorance; acceptance for the intellect and rejection for ignorance; hope for the intellect and despair for ignorance; justice for the intellect and oppression for ignorance; contentment for the intellect and discontent for ignorance; gratitude for the intellect and ingratitude for ignorance; lack of hope (in God's Mercy) for the intellect and greed (in God's Mercy) for ignorance; reliance on God for intellect and greed for ignorance; kindness for the intellect and ruthlessness for ignorance; mercy for the intellect and anger for ignorance; knowledge for the intellect and ignorance for ignorance; understanding for the intellect and stupidity for ignorance; chastity for the intellect and vulgarity for ignorance; abstinence for the intellect and materialism for ignorance; kindness for the intellect and violence for ignorance; solemnity for the intellect, and insolence for ignorance;
humbleness for the intellect, and haughtiness for ignorance; calm for the intellect, and rush for ignorance; patience for the intellect, and being feeble-minded for ignorance; silence for the intellect, and being talkative for ignorance; compliance for the intellect, and conceit for ignorance; submission for the intellect, and being oppressive for ignorance; forgiveness for the intellect, and animosity for ignorance; amiability for the intellect, and ruthlessness for ignorance; certitude for the intellect, and doubt for ignorance; perseverance for the intellect, and anxiety for ignorance; pardon for the intellect, and revenge for ignorance; self sufficiency for the intellect, and poverty for ignorance; pondering for the intellect, and neglect for ignorance; memorizing for the intellect, and forgetting for ignorance; loving for the intellect, and enmity for ignorance; obeying for the intellect, and rebelling for ignorance; contentment for the intellect, and greed for ignorance; justice for the intellect, and injustice for ignorance; friendship for the intellect, and enmity for ignorance; loyalty for the intellect, and treachery for ignorance; humbleness for the intellect, and arrogance for ignorance; right for the intellect, and wrong for ignorance; health for the intellect, and affliction for ignorance; love for the intellect, and hate for ignorance; honesty for the intellect, and telling lies for ignorance; trustworthiness for the intellect, and treason for ignorance; sincerity for the intellect, and corruption for ignorance; bravery for the intellect, and stupidity for ignorance; understanding for the intellect, and ignorance for ignorance; recognition for the intellect, and denial for ignorance; putting up with other people's minor mistake for the intellect, and divulging other people's minor mistakes for ignorance; keeping other's secrets for the intellect, and divulging other's secrets for ignorance; hiding for the intellect, and divulging for ignorance; praying for the intellect, and neglecting (prayers) for ignorance; fasting for the intellect, and breaking fast for ignorance; engaging in Jihad for the intellect, and refusal to testify for ignorance; pilgrimage for the intellect, and breaking covenant for ignorance; keeping secrets for the intellect, and slandering for ignorance; being kind with parents for the intellect, and being cursed by parents for ignorance; truth for the intellect, and hypocrisy for ignorance; good for the intellect, and evil for ignorance; covering oneself for the intellect, and playing up a woman's charms for ignorance; covering up for the intellect, and making up oneself for ignorance; concealment for the intellect and divulging for ignorance; being fair for the intellect, and siding with the wrong for ignorance; making up for the husband for the intellect, and fornication for ignorance; cleanliness for the intellect, and filthiness for ignorance; shyness for the intellect, and taking off the clothes for ignorance; assuming a mediators position for the intellect, and aggression for ignorance; comfort for the intellect, and hard work for ignorance; easiness for the intellect, and hardship for ignorance; abundance of blessings for the intellect, and scarcity for ignorance; health for the intellect, and affliction for ignorance; reasonable wealth for the intellect, and hoarding for ignorance; wisdom for the intellect, and selfish desires for ignorance; dignity for the intellect, and humility for ignorance; prosperity for the intellect, and ruin for ignorance; repentance for the intellect, and insistence on sin for ignorance; asking for forgiveness for the intellect, and being too proud for ignorance; protection for the intellect, and neglect for ignorance; performing supplications for the intellect, and abandoning supplications for ignorance; joy for the intellect, and boredom for ignorance; happiness for the intellect, and sorrow for ignorance; intimacy for the intellect, and anger for ignorance; generosity for the intellect, and stinginess for ignorance. All the characteristics which are the troops of the intellect will only be present in the Prophet (a.s) or the Imams (a.s) or a believer who has tested his heart with faith. But other friends of ours have some of these and can slowly attain the rest and avoid the troops of ignorance. Then they will reach the high ranks of the Prophets and the Imams. This prosperity is only obtained by the recognition of the intellect and its troops and by avoiding ignorance and its troops. May God assist both you and us in obeying and pleasing Him."

On the Heart
God the Almighty said: "Verily in this is a Message for any that has a heart and understanding…" [The Holy Quran: 50:37]
1499- In Al-Mahasin it is narrated that Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Indeed the heart strives to seek God and gets calm when it finds Him." Then Imam Sadiq (a.s) recited: "Those whom God (in His Plan) willeth to guide, - He openeth their breast to Islam, those whom He willeth to leave straying, -He maketh their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies" [The Holy Quran: Anam 6:125]
1500- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said the following regarding the verse: "For every act of hearing, or of seeing or of (feeling in) the heart will be inquired into (on the Day of Reckoning)." [The Holy Quran: Bani Isra-il 17:36] The ear will be questioned about what it has heard. The eyes will be questioned about what they have seen, and the heart will be asked about decisions made."
1501- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of his noble father (a.s). "Nothing will corrupt the heart as much as committing sins. The heart will encounter the sins, and will continue until the sins overcome it. Then the heart will be turned upside down."
1502- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Talk with each other whenever you meet since it can keep your hearts alive."
1503- In Rauzat al-Vaezeen it is narrated that God's Prophet (a.s) said: "There is a piece of meat in our body whose health means the rest of the body is healthy, and whose illness means the rest of body is ill. It is the heart."
1504- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "There are three things which will make the heart perish: listening to vain talk; going hunting, and going to the door of the king's palace."
1505- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "There are four acts which corrupt the heart and develop hypocrisy as water helps a tree develop: listening to vain or obscene talk; going to the door of the king's palace, and going hunting."
1506- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "There are four acts which corrupt the heart and develop hypocrisy as water helps a tree develop: listening to vain talk; vain talk; going to the door of the king's palace, and going hunting."
1507- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "Four acts will make the heart perish: committing sins continuously; talking with women often; arguing with a fool since you talk with him but he will never be guided to the right way, and associating with the dead!" They asked him what he means by the dead? The Prophet of God (a.s) said: "All the rich who live in ease and luxury."
1508- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "Signs of ruthlessness are drying tears from the eyes, hardness of the heart, extreme greed in obtaining the daily bread and insisting on sins."
1509- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "Your hearts will get tired just as your bodies do. So seek the newest words of wisdom for them. Sometimes the heart turns towards you, and sometimes it turns away. Whenever it turns towards you, get it involved in performing the recommended deeds And when it turns away, just suffice with performing the obligatory deeds."
1510- Imam Baqir (a.s) said: "Nothing will corrupt the heart as much as committing sins. The heart will encounter the sins, and will continue until the sins overcome it. Then the heart will be turned upside down."
1511- The Prophet of God (a.s) said: "Whenever man commits a sin, a black spot will form on his heart which will not be removed unless he asks for God's forgiveness and repents. If he continues to commit sins, that black spot will continue to grow. This is the "stain" which God the Almighty mentions in the Quran: "By no means! But on their hearts is the stain of (ill) which they do!" [The Holy Quran: Tatfif 83:14]
1512- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "The tears do not dry up except through hardness of the heart, and the hearts do not turn hard except by committing a lot of sins."
1513- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "There is a mine for everything. And the mine for piety is the hearts of the sages."
1514- Luqman told his son: "O' my son! Sit close to the scientists and associate with them since God revives the hearts with the light of wisdom, just as He revives the Earth with water."
1515- Al-Hassan ibn Muhammad al-Soofi al-Sarvi quoted on the authority of his teachers that God's Prophet (a.s) said: "Keep yourself hungry, your faces uncovered, your hair not made up, and be sad. Associate less with the people and more with God. Then you may see God through your hearts."
1516- In Uyun Akhbar al-Reza it is narrated that Imam Reza (a.s) said: "On the day when the hearts will perish, the hearts of those who attend meetings in which our affairs are revived will not perish."
1517- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Approaching God is more efficient through the heart than the body, since spiritual motions are more efficient than physical motions."

On privacy and Seclusion
1518- In Al-Mahasin it is narrated that Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Seclusion is a form of worship, but staying at home is a man's smallest fault."
1519- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God will take whoever imprisons his own self for the sake of God to Heaven."
1520- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "The Almighty God revealed to one of the Prophets of the Israelites: "If you wish to see Me in Paradise in the Hereafter, be lonely, sad, fear the people as a bird which flies over dry land and eats the top of branches and drinks from the springs and goes to its nest at night, and does not seek refuge in the nests of other birds. It is accustomed to its Lord and fears other birds."
1521- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "God, whose Majesty is Exalted revealed to the world: Put whoever serves you in hardship; serve whoever abandons you. Whenever one sits in the privacy of the night and prays to and calls on his Master, God will illuminate his heart. Whenever he says: "O' Lord!" God whose Majesty is Exalted will respond to him and say: "O' My servant! I heard you. Ask Me for whatever you want. I will grant it to you. Rely on Me, and I will suffice you." Then the One whose Majesty is exalted tells the angels: "O' My angels! Notice My servant who is having a private time with Me in the darkness of this night, while the rogues are having fun, and the ignorant people are asleep. Witness that I have created him." Then God's Prophet (a.s) said: "Fear God and strive to worship. Abstain from this world which abstains from you. The world is tricky, transient and ephemeral. Many are fooled by it and get ruined. The world was treacherous to many who trusted it. The world tricked many who relied on it. The world forced them to submit to it. Beware that you have an awesome path to go on, and a long trip to make before you can cross the Bridge to the Hereafter. A traveler should pick up the necessary things for his trip. Whoever does not, will suffer hardships. The best thing to pick up for the trip to the Hereafter is piety."
1522- Imam Reza (a.s) narrated that once when Imam Sajjad (a.s) was walking, he ran into a man who was praying to God to grant him perseverance. Imam Sajjad (a.s) told him: "Do not ask for this. Ask God for health, and success in thanking Him for your health, since thanking for being healthy is better than perseverance in the face of trouble. The Prophet of God (a.s) prayed this way: "O' God! I ask You for health, and thanking for being healthy. I ask You for perfect health in this world and the Hereafter."
1523- In Al-Nabowat it is narrated that Ins ibn Malik narrated that Abdullah ibn Salam asked God's Prophet (a.s) about the Prophet Shuhaib. He said: "He is the one who gave the people the glad tidings of my Prophethood, and the Prophethood of my (believing) brother, Jesus, the son of Mary. God told Shuaib: "Rise in your nation and talk to them in your own tongue. When he rose, God opened his tongue with revelations. One of the things that God the Almighty told the people of Shuaib was: "How do they pray? While this act is just plain talk, and is void of action. On the Day that I created the Heavens and the Earth, I established the Prophethood of the Prophets, and established rule in supplications. I established honor in the men who sit on the dirt, and power in the weak and self-sufficiency in the poor."
On Facts and Chastity
1524- In Al-Mahasin it is narrated that Sofyan ibn Oyeene narrated that Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "I found the people's knowledge in four areas: to know God, to know what He has done with you; to know what He expects of you; and to know what will deviate you from your religion."
1525- Abi Basir narrated that Imam Sadiq (a.s) said the following regarding God's statement: "They take their priests and their anchorites to be their Lords in derogation of God." [The Holy Quran: Tauba 9:31], "I swear by God that they did not pray or fast for them, but they turned the lawful into forbidden, and the forbidden into lawful, and followed it."
1526- Imam Baqir (a.s) said: "Do not take any intimate friend but God. Are you not believers? In fact any tools, relations, relatives, intimate friends, innovations, traditions, or doubts are useless just like dust on a finished surface which is washed off easily with rain, except for what the Quran has proved."