1527- Mohammad ibn Abi Ameer narrated that Jesus, the son of Mary (a.s) was told: "O' Spirit of God! Can your Lord place the universe inside an egg without shrinking the world or expanding the egg?" He replied: "There is nothing God is incapable of doing, but what you want is impossible."
1528- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God has a rooster whose feet are on the Earth and whose head is in the sky under the Throne, with one wing in the East and the other in the West. It says: "My Lord is Pure and Holy. Whenever it sings, other roosters answer. So whenever you hear it, say "My Lord is Pure. He is a Holy King."
1529- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "The people are ordered to do right and forbidden to do evil, but God will accept the excuse of those who have an excuse."
1530- Imam Sadiq (a.s) narrated that his grandfather (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "God will reward anyone He has promised to reward for doing some deed, but He is free to punish anyone He will for doing deeds for which He has promised to punish."
1531- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God the Almighty created misery and prosperity before creating other creatures. Whoever is miserable, God will never make him prosperous, and whoever is prosperous, God will never make him miserable."
1532- Ali ibn Moqayreh asked Imam Sadiq (a.s) about Satan's partnership. He said: "Whenever you doubt in Satan's partnership, do not doubt in his partnership in a defective child's birth."
1533- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Whoever swears is not worried about what he says, since he is either born in sin or a partner with Satan."
1534- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "The people are like silver or gold mines. During the era of Ignorance there were no foundations for these mines, but in Islam there are foundations for them."
1535- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "When Moses and Aaron (a.s) went to Pharoah, there were no illegitimately born companions with Pharoah. If there were any, they would have ordered Moses and Aaron to be killed. But those who were present said: "Save Moses and Aaron and this forced Pharaoh to think about them." Then Imam Sadiq (a.s) placed his hand over his chest and said: "We are the same way. No one will rush to kill us unless he is born illegitimately."
1536- Imam Reza (a.s) said: "Avoid going to places that are with steep slopes or are hard to cross. Avoid following your selfish desires, since they are followed by wickedness."
1537- Imam Reza (a.s) said: "A believer is neither humiliated nor weak."
1538- Abi Baseer narrated that he asked Imam Sadiq (a.s) regarding the Almighty God's statement: "Save yourselves and your families from a Fire." [The Holy Quran: Tahrim 6:66] How can I save my family from the Fire?" Imam Sajjad (a.s) replied: "Instruct them to do what God has instructed to be done, and forbid them from doing what God has forbidden to be done. If they obey you, you have saved them from the Fire, and if they disobey, then you have performed your duty."
1539- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "When the following verse was revealed: "Save yourselves and your families from a Fire!" [The Holy Quran: Tahrim 66:6], a Muslim man sat down and started to cry. He said: "I am not even able to protect myself from the Fire, now I am ordered to protect my family from the Fire, too." The Prophet of God (a.s) said: "It suffices for you to enjoin the right and forbid the wrong for them in the same way that you do it for yourself."
1540- Ishaq ibn Am'mar said: "I heard Imam Sadiq (a.s) advise his women and family members: "Do not say the glorifications to God less than three times in your prayers. If you say them three times, there is nothing else that is better."

On Comfort
1541- In Al-Mahasin it is narrated that al-Halabi quoted on the authority of Imam Sadiq (a.s): "A believer will not be questioned about three things: the food he eats, the clothes he wears and the good woman who helps him and guards her chastity."
1542- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "There are three things which comfort a believer: a big house in which he guards his privacy and his bad states of health from the people, a good wife who assists him in the affairs of this life and the Hereafter, and a daughter or a sister who leaves his house either by death or through marriage."
1543- Al-Nufli narrated that God's Prophet (a.s) said: "Whoever starts his day with healthy eyes, ears and mind, and is secure from the ruler, and has his daily bread for that day, has been granted blessings that are better than whatever is illuminated by sunlight from the East to the West."
1544- Abdul Rahman ibn Abi Layla narrated that he was imprisoned along with Imam Kazim (a.s), and his hair was long. Imam Kazim said: "Cut your hair short. There are three things which one will never abandon doing, once he starts doing them. The first one is cutting his hair. Once he cuts his hair short and feels how comfortable it is, he will never again let his hair grow long. The second one is cutting short his robe. Whoever wears a long robe, and then cuts it a little to make it shorter will feel so comfortable that he will never again wear a long robe. The third one is related to marriage and divorce. Whoever divorces his free wife, and then marries a maid, will never again marry a free woman, since the maid expects very little and always obeys his orders. God the Almighty told the Prophet: "And thy garments keep free from stain!" [The Holy Quran: Mudaththir 74:4], This was revealed even though the Prophet's garment was clean. God just ordered him to shorten it a little bit."
1545- Imam Sajjad (a.s) said: "Some of the means of prosperity are to work in the same town that you live in, and have good friends, and have good children who are helpful. And one of the means of a man's misery is to have a wife who is conceited, and cheats him."
1546- Uthman ibn Mazoon told the Prophet (a.s): "O' Prophet of God! I have decided to castrate myself." He replied: "O' Uthman! Calm down. Castration among my people is achieved by fasting and praying." He said: "I place a lot of value on travelling." The Prophet (a.s) said: "O' Uthman! Wait. My nation's travelling is their presence in the mosques and waiting for prayers after prayers." He said: "I have decided not to have any meat."The Prophet (a.s) said: "O' Uthman! Give me a chance. I eat meat and like it. I will even eat meat everyday if I can get some." He said: "O' Prophet of God! May my parents be your devoted servants. I have decided not to use scent anymore." The Prophet (a.s) said: "O' Uthman! Wait a moment. I use scent and like good scents. It is one of my traditions and one of the traditions of the previous Prophets."
1547- Al-Nufli narrated that Imam Sadiq (a.s) said that God's Prophet (a.s) said: "Whoever has long hair should either keep it clean or cut it short. Whoever buys a pair of shoes should keep them clean or buy a new pair of shoes. Whoever keeps an animal or a pet should take good care of it so that it gets chubby. Whoever has a dress should keep it clean or buy a new dress."
1548- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Whenever there are more people who are sleeping than people who are not, more of those who are sleeping will succeed than those who are not."

On Blaming the World
1549- Imam Sadiq (a.s) narrated that Luqman told his son: "O' My son! Know that the world is short-lived and your life is even much shorter. Therefore you can only get a little out of this short life."
1550- Muhajir al-Asadi narrated that Imam Baqir (a.s) narrated on the authority of his father (a.s) that once Jesus (a.s) passed by a village in which all the people, the birds, and the animals had died. He said: "They have not died except due to God's wrath. Had they died one by one, they would have buried each other." The disciples said: "O' Spirit of God! Ask God to revive them so that they could tell us what they did so that we can avoid those deeds." Jesus (a.s) then called upon God. A voice from Heaven said: "Call them." At nighttime Jesus (a.s) went on top of a hill and said: "O' residents of this village!" Someone said: "O' Spirit of God! Yes." Jesus (a.s) said: "Woe to you! What were your deeds?" The man said: "Worship of false gods and love for this world, little fear of God, high ambitions, being delved in ignorance, and pleasure-seeking." Jesus (a.s) asked: "How did you love this world?" He said: "Just as a child loves his mother, and we got happy whenever it turned towards us and cried whenever it turned away from us." Jesus (a.s) asked: "How did you worship false gods?" He said:
"We followed those who committed sins." Jesus (a.s) asked: "What was your final end?" He said: "One night we were all healthy and went to sleep. But in the morning we were all in 'Havieh'". Jesus (a.s) asked: "What is 'Havieh'. He replied: "It is Sejjeen". Jesus (a.s) asked: "What is Sejjeen?" He replied: "It is mountains full of blazing fire that will burn us until the Resurrection Day." Jesus (a.s) asked: "What did you say?" He said: We said: "Return us to the world and we will be abstinent there.
But we were told that we were liars." Jesus (a.s) said: "Woe to you. How come you only talk with me?" He said: "O' spirit of God! They have fiery mouthpieces put on them and are in the hands of angry and stern angels. I am among them, but I am not one of them. When the punishment descended upon them, it overtook me too. I am now hanging over Hell by a very fine piece of thread, and do not know whether I will fall into Hell, or be saved from it." Jesus (a.s) faced his disciples and said: "O' Friends of God! Eating bread and coarse salt, and sleeping in trash yards is the utmost prosperity if it is combined with the prosperity of this world and the Hereafter."
1551- In Al-Mahasin it is narrated that Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Glory to God. He would not entrap those whom He loves in this world even if it was all filled with good things, and He would not save whomever He willed from this world if it was filled with evil."
1552- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "All evil is placed in a house and its key is love for this world. All good is placed in a house and its key is abstinence in this world."
1553- Imam Sadiq (a.s) narrated that Gabriel descended to the Prophet of God (a.s) and said: "Your Lord greets you and says: "I will convert all the deserts of Mecca to gold for you without the least reduction in your Heavenly ranks." God's Prophet (a.s) looked at the deserts and said: "O' Lord! I shall thank you on the days I am full, and I shall beg from you on the days I am hungry."
1554- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "What do I have to do with this world, and what does this world have to do with me? The story of me and the world is similar to that of a man who is riding on a hot day and reaches a tree. He takes a nap under the shade of the tree for a short while, and then goes on leaving the tree behind."
1555- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "You can read in Imam Ali's book that this world is like a snake which feels soft but has a lethal poison inside. Any wise man will avoid it, but ignorant children will be attracted to it."
1556- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of Imam Baqir (a.s): The story of a greedy man in this world is similar to the story of a silk worm. The more silk it winds around itself, the harder it will get for it to exit, until it finally dies in grief."
1557- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "What do I have to do with this world? The story of me and the world is similar to that of a man who is riding and reaches a tree. He rests under the shade of the tree for a short while, and then leaves the tree when its shade goes away."
1558- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God will make poor whoever spends his days and nights just worried about the life of this world, and will disrupt his affairs, and he will not get anything more than what God has established as his share of daily bread. But God will make self-sufficient in the heart whoever spends his days and nights just worried about the life of the Hereafter, and will settle his affairs for him."
1559- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "If the heart loses the love for this world even for a tiny bit, it has not been fooled."
1560- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Strengthen your religion as the people of this world strengthen their worldly life. This world is a witness through which we can recognize the depth of the Hereafter. Always recognize the Hereafter through the blessings of this world, and try to learn lessons from them."
1561- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "There are many who seek this world, but cannot attain it; and there are many who attain this world, but leave it behind. Let not seeking this world hinder you from performing your deeds. Always ask for this world from its Owner and the One who grants it. There were many who where greedy in this world but were knocked down by it. They were so involved with this world that they neglected to work for the Hereafter until their life was finished, and the time for their death approached."
1562- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "Money destroyed those before you, and it will destroy you too."
1563- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God has made His friends subject to being attacked by His enemies."
1564- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "The world is a prison for a believer and a cause of his grief. But it is the Heaven for the pagans, and is a source of comfort for them."
1565- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "The world is a prison for a believer. Are there any prisons in which there is any good?"
1566- Aban ibn Uthman narrated that a man complained to Imam Sadiq (a.s) about his hard life. The Imam asked: "How is it my fault? You have chosen it yourself." The man asked: "When did I choose it?" Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: " God offered you this world and the Hereafter. You preferred the Hereafter. In this world the believers are guests of the pagans. In this world you eat, drink, wear clothes and get married. But in the Hereafter, they will not eat, drink, wear clothes or get married. They will ask you to intercede on their behalf in the Hereafter, and you will not intercede for them. God the Almighty said that they would ask you: "Pour down to us water or anything that God doth provide for your sustenance" but they will be told that: "Both these things hath God forbidden to those who rejected Him." [The Holy Quran: Araf 7:50]
1567- Imam Sajjad (a.s) was asked: "What is the best deed for God?" He answered: "After recognition of God and His Messenger (a.s), no other act is better than hating this world. There are various forms of hating this world, and there are various types of sin. The first sin committed against God was conceit which was committed by Satan when he disobeyed God when he was ordered to bow down to Adam: "He refused and was haughty. He was of those who reject Faith." [The Holy Quran: Baqara 2:34] The next type of sin is greed which was committed by Adam and Eve (a.s). God told them:"And enjoy (its good things) as ye wish: but approach not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgression." [The Holy Quran: Araf 7:19] But although they did not need the fruit from that tree, they ate it and this greed remained with their offspring until the Resurrection Day. That is why the people (who are all the children of Adam) collect things that they do not need. The next type of sin is jealousy which was first committed by Adam's son when he killed his brother out of jealousy. Several things are derived from jealousy: love for women; love of this world; love to be a boss; love of comfort; love to talk; love for position; and love for wealth. There are seven characteristics all together, and they all share the love for this world. That is why the Prophets and the wise men after recognizing it have all said: "The love for this world is the root of all sins. This world is of two types: the world that is a means of our delivery to the Hereafter, and the damned world."
1568- Abi Jameeleh quoted on the authority of Imam Sadiq (a.s) that Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) wrote a letter to advise one of his companions: "I will advise myself and you to fear God, the God whose disobedience is not permissible, and there is not any one else on whom we can place any hopes, or can make us self-sufficient. In fact whoever feared God became honorable, strong, satisfied and their intelligence was raised above that of the people of the world. Their bodies are with the people of this world but their heart and intellect are attentive to the Hereafter. Their spiritual illumination of the heart has put out any love for this world that their eyes might have experienced. They recognize the forbidden things in this world and abstain from the doubtful things. By God they have even abandoned the purely allowed things in this world except for a little they are obliged to, and that being a piece of cloth to cover them. Even then they use the most rugged clothes, and the worst food they can get, and they do not place any hopes on them either. They only place their hopes on the Creator of the two worlds. Thus they will work hard, and strain their bodies until their bones can be seen and their eyes are filled with tears. God will reward them with physical and mental strength, and increase their reward in the Hereafter. Reject the lowest form of existence that is this world since love for this world will make you deaf, dumb, blind, and humiliated. Try to compensate during the rest of your life, since those who lived before you were ruined because they insisted on their high hopes, and their procrastinations, and then suddenly the time of death approached by God's order while they were negligent. Then they were placed in the coffin and dispatched to their dark and narrow graves and left their family and children. You leave the world with an attentive heart, having cut off hopes in the world and everyone in it, and go towards God with an unbreakable determination. May God help you and us to obey Him, and succeed in pleasing Him."
1569- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "The soul of one who does not get calmed by God's condolences will not get relieved from regretting in this world. His worries will increase and his fury will not be cured. Whoever does not recognize any blessings of God other than his food, drinks and clothing, is not really doing enough good deeds. His punishment will arrive soon."
1570- In Rauzat al-Vaezeen it is narrated that God's Prophet (a.s) said: "The similitude of this world and the Hereafter can be best understood from the following example. Consider dipping your finger into the sea. How much water sticks to your finger when you withdraw it from the sea1."
1571- Jesus (a.s) said: "The similitude of the world and the Hereafter is like that of a man with two wives. Whomever he pleases, the other one will get angry with him."
1572- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "The world is the house of those who do not have a house, and the capital of those who do not have any capital. Whoever collects it is not intelligent; and whoever follows lustful desires does not have any understanding. Whoever opposes the world has no knowledge of it. Whoever is envious of the world does not comprehend it, and whoever strives for it, does not have certitude."
1573- It has been narrated that the Prophet (a.s) recited the verse:"Is one whose heart God has opened to Islam, so that he has received enlightenment from God, (no better than one hard-hearted)?" [The Holy Quran: Zumar 39:22] and said: "When the light shines in the heart, it opens it and illuminates it." He was asked: "O' Prophet of God! Is there any sign with which this can be recognized." He said: "Abstaining from the world, and turning to the Hereafter, and being ready for death before it descends."
1574- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "O' world! Get away from me. Do you want to fool me? Or are you eager for me? You can never do that. Go and fool someone else. I do not need you. I have divorced you, and will never return to you. Life in you is short, and your problems are too many. Your ambitions are base. O' how little are the provisions for and how far is the trip; how great is the entrance place, and how rough is the place to sleep!"
1575- Imam Ali (a.s) said: "The world fools, harms and passes by. God the Almighty did not establish the world as a reward for His friends, or a penalty for His enemies. The people in this world are similar to a caravan having a short rest along the way, and the caravan leader suddenly hollers at them to depart."
1576- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "Being attracted to this world increases sorrow and grief, and abstaining form this world will comfort the heart and the body."
1577- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Whoever gets attached to this world has only grabbed continual grief, unattainable aspirations and unreachable hopes."
1578- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "I am amazed at the one who is stingy both when the world is running in his favor and when it is not. Charity will not affect the world running in your favor and neither will stinginess help when the world is not running in your favor."
1579- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) in one of his sermons said: "O' People! This world is an ephemeral house, but Hereafter is an eternal home. Therefore take something from this world which is your passage for your eternal home. Do not be impudent near those who know your secrets. Take your hearts out of this world before they take your bodies out of it. You live in this world but you are created for the Hereafter. The world is like a poison that those who do not know it will eat. Whenever one dies the angels ask: "What has he sent ahead?", but the people ask: "What has he collected?" Then now send something ahead that is noble and will remain for you. Do not leave anything behind that will be a burden for you. One who has been deprived of spending his wealth in the way of God is really the one who is deprived, and will be envious of those whose scale of good deeds and charity is heavy and get a good place in Heaven and safely pass over the Bridge to the Hereafter."
1580- Imam Reza (a.s) narrated that Jesus (a.s) told his disciples: "O' Israelites! Do not grieve about what you have lost of the goods of this world, as long as your religion is intact, just as the people (who are attached to this world) will not grieve over the loss of their religion as long as their world has remained intact."
1581- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Whenever the world favors someone it will even give him the goods of other people, and whenever it turns its back on someone, it will even take away his own goods."
1582- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "How can I describe a house (i.e. this world) which starts with hardship and ends in destruction. There is reckoning for the illegitimate things, and there is punishment for the forbidden things. Whoever gets rich in this house will become rebellious, and whoever gets needy will get sad. Whoever goes after this world will lose it, and it will go after whoever abandons it. Whoever looks at it will gain insight, but whoever looks for it will get blinded by it."
1583- God's Prophet (a.s) passed by an insane man and asked what had happened to him. They said: "He is insane." The Prophet (a.s) said: "His brain is injured. A real insane person is one who prefers this world to the Hereafter."
1584- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "O' Lord! Please anyone who believes in You, and witnesses to my Prophethood with (the reward of) meeting You. Ease your destiny for him, and give him a little wealth."
1585- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "The world appeared to Jesus (a.s) as a green-eyed woman. He said: "O' woman! How many times have you been married? She said: "Many times." He asked: "Have they all divorced you?" She said: "No. I have killed them all." He said: "Woe to your remaining husbands who do not learn any lessons from the destiny of your previous husbands!"
1586- Imam Baqir (a.s) said: "Consider this world to be like a place you have stopped and intend to leave after a short time. Or think of it like some property you have obtained in sleep, and you see nothing in your hand when you wake up. Whenever you see a dead person, assume it is you, and think that you have asked the Lord to return you to this world, and He has done so. Now act like a person who has seen the results of his actions."
1587- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God the Almighty told Moses: "This world is a punishment for Adam's mistake. I punished him by placing him in this world and, made this world cursed. Whatever is in this world is cursed unless it is for Me. O' Moses! My good servants abstained from this world according to the level of recognition they had of Me. The rest of the people got attached to this world due to their ignorance. There is no one who honors this world and his eyes get illuminated by it, and there is no one who considers it to be nothing and does not benefit from it."
Imam Sadiq (a.s) then said: "Try to remain unknown if you can. Do not be afraid of getting blamed by the people, since you will be praised by God. Ameer al-Momineen said: "There is no good in this world except for two people: those who add to their good deeds everyday, and those who compensate for their sins by repenting, but how do they know that their repentance is accepted? I swear by God that even if he prostrates so much that his neck breaks, God will not accept his repentance except through the friendship of us, the holy household (of the Prophet). Know that others who benefit from this world are those who respect our rights and hope to receive rewards through us, and are content with their food, clothing and head covering. In this affair they are fearful.
1588- In Uyun Akhbar al-Reza it is narrated that Imam Reza (a.s) said: "You cannot gather wealth unless you have real stinginess, long aspirations, extensive greed, cutting off from the relations of kin and preferring this world to the Hereafter."
1589- In Al-Sabr val-Ta'deeb it is narrated that Nasr ibn al-Sabah al-Balakhi narrated that someone complained to Imam Sadiq (a.s) of his needs. Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Persevere. God will soon make things easy for you." He was quiet for a while, and then faced that man and said: "Tell me how is the Kufa jail?" He said: "May God maintain your health. It is narrow and stinking, and the prisoners there feel bad." Then the Imam (a.s) said: "You are in a prison, too. Do you want a relief. Do you know that this world is a prison for the believers?"
1590- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "O' Lord! I seek refuge in You from this world, since this world prevents me from paying attention to the Hereafter."
1591- Imam Sadiq (a.s) narrated that Jesus (a.s) was passing through an arid desert with his companions. He saw some property left there without an owner. He looked at his companions ad said: "This is death. Walk past it." They walked past it, except for three. Two of them told the third one to go to a nearby town and buy them some food since they were hungry. Once he left, one of the two who had stayed told the other one that they would each get more share if it were divided only between the two of them.
The man who went to a nearby town to buy food told himself that it would be much better if he could get all that wealth for himself. So he bought some poison, and poisoned the food he bought for the other two. Once they saw him when he returned, they both jumped on him and killed him. Then they ate the food, and both died when they digested it. Jesus (a.s) once again passed by that place and saw that they were dead and that wealth was on the ground. He said: "Did I not tell you that this is death and you should pass by it!"

On Collecting Wealth and its Harms for a Believer
1592- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Nothing is worse than suddenly getting some property for a believer (since that will make him forget himself). Even worse than this is if his believing brother comes to him and asks to establish family relations through marriage, and he turns down his proposal by saying "No. We are richer than you are."
1593- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Nothing is more harmful for a believer than the wealth he obtains. Even worse is when someone comes to propose to marry your daughter, and you turn him down and say: I will not let him marry my daughter because he does not have any wealth."
1594- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Whoever is more attached to this world will be more regretful when he is about to depart from this world."
1595- Imam Baqir (a.s) narrated that Sa'd who was one of the people of Suffah was a poor, religious, and abstinent believer. He was really needy. He always accompanied God's Prophet (a.s) at times of praying, and did not leave him. The Prophet of God (a.s) who noticed his need and self-respect felt sorry, and once told him that he would help him if he could. Then Gabriel descended and gave the Prophet two Durhams and asked the Prophet to give the poor man the money and instruct him to do business with it and live with his God-given daily bread. Sa'd accepted the money. After the Prophet (a.s) finished the afternoon prayer, he told him to go after his business since he felt bad for him. Sa'd got up and left. He made a lot of profit from doing business and soon he got really wealthy. He bought a store near the Prophet's mosque and started to collect the profit of his doing business there. Whenever Bilal announced the call to prayer, the Prophet of God (a.s) went to the mosque but Sa'd did not do his ablution and prepare to pray. He was busy with his world.
The Prophet (a.s) told him: "O' Sa'd! This world has hindered you from praying." Sa'd said: "What can I do? I will lose my wealth. I have to stay here and attend to the deals I make when the customers come in and go out. Then Gabriel descended and said: "O' Muhammad! The wealth of this world makes one distant from the Hereafter. Ask him to return the two Durhams I gave you." The Prophet (a.s) said: "O' Sa'd! Will you not return the two Durhams to us?" Sa'd said: "Yes. I will even give you two hundred Durhams!" The Prophet (a.s) said: "No. I just want the two Durhams that I gave you." Sa'd gave him two Durhams." Then suddenly the tables turned around and Sa'd lost all the wealth he had collected and returned to his previous state."
1596- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God never gave someone thirty thousand Durhams for his prosperity. No one collected even ten thousand Durhams by legitimate means. Sometimes God combines this world and the Hereafter for some people. For example, when God gives some people their daily income and also enables them to perform a good deed. This is where both their world and their Hereafter is involved."
1597- Imam Reza (a.s) said: "There are certain duties for one who owns blessings: paying the alms tax; helping his believing brothers; visiting the relations of kin; providing the means of comfort for his family; etc." Then he said: "Sometimes I receive a blessing but cannot enjoy it unless I know I have fulfilled what is incumbent upon me regarding it."
1598- Imam Baqir (a.s) said: "God's blessings will not increase unless God's share of it increases."
1599- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "No believer got worldly gains through his expertise unless he lost some of his heavenly benefits."
1600- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God gave you this increased wealth to spend in ways ordained by God, not to save it."
1601- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God did not grant anyone a lot of wealth and later take him to Heaven, unless He reduced his benefits in Heaven."
1602- Imam Baqir (a.s) said: "We like wealth, and only use it in good ways. Whoever obtains a lot of wealth in this world will lose some of his benefits in the Hereafter. Whoever owns one hundred thousand Durhams is not one of our followers."
1603- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God will not grant any believers more than forty thousand Durhams since He wishes them well."
1604- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Whoever owns ten thousand Durhams is not one of our followers unless he gives charity from the back, the front, the right and the left."
1605- Imam Baqir (a.s) said the following regarding the following verse: "And there are those who bury gold and silver" [The Holy Quran: Tauba 9:34] "This applies to those who collect more than two thousand Durhams." It is said that the religious, knowledgeable men calculate their wealth every night, and divide -give away in charity- what is in excess of two thousand Durhams, and never keep more than two thousand Durhams."
1606- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "We are persevering, and our followers are even more persevering." The man who heard this did not like it and said: "How can your followers be more persevering than you are?" He said: "We persevere in what we know its ending, but they persevere even though they do not know the ending."
1607- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "Some people will come after you who will be tortured, killed, or enslaved for me. No one has seen such people even in the previous generations. Beware that whichever of them who has certitude in me and perseveres, and recognizes my nobility, will be of the same rank as I am in the Hereafter." Then he sighed and said: "They belong to us and we belong to them."
1608- Imam Sadiq (a.s) told Mufaz'zil ibn Amr: "O' Mufaz'zil! Abstain from committing sins, and admonish our followers to abstain from sins. I swear by God that there is nothing you face more than sins. I swear by God that whenever one of you gets ill, it is due to the sins that he has committed. Also if any one of you are is deprived of his daily bread and wonders why, it is because of the sins that he has committed. And if he gets oppressed by a king and wonders why it is due to the sins he has committed.
I swear by God that you will not be questioned about these sins in the Hereafter1."
1609- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "On the Resurrection Day God will apologize to a needy believer, just as a brother apologizes to his brother. God says: "I swear by My Honor that I did not make you poor to humiliate you. Push this curtain aside to see what I have given you instead." Then the man pushes the curtain aside and looks at what God the Almighty has given to him instead of this world and he will say: "There was no harm for me due to what You took away from me (in the world) considering what you have given me instead (now in the Hereafter)."
1610- Saeed ibn al-Musayeb narrated that God's Prophet (a.s) said: "O' people! There will soon come after me rulers whose rule is not possible except by force and murder. They will collect wealth through stinginess and greed. Whoever lives then and perseveres in the face of poverty, even though he can gain wealth from them; and perseveres in their animosity, even though he can attract their love; and perseveres in humiliation, even though he can attain honor from them; and this perseverance is all for the sake of God will be rewarded by God -the reward of fifty two martyrs."