Noble Characteristics

1293- In Al-Mahasin it is narrated that Imam Sadiq (a.s) Said: "God the Almighty chose Islam as your religion. Therefore help Him well with generosity and good temper."
1294- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of Imam Sajjad (a.s): "One can recognize the perfection of a Muslim's religion by his not talking in vain, not quarrelling, being patient and being good-tempered."
1295- Imam Sadiq (a.s) Sadiq: "Being good-tempered is a part of religion."
1296- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "God chose the religion of Islam for you. Therefore treat it with generosity and good temper since no friendship with religion is better than generosity and being good-tempered."
1297- Imam Sadiq (a.s) Said: "There is nothing better than being good-tempered."
1298- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "Piety and having a good temper are the two most important factors in taking my nation to Heaven."
1299- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of the Prophet (a.s): "Good temper will melt your sins just as the sun melts frozen goods. Bad temper will spoil your deeds just as vinegar spoils honey."
1300- Imam Sadiq (a.s) Sadiq: "Being good-tempered will increase your share of daily bread."
1301- Imam Kazim (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "God who created some men with a healthy body and a good temper will be ashamed of letting them burn in the fire of Hell."
1302- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "They brought seven captives to God's Prophet (a.s). He ordered Imam Ali (a.s) to chop their heads off. Immediately Gabriel descended and said: "O' Muhammad! Chop off the heads of six of them, but leave this one alive." He asked: "O' Gabriel! What makes him superior to the others?" Gabriel said: "He is good-tempered, is generous and is generous with food." The Prophet (a.s) said: "O' Gabriel! Is this your own opinion or did my Lord say this?" Gabriel said: "No. It is your Lord's words which He ordered me to say."
1303- Imam Sadiq (a.s) told Bahr the water carrier: "O' Bahr! Being good-tempered eases the affairs. Do you want me to tell you a story that all people of Medina know?" He said: "Yes." Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "One day when the Prophet of God (a.s) was sitting in the mosque, one of the servants of one of the Ansar –helpers- stood next to him and grabbed his robe. The Prophet (a.s) stood up as a sign of respect but did not say anything. She did not say anything either. This was repeated three times, until the third time she took a string off his robe and returned. The people stopped her and objected to her behavior asking her what she wanted. She said she had been sent to take a string off the Prophet's robe as a blessing in order to cure a patient in their house, but she could not pick it because she got ashamed when the Prophet stood up. She did not want to ask him to do it either, but finally the fourth time around she picked the string."
1304- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "O' children of Abdul Mutalib! You cannot attract the people to you using your wealth, therefore use warm welcome and a good temper to attract them."
1305- Imam Baqir (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "A man's manliness depends on his temper."
1306- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "A man's prosperity depends on his being good-tempered."
1307- In Rauzat al-Vaezeen it is narrated that the Prophet of God (a.s) said: "Being good-tempered is half of the religion."
1308- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "Being good-tempered is the best form of goodness."
1309- Umm Salameh asked God's Prophet (a.s): "What happens when a woman who has had two husbands enters Heaven. Which of her husbands does she belong to?" The Prophet (a.s) said: "O' Umm Salameh! She will choose the one who had a good-temper and was better for his family. Being good-tempered is superior to all of the good deeds of this world and the Hereafter."
1310- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "A warm welcome brings love, and patience helps bury the faults. Getting along helps cover up the faults. Nothing but being good-tempered helps the people to get closer to each other."
1311- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "On Judgment Day, nothing holds more weight than being good-tempered."
1312- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "I advise you to be good-tempered, since those who are good-tempered will surely enter Heaven. Avoid being bad-tempered since whoever is bad-tempered is sure to go to Hell." The Prophet (a.s) always prayed: "O' God! Please make my temper good as you made my creation good."
1313- In Sifat ul-Shi'ia it is narrated that Imam Sadiq (a.s) told Zayd al-Shaham: "O' Zayd! Please be patient with your enemies. You cannot do anything better than to obey God in response to his disobedience of God regarding you. Godwill keep the believing servants whom He loves away from what he does not like, in the same manner that you push aside a strange camel which is not yours but has mixed in with your camels. O' Zayd! God chose Islam, and chose it so you help Islam with your generosity and good-temper."
1314- In Rauzat al-Vaezeen it is narrated that God's Prophet (a.s) said: "The best of the believers are the ones with the best temper."
1315- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "A bad-tempered person tortures himself."
1316- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Nothing is dearer to God than respecting the rights of a believer."
1317- In Al-Zuhd al-Nabi it is narrated that God's Prophet (a.s) was asked: "What is the best thing that is given to a man?" He said: "Good temper."
1318- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "A man went to see the Prophet and asked whose faith is more complete." The Prophet (a.s) said: "The one with the best temper." The man went in front of the Prophet and went behind him and repeated his question. The Prophet (a.s) said: "The answer is the same."
1319- Imam Baqir (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "If friendliness was a creature that could be seen, God would not have created any better creature than that, and if non-compliance was a creature that could be seen, God would not have created any uglier creatures than that. A servant can attain the position of one who fasts and stays up at night to worship through being good-tempered."

On Humbleness
1320- In Al-Mahasin it is narrated that Imam Baqir (a.s) said: "They brought the keys to the treasures on the Earth for the Prophet of God (a.s) three times without any reduction of his rank in Heaven by God. He chose humbleness to his Lord."
1321- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "There are three things by which God will only increase our good things: by humbleness He will increase our position; by humiliating ourselves He gives us honor; and by chastity He gives us wealth."
1322- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of his noble grandfather (a.s): "Being content to sit in a lower position in a meeting, greeting whomever you see, not quarrelling even if you are right and disliking to be praised for piety are all signs of humbleness."
1323- Ali ibn Sweed Madani asked Imam Kazim (a.s) about humbleness. He asked what deeds would constitute humbleness. Imam Kazim (a.s) said: "There are various degrees of humbleness. Some of them include to know yourself and peacefully accept your own position; to treat others as you like them to treat you; to be kind to others when others are not kind to you; to restrain your anger; and to forgive the people. God loves those who do good deeds."
1324- Imam Sadiq (a.s) narrated that when Ja'far ibn Abi Talib returned from Ethiopia he asked the Prophet of God (a.s): "Will you let me tell you something?" God's Prophet (a.s) said: "Yes." He said: "One day I went to see Naejashi. He was not wearing his official attire on that day, but I greeted him just as I would a ruler and said "O' king! Why is it that you are not seen in your official attire?" He said: "I have read in the Bible that whoever receives a divine blessing should thank God, and that nothing is better than humbleness as a form of being grateful to God. Since I heard that Muhammad (a.s) was victorious over the polytheists in Badr, I like to show my being grateful to God in this manner."
1325- Imam Baqir (a.s) narrated that once an angel riding al-Boraq1 and wearing a silk dress descended down to Earth for the first time and told the Prophet (a.s): "God the Almighty has given you the choice between being a servant and a Prophet, or a king and a Prophet, or humble." The Prophet noticed that Gabriel was pointing to being humble. He said: "I choose being a humble Prophet." The angel said: "Your ran-k near God will not be lowered as a result of this choice." Imam Baqir (a.s) said: "This angel carried the keys to the treasures on Earth."
1326- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Whenever Imam Sajjad (a.s) walked he would never put his right foot ahead of his left one (implying that he was very humble). One day he was passing by a few people who had leprosy and were eating food. He greeted them, and they invited him to eat with them. He accepted their invitation and said: "God does not like haughty people." He went to them, and since he was fasting he said: "I am fasting, but come to my house tomorrow." They went to his house the next day, and ate and the Imam (a.s) gave them some gifts." Some traditions state that the Imam (a.s) dined with them.
1327- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Luqman told his son: "O' my son! Be humble to God to be the wisest person. Indeed wise people are captives of God."
1328- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "There is no honor except for those who humiliate themselves for God, and there is no high rank except for those who are humble to God."
1329- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Whoever loves us and is not illegitimately born is a pure servant of God."
1330- In Rauzat al-Vaezeen it is narrated that Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Three things are the principles of infidelity: greed, haughtiness and jealousy."
1331- Imam Baqir (a.s) said: "Three things are back-breaking: overestimating one's deeds, forgetting one's sins and only considering one's own viewpoints."
1332- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "Kings are the most cruel people. The most disgustful people are the people who are haughty, and the lowest people are those who insult other people."
1333- Hassan ibn al-Jaham asked Imam Reza (a.s): "What is the ultimate limit of humbleness?" He said: "It is to want for others what you want for yourself." He said: "May I be your devoted servant! I want to know how I seem to you." He said: "Look and see how I seem to you."
1334- The Prophet of God (a.s) said: "God the Almighty revealed to David:" O' David! The closest people to Me in the Hereafter are those who are humble. The most distant people to Me in the Hereafter are those who are haughty."
1335- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "Nothing is better than being humble. No loneliness is more horrifying than being conceited. I am amazed at the haughty people. Earlier they were just a sperm, and soon in the future they will be a corpse."
1336- The Prophet (a.s) said: "Whoever is the least haughty or proud will not enter Heaven."
1337- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Imam Sajjad (a.s) walked as if there was a bird on his head. He never put his right leg ahead of his left one (this means that he was very humble)."
1338- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "On the Resurrection Day, haughty people will be placed under the people's feet as tiny objects until God gets done with reckoning."
1339- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God the Almighty revealed to David. Why are you so quiet?" David said: "Your awe has silenced me." God asked: "Why are you so slim?" He said: "Your love made me slim." God the Almighty said: "Why are you so poor?" He said: "Standing up for your right has made me poor." God the Almighty said: "O' David! Why have you humiliated yourself?" He said: "Your indescribable Majesty and Grandeur has humiliated me." God the Almighty said: "O' David! Now I give you the glad tidings that you will receive what you love the Day you meet Me. Associate with the people according to their own ways, but be separate from them in your religious issues. You will attain whatever you want from Me on the Resurrection Day."
1340- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "There are two guardian angels in the heavens for anyone. They will raise whoever is humble to God, and humiliate whoever is haughty."
1341- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Haughtiness is God's especial garment. Whoever fights with God over it will be thrown into the Fire face down."
1342- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Whoever is the least haughty will not enter Heaven."
1343- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God the Almighty revealed to Moses: "O' Moses, the son of Imran! Do you know why I chose you from among my servants to send revelations to and to talk to?" Moses said: "O' Lord! I do not know." God the Almighty said: "O' Moses! I looked upon my servants, and found no one humbler than you to Me. That is why I appointed you to reveal to and talk to." Imam Sadiq (a.s) added: "Moses never got up from praying before rubbing his right and left cheeks to the ground."
1344- In Al-Seyed Nasih al-Din it is narrated that God's Prophet (a.s) said: "There is always a guardian angel accompanying everyone. If you are humble to God the angel will raise your rank, and if you are haughty it will humiliate you."
1345- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "Whoever carries his own things is indeed avoiding haughtiness."

On Forgiving
1346- In Al-Mahasin it is narrated that Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "The following are among the noblest characteristics of this world and the Hereafter: forgiving one who oppresses you, establishing ties with one who cuts off relations with you, and being patient with one who mistreats you of ignorance."
1347- Imam Baqir (a.s) said: "There are three acts with which a Muslim attains honor: forgiving the oppressor, giving to the deprived, and establishing ties with the one who has cut off relations with him."
1348- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of the Prophet of God (a.s): "Forgive since it will cause you to attain honor. Forgive each other so that God honors you."
1349- Imam Baqir (a.s) said: "Getting sorry that you forgave is better and easier than getting sorry that you punished."
1350- Imam Baqir (a.s) narrated that a Jewish woman brought a piece of poisoned lamb for God's Prophet (a.s) to eat. The Prophet asked her why she had done that. She said she thought it would not harm him if he was really a Prophet, and it would kill him and thus free the people if he was a king. Then God's Prophet (a.s) forgave her.
1351- Imam Reza (a.s) narrated that the Prophet of God (a.s) asked a man who had bewitched him the reason for his action. The man said: "I knew that it would not affect you if you were a Prophet." Then God's Prophet (a.s) forgave him."
1352- One of the companions of Imam Reza (a.s) narrated that once when one of the servants of Imam Reza (a.s) escaped to Egypt, one of the people of Medina who was in Egypt recognized him and arrested him. He brought him back to Medina. They got to the house of Imam Reza (a.s) at night. Then the Imam (a.s) went to see him. When the servant moved to greet the Imam (a.s), Imam Reza (a.s) heard the sound of the chains with which he was placed under arrest. The Imam asked him who he was. The man from Medina said that he was the servant who had escaped. The Imam told the servant: "Go, you are free."
1353- Imam Sajjad (a.s) said: "If someone swears at you on your right side, and then goes to your left side and apologizes, accept his apology."
1354- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "Accept apologies, whether or not they are right. I will not intercede on behalf of anyone who does not accept an apology."
1355- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "If one of your Muslim brothers apologizes and you do not accept his apology, God will establish you a companion who will harm you."

On Generosity and Stinginess
1356- In Al-Mahasin it is narrated that Imam Baqir (a.s) said: "One is more generous with what is in the hands of others than with what is in his own hands."
1357- Imam Baqir (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "Heaven is the residence of generous people."
1358- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "A generous person is one who spends his wealth in the way of God."
1359- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Generosity is abstaining from what is forbidden, and being pleased with spending what you legitimately earn in God's way."
1360- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Any believer who is generous and good-tempered is always protected and guided by God until he enters Heaven."
1361- Imam Baqir (a.s) said: "A sinful but generous young man is dearer to God than a worshipping but stingy old man."
1362- Imam Sadiq (a.s) was questioned about the limits of generosity. He said: "It is to allocate the portion of your wealth that God has prescribed for spending in His way."
1363- Imam Sadiq (a.s) quoted on the authority of God's Prophet (a.s): "Generosity is a tree rooted in Heaven with its branches hanging over the Earth. Whoever grabs one of those branches will climb up it to Heaven."
1364- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "Abraham (a.s) was the father of all hosts. Whenever he did not have any guests, he would leave the house, close the door, and take his keys and go to look for some guests. One night when he returned home, he saw a man or someone similar to a man in his house. He asked "O' servant of God! With whose permission did you enter this house?" He said: "With the permission of the owner of the house." And he repeated it three times. Abraham (a.s) realized what had happened and praised the Lord. The guest said: "Your Lord has sent me to one of His servants whom He has chosen as His friend." Abraham said: "Please introduce me to that friend (of God), so I get to know him before I die." The man said: "You are that friend." Abraham asked: "Why?" He said:
"Since you never asked anyone for anything, and never turned down anyone who asked you for something."
1365- Imam Kazim (a.s) said: "How bad it is for someone to be asked for something and he says no."
1366- Someone asked Imam Musa ibn Ja'far (a.s) during his circumambulation of the Kaab عليه السلام "Let me know who is generous?" The Imam (a.s) said: "There are two implications for what you ask. If you mean to ask about the creatures, generous ones are those who pay what God has prescribed. But if you mean to ask about the Creator, He is always generous, whether or not He gives. Since if He gives you something, He has given you what does not belong to you, and if He does not give you anything, He has not given to you what does not belong to you."
1367- Imam Reza (a.s) said: "Generous people eat other people's food so that others eat their food, but stingy people do not eat other people's food so that others do not eat their food."
1368- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "A stingy person is one who is even stingy about greeting."
1369- Imam Ali (a.s) asked his son Imam Hassan (a.s): "O' my son! What is generosity?" He said: "It is giving freely during affluence and destitution."
1370- In Rauzat al-Vaezeen it is narrated that the Prophet (a.s) said: "Two characteristics are not proper for a Muslim: stinginess and being bad-tempered."
1371- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "Both stinginess and faith can never be present in the heart of a (true) servant."
1372- Imam Sadiq (a.s) was asked what the most suitable characteristics of a man are. He said: "Dignity without being awesome, generosity without demanding something in return, and attending to affairs other than worldly affairs."
1373- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "The gates of Heaven are open to the poor, and Mercy will descend upon the merciful, and God is pleased with the generous people."
1374- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "The most generous people are those who pay their alms tax. The most outstanding people are those who do not consider this world to be important. Stingy people have the least comfort. The stingiest people are those who are stingy about what God has prescribed."
1375- 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."
1376- Imam Sadiq (a.s) said: "God the Almighty approved of Islam as your religion, so combine it with generosity and being good-tempered."
1377- Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) said: "Stinginess is the cause of destitution, and cowardliness is the cause of deficiency. Be generous, but do not be a spendthrift. Give in charity in a reasonable amount, but do not be too stingy. Do not be shy to give a little amount of charity, since by depriving the poor from even a little amount will even end up in less for them. I am amazed at stingy people who rush into poverty from which they have escaped, and love self-sufficiency while they are seeking it, and live like the poor in this world while they are just as accountable as the rich in the Hereafter. Stinginess is the combination of all wickedness, and is what draws man to all that is evil."
1378- It has been narrated that Ameer al-Momineen (a.s) brought two captives to God's Prophet (a.s). He ordered both their heads to be chopped off. They chopped off the head of one of them, but when they wanted to chop off the head of the other one, Gabriel descended and said: "O' Muhammad! Your Lord sends greetings and says: "Do not kill this one since he is generous and good-tempered with his people." The Jewish captive whose head was about to be chopped off said: "Is this the Messenger from your Lord who is informing you?" The Prophet (a.s) said: "Yes." He said: "I swear by God that I have never taken anyone else's money even as much as one Durham. I have never turned away from participating in a war. I witness that there is no god but your God, and you are Muhammad, His Prophet." God's Prophet (a.s) said: "This is one of the persons drawn to Heaven by his generosity and good temper."
1379- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "A generous person is close to God, Heaven and the people, and is far away from the Fire (of Hell). A stingy person is far away from God, Heaven and the people, and is close to the Fire (of Hell)."
1380- Imam Sajjad (a.s) said: "The generous people are the masters of the people in this world, and the pious people are the masters of the people in the Hereafter."
1381- God's Prophet (a.s) said: "O' Ali! Be generous since God loves any generous person. If anyone comes to you who needs something, fulfill his needs. If he is not worthy of you, you be worthy of him."
1382- In Uyun Akhbar al-Reza it is narrated that Imam Reza (a.s) wrote to Imam Javad (a.s): "O' Abi Ja'far! I have heard that when you mount your horse and want to go out, the servants take you out of the small door so that no one can benefit from you. I want you to use only the large door, and carry bags of coins so that you can give some to anyone who asks you for anything. If any of your relatives asks you for help, give them no less than fifty Dinars. You can decide for yourself if you want to give more. If any of your aunt's daughters ask you for help, give them no less than twenty-five Dinars. You can decide for yourself if you want to give more. I want you to be raised in rank by God. Give in charity and do not fear getting poor."