From al-Nawfali, from al-Sakuni, from Abu Abdillah (AS), from his forefathers, from Ali (AS), who said: Three things bring salvation: that you restrain your tongue, that you weep over your sin, and that your own house suffices you. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 4)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Three things deliver you: that you guard your tongue; that you be mindful of your faults and weep over them; and that you be able to bear remaining at home.
Abdullah ibn Maymun al-Qaddah, from Ja'far, from his father, from Abdullah ibn Ja'far, who said: My uncle Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) said to me: Shall I not bestow upon you as a gift certain words which, by God, I have related neither to al-Hasan nor to al-Husayn? When you have a need of God whose fulfilment you desire, say: There is no god but God, the Forbearing, the Generous; there is no god but God, the Exalted, the Mighty; glory be to God, Lord of the seven heavens and all that is in them, and Lord of the Mighty Throne; and praise be to God, Lord of the worlds. O God, I ask of You, for You are a Sovereign All-Powerful and You have power over all things, and whatever You will of anything comes to be. Then ask for your need. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 34)
Abdullah ibn Ja'far al-Tayyar, the husband of Zaynab al-Kubra, relates that one day my uncle Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: As a gift I shall teach you a supplication that I have not until now taught to my two sons, al-Hasan and al-Husayn. If you have a need and its fulfilment matters to you, pray thus: There is no god but God, the Forbearing, the Generous; there is no god but God, the Exalted, the Mighty; glory be to God, Lord of the seven heavens and all that is in them, and Lord of the Mighty Throne; and praise be to God, Lord of the worlds. O God, I ask of You, for You are a Sovereign All-Powerful and You have power over all things, and whatever You will of anything comes to be. Then utter your need and ask it of God.
From Salam al-Mada'ini, from Jabir al-Ju'fi, from Muhammad ibn Ali: The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: The muezzin who calls the prayer seeking only God's reward is like one who draws his sword in the way of God and fights between the two battle lines. And he said: Whoever gives the call to prayer for seven years seeking only God's reward will come on the Day of Resurrection with no sin upon him. And the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: When the ghouls take shape before you, give the call to prayer. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 48)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: A muezzin who gives the call to prayer for God's sake is like a warrior who has drawn his sword in the way of God. And he said: Whoever serves as muezzin for seven years will enter Paradise. And he said that the Messenger of God (PBUH) used to say: Whenever you encounter a ghoul, give the call to prayer. (According to the traditions, the ghoul is a kind of jinn dwelling in the deserts and ruins, able to take various shapes. It lures human beings astray, and when they are alone it carries them off and, after a period of captivity, kills them.)
From Abu Basir, from Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: My father related to me, from my grandfather, from his forefathers, from Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), who said: Standing in prayer by night is health for the body, the good pleasure of the Lord, an adherence to the character of the prophets, and an exposing of oneself to [God's] mercy. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 53)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Worship by night brings health of body, the good pleasure of the Lord, and the acquiring of the character of the prophets. To rise at night in prayer is to place oneself in the path of God's mercy.
From Jabir, who said: Ali (AS) used to say: Ask much of God and supplicate much on Friday, for in it are hours in which supplication and petition are answered — so long as you do not pray for the severing of kinship, or for an act of disobedience, or for undutifulness to parents. And know that good and evil are both multiplied on Friday. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 58)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Supplicate much and ask much of God on Friday, for there is an hour on Friday in which supplication is certainly answered — except a supplication for the severing of a bond, or for something sinful, or tending to the distress of one's parents. And know that on Friday the effect of both good and evil deeds is doubled.
From Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: The remembrance of us, the People of the Household, is a healing from the whisperings of doubt, and love of us is the good pleasure of the Lord, Blessed and Exalted. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 62)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Remembrance of us, in whatever form it takes, is a healing of the heart from whispering doubts, and love of us brings about God's good pleasure.
Musa ibn Ja'far, from Ali (AS), who said: Three things bring ruin: breaking a pledge, abandoning the sunna, and separating from the community. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 94)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Three things bring destruction: going back on one's word and agreement, abandoning the religious sunna, and withdrawing from the community of the believers.
Salim al-Kindi, from one who related to him, from Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: When Ali (AS) was among you and mounted the pulpit, he used to say: It behoves the Muslim to shun brotherhood with a liar, for no life with him is pleasant. He carries your words to others and brings others' words to you; whenever one tale is exhausted, he stretches it out with another, so that even when he tells the truth he is not believed. He carries reports from some people to others, earning enmity between them and making rancour grow in their breasts. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 117)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: A Muslim must beware of friendship with a liar, for he reports news of you to others and news of others to you, and makes life bitter and grievous for you. Moreover, whenever he picks up a report he joins it to another report in order to prove that he speaks the truth, when in fact he does not. And he carries reports from one group to another and, whether he intends it or not, creates enmity between them and sows the seed of rancour in hearts.
From Abdullah ibn Yahya, who said: I heard Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) say: The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: As for the two sons of Fatima, the righteous and the wicked alike share in loving them; but it has been decreed for me that no unbeliever shall love me and no believer shall hate me — 'and he who fabricates has failed' [Qur'an 20:61]. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 151)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) said to me that the sons of Fatima are at times loved by everyone; but as for you, O Ali, no unbeliever can love you and no believer can hate you.
Ali ibn Sayf said: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Take wisdom even from among the polytheists. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 230)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Learn wisdom, even from the polytheists.
From al-Husayn ibn Yazid al-Nawfali, from Ali ibn Sayf, who traced it back: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) was asked: Who is the most knowledgeable of people? He said: He who joins the knowledge of others to his own knowledge. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 230)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: The most learned of people is the one who continually learns from others and adds to his own knowledge.
From Sulayman ibn Ja'far al-Ju'fi, from a man, from Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: Ali (AS) used to say: It is among the rights of the scholar that you not press him with too many questions and not tug at his garment; that when you come in to him and there are people with him, you greet them all and single him out with a special salutation; that you sit before him and not behind him; that you do not wink with your eyes or point with your hand; that you do not say repeatedly 'so-and-so said' and 'so-and-so said', contradicting his words; and that you do not grow weary of long company with him. For the likeness of the scholar is the likeness of the palm tree: you wait beside it for something to fall to you from it. The scholar's reward is greater than that of the one who fasts, keeps vigil in prayer and fights in the way of God; and when a scholar dies, a breach is opened in Islam which nothing will close until the Day of Resurrection. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 223)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Among the rights of the scholar is that you do not ask him too many questions and do not tug at his garment; and whenever you come in to him and a group is with him, greet them all and single him out among them with a special salutation. Sit facing him and do not sit behind him. Do not wink, and do not gesture with your hand. Do not talk on at length, saying that such a one and such a one have said the contrary of your view; and do not grow weary of long sitting in his company, for the scholar is like the date palm: you must wait until something falls to you from it. The reward of the scholar is greater than that of one who fasts, keeps vigil by night and strives in the way of God; and whenever a scholar departs this world, a breach opens in Islam which nothing will repair until the Day of Resurrection.
From one of our companions, who traced it back: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: When you sit with a scholar, be more eager to listen than to speak; and learn to listen well just as you learn to speak well; and do not cut off anyone's speech. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 233)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Whenever you sit with a scholar, be more eager to listen than to speak; learn to listen well, just as you learn to speak well; and never cut short the words and speech of anyone.
From him, from his father, traced back: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said in one of his sermons: O people, ask God for certainty and turn eagerly to Him for well-being, for the most sublime of blessings is well-being, and the best thing that abides in the heart is certainty. The one truly cheated is he who is cheated of his religion, and the one truly to be envied is he who is granted certainty. He said: And Ali ibn al-Husayn (peace be upon them both) used to sit long after the sunset prayer, asking God for certainty. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 248)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: O people, ask God for certainty and hasten to His door for well-being. The greatest of blessings is this well-being, and the best thing a person can be granted is certainty. Whoever is lacking in certainty has been cheated, and whoever possesses certainty is to be envied. The narrator says: Imam al-Sajjad (AS) used to remain sitting on his prayer mat after the sunset prayer, asking God for certainty.
From al-Sakuni, from Abu Abdillah (AS), from his forefathers, from Amir al-Mu'minin (AS), who said: The most excellent worship of the believer is awaiting the relief that comes from God. (al-Mahasin, vol. 1, p. 291)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: The most excellent act of worship of the believer is to await the relief that comes from God.
From al-Asbagh ibn Nubata, who said: The people were reviling this creature that appears in foodstuffs, so Ali (AS) said: Do not revile it; for by Him in whose hand is my soul, were it not for this creature, they would hoard their food away just as they hoard gold and silver. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 316)
When Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) heard the people cursing the insects that spoil grain and foodstuffs, he said: Were it not for these, you would hoard up food as you hoard gold and silver and hide it from one another.
From Abu Jamila, from Thuwayr ibn Abi Fakhita, from his father, who said: Ja'da ibn Hubayra used to send me to Sura. I mentioned this to Abu al-Hasan Ali (AS), and he said: I shall teach you words which, if you say them, no lion will harm you: 'I take refuge in the Lord of Daniel and of the pit from the evil of this lion' — three times. He said: So I set out, and there was the lion, stretching out its forelegs by the bridge. I said the words and it did not come at me. Then some cows passed by and it went for them and struck down one of the cows. And I heard someone else saying: O God, Lord of Daniel and of the pit, turn it away from me. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 368)
The narrator relates: Ali's nephew sent me on an errand to the region of Sura. I told Ali (AS) that I was setting out for there. He said: If you see a lion, say three times: I take refuge in the God of Daniel and of the pit from the evil of this lion. If you do so, the lion will not trouble you. He says: I set out, and when I reached the bridge, a lion was lying there. I said that formula of refuge, and it did not trouble me, so I passed on. After me some cows came to cross the bridge, and the lion made for them and tore one of them apart. In the midst of that commotion I heard a voice saying the same words: O God of Daniel and of the pit, turn the lion away from me.
From Jabir, from Abu Ja'far (AS), who said: Ali (AS) used to say: We are a Household who have been commanded to feed food, to give shelter in times of misfortune, and to pray when the people are asleep. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 387)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: We are commanded to feed the people, to be a balm for their pain, and to commune intimately with God while they are asleep.
From Ya'qub ibn Shu'ayb, from Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: While Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) was in al-Rahba with a number of his companions, a tray with a dish of faludhaj was presented to him as a gift. He said to his companions: Stretch out your hands. So they stretched out their hands, and he stretched out his hand and then withdrew it. They said: O Commander of the Faithful, you bade us stretch out our hands and we did so, and you stretched out your hand and then withdrew it. He said: I remembered that the Messenger of God (PBUH) never ate this, so I was loath to eat it. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 410)
The narrator says: We were with Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) in al-Rahba, a fortress west of the Euphrates, when a tray of faludhaj was brought to us. He said: Stretch out your hands — and he too stretched out his hand. But a moment later he drew his hand back and refrained from eating. We asked: Why did you do so? He said: I remembered that the Messenger of God (PBUH) did not eat delicacies, and so I do not care to eat them either.
From al-Harith al-A'war, who said: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) came to me and I said to him: O Commander of the Faithful, enter my house. He said: On the condition that you withhold from me nothing of what is in your house, and that you put yourself to no trouble over anything from beyond your door. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 415)
The narrator says: One day Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) was about to be my guest, and he made it a condition, saying: Withhold from me nothing of the food of your house, and do not put yourself to trouble to procure anything for me from outside.
From Ibn al-Qaddah, from Abu Abdillah (AS), from his father, from Ali (AS), who said: When the food has been set out and a beggar comes, he is not to be turned away. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 423)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: When the table is spread with food and a beggar comes, he must not be turned away.
From Ibn Muslim, from Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Remember God much over your food and do not chatter idly at it, for it is a blessing from God. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 434)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: At the table remember God much and do not speak idle words, for you are God's guests.
From Abdullah al-Arrajani, from Abu Abdillah (AS), from his forefathers (peace be upon them), who said: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: I have never suffered indigestion. He was asked: And why is that? He said: Because I have never raised a morsel to my mouth without mentioning God's name over it. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 438)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: No food ever lay heavy on my stomach, because with every single morsel I remembered God.
From Abu Hafs al-Abban, from Abu Abdillah (AS), from his forefathers, from Ali (AS), who said: When one of you finds a person's temper turned foul, call the whole adhan into his ear. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 466)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: If someone's temper turns foul, give the call to prayer in his ear.
From Abd al-Rahman al-Azrami, from Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: Ali (AS) disliked the habitual eating of meat and used to say: It has a craving to it like the craving for wine. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 469)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said that Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) did not consider addiction to meat a good thing, and used to say that meat too has a heaviness and a baneful hold, like wine.
Shu'ayb, from Abu Basir, traced back: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Eating fish wastes away the body. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 476)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Fish causes leanness of body.
From al-Asbagh, from Ali (AS), who said: One of the prophets complained to God of the scarcity of offspring in his community. God commanded him to bid them eat eggs. They did so, and offspring became plentiful among them. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 481)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: One of the prophets complained to God of having few children. God commanded him to eat eggs. He did so, and his offspring became many.
From al-Sakuni, from Ja'far, from his father, from Ali (AS), who said: No house is destitute whose people take vinegar and olive oil as their relish; and that is the relish of the prophets. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 482)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: A household in which much vinegar and olive oil is eaten keeps poverty at a distance. These two were the food of the prophets.
Zayd ibn al-Hasan said: I heard Abu Abdillah (AS) say: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) was of all people the most like the Messenger of God (PBUH) in his food: he used to eat bread, vinegar and olive oil, and he used to feed the people bread and meat. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 483)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: The food of Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) was like the food of the Messenger of God (PBUH): he himself constantly ate bread, vinegar and oil, while he gave the people bread and meat.
From Abu Basir, from Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: What an excellent relish is vinegar; it breaks the bile and revives the heart. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 486)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: The best thing to eat with bread is vinegar; it reduces the body's bile and revives the heart.
From al-Sakuni, from Abu Abdillah (AS), from his father, from Ali (AS), who said: Cow's butterfat is a healing. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 498)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Cow's butterfat is a healing.
From Muhammad ibn Muslim, from Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Taking honey is a healing from every disease. God Most High has said: 'There comes forth from their bellies a drink of varying colours, in which there is healing for people' [Qur'an 16:69]. And honey, together with the recitation of the Qur'an and the chewing of frankincense, removes phlegm. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 498)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Honey is a healing for all illnesses, and together with frankincense it settles phlegm. And he said: When you eat honey, recite: 'There comes forth from their bellies a drink of varying colours, in which there is healing for people' [Qur'an 16:69].
From al-Nawfali, from al-Sakuni, from Abu Abdillah (AS), from his father, from Ali (AS), who said: Eating lentils softens the heart and quickens the tears. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 504)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Lentils bring tenderness of heart and readiness of tears. (Explanation: that is, they remove hard-heartedness and cruelty. In three traditions in the book al-Kafi it is stated explicitly that what is meant by 'lentils' in the traditions is split peas, or himmas, which is a product of the chickpea, and not the lentil commonly known.)
From Hanan, who said: I was with Abu Abdillah (AS) at the table, and he turned to the green herbs, while I abstained from them because of an ailment I had. He turned to me and said: O Hanan, do you not know that no tray or morning meal was ever brought to Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) without green herbs upon it? I said: And why was that, may I be your ransom? He said: Because the hearts of the believers are green, and so they incline towards their own likeness. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 507)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) used to say that whatever food was brought to him, green herbs should be brought with it. Indeed, the heart of the believer is verdant and inclines towards greenery.
From Fatima the daughter of Ali, from Umama the daughter of Abu al-As ibn al-Rabi', whose mother was Zaynab the daughter of the Messenger of God (PBUH), who said: Amir al-Mu'minin loved truffles. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 527)
The narrator says: Mushrooms were a food beloved to Amir al-Mu'minin (AS).
From Muhammad ibn Muslim, from Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Eat dates, for in them is a healing from ailments. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 533)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Eat dates, for they are a healing for ailments.
From Uthman, from Sama'a, from Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: When Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) ate a pomegranate, he would spread a cloth beneath it. He was asked about this and said: Because in it there are seeds from Paradise. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 541)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: When Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) ate a pomegranate, he would spread out a cloth so that not a single seed of it should be lost, and he used to say: In every pomegranate there are seeds from Paradise.
From Umm Rashid, the freedwoman of Umm Hani, who said: I was a young servant girl in the service of Ali (AS). Talha and al-Zubayr were with him one day, and he called for grapes, which he loved, and they ate. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 546)
The narrator says: During the time when I was in the service of Ali (AS), Talha and al-Zubayr were with him one day; he called for grapes and served them. Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) was very fond of grapes.
From Ma'ruf ibn Kharrabudh, from one who saw Amir al-Mu'minin Ali (AS) eating bread with grapes. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 547)
The narrator says: One day I saw Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) sitting and eating bread and grapes.
From al-Sakuni, from Ja'far, from his father, from Ali (AS), who said: Whoever takes twenty-one red raisins for his morning meal will fall ill with no illness save the illness of his death, God willing. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 548)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Whoever eats twenty-one red raisins on an empty stomach will not fall ill, save with the illness that has been decreed for his death and from which there is no escape.
From Abu Basir, from Abu Abdillah (AS), from his forefathers, who said: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Eating quince is strength for the weak heart; it sweetens the stomach, quickens the mind, and emboldens the coward. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 550)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Eating quince brings strength of heart, soundness of the stomach, purification of the heart, and the attainment of courage.
Al-Hasan ibn Rashid, from Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: Ali (AS) said: The apple cleanses the stomach. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 553)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: The apple brings soundness to the stomach.
From Ghiyath ibn Ibrahim, from Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) disliked drinking in a single breath, and said: Three breaths, or two. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 576)
The narrator says: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) did not approve of drinking water in a single breath, and used to say: Drink it in two or three breaths.
From Mas'ada, from Ja'far, from his father, from his forefathers, from Ali (peace be upon them), who said: Honour bread, for all that lies between the Throne and the earth, and what is between them, has laboured for it. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 585)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Show respect to bread, for from the Throne down to the earth they have been at work so that it might reach your hand.
From Ziyad ibn Marwan al-Qandi, from Abu al-Hasan the First (AS), who said: The medicine of Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) was thyme. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 542)
Imam al-Kazim (AS) said: The medicine of Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) was thyme.
From Sulayman ibn Abi Shaykh, who traced it back, saying: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) passed by the door of a man who had built it of baked brick, and said: Whose is this door? It was said: It belongs to so-and-so, a deluded man. Then he passed by another door whose owner had likewise built it of baked brick, and he said: This is another deluded man. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 608)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) stopped at the door of a house that had been built of baked brick and said: Whose house is this? It was said: It belongs to such-and-such a proud and deluded man. Then he passed by the door of another brick house and said: This too is the house of another deluded man.
From al-Halabi, from Abu Abdillah (AS), who said: Ali (AS) had a room in which there was nothing but a bed, a sword and a copy of the Qur'an, and he used to pray in it — or he said: he used to take his midday rest in it. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 612)
The narrator says: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) had a room in his house in which there was nothing but bedding, a sword and the Qur'an. There he would pray or take his midday rest.
From al-Asbagh ibn Nubata, who said: Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Whoever builds up a grave anew or fashions an image has left Islam. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 612)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: Whoever rebuilds a grave or fashions an idol has left Islam.
From Ibn al-Qaddah, from Abu Abdillah (AS), from his forefathers (peace be upon them), from Ali (AS), who said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) sent me to level the graves and to break the images. (al-Mahasin, vol. 2, p. 614)
Amir al-Mu'minin (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) used to send me to level the graves with the ground and to break the statues.