Zayd, from Abu Abd Allah (AS), who said: The Commander of the Faithful (God's blessings be upon him) said: “We dislike affliction and do not love it so long as it has not descended; but when the decree has descended with it, it does not please us that the affliction had not descended.” (al-Usul al-Sittata Ashar, vol. 1, p. 4)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: We do not love affliction and we find it hateful; but when an affliction has been decreed and has descended, we do not say, “Would that the affliction had not come.”
Abu Basir said: I heard Abu Ja'far (AS) say: Ali (AS) said: “Had Ibn al-Khattab not forestalled me [in this], none would commit fornication save a wretch.” (al-Usul al-Sittata Ashar, vol. 1, p. 4)
Imam al-Baqir (AS) said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) used to say: Had Umar ibn al-Khattab not closed the way of temporary marriage (mut'a), the way of fornication would have been closed, and none but a wretch would have committed fornication.
Abu Kudayna al-Azdi said: I heard Ali (AS) saying: “By God, ‘In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate’ is nearer to the Greatest Name of God than the black of the eye is to its white.” (al-Usul al-Sittata Ashar, vol. 1, p. 28)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) used to say: By God, “In the Name of God, the All-Merciful, the All-Compassionate” is as near to the Greatest Name as the black of the eye is to its white.
Abd al-Malik ibn Abi Dharr said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) met me on the day Uthman tore up the codices of the Qur'an, and he said: “Call your father to me.” He came to him in haste, and he said: “O Abu Dharr, today a grave thing has befallen Islam: the Book of God has been torn and iron has been laid upon it; and it is God's due that He set iron over him who tore up the Book of God with iron.” (al-Usul al-Sittata Ashar, vol. 1, p. 36)
The son of Abu Dharr narrates that on the day Uthman gathered the copies of the Qur'an and tore them all to pieces except one, Ali (AS) told me to summon my father. I informed my father, and he went to Ali (AS). The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to him: Today is an evil day; the Book of God has been given over to the sword, and God will one day give over to the sword the one who caused such a deed.
Abu Dawud said: When the Commander of the Faithful (God's blessing be upon him) was struck, we came in to visit him. A physician called al-A'rabi was summoned for him and said: “O Commander of the Faithful, there is no harm upon you. Take a sheep and slaughter it, then take its lung and pack the wound with it.” He said: Umm Kulthum wept, and he said to her: “O Umm Kulthum, if you saw what I see you would not weep.” We said: “O Commander of the Faithful, what do you see?” He said: “I see the Messenger of God (PBUH) beside me, and the angels as messengers from heaven to me, saying: ‘O Ali, come to us, for what is with us is better for you than what you were in.’” (al-Usul al-Sittata Ashar, vol. 1, p. 38)
The narrator said: On the day Ali (AS) was struck down, we went to visit him. A physician was brought to his bedside, and he said: It is nothing; slaughter a sheep and lay its organ upon the wound, and he will recover! At that moment Umm Kulthum wept (Umm Kulthum was the daughter of Ali and Fatima, who first became the wife of Umar ibn al-Khattab and finally became the wife of Muhammad ibn Ja'far al-Tayyar). The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: If you saw what I see, you would never weep. I see the Messenger of God (PBUH) and the angels saying: Ali, hasten toward us, for all that is good is here with us.
Jabir said: I heard him say: “How can a people be unwilling to do good, when Ali (AS) — and he was the servant of God for whom Paradise had already been made obligatory — set aside estates of his and made them an irrevocable endowment running on after him for the poor? He said: ‘O God, I have done this only that You may turn my face away from the Fire, and turn the Fire away from my face.’” (al-Usul al-Sittata Ashar, vol. 1, p. 70)
The narrator said: I heard Imam al-Sadiq (AS) say: How is it that some people have no desire for good works, when Ali (AS), for whom Paradise had been made obligatory, would say, whenever he endowed lands for the poor: O God, I do this so that I may keep my face from the Fire and the Fire from my face.
Jabir said: I heard him say: When Ali (AS) came to his wife, he would say: “In the Name of God. O God, do not grant Satan any share in this, nor any partnership at the emission of the seed.” (al-Usul al-Sittata Ashar, vol. 1, p. 4)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) wished to lie with his wife, he would say: In the Name of God; O God, let Satan have no partnership and no share in my child!
Mufaddal ibn Umar said: Abu Abd Allah (AS) said: When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) encamped with the army at al-Nukhayla, two men came before him and laid their dispute before him, and one of them was foul-mouthed toward his companion. The Commander of the Faithful said to him: “Ikhsa' (be off)!” — and at once his head became the head of a dog. He came, with his finger [outstretched], seeking refuge with the Commander of the Faithful, and he took hold of his upper lip and turned it back, and his head returned as it had been. His companions around him said: “O Commander of the Faithful, you are such as this, and yet you march against Mu'awiya?” The Commander of the Faithful said: “If I wished to set this small foot of mine upon his chest, I would do so; and if I wished to have him brought to me upon his throne, I would do so. But we are honoured servants who do not outstrip Him in speech, and we act by His command.” (al-Usul al-Sittata Ashar, vol. 1, p. 4)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: Once the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was with the army at al-Nukhayla. (Al-Nukhayla lies northeast of Kufa, on the bank of the Euphrates, on the road to Syria; the troops would first assemble there and then, once assembled, set out for battle.) At that time a quarrel arose between two of the soldiers, and in the presence of Ali (AS) one insulted the other. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to him: Ikhsa'! (This word is said to a dog, meaning: be silent.) Suddenly that man's face took the form of a dog's, and he began to cling to Ali (AS) and to plead with him, rubbing his muzzle against Ali so that he might deliver him from this state. Then, little by little, he returned to human form. When the companions saw so strange a thing, they said: O Ali, since you have such power, why do you contrive an army for war against Mu'awiya? The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Had I wished, I would have gone to him while he sat upon his throne and set my foot upon his chest. But God has said: “Rather, they are honoured servants who do not outstrip Him in speech, and they act by His command” — meaning that we do not outstrip God, and we submit to God's command.
Jabir ibn Abd Allah said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) had a Jewish friend. He said: He was often in his company, and if the man had a need he would help him in it. Then the Jew died, and Ali grieved for him and his loneliness for him became severe. He said: The Prophet (PBUH) turned to him, smiling, and said to him: “O Abu al-Hasan, what has become of your Jewish friend?” He said: I said: “He has died.” He said: “You are grieved for him, and your loneliness for him is severe?” He said: “Yes, O Messenger of God.” He said: “Would you like to see him in bliss?” He said: “Yes, may my father and mother be your ransom.” He said: “Raise your head” — and he unveiled for him the fourth heaven, and behold, there was a dome of green chrysolite suspended by [divine] power. He said to him: “O Abu al-Hasan, this is for whoever loves you among the people of the covenant (dhimma) — the Jews, the Christians and the Magians; and your believing Shi'a will be with me and with you tomorrow in Paradise.” (al-Usul al-Sittata Ashar, vol. 1, p. 95)
The narrator said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) had a Jewish friend with whom he was greatly intimate, and each would come to the other's aid. When the Jew died, Ali (AS) became sorrowful and lonely. When the Messenger of God (PBUH) saw this, he said to Ali (AS): Would you like to see his place in Paradise? Ali (AS) said: Yes. And the Messenger of God (PBUH) showed him his place in Paradise, in a palace of green chrysolite. Then he said: O Abu al-Hasan, this is the rank of everyone who loves you — whether Jew, Christian, Magian, or your Shi'a from this community. Tomorrow, on the Day of Resurrection, they will all be in Paradise with you and in my company.
Abu al-Tufayl Amir ibn Wathila, from the Commander of the Faithful (AS), who said: “Would you love that God and His Messenger be given the lie? Speak to people of what they know, and withhold what they reject.” (al-Usul al-Sittata Ashar, vol. 1, p. 117)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Would you like people to deny God and His Messenger? Tell people things they can understand, not things that seem strange to them.
Abd Allah ibn Muskan, from one of our companions, who said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: “Whatever is beyond a garment, the shade of a wall, what is behind the enclosure [a wife], and water for one's thirst, is a bounty — and you, O son of Adam, will be questioned about it on the Day of Resurrection.” (al-Usul al-Sittata Ashar, vol. 1, p. 291)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Apart from a garment, a roof, a spouse and warm water, all else is a bounty — and you, O son of Adam, must answer for it on the Day of Resurrection.
Ibn Muskan and Hadid traced it back to the Commander of the Faithful (AS), who said: God revealed to a prophet during his prophethood: “Tell your people that they have made light of obedience to Me and have plunged headlong into disobedience to Me. So whoever among them is a doer of good, let him not rely upon his good deeds; for if I were to press him to the reckoning, I would find against him that for which I could punish him. And whoever among them is a wrongdoer, let him not surrender himself and cast himself with his own hands into destruction; for no sin is too great for Me to forgive when its doer repents of it. And tell your people that there is no man, no people of a village and no household who persist in what I dislike but that I shall be toward them with what they dislike; and if they turn from what I dislike to what I love, I shall turn for them from what they dislike to what they love. And tell your people that there is no man, no household and no people of a village who are upon what I love but that I shall be toward them with what they love; and if they turn away from what I love, I shall turn away for them from what they love. And tell your people that he is not of Me who practises soothsaying or has soothsaying practised for him, or works sorcery or has sorcery worked for him; and none is of Me except him who believes in Me and puts his trust in Me.” (al-Usul al-Sittata Ashar, vol. 1, p. 295)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God revealed to one of the prophets: Say to your people: You have abandoned obedience to Me and have become soiled with disobedience to Me. Even so, let the doer of good among you not be deluded by his obedience, for if the matter is brought to a reckoning, he too will be liable to punishment; and let the evildoer among you not despair, for if he repents, no sin is too great for My forgiveness.
And say to them: Whomever I see engaged in what is hateful to Me, I afflict with what is hateful to him; and if he turns back, I too turn back My decree. And whomever I see engaged in the work that is beloved to Me, I write his destiny such that it is beloved to him; and if he turns away, I too turn back the decree.
And say to them: Whoever practises soothsaying or goes to a soothsayer, and whoever works sorcery or goes to a sorcerer — I am quit of him.
And say to them: None is a servant pleasing to Me except one who has believed and puts his trust in Me.
(We say: Soothsaying (kahana) is the reporting of hidden things concerning persons, including their past and their future; soothsaying is an encroachment upon knowledge, and if it is genuine it is accomplished with the help of the jinn. Sorcery (sihr) is the striking of persons through interference with their sight, or with their own or their associates' perception; sorcery too is accomplished by means of the jinn, but it is a kind of seizure and exercise of power. Both soothsaying and sorcery are forbidden in Islam and are among the major sins.)