From Ali, who said: Nine things are uglier in nine kinds of people than in others: short temper in rulers, miserliness in the rich, quickness to anger in scholars, childishness in the elderly, the severing of ties by leaders, lying by judges, addiction in physicians, foul language in women, and rashness in those who hold power. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 1, p. 83)
Ali (AS) said: Nine traits are ugly, and uglier still in nine groups: impatience and want of forbearance on the part of the nobility; miserliness on the part of the wealthy; flying into a rage on the part of scholars; behaving childishly on the part of the elderly; severing ties on the part of leaders; lying on the part of judges; addiction in physicians; foul speech and abusive language in women; and excessive harshness in rulers.
From him, God's blessings be upon him, that he said: I heard the Messenger of God (PBUH) say: Shall I not point you to that which wipes away sins and misdeeds? It is performing the ablution thoroughly despite hardship, and waiting for one prayer after another — that is the true "ribat" (steadfast vigil). (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 1, p. 100)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) held two acts to be effective in making up for misdeeds and obtaining forgiveness of sins: performing the ablution completely and attentively, especially in straitened circumstances of life; and sitting in expectation of the prayer, spending the interval between two prayers in worship — which the Qur'an expresses by the term "ribat": "O you who believe, be patient, and vie in patience, and keep vigil (rabitu)" [Qur'an 3:200].
From Ali, God's blessings be upon him, that he said: The five daily prayers are an expiation for what falls between them, so long as the major sins are avoided; and this is what God, Mighty and Majestic, has said: "Surely good deeds drive away evil deeds; that is a reminder for those who remember." (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 1, p. 135)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The five daily prayers are an expiation for the heedlessness and misdeeds that fall between them. God too has said: Good deeds wipe away evil deeds. This holds unless — God forbid — the servant commits a major sin.
From him (AS), who said: Whoever hears the call to prayer while he is in the mosque and then goes out is a hypocrite — unless he is a man who intends to return to it, or one who is not in a state of ritual purity and goes out to purify himself. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 1, p. 147)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever is in the mosque when the call to prayer is given and then leaves the mosque, abandoning the prayer and the congregation, is a hypocrite — unless he has gone out to perform the ablution or returns promptly.
From Ali (AS), that the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Whoever has a child born to him, let him give the call to prayer (adhan) in its right ear and the call to stand (iqama) in its left, for that is a protection for it from Satan. And he (PBUH) commanded me to do this for al-Hasan and al-Husayn, and to recite in their ears, along with the adhan and the iqama, the Opening chapter of the Book, the Verse of the Throne, the end of the chapter of al-Hashr, the chapter of Sincerity, and the two chapters of refuge. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 1, p. 147)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) used to say that a father should pronounce the adhan in his newborn's right ear and the iqama in its left ear, so that God may protect it from Satan. And he said: He also commanded me to pronounce the adhan and the iqama in the ears of al-Hasan and al-Husayn when they were born, and he said: Along with the adhan and the iqama in each ear, recite also the Opening chapter, the Verse of the Throne, the end of al-Hashr, the chapter of Sincerity, and the two chapters of refuge.
From him (AS), that he said: Complete the rows, for God and His angels send blessings upon those who complete the rows. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 1, p. 155)
Ali (AS) used to say: Complete the rows of the congregational prayer, for God and the angels send blessings upon those who complete the row.
From Ali, God's blessings be upon him, that he said: When you begin the prayer, say: "I have turned my face to Him who created the heavens and the earth, upright and submitting, and I am not of those who associate others with God. Truly my prayer and my rites of devotion, my living and my dying, are for God, the Lord of the worlds, who is One and has no partner. Thus have I been commanded, and I am among those who submit." (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 1, p. 157)
Before the opening allahu akbar of the prayer, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) would say: "I have turned my face to Him who created the heavens and the earth, upright and submitting, and I am not of those who associate others with God. Truly my prayer and my rites of devotion, my living and my dying, are for God, the Lord of the worlds, who is One and has no partner. Thus have I been commanded, and I am among those who submit."
From Ali (AS), that the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Whoever intends to perform some of the night vigil prayer, let him say, when he takes to his bed: "O God, do not make me forget Your remembrance, and do not place me among the heedless; I shall rise, if God Most High wills, at such and such an hour." For God, Mighty and Majestic, will appoint an angel to rouse him at that hour. And whoever intends to perform some of the night vigil but whose eyes overcome him until morning comes, his sleep is a charity from God, Mighty and Majestic, and God will complete for him the night vigil of that night. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 1, p. 213)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) used to advise that whoever intends to rise at night for the vigil should, upon retiring, take to his bed and say: "O God! Do not deprive me of Your remembrance, and do not place me among the heedless; if You so will, I shall rise at such and such an hour for worship." In that case God appoints an angel charged with waking him at that hour; and if sleep still overcomes him, his sleep is a gift from God, and God credits to his account the vigil of that night.
From Ali, God's blessings be upon him, that he said: Had God not created the son of Adam foolish, he would not have lived; and had the beasts known that they die as you know it, they would never have grown fat for you. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 1, p. 221)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Had God not created man foolish, human livelihood would never have taken shape. If the beasts knew that death exists, they would never grow so fat.
From him, God's blessings be upon him: He saw a bier over which cloths of red, green, and yellow had been fastened as adornment; he (AS) ordered them removed, and they were stripped off. He said: I heard the Messenger of God (PBUH) say: The first justice of the Hereafter is the graves, in which no noble is distinguished from the lowly. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 1, p. 232)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) saw that costly cloths of red, green, and yellow had been draped over a bier. He ordered them removed and said: I heard from the Messenger of God (PBUH) that the justice of the Hereafter begins with the graves, and that the rich must not be distinguishable from the poor by their graves.
From Ali, God's blessings be upon him, that the Messenger of God (PBUH) said: One lesser pilgrimage (umra) to the next is an expiation for what lies between them, and the accepted pilgrimage (hajj) has Paradise as its reward. Among sins there are sins that are forgiven only at Arafat. O people, hold fast to the hajj and the umra, and perform them one after the other, for they wash away sins as water washes away filth, and they drive out poverty as fire drives out the dross of iron. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 1, p. 294)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) used to say: The umra is an expiation for sins, and the reward of an accepted hajj is Paradise, and some sins are cleansed only at Arafat. O people, perform the hajj and the umra, for these two wash away your sins as water washes away grime, and they remove poverty as fire removes the impurity of iron.
Ali, God's blessings be upon him, said: It is not lawful for a coward to go out to battle, for he will swiftly turn in flight; rather let him consider what he would have gone to battle with, and let him equip another with it, for he shall have a reward like that of the fighter, and nothing of his reward shall be diminished. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 1, p. 342)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A coward should not go out to war, for the likelihood of his defeat is great. Let him instead equip the fighters, so that he may earn a reward like theirs. In that case his reward is no less than theirs.
From Ali (AS), that he said: It is of the practice of travel that when a group sets out and they are companions, they should all bring out their provisions, pool them together, and spend from them jointly; for that is more pleasing to their souls and better for the harmony between them. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 1, p. 346)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The practice on a journey is that all the companions put whatever they have into a common pool and spend together from what has been gathered. This is more agreeable for everyone and helps to foster fellow-feeling.
From Ali, God's blessings be upon him: He used to eat the pomegranate together with its pith and would enjoin this, saying: It is a tanning agent for the stomach. And there is no pomegranate but that it contains a seed from Paradise; so if any of it strays — that is, falls — seek it out and eat it. And he would not let anyone share a pomegranate with him, and he would seek out whatever had fallen from it, saying: No one takes a pomegranate into his belly but that the whispering of Satan is driven out of him. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 2, p. 112)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) would eat the pomegranate together with the thin membrane between its seeds, holding that it tans the stomach, and he would say: In every pomegranate there is a seed from Paradise. So if a seed fell while he was eating, he would find it and eat that too, and he would not let anyone share a pomegranate with him. He would say: The pomegranate clears the whispering of Satan from the heart.
From Ali (AS), that he said: Al-Husayn fell ill and his pain grew severe, so Fatima carried him and brought him to the Prophet (PBUH), seeking help and refuge, and said: O Messenger of God, pray to God for your son, that He may heal him. And she laid him before him. He (PBUH) rose and sat by his head, then said: O Fatima, O my daughter, it is God who bestowed him upon you, and He is able to heal him. Then Gabriel descended upon him and said: O Muhammad, God has not sent down upon you any chapter of the Qur'an but that it contains the letter "fa," and every "fa" is from "afa" (affliction) — except al-Hamd (the Opening chapter), for it contains no "fa." So call for a cup of water, recite al-Hamd over it forty times, then pour it over him, and God will heal him. He did so, and it was as though the boy had been released from a bond. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 2, p. 146)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Al-Husayn fell ill and his illness grew severe, so much so that Fatima was driven to distress and took him to the Prophet (PBUH) and sought a remedy from him. The Prophet (PBUH) sat beside al-Husayn and said: My daughter, God bestowed this child upon you, and the only one able to heal him is God Himself. Then Gabriel descended and said: The letter "fa" signifies affliction, and the only chapter that contains no "fa" is the chapter of al-Hamd. So recite al-Hamd forty times over a vessel of water and sprinkle its water upon al-Husayn; God will heal him. The Prophet (PBUH) did so, and so it came to pass.
From Ali, God's blessings be upon him: The engraving on his ring was "Ali believes in God." (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 2, p. 165)
The engraving on the ring of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was this: "Ali believes in God." We say: From this report it may be concluded that such an engraving on a ring is recommended — namely, that a person engrave his own name together with the phrase "believes in God."
From Ali (AS): A man of the Helpers came to the Messenger of God (PBUH) with his daughter and said: O Messenger of God, her husband struck her and left a mark on her face, so grant her retaliation against him. The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: That is yours to have. Then God, Mighty and Majestic, sent down: "Men are the maintainers of women, by what God has favoured some over others and by what they spend of their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in absence what God has guarded. And those from whom you fear disobedience — admonish them, and forsake them in bed, and strike them. But if they obey you, seek no way against them" [Qur'an 4:34] — that is, maintainers with respect to discipline. So the Messenger of God said: I intended one thing, and God intended another. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 2, p. 217)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A man of the Helpers took his daughter by the hand and came to the Prophet (PBUH) and complained about his son-in-law, that he had struck his daughter such that the mark of the blow was still visible on the woman's face. The Messenger of God (PBUH) upheld his claim, but immediately a verse was revealed: "Men are the maintainers of women, by what God has favoured some over others and by what they spend of their wealth. So righteous women are devoutly obedient, guarding in absence what God has guarded. And those from whom you fear disobedience — admonish them, and forsake them in bed, and strike them. But if they obey you, seek no way against them" [Qur'an 4:34]. The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: A man may discipline his wife; this is the meaning of "maintainers." Then he said: This is God's will, and God's will takes precedence over yours.
From Ali (AS), that he said: Whoever buys what he does not need will sell what he does need. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 2, p. 255)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: He who buys something he does not need will one day be compelled to sell something he does need.
Ja'far ibn Muhammad, God's blessings be upon him, from his father, from his forefathers, from Ali (AS): He used to rule that a divorced woman be given a compensatory gift (mut'a), and he would say: The explanation of this is in the Book of God: "upon the man of means according to his means, and upon the man of straitened circumstances according to his means." (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 2, p. 293)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) would grant a divorced woman a compensatory gift, and he would say that the proof of it in the Book of God is this verse: He who has means, according to his means, and he who is straitened, according to his means!
From Ali (AS), that he said: Answer the beggar even if with half a date, and give to the beggar even if he comes on horseback. (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 2, p. 333)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Give the beggar something, even if he seems to be well off — even if it be only a single date.
Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his father, from his forefathers: Ali (AS) would grant the apostate no more than three days, during which he would call him to repent; and when the fourth day came, he would put him to death without further call to repentance. Then he would recite: "Truly those who believed, then disbelieved, then believed, then disbelieved, then increased in disbelief — God will not forgive them." (Da'a'im al-Islam, vol. 2, p. 479)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) would wait three days for the apostate's repentance while calling him to repent; but if he did not repent, on the fourth day he would put him to death, citing as his proof: "Truly those who believed, then disbelieved, then believed, then disbelieved, then increased in disbelief — God will not forgive them" [Qur'an 4:137].