Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his father Muhammad ibn Ali, from his father Ali ibn al-Husayn, from his father al-Husayn ibn Ali, from his father Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), who said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Truly the angels are our servants and the servants of those who love us. ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 262)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS), relating from the Messenger of God (PBUH), said: The angels are the servants of us and the servants of those who love us.
From Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Musa al-Rida (AS), from his father, from his forefathers, from the Commander of the Faithful (AS), that he said: The world in its entirety is ignorance, except the places of knowledge; and all knowledge is a proof against one, except what is acted upon; and all action is ostentation, except what is done with sincerity; and sincerity itself remains in peril until the servant sees with what end he is sealed. ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 282)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The world is ignorance throughout, except the places of knowledge; and knowledge — all of it — stands as a proof against a person, except what is acted upon; and action — all of it — is ostentation, except what is done sincerely; and sincerity too is exposed to peril, until a person sees what the outcome and end of his affair will be.
Yusuf ibn Muhammad ibn Ziyad, from al-Rida (AS), from the Commander of the Faithful (AS): Sustenance is apportioned, and it comes to the son of Adam whatever manner of life he follows in this world. The piety of the pious does not add to it, nor does the wickedness of the wicked diminish it. Between a man and his sustenance there is a veil, and it is his sustenance that seeks him out. Were one of you to flee from his sustenance, his sustenance would pursue him just as death pursues him. ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 282)
Imam al-Rida (AS) relates from the Commander of the Faithful (AS): Sustenance has been apportioned and it will come to a person of itself, and it makes no difference what course a person follows in life. Neither does the piety of the God-fearing increase their sustenance, nor does the depravity of the wicked cause any decrease in theirs. Between a person and his sustenance there is a veil, and it is the sustenance that seeks him and comes after him. If someone flees from his sustenance, his sustenance will come after him just as death will come after him.
By this chain of transmission: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said in one of his sermons: O people, take your hearts out of this world before your bodies are taken out of it. In this world you have lived, but for the hereafter you were created. Truly, the deprived one is he who is deprived of the good of his own wealth. ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 298)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O people! Before death tears you from this world, tear your own hearts away from it! You are living now in this world, but you were created for the hereafter. The truly deprived is the one who is deprived of the good of his wealth.
From al-Rida (AS), who said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) saw a man of his Shi'a after a long time; age had left its mark upon him, and he was forcing himself to walk with strength. He (AS) said: You have grown old, my man. He said: In your obedience, O Commander of the Faithful. He (AS) said: I find there is still something left in you. He said: It is yours, O Commander of the Faithful. ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 1, p. 302)
Imam al-Rida (AS) relates from his forefathers that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) saw one of his Shi'a after a long interval; old age was evident in him and he walked with difficulty. He said to him: My friend, you have grown old! The man said: In your obedience, O Commander of the Faithful, I have grown old. His Eminence said: But there is still some of your life left! He replied: If any life or strength remains, that too belongs to you.
By this chain of transmission, from Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), concerning the word of God, the Mighty and Exalted, 'devourers of unlawful gain' [Qur'an 5:42], he said: It is the man who fulfils a need for his brother and then accepts a gift from him. ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 28)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: One instance of the devourer of unlawful gain is the man who fulfils the need of his believing brother but then accepts a gift from him afterwards.
By this chain of transmission, from Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), that he said: Take to gourd, for it increases the brain. ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 36)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Gourd increases the intellect. (We say: qar' is the pumpkin, dubba' the green gourd, and yaqtin the squash. In the narrations it is said of all three that they increase the intellect. What is meant by an increase of intellect in narrations such as these is the banishing of intrusive thoughts, the attainment of calm, and an increase in memory and mental acuity.)
By this chain of transmission, from Ali (AS), who said: If a woman is asked, 'Who committed fornication with you?' and she says, 'So-and-so', she is given two prescribed punishments: one for her slander against the man, and one for what she has confessed against herself. ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 39)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A woman who claims that a certain man committed fornication with her, if she cannot prove it, receives two prescribed punishments: one for the fornication to which she has confessed, and one for the slander, that is, for accusing another of fornication.
By this chain of transmission, he said: Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) said: If the servant of God could see his appointed term and how swiftly it is coming to him, he would come to hate long hopes and would abandon the pursuit of this world. ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 39)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: If a person could see his appointed term and the speed with which it is coming towards him, he would give up long hopes and the pursuit of this world.
By this chain of transmission, from Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), who said: I inherited two books from the Messenger of God (PBUH): the Book of God, and a writing of mine in the scabbard of my sword. It was said: O Commander of the Faithful, what is the writing that is in the scabbard of your sword? He said: Whoever kills one who is not his own killer, or strikes one who is not the one who struck him, upon him be the curse of God. ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 40)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I inherited two books from the Messenger of God (PBUH): the Book of God, and a writing in the scabbard of my sword. They said: And what is that writing? He said: It is written, 'Whoever kills one who is not his own killer, or strikes one who is not the one who struck him, upon him be the curse of God.'
Fatima, daughter of Ali ibn Musa (AS), said: I heard my father Ali narrating from his father, from Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his father and his uncle Zayd, from their father Ali ibn al-Husayn, from his father and his uncle, from Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), who said: It is not lawful for a Muslim to frighten a Muslim. ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 70)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A Muslim is not permitted to frighten his Muslim brother.
By this chain of transmission, from Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), who said: I was sitting beside the Ka'ba when there appeared a bent-backed old man whose eyebrows had fallen over his eyes from extreme age, with a staff in his hand, a red hood on his head, and a woollen cloak upon him. He drew near to the Prophet (PBUH), who was leaning his back against the Ka'ba, and said: O Messenger of God, pray for my forgiveness. The Prophet (PBUH) said: Your striving has come to nothing, old man, and your deeds have gone astray. When the old man had turned away, he said: O Abu al-Hasan, do you know him? I said: By God, no. He said: That was the accursed Iblis. Ali (AS) said: So I ran after him until I caught up with him, and he said to me: Let me be, O Abu al-Hasan, for I am among those granted respite until the day of the appointed time. Then he said: By God, O Ali, I love you greatly; and no one has hated you but that I had a share with his father in his mother. ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 72)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I was sitting beside the Ka'ba when a bent-backed man, whose eyebrows had fallen over his eyes from extreme old age, with a staff in his hand, a red cap on his head and a woollen garment upon him, came near to the Messenger of God (PBUH), who was resting his back against the wall of the Ka'ba, and said: O Messenger of God, pray for my forgiveness! The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Old man, it is fruitless and will come to nothing! When the old man had turned away, the Messenger of God (PBUH) asked: O Ali, did you recognise him? I said: No. He said: That was the accursed Satan. Ali (AS) says: I ran after him and caught up with him. The old man said: O Ali, leave me be, for I have been granted respite until an appointed day. Then he said: By God, O Ali, I love you! And no one bears you enmity but that I had a hand in the conception of his seed.
From Abu al-Salt al-Harawi, who said: al-Rida (AS) said: I heard my father narrating from his forefathers, from Ali (AS), that he said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: O Ali, you are the divider of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection; you will say to the Fire: This one is mine and this one is yours. ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 86)
Imam al-Rida (AS) relates from his forefathers, from the Commander of the Faithful (AS), that the Messenger of God (PBUH) said to me: O Ali, on the Day of Resurrection you are the divider of Paradise. You will say to Hell: This one is mine, this one is yours.
From Abu al-Salt al-Harawi, who said: al-Rida (AS) used to speak to people in their own languages, and by God he was the most eloquent of people and the most knowledgeable of them in every tongue and language. One day I said to him: O son of the Messenger of God, I marvel at your knowledge of these various languages. He said: O Abu al-Salt, I am God's proof over His creation, and God would not appoint a proof over a people whose languages He did not know. Has the saying of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) not reached you: 'We have been given decisive speech'? And what is decisive speech but the knowledge of languages? ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 228)
Abu al-Salt al-Harawi relates: His Eminence al-Rida (AS) would converse with everyone in their own language, and by God he was the most eloquent of people and the most learned of them in every tongue and language. One day I said to him: O son of the Messenger of God, I marvel that you have such mastery and knowledge of all languages! He said: O Abu al-Salt, I am God's proof over His servants, and God does not raise up a proof over a people whose speech he does not understand and whose language he does not know. Has this report not reached you, that the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (AS), said: 'We have been given decisive speech'? This is precisely what decisive speech means.
From Ishaq, from al-Nu'man ibn Sa'd, who said: The Commander of the Faithful, Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), said: A man of my descendants will be killed with poison, unjustly, in the land of Khurasan. His name is my name, and his father's name is the name of the son of 'Imran, Moses (AS). Truly, whoever visits him in his exile, God Almighty will forgive his sins, those that came before and those that came after, even were they as many as the number of the stars, the drops of rain, and the leaves of the trees. ('Uyun al-Akhbar, vol. 2, p. 258)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: In time to come, a man of my descendants will be martyred unjustly by poison in the land of Khurasan. His name is my name, and his father's name is the name of the son of 'Imran, Moses. Whoever visits him in his exile, God will forgive him all his sins, past and future, even if his sins were as many as the stars, the raindrops and the leaves of the trees.