Ali (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) was asked: O Messenger of God, which charity is best? The Messenger of God said: Charity given to a kinsman who harbors enmity; or the exertion of one of little means directed to a poor man. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 3)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) was asked: What is the best charity? He said: Helping a relative in distress; or the small help that a person of little means gives to a poor man.
Ali (AS) said: There is no blame upon you if you refrain from their traditions and do not narrate from them. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 18)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said, concerning the teachings of other religions: There is no harm in your studying their material and knowing it, but do not relate it to others.
Ja'far al-Sadiq said, from his father (AS): Ali (AS) used to go out to the dawn prayer with a whip in his hand, to wake the people. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 31)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: It was Ali's (AS) practice that, in the mornings when he went to the mosque for prayer, he would have a whip with him, and with it he would gently strike those who were asleep in the mosque and wake them.
Ali (AS) said: Whoever has wealth and also has dues owed upon him, let him reckon what he has and what he owes. If he has a surplus of two hundred dirhams, let him give five dirhams; and if he does not have a surplus of two hundred dirhams, nothing is due from him. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 31)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: One who possesses wealth and also has religious dues owed upon him should do his reckoning: if he has more than two hundred dirhams, let him give five dirhams of it; and if his property is less than two hundred dirhams, nothing is incumbent upon him.
(We say: as we mentioned earlier, every dirham is one tenth of a dinar, and every dinar is roughly equivalent to one of the current half gold coins.)
Ali (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) forbade that poison be cast into the lands of the polytheists. The narrator, Abu Ali ibn al-Ash'ath, said: By this he intended that some of the fighters should not perish. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 32)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) used to forbid the use of poison in wars against the enemy.
We say: Its present-day equivalent is chemical bombs and other weapons of mass destruction.
Ali (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) passed by a people who had set up a live hen and were shooting arrows at it. He said: Who are these? May God curse them. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 33)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) heard that a group had set a live hen in a place and were shooting arrows at it. He said: What sort of people are these?! May God curse them!
Ali (AS) said: The Messenger of God said to a detachment he dispatched: Let your watchword be 'Ha Mim, they shall not be helped', for it is one of the mighty names of God, the Exalted. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p.)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) sent a group off to battle and said: Let your invocation be 'Ha Mim, la yunsarun' (Ha Mim, they shall not be helped), which is a mighty name among the names of God.
Ali (AS) said: When the Messenger of God (PBUH) ate at the home of a people, he would say: May the righteous eat your food, and may the excellent angels invoke blessings upon you. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 35)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When the Messenger of God (PBUH) was someone's guest, he would say after the meal: May your food fall to the portion of the righteous, and may the blessings of the excellent angels be bestowed upon you.
Ali (AS) said: What separates lawful marriage from fornication is the beating of the tambourine. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 40)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The difference between marriage and fornication is the beating of the tambourine.
We say: Beating the tambourine is a metaphor for holding a wedding and making the union public. That is, a union that is concealed and kept out of everyone's sight resembles fornication more than it resembles marriage.
Ali (AS) said: When the shadows lengthen and the wind blows, seek your needs from God the Exalted, for it is the hour of those who turn back to Him. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 40)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Near sunset, when the shadows depart, and likewise when the wind blows, pray and ask your needs of God, for it is the time of the awwabin (those who constantly turn back to God).
We say: The awwabin are those who continually call upon God and commune with Him.
Al-Kazim (AS) said: When the Commander of the Faithful raised his head from the two prostrations, he would say: There is no god but God. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 41)
Imam al-Kazim (AS) said: When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) raised his head from prostration, he would say: There is no god but God.
Ja'far said, from his father (AS): Ali (AS) suffered a nosebleed while he was in prayer, leading the people. He took the hand of a man and put him forward, then went out and performed ablution without speaking, then came back and built upon his prayer, and he saw no harm in that. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 45)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) had a nosebleed during prayer. So he took the hand of a man and set him in his own place as prayer leader, then went and washed and performed ablution again, and without speaking a word returned to his former place and continued the prayer. He saw no fault in this.
A man said to Ali (AS): When a man has fornicated with a woman and then wishes to marry her? He said: There is no harm in it, if they both repent. It was said: This man knows his own repentance; but how is he to know the woman's repentance? He said: Let him invite her to immorality; if she refuses, then she has repented; and if she consents to him, marrying her is forbidden. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 47)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was asked: May a man marry a woman with whom he has previously committed fornication? He said: If both the man and the woman repent, yes. They said: The man's repentance is known, since he is aware of his own state; but how can it be known whether the woman has repented? He said: Let him invite her to fornication; if she refuses, it means she has repented; but if she still agrees, marriage with such a woman is not permissible.
Ali (AS) said: It is not permissible for a Muslim to marry a Jewish or a Christian bondwoman, because God the Exalted has said: 'from among your believing maidens' [Qur'an 4:25]. Then Ali (AS) said: And the Messenger of God (PBUH) disliked marrying such a woman, lest Judaism or Christianity take his child captive. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 48)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: It is not permissible for a Muslim to marry a Jewish or Christian woman, for God has said: take wives from among the believing women. The Messenger of God (PBUH) also did not approve of such a marriage, lest the child, under his mother's influence, become a Jew or a Christian.
Ali (AS) said: Whoever of you intends to marry, let him pray two rak'as, reciting the Opening of the Book and Surat Ya-Sin. When he has finished the prayer, let him praise God, Mighty and Majestic, and extol Him, and say: O God, grant me a righteous wife, loving, fruitful, grateful, content and protective of my honor: if I do good she gives thanks, and if I do ill she forgives; if I remember God the Exalted she helps me, and if I forget she reminds me; if I go out from her she guards [what is mine], and if I come in to her she gladdens me; if I command her she obeys me, and if I put her under oath she fulfills it; and if I grow angry with her she wins back my contentment. O Possessor of Majesty and Generosity, bestow that upon me, for I ask only of You, and I find nothing except what You have apportioned to me. And Ali (AS) said: Whoever does this, God grants him what he has asked. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 48)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever of you intends to marry, let him pray two rak'as, reciting in each rak'a the Fatiha and Ya-Sin; and after the prayer let him offer praise and thanks to God and say: O God, grant me a wife who is righteous, loving, fruitful, grateful, content, submissive and protective of my honor; who, if I do good to her, gives thanks, and if I do ill, forgives. If I remember God, let her help me; and if I forget, let her remind me. When I leave the house, let her be the guardian of my life and my honor; and when I come home, let her make me glad and happy. If I command her, let her obey; and if I put her under oath, let her accept it. If I become angry and wrathful toward her, let her make me pleased and content. O God, Possessor of Majesty and Nobility! Make such a wife my portion, for I seek help from Your mighty threshold, and I know of nothing except what You apportion to me. Ali (AS) said: If anyone performs this prayer and supplication, God answers his request.
Ali (AS) was asked about prayer aboard a ship. He said: It suffices you to pray in it as God's prophet Noah prayed, seated, because the ship was pitching with them. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 51)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was asked about prayer on a ship. He said: You may pray seated, as Noah (AS) did; their ship had no place to stand.
Ali (AS) said: Whoever sells his surplus water, God will withhold from him His bounty on the Day of Resurrection. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 53)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not sell water that you do not need; rather, place it at the disposal of others free of charge. Otherwise God will withhold His bounty from you on the Day of Resurrection.
Al-Sadiq said, from his father, from his grandfather Ali ibn al-Husayn, from his father, who said: When Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) performed ablution, he would rinse his mouth and draw water into his nose, wash his face three times and his forearms three times, wipe his head, and sprinkle water on his lower body; then he would say: Thus did I perform ablution as the Messenger of God enjoined. (al-Nawadir of al-Rawandi, vol. 1, p. 54)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: It was Ali's (AS) practice that whenever he performed ablution he would rinse his mouth and draw water into his nose. Then he would wash his face and hands three times. After that he would wipe his head, and at the end he would pass his hand beneath his beard and over his throat, and he would say: This is how the Messenger of God (PBUH) performed ablution!