By our chain of transmission to Ibn Babawayh — may the pleasure of God, Great is His Majesty, be upon him — among what he narrated: the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A staff of bitter almond wood drives poverty away, and Satan does not come near its bearer. (al-Aman by Ibn Tawus, vol. 1, p. 46)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A staff of bitter almond wood drives away poverty and Satan.
From Abu Muhammad al-Qasim ibn al-Ala al-Mada'ini, who said: A servant of Ali ibn Muhammad (AS) related to me, saying: I asked his permission to make the visitation to Tus. He said to me: Let there be with you a ring whose stone is yellow carnelian, bearing the inscription 'What God wills; there is no power save through God; I seek God's forgiveness,' and on the other side 'Muhammad and Ali.' For it is a safeguard against being cut off, more complete for your safety, and better preserving of your religion. He said: So I went out and obtained a ring of the description he had commanded me. Then I returned to take my leave of him, bade him farewell, and departed. When I had gone some way from him, he ordered that I be brought back. I returned to him and he said: O Safi! I said: At your service, my master. He said: Let there be with you another ring, of turquoise. For a lion will meet you on your road between Tus and Nishapur and will prevent the caravan from proceeding. Go forward to it, show it the ring, and say to it: My master says to you, move aside from the road. Then he said: Let its engraving be 'God is the King,' and on the other side 'Sovereignty belongs to God, the One, the All-Subduing.' For it is the ring of the Commander of the Faithful Ali (AS): upon it was 'God is the King,' and when he assumed the caliphate he engraved upon his ring 'Sovereignty belongs to God, the One, the All-Subduing.' Its stone was turquoise, and it is a safeguard against beasts of prey in particular and a means of victory in wars. The servant said: I set out upon that journey of mine, and by God the beast met me. I did what I had been commanded, and when I returned I told him of it. He (AS) said to me: There remains one matter you have not told me of; if you wish, I shall tell you of it. I said: My master, I forgot it. He said: Indeed. You spent a night at Tus by the grave, and a company of the jinn came to the grave to visit it. They looked at the stone upon your hand and read its engraving, so they took it from your hand and carried it to one of their number who was sick. They washed the ring with water and gave him that water to drink, and he was cured. Then they returned the ring to you; it had been upon your right hand, and they placed it upon your left hand, so that your astonishment at this was great and you did not know the reason for it. And by your head you found a stone of ruby, and you took it, and it is with you. Carry it to the market, for you will sell it for eighty dinars; it is the gift of that people to you. So I carried it to the market and sold it for eighty dinars, just as my master (AS) had said. (al-Aman by Ibn Tawus, vol. 1, p. 48)
The servant of Imam al-Hadi (AS) relates: I asked the Imam's leave to travel to Khurasan and to visit his grandfather Imam al-Rida (AS). He said: Take with you a ring of yellow carnelian engraved with: 'What God wills; there is no power save through God; I seek God's forgiveness,' and on its back: 'Muhammad and Ali' — so that your religion may be preserved and you may be safe from thieves and calamities. I obtained such a ring and came to take my leave of him. When I had parted from him he sent after me, and when I returned to him he said: Obtain another ring as well, of turquoise. Between Nishapur and Tus a lion will bar the road against your caravan. Go forward, show him this ring, and say: My Imam commands you to move aside from the road. Then he said: Engrave upon the ring 'God is the King,' and upon its back engrave 'Sovereignty belongs to God, the One, the All-Subduing.' For such was the ring of the Commander of the Faithful (AS); he engraved the second part upon his ring when he came to the caliphate. Such a ring guards a man against beasts of prey and brings victory in wars. The narrator says: I set out on the journey, and at the very place the Imam had named I met the lion, and it happened just as the Imam had said. I returned to the Imam and recounted the affair. He said: You have forgotten to mention one thing. I said: What thing? He said: When you slept the night at Tus beside the grave of my grandfather, a company of jinn came to visit, and when they saw the ring and its engraving upon your hand they drew it from your hand and carried it away and placed it in water, and gave that water to one of them who was ailing, that he might be healed. Then they returned the ring and put it upon your left hand in place of your right. You rose and saw that the ring had passed from your right hand to your left, and you were astonished at this and did not understand why it had happened. And beside the place where you had laid your head and slept you found a stone of ruby, and you brought it with you. That stone is the gift of the jinn to you. Take it to the market and sell it for eighty dinars.
In the fourth part of the book Daf' al-Humum wa al-Ahzan, composed by Ahmad ibn Dawud al-Nu'mani: Ibn Abbas said: I said to the Commander of the Faithful (AS) on the night of Siffin: Do you not see that the enemies have surrounded us? He said: Has this alarmed you? I said: Yes. So he said: O God, I take refuge in You from being humiliated under Your dominion. O God, I take refuge in You from going astray within Your guidance. O God, I take refuge in You from becoming poor amid Your riches. O God, I take refuge in You from being lost within Your safekeeping. O God, I take refuge in You from being overcome while the whole matter belongs to You. (al-Aman by Ibn Tawus, vol. 1, p. 126)
Ibn Abbas said: One night at Siffin I said to Ali (AS): Do you see what the enemies are doing to us? He said: Are you afraid? I said: Plainly so! He said: Say: O God, I take refuge in You from being humiliated under Your dominion! O God, I take refuge in You from going astray within Your guidance! O God, I take refuge in You from becoming poor amid Your riches! O God, I take refuge in You from being lost within Your safekeeping! O God, I take refuge in You from being overcome while everything is in Your hand!
By his chain of transmission to our master Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his forefathers (AS), who said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever fears a beast of prey for himself or for his flock, let him say: O God, Lord of Daniel, Lord of the pit, and Lord of every raging lion, guard me and guard my flock for me. (al-Aman by Ibn Tawus, vol. 1, p. 130)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever fears a beast of prey, for himself or for his flock, let him say: O God of Daniel, O God of the pit, O God of the lion, preserve me and my property!
We have narrated it from the book al-Mahasin, by its chain from Ibn Abi Fakhita, from his father, who said: Ja'da ibn Hubayra sent me to Sura, and I mentioned that to Ali (AS). He said: I shall teach you something which, if you say it, the lion will not harm you. Say three times: I take refuge in the Lord of Daniel and of the pit from the evil of the lion. He said: So I set out, and there it was, stretching out its forelegs beside the bridge. I said the words, and it did not molest me. Then some cows passed by; it went for them and struck down one of the cows. (al-Aman by Ibn Tawus, vol. 1, p. 130)
The narrator says: One of the commanders of Ali (AS) charged me with an errand to Sura. When it was time to go I came to Ali (AS) and asked his leave. He said to me: I shall teach you something whereby you will be safe from the lion. Say three times: I take refuge in the God of Daniel and of the pit from the evil of the lion! The narrator says: On the road we came to a bridge, and a lion was crouching upon it. I spoke the words that Ali (AS) had taught me. The lion did not molest us, and rose so that we might pass. Just then some cows appeared. The lion made for them and broke one of the cows to pieces.