The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Peoples have hastened toward the Gardens of Eden who were of all men the most abundant in prayer and fasting; yet when they reached the gate they were turned back from entering. It was said: For what were they turned back? Did they not, in the abode of this world, pray and fast and perform the hajj? And behold, the call came from the Highest Sovereign, mighty and exalted: Yes indeed — none had more fasting than they, nor prayer, nor hajj, nor lesser pilgrimage; but they were heedless of God's admonitions. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 13)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: On the Day of Resurrection a company who of all people had the most prayer and fasting hasten toward Paradise; but when they reach its gate they are turned back and barred from entering. They ask: Why? A call comes from God that, although they had more prayer and fasting and hajj and lesser pilgrimage than the rest, they were heedless of God's admonitions.
(We say: that is, they did not act upon the whole of the Qur'an; they contented themselves with some of its rites, and the purification of the soul, firm rootedness in the divine unity, and severance unto God had no place in their spiritual course.)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Those who renounce the world are a people who, when ease befalls them, give thanks, and when hardship befalls them, are patient. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 14)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The true ascetics are those who in ease are thankful and in hardship patient.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The most severely chastised of men on the Day of Resurrection is one who knew a knowledge and did not profit by it; for you will never profit by it until you act upon it. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 14)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The worst chastisement of the Resurrection is suffered by one whose knowledge brought him no benefit — that is, who did not act upon it.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God revealed to one of His prophets, in part of His revelation: Say to those who seek this world by the work of the hereafter, who wear before men the skins of sheep while their hearts are the hearts of wolves. And he said: People have grown averse to the seeking of knowledge only because of what they see of the little benefit of one who knows without acting. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 14)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God revealed to one of His prophets: Say to those who, by acting upon religion — or by making a show of it — seek to set in order their worldly affairs: O you wolves in sheep's clothing! The reason people have no desire for religion is that they see that religion has cured no pain of yours and has not reared you to be seekers of the hereafter!
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The learned man is he who flees from the world, not he who desires it. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 15)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The scholar of religion, if he has any tinge of the truth about him and is godly, flees from the world, and his heart is not pledged to it.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Bring your hearts out of the world before your bodies go out of it; for the hereafter you were created, and in the world you are but imprisoned. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 19)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Before the hour of farewell to the world arrives, tear your heart away from it, for afterwards it is too late. You were created for the hereafter, not for the world, and you are captive to the world and imprisoned in it for no more than a few days.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The most wretched of the wretched is he upon whom are gathered together the poverty of this world and the chastisement of the next. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 19)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I know of none more wretched than a poor man who has neither this world nor the next. (So if the poverty of this world has taken hold of you, strive at least to deliver yourself from the chastisement of the hereafter!)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Among the attributes of the friends of God are trust in Him in everything, richness through Him from everything, and neediness toward Him in everything. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 19)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The friends of God set their hope always upon God; since they have God, they are always rich; and in every state they know themselves to be in need of God.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Put off the world with such provision as is at hand, and get through with it thereby. And he (AS) used to recite these verses: Repel the world with whatever repels it, and cut off the world with whatever cuts it off. A man seeks riches in vain, when riches lie in the soul, if only it be content. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 19)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: With that very portion of the world which has fallen to you, pass the world by and leave it behind, and do not look for riches outside yourself; for riches are within, and the way to them is contentment.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Those who renounce the world are the kings of this world and the next; and whoever does not renounce the world but desires it is poor in this world and the next. Whoever renounces it possesses it, and whoever desires it is possessed by it. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 20)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The renouncers of the world are the true lords of this world and the next. Whoever is not a renouncer of the world and pants after it is poor in this world and the next. Whoever does not want the world comes to own it, and whoever wants it is owned by it.
Suwayd ibn Ghafala said: I came in upon the Commander of the Faithful (AS) in his house, and I saw nothing in the room. So I said: Where is the furniture, O Commander of the Faithful? He said: O son of Ghafala, we are a household that does not furnish itself in this world; we have removed our most precious goods to the hereafter. Our likeness in this world is that of a rider who takes shade beneath a tree, then departs and leaves it. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 20)
The narrator says: I came into the presence of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and saw that in his house and his room there was scarcely any furniture. I said: Where then is your furniture? He said: In this world we do not go after furniture. We have sent our furniture on ahead for the hereafter. For us the world is like the shade of a tree beneath which we rest a moment and then move on.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said concerning the words of God Most High, "Then you shall surely be questioned that day about the bliss" [Qur'an 102:8]: it is cool water on the days of heat. And the Messenger of God (PBUH), when he drank water, would say: Praise be to God, who did not make it bitter and salt because of our sins, but by His grace made it sweet and fresh. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 37)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said concerning the verse "On the Day of Resurrection you shall be questioned about the blessings" [Qur'an 102:8]: it includes even this cool water that you drink in the summer heat. Then he said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) drank water and then prayed in secret: Thanks be to God that this water has not been made brackish because of our sins, and that God has kept it sweet, that it might be a blessing upon us.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A man who wastes an hour of his life in other than that for which he was created deserves that his regret over it should stretch long on the Day of Resurrection. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 49)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever spends one hour of his life in other than that for which he was created — namely servanthood to God — his regret on the Day of Resurrection will be long drawn out.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Keep to the mosques and to those who frequent them; they are the people of God and His elect. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 77)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Go often to the mosque, and by your going make the mosque flourish! The people of the mosque are the people of God and the elect of His court.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Manliness is six: three on a journey and three at home. Those at home are the recitation of the Qur'an, the frequenting of mosques, and the taking of brothers for God's sake. As for those on a journey: giving freely of one's provisions, good character, and companionship in what is right. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 77)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Manliness at home is much recitation of the Qur'an, much going to the mosque, and having many friends for God's sake; and on a journey it consists in spending well, in good character, and in kindness to one's fellow travellers.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever asks God's forgiveness seventy times in the hour before dawn is among those of whom God has said, "and those who seek forgiveness in the hours before dawn" [Qur'an 3:17]. And he said: Whoever recites seventy verses in his night is not among the heedless. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 94)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: In the hours before dawn ask forgiveness at least seventy times, that you may be counted among "those who seek forgiveness before the dawn". At night recite at least seventy verses of the Qur'an, that you may not be counted among the heedless.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: No man gives way to a fit of anguish but that it becomes a regret for him on the Day of Resurrection. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 94)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Every outcry and lamentation is a regret on the Day of Resurrection: why was I not patient!
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The servants of God — their hearts are broken from awe of God; they count nothing they do for Him as much; they see themselves as the wicked, while in truth they are the righteous. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 95)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: True servants are always broken-hearted from awe of God, and they reckon their own deeds as nothing. They hold themselves to be the worst of people, while they are the best.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Prophet (PBUH) wept when he came in his recitation to the verse: "How then shall it be when We bring from every community a witness, and bring you as a witness against these?" [Qur'an 4:41]. Look at the witness, how he weeps, while those witnessed against are laughing! By God, were it not for ignorance, no tooth would show in laughter. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 97)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When the Messenger of God (PBUH) reached the verse "How then shall it be when We bring from every community a witness, and bring you as a witness against these?" he would weep and say: See, the witness himself is weeping; woe to those witnessed against, whose lives have passed in laughter! Then he would say: Were it not for ignorance, no one would laugh.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) used to say in his glorification of God: Glory be to Him who made Adam's fault a lesson for his children. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 108)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) would sometimes glorify God with these words: Pure and glorified is the God who made man's error a lesson for his offspring!
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Trust in God and good opinion of Him are a fortress in which none takes refuge save every believer; and reliance upon Him is deliverance from every evil and a protection from every enemy. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 109)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Trust in God and good opinion of Him are a stronghold (an armour) which befits none but the believer. And he would say: Reliance upon God is itself the cause of deliverance in every difficulty, and is by itself a protection against every adversary.
It is related that Ali (AS) once passed by a butcher who had some fat meat with him. The butcher said: O Commander of the Faithful, this meat is fat; buy some of it. He said to him: The price is not to hand. He said: I can wait patiently, O Commander of the Faithful. He said to him: And I can wait patiently without the meat. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 119)
It is related that one day the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was passing by the shop of a butcher. The butcher, seeing him, said: O Commander of the Faithful! Good meat has come in today; buy some of it! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I have no money with me at present. The butcher said: Pay for it later. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Then I shall buy the meat later!
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: There is not one of you but has beheld Paradise and the Fire with his own eyes. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 125)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Paradise and Hell stand before the eyes of every man, and he is plainly beholding them.
(We say: Hell is this very endless thinking and imagining of ours, in grief over the past and fear of the future; and Paradise is the moments of intimacy with God and of kindness to God's creatures.)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever renounces the world, there remains for him no looking save toward God, and no returning save unto Him. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 125)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: For one who does not want the world and is even-hearted toward it, there remains no gaze except upon God, and no going except toward God.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: We have found patience in obedience to God easier than patience under His chastisement. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 126)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Patience in obedience to God is always easier than patience under His chastisement.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: How admirable is envy, and how just! It begins with its own possessor and kills him. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 126)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Well done, envy! It is the envier himself whom it kills first.
It is related that when a petitioner came to the Commander of the Faithful (AS) with his need, he would say to him: Write it upon the ground, for I hate to see the humiliation of asking in the face of the asker. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 136)
Someone came seeking something of the Commander of the Faithful (AS). He said: Write down your request! I do not like to look upon a man's face while he has a request to make of me.
It is said that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) wept one day, and they asked him the cause of his weeping. He said: Seven days have passed for us in which no guest has come to us. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 137)
It is said: one day they saw that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was sorrowful. They asked the reason, and he said: It is a week now since any guest has come to me.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: There is no one who lodges joy in a heart but that God creates from that joy a kindness which, when a calamity befalls him, comes down upon it like a torrent in its rushing and drives it away as stray camels are driven off. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 138)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When you make someone glad, God creates out of that gladness a kindness which, when some affliction sets out against you, flows like a flood and tears that affliction up by the roots.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: My Shi'a are those guided by the love of God and the helpers of His servants. Godliness is known in their faces and devotion in their bearing. They bear no hatred toward any Muslim who has gone before. Ah, how I long for them! (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 144)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: My true Shi'a are those whom the love of God has set upon the road; they are ever helping the servants of God; godliness is seated in their faces and devotion in their manner; they never speak ill of anyone. Ah, how much I love them!
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: There is no servant who loves us, the People of the House, and acts by our deeds, and calls himself to account before his grave is opened for him, but that God admits him into Paradise. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 145)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever truly loves us and takes us as his pattern in life and constantly calls himself to account is assuredly of the people of Paradise.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God has servants among His creation to whom people flee with their needs; those are the ones secure from the chastisement of God, mighty and majestic. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 146)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God has servants who are a refuge for people in their needs; such as these are safe from God's chastisement.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: There is no man who brings two believers into his house and feeds them until they are satisfied but that this is better than freeing a slave. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 147)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: That a believer should be a man's guest and he satisfy his hunger is better than freeing a slave.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God would not open to a servant the door of supplication and close against him the door of response, while He says, "Call upon Me, I will answer you" [Qur'an 40:60]. And God would not open the door of repentance and close the door of forgiveness, for He Most High says, "And He it is who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons evil deeds" [Qur'an 42:25]. And God would not open the door of thankfulness and close the door of increase, for He says, "If you give thanks, I will surely increase you" [Qur'an 14:7]. And God would not open the door of reliance and yet appoint no way out for the one who relies upon Him, for He, glory be to Him, says, "And whoever fears God, He will appoint for him a way out, and will provide for him whence he does not reckon; and whoever relies upon God, He is sufficient for him" [Qur'an 65:2-3]. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 148)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: It cannot be that God should grant a man the grace of supplication and not answer his prayer, for He Himself has said: Call upon Me and I will answer you. It cannot be that God should grant a man the grace of repentance and not include him in His forgiveness, for He Himself has said: I accept repentance and pardon sins. It cannot be that God should grant a man the grace of thankfulness and not open to him the door of increase, for He Himself has said: If you give thanks, I will increase you. It cannot be that a man should be God-fearing and God not deliver him from his difficulties, for He Himself has said: Whoever fears God, God delivers him from difficulties, and provides for him whence he does not expect, and God is sufficient for him.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Sickness is the alms of the body, and kindness is the alms of blessings; and every blessing from which kindness proceeds is safe from being stripped away and fortified against the turns of fortune. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 150)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Sickness is the alms of the body, and beneficence the alms of blessing. Blessing is exposed to disappearance, and by beneficence it must be guarded from disappearance and change.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God, mighty and majestic, says: O My servants, obey Me in what I have commanded you, and do not teach Me what is good for you, for I know it better, and I am not niggardly toward you with your own good. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 152)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God has said: O My servants! Do what I have told you, and do not teach Me wherein your good lies! I know better, and I always act according to your best interest.
When he (AS) wished to clothe himself, he would go into the market and buy two garments; he would let Qanbar choose the better of the two and would wear the other himself. Then he would come to the tailor and stretch out one of its sleeves for him and say: Cut this off with your blade — and he would say: this will serve for another use — while the other sleeve he would leave as it was, saying: in this one he brings from the market things for al-Hasan and al-Husayn. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 158)
The narrator says: When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) bought a shirt, he would buy two. The better one he would give to his servant Qanbar. The second he would wear himself, and he would cut off the length of the two sleeves, saying: they will come in useful. One of them, for instance, he would use as a bag: he would put in it the provisions he bought for his children and bring them home.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When the Day of Resurrection comes, God will gather the scholars and say to them: My servants, I have forgiven you your sins and accepted your deeds, and you have intercession among the people like the intercession of My prophets; and I am well pleased with you. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 166)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: On the Day of Resurrection God gathers the true scholars and says to them: I have forgiven your sins and accepted your deeds. Now go and intercede for others as the prophets do, for I am well pleased with you.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: You will not find the taste of faith until you abandon lying, both in earnest and in jest. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 178)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: True faith falls to a man's lot only when he abandons lying absolutely — even the lie that is told in jest.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) ascended the pulpit at Kufa, praised God and extolled Him, then said: O people, sins are of three kinds. There is the sin that is forgiven: that of a servant whom God has punished in this world for his sin — and God Most High is too forbearing and too generous to punish His servant twice. As for the sin that is not forgiven, it is the wronging of one another among the servants; for God has sworn an oath upon Himself, saying: By My might and My majesty, I shall not allow the wrongdoing of a wrongdoer to pass. And as for the third sin, it is a sin which God has veiled upon His servant and for which He has granted him repentance, so that he rises fearing his sin and hoping in his Lord. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 181)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said from the pulpit of the mosque of Kufa: There are three kinds of sin. First: the forgiven sin, one for which God has already chastised the servant in this world. He is too generous and too forbearing to chastise him for it again in the hereafter; such a sin therefore is forgiven. Second: the sin that is not pardoned, which is people's wronging of one another. Such a sin God does not forgive until the one wronged forgives. Third: the sin which God has veiled, and before it was disclosed the servant repented, regretting the sin and hoping in God's forgiveness.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever magnifies small misfortunes, God will afflict him with great ones. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 193)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever makes small troubles great for himself, God afflicts him with great troubles.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A friend is no friend until he guards his brother in three things: in his calamity, in his absence, and at his death. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 193)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A true friend takes your part in the calamities of fortune, in your absence, and at your death.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Chivalry is four things: humility in prosperity, pardon in power, sincere counsel amid enmity, and giving without reproach. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 194)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Chivalry is humility at the time of fortune; and pardon at the time of power; and goodwill at the time of enmity; and giving, without reproach.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever does five things must come to five, and whoever has these five must come to the Fire. The first: whoever drinks boiled-down wine must come to drinking wine, and the wine-drinker must come to the Fire. The second: whoever wears sumptuous garments must come to pride, and the proud man must come to the Fire. The third: whoever sits upon the carpet of the sultan must speak according to the sultan's whim, and the man of whim must come to the Fire. The fourth: whoever sits freely with women must come to fornication, and the fornicator must come to the Fire. The fifth: whoever sells and buys without knowledge of the law must come to usury, and the devourer of usury must come to the Fire. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 194)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Five things drive a man toward Hell: whoever drinks fermented fruit juice falls unwillingly into the drinking of wine; whoever wears sumptuous clothing becomes afflicted with pride; whoever becomes the companion of a ruler is obliged to speak according to the ruler's desire; whoever mixes recklessly with women stands in danger of fornication; and whoever engages in trade while ignorant of the rulings of religion becomes tainted with usury.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Regard for what is sacred from the corrupt man is impossible; tenderness from an enemy is impossible; sincere counsel from an envier is impossible; awe-inspiring dignity in a poor man is impossible; and fidelity from a woman is impossible. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 195)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not expect consideration from the corrupt, nor look for kindness from an enemy, nor seek goodwill from an envier. Likewise, dignity in the poor man and fidelity in a woman are so rare as to be all but non-existent.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) called out to the people of the graves among the believing men and women and said: "Peace be upon you, and the mercy of God and His blessings." And we heard a voice saying: "And upon you be peace, and the mercy of God and His blessings, O Commander of the Faithful." He said: Shall we tell you your news, or will you tell us your news? He said: Tell us your news, O Commander of the Faithful. He said: Your wives have married; your wealth your heirs have divided; your children have been gathered among the orphans; and the dwellings you raised and built — your enemies have settled in them. So what is your news? A voice answered him: The shrouds have been torn to pieces, the hair has scattered, the skins have been rent, the eyeballs have run down upon the cheeks, and the nostrils and mouths have run with pus and matter. What we sent ahead we have found; what we spent we have profited by; and what we left behind we have lost. We are held in pledge for our deeds, hoping from God for forgiveness through His generosity and bounty. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: . (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 196)
The narrator says: In the graveyard the Commander of the Faithful (AS) addressed the people of the graves and said: "Peace be upon you, and the mercy of God and His blessings." We heard a voice say: "And upon you be peace, and the mercy of God and His blessings, O Commander of the Faithful." The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Have you news of this world? Your wives have married and gone; your properties have been divided; your children are orphaned; and your houses have passed to your enemies. Then he said: And what news there? A voice said: The shrouds have rotted, the skins have wasted away, the eye-sockets are emptied and the throats have fallen in. Whatever we sent ahead for the hereafter has come to our aid here, and whatever we gave in charity has profited us, and in whatever we left behind we have suffered loss. We are held fast by our deeds, and we seek forgiveness from the generosity of God.
It is related from the Commander of the Faithful (AS) that on the night of the Ascension the Prophet (PBUH) asked his Lord, glory be to Him, saying: O my Lord, which of deeds is best? God Most High said: There is nothing better with Me than reliance upon Me and contentment with what I have apportioned.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) relates that on the night of the Ascension the Messenger of God (PBUH) asked: My God, what deed is best in Your sight? God said: Reliance upon Me and contentment with what I have apportioned.
O Muhammad, My love is due to those who love one another in Me; and My love is due to those who show tenderness to one another in Me; and My love is due to those who keep ties with one another in Me; and My love is due to those who rely upon Me; and...
And God said: My love is poured out upon those who love one another for My sake; My love is poured out upon those who are tender to one another for My sake; My love is poured out upon those who keep the ties of kinship for My sake; My love is poured out upon those who rely upon Me.
Their bliss in this world is My remembrance, My love, and My good pleasure with them.
O Muhammad! The blessing which I pour out upon the believers in this world is the grace of My remembrance, and that I fill their hearts with love of Me, and that I am well pleased with them.
Store nothing up for tomorrow, and persevere in My remembrance.
O Muhammad! Do not be anxious for your tomorrow; be immersed in My remembrance!
O Ahmad, do you know at what time the servant draws near to Me? He said: [No, my Lord. He said:] When he is hungry, or when he is in prostration.
O Ahmad! Do you know when the servant is nearest to Me? When he is hungry, or when he is in prostration!
O Ahmad, I marvel at a servant who has his day's sustenance and yet frets over tomorrow.
O Ahmad! I marvel at one who has the food of his day and yet is anxious for tomorrow!
O Ahmad, love for God is love for the poor and drawing near to them. He said: And who are the poor? He said: Those who are content with little, who are patient in hunger, who give thanks in ease, who do not complain of their hunger or their thirst, who do not lie with their tongues, who are not angry with their Lord, who do not grieve over what has escaped them, and do not rejoice over what He has given them.
O Ahmad! Love of Me is love of the poor and drawing near to them. The Messenger of God (PBUH) says: I asked: Who are meant by the poor? God said: Those who are content with little and patient in hunger, and who give thanks as soon as anything comes to them; those who do not open their tongues in complaint, who never lie, who are not angry with Me, who do not grieve over what I have taken from them, and are not made giddy by what I have given them.
O Ahmad, My love is love of the poor; so bring the poor near, and let their place of sitting be close to you.
O Ahmad! Love of Me is love of the poor; draw near to the poor and sit with them!
O Ahmad, the people of the hereafter praise at the beginning of a blessing and give thanks at the end of it. People are as the dead in their sight, and God in their sight is the Living, the Generous. This world and the next have become one and the same to them.
O Ahmad! The people of the hereafter give praise at the beginning of a blessing and thanks at the end of it. People are in their eyes as though they did not exist, and it is only the Living and Generous God upon whom they gaze. This world and the next are nothing to them.
O Ahmad, no servant has known Me and been humble before Me but that everything is made humble before him. O Ahmad, scrupulous restraint opens to the servant the doors of worship, and by it the servant is honoured among creation and reaches God, mighty and majestic.
O Ahmad! Whoever has known Me and been humble before Me, I make everything humble before him. O Ahmad! Scrupulous restraint bestows upon My servants the grace of worship, and by worship they attain a station with Me; and when they have become someone in My sight, they gain greatness also in the eyes of creation.
O Ahmad, keep to silence, for the most flourishing of dwellings are the hearts of the righteous and the silent, and the most ruined of dwellings are the hearts of those who speak of what does not concern them.
O Ahmad! Hold fast to silence! The most flourishing place is the heart of the righteous and the silent, and the most ruined place is the heart of those who speak out of season.
O Ahmad, when the servant attains certainty, he no longer cares how he rises in the morning — in hardship or in ease.
O Ahmad! When certainty comes, it no longer matters to the servant whether he is poor or rich!
O Ahmad, do you know which life is sweetest? He said: O God, no. He said: As for the sweet life, it is the life of one who does not slacken in My remembrance, who does not forget My blessing, who is not ignorant of My right, and who seeks My good pleasure by night and by day.
O Ahmad! Do you know who has the best life? He who is unceasingly mindful of Me, who does not forget thanks for the blessing, who is not heedless of My right, and who night and day is intent upon gaining My good pleasure.
Whoever acts according to My good pleasure, I bind upon him three qualities: I make known to him a thankfulness unmixed with ignorance, a remembrance unmixed with forgetfulness, and a love in which he prefers the love of no created being above love of Me. And when he loves Me, I love him, and I open the eye of his heart upon My majesty.
Whoever acts according to My good pleasure, I bestow upon him three things: an unceasing thankfulness, a remembrance without forgetting, and a love toward Me that fills his whole being. Whoever loves Me, I too shall love him, and I open the eye of his heart upon My own majesty.
O Ahmad, make your concern one single concern; make your tongue one; make your body living; and never be heedless. Whoever is heedless of Me, I do not care in which valley he perishes. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 1, p. 199)
O Ahmad! Make your aspiration a single aspiration, and your tongue a single tongue, and fill your being with life, and beware of heedlessness; for whoever grows heedless perishes, and it does not matter to Me how or where!
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Sitting in the mosque is better for me than sitting in the garden; for in the garden is the pleasure of my own soul, while in the congregational mosque is the pleasure of my Lord. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 2, p. 218)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I love sitting in the mosque more than sitting in garden and orchard. Garden and orchard are the pleasure of the soul; the mosque is the pleasure of God.
(We say: perhaps by "janna" his Eminence meant Paradise, and wishes to say that the mosque is higher than Paradise, because it is the house of God.)
It is related that when he (AS) had finished with holy war, he would give himself to teaching the people and to judging between them; and when he had finished with that, he would busy himself in a garden of his, working in it with his own hand, and with all that he was remembering God Most High, majestic His majesty. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 2, p. 218)
It is related that when the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was free of holy war, he would occupy himself with teaching the people and judging between them; and when he was free of teaching and judging, he would work in his garden, and while he worked he was constantly uttering the remembrance of God.
One night he went out from the mosque of Kufa making for his house, when a quarter of the night had passed, and with him was Kumayl ibn Ziyad, who was among the best of his Shi'a and of those who loved him. On the way he came to the door of a man who at that hour was reciting the Qur'an, reading the words of God Most High: "Is he who is devoutly obedient in the watches of the night, prostrating and standing, fearful of the hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord...? Say: Are those who know equal to those who do not know? Only those of understanding take heed" [Qur'an 39:9] — in a plaintive and sorrowful voice. Kumayl inwardly approved of this, and the man's state pleased him, though he said nothing. Then he (AS) turned to him and said: O Kumayl, let not the man's droning please you; he is of the people of the Fire, and I shall inform you of the matter hereafter. Kumayl was bewildered that he had spoken to him face to face of what was within him, and had testified that the man belonged to the Fire, despite his being engaged in that occupation and outwardly in so goodly a state at that hour. So Kumayl fell silent, marvelling and pondering the matter. A long while passed, until the affair of the Khawarij came to what it came to, and the Commander of the Faithful (AS) fought them — and they used to preserve the Qur'an by heart as it was revealed. The Commander of the Faithful turned to Kumayl ibn Ziyad, who was standing before him while the sword in his hand dripped blood and the heads of those unbelieving profligates lay strewn upon the ground. He set the point of the sword upon one of those heads and said: O Kumayl — "Is he who is devoutly obedient in the watches of the night, prostrating and standing...?" That is: this is the very man who was reciting that night, whose state so pleased you. Then Kumayl kissed the front of his feet and asked God's forgiveness. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 2, p. 226)
Kumayl ibn Ziyad says: One night we came out of the mosque of Kufa with the Commander of the Faithful (AS). A good part of the night had passed. In an alley, the sound of Qur'an recitation came from a house. A man was reciting in a grave and sorrowful voice: "Is he who is devoutly obedient in the watches of the night, prostrating and standing, fearful of the hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord...? Say: Are those who know equal to those who do not know? Only those of understanding take heed." Kumayl says: He recited the Qur'an most beautifully, and I envied the reciter his state — that is, I said within myself, would that I were in his place and had his state. Although all this passed only in my mind, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) turned to me and said: Kumayl! Do not let this man's mouthing of the Qur'an deceive you; he is of the people of Hell! Later you will understand. Kumayl says: I was astonished and fell to thinking. A long time passed. At Nahrawan, in the thick of the battle, Ali (AS) called me. I came to him, and I saw that around him the ground was full of the bodies of the Khawarij and of heads severed from their trunks, and that blood was dripping from Ali's sword. With the point of the sword he pointed to a head and said: Kumayl! "Is he who is devoutly obedient in the watches of the night, prostrating and standing..." — that is, this is the very man in whose place you wished to be that night. Kumayl says: At that moment I bent down without willing it and kissed the feet of the Commander of the Faithful (AS), and asked God's forgiveness.
It is related with his chain of transmission from Maytham al-Tammar, who said: The Commander of the Faithful was delivering a sermon to us in the congregational mosque of Kufa when Burayda entered from the region of al-Anbar, crying for help and saying: God! O Commander of the Faithful, look to your subjects and your Shi'a! These are Mu'awiya's horsemen; they have launched raids upon us. Then Ibrahim ibn al-Hasan al-Azdi rose and said: O Commander of the Faithful, is this the power by which you saw, while upon your pulpit, that Mu'awiya's horsemen were in your own house, and you did not know of it? Then why do you fall short against Mu'awiya? The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to him: Woe to you, O Ibrahim! "That he who perishes might perish by a clear proof, and he who lives might live by a clear proof" [Qur'an 8:42]. Then the people cried out from every side of the mosque: O Commander of the Faithful! How long will you cite "that he who perishes might perish by a clear proof, and he who lives might live by a clear proof", while your Shi'a are being destroyed? He (AS) said to them: "That God might accomplish a matter already decreed" [Qur'an 8:42]. Then Zayd ibn Kathir al-Muradi cried out and said: O Commander of the Faithful, only yesterday you were speaking, while you were equipping yourself against Mu'awiya and urging us to fight him — and two men came to you for judgement over a deed, and one of them was hasty with you in his speech, so you made his head the head of a dog; then he sought your protection and you restored him a sound human being. And one of your companions said to you: why does this power not reach Mu'awiya, so that you might spare us his evil? And you said to us: By Him who splits the seed and creates the soul, if I wished to strike Mu'awiya's breast with this short leg of mine and turn him over upon the crown of his head, I would do it. So why do you not do what you will? Do you wish to weaken our souls, so that we doubt you and enter the Fire? The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I shall indeed do it, and I shall hasten it upon the son of Hind. So he stretched out his leg upon his pulpit and said: O assembly of people, mark the date and hour of this moment and take note of it, for at this very hour I have struck Mu'awiya's breast with this leg of mine and overturned him from his throne upon the crown of his head. And he supposed that he had been surrounded, and he cried out: O Commander of the Faithful, where is the respite? So I drew back my leg from him. The people awaited the arrival of news from Syria, and they knew that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) speaks nothing but the truth. Then the reports and letters came, bearing the date of that very hour of that very day: that a leg had come from the direction of Kufa and entered Mu'awiya's audience hall, while the people looked on, until it struck Mu'awiya's breast and overturned him from his throne upon the crown of his head; and he cried out: O Commander of the Faithful, where is the respite? And that leg was drawn back from him. So the people knew that what the Commander of the Faithful had said was true. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 2, p. 272)
Maytham al-Tammar relates that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was upon the pulpit in the mosque of Kufa when a messenger arrived from the region of al-Anbar and said: O Commander of the Faithful! Come to the aid of your subjects and your Shi'a, for Mu'awiya's hirelings have plundered them! Ibrahim al-Azdi rose and cried out: O Commander of the Faithful! You possess powers, and yet Mu'awiya raids your people and strikes at them! How long this patience? The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: "That he who perishes might perish by a clear proof, and he who lives might live by a clear proof." The people cried out: O Commander of the Faithful! How long will you recite this verse to us and cling to it? Your Shi'a have been destroyed! The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: "That God might accomplish a matter already decreed." At this Zayd al-Muradi rose and said: Yesterday, in the presence of many, you were angry with a man, and all saw that his face took the shape of a dog, and that after he sought refuge with you it returned to its first form. The people saw that scene, and now they say: with such power as this, how is it that you cannot overcome Mu'awiya and have need of us in the war against him? You yourself said that if you wished you could strike Mu'awiya's breast with this leg of yours and cast him headlong to the ground. Then why do you not do it? Do you wish to make us people of the Fire by casting us into doubt concerning you? When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) heard this, he said: I shall do it. Then he stretched out his leg with resolve, and after a pause drew it back and said: Write down the date of this moment and keep it in mind. With my foot I have struck Mu'awiya's breast and cast him down from his throne. And Mu'awiya cried out: O Commander of the Faithful! Give me respite! So I drew back my foot. After this affair the people awaited news from Syria, and they knew that Ali (AS) does not speak idly. And so, some weeks later, reports and dispatches came from Damascus that on that very day and at that very hour Mu'awiya was seated upon his throne when an unknown Arab with his face covered appeared in the palace, and before those about him and the guards could come to themselves he drew near to Mu'awiya, struck his breast with his foot and cast him down from the throne; and Mu'awiya cried out: O Commander of the Faithful! Give me respite! And that stranger turned back and was lost within the palace. When the news of this astonishing event reached Kufa, the people understood that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) had spoken truly.
And by the chain of transmission to Abu Hamza al-Thumali, from Abu Ishaq al-Sabi'i, who said: I entered the Great Mosque of Kufa, and there I found an old man, white of head and beard, whom I did not know, leaning against a pillar, weeping, his tears streaming down his cheeks. I said to him: O elder, what makes you weep? He said: More than a hundred years have passed over me, and in all of them I have not seen justice, nor truth, nor manifest knowledge, except for two hours of one night and two hours of one day; and it is for that that I weep. I said: And what was that hour, and that night and that day in which you saw justice? He said: I am a man of the Jews, and I had an estate in the district of Sura. We had a neighbour at that estate, from the people of Kufa, called al-Harith al-A'war al-Hamdani, a man afflicted in his eye, and he was my friend and my associate. Now one day I entered Kufa, and with me was foodstuff loaded upon donkeys of mine which I wished to sell in Kufa. While I was driving the donkeys, having come to the salt flats of Kufa — and that was after the night prayer — I lost my donkeys; it was as though the earth had swallowed them, or the sky had taken them up, or the jinn had snatched them away. I searched right and left and did not find them. So I came at once to the house of al-Harith al-Hamdani to complain to him of what had befallen me, and I told him what had happened. He said: Come with us to the Commander of the Faithful (AS), that we may inform him. So we went to him and told him what had happened. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to al-Harith: Return to your house and leave me alone with the Jew; I stand surety for his donkeys and his food until I return them to him. So al-Harith went off to his house, and the Commander of the Faithful took me by the hand until we came to the place where I had lost my donkeys and my food. He turned his face away from me and moved his lips and his tongue with words that I did not understand. Then he raised his head, and I heard him saying: By God, it was not upon this that you pledged allegiance to me and made a covenant with me, O company of jinn! And by God, if you do not return to the Jew his donkeys and his food, I shall surely break your covenant and shall wage against you, for the sake of God, the striving that is His due. He said: By God, the Commander of the Faithful had not finished his words before I saw my donkeys and my food standing before him. Then the Commander of the Faithful said: Choose, O Jew, one of two things: either you drive your donkeys and I urge them along for you, or I drive them and you urge them along for me. He said: I said: Rather I shall drive them, for I am the stronger at urging them on; so go you ahead of them, O Commander of the Faithful. And I followed him with the donkeys until he brought them to the open square. Then he said: O Jew, a part of the night still remains to you; so guard your donkeys until morning. Either you unload them and I keep watch, or I unload them and you keep watch until morning. I said: O Commander of the Faithful, I am the stronger at unloading them, so do you keep watch over them until the dawn breaks. Then he said: Leave them to me, and sleep you until the dawn breaks. And when the dawn broke I awoke, and he said to me: Rise, for the dawn has broken. Guard your donkeys, and no harm shall come to you; do not be heedless of them until I return to you, if God the Exalted wills. Then the Commander of the Faithful went off and led the people in the morning prayer. When the sun had risen he came to me and said: Open up your wheat, upon the blessing of God the Exalted, and the rest of your food. So I did. Then he said: Choose from me one of two things: either I sell and you receive the price in full, or you sell and I receive the price in full for you. I said: Rather I shall sell and you receive the price for me. He said: Do so. And when I had finished my selling he handed the price over to me and said to me: Have you any need? I said: Yes, I wish to go and purchase some things I require. He said: Come along, that I may help you, for you are a protected non-Muslim under our care. And he did not leave me until I had finished my errands. Then he bade me farewell, and when we had finished I said to him: I bear witness that there is no god but God alone, having no partner, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God (PBUH); and I bear witness that you are the learned one of this community and the successor of the Messenger of God (PBUH) over jinn and men. May God reward you well on behalf of Islam. Then I went off to my estate and stayed there some months or so, and I came to long for the sight of the Commander of the Faithful (AS). So I came and asked after him, and I was told: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) has been slain. So I said, 'To God we belong and to Him we return,' and I invoked many blessings upon him; and when I had finished I said: Knowledge is gone! The first justice I saw from him was on that night, and the last justice I saw from him was on that day. So why should I not weep? (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 2, p. 274)
Abu Hamza al-Thumali said: I entered the mosque of Kufa and saw an old man leaning against a pillar, weeping, his tears flowing. I said to him: O elder, why do you weep? He said: My life has been a hundred years and more, and in all that time I have not seen justice, nor equity, nor truth, nor knowledge made manifest, except for two hours of a night and two hours of a day; and it is for this that I weep. I said to him: What were those two hours of night and of day in which you saw justice and equity? He said: I am a Jewish man who owns an orchard in the region of Sura. We had a neighbour beside that orchard, from the people of Kufa, whose name was al-Harith al-A'war al-Hamdani, and he was my friend and companion. One day I entered Kufa. With me was foodstuff loaded on donkeys, and I intended to sell it in Kufa. In the midst of this I entered the market with the donkeys at night, after the evening prayer — and all at once my donkeys were lost! You would say they had risen up to the sky, or sunk into the earth, or that the jinn had carried them off. I set out searching for them and did not find them. I came to the house of al-Harith al-Hamdani and told him what had happened. He said: Come with me, that we may go to the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and lay the matter before him. We went into his presence and informed him of the affair. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to al-Harith: Return to your house and leave this Jew to me. I stand surety for his food and his donkeys until I return them to him. Al-Harith went to his house. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) took my hand, and we came to the place where I had lost the food and the donkeys. He turned his face away from me and moved his lips and spoke some words that I did not understand. Then he raised his head, and I heard him saying: O company of jinn! By this deed you have broken your allegiance and your covenant with me. By God, if you do not return this man's donkeys and his food to him, I shall break your pact, and between us there will be nothing but the sword! The Jew said: By God, Ali (AS) had not yet finished his words when I saw the donkeys and the food ready before me. Then he said: O Jew, choose one of two things: either you drive the donkeys and I urge the people to buy your goods, or I drive the donkeys and you invite the people to buy your goods. I said: I am the fitter for both of these tasks. Go you ahead, and I shall come behind with the donkeys — until we reached a spacious place. Then he said: O Jew, a stretch of the night still remains. Keep guard over your donkeys until morning. Will you take the packsaddles off their backs, or shall I take them off while you keep watch until morning — or shall I keep watch? I said: O Commander of the Faithful, I am the fitter to take the packsaddles off their backs; do you keep watch. He said: Leave them to me and sleep; I shall wake you in the morning. When morning dawned he said: Rise, for the dawn has broken. Guard your donkeys and do not be heedless of them, until I return to you, God willing. Then he went and prayed the morning prayer with the people, and when the sun came out he returned to me and said: Undo the bundles of the goods, upon the blessing of God! I opened the loads. Then he said: Choose one of two things: either I sell your goods and you take the money, or you sell and I take their price. I said: I shall sell, and you take the money. When we had finished the selling, he handed the money over to me and said: Have you any other need or want? I said: Yes, I would like you to help me also in buying goods. He said: Come, that I may help you, for you are a protected non-Muslim and under our care. So the Commander of the Faithful (AS) stayed with me until my affairs were settled and my mind was at ease. Then he took his leave of me, and as we parted I said: I bear witness that there is no god but God alone, having no partner, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God; and I bear witness that you are the learned one of this community and the successor of the Messenger of God. Then I went off to my orchard and stayed there some months; then the love of seeing the Commander of the Faithful (AS) blazed up in my heart. I returned to Kufa, and they said: He has been slain! I invoked abundant blessings upon him, and when I had finished I said: Knowledge and learning are gone! The first justice I saw from him was on that night, and the last equity I saw from him was on that day. Why should I not weep?!
It is related, traced back to Humran ibn A'yan, from al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr, from Rumayla — who was one of the intimate companions of the Commander of the Faithful (AS). Rumayla said: I was stricken with a severe fever in the time of the Commander of the Faithful. Then on a Friday I felt some lightness in myself, and I said: I can do nothing better than to take up water, come to the mosque, and pray behind the Commander of the Faithful. So I did that. And when he (AS) ascended the pulpit in the congregational mosque of Kufa, the fever returned upon me. When the Commander of the Faithful came out of the mosque I followed him, and he turned to me and said: I see you all tangled together, one part of you in another. I have known the fever that is upon you, and what you said — that you could do nothing better than your washing for the Friday prayer behind me — and that you had felt some lightness; and that when I had prayed and ascended the pulpit the fever came back upon you a second time. Rumayla said: I said: By God, O Commander of the Faithful, you have added nothing to my story, not by a single letter. He said to me: O Rumayla, no believing man or woman falls ill with any illness but that we fall ill at his illness; nor grieves with any grief but that we grieve at his grief; nor supplicates but that we say amen to his supplication; nor falls silent but that we supplicate for him. I said: This, O Commander of the Faithful, is for those who are with you in this city; but what of one whose dwelling is in the far corners of the earth? He said: O Rumayla, there is no believing man or woman in the easts of the earth or its wests who is absent from us; rather he is with us and we are with him, just so. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 2, p. 282)
It is related from Rumayla, who was among the intimate companions of the Commander of the Faithful (AS), that he said: In the time of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) I fell gravely ill. On a Friday I said to myself: There is nothing better to do than to perform the ablution, go to the mosque, and pray behind him. So I did. After the prayer, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) went up to the pulpit, and at that moment my condition grew very bad. After the sermons, when the Commander of the Faithful (AS) came out of the mosque, I followed him. He noticed me and said: I am aware of your illness. The best thing was just what you did: you came and took part in my prayer. And even when your condition worsened while I was delivering the sermon, I knew of it! Rumayla says: I said: By God, O Commander of the Faithful, my situation is neither a letter more nor a letter less; it is exactly as you have said. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O Rumayla! When the believers fall ill, we too fall ill; when they are sorrowful and downcast, we too are grieved; whenever they supplicate, we say amen; and when they fall silent, we supplicate for them. Rumayla says: I said: O Ali, this that you do is for those who are in this city and with you; so what of those who are in far-off corners? He said: O Rumayla! There is no believing man or woman in the east or the west of the earth but that he is with us and we are with him.
It is related, traced back to Malik al-Ashtar (may God have mercy on him), who said: I came in to the Commander of the Faithful on a dark night and said: Peace be upon you, O Commander of the Faithful, and the mercy of God and His blessings. He said: And upon you be peace. What has brought you in to me at this hour, O Malik? I said: Love of you, O Commander of the Faithful, and my longing for you. He said: You have spoken the truth, by God, O Malik. O Malik, have you seen anyone at my door on this dark night? I said: Yes, O Commander of the Faithful, I saw three men. So the Commander of the Faithful (AS) rose and went out, and we went out with him; and there at the door were a blind man, a crippled man, and a man with leprosy. The Commander of the Faithful said: What are you doing at my door at this hour? They said: We have come to you, O Commander of the Faithful, that you may cure us of what afflicts us. So he (AS) wiped his hand over them all, and they rose up with no blindness, no lameness, and no leprosy. (Irshad al-Qulub, vol. 2, p. 284)
Malik al-Ashtar relates that on a dark night he came in to the Commander of the Faithful (AS). He said: What has brought you here at this hour? I said: My affection and longing for you. He said: You speak the truth. Then he asked: Is anyone waiting outside the house? I said: Yes, three men were there. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) went out of the house and saw a blind man, a man afflicted with leprosy, and a third suffering from vitiligo. He asked: Do you have some need? They said: We have come that you might heal us. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) wiped them with his hand, and they were healed.
'A'lam al-Din fi Sifat al-Mu'minin' is al-Daylami's third book, and it comprises the principles and branches of religion, ethics, and admonitions. Al-Daylami's manner in this book too is one of warning and glad tidings; he wished to compile for the Shi'a a complete course of doctrine and of the foundations of ethics drawn from the traditions. In this book as well he has dropped the chains of transmission of the narrations. In this work al-Daylami has included in full the book 'al-Burhan ala Thubut al-Iman' of Abu al-Salah al-Halabi. Besides 'al-Burhan', the book 'al-Arba'un Hadithan' of Ibn Wad'an also appears in full in 'A'lam al-Din'. After that, he further relates forty traditions from Shaykh al-Saduq's 'al-Khisal'.
At the beginning of this book al-Daylami alludes to his estrangement and loneliness in the last years of his life; he is weary and heavy-hearted at the scarcity of books, the lack of a companion and of anyone with whom to discuss, and at people's failure to appreciate him. He states that his aim in writing the book is precisely this: reminder and the taking of lessons. May his soul be glad!