It is related that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) counselled his son al-Hasan, saying: My son, secure your portion of adab (right conduct and refinement) and empty your heart for it. God grants it to the blessed and withholds it from the wretched. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 84)
In his testament to his son Imam al-Mujtaba (AS), the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: My son, strive that you may not be left without a share of adab, and make room in your heart for learning it. God has given adab only to the blessed, and He withholds it from the wretched.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The intelligent man acts upon insight and understanding, while the ignorant man acts upon mere reports. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 88)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The intelligent man acts according to the meaning, the criterion, and the spirit of the narrations; but the ignorant man seizes upon their outward form and clings to their surface.
From the book al-Qala'id: It is related from the Commander of the Faithful (AS) that he said: O people, know that the perfection of religion and the head of obedience to God is the seeking of knowledge and the acting upon it. Indeed, seeking knowledge is more obligatory upon you than seeking sustenance, for sustenance is apportioned and guaranteed to you: a just One has apportioned it among you and will deliver it to you in full. But knowledge is stored up with its people, and you have been commanded to seek it from its people — so seek it. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 94)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O people, know that the cornerstone of obedience to God and of the perfection of religion is the learning of religious knowledge, and then acting upon it. Seeking such knowledge is more incumbent upon a person than seeking sustenance; for sustenance is apportioned, and the just God has guaranteed it, and it will inevitably reach you. But knowledge is stored up with its people, and you are commanded to seek it from its people and to ask it of them. So do not fall short.
And the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever worships God without knowledge falls into unbelief from where he does not know. Indeed, adab is the proof of the intellect, knowledge is the proof of the heart, and gentleness is the key to sustenance. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 96)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Without knowledge and without recognition of God, servanthood to Him is not possible, and it may well be that a person's deeds end, unknowingly, in unbelief. The human intellect recognises adab and calls to it. The human heart likewise discerns the light of knowledge and distinguishes knowledge from ignorance. But as for sustenance, its key is gentleness of temper and kindliness with people.
It is related from the Commander of the Faithful (AS) that he said: Listen in silence to the remembrance of God, for it is the fairest of speech. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 100)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Deepen silence within yourselves through the remembrance of God, for the best speech is the silence and stillness that arise from remembrance.
He (AS) said: For the reciter of the Qur'an there are, for every letter he recites while standing in prayer, a hundred good deeds; while seated, fifty good deeds; in a state of purity outside of prayer, twenty-five good deeds; and without being in a state of purity, ten good deeds. Note that I do not say that 'A-L-M-R' is a single letter; rather, for the alif he has ten, for the lam ten, for the mim ten, and for the ra ten. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 102)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever recites the Qur'an gains many good deeds for every letter he recites — especially if he is in a state of ablution, standing, and in prayer. But even reciting the Qur'an seated, at any time, and even without ablution, carries great reward. This reward is at the least ten good deeds for each letter — for each letter, not each word! That is, 'A-L-M-R' carries ten good deeds for each one of its four letters.
And he (AS) said to one of his companions: Know that this world is an abode of affliction; its inhabitant is never free of care for a single hour but that his hour of ease becomes a cause of regret for him on the Day of Resurrection. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 107)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Know that this world is an abode of affliction, and no one is free of affliction even for a moment; for ease here is regret on the Day of Resurrection.
And from the Commander of the Faithful (AS), that he said: God accepts of deeds only what is pure, firm, and gentle. Their purity is for God, their firmness is for the religion, and their gentleness is for the brethren. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 122)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Of deeds, God accepts only those that possess purity, firmness, and gentleness. The purity of deeds is their being done sincerely for God; their firmness is their conformity with the religion; and their gentleness is what must be observed in dealings with people.
And al-Bikali related, saying: I heard my master, the Commander of the Faithful (AS), say: We were created from a certain clay, and our Shi'a were created from the surplus of our clay; so when the Day of Resurrection comes, they will be joined to us. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 144)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: We have been created from a certain clay, and our Shi'a have been created from the finest part of our clay; and for this reason they will be joined to us on the Day of Resurrection.
And he said: Whoever discloses his hardship to people has disgraced himself. The best of riches is to abandon asking, and the worst of poverty is that which compels submission. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 159)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: One who spreads out the contents of his heart before people has disgraced himself. And he used to say: The best wealth is to want nothing from others, and the worst poverty is a poverty that bends a man's neck before others.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever trusts the times will be betrayed by them, and whoever tries to overpower them will be humiliated by them. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 173)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: In days of ease, do not be deceived by the times, for their apparent safety turns suddenly into affliction; and in days of hardship, do not fight against the times, for it is of no avail and you will only be the more abased.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: And let not your own family be the most wretched of people on account of you. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 178)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Beware of being friendlier and better in conduct towards strangers than towards your own family!
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Accept your brother's excuse; and if he has no excuse, then find one for him. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 178)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Accept your friend's excuse, and if he has no excuse, then devise one for him yourself!
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Let none of you oblige his brother to ask, when he already knows his need. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 178)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When you realise that someone has a need, do not sit waiting for him to voice it. That is, fulfil his need before he has to speak of it.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not set your desire upon one who has no desire for you, and do not turn away from one who desires you. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 178)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: If someone has no inclination towards you, do not incline towards him either; and conversely, if someone is drawn to you, do not slight him.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A ravening lion is better than an oppressive ruler, and an oppressive ruler is better than unending strife. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 185)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: A man-eating lion is preferable to a tyrannical ruler. Yet that same ruler is better than endless chaos and disorder!
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When you are wronged, remember God's justice towards you; and when you have power, remember God's power over you. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 185)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When someone wrongs you, be aware that this is the very justice of God and the recompense for the wrongs you yourself have done; and in the hour of power, be aware that if you commit injustice, you have to reckon with God, the Almighty and All-Powerful.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When the inmost thoughts are set right, the grave sins are forgiven. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 185)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: If you seek to have your grave sins forgiven, then first purify your heart and set your intentions right!
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever forgets his own sin regards the sin of another as enormous. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 186)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever reckons the faults of others to be great has surely forgotten that he too is a wrongdoer.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) heard a man saying: O God, I seek refuge in You from trial (fitna). He said: I see that you are seeking refuge from your property and your children. God the Exalted says: 'Your wealth and your children are only a trial' [Qur'an 64:15]. Rather say: O God, we seek refuge in You from the trials that lead astray. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 210)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) heard someone saying: O God, I seek refuge in You from trial! He said: Are you seeking refuge with God from property and children?! God has said in the Qur'an: Your wealth and your children are a trial [Qur'an 64:15]. Say instead: O God, I seek refuge in You from the trials that would draw me into misguidance.
Ibn al-Sikkit said: I heard Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Rida (AS) say: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Beware of clinging to vain hopes, for they are among the wares of the corrupt. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 210)
Imam al-Rida (AS) relates from the Commander of the Faithful (AS) that he said: Beware of craving and vain longing, for before you can stir it takes hold of the whole heart, in such a way that it drives you to sin.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: The son of Adam has only his own day; so whoever rises in the morning secure in his dwelling, sound in his body, having the sustenance of his day, it is as though the whole world had been gathered up for him. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 213)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I heard from the Messenger of God (PBUH) that a person has only this present moment. So if his place is safe and his body sound and he has the food of his day, let him make himself anxious over nothing further — for he will lose the goodness of his state.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS), from the Prophet (PBUH): An angel met a man at the door of a house whose owner was absent. The angel said to him: What has brought you to this house? He said: A brother whom I wished to visit. The angel said: Is it for kinship? Or has some need driven you here? He said: There is no kinship between us closer than the kinship of Islam, and no need has driven me to him; rather I visited him for the sake of God, the Exalted, Lord of the worlds. The angel said: Then receive glad tidings, for I am the messenger of God to you. He sends you His greeting of peace and says to you: It was Me you intended, and what is with Me you sought by your deed. So I have made Paradise incumbent for you, and have granted you safety from My wrath and from the Fire, because you went to him. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 215)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I heard from the Messenger of God (PBUH) that an angel in human form saw a man at the door of someone's house. He said to him: What business have you with the owner of this house? The man said: No business at all; I have come for God's sake to see my Muslim brother. He is not my relative, nor do I want anything from him. The angel said: Glad tidings! I am the messenger of God. God sends you His greeting of peace and says: You came intending to visit Me, and by your deed you sought My reward. So Paradise has become incumbent for you, and you are forever safe from My wrath.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS): If you are able to have good opinion of God and at the same time an intense fear of Him, then combine the two; for a servant's good opinion of his Lord is in proportion to his fear of Him, and the best of people in their opinion of God are the most intense of them in fear of Him. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 246)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: If you wish to attain a good opinion of God, then settle the fear of Him in your heart; for these two go together, and every person's good opinion of God is in the measure of his awe before God.
How well our master, the Commander of the Faithful (AS), spoke when he said: He claims in his own estimation that he hopes in God. He lies, by the Almighty! For why is his hope not made evident in his deeds? For everyone who hopes, his hope is made evident in his deeds. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 246)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: He lies who considers himself a person of hope and expectation of God's mercy, while that hope is not manifest in his deeds. That is, in practice he is not a servant of God; for whoever places hope in someone, the sign of it appears in his conduct.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Know, O servants of God, that the God-fearing have carried off both the present world and the hereafter to come. They have shared with the people of this world in their world, while the people of this world have not shared with them in their hereafter. They have dwelt in this world in the best manner in which it may be dwelt in, and have eaten of it in the best manner in which it may be eaten. They have had their portion in this world of what those who live in luxury have enjoyed, and have taken what the arrogant tyrants have taken; then they have departed from it with provision that carries them through and with a profitable trade. They tasted the pleasure of renouncing this world while yet in this world, and they were certain that they would be the neighbours of God tomorrow in their hereafter, where no supplication of theirs is refused and no share of pleasure is diminished for them. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 247)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O people, know that the God-fearing have made both this world and the hereafter their own. They are partners with the people of this world in this world, but those people are not partners with them in the hereafter. In this world the God-fearing have dwelt in the best of places and eaten the best of foods and taken their pleasure of the world, as much as the godless who live in luxury, and they have obtained all that fell to the share of the arrogant tyrants in this world. Yet after death too, with sufficient provision and a highly profitable trade, they became the guests of God. They tasted both the delight of renunciation in this world and are guests of God in the hereafter. The supplication of such people is not refused, and nothing of the pleasures of this world is withheld from them either.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever gladdens a friend of ours has thereby joined a bond of kinship for us. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 254)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever gladdens one of our friends is as one who has fulfilled the duty of kinship on our behalf.
And it is related from the Commander of the Faithful (AS) that he delivered a sermon one Friday, and a man rose before him and said: O Commander of the Faithful, we ask you about the word of God the Exalted, 'Call upon Me and I shall answer you' [Qur'an 40:60]. Why is it, then, that we call and are not answered? He said: Because your hearts have been treacherous in eight respects. The first is that you have known God and yet have not rendered Him His due. The second is that you believed in His Messenger and then opposed his sunna and put his sacred law to death — so where is the fruit of your faith? The third is that you have recited His Book and have not acted upon it. The fourth is that you have said you fear the Fire, while at every moment you are advancing towards it by your acts of disobedience — so where is your fear? The fifth is that you have said you desire Paradise, while at every moment you do what removes you further from it — so where is your desire for it? The sixth is that you have consumed the favour of the Master and have not given thanks for it. The seventh is that God commanded you to take Satan as an enemy, and you have taken him as an ally without ever opposing him. The eighth is that you have set the faults of people before your eyes and your own faults behind your backs. So what supplication of yours could be answered while this is so, when you have shut its doors and its ways? Fear God, then, and set your deeds right, and purify your inmost selves, and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong — and God will answer your supplication for you. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 269)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was delivering a sermon on the pulpit of Kufa when someone rose and asked: O Commander of the Faithful! Has not God said, 'Call upon Me and I shall answer you' [Qur'an 40:60]? Why then are our supplications not answered? The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Because there is something amiss in your hearts. First, that you do not observe due reverence before God; second, that you have abandoned the sunna of His Messenger; third, that you recite the Qur'an but do not act upon it; fourth, that you sin continually; fifth, that with your tongues you desire Paradise, but in practice you do nothing to attain it — that is, you have no act of obedience in your store; sixth, that you consume God's provision but give no thanks; seventh, that instead of treating Satan as an enemy, you follow him; eighth, that instead of your own faults you occupy yourselves with the faults of people. And with all this you still expect your supplications to be answered?! When you have shut the doors of response upon yourselves! Adopt piety, set your affairs right, apply yourselves to the correcting of your hearts, call to what is good and forbid what is evil — and then your supplication will be answered.
(We say: in short, the ones addressed in 'Call upon Me and I shall answer you' [Qur'an 40:60] are the God-fearing believers and the friends of God, not all people.)
From Amir al-Sha'bi, concerning the saying of Ali (AS): Whatever you ask forgiveness for is from you, and whatever you praise Him for is from Him. 'Whatever blessing you have, it is from God' [Qur'an 16:53], 'and whatever misfortune befalls you is because of what your own hands have earned' [Qur'an 42:30], 'and God is never unjust to His servants' [Qur'an 3:182]. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 316)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: What you ask forgiveness for is the unworthy deeds you yourself have done, and what you give thanks for is the blessings God has granted you. God has said: Whatever blessing you have is from God [Qur'an 16:53], and whatever misfortune there is comes from your own deeds [Qur'an 42:30]; and God does no wrong to anyone [Qur'an 3:182].
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever recites a hundred verses of the Qur'an, from wherever in the Qur'an he wishes, and then says 'O God!' seven times — were he to supplicate against a rock, God would split it asunder for him. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 386)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Recite a hundred verses from wherever in the Qur'an you wish; then say 'O God!' seven times and supplicate. A mountain would be uprooted at your supplication!
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: Whoever recites 'Say: He is God, One' a hundred times, God forgives him the sins of fifty years. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 386)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: I heard from the Messenger of God (PBUH) that reciting the Sura of Divine Unity a hundred times wipes away long-standing sins.
And whoever leads a congregation in prayer and prolongs it will be raised up among the leaders of tyranny. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 403)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: If the leader of a congregational prayer prolongs the prayer, he has wronged those praying behind him, and he may well be raised up together with the leaders of tyranny.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: In Hell there is a millstone that grinds. Will you not ask me what it grinds? It was said to him: And what does it grind, O Commander of the Faithful? He said: The corrupt scholars, the depraved reciters, the oppressive tyrants, the treacherous ministers, and the lying overseers. (A'lam al-Din, vol. 1, p. 406)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: In Hell there is a millstone that grinds! Then, after a pause, he said: Will you not ask what it grinds? They said: What does it grind, O Commander of the Faithful? He said: Scholars who do not act on their knowledge, corrupt reciters, tyrannical rulers, corrupt officials, and lying gnostics.
'Uddat al-Da'i' is the work of Jamal al-Din Ahmad ibn Fahd al-Hilli, a godly scholar and mystic of the eighth and ninth centuries of the Hijra. Ibn Fahd learned the Islamic sciences from the scholars of Iraq and also trained many students. He was among the students of al-Daylami, the author of Irshad al-Qulub. His spiritual master was Baha' al-Din al-Nili, known as al-Nassaba, who was at that time the syndic of the Alids. In his later years Ibn Fahd also made a journey to Jabal Amil and profited scientifically from the scholars there, among them the son of the First Martyr. By bringing the then ruler of Baghdad, one of the princes of the Jalayirid house, over to Shi'ism, Ibn Fahd was able to play an effective role in spreading the Shi'i school in Iraq. In ethics, spiritual stations, and mystical wayfaring, Ibn Fahd is assuredly among the great figures of the Shi'a. In his own time too he was renowned for asceticism and piety. Qadi Nurullah al-Shushtari has called him a Sufi and an ascetic. It is related from the late Sayyid Ali al-Qadi that Ibn Fahd was among those perfected and firmly established in divine unity. Ibn Fahd had many students, and Sayyid Muhammad Nurbakhsh was also among them. One of the interesting points of Ibn Fahd's life is that he pronounced one of his own students, Sayyid Muhammad al-Huwayzi al-Musha'sha'i — who raised a revolt in Khuzestan and caused a great many to be killed — an unbeliever. Qadi Nurullah al-Shushtari says that Ibn Fahd possessed a book on the occult sciences, which at the time of his death he entrusted to someone to cast into the Euphrates. But Sayyid al-Musha'sha'i, who had at first been among Ibn Fahd's students, obtained that book by a stratagem and, making use of its contents, gained mastery over Khuzestan.
Certain miracles are also ascribed to Ibn Fahd. For instance, it is well known that one day he was at work in his orchard when a Jewish man came in and said: You say that your Prophet declared the scholars of my community to be superior to the prophets of the Children of Israel? Ibn Fahd answered: Yes! The Jew said: What is the sign of this claim? Moses, who spoke with God, turned his staff into a dragon! At that, Ibn Fahd threw down the spade he held in his hand, and at once it became a fearsome serpent! Then he took hold of it, and it turned back into a spade. The Jew said: In this respect you are of the same rank as they, not above them. Ibn Fahd said: To Moses the address came, 'Fear not'; but we take hold of it without fear!
It has likewise been related that one of the godly men saw in a dream that a splendid assembly had been convened in which all the Shi'i scholars were gathered, but Ibn Fahd was not present. In the dream he asks: Where, then, is Ibn Fahd? They say: He has taken his place in the assembly of the prophets! Some time later, after meeting Ibn Fahd, that great scholar recounts his dream to him and then asks: What have you done, that you have become a secluded companion of the gathering of intimacy and have taken your place in the assembly of the prophets? Ibn Fahd says: I was poor and had no money to give in charity so as to assist someone in need; therefore I gave my standing and my reputation in charity, and by means of my position I came to the aid of the needy.
In his last years Ibn Fahd settled in Karbala, in an orchard he had bought and from whose produce he made his living. He died in the year 841 AH and was buried in that same orchard, which later became known as the Orchard of the Naqib. From the Qibla Gate of the shrine of Imam al-Husayn to his grave — which today lies beside the street and has a dome and a shrine over it — is no more than a few minutes' walk.
Ibn Fahd was a scholar of prolific authorship, and he wrote in various Islamic disciplines, including jurisprudence, theology, history, and astronomy. Most of his books, however, have not been printed. It is possible that some of his works on jurisprudence and theology in fact belong to his contemporary, the jurist Ibn Fahd al-Ahsa'i (from the villages of Hilla).
Among the most important books of Ibn Fahd al-Hilli, one is 'al-Tahsin fi Sifat al-Arifin', which promotes and urges seclusion and solitude; and the second is this very book, 'Uddat al-Da'i wa Najah al-Sa'i'. 'Uddat al-Da'i' deals with supplication, its etiquette, and matters connected with it. This book has also been translated into Persian.