It is on this basis that the saying of Ali (AS) came forth: Many a matter there is upon which a man sets his heart eagerly, and when he attains it he wishes he had never attained it. (Uddat al-Da'i, vol. 1, p. 22)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: How many a thing there is upon which a person is set with eager desire; yet when he attains it, he sees that it is of no use to him at all, or that it is not what he had imagined.
A man came to the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and said: O Commander of the Faithful, Bilal was disputing today with so-and-so, and he kept making mistakes in his speech, while so-and-so spoke correct Arabic and laughed at Bilal. The Commander of the Faithful said: O servant of God, correctness of speech and its straightening are sought only for the straightening and refining of deeds. What does it profit so-and-so that his Arabic and his speech are correct, when his deeds are flawed with the ugliest of flaws? And what harm does his faulty speech do to Bilal, when his deeds are straightened in the best manner and refined in the best refinement? (Uddat al-Da'i, vol. 1, p. 27)
Someone came to the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and said: Bilal the Abyssinian had an argument with someone, and because Bilal's speech was somewhat halting, that person mocked him! When the Commander of the Faithful (AS) heard this he said: Some people look only to the outward form of speech and to its correct inflection, whereas the correctness of speech ought to be a prelude to correct and good action! What use is it when these people who pronounce Arabic correctly have deeds that are crooked and ugly? And blessed is Bilal! Though he cannot utter the words correctly, his deeds are sound and refined.
From the Commander of the Faithful (AS): Let no servant turn away from his prayer until he has asked God for Paradise. (Uddat al-Da'i, vol. 1, p. 67)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not rise from your prayer mat after the prayer without having asked God for a good end and for Paradise.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When you hand something to a beggar, let the one who hands it bring his hand back to his mouth and kiss it; for God, the Mighty and Majestic, takes it before it falls into the beggar's hand — for He, the Mighty and Majestic, is the One who receives the alms. (Uddat al-Da'i, vol. 1, p. 68)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) used to say: When you give alms, kiss your own hand; for the alms reach God before they reach the beggar, and it is always God Himself who receives the alms.
From Ali (AS): Sitting for an hour in the company of the scholars is more beloved to God than a thousand years of worship. (Uddat al-Da'i, vol. 1, p. 75)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God loves an hour spent sitting with the scholars and benefiting from their knowledge more than a thousand years of worship performed in ignorance.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Truth is clearer in the hearts of the believers than the whisperings cast by Satan. (Uddat al-Da'i, vol. 1, p. 97)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: One way of distinguishing truth from falsehood is that truth is always more evident than what Satan casts into the heart.
Ali (AS) said to Salman al-Farisi: Lay aside the cares of this world, since you are certain of parting from it. (Uddat al-Da'i, vol. 1, p. 110)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said to Salman: Do not grieve over this world, for it does not last long and it passes away.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: O you who supplicate, do not ask for what cannot be and what is not lawful. (Uddat al-Da'i, vol. 1, p. 152)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever asks for something that cannot be and is not right — his supplication is not answered.
And he (AS) said: Whoever asks for more than his due measure deserves to be denied. (Uddat al-Da'i, vol. 1, p. 152)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever asks for more than his own measure will not be given.
And in another report, from Ali, the Commander of the Faithful (AS): Whoever wishes his supplication to be answered, let him say, when he has finished, 'As God wills' — in humble submission before God. (Uddat al-Da'i, vol. 1, p. 211)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever wishes his supplication to be accepted, let him say after praying, in a state of humility and brokenness: But O God, whatever You Yourself will!
His saying (AS): God does not accept the supplication of a heedless, distracted heart. (Uddat al-Da'i, vol. 1, p. 205)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God does not accept the supplication of one whose heart is scattered and distracted.
As al-Sadiq (AS) said: The Commander of the Faithful was a man much given to supplication. (Uddat al-Da'i, vol. 1, p. 205)
Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) was a man of abundant supplication.
'al-Sirat al-Mustaqim ila Mustahiqqi al-Taqdim' is a work of theology in Arabic by the Shi'i scholar Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Yunus al-Nabati al-Bayadi (d. 877 AH), devoted to establishing the imamate of the pure Imams (AS); for this reason he named it 'The Straight Path to Those Who Deserve to Be Given Precedence.' The author consulted a great many Sunni books and argues on their basis. Thus in his introduction he lists 52 sources that he drew upon directly, and he also names 280 titles whose contents he cites on the authority of others. This work has held a special place among the great scholars of the Shi'a, who have quoted from it. The author of Rawdat al-Jannat considered this book, after al-Shafi of al-Sayyid al-Murtada, the finest theological work, and in certain respects even superior to it; and Allama al-Majlisi made use of it throughout Bihar al-Anwar. The work is counted among the principal sources of al-Ghadir; Allama al-Amini was greatly attached to it, made great efforts to obtain it, and regarded finding it as one of the favours and inspirations of the Ahl al-Bayt (AS). The only printing of this book was the edition prepared by Muhammad Baqir Behbudi in 1384 AH at al-Maktaba al-Murtadawiyya, of which the first volume carries an introduction by Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi and the second an introduction by Agha Buzurg Tehrani.
Allama Amini related: I wanted this book, and a scholar in Najaf had it but would not give it to me. I said to him: If you will not lend it to me to take away, then I will come to the porch of your house. You sit in your room; I will sit right there, turn its pages, take my notes, and give the book back to you. He said: I will not give it! The Allama says: At that moment my heart broke over the wrongs suffered by the Commander of the Faithful (AS), and I said: O Commander of the Faithful (AS)! I am writing for you and serving you, and this man too is one of your Shi'a. Now, if some opponent or adversary owned this book and refused to place it at my disposal, that would be another matter; but this man is one of your Shi'a! He says: All at once it came into my heart to go to Karbala. So I went from Najaf to Karbala, and there in the shrine I sought the intercession of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and wept over the wrongs done to Ali (AS). Suddenly someone came and said: Are you Mr. Amini? I said: Yes. He said: My father has died and has left several books; would you be able to look at them? I said: Very well. He said: I have not yet put them in order, though. Come to our house in the morning and be our guest for breakfast; eat breakfast and look at the books as well. I said: Very well. I stayed in Karbala. When I went to that man's house in the morning, the first book that was placed on the table before me was al-Sirat al-Mustaqim of al-Bayadi.