The Commander of the Faithful (AS) indicated this in his saying: The remainder of a believer's life is beyond price. By it he attains what he has missed and revives what he has let die. (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 2, p. 90)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The moments of a believer's life are beyond price! It is with this very capital that he makes good what has been lost and brings back to life what must live.
In the Book of al-Khisal, among what the Commander of the Faithful (AS) taught his companions: It is not for a servant to set out on a journey when the month of Ramadan has come, because of the saying of the Exalted: 'So whoever among you witnesses the month, let him fast it' [Qur'an 2:185]. (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 2, p. 246)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) used to say: In the month of Ramadan, avoid travelling as far as you are able, and keep the fast, for God has said: Whoever witnesses the month of Ramadan must fast it.
In Rawdat al-Kafi, a long sermon transmitted with a chain from the Commander of the Faithful (AS), in which he (AS) says: So guard yourselves with regard to God, Mighty and Majestic, through abundant remembrance; fear Him through godwariness; and draw near to Him through obedience, for He is near and responsive. God, Exalted, said: 'And when My servants ask you concerning Me, indeed I am near; I answer the call of the caller when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me and believe in Me, that they may be rightly guided' [Qur'an 2:186]. (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 2, p. 250)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Draw God's attention to yourselves by abundant remembrance; make reverent fear a settled part of your being by observing godwariness; and seek nearness to Him by acting upon what God has said, for God is near to you and hears your requests. He Himself has said: When My servants ask you about Me, say on My behalf: I am near, and I always answer the call of the one who calls upon Me. So let them in turn accept My call and believe in Me, that they may be set on the path of growth [Qur'an 2:186].
And in Majma' al-Bayan: 'And God is swift in reckoning.' It is reported in the tradition that He, glorified be He, reckons with all creatures in the span of a glance of the eye; and it is also related, in the time it takes to milk a ewe. And it is related from the Commander of the Faithful (AS) that he said: Its meaning is that He reckons with all creatures at once, just as He provides for them at once. (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 2, p. 299)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God is swift in reckoning and settles the account of all creation at once, just as He provides for them all at once.
He (AS) said: And it is according to what is in their breasts that servants are recompensed. (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 2, p. 472)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: God's recompense is not according to the outward deeds of His creatures, but according to their intentions.
[And in the Tafsir of Furat ibn Ibrahim al-Kufi he said: Ubayd ibn Kathir narrated to me, with a chain of transmission, from Asbagh ibn Nubata, who said: When we had routed the people of Basra, Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) came and leaned against one of the walls of Basra. We gathered around him, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) being mounted while the people were on foot. He would call a man by name and the man would come to him; then he would call another man by name and he would come to him; then he would call a man and he would come to him. So it went until about sixty elders had gathered before him, all of whom had trimmed their beards and plaited them, and most of them that day were from Hamdan. Then the Commander of the Faithful took one of the lanes of Basra, and we were with him, wearing coats of mail and helmets, girded with swords and carrying shields slung on our shoulders, until he came to a large, spacious house. We entered it, and there were women inside weeping. When they saw him, they cried out with a single cry and said: This is the killer of our loved ones! He kept silent toward them. Then he said: Where is A'isha's chamber? They pointed to a chamber in the house, and we lifted Ali down from his mount and set him on the ground. He went in to her. I heard nothing of Ali's words, except that A'isha was a woman with a loud voice, and I heard something in the manner of excuses: I did not do it. Then the Commander of the Faithful Ali (AS) came out to us, and we mounted him on his beast. A woman came toward him from the direction of the house, and he said: Where is Safiyya? She said: At your service, O Commander of the Faithful. He said: Will you not spare me these bitches who claim that I have killed their loved ones? Had I killed their loved ones, I would have killed those who are in that house, and he pointed with his hand to three chambers in the house. We laid our hands upon the hilts of our swords and turned our eyes toward the chambers to which he had pointed. By God, not one weeping woman remained in the house but that she fell silent, and not one standing but that she sat down. I said: O Abu al-Qasim, who was in those three chambers? He said: As for one of them, Marwan ibn al-Hakam was in it, wounded, and with him wounded youths of Quraysh. As for the second, in it was Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, and with him the family of al-Zubayr, wounded. And as for the third, in it was the chief of the people of Basra, who went about with A'isha wherever she went. I said: O Abu al-Qasim, these were the wounded men; why did you not fall upon them with these swords? He said: O son of my brother, the Commander of the Faithful knows better than you; his grant of safety encompassed them. For when we routed the people, his herald called out: No wounded man is to be finished off, no one who turns his back is to be pursued, and whoever lays down his weapon is safe, as a precedent to be followed after this day of yours. Then he went on, and we went on with him, until we reached the camp. There some of the companions of the Prophet (PBUH) rose to meet him, among them Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, Qays ibn Sa'd, Ammar ibn Yasir, Zayd ibn Haritha, and Abu Layla. (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 3, p. 468)
The narrator said: When we had defeated the people of Basra, the Commander of the Faithful (AS) came and leaned against one of the walls of Basra. We gathered around him, he being mounted and the people on foot. He would call people by name, and whomever he called would come to him. He continued doing this until he had summoned about sixty elders, all of whom had trimmed their beards and bound them up, and most of them were from the tribe of Hamdan. Then he set off through one of the lanes of Basra, and we went with him, with coats of mail on our bodies, helmets on our heads, swords at our waists, and shields on our shoulders. At last we came to a large house and entered it. In that house were women who were weeping. When they saw Ali (AS), they raised a loud lament and said: This is the killer of our loved ones! He said nothing, and then asked: Where is A'isha's room? They pointed in a certain direction. We helped Ali down from his mount, and he entered A'isha's room. I heard nothing of Ali's words, except that A'isha's voice was loud, and I heard her offering some sort of excuse and saying: I did not do such a thing! Then the Commander of the Faithful (AS) came out, and we mounted him again on his beast. A woman of the household approached him. Ali (AS) said: Safiyya? The woman answered: At your service, O Commander of the Faithful! Ali (AS) said: Can you not silence these dog-like women (kalibat) who suppose that I have killed their loved ones? Had I killed their loved ones, I would have killed those who are hiding in those rooms, and with his hand he pointed to three rooms in that house. We laid our hands on the hilts of our swords and fixed our gaze on the rooms to which he had pointed. By God, not one weeping woman remained in that house but she fell silent, and not one who was standing but she sat down. Those who had hidden themselves there came out. In one of the rooms was Marwan ibn al-Hakam, wounded, and with him some youths of Quraysh. In the second were Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and the family of al-Zubayr, who were wounded. And in the third was the chief of the people of Basra, who had been accompanying A'isha. We wished to attack them, but the Commander of the Faithful (AS) granted them safe-conduct. Then he went on, and we went with him until we reached the camp. There a group of the companions of the Prophet (PBUH) came to him, among them Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, Qays ibn Sa'd, Ammar ibn Yasir, Zayd ibn Haritha, and Abu Layla.
From Aban ibn Taghlib, who said: I said to Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Ali (AS) concerning the words of the Exalted: 'Those who believe and do not clothe their faith in wrongdoing — it is they who have security, and they are rightly guided' [Qur'an 6:82]. Abu Ja'far (AS) said: O Aban, you people say that this wrongdoing means associating partners with God; but we say that this verse was revealed concerning the Commander of the Faithful (AS) and his household (AS), for they never associated anything with God for even the blink of an eye, and he never worshipped al-Lat or al-Uzza. He was the first to pray toward the qibla together with the Prophet (PBUH), and he was the first to affirm his truthfulness; so this verse was revealed concerning him. (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 4, p. 381)
We asked Imam al-Baqir (AS) about the verse 'Those who believe and do not clothe their faith in wrongdoing — it is they who have security, and they are rightly guided.' He said: Those meant by 'those who never clothed their faith in wrongdoing' are people such as the Commander of the Faithful (AS), who never for a moment in his life associated any partner with God. This verse is about him.
From Abu al-Tufayl, from Ali (AS), who said on the day of the Shura: Is there among you anyone whose light was made complete from heaven when He said, 'And give the kinsman his due, and the needy' [Qur'an 17:26]? They said: No. (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 7, p. 392)
In the discussions that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) held with those several men on the day of the Shura, he said: I alone was the one who made his light full and complete by acting upon the verse 'And give the kinsman his due, and the needy.'
From the Commander of the Faithful (AS): The hajj is the jihad of every weak person. The jihad of a woman is to be a good wife to her husband. The believer must not go out to jihad in the company of one who cannot be trusted in the matter of rule and judgement and who does not carry out God's command, the Exalted, regarding the spoils (fay'). If he dies in such a state, he has been a helper of our enemy in withholding our rights and in shedding our blood, and his death is a death of the age of ignorance (jahiliyya). (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 9, p. 149)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The hajj is the jihad of those who are unable to fight. The jihad of a woman is to be a good wife to her husband. Then he said: A believer must not take part in a campaign in the company of someone who cannot be trusted in the matter of rule (and judgement) and who does not carry out God's command in dividing the spoils. So if he dies in such a war, he has been a helper of our enemy in trampling our rights and shedding our blood, and his death is a death of the age of ignorance.
Abu al-Fadl ibn Dukayn, from Sufyan, from al-A'mash, from Muslim ibn al-Batin, from Sa'id ibn Jubayr, concerning the words of the Exalted: 'And those who say: Our Lord, grant us from our wives [and our offspring] (the verse).' He said: By God, this verse concerns the Commander of the Faithful, Ali (AS), in particular. Most of his supplication was to say: 'Our Lord, grant us from our wives' — meaning Fatima (AS) — 'and our offspring' — al-Hasan and al-Husayn (AS) — 'the comfort of our eyes.' The Commander of the Faithful said: By God, I never asked my Lord for a child [with a beautiful face, nor did I ask Him for a child of fine stature; rather I asked my Lord for children] obedient to God, fearful of Him and in awe of Him, so that when I look upon such a child and he is obedient to God, my eye is comforted by him. He said, concerning 'And make us a model for the God-fearing': We follow the God-fearing who came before us, so that the God-fearing who come after us may follow us. (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 9, p. 447)
The narrator said: The supplication that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) made most often was this verse: 'Our Lord, grant us from our wives and our offspring the comfort of our eyes, and make us a model for the God-fearing' [Qur'an 25:74]. And he used to say: I never asked for a child who would be beautiful or well-formed; what I have always asked for is a child obedient to God and God-fearing, so that whenever my glance falls upon him I am gladdened. And concerning the phrase 'and make us a model for the God-fearing' he used to say: We have followed the God-fearing who came before us, so that the God-fearing of the future may follow us.
And the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Muhammad sealed a thousand prophets, and I have sealed a thousand executors of wills (awsiya'). And I have been charged with what they were not charged with. (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 10, p. 400)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Muhammad (PBUH) is the seal of thousands of prophets, and I am the seal of thousands of executors of wills. Yet a burden has been laid upon my shoulders that was without precedent among the executors before me!
By his chain to Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his forefathers, from the Commander of the Faithful Ali ibn Abi Talib, from the Prophet (PBUH) — a long hadith in which he mentions what God has prepared on the Day of Resurrection for those who love Ali (AS). In it: those who love Ali (AS) will say to God, Mighty and Majestic, when they enter Paradise: Permit us to prostrate ourselves. Their Lord, Mighty and Majestic, will say to them: I have lifted from you the burden of worship and given rest to your bodies. For long you wearied your bodies for My sake and turned your faces toward Me in toil; now you have attained My comfort and My mercy. (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 10, p. 575)
The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: When those who love Ali enter Paradise, they say: O God, permit us to prostrate before You! God answers: The burden and hardship of worship is now over; be at ease here. In the world you put yourselves to great toil for My sake and worshipped Me; now is the time to attain My comfort and My mercy.
In Uyun al-Akhbar, by his chain to Abu al-Salt al-Harawi, who said: al-Rida (AS) used to speak to people in their own languages. By God, he was the most eloquent of people and the most knowledgeable of every tongue and language. One day I said to him: O son of the Messenger of God, I am amazed at your knowledge of these various languages! He said: O Abu al-Salt, I am God's proof over His creation, and God would never appoint as a proof over a people someone who does not know their languages. Has the saying of the Commander of the Faithful (AS) not reached you: 'We have been given decisive speech (fasl al-khitab)'? And what is decisive speech if not knowledge of the languages? (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 11, p. 212)
The narrator says that Imam al-Rida (AS) used to speak with everyone in his own mother tongue, and this had caused astonishment. One day, explaining this remarkable matter, he said: I am God's proof over His creation. How could God make someone a proof over a people while he does not know their language? Has it not been narrated from the Commander of the Faithful (AS) that 'I have been given decisive speech (fasl al-khitab)'? Decisive speech is precisely this speaking in all languages.
In the Misbah of the Shaykh of the Sect (Shaykh al-Ta'ifa), may his soul be sanctified, there is a sermon narrated from the Commander of the Faithful (AS), in which he says: 'There is nothing like Him' — since every thing comes into being by His will, and so it does not resemble the One who brought it into being. (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 11, p. 482)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: 'There is nothing like Him' — because everything comes into being by His will, and nothing resembles the one who brought it into being.
From the Commander of the Faithful (AS), a long hadith in which he says: Vying for more (takathur) is diversion and preoccupation, and the exchanging of what is lower for what is better. (Kanz al-Daqa'iq, vol. 14, p. 417)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The takathur (vying for more) that is mentioned in the Qur'an and forbidden by God is heedlessness and preoccupation of heart: that we should mistake the worthless things of life for the purpose for which we were created.
Al-Sahifa al-Alawiyya, composed by Abdullah al-Bahrani al-Samahiji, one of the Akhbari Shi'i scholars of the twelfth century AH, deals with the supplications, intimate prayers and protective invocations (hirz) of the Commander of the Faithful (AS). In the introduction to the book the author notes that he has included those supplications transmitted from the Commander of the Faithful (AS) whose narration and chain are sound and which are well known in the reliable books and among our scholars, but that he has omitted their chains of transmission so as not to be tedious and also because of their fame. Muhaddith Nuri wrote a supplement to this book and named it al-Sahifa al-Thaniya al-Alawiyya.
Abdullah al-Samahiji was born in the village of Samahij in Bahrain and acquired his learning from the scholars there. After the attack of the Khawarij upon Bahrain he emigrated to Iran and settled in Behbahan, where he held the religious leadership of that city until the end of his life.