Manaqib al-Khwarazmi, by his chain from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, who said: Ali and Fatima (AS) fell into straitened circumstances. Fatima (AS) said to him: There is nothing in the house. So Ali went out seeking [sustenance] and found a dinar. He announced it publicly until he grew weary of it, but found no one claiming it, and Ali had obtained nothing else. He said: Behold, I have found a dinar and announced it until I grew weary, and I found no one seeking it. She said: Would you take the better course — would you take it as a loan, so that we may sup on it, and when its owner comes he shall have its equivalent, for it is only a dinar in place of a dinar? Ali (AS) said: I shall do so. So he took the dinar and took a vessel, then went out to the market, and there was a man with food for sale. Ali (AS) said: How will you sell me some of this food of yours? He said: Such and such for a dinar. Ali (AS) handed him the dinar, then opened his vessel, and the man measured out for him; and when he had finished, Ali (AS) closed his vessel and made to rise, whereupon the man returned the dinar to him and said: By God, you shall take it! So he took it and returned to Fatima and told her what had happened. Fatima (AS) said: This is a man who has recognized our right and our kinship with the Messenger of God (PBUH). They ate the food until they had used it up, and they found no relief. Fatima (AS) said to him: Would you take the better course and take it as a loan so that we may sup on it — just as she had said the first time. He said: I shall do so. So he went out to the market, and there was the same man, and [Ali (AS)] said to him as he had said the first time, and the man did as he had done the first time. He returned and informed Fatima (AS), and she prayed for the man as she had prayed before, and they ate until they had used it up. When the third time came, Fatima said to him: If he returns the dinar to you, do not accept it. So Ali (AS) went and found him, and when the man had measured out for him he made to return the dinar [to him]. Ali (AS) said to him: By God, I will not take it. So the man kept silent. Abu Harun said: Then I rose and left him, and I passed by a man of the Ansar who had been a companion of the Prophet and was plastering his house. I greeted him and he returned my greeting, and I asked after him and he asked after me. Then he said: What did Abu Sa'id relate to you today? I said: He related to us such and such, [and he related to us the hadith of the dinar]. The Ansari said to me: Did he tell you who it was from whom Ali bought? I said: I do not know. He said: Abu Sa'id concealed it from you. I said: And who was the seller? He said: When Ali (AS) went to the Messenger of God (PBUH), the Prophet said to him: O Ali, will you inform me, or shall I inform you? He said: Inform me, O Messenger of God. He said: The owner of the food was Gabriel (AS). By God, had you not sworn that oath, you would have kept finding him for as long as the dinar remained in your hand.
Manaqib al-Khwarazmi relates: Ali and Fatima (AS) fell into hardship. Fatima said to Ali: There is nothing in the house to eat. So Ali (AS) went out in search of sustenance. On the way he found a dinar. He announced it to the people until he grew weary, and its owner was not found. Fatima (AS) said: Let us prepare food with it, and if its owner comes we shall give him its equivalent; in the end it is a dinar in exchange for a dinar. So Ali (AS) went to the market. There he saw a man selling food. Ali (AS) gave him the dinar and took the food. He made to get up, but the man wished to return the dinar to him and said: By God, you must take it! I take nothing from the household of the Messenger of God. So Ali (AS) returned to Fatima (AS) with both the dinar and the food. They ate that food until it was finished, and they were left destitute again. Once more Fatima (AS) repeated what she had said the first time. Ali (AS) went again to the market, saw the same man, the same exchange took place, and the man did the same as before. Ali returned and recounted the matter to Fatima. Fatima made the same good prayer for that man, and again they ate until the food was finished. The third time, Fatima (AS) said: If he gives the dinar back to you, do not accept it. Ali (AS) went, saw the same man, and after he had measured out food for him, the man wished to return the dinar. Ali said: By God, I will not take it. And the man fell silent. When Ali (AS) went to the Messenger of God (PBUH), the Prophet said to him: O Ali, will you inform me, or shall I inform you? Ali said: O Messenger of God, you inform me. The Prophet said: That man, the seller, was Gabriel. By God, had you not sworn that oath, you would have kept finding him for as long as the dinar remained in your hand.
Hilyat al-Awliya', by his chain from Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), who said: Some captives were brought to the Messenger of God (PBUH). Ali said to Fatima (AS): Go to your father and ask him for a servant to spare you the labour. So she went to her father when evening came, and he said to her: What is the matter, my daughter? She said: Nothing; I have come to greet you — for she was too shy to ask him for anything. When she returned, Ali (AS) said to her: What did you do? She said: I did not ask him for anything; I was shy before him. Then, when the following night came, he said to her: Go to your father and ask him for a servant to spare you the labour. So she went to her father, but was too shy to ask him for anything. Then, when it was the evening of the third night, we went out together until we came to the Messenger of God (PBUH). He said: What has brought you both? Ali said: O Messenger of God, the work has become hard upon us, so we wished you would give us a servant to spare us the labour. The Messenger of God (PBUH) said to them: Shall I not direct you to what is better for you than red camels? Ali said: Yes, O Messenger of God. He said: Takbirs, tasbihs and tahmids, a hundred, when the two of you wish to sleep, so that you pass the night upon a thousand good deeds; and the like of that when you rise in the morning, so that you begin the day upon a thousand good deeds. Ali (AS) said: I never missed it from the time I heard it from the Messenger of God (PBUH), except on the night of Siffin, for I forgot it until I remembered it at the end of the night and said it. And in another hadith: Glorify God thirty-three times, praise Him thirty-three times, and magnify Him thirty-four times; that is a hundred upon the tongue and a thousand in the scale, because God the Exalted says: 'Whoever comes with a good deed shall have ten the like of it' [Qur'an 6:160] — up to a hundred thousand. And in another hadith: Glorify Him thirty-three times, magnify Him thirty-three times, and declare His oneness thirty-four times; that is a hundred upon the tongue and a thousand in the scale. And in another hadith: thirty-three, thirty-three and thirty-four, of glorification, praise and magnification. (Awalim, vol. 11, p. 283)
Hilyat al-Awliya' relates: One day a group of captives was brought before the Messenger of God (PBUH). Ali (AS) said to Fatima (AS): Go to your father and ask him to give you a servant to help you with the work. Fatima (AS) went to her father. The Prophet said to her: My daughter, what is the matter? She said: Nothing; I have only come to greet you — and she did not make the request, because she felt shy. When she came back, Ali (AS) asked: What did you do? She said: I said nothing; I was too shy. On the second night Ali (AS) made the same request, and Fatima went to her father, but again out of shyness said nothing. On the third night both of them went to the Prophet. Ali (AS) said: O Messenger of God, the work has become hard for us; we wished you would give us a servant to help us. The Prophet (PBUH) said: I shall direct you to something far more precious. Then he said: When you wish to sleep, say the remembrances a hundred times — takbir (Allahu akbar), tasbih (subhan Allah) and tahmid (al-hamdu lillah) — so that you pass the night with a thousand good deeds (rewards); and in the morning say these remembrances again, so that you begin the day with a thousand good deeds. Ali (AS) said: From the time I heard this remembrance from the Prophet, I never once omitted it on any night, except one night when I was at Siffin and forgot it; but at the end of the night I remembered it and said it.
And in another hadith it is stated: Say tasbih thirty-three times, tahmid thirty-three times and takbir thirty-four times; this amounts to a hundred times upon the tongue, but in the scale it counts as a thousand good deeds, for God has said: Whoever performs a good deed shall have ten times its like as reward.
And in another narration it is stated: Say tasbih thirty-three times, takbir thirty-three times, and tahlil (la ilaha illa Allah) thirty-four times.
Mawaddat al-Qurba: From Utba ibn al-Azhari, from Yahya ibn Aqil, who said: I heard Ali say: The Messenger of God (PBUH) said: God has commanded me to marry Fatima (AS) to you for a fifth of the world; so whoever walks upon the earth while hating you in this world, the world is forbidden to him and his walking upon it is forbidden. (Awalim, vol. 11, p. 455)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) commanded me to marry Fatima with a dowry of a fifth of the world. Then he said: Whoever walks upon the earth bearing hatred toward you, his walking is upon usurped and forbidden ground.
Al-Sunan al-Kubra, by his chain from Ja'far ibn Muhammad, from his father (AS): Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) gave Fatima (AS) as her dowry a coat of mail of iron and a round jar; and the dowry of the Prophet's wives (PBUH) was five hundred dirhams. (Awalim, vol. 11, p. 458)
Al-Sunan al-Kubra relates: Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) set the dowry of Fatima (AS) as a coat of iron mail and a round jar. The dowry of the Prophet's (PBUH) wives was five hundred dirhams.
Al-Junna al-Asima: from the book Sahifat al-Abrar wa Rawdat al-Shuhada' and the book al-Sittin al-Jami' li-Lata'if al-Basatin: A man of the hypocrites reproached the Commander of the Faithful (AS) for his marriage to Fatima (AS) and said: You are the most excellent of the Arabs and the bravest of them, yet you have married into a family that does not possess its own daily provision. Had you married my daughter, I would have filled my house and yours with she-camels laden with precious furnishings. Ali (AS) said: We are a people content with what God has decreed; we desire nothing but God's good pleasure; and our pride is in deeds, not in wealth. (Awalim, vol. 11, p. 475)
It is related that when Ali (AS) married Fatima (AS), one of the hypocrites reproached him and said to him: You are the most excellent of the Arabs and the bravest of them! Have you married into a family that does not have its own daily provision? Had you married my daughter, I would have given you a great deal. Ali (AS) said: We are content with what God has decreed for us, and in life we desire nothing but God's good pleasure, and our pride is in deeds, not in wealth.
Jami al-Akhbar: From Ali (AS), who said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) came in upon us while Fatima was sitting by the cooking pot and I was picking over lentils. He said: O Abu al-Hasan! I said: At your service, O Messenger of God! He said: Listen to me — and I say nothing except by the command of my Lord — there is no man who helps his wife in her house but that for every hair upon his body he receives the worship of a year, fasting its days and standing in prayer through its nights; and God the Exalted grants him of reward what He granted to the patient ones: David the Prophet, Jacob and Jesus (AS). (Awalim, vol. 11, p. 500)
Ali (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) came in upon us while Fatima was sitting by the cooking pot and I was picking over lentils. The Prophet said: O Abu al-Hasan! I said: At your service, O Messenger of God! He said: Listen to me — and what I say is nothing but by the command of my Lord — there is no man who helps his wife in the house but that God records for him, for every hair upon his body, the worship of a year: fasting its days and keeping vigil through its nights. And God grants him a reward like the reward of the patient prophets, such as David, Jacob and Jesus.
Durrat al-Nasihin: One day Fatima fell ill, and Ali came to her house and said: O Fatima, what does your heart desire of the sweet things of this world? She said: O Ali, I long for a pomegranate. He reflected for a while, since he had nothing with him; then he rose and went to the market, borrowed a dirham, and bought a pomegranate with it. As he was returning to her, he saw a sick man lying by the side of the road. Ali stopped over him and said: What does your heart desire, O elder? He said: O Ali, for five days I have been lying here, and people have passed me by and no one has paid me any attention; my heart longs for pomegranate. Ali reflected within himself for a while and said to himself: I bought a single pomegranate for the sake of Fatima; if I give it to this beggar, Fatima will be left deprived; and if I do not give it to him, I will have gone against the word of the Exalted: 'And as for the beggar, do not repel him' [Qur'an 93:10], and against the saying of the Prophet (PBUH): 'Do not turn away the beggar, even if he comes on horseback.' So he broke open the pomegranate and fed the elder, and he was cured at that very hour, and Fatima, peace of God be upon her, was cured as well. Ali came home ashamed; and when Fatima (AS) saw him, she rose to him and pressed him to her breast and said: You are troubled; but by the might and majesty of God the Exalted, the moment you fed that elder the pomegranate, the craving for pomegranate left my heart. Ali rejoiced at her words. Then a man came and knocked at the door. Ali (AS) said: Who are you? He said: I am Salman al-Farisi; open the door. Ali rose and opened the door and saw Salman al-Farisi with a tray in his hand, its top covered with a cloth. He set it down before him, and Ali (AS) said: From whom is this, O Salman? He said: From God to the Messenger, and from the Messenger to you. He lifted the covering, and in it were nine pomegranates. He said: O Salman! Had this been from Him to me, it would have been ten, because of the word of the Exalted: 'Whoever comes with a good deed shall have ten the like of it' [Qur'an 6:160]. Salman laughed and brought out a pomegranate from his sleeve and placed it on the tray, and said: O Ali, by God, they were ten, but I wished by that to test you. (Awalim, vol. 11, p. 502)
One day Fatima (AS) fell ill. Ali (AS) came home and said: O Fatima, what does your heart desire of the foods of this world? Fatima said: My heart longs for a pomegranate. Ali thought for a while, since he had nothing with him. Then he rose and went to the market, borrowed one dirham, and with it bought a single pomegranate. On the way back he saw a sick man who had collapsed by the side of the road. Ali stopped and said to him: O elder, what does your heart desire? He said: O Ali, for five days I have lain here, and people have passed by me and no one has paid me any attention. My heart longs for a pomegranate. Ali thought to himself for a time and said: I bought this pomegranate for Fatima; if I give it to this beggar, Fatima will be left deprived; and if I do not give it, I will have acted contrary to the verse 'And as for the beggar, do not repel him' and to the saying of the Prophet, who said: Do not turn away the beggar, even if he is mounted on a horse. So he broke open the pomegranate and gave it to that old man. At that very moment the man was healed, and Fatima (AS) too was healed. Ali returned home ashamed. When Fatima saw him, she rose, embraced him, and said: It seems you are distressed. By the might and majesty of God I swear, from the moment you gave that pomegranate to that old man, the craving for pomegranate left my heart. Ali (AS) was gladdened by these words. At that moment a man knocked at the door. Ali said: Who are you? He answered: It is I, Salman al-Farisi. Open the door. Ali (AS) rose and opened the door. He saw Salman holding a tray covered with a cloth. He placed it before Ali. Ali asked: O Salman, from whom is this? Salman said: From God to the Prophet, and from the Prophet to you. Ali drew back the cloth and saw that inside there were nine pomegranates. He said: O Salman! If this were from God to me, it should be ten, for God has said: Whoever performs a good deed shall have ten times its like. Salman laughed, drew up his sleeve, brought out one more pomegranate from it, put it in the tray, and said: O Ali, by God there were ten, but I wanted to test you.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: ... When Fatima's father (PBUH) passed away, the daughters of Hashim joined her in mourning, and she said: Leave off the recounting of laments, and keep to supplication. (Awalim, vol. 11, p. 879)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: When Fatima's (AS) father, the Messenger of God (PBUH), departed this world, the women of Banu Hashim came to console her and share her grief, and they wept and wailed. Fatima (AS) said to them: Leave off wailing and lamentation, and pray instead!
Ali (AS) said: What then do you command me to do? He said: Be patient and seek God's reward, until the people return to you of their own accord. (Awalim vol. 11, p. 991)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Messenger of God (PBUH) recounted to me the events that would come to pass after his passing. I asked: And then what is my duty? He said: Be patient and wait until the people themselves incline towards you and come to you.
Al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub: When the captives of Persia were brought to Medina, Umar wished to sell the women and to make the men slaves of the Arabs, and he resolved that they should carry the sick, the weak and the very aged upon their backs during the circumambulation around the House. So the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The Prophet (PBUH) said: Honour the noble of every people, even if they oppose you. These Persians are wise and noble folk; they have offered us peace and have inclined towards Islam. For the sake of God I have set free my own share of them and the share of Banu Hashim. Then the Muhajirun and the Ansar said: We have granted our share to you, O brother of the Messenger of God. He said: O God, bear witness that they have granted it, and I have accepted and set them free. Umar said: Ali ibn Abi Talib has forestalled me in this and has annulled my resolve concerning the non-Arabs. And a group desired to take the daughters of the kings in marriage, so the Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Let them choose, and do not compel them. The eldest of them indicated that the choice be given to Shahrbanuyah, the daughter of Yazdgird, but she veiled herself and refused. She was told: O noble lady of her people, whom do you choose among your suitors? And are you content to take a husband? She remained silent. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: She is content, and the choice remains; after her silence, her silence is her consent. So they repeated the offer of choice, and she said: I am not one to turn away from the radiant light and the gleaming star, al-Husayn, if I am given the choice. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whom do you choose to be your guardian? She said: You. So the Commander of the Faithful (AS) ordered Hudhayfa ibn al-Yaman to deliver the marriage sermon; he delivered it, and she was married to al-Husayn (AS). (Awalim vol. 17, p. 638)
When the Persian captives were brought to Medina, Umar decided to sell the women and to make the men slaves of the Arabs. He also intended to use the slaves to carry those Muslims who were too weak to perform the circumambulation on their own. Ali (AS) said to him: The Prophet (PBUH) has said: Honour the great ones of every people, even if they are opposed to you. These Persians are a cultured and noble people; they have declared peace with us and have become inclined towards Islam. For the sake of God, I have set free my own share of them and the share of Banu Hashim. The Muhajirun and the Ansar likewise said: Then we too grant our right to you. Ali (AS) said: O God, bear witness that they have granted it, and I too have accepted and have set them all free. Umar said: Ali ibn Abi Talib has forestalled me and has annulled my decision concerning the non-Arabs! At that point a group of the Arab nobles coveted the daughters of the king and the great men of Persia and expressed their desire for them. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Leave the young women free to choose for themselves, and do not force them against their will! The daughter of Yazdgird, Shahrbanu, declined to answer. She was told: O nobly born lady, whom do you choose from among your suitors? Do you consent to marriage? She remained silent. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: She consents, and this silence is the sign of her consent. Again they asked her to choose one of them, and she said: I am not of those who turn away from the shining light and the radiant beam; if I am given the choice, I choose al-Husayn. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whom do you choose as your guardian and protector? She said: You. So the Commander of the Faithful (AS) gave Shahrbanu in marriage to al-Husayn (AS).
Al-Khara'ij wa al-Jara'ih: It is narrated from Jabir, from Abu Ja'far (AS), who said: When they brought the daughter of Yazdgird ibn Shahriyar, the last and final of the kings of Persia, before Umar, and she was brought into Medina, the maidens of Medina came out to look upon her, and the assembly was lit up by the light of her face. She saw Umar and said in Persian: Ah, may Hormuz be victorious! Umar grew angry and said: This foreign woman has insulted me! and he made to strike her. Ali (AS) said to him: You have no right to condemn what you do not know. Then he ordered that she be publicly offered for sale. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: It is not permissible to sell the daughters of kings, even if they be unbelievers. Rather, offer her the choice of a man from among the Muslims, so that she may be married to him, and let her dower be reckoned against his allotment from the public treasury, in place of her price. Umar said: I shall do so. He offered her the choice, and she moved through the gathering and placed her hand upon the shoulder of al-Husayn (AS). He said to her in Persian: What is your name, O maiden? — that is, what is your name, O young woman? She said: Jahan Shah [Bar Khudah]. He (AS) said: Rather, Shahrbanuyah. She said: That is my sister. He (AS) said in Persian: You have spoken truly — that is, you have told the truth. Then he turned to al-Husayn (AS) and said to him: Take good care of her and treat her kindly, for she will bear you the best of the people of the earth in his time after you; and she is the mother of the trustees, the pure progeny. So she gave birth to Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (AS). And it is narrated that she died in childbed with him. She chose al-Husayn (AS) only because she had seen Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad (PBUH), and had embraced Islam before the army of the Muslims took her. Hers is a wondrous story: she said: Before the coming of the army of the Muslims I saw in a dream as though Muhammad, the Messenger of God (PBUH), entered our house and sat down, and al-Husayn (AS) was with him; and he asked for my hand on his behalf and married me to him. When I awoke, that dream had settled upon my heart, and I had no thought but this. Then on the second night I saw Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad (PBUH); she came to me and presented Islam to me, and I embraced Islam. Then she said: Victory shall belong to the Muslims, and you will soon reach my son al-Husayn (AS) in safety; no one shall do you any harm. She said: And so it came about that I was brought out to Medina, no human hand having touched me. (Awalim vol. 18, p. 7)
When the daughter of Yazdgird, the last king of Persia, was brought before Umar and entered Medina, the young women of Medina came out to see her, and the gathering was lit up by the light of her face. When she saw Umar she said: I am of the lineage of kings, and blessings be upon them! Umar grew angry and said: This foreign woman has insulted me! But Ali (AS) said: You have no right to condemn something you do not understand. Umar ordered that she be made ready for sale. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: It is not permissible to sell the daughters of kings. Rather, she should be offered the choice of one of the Muslims, to marry him, and her dower should be charged to the public treasury. Umar said: Very well! and he gave her the choice. That young woman moved through the gathering and placed her hand upon the shoulder of al-Husayn (AS). Al-Husayn (AS) asked her: O maiden, what is your name? She answered: Jahanshah. Ali (AS) said: Shahrbanu. Then he turned to al-Husayn and said: Take care of her and treat her kindly; she will bear you the best of the people of her time. And she gave birth to Ali ibn al-Husayn Zayn al-Abidin. It is narrated that Shahrbanu died in childbirth, and the reason she chose al-Husayn (AS) was that, before falling into the hands of the Muslims, she had already become a Muslim and had seen Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet, in a dream:
She said: I saw in a dream that the noble Prophet entered our house, and al-Husayn was with him. The Prophet asked for my hand on behalf of al-Husayn and gave me to him in marriage. When I awoke, that dream had settled upon my heart, and nothing else remained in my mind. On the second night I also saw Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, in a dream; she came to me, presented Islam to me, and I became a Muslim. Then she said: Victory will belong to the Muslims, and you will soon come safely to my son al-Husayn, and no one will do you any harm.
Al-Manaqib of Ibn Shahrashub: And his mother was Shahrbanuyah, daughter of Yazdgird ibn Shahriyar the Chosroes. She is also called Shah Zanan, and Jahan Banuyah, and Sulafa, and Khawla. Some have said that she was Shah Zanan, daughter of Shirawayh ibn Kisra Abrawiz; and it is said that she was Barra, daughter of al-Nushajan. But the first is the correct account. The Commander of the Faithful (AS) named her Maryam, and it is said that he named her Fatima; and she was called Sayyidat al-Nisa (Mistress of Women). (Awalim vol. 18, p. 10)
... And it is narrated that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) named Shahrbanu "Fatima" and used to call her Sayyidat al-Nisa (Mistress of Women).
From Ali (AS): that he said to Qays ibn Sa'd, when he came to him from Egypt: O Qays, trials have their appointed limits which they must inevitably reach; so it is incumbent upon the wise man to sleep through them until they turn away, for to contend with them by stratagem while they are advancing only increases them.
And he (AS) said: Whoever is made independent through God, people become needy of him; and whoever fears God, people love him, even if they are unwilling.
And he (AS) said: The learned are strangers, because of the multitude of the ignorant among them.
And he (AS) said: People are brothers; but whoever's brotherhood is for other than the sake of God, it turns into enmity. And that is the saying of God the Exalted: "Friends on that Day will be enemies to one another, except the God-fearing." [Qur'an 43:67]
He (AS) said: The death of man through sins is more frequent than his death by his appointed term, and his life through righteousness is longer than his life by his natural span.
He (AS) said: Do not set about a matter before its time has come, lest you regret it; and let not the term stretch long over you, lest your hearts grow hard. Have mercy upon your weak, and seek mercy from God by showing mercy to them. (Awalim vol. 23, p. 275)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Afflictions have an end which they must inevitably reach; so be patient with them until the time of their ending, for to confront them before that only makes them greater and harsher.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever becomes independent through God, people become needy of him; and whoever takes up piety, people will love him, even if they do not like it.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: The learned are strangers among the people, so numerous are the ignorant!
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: People are friends to one another; but every friendship that is not for the sake of God ends at last in enmity. And this is the very saying of God, who has declared: Friends on the Day of Resurrection will be enemies to one another, except the God-fearing.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: People die more on account of sins than by their appointed term, and life endures longer through good deeds than through one's natural lifespan.
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Do not begin a task before its proper time arrives, or you will regret it; and let not time stretch so long over you that your hearts grow hard. Have mercy upon your weak, and show them kindness so as to draw down the mercy of God.
He said: I said to him: Give me more, O son of the Messenger of God. He said: My father narrated to me, from my grandfather, from his forefathers (AS), who said: The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever is entered by self-admiration is destroyed. (Awalim vol. 23, p. 372)
The Commander of the Faithful (AS) said: Whoever is too pleased with himself is on the road to ruin.
"Wasa'il al-Shia" is among the finest collections of Shia traditions, comprising thirty-six thousand hadiths in fifty sections and twenty volumes. It is one of the most well-documented Shia hadith works and the most important composition of Hurr al-Amili, the great scholar of the eleventh century, written over a period of twenty years. The author's aim was to compose a work arranged according to the chapters of jurisprudence, but where appropriate he also included traditions on the purification of the soul and on ethics.
Shaykh Hurr al-Amili arranged the traditions of this book according to the order of the legal questions treated in the works of jurisprudence, from the Book of Purity to the Book of Blood-money, setting them out in separate chapters. He devoted an independent chapter to each question, so access to the traditions of the book is very easy, and anyone consulting it can readily find the traditions he is looking for. Hurr al-Amili succeeded in revising this book twice, rewriting it from beginning to end. This point shows the great importance he attached to the soundness and reliability of this work. At the end of the book he also provided a useful and concise treatise on the narrators, and authenticated many of them. Hurr al-Amili has been discussed earlier.
About a hundred years ago, the traditionist Nuri composed "Mustadrak al-Wasa'il." The Mustadrak follows the same arrangement as the book Wasa'il and contains those traditions which Hurr al-Amili did not include in the Wasa'il.
Since most of the traditions in the Wasa'il are given in abridged form, only the portion relevant to the author's purpose being cited, in order to remedy this shortcoming Grand Ayatollah Burujirdi undertook the composition of the book "Jami Ahadith al-Shia" in thirty-one volumes, which has been translated under the title "Manabi Fiqh Shia" (Sources of Shia Jurisprudence). The Book of Purity of Jami Ahadith al-Shia also includes Sunni traditions, but the subsequent books contain only Shia traditions.