Introduction

God is One and Only

Abandoning the Present to Attain the Promised

Oppressive Characteristics

Characteristics Rooted in Love for Religion

One Characteristic for Five Characteristics

A Characteristic for a Characteristic

A Saving Characteristic

The Loftiest Characteristic of the Religion

No Two Things Combined which are Better than the Combination of Two Characteristics

A Characteristic that is the Honor of This World and the Hereafter

The Most Knowledgeable Person Is One who Combines One Characteristic with Another One

There Is One True Prosperity And One True Misery

A Characteristic for Which the People Deserve to be Rewarded or Punished

A Characteristic that Is the Noblest Holy War

The Hardest Thing is One Characteristic that Cannot Be Avoided Unless We Abandon Another Characteristic

A Believer’s Honor Is in One Characteristic and His Glory Is In Another Characteristic

One Characteristic Is the Key to All Evil

A Characteristic Due to Justice

A Characteristic Due to Which We Are Interested in How Others Judge About Us

Seek Nearness to God with One Characteristic

God Has Not Tested the Servants with Anything Harder Than One Characteristic

A Characteristic that Is the Result of Being Kind

A Characteristic that Stabilizes One’s Faith and One that Makes Him Lose His Faith

A Characteristic that Destroys a Believer’s Dignity

A Good Characteristic Which No Other Characteristic Is Better Than, and a Bad Characteristic That No Other Characteristic Is Worse Than

A Characteristic That Guarantees Who Will Not Become Poor

The Form of Chivalry of the Members of the Holy Household

A Characteristic Due to One’s Chivalry

A Characteristic that Is Not Good for a Dignified Man

God Loves One Characteristic and Despises One Characteristic

One Who has This Characteristic Would Not Be Thankful for Blessings

A Characteristic Due to Humbleness

A Characteristic that Is Close to Blasphemy and A Characteristic that Might Change Destiny

A Characteristic that Destroyed Previous Nations

Martyrdom Is Expiation for Every Sin Except for One’s Debt

God the Almighty Has Sent Muhammad (sw) and His Nation a Gift That He Has Not Given to Any Other Nation

A Characteristic that One Should Have If He Wants to Increase Goodness in His House

God Will Look at Whom He Likes. Once He Looks at Him, He Shall Grant Him One of Three Gifts

The Hereafter is the Wedding of the Pious Ones

A Characteristic That is Like its Opposite

The Most Wicked People Are Those Who Are Respected for Possessing One Characteristic

A Characteristic in This World is Abstinence, and a Characteristic That is Gratitude for all Blessings

Nothing Deserves to Be Restrained More Than the Tongue

Whoever Raises his Aspirations Does Wrong

Good Deeds Are Recorded for a Muslim as Long as He Remains Quiet

A Characteristic Having Which Will Result in God Saving You From the Fear of the Hereafter

The Most Intelligent Characteristic

The Most Pious, the Best Worshipping, the Most Ascetic and the Most Hard-Working People

Becoming Sorry Is the Same as Repenting

Whoever Earns More Than His Meals fom This World

A Characteristic That Deserves to Be Willed

A Characteristic That Causes One to Be Thrown Out and a Characteristic That Causes One to Be Joined

Lofty Characteristics and Bad Characteristics for the People of the World

There Is No Honor Except Through One Characteristic. There Is No Nobility Except Through Another Characteristic

When God Loves a Servant He Will Make Him Suffer from a Great Calamity

A Characteristic That Leads to Hemorrhoids

A Hand on Which There Is an Iron Ring Is Not Clean

Do Not Respond to Whoever Talks Before He Greets You

A Characteristic That if Practiced Implies Despise for Muhammad’s Religion

Only One of the Proverbs of the Prophets Has Remained

When God Wishes a Servant Well, He Will Expedite His Punishment in This World, and When He Wishes Someone Bad, He Will Procrastinate His Punishment

Be Patient with the Enemies of the Blessings

The Prophet (sw) and Ali Ibn Abi Talib Were Created from the Same Root

A Characteristic That is Gratitude for All Blessings

Religion Is the Same as Love

When Two Believers Shake Hands They Shall Depart from Each Other Void of Any Sins

A Characteristic That Revives the Hearts

A Characteristic That Revives the Affairs of the Almighty God’s Proofs

God the Almighty Has Not Created Anything More Delightful Than This Characteristic

A Characteristic That Constitutes Nine-Tenths of Religion

Whoever is Pleased with His Destiny or is Displeased with it

A Characteristic for Which Even Red-Haired Camels Are Not Loved

A Characteristic That Increases the Daily Bread

A Characteristic That Leads to Hypocrisy and Poverty

The First Gift Given to a Believer Due to a Characteristic

A Characteristic for Which One Who Has No Good Deeds is Forgiven on the Resurrection Day

A Characteristic That is the Root of All Sins

How Awkward It Is If a Man Enters Heaven Having Lost His Honor

A Characteristic Doing Which Will Cause the Almighty God to Have Mercy Upon You

A Characteristic Doing Which Will Cause Increased Good for One’s House

On Him Whose Health Has Overcome His Illness but He Treats Himself and Dies

A Characteristic Which a Believer Avoids

Nothing Ruins Faith as Much as One Characteristic Does

One Who Lives to See his Successor Is Prosperous

A Believer’s Honor is More Than That of the Ka’ba

It Suffices for a Believer to See God’s Aid in the Form of His Enemies Engaged in the Almighty God’s Disobedience

A Gift Will Eliminate Animosities

Prosperous Be the One Who is Indifferent

A Characteristic That Will Make One Poor in the Hereafter

A Group of People Who Are the Masters of Heaven

God’s Prophet Made His Ablutions One Organ at a Time

The Characteristic That Is the Best Goodness

The Prophet Put off His Special Prayer for One Characteristic

A Characteristic That is the Best Form of Worshipping and a Characteristic That is the Noblest Form of Being Religious

What Is A Lot but Its Doers Are A Few

A Characteristic That Constitutes Half of the Religion

A Characteristic That is the Best Thing Given to a Muslim

The Prophet and Ali Ibn Abi Talib Were Created from One Light

A Servant’s Well-Being Depends Upon the Well-Being of One of His Organs

3-121 حدثنا أبي رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا علي بن إبراهيم بن هاشم، عن أبيه، عن إسماعيل بن مرار، عن يونس بن عبدالرحمن يرفعه إلى أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: كان فيما أوصى به رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله عليا عليه السلام، يا علي أنهاك عن ثلاث خصال عظام: الحسد والحرص والكذب، يا علي سيد الاعمال ثلاث خصال: انصافك الناس من نفسك، ومواساة الاخ في الله عز وجل: وذكر الله تبارك وتعالى على كل حال، يا علي ثلاث فرحات للمؤمن في الدنيا: لقاء الاخوان والافطار في الصيام والتهجد من آخر الليل، يا علي ثلاث من لم تكن فيه لم يقم له عمل: ورع يحجزه عن معاصي الله عز وجل، وخلق يداري به الناس، وحلم يرد به جهل الجاهل. يا علي ثلاث من حقائق الايمان: الانفاق في الاقتار، وانصاف الناس من نفسك، وبذل العلم للمتعلم. يا علي ثلاث خصال من مكارم الاخلاق: تعطي من حرمك، وتصل من قطعك وتعفو عمن ظلمك

3-121 (The compiler of the book narrated) that his father - may God be pleased with him - narrated that Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Hashim quoted his father, on the authority of Isma’il ibn Marar, on the authority of Yunus ibn Abdul-Rahman who linked it up through a chain of narrators to Aba Abdullah as-Sadiq (MGB), “The following is amongst the pieces of advice given by the Prophet (MGB) to Ali (MGB): ‘O Ali! I admonish you against three major characteristics: jealousy, greed and lying. O Ali! The following three deeds are the master of the deeds: treating the people fairly; being kind to your brethren for the sake of the Honorable the Exalted God and remembering the Blessed the Sublime God in all circumstances. O Ali! A believer has the following three sources of happiness: visiting his brethren; breaking his fast and praying at the end of the night. O Ali! There are three things lacking which means nothing of what you do is perfected: piety which prevents you from disobeying the Honorable the Exalted God; good temper which assists him to treat the people with moderation and patience which helps him forgive the ignorance of the people. O Ali! Three things are due to real faith: generosity in spite of poverty; recognizing that others are right regarding oneself and teaching knowledge to its seekers. O Ali! Three characteristics are due to nobility: giving to those who have denied things of you; associating with those who have cut-off ties from you and forgiving those who have oppressed you.’”

3-122 حدثنا أبوالحسن محمد بن علي بن الشاه المرو الروذي قال: حدثنا أبوحامد أحمد بن محمد بن الحسين قال: حدثنا أبويزيد أحمد بن خالد الخالدي قال: حدثنا محمد بن أحمد بن صالح التميمي قال: حدثنا أبي قال: حدثني أنس بن محمد أبومالك عن أبيه، عن جعفر بن محمد، عن أبيه، عن جده، عن علي بن أبي طالب عليهم السلام عن النبي صلى الله عليه وآله أنه قال في وصيته له: يا علي ثلاث من لقى الله بهن فهو من أفضل الناس: من أتى الله بما افترض الله عليه فهو من أعبد الناس، ومن ورع عن محارم الله فهو من أورع الناس، ومن قنع بما رزقه الله فهو من أغنى الناسيا على ثلاث لا تطيقها هذه الامة: المواساة للاخ في ماله، وانصاف الناس من نفسه، وذكرالله على كل حال، وليس هو " سبحان الله والحمد لله ولا إله إلا الله والله أكبر " ولكن إذا ورد على مايحرم عليه خاف الله عز وجل عنده وتركه. يا علي ثلاثة يتخوف منهن الجنون: التغوط بين القبور، والمشي في خف واحد، والرجل ينام وحده. يا علي ثلاثة مجالستهم تميت القلب: مجالسة الانذال ومجالسة الاغنياء، والحديث مع النساء. يا علي ثلاثة يزدن في الحفظ، ويذهبن السقم: اللبان والسواك. وقراءة القرآن. يا علي ثلاثة من الوسواس أكل الطين، وتقليم الاظفار بالاسنان، وأكل اللحية، يا علي أنهاك عن ثلاث خصال: الحسد والحرص والكبر. يا علي ثلاثة يقسين القلب: استماع اللهو، وطلب الصيد، واتيان باب السلطان. يا علي العيش في ثلاثة: دار قوراء وجارية حسناء، وفرس قباءقال مصنف هذا الكتاب أدام الله عزه -: الفرس القباء -: الضامر البطن، يقال فرس أقب وقباء، لان الفرس يذكر ويؤنث، ويقال للانثى: قباء لا غير

3-122 Abul Hassan Muhammad ibn Ali ibn ash-Shah al-Marv al-Ruzi narrated that Abu Hamid Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hussein quoted Abu Yazid Ahmad ibn Khalid al-Khalidy, on the authority of Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Salih al-Tamimy, on the authority of Anas ibn Muhammad Abu Malik, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ja’far ibn Muhammad as-Sadiq (MGB), on the authority of his father (MGB), on the authority of his grandfather (MGB), on the authority of Ali ibn Abi Talib (MGB) that the Prophet (MGB) said, “O Ali! There are three things with which whoever visits God he will be of the noblest of the people. Whoever performs whatever is incumbent upon him would be of the best of the worshippers. Whoever abstains from whatever is forbidden for him to do would be of the most pious ones and whoever is content with whatever sustenance God has provided for him would be of the most needless ones.O Ali! There are three things which my followers find it hard to do: being sympathetic with their brethren during times of being wealthy; being fair with others regarding themselves and remembering God at all times. This doesn’t mean saying God’s glorifications by saying ‘Subhanallah valhamdulilah va la illaha ilallaho allaho akbar!’ No. It means to fear the Honorable the Exalted God whenever you run across a forbidden deed and abstain from doing that forbidden deed. O Ali! There is fear of insanity in three deeds: sleeping in the graveyard; walking wearing only one shoe and sleeping alone. O Ali! Associating with three groups of people will spoil the heart: associating with mean people, associating with the rich people and talking with women. O Ali! Three things would strengthen memory and fend off ailments: drinking milk; brushing the teeth and reciting the Quran. O Ali! The following three acts are due to obsession: eating clay, biting one’s nails, and chewing one’s beard. O Ali! I admonish you against three characteristics: envy, greed and haughtiness. O Ali! There are three things which would make the heart perish: listening to vain talk; going hunting, and going to the door of the king’s palace. O Ali! Life depends on three things: big house, beautiful woman, and a slim horse.’”The compiler of the book - may God increase his honor - said, “A slim horse is a thin horse whether male or female.”

Al-Khiṣāl

Book 4, Chapter 94