Shia Imams

"Reason is a free gift from God and politeness is acquisition. He who undertakes politeness has power over it. He who undertakes reason increases (himself) through that nothing but ignorance."

"He who takes himself to account gets benefitted, and the one who gets negligent and careless about himself bears loss. The one who fears (Allah) becomes peaceful, and the one who takes lesson becomes most clear sighted and discerning. He who becomes most clear sighted, understands; and he who understands and comprehends becomes knowledgeable and informed."

"The lapse of time uncovers hidden secrets."

"Showing something before it becomes complete spoils that thing."

"The one for whom the day of ‘Āshūrā is a day of tragedy, grief and weeping, Allah The Mighty, The Glorious, shall make the Day of Judgment, a day of joy and happiness for him."

"The one who acts without knowledge, destroys and ruins more than he rectifies."

"Knowledgeable persons are strangers because of the many ignorant people around them."

"The boon and benevolence which is not thanked for, is like the sin which is not forgiven."

"He who reckons his own soul is successful; he who is heedless of it is unsuccessful."

"And as for the occurrence of the manifestation, it is up to Allah, and those who appoint a moment lie."

"Whoever has three things will never regret:"

"If you ask for guidance, you shall have it; and if you pursue something, you shall find it."

"The increase of blessing is not interrupted by God, unless thanksgiving is interrupted by the slaves."

"I admonish you regarding five things:"

"By Allah no one is our Shī‘ah except that he has piety for God and obeys him. They (the Shī‘ah) are not known and recognized except for their humility, modesty, fear of God, trustworthiness, plenty of remembrance of God, fasting, service, kindness to the parents, looking after the poor neighbours and afflicted people, mentioning them with nothing except goodness and beneficence; and they are the trustees for their tribes in all the affairs."

"There are three hinges out of the completion of values, of this world and the here-after:"

"Two kinds of my community have no share in Islam. (They are): the extremists and the fatalists."

"There is no servant except that there exists a white spot upon his heart. So when he commits a sin, a black spot arises into that white spot. Then when he repents, this black spot moves away. But if he continues on committing sins, the blackness of this spot increases till such time that it overwhelms and overrides the whiteness. When the whiteness is all covered over (by the blackness), the owner of it (the heart) does never at all return towards beneficence and goodness. And This is what God means when he says: "Nay! rather, what they used to do has become like a rust upon their hearts." (Qur'an, 83:14)"

"The person who loves for the sake of God, and detests and despises for the sake of God, and gives for the sake of God, is among those whose faith has achieved completion."

"Indeed, faithful is the one who - when pleased and glad, his pleasure does not make him enter into sin and falsehood; and when unhappy and angry, his anger does not oust him from the world of righteousness; and when he gains power, his power does not make him commit excess, nor opression, nor make him go for a thing upon which he does not have any right."

"Being religious equals being extremely loving, and being extremely loving equals being religious."

"Goodness to parents, and paying visits to ones own relatives, will ease the accounting on the Day of Judgement."

"Indeed, the most terrifically sorry of all the people on the day of resurrection, will be the servant who defines and shows the way of justice to the people, while he himself opposes it."

"The scholar whose knowledge is made use of and benefited from, is worthier and more virtuous than seventy thousand worshippers and adorers."

"The believer does not spend an expense more lovable with Allah than saying the truth during consent and anger."

"Beware of sluggishness, annoyance and impatience, since they are the keys of all the evils. The person who commits sluggishness and slackness never at all discharges any rights (obligations); and the one who gets annoyed and restless, does never at all remain patient over the right (God's decree on him)."

"Fasting is a shield against (hell) fire. Charity and dole remove and finish sin, as does the remembrance of God in the midnight."

"Indeed, when a man earns wealth from a haraam (prohibited source) - neither Hajj, nor Umra, nor strengthening of his blood kinship, is ever at all accepted or approved. By God, Almighty."

"The virtue of knowledge is more lovable with Allah than the virtue of worship. The best (thing) in your religion is piety."

"Consider the world as an abode where in you have dropped down for an hour, then you have got to leave it and go ahead; or (suppose it is) like the wealth which you lay hands upon in a dream and become over-joyed and glad. Then you wake up to find yourself empty handed."

"The person who teaches one chapter of guidance to the people will have a reward similar to all those who would act upon it, and nothing would be lessened or subtracted from the reward of those who practise it; and the one who teaches a chapter of misguidance, he will have the burden similar to each one who acts upon it, and nothing will be lessened from their burden of sin."

"On the Day of Judgement, God will interrogate people according to the wisdom he has granted them."

"Opposition of one's desires is the sign of the highest level of wisdom in a human being."

"Whoevers tongue utters the truth, his practise becomes purified; and the one whose intention is decent and good, his sustenance increases; and whoever adopts good attitude and decent behavior with his family, his life span lengthens."

"Learn knowledge and science from him who teaches it, even if he doesn't practice what he preaches."

"There is no pain worse than ignorance and lack of intelligence."

"How beautiful it is when goodness succeeds badness; and how unappealing it is when evil succeeds goodness."

"Knowledge and science is the fruit of paradise; in times of threat it is one's ally, in exile it keeps one company, and in solitude it is one's intimate friend and companion."

"Take the good speech from whoever said it even if his practice was not accordingly."

"The parable of a man greedy of this world is the parable of the silk worm: the more it winds the thread round itself the farther it becomes from salvation, until it dies of grief."

"I heard Layth ibn Saad say, "I went on pilgrimage in the year 113AH/731 CE. After I performed the afternoon prayer, I was reading some verses of the Holy Quran when I saw someone sitting beside me invoking God saying, "Ya Allah, Ya Allah..." repeatedly until he lost his breath. He then continued by saying, "Ya Hayy, Ya Hayy" until his breath was again lost. He then raised his hands and said, "O God, I have the desire to eat grapes, O God give me some. And my robe is becoming so old and tattered. Please, O God grant me a new one."

"When a man asked him whether God coerced his bondsmen to sin. Al-Sadiq replied "Allah is more just than to make them commit misdeeds then chastise them for what they have done." The man further asked, "Has he empowered them with their actions?" al-Sadiq said, "If He had delegated it to them, He would have not confined them to enjoining good and forbidding evil." The man further asked, "Is there a station or a position between the two?" The Imam said, "Yes, wider than [the space] between the heaven and the earth.""

"Then I (al- Sadiq) asked him (the thief) about his act. He said: 'perhaps, you are Ja'far b. Mohammed?' 'Yes,' I said. He said to me:'What does your noble origin avail you while you are ignorant?' 'Which verse of the Quran am I ignorant at?' I asked. He said these Words of Allah, the Great and Almighty:Whoever brings a good deed, he shall have ten like it, and whoever brings and evil deed he shall be recompensed only with the like of it.(Quran, 6:160) 'When I stole the two loaves of bread, they were two evil deeds. And When I stole the two pomegranates, they were two evil deeds, too. So these are four evil deeds. When I gave each one of them as alms, Allah has subtracted 4 evil deeds from 40 good deeds. So, I have 36 good deeds.' I (al- Sâdiq) said: 'May your mother loses you! It is you who are ignorant at the Book of Allah. Have you not heard that Allah said: (Allah) accepts-(deeds) from the pious only.(Quran, 5:27) When you stole the two loaves of bread, they were two evil deeds. And when you stole the two pomegranates, they were two evil deeds, too. And when you gave them to other than their owner without the permission of their owner, you have added four evil deeds to the four evil deeds, and you have not added four evil deeds to forty good deeds. So, he began looking at me. Then I left him and went away."

"O God, thine is the praise that I give thee, and to thee is the excuse if I sin against thee. There is no work of merit on my own behalf or on behalf of another, and in evil there is no excuse for me or for another."

"Being sociable and affable with people brings kindness and friendship."

"God has appointed to the grave of Imām Husayn (a), four thousand anguished and grief-stricken angels, who weep over him (and shall continue to do so) up until the Day of Judgment."

"Seventy thousand angels worship near the grave of Imām Husayn (a). The prayer (salah) of one of them, is equal to a thousand prayers of mankind. The reward of this prayer is for the visitors of Imām Husayn's (a) grave. The curse of God, His angels and all mankind is forever upon the killers of Imām Husayn (a)."

"As for ‘Alī ibn Husayn (a), he cried over Husayn (a) for twenty years (after the tragedy of Karbalā); never would any food be placed before him except that he would begin to weep."

"There is no strength higher than overcoming carnal desire."

"Three things destroy a man: considering his own deeds to be really great, forgetting the sins that have been committed, considering his own opinion to be the highest."