A collection of short maxims reported on the authority of Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir, peace be on him. They are full of noble morals and are useful. The following maxims are some of them.
1. He, peace be on him, said: "If you can deal with anyone and do him a favor,
do that."
2. He, peace be on him, said: "Flatter the hypocrite with your tongue. Make your
love sincere to the believer. When a Jew associates with you, associate well
with him.
3. He, peace be on him, said: "Nothing is mixed with a thing better than
(mixing) clemency with knowledge.
4. He, peace be on him, said: "Assume the truth. Leave that which does not
concern you. Avoid your enemy. Be careful of your friends except the trusty one
who fears Allah. Do not make friends with the sinner. Do not inform him of your
secrets. Ask the advice of those who fear Allah.
5. He, peace be on him, said: "The friendship of twenty years is kinship.
6. He, peace be on him, said: "The decree of Allah is good for the believer.
7. He, peace be on him, said: "He for whom Allah does not make a preacher from
his own self, the preaching of people do not avail him."
8. He, peace be on him, said: "He whose outward (deeds) are heavier than his
inward (deeds), his scales are light.
9. He, peace be on him, said: "How many a person meets a person and says to him:
may Allah ruin your enemy, and he has no enemy except Allah.
10. He, peace be on him, said: "He who disobeys Allah does not recognize Him."
Then the Imam composed:
Do you disobey the Lord and show your love (for Him)?
By your life, this is an innovation among deeds.
If your love was truthful, you would obey him.
Indeed the lover obeys him whom he loves.
11. He, peace be on him, said: "The need with the one who has recently gotten
property is like the dirham in the mouth of the snake. You need him, and you are
in danger.
12. He, peace be on him, said: "Know the love in the heart of your brother
through what he has in your heart.
13. He, peace be on him, said: "Faith is love and hatred."
14. He, peace be on him, said: "Four (acts) are among the treasures of kindness:
Concealing the need, concealing the alms, concealing the pain, and concealing,
the misfortune.
15. He, peace be on him, said: "He whose tongue is truthful, his acts grow. He
whose intention is good, his daily-bread increases. He whose kindness to his
family is good, Allah prolongs his life.
16. He, peace be on him, said: "Whoever gets a brother in Allah in addition to
faith in Allah and faithfulness to his brotherhood seeking Allah's pleasure gets
a ray from Allah's light, safety from the punishment of Allah, a pilgrimage (to
Mecca) through which he will be successful on the Day of Judgment, everlasting
honor, and increasing reputation.
That is because the believer is neither mawsool nor mafsool from Allah, the
Great and Almighty." He was asked: "What is the meaning of mawsool and mafsool?"
He, peace be on him, replied: "Mawsool meaning the believer is not connected to
(Allah). Mafsool meaning the believer is not separated from (Allah).
17. He, peace be on him, said: "It is sufficient cheat for the person is that he
sees from the people the vague affair of his own soul. Or he finds faults with
other than him through what he cannot leave. Or he hurts his friend through that
which does not concern him.
18. He, peace be on him, said: "Humbleness is that you should be satisfied with
the humble sitting-place, that you should greet whomever you meet, and that you
should leave the dispute even if you are right."
19. He, peace be on him, said: "The believer is the brother of the believer. So,
he should not abuse him nor should he deprive him (of his rights) nor should he
doubt him."
20. He, peace be on him, said: "He to whom clumsiness is apportioned, faith is
veiled from him.
21. He, peace be on him, said: "Indeed Allah has punishments in the hearts, the
bodies, the daily-bread, and the worship. However, the cruelty of the heart is
the most intense punishment.
22. He, peace be on him, said: "On the Judgment Day, a caller will call: 'Where
are al-Sabirun (the patient)?' So, a group of people will rise. Then a caller
will call : 'Where are al-Mutasabbirun?' Thus, a group of people will rise." He
was asked: "Who are al-Sabirun and al-Mutasabbirun?" He, peace be on him,
replied: "Al-Sa`birun are those who are patient with performing the religious
duties. Al-Mutasabbirun are those who are patient with the prohibitions.
23. He, peace be on him, said: "Allah says: 'O Son of Adam, refrain from what I
have prohibited, so you are the most pious of all people.'
24. He, peace be on him, said: "The best worship is the abstinence of the
private parts and the abdomen.
25. He, peace be on him, said: "Modesty and faith are coupled with each other.
If one of them goes away, the other will follow it.
26. He, peace be on him, said: "Allah gives this world to both the righteous and
the sinners. However, He gives this religion to His close friends only.
27. He, peace be on him, said: Allah gives the world to those whom He loves and
those whom He detests. However, He gives religion to those whom He loves only.
28. He, peace be on him, said: "If the beggar knew what was in begging, he would
never beg anyone. If the begged one knew was in prevention, he would never
prevent anybody.
29. He, peace be on him, said: "Some blessed rich servants belong to Allah. They
associate with people. People live under their wing. Some wicked servants belong
to Allah. They do not associate with people. People do not live under their
protection. They are like grass -hoppers.
30. He, peace be on him, said: "Allah likes spreading greetings.
31. He, peace be on him, said: "Everything has a catastrophe. The catastrophe of
knowledge is forgetfulness.
32. He, peace be on him, said: "O Allah, help with the world through riches, and
with the hereafter through piety.
33. He, peace be on him, said: "The person increases in opinion when he gives
sincere advice.
34. He, peace be on him, said: "The weapon of the ignoble person is ugly words.
A poet composed this wonderful maxim, saying:
Al-Baqir al-Murtada, the descendant of the Imam, peace be on him, was truthful
when he said: "Ugly words are the weapon of the ignoble.
35. He, peace be on him, said: "Thunderbolt strikes the believer and the
unbelievers. However, it does not strike the person who praises (Allah).
36. He, peace be on him, said: "The best deeds are three: Praising Allah in all
conditions, treating people with justice, and giving the friend money.
37. He, peace be on him, said: "Regard the good deed as small. Do it quickly,
and conceal it.
38. He, peace be on him, said: "In the Sunna (the Prophet's practices) and the
religion, it is not an act of truthfulness to turn away from the generous.
39. He, peace be on him, said: "How wonderful good deeds are after evil deeds!
How shameful evil deeds are after good deeds!
40. He, peace be on him, said: "The person may earn money through four
(sources). They are unfaithful act, usury, treason, and theft. Such money is not
accepted in four (acts). They are zakat, alms, pilgrimage (to Mecca), and Umra.
41. He, peace be on him, said: "Allah, the Great and Almighty, refuses to accept
the pilgrimage and Umra performed through ill-gotten gains.
42. He, peace be on him, said: "He whose outward (deeds) are heavier than his
inward (deeds), his balance is light.
43. He, peace be on him, said: "Lying destroys faith.
44. He, peace be on him, said: "I had a companion. The companion regarded the
world as small. Thus, I regarded him as great.
45. He, peace be on him, said to his companions: "Do you enter your hands in the
bags of your companions and take what you want?" "No," they replied. "You are
not our companions as you say," he, peace be on him, explained.
46. He, peace be on him, said: "Kindness may make the father go to extremes.
This is the worst father. Negligence may make the child disobey (his parents).
Such a child is the worst.
47. He, peace be on him, said: "Preach to your companions, and respect them. Do
not attack each other.
48. He, peace be on him, said: "Sins make misfortunes strike the servant.
49. He, peace be on him, said: "Allah decreed that He would not take the
blessing He bestowed on the servant. However, when the servant commits a sin, he
is worthy of the adversity.
50. He, peace be on him, said: "If there is no love in my heart for the saints
of Allah and no hatred for His enemies, nothing will avail me, even if I fast
throughout the day, pray throughout the night, and spend all my money for Allah.
51. Zarara asked Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir, peace be on him: "What is the meaning
of al-Hanafiya?" He, peace be on him, replied: "It is the nature Allah has
created in men. He has created it in them to make them recognize Him.
52. Imam Muhammad Al-Baqir was asked: "Is there a thing better than gold?"He,
peace be on him, answered: "Yes, the one who gives it.
53. He, peace be on him, said: "The tribulation of the people against us is
burdensome. When we ask them (to follow us), they do not respond to us. When we
leave them, they do not follow other than us.
54. He, peace be on him, said: "The chasteness of the abdomen and private parts
is the best (quality) through which Allah is worshipped.
55. He, peace be on him, said: "Be patient towards misfortunes. Do not
transgress (Allah's) rights. Do not give the person a thing that harms you more
than it avails you.
56. He, peace be on him, said: "Our followers obey Allah.
57. He, peace be on him, said: "The friend may take care of you when you are
rich, and abandon you when you are poor. How bad such a friend is!
58. He, peace be on him, said: "Kindness to friends is the best help in the
world.
59. He, peace be on him, said: "Whomever is given ethics and kindness is given
good and rest. Besides His state is good here and the hereafter. Whomever is
deprived of them, that will be a way to evil and tribulations, except him whom
Allah protects.
60. He, peace be on him, said: "Allah (sometimes) makes a person recognize the
truth. So, the person can remain on the top of a mountain. He can eat from the
plants of the earth till death comes to him. Still, he faces no problem.
61. He, peace be on him, was asked: "The people of the garden will enter the
garden through their deeds. Will Allah release (some people) from the Fire?"
"Surely, Allah will release (some people) from the Fire," he replied.
62. He, peace be on him, said: "He who has no precautionary dissimulation has no
good.
63. He, peace be on him, said: "If you want to know that you have good, consider
carefully your heart. Does your heart love obedience to Allah? Does it detest
the disobedience to Him? If it is so, you have good and Allah loves you. Does it
detest the obedience to Allah? Does it love the disobedience to Him? If it is
so, you have no good and Allah detests you. The person is with his lover.
64. He, peace be on him, said: "Among the steps of Satan are the oath for
divorce, the vow for sins, and the swearing by other than Allah, the Exalted.
65. He, peace be on him, said: "When the abdomen is full, (the person) becomes
tyrannical.
66. He, peace be on him, said: "Allah detests the full abdomen.
67. He, peace be on him, said: "Whoever seeks the world to be chaste with the
people, to maintain his family, and to help his neighbor, will meet Allah, the
Great and Almighty, and his face will be like the full moon.
68. He, peace be on him, said: "Our talk is difficult. It is difficult (for
people) to understand it. No one bears it except a close angel or a prophet or a
servant whose heart Allah has tested for faith.
69. He, peace be on him, said: "I hate the person whose words are more than his
knowledge. I also hate the person whose knowledge is more than his reason.
References:
1) Tuhaf al-'Uqul
2) Al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya
3) Al-Bayan wa al-Tibiyyin
4) Ibn Qutayba, 'Ayun al-Akhbar
5) Hulyat al-Auliya'
6) Al-Akhbar al-Muwaffaqiyat
7) Al-Saduq, al-Amali
8) Usul al-Kafi
9) Mirr'at al-Jinan
10) Safwat al-Safwa
11) Bihar al-Anwar
12) A'lam al-Wara
13) Jami' al-Sa'adat
14) Ahmed bin Fahad al-Hilli, al-Tahsin
15) Al-Durr al-Nazim
16) 'Ilal al-Sharai'
17) Majma' al-Bayan.
Comments posted are the sole opinion of the author and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of AIM. |
