Degrees of Belief (Additional)

“I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘Had the people known how Allah, the Most Blessed, the Most High, has created this creation no one would blame others.’ 1 then said, ‘May Allah grant you well being, how is that?’ The Imam said, ‘Allah, the Most Blessed, the Most High, created parts numbering ninety-four parts. He then made them into tenths; thus, He made one part into ten parts. He then distributed them among the creatures. In one man He placed one tenth, in another person He placed two tenths until there came a man in whom He place a whole part. In another He placed one part and one tenth, in another person one part and two tenths and in another one part and three tenths up to a man in whom He placed two whole parts and so on up to the highest one in whom He placed ninety-four whole parts. Therefore, one in whom only one tenth of a part is placed cannot be like the one in whom two tenths are placed. The one in whom two tenths of a part are placed cannot be like the one in whom three tenths are placed. So also the owner of one part cannot be like the owner of two whole parts. Had the people known that Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious, has created them in this way no one would have blamed the others.’”

“Once Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) said, ‘O ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, belief is of ten stages like the steps of a ladder. To climb, one uses it one step after the other one by one. One who possesses two degrees of belief should never say to one who possesses only one degree that he does not have enough belief and so on up to the tenth degree or stage. One who is higher should not throw back the one below because the one above you may also fall. If you see one below, you should help him climb up higher gently and do not burden him with what he cannot lift up; he may break down and if one breaks down a believer, he will be held responsible for compensation to him.’”

“Abu Ja’far (a.s.) said to me, ’Believers are of various positions in connection with belief. There are those who have one degree of belief, others have two degrees, still others may have three or four, five, six or seven degrees of belief. If you expect two degrees of belief from one who has only one degree of belief he is not able to bear it, or expect three degrees of belief from the one who has only two degrees of it he also is not able to bear it. The one who may have three cannot bear four degrees of belief, the one who has four degrees of belief is not able to bear five degrees of belief. One who has only five degrees of belief is not able to bear six degrees of belief and one who has six degrees of belief is not able to bear seven degrees of belief. This is how the degrees of belief are.’”

“What is this disavowing and disassociation of yours? There are those of you who renounce the others. Among the believers there are those who are better than others. Among them there are those who pray more, and others are of shaip insight. Such are the degrees of belief.”