Evaluation of Deeds

“Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) would say, ‘Time consists of three days in the middle of which you live. Yesterday that has passed in history with all that was in it and it will never return. If you had done good deeds in it you do not feel sad about it’s passing into history and you feel happy about everything that you experienced in it. If you had acted extremely (bad) in it your regret is severe, for it’s passing into history, due to your acting extremely (bad). While you are in the day that you live, about tomorrow you are unaware, you do not know if you will ever reach it. Perhaps your share of acting extremely (bad) in it will be just as yesterday that has passed into history.’ “One of the three days has passed and in it you had acted extremely (bad). There is the day that you are waiting for and you are not sure if you will avoid acting extremely (bad) in it. What is left is the day in which you live and it is very proper for you to use your power of reason and think about your acting extremely (bad) yesterday that passed and of the good deeds that you missed to perform when you should have performed them and the evil deeds that you should have avoided. Despite this, about tomorrow you are not certain of reaching it and whether you will perform any good deeds in it or avoid committing evil deeds that deletes the good deeds. Thus, your position toward tomorrow is like your position toward yesterday. Therefore, you must act like one who has no hope in any of the days except the day and night in which he lives. Do good deeds and save and Allah is the supporter for such task.’”

“One who does not evaluate his deeds every day is not one of us. One must evaluate his deeds and pray to Allah to increase his good deeds, plead for forgiveness to Allah due to one’s committing evil deeds and turn to Him in repentance.”

“O abu al-Nu’man, do not allow people to deceive you about yourself; the matter will come to you and not to them. Do not spend your day in this and that; with you there is one who preserves your deeds for you. Do good deeds; I do not see anything of better result and remedy for the old sins then new good deeds.’” A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid from ‘Uthman ibn ‘Isa from certain individuals of our people from abu al- Nu’man a similar Hadith.

“Exercise patience in worldly matters; it is only an hour. You do not find any pain or happiness in whatever has passed. The hour that has not yet arrived is unknown to you in matters of its contents. The only time is the hour in which you live. Exercise patience in it to obey Allah and exercise patience in such time in the matters of disobedience to Allah.”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Hold your soul responsible for yourself. If you did not do so others will not do for you.’”

to a man: “You have been made the physician for your own self. Medicine is prescribed for you; signs of good health are shown to you, and the direction for medicine is given to you. It is all up to you how you treat yourself.”

to a man: “Make your heart a virtuous companion for yourself or like a child who does not fail to maintain good relations with parents. Consider your deeds as your father whom you follow, consider your soul as your enemy against whom you strive and consider your properties as borrowed for the safe return of which you are responsible.”

“Hold back your soul from that which harms it before it departs you, strive to set it free just as you strive to make a living; your soul’s well being depends upon your good deeds.”

“How many are those who seek worldly gains but can not achieve them and how many are those who had achieved worldly gains but have already departed them! Do not allow your seeking worldly gains prevent you from good deeds. You must request worldly gains from the One Who grants them and is the owner of the same. How many were those who were greedy of the worldly gains that were destroyed and whose preoccupation in them prevented them from seeking the gains of the next life until their lives finished and the appointed time approached them! “Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘A prisoner is one whose worldly affairs imprison him so he cannot do anything for his next life.’”

“When a man reaches the age of forty it is said to him, ‘Beware, you have no excuses!’ In fact, a person at the age of forty is not obliged to exercise caution against sins more than the person at the age of twenty. What is after both of them is the same (that is death) and it is not sleeping. Perform good deeds for what lies ahead of frightening conditions and stop the unnecessary words.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Take from your soul for your soul. Take from it in good health before illness, during its strength before weakness and in its lifetime before death.”’

“When the day comes it says, ‘O son of Adam do good deeds this day so I may bear witness to it to testify (in your support) before your Lord on the Day of Judgment. I had not come to you before and will not come to you in future.’ When the night comes it speaks likewise.’”

“Once a man came to Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) and said, ‘O Amir al- Mu’minin, grant me good advice in the aspects of virtue so I may attain salvation.’ Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) said, ‘O seeker of advice, listen carefully, understand, ascertain and practice. You must know that people are of three kinds: restraining themselves from worldly matters, exercising patience and those who are inclined toward worldly gains. “From the hearts of restraining people sadness and happiness have moved out. He does not become happy for any of the worldly things, nor he is grieved over anything of the world that he may have missed, thus, he is comfortable. “The person who exercises patience has hopes to have worldly gains in his heart and when he gains anything he holds his soul back from it due to such gains’ bad consequences and disgrace. Were you to see his heart you would be astonished by its chastity, humility and determination. “To those who are inclined to worldly gains it does not matter wherefrom worldly gains come to them, lawful or unlawful as well as whether it throws filth over their honor or destroys their souls, or takes away their kindness. They are restless in a vortex. ’”

“Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) has said, ‘What is beneficial on the Day of Judgment is not small (insignificant) and nor what is harmful for one on the Day of Judgment is small (insignificant). About whatever Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, has informed, you must be like one who has eye-witnessed them.’”

“Once I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘If you can remain unknown, then do so. There will be nothing wrong if people will not praise you. There is nothing wrong for you if people censure you if you are praiseworthy before Allah.’ The Imam said, ‘My father Amir al- Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) has said, “There is nothing good in life except for two kinds of people: a man who every day increases his good deeds and a man who every day remedies a destructive deed with repentance. How can repentance be of any benefit for him? By Allah, if he would perform a Sajdah prostration for such a length of time that his neck severs off of his body still, Allah, the Most Blessed, the Most High, will not accept his repentance without his acknowledgement of the Wilayah (Divine Authority) of our Ahl al-Bayt (family of Holy Prophet). You must know that whoever recognizes our rights can have hope for rewards because of us. He agrees, for his survival, to half of a one time meal every day, and with that which provides him covering for his privacy, his or her head, and with it, by Allah, they live in fear and apprehension and love to agree with this much as their share from the world and this is how Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious, has described them, ‘. . . who bring what is brought to them and whose hearts are afraid of their return to their Lord.’ (23:60) What do they bring? They, by Allah, will bring along with obedience, love and (acknowledgement of) the guardianship (of Allah and Ahl al-Bayt (family of Holy Prophet) and they still will be afraid. Such fear is not due to doubts, but it is due to their fear of falling short in our love and obedience.’””

“Once a people came to the Imam (abu Ja’far or abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.)) who granted them good advice and then said, ‘If you really affirm the Holy book there is no one among you who have not observed paradise and all that it contains or the fire with all that is in it.’”

“I heard abu al-Hassan (a.s.) saying, ‘Do not consider a great deal of good deeds a great deal. Do not consider a little sin little; the little sins accumulate to become a great deal. Have fear of Allah in private so you can yield to justice against yourselves. Hurry up in obedience to Allah, be truthful in your words, keep the trust; it is for you. Do not be involved in what is not lawful to you; it is against you.’”

“I heard abu Ja’far (a.s.) saying ‘How excellent are good deeds after evil deeds and how disgraceful are evil deeds after good deeds!”’

“You live in a period of time that is continuously reduced and in calculated days. Death comes suddenly. Whoever sows goodness will harvest what is very much sought after. Whoever sows evil will harvest regret. Every farmer finds what he has planted. The sustenance of the slow moving ones among you will not move ahead of him and the greedy will not achieve what is not assigned for him. Whoever does good, Allah grants him good and whoever safeguards against evil, Allah protects him.”

“A man came to abu Dhar and asked, ‘O abu Dhar, why do we dislike death?’ He said, ‘It is because you have developed the world and destroyed the next life and you dislike moving from developed to that which is mined.’ The man asked, ‘How do you see our moving in the presence of Allah?’ He replied, ‘The people of good deeds among you will be like one coming home from a journey. The evil doers among you, however, will be like a runaway slave returned to his master.’ The man then asked, ‘How do you see our condition before Allah?’ He said, ‘Present your deeds before the book of Allah. Allah has said, ‘‘The virtuous ones will live in bounties and the evil doers will live in fire.” (82:14,15) The man than asked, ‘Where then is the mercy of Allah?’ He replied, ‘The mercy of Allah is very close to the people who do good deeds.’ “Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) then said, ‘A man wrote to abu Dhar, may Allah be pleased with him, “O abu Dhar instruct me with a few things of knowledge.” He wrote back to him, ‘Knowledge is of many kinds, however, if you are able not to disappoint those whom you love, then do so. Yes, your soul is the most beloved to you. When you disobey Allah, you are doing bad and disappointing things to your own soul.’”

“I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘Exercise patience in the act of obedience to Allah and dictate yourselves with patience in the matters of disobeying Allah. The world is one hour. What is passed its joys and sadness do not renew. What has not yet arrived, you do not know it. Bear patience in the hour in which you live, your condition will be the one very much sought after.”

“Al-Khidr said to Moses, peace be upon him, ‘O Moses, the best of your two days is the one before you. Consider which one it is. Then prepare the answer for it. You will be stopped for questioning. Learn your lessons from time. Time is long and also (in certain cases) short. Act as if you see the reward for your deeds so it may seem attractive due to its rewards. Anything that comes from the world is like going away from one.’”

“It was said to Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) ‘Instinct us briefly with good advice.’ He then said, ‘For the lawful things of the world there is accountability and for the unlawful things of the world there is torment. How can you have comfort without following the traditions of your prophet? You seek what takes you to transgression and you do not agree with what is sufficient for you.’”