Excellence of Certainty

“‘There is nothing without a limit.’ I (the narrator) then asked, ‘May Allah keep my soul in service for your cause, what is the limit of trust?’ The Imam said, ‘It is certainty.’ I then asked, ‘What is the limit of certainty?’ The Imam said, ‘It is when, with having Allah on your side, you do not fear anything.’”

"'It is from the soundness of a man's certainty that he does not make people happy to anger Allah and does not blame them for what (of belongings) Allah has not given him. The share of sustenance is something that is not driven by the greed of the greedy ones and is not pushed back due to the dislike of those who dislike. Even if one of you may run away from his share of sustenance just as one runs away from death, still his share of sustenance reaches him just as death one day will reach him.’ He then said, ‘Allah through His justice and fairness has placed in certainty spirit and comfort and agreement with the decision of Allah. He has placed anxiety and sadness in doubts and anger.’”

“I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘The little but continuous deed with certainty is far better in the sight of Allah than a great deal of deeds without certainty.’”

“Amir al-Mu’minin (Ali ibn abu Talib) (a.s.) once said from the pulpit, ‘No one among you can ever sense the taste of belief until he comes to know that whatever has happened right could not have happened wrong and whatever has happened wrong could not have happened right.’”

“Once, Amir al-Mu’minin (Ali ibn abu Talib) (a.s.) during his court session, had sat leaning against a wall that was bent. Certain people asked him not to sit near the defective wall. Amir al-Mu’minin (Ali ibn abu Talib) (a.s.) said, ‘This is like a man’s guarding his death,' (Futility of Guardian against death). When the Imam moved away, the wall crumbled. The Imam said, ‘Amir al-Mu’minin (Ali ibn abu Talib) (a.s.) would often do such and similar things and that was because of certainty.’”

“Once I asked Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) about the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy: ‘The tumbling wall belonged to two orphans in the town whose father has been a righteous person. Underneath the wall there was a treasure that belonged to them.’ (18:82) “The Imam said, ‘It is a fact that the treasure did not consist of gold and silver. It consisted of four sentences: “No one deserves to be worshipped except I (Allah). Whoever has realized with certainty that death is inevitable has enough reason not to laugh for a year. Whoever has realized with certainty that accountability on the Day of Judgment is true has enough reason for his heart not to rest in ease. Whoever has realized with certainty that Allah does everything with strict measurements has enough reason not to fear anyone except Allah.’””

“Amir al-Mu’minin (Ali ibn abu Talib) (a.s.) has said, ‘A servant of Allah cannot sense the taste of belief until he comes to know that whatever has happened to him right could not have happened wrong and whatever has happened to him wrong could not have happened right. The one who can harm or benefit others is only Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy.”’

“One day during a war I looked on a man who was wearing two pieces of garment on him. I moved my horse nearer to him and I found him to be Amir al-Mu’minin (Ali ibn abu Talib) (a.s.) and I said, ‘O Amir al-Mu’minin, is this a place (to be in with just two pieces of garment and no coats of arms)?’ The Imam said, ‘Yes, O Sa’id ibn al-Qays. For every servant of Allah there is a guard from Allah and a protecting angel to see that he will not fall off of a cliff or into a well, but when the appointed time comes for his death the angels just leave him alone to his own self.’”

“I heard abu al-Hassan al-Rida (a.s.) saying, ‘In the treasure mentioned in the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy: “Underneath the wall there was a treasure that belonged to them. . . .,” ( 18 : 82 ) there were the following statements: ‘In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, strange to me is the case of a person who is certain of the coming of death but he feels happy. Strange to me is the case of a person who is certain of the strict measurement of Allah but he feels depressed. Strange to me is the case of a person who is aware of all the up and down in the world with its inhabitants but he still relies on it. It is expected from a man who has understanding of Allah not to accuse Allah in His decision and not to consider Him slow in His Providence.’ I then said, ‘May Allah keep my soul in service for your cause, I want to write it down. The Imam gave me, I swear by Allah, the inkpot so I can write. I reached out to his hands and kissed them and then took the inkpot and wrote down the Hadith.”’

“Qanbar, a worker for Ali (a.s.) loved Ali intensely. Whenever Imam went out he followed him with a sword for protection. Once at night Imam Ali saw Qanbar and asked him, ‘What is the matter with you?’ He said, ‘O Amir al-Mu’minin, I follow you for your protection.’ The Imam said, ‘Qanbar, what is the matter with you, are you protecting me from the people of the heavens or from the people of the earth?’ He said, ‘I do not protect you from the people of the heavens but I protect you from the people of the earth.’ The Imam said, ‘The people of the earth can do nothing to me without permission from Allah from the heavens. Go back home.' And he obeyed.’”

“It was said to al-Rida (a.s.) ‘You speak of it (Your Divine Authority) and blood drips from the sword (of your enemies).’ The Imam said, ‘Allah has a valley that is gold. He has guarded it with ants, the weakest creature. Even if the camels of Khurasan (North East parts of Iran) try to go there they cannot reach it.’”