Hadith

Imam Husayn ibn Ali [a]

35 sayings

1. Verily the most forgiving of people is he who pardons when having the power to punish

   al-Durrah al-Bahirah, p. 29; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 675 link

2. These are the characteristics clearly pointed out by Imam Husain (a.s.) in his address to the troops of Ibne Saad:

   Greater Sins Vol 2, The Twenty-Fifth Greater Sin ,page 164; Nafasul Mahmoom link

3. "Allah will make you needless of the people if you prefer Allah's pleasure over the people's dissatisfaction. And Allah will leave you alone if you prefer the people's pleasure over Allah's dissatisfaction."

   Mishkat ul-Anwar, Section 1 on Faith, Islam & Related Issues, Chapter 6 On Thanksgiving, Hadees 129 link

4. The narrator went to Imam Husain (a.s.) along with his cousin to greet him. After greeting him and inquiring about his health, the cousin said, "I can see dye applied on your hair. Are your hairs turning white?" Imam (a.s.) replied, "Yes it is the dye which I have applied. We, the Hashemites turn old soon." Then Imam glanced at the narrator and asked, "Have you come for my help?" The narrator replied, "I have become aged and turned old. I have huge loans on my head and I have a large family. I am also having the things of other people with me kept as trust. I don't know what will happen to me if I go with you? I don't want to deprive so many people of their trust." The cousin also gave similar excuses for not accompanying the Imam (a.s.). Upon this, Imam (a.s.) told them, "Go away from this place as if you have not heard me asking for help because one who hears an Imam asking for help and turns a deaf ear, will be thrown headlong into Hell."

   Iqbal al-A`amal, page 326/327 link

5. Imam Ja'far Sadiq (a.s.) narrates that Imam Husain (a.s.) said, "I am Qateelul A'brah. I was martyred in the state of grief and sorrow. One who comes for my Ziyarat in a state of grief and sorrow, Allah would send him back to his relatives happy."

   Sawab al-A`amal, Page 138 link

6. O Allah, make me fear you as if I see you, let me prosper through being conscious of my duty to You, and keep me from becoming wretched as a consequence of Your disobedience.

   Bihar al-Anwar, v. 98, p. 218, no. 3; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 1019 link

7. The Prophet (SAWA) used to raise his hands and implore and beg [to Allah] just like the poor man begs for food

   Makarim al- Akhlaq, v. 2, p. 8, no. 1981; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 911 link

8. Do not prescribe any remedy for a king, for if it benefits him, he will fail to show gratitude to you, and if it harms him he will accuse you

   Bihar al-Anwar, v. 75, p. 382, no. 47; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 772 link

9. Imam Husain (a.s.) narrates that the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.s.) said, "One who remembers Allah sitting at the place he offered Morning Prayer till sunrise is given reward equal to the number of pilgrims of the house of Allah and he would get salvation. If he sits there till the time of next Salaat and offers at least four rakat prayer all his past sins would be forgiven and he would get reward equal to performing Hajj of the House of Allah."

   Sawab al-A`amal, Page 76 link

10. He who is open-handed rules

    Kashf al-Ghamma, v. 2, p. 242; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 650 link

11. Keep away from doing that which you must excuse yourself for, for verily the believer neither commits a wrong nor makes excuses for himself, whereas the hypocrite commits wrongs and makes excuses for them everyday.

    Tuhaf al-`Uqoul, no. 248; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 585 link

12. O People! Allah, exalted be His remembrance, has only created people so that they might know Him; and when they know Him they worship Him; and when they worship Him they become needless of worshipping others by His worship.' A man asked him, 'O son of the Prophet! May my parents be your ransom, what is meant by knowing Allah?' He replied, 'It is that the people of each era must know their Im m, to whom obedience is mandatory

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 23, p. 83, no. 22; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 588 link

13. The All-embracing is the One Who has no lack within Him; the All-embracing is the One Whose mastership is complete; the All-embracing is the One Who neither eats nor drinks; the All-embracing is the One Who does not sleep; the All-embracing is the Eternal One who is and will always be.

    al-Tawhid, p. 90, no. 3; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 456 link

14. When Allah with His Generosity and Benevolence made the obligations a duty upon you, He did not do so for a need He has for them. Rather, it is as a result of the Benevolence He has over you - there is no god but He and in order to distinguish between the bad and the good, and to test what is in your chests, and to purify what is in your hearts

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 23, p. 99, no. 3; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 643 link

15. Verily the lowliness of this world in Allah's eyes can be seen by the fact that the head of Prophet John, son of Prophet Zacharias was gifted to a whore from the whores of the Israelites.

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 44, p. 365; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 1006 link

16. Know that the evil of war is swift, and its taste is bitter. Therefore, he who prepares for it, and sees to its requirements, and does not suffer its wounds before its onset, he is its master; but he who plunges into it before its proper time and before gaining insight into his own effort therein, he is fit not to benefit his people and to ruin himself.

    Sharhe Nahj al-Balagha by Abi al-Hadid, v. 3, p. 186; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 980 link

17. My God! My own obscure doubts about the signs [in nature] has caused my distance from my goal, so draw me near to You through Your service that may allow me to reach You. How can something that needs You for its very existence be used to prove Your existence?! Are other things more manifest than You that they be used to point to You?! When were You ever absent that You should need anything to prove Your existence?! Through You alone do I arrive at You, so guide me with Your light to Yourself.

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 98, p. 225; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 440 link

18. Im?m Husayn ibn 'Al? ibn Ab? ??lib (a.s.) when he reminded Muawiya of [the use of] his intellect, said, 'The intellect is only perfected through following the truth' , to which Muawiya replied, 'There is only one thing in your chests [i.e. you attribute everything to the truth].'

    A`alam al-Din, p. 298; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 472 link

19. The acquisition of knowledge is the seed for [the growth of] inner knowledge.

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 78, p. 128, no. 11; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 433 link

20. The most open-handed of people is he who gives without expectation.

    Kashf al-Ghamma, v. 2, p. 242; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 651 link

21. Know that acts of courtesy earn praiseworthy results, and end in rewardable gains. If you were to see acts of courtesy personified as a man, you would perceive him to be good and handsome, pleasing for people to behold and transcending all the worlds. And if you were to see acts of vileness personified, you would perceive an ugly, revolting, disfigured man, whom the hearts would be averse to and whom the eyes would turn away from in disgust

    Mustadrak al-Wasa`il, v. 12, p. 343, no. 14242; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 200 link

22. Whoever would like an increase in his lifespan and in his sustenance should maintain relations with his kin.

    Bihar al-Anwar, p. 91, no. 15; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 216 link

23. The best reconciler is he who reconciles with one who cut him off.

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 74, p. 400, no. 41; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 217 link

24. Im?m ?usayn ibn 'Al? ibn Ab? ??lib (a.s.) was asked about jihad, as to whether it was a recommended act or an obligatory one, to which he replied, 'Jihad comes in four forms, two of which are obligatory, one of which is recommended but can only be undertaken with an obligation, and one which is recommended. The first obligatory jihad is that which a man wages against his own self in keeping away from acts of disobedience to Allah. This is one of the greatest forms of jihad. Waging jihad against those disbelievers who persecute you is also an obligation. As for the jihad which is recommended but can only be undertaken with an obligation is to fight the enemy, which is an obligation upon the whole community, and which if they abandon, they are all punishable for it. It is a recommendation upon an Imam, the limit of which is to come and face the enemy and fight them with his community. As for the jihad which is recommended, it is [embodied in] every recommended practice which a person performs and strives in its performance, its completion and its revival. Such an act, and the striving to perform it is one of the best deeds because it is a revival of the Prophetic practice, and the Prophet (SAWA) has said, 'Whoever establishes a good habitual practice, he will get his own reward for it as well as the reward of whoever performs it after him until the Day of Resurrection, without any decrease in their reward thereof.'

    Tuhaf al-`Uqoul, no. 243; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 378 link

25. It is not permissible for a believing eye to watch Allah being disobeyed and close without first changing the situation.

    Tanbih al-Khawatir, v. 2, p. 179; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 263 link

26. when asked by his father about what chiefdom involves, replied, '[The ability] To make one's tribe flourish, and [the capacity] to bear the burden of their crimes.

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 72, p. 194, no. 14; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 184 link

27. Muawiya b. Abi Sufyan has no right to delegate anybody after him to power. Rather the matter will be for the Muslims to decide in counsel amongst themselves.

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 44, p. 65, no. 13; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 222 link

28. It is You Who removed the strangers from the hearts of Your lovers so that they never love other than You What does the one who loses You find [besides You]?! And what does the one who finds You lose [out on]?! He indeed fails who is satisfied with a substitute for You.

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 98, p. 226, no. 3; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 575 link

29. The best person is the one who maintains relations with one who cuts him off.

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 78, p. 121, no. 4; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 153 link

30. Verily the deeds of this community are exposed to Allah, most High, every single morning.

    Uyoun Akhbar al-Reza (AS), v. 2, p. 44, no. 156; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 82 link

31. Death with dignity is better than living with disgrace', and articulated the following couplet on the day he was martyred:

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 44, p. 192, no. 4; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 246 link

32. Self-restraint does not prevent [the descent of] sustenance, nor does covetousness attract any surplus [sustenance]; for indeed sustenance is allotted, and death is certain, and covetousness is only asking for sin.

    A`alam al-Din, no. 428; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 229 link

33. For him who is rendered helpless in making a decision and who is at a loss of what to do, moderation is the key.

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 78, p. 128, no. 11; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 557 link

34. Im?m Husayn ibn 'Al? ibn Ab? ??lib (a.s.) said to a man who was backbiting about a man in his presence, 'Stop backbiting, for verily it is the food of the dogs of Hell.'

    Tuhaf al-`Uqoul, no. 245; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 125 link

35. Im?m Husayn ibn 'Al? ibn Ab? ??lib (a.s.) when asked how to attain knowledge of Allah, replied, 'It is for the people of every time to know their Imam, obedience to whom is mandatory.'

    Bihar al-Anwar, v. 23, p. 83, no. 22; Mizan ul Hikmah, page No. 536 link

Shown with the book and page each saying is taken from. The collection carries no grading, and the English is the compiler’s. All speakers and subjects