05-08-2007, 01:23 AM
Blessed are those who humble themselves in this world, for they shall inherit the thrones of sovereignty
Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be glad.
O bad servants! You blame the people on the basis of suspicion, and you do not blame yourself for what is certain!
O servants of the world! Your likeness is like that of the high tombs, their exteriors cause admiration in those who look at them, and their interiors are the bones of the dead, full of misdeeds.
O servants of the world! Your likeness is only like that of a lamp, which shines for the people and burns itself.
In truth I say to you, do not be like a sieve that expels good flour and retains the waste. Likewise, you expel wisdom from Your mouths, and hatred remains in your breasts.
In truth I say to you, water and fire cannot be put together in a bowl; likewise, understanding and blindness cannot be put together in one heart.
In truth I say to you, o group of disciples, surely today, you are like the alive among the people who are dead, so do not die with the death of those alive.
O Jesus! How numerous are the people and how few is the number of the patient. The trees are numerous, but those that are good among them are few. Do not be deceived by the beauty of a tree until you taste its fruit.
A man asked Jesus the son of Mary ('a), "Which people is the best?" He [Jesus('a)] took two handfuls of earth and said, "Which of these is the best? The people are created from earth, so the most honorable of them is the most God-wary."
[Jesus ('a)] said: "Blessed is he who abandons the present desire for the absent promise."
Jesus ('a) said: "Who would build a house on the waves of the sea? This world is that house, so you should not take it as a dwelling.'' (Bihar al-anwar," xiv, 326)
Jesus ('a) said: "The love of this world and the next cannot come together in the heart of a believer, like water and fire in a single vessel."
Jesus ('a) said: "This world and the next one are rivals. When you please one of them you displease the other."
It has been reported that Abu 'Abd Allah, Peace he upon him, said: "The world took the form, for Jesus ('a), of a woman whose eyes were blue. Then he said to her: 'How many have you married?' She said: 'Very many.' He said: 'Then did they all divorce you?' She said: 'No, but I killed all of them.' He said: 'Then woe be to the rest of your husbands! How they fail to learn from the example of the predecessors!'
It is reported that 'Ali ibn al-Husayn [imam Sajjad], Peace be upon him, said: "The Messiah, Peace be upon him, said to his Apostles: 'Verily, this world is merely a bridge, so cross over it, and do not make it your abode.' ''
I heard Imam Rida ('a) say: "Jesus the son of Mary, may Allah bless him, said to the apostles: 'O Children of Israel! Do not grieve over what you lose of this world, just as the people of this world do not grieve over what they lose of their religion, when they gain this world of theirs.' "
Jesus ('a) said: ''In truth I say unto you, just as one who is sick looks at food and finds no pleasure in it due to the severity of the pain, the companions of this world find no pleasure in worship and do not find the sweetness of it, for what they find is the sweetness of this world. In truth I say unto you, just as an animal which is not captured and tamed becomes hardened and its character is changed, so too when hearts are not softened by the remembrance of death and the effort of worship they become hard and coarse, and in truth I say unto you, if a skin is not torn, it may become a vessel for honey, just as hearts, if they are not torn by desires, or fouled by greed, or hardened by pleasures, may become vessels for wisdom.''
It was said to Jesus ('a): "[Would it not be better] if you got a house?" He said: "The remains which are left from those before us is enough for us.''
Jesus ('a) said to a worshipper, "What do you do?" He answered, "I worship." He ('a) said, "Then who provides for you?" He said, "My brother." He ('a) said, "Your brother is more of a worshipper than you are!"
Jesus ('a) said: "O group of Apostles! How many lamps the wind has put out, and how many worshippers pride has corrupted.!"
It is reported that he [Jesus ('a)] passed by a carcass with his disciples. Then the disciples said: "How putrid the smell of this dog is!" Then Jesus ('a) said: "How intense is the whiteness of his teeth!"
Imam Sadiq ('a) said: ''Verily, when Jesus the son of Mary ( 'a) passed along the shore of a sea, he threw a piece of his bread into the water, Then some of the disciples said: 'O Spirit of Allah and His Word! Why did you do this when that was your food.' He said: "I did this in order that some animal among the animals of the sea may eat it, and the reward of Allah for this is great.'
It is reported that the Commander of the faithful [imam Ali], peace be upon him, said: "Jesus the son of Mary, Peace he upon him, said: 'The dinar is the illness of religion, and the scholar (al-'alim) is the physician of religion. So if you see that the physician brings illness upon himself, distrust him, and know that he is not to advise others.' "
Verily, Jesus ('a) said: "Why do you come to me clothed in the garments of monks while your hearts are those of ferocious wolves? Wear the clothes of kings, but soften your hearts with fear."
Jesus, Peace be upon him, said: "My hands 'are my servant and my feet are my mount; the earth is my bed, a stone my pillow; my blanket in the winter is the east of the earth and my lamp in the night is the moon; my stew is hunger and my motto is fear; my garment is wool and my fruit and my basil what grows from the earth for wild beasts and cattle. I sleep while I have nothing and I rise while I have nothing, and yet there is no one on earth wealthier than I"
It is reported from the Gospel: "Beware of liars who come to you in sheep's clothing while in reality they are ravenous wolves. You shall know them by their fruits. It is not possible for a good tree to bear vicious fruit, nor for a vicious tree to bear good fruit."