Prophet Muhammad’s Recommendations
- There is no greater poverty than ignorance and no savings more profitable than wisdom and no loneliness and homesickness more frightening than egotism, and also no request better than consultation, and there is no wisdom like being farseeing, and no honor like being affable and no worship like contemplation.
- What spoils one’s speech is lying, what spoils knowledge is forgetfulness, what spoils worship is laziness, what spoils generosity is to follow up their gifts with reminders of their generosity, what spoils courage is tyranny, and what spoils beauty is egotism, and what spoils familial honor is pride and boasting.
- I recommend you to honesty, and never let lies come out from your lips, and never become bold in betraying, and be conscious of God’s presence and fear Him as if you see Him, and devote your wealth and your life to your religion, and adorn yourself with good behavior, and beware of bad ethics and traits.
- There are three deeds included in the goodness of behavior: returning to a person who has cut ties with you, donating to a person who has let you down, and forgiving someone who has oppressed you.
- If these three features are not in a person, his end wouldn’t be a good one: The chastity needed to prevent him from disobeying God, the knowledge by which he is saved from the irrationality of the ignorant, and the wisdom and intellect in the light of which he deals with people.
- It is written in the Torah, “There are four things beside four things: a person who starts the day with a sense of greed to the world, Truly he gets angry with God, a person who grumbles at a grief which she/ he has suffered from she/he grumbles to God and those who humble themselves when they see a wealthy person they lose two-thirds of their religion, and the companions of the fire of this nation are those who ridicule the verses of God.
- There are three things which perish and three things which save: (however) the things which perish you, are: following the passion and low desires, the parsimony of the man which overcomes him, and the third one is egotism. And the things which save you, are: observing fairness at the time of happiness and anger, and moderating in wealth and poverty, and fearing God in public or private as if you see Him, and if you don’t see Him, then (know that) He sees you.
- There are four moral characters which are the signs of misery: dry eyes (not to shed tears), brutality, endless dreams and worldliness.
- If you properly treat your family, neighbor, friends and acquaintances, you will be sublime in the sight of God.
- The punishment of four things comes soon: the punishment of misbehavior in response to good behavior, the punishment of the one who oppresses you although you didn’t offend him/her, the punishment of your ally who intends to betray you while your purpose is to fulfill your promise, and the punishment of the one who severs the ties of relations with you while you keep good ties with him.
- An oppressor has three features: he suppresses his servant, disobeys his superior, and helps his cruel counterparts.
- And a disingenuous person has three signs: he is happy among people and impatient in private, and in everything he wants to be praised.
- A hypocrite has three signs: if he says something it is a lie, and if he is trusted and considered as a depositary person, he will betray, and when he promises, he will break it.
- It’s not good for a wise person to travel except in these three cases: Improving the situation of living, doing something to get ready for the Day of Judgment, and enjoying lawful (Halal) things.
- What you don’t like for yourself, don’t like it for others and what you like for yourself, like it for your friend (your brother); so, be impartial in your orders and be moderate in your judgment so that you will be loved in heaven and earth.
Reference: The Book of Tuhaf Al-Uqul.
Written by Abu Muhammad Hassan Harrani or Halabi, known as Ibn shobeh Harrani, one of the Great Scholars of the 4th century AH. It’s one of the famous books about wisdom and preachings of Shia’s Imams.