العَمَلُ

ACTION

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2– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘I enjoin you with action indeed, then to take it to its completion, then to maintain it regularly, then to persevere in its performance and then to be pious. Verily you have been destined for a great end, so betake yourselves to your destined end.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Sermon 176]

3– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘He who lags behind as a result of his deeds will not be accorded a front position because of his lineage.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 23]

4– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Do not be among those who hope for the Hereafter without acting … admiring the righteous people and yet not acting like them, and despising the sinners whilst he is one of them … he fears for others worse chastisement than what he himself deserves for his sin, and for himself hopes for greater than his actions deserve … When he acts he falls short of the action, and when he is asked something, he exaggerates … so he is presumptuous in his speech though performing little action.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 150]

5– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘He from whom Allah accepts a single prayer, He will not punish, nor he from whom He accepts a single good deed.’
[al-Kafi, v. 3, p. 266, no. 11]

6– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘If you act but a little, you will enjoy many bounties.’
[Tanbih al-Khawatir, v. 2, p. 183]

7– Imam al-Hadi (AS) said, ‘People transact through wealth in this world and through deeds in the Hereafter.’
[al-Durra al-Bahira, p. 41]

8– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Just as grapes can never be harvested from thorn bushes, thus can the wrongdoers never come up to the level of the righteous, for they are two distinct paths, whichever one of them you take is where you will arrive.’
[Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 43676]

9– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Act continuously, act continuously! For verily Allah has not decreed any end to the believer’ s actions except death.’
[Mustadrak al-Wasail, v. 1, p. 130, no. 177]

10– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The little that you perform continuously is weightier than the great amount that you perform odiously.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Saying 278]

11– Imam al-Baqir (AS) said, ‘There is nothing more beloved to Allah than the performance of an action that is maintained regularly, even if it be little.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 82, no. 3]

12– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘If a man performs a certain action, he should maintain it regularly for the duration of a year, then he may move on to another act if he wishes, and that is so that the grand Night of Ordainment (laylat al-qadr) is included in his year of performing that particular act, when whatever Allah wills therein happens.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 82, no. 1]

13– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘The best of deeds is the most difficult of them.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 70, p. 191]

14– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘The best of deeds is that which is most regular, even if be something small.’
[Tanbih al-Khawatir, v. 1, p. 63]

15– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘The best of deeds in the sight of Allah is the happiness that you bring to a fellow believer, either by driving away his hunger or by relieving him of his distress.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 191, no. 11]

16– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The best of deeds is that which you force yourself to do.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 78, p. 69, no. 20]

17– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The best of deeds is that whose objective is Allah’ s pleasure.’
[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 2958]

18– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The best of deeds is adherence to the truth.’
[Ghurar al-Hikam, no. 3322]

19– Imam al-Sadiq (AS), when asked about the best of deeds, replied, ‘Performing the prayer at its prescribed time, being kind to one’ s parents and combat in the way of Allah (jihad), Mighty and Exalted.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 158, no. 4]

20– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘There are three qualities which if a person does not possess, his action remains incomplete piety which safeguards him from acts of disobedience to Allah, a good nature by means of which he maintains amicable relations with people, and clemency by means of which he retorts the rashness of the ignorant.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 116, no. 1]

21– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘There are three sins to which the company of a good deed is to no avail association of anything with Allah, insolence to one’ s parents, and fleeing from the midst of a battle.’
[Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 43824 and 43937]

22– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘He who does not guard his tongue has not performed any good deeds.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 77, p. 85]

23– Imam al-Baqir (AS) said, ‘A good deed accompanied by doubt and denial is to no avail.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 400, no. 7]

24– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) said, ‘Allah does not accept a good deed from a believer as long as he harbours ill will against a fellow believing brother.’
[al-Kafi, v. 2, p. 361, no. 8]

25– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Be cautious of every deed which the doer is pleased to perform himself but hates Muslims at large to perform it.’
[Sharhe Nahj al-Balagha li Ibn Abi al-Hadid, v. 18, p. 41]

26– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Be cautious of every deed which is performed in secret but is embarrassing to perform in public.’
[Nahj al-Balagha, Letter 69]

27– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘Beware of any deed whose performance would be denied by its doer if mentioned to him.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 71, p. 369, no. 19]

28– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Verily Allah, most High, loves for you to perfect a good deed when you perform it.’
[Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 9128]

29– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) narrated, ‘When Ibrahim, the son of the Prophet (SAWA) passed away, the Prophet (SAWA) saw a gap in his grave, which he filled with his hand, and then said, ‘When any of you performs a good deed, he should perfect it.’
[Wasael al-Shi`aah , v. 2, p. 883, no. 1]

30– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘People’ s deeds are exposed
[to me] every Monday and Thursday. The deeds of one who seeks forgiveness are forgiven to him, and those of the repentant are pardoned, whilst the deeds of those who harbour rancour are returned to them because of their rancour until they repent for them.’
[al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib, v. 3, p. 458, no. 17]

31– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Verily your deeds are exposed to me every day, and whatever good I see I ask Allah to increase them for you, and whatever bad I see, I seek forgiveness from Allah for you.’
[al-Faqih, v. 1, p. 191, no. 582]

32– Imam al-Husayn (AS) said, ‘Verily the deeds of this community are exposed to Allah, most High, every single morning.’
[`Uyoun Akhbar al-Ridha (AS), v. 2, p. 44, no. 156]

33– Imam al-Sadiq (AS) was asked about Allah’ s verse “And say, ‘Go on working, for Allah will see your conduct, and His Apostle and the faithful
[as well]”, replied, ‘It is us that He means
[by the faithful].’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 23, p. 337, no. 22]

34– Imam al-Rida (AS), when `Aabdullah b. Aban said to him, ‘Verily a group of your adherents have asked me to request you to supplicate Allah on their behalf’ , replied, ‘By Allah, verily I am the one who presents their deeds to Allah every day.’
[Wasael al-Shi`aah , v. 11, p. 392, no. 25]

35– Imam Ali (AS) said, ‘The angel on man’s right
[shoulder] records his good deeds, whilst the angel on the left records his evil deeds. The two angels of the day record the servant’ s deeds by day, and the two angels of the night record the servant’ s deeds by night.’
[Bihar al-Anwar, v. 5, p. 327, no. 22]

36– The Prophet (SAWA) said, ‘Verily when the believer will come out of his grave, his deeds will come to him personified in a good form, and he will address it asking ‘Who are you, for by Allah I see you to be a veracious man indeed!’ to which it will reply, ‘I am your
[good] deed’ , and it will be a source of light for him and lead him into Paradise. And verily when the disbeliever comes out of his grave, his deeds will come to him personified in an ugly form with an ugly countenance, to which he will ask, ‘Who are you for verily I see you to be an ugly man indeed!’ and it will reply, ‘I am your
[evil] deeds’ , and it will rush off with him to plunge into the Fire.’
[Kanz al-`Ummal, no. 38963]