life

O God, send out for us Your rains, Your bounty, Your provision, and your mercy, and give us water in a measure that would benefit us, satiates our thirst, and makes the land green with grass, wherewith all that has withered may grow, and come to life all that has died, a rain which brings abundance, produces plenty of fruits, watering the plains, flooding the valleys, dressing the trees with foliage, and bringing the prices down. Surely You are able to do whatever You will.

(Sermon 143)

the strongest

Remember that wood of the tree which grows in the desert has the strongest fibres, while the luxuriant greenery has the softest barks. The bushes of the desert make an enduring fuel, Whose fire is slow in dying off.

(Letter 45)

jihad

Jihad is one of the gateways of Paradise which Allah has opened for the elect among His friends.

(Sermon 27)

the Sacred House

Allah has made obligatory upon you the pilgrimage (Hajj) to His sacred house, which is the qiblah for mankind.

(Sermon 1)

prayer

Commit yourselves to prayer and be watchful over it. Pray as much as you can and seek nearness to God through it.

(Sermon 199)

the Spring of hearts

Learn the Qur'an, for it is the most splendid of all speech; and become learned in it, for it is the spring of the hearts. Cure yourselves with its light, for it is a remedy for sick hearts. Recite it in the best manner, for it is the fairest of accounts.

(Sermon 110)

off the road

One who acts without knowledge is like one who walks off the road. Then his deviating from the clear path takes him farther and farther away from his destination. But one who acts with knowledge is like one who walks on the clear path. Therefore, one should see whether he is moving forward towards his goal or going backwards.

(Sermon 154)

with insight

One who sees with his heart, and acts with insight, considers before doing anything whether his action would be to his benefit or harm. If it is beneficial for him, he performs it, but if it is harmful, he refrains from it.

(Sermon 154)

water

You should know that every action is the fruit of a tree. A tree cannot go without water, and water is of various kinds. A tree that receives good water, is healthy and its fruit is sweet. A tree that grows on bad water is vicious, and its fruit bitter.

(Sermon 154)

the earth's produce

Certainly, Allah makes His creatures suffer when they do evil works, by diminishing the earth's produce, by holding back the blessings, and by blocking the sources of benefit, so that those who wish to repent may repent…

(Sermon 143)

paradise

Today is the day of preparation and Tomorrow is the day of the contest. The finishing point is Paradise, and those who fail to reach it will land in hellfire.

(Sermon 28)

mosquito

The annihilation of the world after bringing it into being is no stranger than its origination and creation. How can it be so? For even if all its living beings, birds and beasts, the animals of the stable and the pasture, all the genera and species of beings, the dull and the intelligent of the world's nations -were all of them together try to create a mosquito, they will be incapable of bringing it into being, and will not know how it has been created.

(Sermon 185)

two loaves of bread

You should know that your Imam has settled for two worn pieces of clothing out of the (comforts of the) world, and two loaves of bread for his meal.

(Letter 45)

a grain of barley

By God, were I given all the seven heavens with all they contain in order that I may disobey God by depriving an ant from the husk of a grain of barley, I would not do it.

(Sermon 224)

a Lamp in the Darkness a Lamp in the Darkness

Amongst you, I am like a lamp in the darkness. Everyone making his way through the darkness have to get light from it.

(Sermon 187)

the Tree of Prophethood

We are the tree of Prophethood, the place of descent of Divine revelation, the place of frequenting of the angels, and the mainsprings of knowledge. Those who help us and love us await (God's) mercy, and those who regard us with enmity and hatred await to be subdued (by the Almighty's power and punishment).

(Sermon 109)

leader

To them (the Household of the Prophet) pertain the noblest of human virtues described in the Qur'an, and they are the treasures of the Beneficent Allah. When they speak, they speak the truth, but when they keep quiet, no one can out strip them. The leader should speak truthfully to his people, and put all his intelligence to work. He should be one of those who work for the next world, because he has come from there and would return to it.

(Sermon 154)

the Qur'an Qur'an

Certainly the Qur'an is wonderful in its outward form, and its inner meanings are profound.

(Sermon 18)

the rain rain

The riser has risen, the sparkler has sparkled, the appearer has appeared. Allah has replaced one people with another. We awaited these changes as the famine stricken await the rain. Certainly the Imams are the vicegerents of Allah over his creatures, and they make people know Allah. No one will enter Paradise, except he knows them and they know him…..

(Sermon 150)

the stars

Behold! The example of the Household of Muhammad (S.A.W.) is like the stars of the heaven: when one stars sets another one rises.

(Sermon 100)