Hadith record

14. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Musa ibn al-Qasim from Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Ja‘far who has said the following: “Al-Rida’ (a.s.), has said, that once a man came to abu Ja‘far (a.s.), and said, ‘O Abu Ja‘far, what do you say about chess with which people play?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘My father Ali ibn al-Husayn narrated to me from al-Husayn ibn Ali from ’Amir al-Mu’minin (a.s.). He (the Imam) has said that the Messenger of Allah (a.s.) has said, “If one speaks and his speech is something other than speaking of Allah, most Majestic, most Glorious, he is doing something useless. If one is silent and his silence is for something other than Allah he is forgetful.’” He (the Imam) then remained calm and the man left.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar — attributed by Thaqalayn·The Arabic above is the original.