الكافي- ط الاسلامية, volume 2, page 296

13. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Ali ibn Asbat from Yahya ibn Bashir from his father from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) who has said the following: “Whoever wants Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious, with a small deed Allah uncovers for him a reward bigger than what he wanted. Whoever wants people with a great deal of deeds, physical effort, and with, nightly vigil, Allah, the Majestic, the Glorious, deems it necessary to belittle it (his effort) in the eyes of those for whom they (the deeds) were meant to be.”

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

14. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from al-Nawfali from al-Sakuni from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) who has said the following: “The Messenger of Allah has said, ‘There will come a time when people will be filthy from the inside but good looking from the outside due to worldly greed. They will not have any intention of seeking the rewards with Allah. Their religion will be a showoff and not for fear (from the hereafter). Allah will punish them universally, even though they may pray like a drowning person (in desperation) but it will not be accepted.’”

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

15. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Ali ibn al-Hakam from ‘Umar ibn Yazid who has said the following: “Once I was having dinner with Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) and he read this verse of the Holy Quran: ‘In fact, people are well aware of their own soul (75:14) even though they make excuses.’ (75:15) The Imam said, ‘O abu Hafs, why should a human being make excuses before the people, opposing what Allah knows about him (his intention being to show off)? The Messenger of Allah has said, “Whoever does a deed secretly Allah will make him wear its (the deed’s) garment as good rewards were it a good deed, and in an evil form were it an evil deed.’”

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

A number of our companions from Sahl ibn Ziyad reported from Ali ibn Asbat, from some of his companions that Abu Ja'far (al-Baqir) (as) said: "Maintaining the deed is more difficult than performing it." It was asked, "What is maintaining the deed?" He replied: "A man maintains a connection or spends an expenditure for the sake of Allah alone, with no partners. It is recorded for him in secret. Then he mentions it and it is erased; then it is recorded for him publicly. Then he mentions it again and it is erased, and it is recorded for him as showing off."

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