الكافي- ط الاسلامية, volume 2, page 313

1. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Ali ibn Asbat from a man of our people from Khurasan of the children of Ibrahim ibn Sayyar in a marfu’ manner from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) who has said the following: “Allah knew that sin is better for believing people than feeling self-important. Were it not as such, a believer would never sin.”

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

2. It is narrated from him (narrator of the Hadith above) from Sa’id ibn Janah from his brother abu ‘Amir from a man from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) who has said the following: “Whoever has a feeling of self-importance is destroyed.”

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

3. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Ali ibn Asbat from Ahmad ibn ‘Umar al-Hallal from Ali ibn Suwayd who has said the following: “Once I asked abu al-Hassan (a.s.) about the feeling of self-importance that destroys good deeds. The Imam said, ‘The feeling of self-importance is of several degrees. Of such feeling is that one’s bad deeds seem attractive to him. He considers it good and it gives him a feeling of self-importance. He thinks that he is doing well. Of such a feeling is that a servant (of Allah) believes in his Lord and begins to like doing a favor to Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, in fact, Allah has done him the favor.’”

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

4. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from ‘Abd al- Rahman ibn al-Hajjaj from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) who has said the following: “A man sins and then feels regretful. He then does a good deed that gives him happiness (feeling of self-importance). He then weakens. His being in a condition (regretful) is better than what he finds himself in (after a good deed with feeling of self- importance).”

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

5. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Muhammad ibn Sinan from Nadr ibn Qirwash from Ishaq ibn ‘Ammar from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) who has said the following: “Once a scholar went to see a worshipper and asked, ‘How are your prayers?’ He (the worshipper) replied, ‘Is a person like me questioned about his prayers? I have been worshipping Allah from such and such times.’ The scholar then asked, ‘How is your weeping?’ He (the worshipper) said, ‘I weep until my tears flow.’ The scholar said, ‘In fact, your laughing with fear is better than your weeping with bravado; nothing of the deeds of boastful people ascends (to heaven).”’

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