1. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from al-Hassan ibn Mahbub from Sa’D ibn abu Khalaf from abu al-Hassan Musa (a.s.) who to one of his sons has said the following: “My son, you must work hard and do not allow your soul to lead you out of a feeling of always falling short in worshipping Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, and in obedience to Him; Allah is not worshipped as truly as He should be worshipped.”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar·Thaqalayn link·The Arabic above is the original.

2. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn abu ‘Abd Allah from certain people (scholars of Kufa) of Iraq from Muhammad al-Muthanna al- Hadrami from his father from ‘Uthman ibn Zayd from Jabir who has said the following: “Once abu Ja’far (a.s.) said to me, ‘O Jabir, (I wish) Allah grants you a chance to think of yourself as falling short in your worship and having deficiencies.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar·Thaqalayn link·The Arabic above is the original.

3. It is narrated from him (narrator of the Hadith above) from Faddal from al- Hassan al-Jahm who has said the following: “I heard abu al-Hassan (a.s.) saying, ‘A man of banu Israel worshipped Allah for forty years. He then offered an offering that was not accepted. He said to his soul, “Whatever I face is only because of you and there is no sin but that you are responsible therefor.’” The Imam said, ‘Allah, the Most Blessed, the Most High, then revealed to him, “Your blaming your soul is better than your forty years of worship.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar·Thaqalayn link·The Arabic above is the original.

4. Abu Ali al-Ash’ari has narrated from ‘Isa ibn Ayyub from Ali ibn Mahziyar from al-Fadl ibn Yunus from abu al-Hassan (a.s.) who has said the following: “You should say very often, ‘O Lord, do not include me among those whose beliefs are temporary and do not make me feel free of shortcomings.’ I (the narrator) then asked, ‘I know the meaning of people whose beliefs are temporary. They come into a religion and then abandon it. What is the meaning of, “Do not make me feel free of shortcomings?”’ The Imam said, ‘It is when after all the worship of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, that you may do, you still think that you are falling far short of doing true worship. All people fall far short in their worshipping Allah truly except those to whom Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, has granted protection.’”

Translation: Muhammad Sarwar·Thaqalayn link·The Arabic above is the original.