Nothing can spoil one by the side of faith

Among these traditions is that which has been narrated by the Thiqat al-Islam al-Kulayni with his chain of authorities from Yusuf ibn Thabit ibn Abi Said from Abu `Abd Allah, may peace be upon him, that he said:

Nothing can spoil one by the side of faith, and nothing call benefit one by the side of unbelief. (kufr) 

There are several other traditions bearing this theme,  The honoured traditionist Majlisi, may [God's] mercy be upon him, has interpreted this group of traditions with the suggestion that the `harm' [in the above tradition] means `entry(arrival)  into hellfire' or `remaining in hell for ever.' 

This interpretation-that what is meant by `harm' is entry into hell-does not preclude (that it might be accompanied with) other torments in Barzakh (Purgatory) and in the halts of the Day of Resurrection.

This writer thinks that these traditions may be interpreted as implying that faith illumines the heart is such a manner that if supposedly an error or sin is committed by man it is compensated, by the means of the light and faculty of faith, with repentance and penitent return to God, and the person possessing faith in God and the Hereafter does not leave his works unattended until the Day of Reckoning. On this basis, these traditions, in fact, exhort one to hold on to faith and to remain in the state of faith, like a similar tradition narrated in the noble al-Kafi from al-Imam al-Sadiq, may peace be upon him, that Moses, may peace be upon hint(implication), said to Khidr, may peace be upon him, "I have been honoured by your company. Give me some counsel." Khidr said to him, "Hold on to that with which nothing would harm you and without which nothing will be of any benefit to you." 

And among these is this tradition:

(Al-Kulayni reports) with his chain of authorities from Muhammad ibn al Rayyan ibn al-Salt, who narrates in a marfu' tradition from Abu `Abd Allah, may peace be upon him, that he said: "The Commander of the Faithful, may peace be upon him, often used to say in his sermons:: 'O people! Take care of your creed (din)! Take care of your creed! For a vice committed in it is better than a virtue performed outside it. The vice committed in it is forgiven, and the virtue performed without it is not accepted.' 

This noble tradition and others like it, whose aim is to exhort people to follow the right religion, imply that the vices of the faithful and the followers of the true religion are ultimately pardoned, as God says:

Verily, God would pardon all sins. (39: 53)

It is on this basis that it may be said that their vices are better than the virtues of others, which are never accepted (by God). Perhaps, acts of virtue which lack the conditions of acceptance, such as faith (iman) and wilayah, possess a greater darkness. In brief, this tradition does not imply that the faithful are quit of their vices.

One of them is the famous tradition which is said to be welt-known (mashhur) amongst both the groups (i.e. the Shi'ah and the Sunnis):

The love of 'Ali is a virtue by whose side no sin is harmful, and his enmity is a vice with which no virtue is of any benefit.

This noble tradition is similar to the hadith mentioned earlier concerning faith (iman). Its meaning is either in accordance with the probability suggested by marhum Majlisi, that the meaning of `harm' is eternal confinement in hell or entry(arrival) into it. That is, the love of that master is the essence of faith, its perfection and completion, which results in one's being rescued from hell with the means of the intercession of the Intercessors. This interpretation, as pointed our earlier, does not preclude one's having to undergo the various torments of the Purgatory (Barzakh), as stated in a hadith where [the Imam] has said, "We shall intercede for you on the Day of Resurrection, but the care of your life in the Purgatory is up to yourselves."  Or it means what we have mentioned, that the love of that master results in the emergence of a luminosity and faculty [of faith] in the heart that prompt one to refrain from sins. And should one become afflicted with sin on occasion, he would remedy it through repentance and penitence, not allowing the matter to get out of hand and not permitting the carnal self to break loose its reins.

Moreover, there is a group of traditions that are cited under the following noble verse of the Surat al-Furqan:

[The servants of the All-merciful are those... ] who. call not upon another god with God, nor slay the soul God has forbidden except by right, neither fornicate for whosoever does that shall meet the price of sin doubled shall be the chastisement for him on the Resurrection Day, and he shall dwell therein humbled, save him who repents, and believes, and does righteous work those, God shall change their evil deeds into good deeds, for God is ever All-forgiving, All-compassionate. (25:68-70)

There are numerous traditions that are cited (in exegeses) under this verse and we shall confine ourselves to citing only one of them, for they are quite close to one another in meaning and content:

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi, in his Amali, reports with his chain of authorities from the highly regarded traditionist Muhammad ibn Muslim al-Thaqafi, may God's good pleasure be with him, that he narrated: "I asked Abu Ja'far, Muhammad ibn 'Ali, may peace be upon them, concerning the statement of God, Almighty and Glorious: `Those, God will change their evil deeds into good deeds, and God is All-forgiving, All-compassionate.''

He replied, `The sinful believer will be brought on the Day of Resurrection until he is made to stand in the halt of reckoning. The God, the Exalted, Himself would take charge(assignment) of his reckoning and none of mankind will come to know about his account [of deeds]. Then He will inform the believer of his sins that he may confesses to his sins. God, the Almighty and the Glorious, shall say to the scribes [the angels who write men's deeds), "Change them into good deeds and disclose them to the people." Thereat people will say, "'This servant did not perpetrate a single sin!" Then God shall order him to be escorted into paradise. This is the interpretation (ta'wil) of the verse, and that relates particularly to the sinners from amongst our followers (Shi'ah)."' 

The reason for citing the above noble verse completely and prolonging the discussion is that the topic is of a major importance and many of the sermonizers (ahl-e minbar) interpret such traditions in a misleading manner for the people. Their connection with the noble verse would not have been revealed without the citation of the noble verse. On this basis, I am compelled to protract the discussion, even if it should be tiresome.

If one were to study the latter part of the verse, one would know that all people are absolutely responsible for their deeds and accountable for their ugly actions, excepting those who attain faith and repent for their sins and perform righteous deeds. This is how al-Imam al-Baqir, may peace be upon hire, has explained the verse, describing the character of the reckoning of such persons, which, however, is special to the followers of the Ahl al-Bayt and other people do not partake of it. That is because [true] faith is not realized except with the wilayah of 'Ali and his infallible and pure successors (awsiya'), may peace be upon there. Rather, faith in God and the Messenger would not be accepted without wilayah, as will be mentioned in the next section, God willing. Hence this noble verse and the traditions relating to its interpretation must be considered as belonging to the primary proofs, for they imply that if a person should possess faith and should he compensate for his sins with repentance and righteous deeds, he would not be covered by this verse.

Hence, my dear, let not Satan delude you and let not carnal appetites deceive you. Of course, a lazy person afflicted with lusts and the love of the world, property, and position-such as this author-is always after finding some pretext in order to justify his laziness. He turns to anything that agrees with his appetites and affirms his carnal lusts and satanic imaginings, opening his eyes and ears to it without delving into its real meaning and without considering that which contradicts it and is opposite to it. Poor man, he imagines that he is, God forbid, permitted every unlawful act and is untouched by the pen of accountability, na'udubillah, at the mere claim of being a Shi'ah and attached to the Household of Purity and Infallibility. Wretched man! he does not know that Satan has made him blind. There is always the danger that this hollow and futile love would also slip(staggered) out of his hands at the end of his life and he would be resurrected empty-handed within the ranks of the enemies (nawasib) of the Ahl al-Bayt. The claim of love is not acceptable from someone who has no proof to substantiate it. It is not possible that I may love you and be sincerely attached to you while my conduct is contrary to all your goals and objectives. The fruit of true love is deeds that are in harmony with that love. And should it lack this fruit, one must know that it was not [real] love but only an imaginary fancy.

The Noble Messenger and his honoured Household, may God bless them, spent all their lives in disseminating the law, morality and doctrines [of Islam] and their sole(solitary) objective was to communicate the commands of God and to reform and refine human beings. They willingly bore hardships when they were killed, plundered, and insulted in the way of these goals and did not flinch from marching ahead. Hence their follower (Shi'ah) and lover (mu`hibb) is one who shares their objectives, moves in their footsteps, and follows their traditions. The fact that verbal confession and practical action have been considered as essential elements (muqawwimat) of faith in the noble traditions is a natural secret and a prevailing law of God, because the reality of faith is essentially associated with expression and action. It is intrinsic in the nature of the lover to express his love and passionate yearning (taghazzul) for the Beloved, and to act as required by faith and the love of God and His awliya'. If someone does not act, he does not have faith and love. And his apparent faith and his hollow and soulless love would be wiped out by some slight accident, including the pressures [of the deathbed and the grave] and one would enter the abode of retribution empty-handed.

Section: Wilayah of the Ahl al-Bayt, the Condition for Acceptability of Works:

That which is implied by the latter part of the noble tradition [being expounded]-that wilayah and ma'rifah are prerequisites for the acceptance of works-is a matter that is one of the definite, or rather necessary, doctrines of the sacred Shi'i religion. The traditions on this topic are too numerous to be cited in these brief expositions and their number exceeds the limits of tawatur. However, we shall cite some of them in these pages for tabarruk's sake:

[Al-Kulayni] in al-Kafi reports with his isnad from Abu Ja'far, may peace be upon him, that he said: "'The crux of the matter, and its key, the door of things and the pleasure of the Beneficent-all lie in obedience to the Imam after having known him ....

"Be aware that the man who spends his nights in prayer and his days in fasting and gives as all his property as charity (sadaqah) and performs hajj throughout his life without knowing the wilayah of the Wali of God and without following him, and without conducting himself, in all his actions, according to his guidance-[such a person] has no right to any reward from God and is not one of the faithful:' 

[In Wasa'il al-Shi'ah it is recorded] with a chain of authorities from Abu `Abd Allah, may peace be upon him, that he said "Whoever does not come to God, the Almighty and the Glorious, on the Day of Resurrection with a creed that you follow, no virtue of his will be accepted nor will any sin of his be overlooked.."

[In Wasa'il al-Shi'ah] it is reported, in a hadith, with a chain of authorities from Abu 'Abd Allah, may peace be upon him that he said, "By God, were Iblis-may God damn him-to prostrate to God for as long as the world lasts after his disobedience and pride, that would not benefit him, and God would not accept it as long as he does not prostrate to Adam as commanded by God, the Almighty and the Glorious. The same applies to this disobedient and misguided Ummah after its abandoning the Imam appointed for them by their Prophet. Hence God will not accept any of their acts nor elevate any of their good works unless they carry out what God has commanded them and follow the Imam, to whose authority (wilayah) they have been commanded by God to submit, and enter through the door that God and His Messenger have opened for them . . . ." 

There are many traditions bearing this theme and it may be inferred from all of them that the recognition of wilayah is a condition for the acceptability of works, or, rather, that it is the condition for the acceptability of faith in God and the prophethood of the honoured Prophet (S). However, as to its being a condition for the validity of the works, as stated by some scholars, that is not certain. Rather, that which is apparent is that it is not a condition, as is suggested by many traditions, such as the tradition concerning the non-necessity of the repetition (qada') of his acts of worship by a convert to Shi`ism (mustabsir).

Excepting the zakat which he had given during the period of his error to those who did not deserve it, he is not required to perform the qada of his other acts of worship and God would reward him for them.  It is mentioned in another tradition that "other acts such as prayer, fasts, hajj and sadaqah would join you and follow you excepting the zakat which was paid earlier to those who had no right to receive it and has to be paid to its deserving recipients."  And it is mentioned in some traditions that the acts [of the Ummah] are presented to the Messenger of God (S) on Thursdays, and God, the Exalted, reviews them on the Day of `Arafah and makes them all like dust scattered. The Imam was asked as to who are the persons whose acts are thus treated. The Imam replied that they are the acts of those who are hostile to its and hostile to our followers. 

And this tradition, as is clear, implies the (legal) validity and non-acceptability of the acts. In any case the pursuit of this matter is beyond our present purpose. And all praise belongs to God, firstly and lastly.