Speaking of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, Very Often — report 1

1. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Ja’far ibn Muhammad al-Ash’ari from ibn al-Qaddah from Abu ‘Abdillah عليه السلام who has said the following: “Everything has a limit where it ends except speaking of Allah which has no limit to end. Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, has sanctioned obligations. When one fulfills them, their limit is where they end. The limit for the month of Ramadan is that when one fasts that is its limit where it ends, and the limit of Hajj is that when one performs Hajj it ends. Al-Dikr (speaking of Allah) is as such that Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, does not agree with a very little of it and He has not set a limit for where it ends.’ The Imam then read this verse of the Holy Quran: ‘Believers, remember Allah very often (33:41) and glorify Him both in the mornings and in the evenings.’ (33:42) “The Imam said, ‘Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, has not set a limit for it where it would end.’ He them said, ‘My father would speak of Allah very often. I would walk with him and he would speak of Allah. At the time I ate food with him he would speak of Allah. Even when speaking to people it would not stop him from speaking of Allah. I could see his tongue move saying, ‘No one deserves to be worshipped except Allah.’ He would gather all of us together and order us to speak of Allah until sunrise. He would command those of us who could read, to read the Holy Quran and those who could not to speak of Allah. The house in which the Holy Quran is read and Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, is spoken of therein blessings increase and angels are present, the devils run away and it shines to the people of heavens just as a diamond (shaped) star shines for the people of earth. The house in which the Holy Quran is not read, Allah is not spoken of therein, blessings in it decrease, angels move away from it and devils turn to be present therein. The Messenger of Allah once asked, ‘Should I tell you about the best of your deeds, which raise your position the highest and the purest before your owner, much better for you than the world and its money and is better for you than your fighting against your enemies whom you would eliminate or else they would kill you?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ He then said, ‘Speak of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, very often.’ “The Imam then said, ‘Once a man came to the Holy Prophet and said, “Who is the best of the people in this Mosque?” He said, ‘The one who speaks of Allah more than others.’ The Messenger of Allah has said, ‘Whoever is given a tongue that speaks of Allah very often has been granted the good for both this and the next life.’ “About the words of Allah, ‘. . . and do not think that by doing such deeds, you have done a great favor to Allah,’ (74:6) the Imam said, ‘It means do not think what you have done for the sake of Allah is a great deal.’”