2. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from ibn Faddal from Ali ibn ‘Uqbah from his father who has said the following: “I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘Allow your cause (Shi’a belief) to be just for the sake of Allah and do not assign it to people; whatever is for the sake of Allah is for Allah, and what is for people is unable to rise to Allah (will not be accepted).”’

3. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from abu al- Mighra’ from Yazid ibn Khalifah who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) has said, ‘Showing off is considering things as partners of Allah. Whoever works for people, his rewards are upon the people and whoever works for Allah, his reward is before Allah.’”

4. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from al-Husayn ibn Sa’id from al-Nadr ibn Suwayd from al-Qasim ibn Sulayman from Jarrah al-Mada’ini who has said the following: “About the words of Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, ‘. . . whoever desires to meet his Lord should strive righteously and should worship no one besides Him,’ (18:110) Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) has said, “A man performs a good deed and thereby he does not seek rewards from Allah but rather he wants to purify people desiring them to hear him. He has made his obedience for Allah to be shared with others.” The Imam then said, ‘Any servant (of Allah) who performs a good deed privately and times pass forever still, Allah will manifest its good (result) for him. Any servant (of Allah) who performs an evil deed privately and times pass forever still, Allah will uncover for him an evil (result).”’

5. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from Muhammad ibn ‘Isa ibn ‘Ubayd from Muhammad ibn ‘Arafah who has said the following: “Once al-Rida (a.s.) said to me, ‘Woe upon you, O ibn ‘Arafah, you must work without showing off and publicity; those who work for anyone other than Allah, He assigns him to whomever he has worked. Woe upon you, whatever one does, Allah returns it back, good (result) if it is good and evil (results) if it is bad.’”

6. 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 seek closeness (by the form of the deed) to Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, while it is against the knowledge of Allah (in one’s intention being to show off)? The Messenger of Allah has said, ‘Whoever does a deed secretly, Allah returns it in a certain dress, as good rewards, were it a good deed, and in an evil form, were it an evil deed.’”

7. 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 Holy Prophet has said, ‘The angel ascends with the good deeds of a servant (of Allah) with happiness and joy and Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, will say, ‘Keep them along with the records of evil people; he has not done them for Me.’”

8. He (Ali ibn Ibrahim) has narrated through his chain of narrators the following: “Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) has said, ‘A showoff has three signs: he is very active when people are present, very lazy when he is alone and he loves to be praised in all matters.’”

9. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid from ‘Uthman ibn ‘Isa from Ali ibn Salim who has said the following: “I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, has said, “I am the best associate (in a deal). Whoever associates others with Me in a deed that he has done, I will not accept it; I accept only what is purely for Me.’”

10. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from ibn Mahbub from Dawud from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) who has said the following: “Whoever shows off to people an act that Allah loves and opposes Allah with what He dislikes (showoff), he will find Allah at war with him.”

11. Abu Ali al-Ash’ari has narrated from Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Jabbar from Safwan from Fadl abu al-‘Abbas from abu ‘Abd Allah who has said the following: “Why should one of you publicize a good deed and hide an evil one? Can he not find in his own-self that it is not right? Allah, the Most Majestic, the Most Holy, has said, ‘In fact, human beings are well aware of their souls.’ (75:14) When the private side is correct, the public side becomes strong.’” Al-Husayn ibn Muhammad has narrated from Mu’alla ibn Muhammad from Muhammad ibn Jumhur from Fadalah from Mu’awiyah from al-Fudayl from Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) a similar Hadith.

12. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from Salih ibn Sindy from Ja’far ibn Bashir from Ali ibn abu Hamza from abu Basir who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.) said, ‘Whenever a servant (of Allah) does a good deed secretly, not very long thereafter Allah uncovers for him good rewards. Whenever a servant (of Allah) does an evil deed secretly, very shortly thereafter Allah uncovers for him an evil return and misfortune.’”

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.”

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.’”

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.’”

16. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Ali ibn Asbat from certain individuals of his people from abu Ja’far (a.s.) who has said the following: “Abu Ja’far (a.s.) has said, ‘ ’Ibqa (preservation) of a deed is more difficult than performing the deed.’ The narrator then asked, ‘What is ‘ IbqcCT The Imam said, ‘It is when a man maintains good relations with relatives or spends something just for the sake of Allah, Who has no partners. This will be recorded for him as a good deed, performed secretly. He then mentions it to people, and then it (deed performed secretly) is deleted but is recorded as a good deed performed publicly. Then he mentions it to people again and it then is deleted and is recorded as a deed to show off.’”

17. 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 (a.s.) who has said the following: “Amir al-Mu’minin, Ali ibn abu Talib (a.s.) has said, ‘Be concerned and worried about (your relation with) Allah, a worry in which there are no excuses. Perform good deeds without showing off or publicity; Allah assigns one who performs a deed for something other than Him, to his own deed (and no reward from Allah).”’