2. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from al-Husayn ibn Sa’id from Fadalah ibn Ayyub from ‘Abd Allah ibn Bukayr from abu Basir from abu Ja’far (a.s.) who has said the following: “The Messenger of Allah has said, ‘Reviling a believer is a gross sin, fighting him is disbelief, eating his flesh (backbiting) is disobedience and the illegality of consuming his property is like the illegality of spilling his blood (taking his life).”’

3. It is narrated from him (narrator of the Hadith above) from al-Hassan ibn Mahbub from Hisham ibn Salim from abu Basir from abu Ja’far (a.s.) who has said the following: “Once a man from the people of Tamim came to the Holy Prophet and said, ‘Instruct me with good advice.’ Of the good advice given to him was: ‘Do not revile people; it only earns their animosity against you.’”

4. Ibn Mahbub has narrated from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Al-Hajjaj from abu al- Hassan Musa (a.s.) who has said the following about two people reviling: “Abu al-Hassan Musa (a.s.) has said, ‘Of the two people reviling each other, the initiator is more unjust. He bears his own sin and the sin of his companion as long as he does not apologize to the oppressed.’”

5. Abu Ali al-Ash’ari has narrated from Muhammad ibn Salim from Ahmad ibn al- Nadr from ‘Amr ibn Shimr from Jabir from abu Ja’far (a.s.) who has said the following: “Whoever testifies to the disbelief of a man will turn to one of them (one of them becomes an unbeliever). If one testifies to the disbelief of an unbeliever, he is right and if the party is a believer it turns to the testifier. You must never revile a believer.”

6. Al-Hassan ibn Muhammad has narrated from Mu’alla ibn Muhammad from al- Hassan ibn Ali al-Washsha’ from Ali ibn abu Hamza who has said the following: “I heard one of them (the two Imam) (a.s.) saying, ‘When reviling words come from the mouth of reviling people they move back and forth. They will reach the deserving party, if any; otherwise, they come back to the reviling person.’”

7. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from al-Hassan ibn Ali ibn from ‘Ali ibn Uqbah from ‘Abd Allah ibn Sinan from abu Hamza al-Thumali who has said the following: “I heard abu Ja’far (a.s.) saying, ‘When words of condemnation come out of the mouth of a person they move back and forth between the two to find the deserving party. If the deserving party is not found they come back to their owner (speaker of words of condemnation).’”

8. Abu Ali al-Ash’ari has narrated from Muhammad ibn Hassan from Muhammad ibn Ali from Muhammad ibn al-Fudayl from abu Hamza who has said the following: “I heard Abu ‘Abdillah (a.s.) saying, ‘When a man says to his believing brother (in belief), ‘Uff (an expression of slight disappointment) he has moved out of his guardianship. If he says, ‘You are my enemy,’ one of them becomes an unbeliever. Allah does not accept the good deeds of any believer while he hides in him evil for his believing brother (in belief).”’