There are several sayings of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him) documented in the Shia hadith sources, we shall therefore discuss some of them under various headings in these series.
Divine Omnipotence
1. It is said that Jesus the son of Mary (‘a) was sitting and an old man was working with a small shovel tilling the earth. Jesus (‘a) said: O Allah! Extract his desire from him. The old man put down the small shovel and slept for an hour. Then Jesus (‘a) said: O Allah! Return the desire to him. Then he stood up and began to work. Jesus (‘a) asked him about it. He said: When I was working my soul said to me: ‘How long will you work, being that you are an old man?’ Then I put down the small shovel and slept.’ Then my soul said to me: ‘By Allah! You have no alternative but to live as long as you remain.’ Then I stood up with my small shovel. (1)
2. It is reported that Abu ‘Abd Allah [Imam Sadiq] (‘a) said: The Devil (2) said to Jesus the son of Mary: ‘Does your Lord have the power to put the earth into an egg without reducing the size of the earth or enlarging the egg?’ Then Jesus (‘a) said: ‘Woe unto you, for weakness is not attributed to Allah. Who is more powerful than He Who makes the earth subtle and makes the egg great?’ (3)
3. It is reported that Imam Sadiq (‘a) said: Iblis came to Jesus (‘a), then he said: ‘Do you not claim that you can revive the dead?’ Jesus said: ‘Yes.’ Iblis said: ‘Then throw yourself down from the top of the wall.’ Then Jesus said: ‘Woe unto you! Verily the servant does not try his Lord.’ And Iblis said: ‘O Jesus! Can your Lord put the earth in an egg while the egg remains in its form?’ Then he said: ‘Verily impotence is not attributed to Allah, the Supreme, but what you said cannot be.’ (4)
On Human Poverty
4. One of the Imams is reported to have said: It was said to Jesus the son of Mary (‘a): ‘How did you begin the morning, O Spirit of Allah?’ He said: ‘I began the morning with my Lord, the Blessed and Supreme, above me and the fire (of hell) before me and death in pursuit of me. I do not possess that which I hope for and I cannot avoid what I hate. So which of the poor is poorer than me?’ (5)
The World and the Hereafter
5. Jesus (‘a) said: O assembly of disciples! I have thrown the world prostrate before you, so do not lift it up after me, for one of the evils of this world is that Allah was disobeyed in it, and one of the evils of this world is that the next world is not attained except by abandoning this one. So pass through this world without making it your home, and know that the root of all wrong is the love of this world. Many a vain desire leaves a legacy of lasting sorrow. (6)
6. [Jesus (‘a)] said: Blessed is he who abandons the present desire for the absent promise. (7)
7. Jesus (‘a) said: Who would build a house on the waves of the sea? This world is that house, so you should not take it as a dwelling.” (8)
8. Jesus (‘a) said: Woe to the companion of the world! How he dies and leaves it and how he relies on it and it deceives him, and how he trusts it and it forsakes him! Woe unto those who are deceived! How that which is repugnant encompasses them and that which is beloved separates from them! And that which is promised will come to them. And woe to those whose endeavours are only for the world and error. How he will be disgraced before Allah tomorrow! (9)
9. Jesus, Peace be upon him, is reported to have said: How can one be of the people of knowledge if the next world is shown to him while he remains involved in this world, and what harms him is more desirable to him than what benefits him?” (10)
10. It was said to Jesus (‘a): Teach us a deed for which Allah will love us. He said: Detest the world and Allah will love you. (11)
11. It has been reported by Mujahid from Ibn ‘Abbas from the Apostle of Allah, may the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him and with his folk: Verily, Jesus. Peace be upon him, passed a city which had come to ruin and whose foundations had collapsed. He said to some of his disciples: ‘Do you know what it is saying?’ One said: ‘No.’ Jesus, Peace be upon him, said: ‘It says: Verily, the true promise of my Lord has come. My rivers have dried up, though once they were full; my trees have withered, though once they were in bloom; my castles are in ruins and my residents have died. Then, oh, these are their bones within me, and their property that was gained lawfully along with their ill-gotten gains are in my belly, and the inheritance of the heavens and the earth is only for Allah. ‘ (12)
12. The Messiah, Peace he upon him, said to the Apostles: Verily, the eating of barley bread and the drinking of plain water today in this world is for he who would enter heaven tomorrow. (13)
13. It is reported that Abu ‘Abd Allah [Imam Sadiq], Peace he upon him, said: ‘Jesus the son of Mary, may the blessings of Allah be upon him, said: ‘You work for the sake of this world while it is not by work that you are provided for in it. And you do not work for the sake of the next world, while it is only by work that you will be provided for in it. Woe be unto you, evil learned ones (‘ulama)! You take your wage and neglect work. Soon the worker’s work will he accepted, and soon you will be driven forth from the narrowness of this world toward the darkness of the grave. How can one be knowledgeable who is on the way to the next world and yet his face is turned towards this world, and he likes the things that harm him more than the things that benefit him?’ (14)
14. Jesus (‘a) said: The love of this world and the next cannot come together in the heart of a believer, like water and fire in a single vessel. (15)
l5 It is reported that Abu ‘Abd Allah [Imam Sadiq], Peace be upon him, said that Jesus, Peace be upon him, said: ”It is hard to get any good thing whether it is of the world or the hereafter. As to the good things of this world they are hard to get because there is nothing of it which as soon as you extend your hand to get, some profligate does not grab first, while the good things of the other world are hard to obtain because you do not find any helper who may help you to obtain it.” (16)
To be continued!
NOTES:
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1. Bihar al-Anwar, 14, 329
2. Iblis, the devil who tempted Adam and Eve. Cf. Qur’an 2:34; 7:11; 15:31; 38:74.
3. Bihar al-Anwar, 4, 142
4. Bihar al-Anwar, 14, 271
5. Bihar al-Anwar, 76, 17
6. Bihar al-Anwar, 14, 327
7. Bihar al-Anwar, 14, 327
8. Bihar al-Anwar, 14, 326
9. Bihar al-Anwar, 14, 328
10. Majmu’at at warram, 1, 83
11. Tanbih al-khawatir, 1, 134
12. Adab al-nafs, 1, 122
13. Adab al-nafs, 2, 225
14. Al-Kafi, ii, 319
15. Bihar al-Anwar, 14, 327
16. al-Kafi 8, 144.
