سورة الكهف

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): If Allah the Mighty and Majestic has said: الْمالُ وَ الْبَنُونَ زینَةُ الحَیاةِ الدُّنْیا [Wealth and children are an adornment of the life of this world], then the eight rak'ats of prayer offered in the last part of the night are the adornment of the life of the hereafter.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): الْمالُ وَ الْبَنُونَ زِینَةُ الحَیاةِ الدُّنْیا [Wealth and children are an adornment of the life of this world], and the eight rak'ats of prayer at the end of the night, and the three rak'ats of witr prayer, are the adornment of the hereafter; and sometimes Allah gathers these two adornments — of this world and the hereafter — for a people.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Wealth and children are the harvest and fruit of worldly striving, and good and righteous deeds are the harvest and crop of the hereafter, and sometimes it is possible that Allah bestows both upon a group.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): And upon you is the remembrance of Allah and righteous deeds, for He says: وَ الْباقِیاتُ الصَّالِحاتُ خَیْرٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّکَ ثَواباً وَ خَیْرٌ أَمَلًا [And the ever-abiding, the good works, are better with your Lord in reward and better in expectation].

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Idris al-Qummi said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) about the meaning of الْباقِیاتُ الصَّالِحاتُ [the ever-abiding, the good works]. The Imam said: "It refers to prayer; guard it carefully, and never pray the noon prayer before the sun has passed the zenith."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): وَ الْباقِیاتُ الصَّالِحاتُ [and the ever-abiding, the good works]; this refers to rising for the night prayer in the last part of the night and supplication in the pre-dawn hours.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Prepare your shields." They asked: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Has an enemy attacked?" He said: "No, prepare your shields against the Fire." They asked: "What shield is effective against the Fire?" He said: "سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَ الْحَمْدُ لِلهِ وَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَ اللهُ أَکْبَر [Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Allah, and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest]. These glorifications will come on the Day of Resurrection, some placed in front of a person and some behind him, and they will deliver him — and these remembrances are the very baqiyat al-salihat (the ever-abiding good works)."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): If you are unable to endure the hardship of the night and to fight the enemy, do not tire of saying سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَ الحَمْدُ لِلهِ وَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَ اللهُ أَکْبَر [Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Allah, and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest], for they are among the baqiyat al-salihat (the ever-abiding good works); so say them.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that: they are the five daily prayers.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Among the الْباقِیاتُ الصَّالِحاتُ [ever-abiding good works] is rising at night for the night prayer.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said to Husayn ibn Abd al-Rahman: "Do not consider the love of us, the family [of the Prophet], small, for it is among the al-baqiyat al-salihat (the enduring good deeds)." He said: "O son of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family), I do not consider it small, and I thank Allah the Exalted for this blessing."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) one day said to his companions: "Do you think that if you gathered together all your garments and vessels and piled them on top of one another, they would reach the sky?" The companions said: "No, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Shall I not guide you to something whose root is in the earth and whose branches are in the sky?" The companions said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)." The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said: "Let each of you, after finishing his prayer, say thirty times: سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَ الحَمْدُ لِلهِ وَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَ اللهُ أَکْبَر [Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Allah, and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest]; for the root of these remembrances is in the earth and their branches are in the sky, and these remembrances keep a person away from being buried under rubble, from fire, from drowning, from falling into a well, from being torn by the fangs of wild beasts, from an evil death, and from every calamitous event that on that day descends upon the servant from the sky, and preserve him. And these are the enduring good deeds (al-baqiyat al-salihat)."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Durays al-Kunasi narrates: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said: "[The Messenger of Allah] passed by a man who was planting a tree in one of his gardens. He stood beside him and said: 'Shall I guide you to a tree whose root is firmer, whose fruit is earlier and better, and which is more enduring than other trees?' That man said: 'Yes, O Messenger of Allah! Acquaint me with this tree.' The Prophet said: 'Whenever you enter morning or evening, say: سُبْحَانَ اللهِ وَ الحَمْدُ لِلهِ وَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللهُ وَ اللهُ أَکْبَر [Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Allah, and there is no god but Allah, and Allah is the Greatest]; whenever you utter this phrase, Allah the Exalted grants you, for every tasbih, ten trees of various kinds of fruit in Paradise, and these tasbihs are among the enduring good deeds (al-baqiyat al-salihat).'"

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) narrated from his forefathers: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) said: Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) passed by a grave and saw its owner being punished. Another time he passed by the same grave, but there was no sign of punishment! He said: "O Allah! Last year I passed by this grave, its owner was being punished! This year it is not so! [What wisdom is this?]" It was revealed from the Lord to Isa (peace be upon him): "O Spirit of Allah! This man's son has repaired a road and given shelter to an orphan; so on account of his son's good deed, We have forgiven his father."