سورة الرحمن

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whoever knows that Allah sees him, hears what he says, and is aware of his good and evil deeds, refrains from ugly deeds. He fears the station of his Lord and restrains the self from desire and passion.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Whoever has an indecency or a lust presented to him and he keeps away from it out of fear of Allah, Allah shall forbid the Fire upon him and secure him from the great terror, and shall fulfil for him what He promised in His Qur'an, and for the one who fears the station of his Lord there are two gardens of Paradise. Be aware! One before whom the world and the hereafter are placed and he prefers the world over the hereafter, meets Allah on the Day of Resurrection in a state in which he has no good deed to shield him from the Fire, and whoever prefers the hereafter over the world, Allah is pleased with him and forgives his evil deeds; and whoever fills his eyes with the forbidden, Allah fills his eyes with the Fire on the Day of Resurrection, unless he repents and returns.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): The gardens are four, and this is the saying of Allah the Mighty and Majestic: وَ لِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ جَنَّتَانِ [And for him who fears to stand before his Lord are two gardens]. That is that a person is about to rush upon one of the desires and lusts of the world, and that desire is a sin and disobedience; then he remembers the station of his Lord and, out of fear of Him, abandons that act. So this verse is about this matter. These two gardens belong to the believers and the foremost (al-sabiqun). As for the verse: وَ مِنْ دُونِهِمَا جَنَّتَانِ [And besides these two are two other gardens], it means that near them are two other gardens — near in rank and grade, not in distance or proximity. Those two gardens are specifically for the Companions of the Right (Ashab al-Yamin), and they are Jannat al-Na'im (the Garden of Bliss) and Jannat al-Ma'wa (the Garden of Abode). In these four gardens are fruits which in their abundance and plenty are like the leaves of trees and the stars. Around these four gardens is a wall that surrounds them, whose length is the distance travelled on foot in five hundred years. A brick of this wall is of silver, a brick of gold, a brick of pearl, and a brick of ruby; its mortar is musk and saffron, and its balconies (windows) are of light which shines, such that a person sees his own face in the wall. In this wall are eight doors, and each door has two leaves; the width of those two leaves is the distance that a fine horse would cover in a year.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): O son of Mas'ud! Do not go near the forbidden, whether wealth or women, and fear Allah in secret and in public, for He says: وَ لِمَنْ خافَ مَقامَ رَبِّهِ جَنَّتانِ [And for him who fears to stand before his Lord are two gardens]. And do not prefer the pleasures and desires of this world's life over the hereafter, for He says: "As for him who transgressed and preferred the life of this world, indeed the Hellfire will be his abode!" (Nazi'at/37-39) — meaning: the world and what is in it is cursed, except that measure of it which is for Allah.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): O people, whoever fears his Lord refrains from wrongdoing.

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Allah the Exalted says: "By My might and majesty! I do not combine two fears for My servant, nor do I combine two securities for him. If he is secure from Me in this world, I will make him fear on the Day of Resurrection, and if he fears Me in this world, I will grant him security on the Day of Resurrection."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family): Three things raise one's rank, three things are expiations for sins, three things are destructive, and three things are saving... As for the deeds that save a person, they are: fear of Allah in secret and in open, and...

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Whoever walks two steps in pursuit of knowledge, sits in the presence of a scholar for two hours, and hears two words of knowledge, Allah makes two gardens obligatory for him, as Allah the Exalted said: وَ لِمَنْ خافَ مَقامَ رَبِّهِ جَنَّتانِ [And for him who fears to stand before his Lord are two gardens].

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): The four gardens of Paradise are for the one who fears the standing before his Lord.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Among the Bani Isra'il there was a man who was a shroud-thief. He had a neighbour who one day fell ill and saw his death approaching. The man called for his shroud-stealing neighbour and said to him: "What kind of neighbour was I to you?" The shroud-thief said: "The best of neighbours." He said: "I have a request." The shroud-thief said: "Your request is certainly granted." The neighbour placed two shrouds before the shroud-thief and said: "I would like you to take the better of these, and when I die, do not dig up my grave and do not steal my shroud." Out of consideration for their acquaintance and neighbourliness, the shroud-thief refused to take the shroud. But when the neighbour insisted, he finally took the better shroud. As it happened, on one of those very nights the man died. After he was buried, the shroud-thief thought and said to himself: "This person has died and been buried. How would he now know whether I have taken his shroud or left it?" So according to his usual habit he came to the grave at night. But as soon as he opened the grave, suddenly he heard a voice saying to him: "Do not do it!" The shroud-thief was greatly terrified and abandoned this shameful act entirely. Later, when he came to make his will, he said to his children: "What kind of father was I to you?" They said: "You were a good father." He said: "I have a request from you." They said: "Say whatever you wish, for we will certainly carry it out, if Allah wills!" He said: "I would like that when I die, you burn my body with fire, and when I have become ashes, scatter the ashes of my body to the wind — half in the sea and half in the wilderness." After the shroud-thief died, one of his sons acted according to his will, and when they scattered his ashes, Allah the Exalted commanded the sea and the wilderness to gather the particles of the man's body. Suddenly the shroud-thief came back to life and stood up. Allah the Exalted addressed him and said: "For what reason did you make such a will?" He said: "By Your might and majesty, nothing but fear and dread of the punishment was the cause." The merciful Allah said: "As a reward for this act, I will make all your enemies pleased with you, and I have turned your fear and dread into security and safety, and I have included you in My forgiveness and mercy."