The Holy Prophet [s] said: "There are two groups of my Ummah that when they are pious, my Ummah will be upright and when they are immoral my Ummah will be corrupt."

The Messenger of Allah [s] was asked who they were, and he answered: "The religious scholars and rulers."

Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. 2, p. 49

Imam Baqir [a] said: "When confronting a sage, try to be more inquisitive than talkative, and learn how to listen well as much as you learn how to speak well, and do not interrupt the statement of anyone."

Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. 1, p. 222

The Holy Prophet [s] said: "O' Ali! Gabriel wished to become a human being for seven reasons, which are:

1. Congregational prayer.
2. Companionship with scholars.
3. Establishing peace between two persons.
4. Honouring the orphans.
5. Visiting the sick.
6. Attending a funeral procession.
7. Giving of water to Pilgrims.

Then, be desirous of these things."

Al -'Ithna 'Ashariyyah, p. 245

Imam Amir ul Mu'mineen Ali [a] said: "When the utterance of the wise is to the point, it serves as a remedy, but if it is wrong it proves like an illness."

NahjuI-Balagha, saying No. 265

Imam Hassan 'Askari, the eleventh Imam, [a] said:

"The scholars of our followers (Shi'ah) are the guards of the bounds of Islam. Then, anyone of our followers who undertakes this (duty) is superior to the one who fights in the battle against the Romans, (because this one defends the theological bounds of our followers)."

AI-Ihtijaj, vol. 2, p. 155

Imam Rida, the eighth Imam, [a] said: "Beware that surely a (true religious) jurist is he who pours forth his benediction unto people, saves them from their enemies, multiplies the blessings of Heaven for them, and earns the Pleasure of Allah the Exalted, for them (through guidance)."

Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. 2, p. 5

Imam Amir ul Mu'mineen Ali [a] said: " ...The reward of a religious scholar is greater than the reward of a person who is fasting on days and establishes prayers during the night and fights in the Holy War for the sake of Allah. And, when a religious scholar dies, there will appear a gap in Islam which cannot be compensated except by a replacement of that (kind)."

Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. 2, p. 43

Imam Amir ul Mu'mineen Ali [a] told Kumayl: O' Kumayl! Those who compile wealth are dead even though they may be living, while the sages (who are endowed with knowledge) will remain as long as the world remains. Their bodies perish but their depictions will exist in the hearts."

Nahjul-Balagha, saying No.147

Imam Husayn [a] said: "...Verily, the paths to Muslims' affairs and the religious ordinances are in the hands of the godly scholars who are the trusties of Allah in His lawful and unlawful things. ..."

Tuhaful-'Uqul, p.172

Being Attentive to the Hereafter

The Holy Prophet [s] said that the disciples of Jesus [a] asked him with whom they should make friends, and he [a] replied: "With one whose presence reminds you of God, his speech increases your knowledge and his deed inspires you (to work righteously for) the next world."

Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. 1, p. 203

Amir ul Mu'mineen Ali [a] said: "No business should hinder you from being busy doing good for the coming world, hence, surely, the length of opportunity is a very short time."

Ghurar-ul-Hikam, p. 335

Amir ul Mu'mineen Ali [a] said: "He who sells his next life for his present life in this world, loses both of them."

Ghurar-ul-Hikam, p. 274

Imam Hadi, the tenth Imam, [a] said: "Remember when you are on your deathbed and your body is lying before your family members, then there is no physician to prevent you (from death) nor a friend to avail you."

Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. 78, p. 370

Repentance

The Holy Prophet [s] said: "The sigh of the people of Hell is mostly because of the postponement of repenting."

Al-Mahajjat-ul-Bayda

Imam Baqir [a] said: "He who repents of his sins is as the one who has not any (burden of) sin.

Wasa'il-ush-Shi'ah vol. 16, p. 74

Imam Amir ul Mu'mineen Ali [a] said: "How numerous procrastinators there are who postpone (repenting and doing good deeds) until when death overtakes them!

Ghurar-ul-Hikam, p. 240

The Holy Prophet [s] told Ali-ibn-Abi-Talib [a]: "O' Ali! Blessed is he who Allah looks upon while he is weeping for the sin that none is aware of except Allah.

(Various traditions emphasize that one must not let others know of his sins. One must make confessions about his sins only to Allah and, then, repent.)

Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. 77, p. 63

The Holy Prophet [s] said: "During the third part of every night and on the night before Friday from the beginning (until the break of dawn) Allah sends an angel unto the sky of the earth in order to call: 'Is there any needy who asks that I may bestow upon him his need? Is there any repentant one that I may return to him? Is there any seeker of forgiveness that I may forgive him?'"

Note:

Islamic traditions teach that sleeping on the night before Friday is called 'the regret sleep'; for, on the Reckoning Day, people will regret very much that they had been asleep on the nights before Fridays.

Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. 3, p. 314

Imam Sadiq, the sixth Imam, [a] said: "Shut the doors of sins through seeking refuge to God, and open the doors of obedience by (reciting) 'Bismillah'."[4]

Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. 92, p. 216