عِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ السَّرَّاجِ عَنِ ابْنِ مُسْكَانَ عَنْ ثَابِتِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ قَالَ قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) يَا ثَابِتُ مَا لَكُمْ وَلِلنَّاسِ كُفُّوا عَنِ النَّاسِ وَلا تَدْعُوا أَحَداً إِلَى أَمْرِكُمْ فَوَ الله لَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَأَهْلَ الارَضِينَ اجْتَمَعُوا عَلَى أَنْ يَهْدُوا عَبْداً يُرِيدُ الله ضَلالَتَهُ مَا اسْتَطَاعُوا عَلَى أَنْ يَهْدُوهُ وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَأَهْلَ الارَضِينَ اجْتَمَعُوا عَلَى أَنْ يُضِلُّوا عَبْداً يُرِيدُ الله هِدَايَتَهُ مَا اسْتَطَاعُوا أَنْ يُضِلُّوهُ كُفُّوا عَنِ النَّاسِ وَلا يَقُولُ أَحَدٌ عَمِّي وَأَخِي وَابْنُ عَمِّي وَجَارِي فَإِنَّ الله إِذَا أَرَادَ بِعَبْدٍ خَيْراً طَيَّبَ رُوحَهُ فَلا يَسْمَعُ مَعْرُوفاً إِلا عَرَفَهُ وَلا مُنْكَراً إِلا أَنْكَرَهُ ثُمَّ يَقْذِفُ الله فِي قَلْبِهِ كَلِمَةً يَجْمَعُ بِهَا أَمْرَهُ.
A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Isa from Muhammad ibn Isma‘il from Isma‘il al-Sarraj from ibn Muskan from Thabit in Sa‘id who said the following:
“Once, abu ‘Abd Allah , said, ‘O Thabit, why do you bother about people? Leave them alone and do not call anyone to accept your belief (the belief of the Shi’a Muslims). I swear by Allah that even if all the people in the heavens and earth come together to guide a person whom Allah wants not to guide they will never be able to guide him. If all the people in the heavens and on earth will come together to misguide a person whom Allah wants to guide, they will never be able to misguide him. Leave the people alone. No one should say, ‘O my uncle, my brother, the son of my uncle and my neighbor.’ When Allah wants good for a person He cleanses his spirit. He then does not hear any lawful thing but that he knows it and no unlawful thing but that he dislikes it. Then Allah places a word in his heart with which He organizes all his affairs.’”