٤ـ عِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ أَبِي عَبْدِ الله عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنِ النَّضْرِ بْنِ سُوَيْدٍ عَنْ يَحْيَى بْنِ عِمْرَانَ الْحَلَبِيِّ عَنْ مُعَلىً أَبِي عُثْمَانَ عَنْ أَبِي بَصِيرٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَجُلٌ لأبِي جَعْفَرٍ (عَلَيهِ السَّلام) إِنِّي ضَعِيفُ الْعَمَلِ قَلِيلُ الصِّيَامِ وَلَكِنِّي أَرْجُو أَنْ لا آكُلَ إِلا حَلالاً قَالَ فَقَالَ لَهُ أَيُّ الإجْتِهَادِ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ عِفَّةِ بَطْنٍ وَفَرْجٍ.
4. A number of our people have narrated from Ahmad ibn abu ‘Abd Allah from his father from al-Nadr ibn Suwayd from Yahya ibn ‘Imran al-Halabi from Mu’alla abu ‘Uthman from abu Basir who has said the following: “Once a man said to abu Ja’far  ‘My deeds are weak and my fasting is very little but I hope to eat only what is lawful.’ The narrator has said that the Imam then said, ‘What kind of hard work could be considered better than chastity of stomach and chastity of genital organs?”’ 