I sat for a time, then the Shaykh came in and said: "What do you want to become?

I sat for a time, then the Shaykh came in and said: "What do you want to become?" I answered: "A talaba." He said: "Do you want to become a talaba or a human being?' I got somewhat surprised at the way an ordinary man talked to a religious student. He went on to say: "Do not get annoyed! Being a talaba is fine, but it is meant to become a (real) human being.

I give you a piece of advice to remember; do not forget your Divine goal from now on that you are still young and are not polluted (with sins) yet. Whatever you do, try to do it for God. Even when you eat a delicious food, eat it with the intention to gain energy to pray and serve in the way of God. Do not ever forget this advice all through your life." Stitch for God's Sake!

He would say to a shoemaker: "When you make a shoe, first of all do it for God's sake, and then stitch it fine and firm so that it would not tear apart too soon and last longer." He would say to a tailor: "Any cut you stitch, try to stitch it for God and firmly!" Come Over for God's sake!

One of the Shaykh's disciples described his recommendation on sincerity by quoting him as saying: "When you come over (to the Shaykh's house), come for the sake of God; if you come for my sake, you'll be at a loss!" His state of mind was amazing; he called people to God not to himself. Blow into Fire for God's Sake! The Shaykh's son related: 'Shaykh Abdul Karim Hamid was an errand-boy at my father's workshop.

One day he was blowing into the fire in the iron-the old Iranian iron that heated up by the fire in its cavity-when my father told him: "Abdul Karim! You know how to blow into the iron?" He answered: 'No, sir. How should I blow?' My father said: "Purse your lips and blow for God's sake!" Love them for the Sake of God!

One of the Shaykh's disciples said that the Shaykh told him in a private session: "Your mind is wandering such and such a place; it's all right, but it should be for the sake of God." One day I went to visit the Shaykh along with a friend of mine.

The Shaykh pointed to my friend's heart and said: "I see two children there; that's fine, but the heart is the place of God; interest in children must be for the sake of God." He used to say: "The religious people's work is all fine, but they have to replace their 'egos' with 'God'." Kiss for the Sake of God! Ayatollah Fahri described the Shaykh's recommendation for sincerity as follows: 'The phrase he frequently used was "work for the sake of God".