The Sufficient (Vol 2) · Hadith 1222 (#Ḥadīth #4)

4ـ عِدَّةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِنَا عَنْ سَهْلِ بْنِ زِيَادٍ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ شَمُّونٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ الله بْنِ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الأصَمِّ عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ الْحَجَّاجِ قَالَ قَالَ لِي أَبُو الْحَسَنِ (عَلَيهِ السَّلام) اتَّقِ الْمُرْتَقَى السَّهْلَ إِذَا كَانَ مُنْحَدَرُهُ وَعْراً قَالَ وَكَانَ أَبُو عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيهِ السَّلام) يَقُولُ لا تَدَعِ النَّفْسَ وَهَوَاهَا فَإِنَّ هَوَاهَا فِي رَدَاهَا وَتَرْكُ النَّفْسِ وَمَا تَهْوَى أَذَاهَا وَكَفُّ النَّفْسِ عَمَّا تَهْوَى دَوَاهَا.

4. A number of our people have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Muhammad ibn al-Hassan ibn Shammun from ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Asamm from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Hajjaj who has said the following: “Abu al-Hassan once said to me, ‘Beware of an easy climb up that has a very deep and steep climb down.’ “The narrator has said that Abu ‘Abd Allah would say, ‘Do not leave the soul with its desires unguarded; its desires are to destroy it. Leaving the soul with its desires unguarded is hurting the soul, however, guarding the soul against its desires is medicine for its illness.’”

Gradings are classical jarḥ-wa-taʿdīl, name-matched to a rijāl index (not individually re-verified).