When he went to bed or awoke from sleep, he recited this du'a: "There is no god but Allah the Alive, the Eternal, and He has power over all things. Glory be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds and the Deity of the messengers. Glory be to Allah, the Lord of the seven heavens and all that which they have, and the Lord of the seven earths and all that which they have, the Lord of the Great Throne, and peace be on the messengers, and praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds."
The Du'a of Resorting
"O You, my supply, my hope and reliance, my resort and support, O You the One and Unique, O You, Who "say: He, Allah, is One", O Allah, I ask You by those like whom You have not created in Your creation, to have blessing on them."
His Du'a of Seeking Protection from Satan
"O You Who are mighty in Your might, Who are the mightiest in Your might, make me mighty from Your might, assist me with Your help, keep away from me the evil suggestion of the Devils, defend me by Your defense, protect me by Your protection, and make me from the good people of Your creation, O You One, Unique, Eternal!'
A Lofty Du'a
"O You the most hearing of hearers, the most perceptive of seers, the best of lookers, the promptest of accounters, the Most Merciful of the merciful, the wisest of judges, have blessing on Muhammad and on the progeny of Muhammad, and increase my livelihood, prolong my old, favor me with Your mercy, make me from those who defend Your religion and do not replace me by other than me.!'[166][243]
His communes
Imam al-Hadi (a.s) communed Allah the Almighty in the darkness of night with a suppliant heart and peaceful soul. It was narrated that he said in his communes:
1. "O my Lord, a guilty has come, and a poor has sought; do not disappoint his effort! Have mercy on him, and forgive his faults.'[167][244]
2. "My Lord, bless Muhammad and the progeny of Muhammad, and have mercy on me when my trace will disappear from this life and my mention will be removed among people, and I shall be forgotten as those who had been forgotten. My Lord, I have become old, my skin has become delicate, my bones have become thin, time has affected me, my death has approached me, my days have elapsed, my lusts have gone but my guilt remained! O my Lord, have mercy on me when my shape will change!"[168][245]
3. "O my Lord, thoughts of thinkers went astray, sights of seers fell short, descriptions of describers dissipated, sayings of fabricators vanished before the wonders of Your affair, or the reach to Your highness, for You are in the unreachable place, and no eye can fall upon You with a glance or expression. How far, and how far! O You the First, the Only, the Unique! You have exalted in highness with the glory of greatness, and risen up beyond every bottom and end with the omnipotence of pride."[169][246]
His Ziyarahs
A collection of wonderful Ziyarahs[170][247] were transmitted from Imam al-Hadi (a.s) by which he visited his pure fathers, the infallible Imams of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s). These ziyarahs are full of arguments on the right of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s) in the Islamic caliphate. They also include important documentations of their achievements, morals, virtues, and qualities.
Az-Ziyarah al-Jami'ah is the most famous and important ziyarah of the infallible Imams (a.s). It is very widespread among the Shia and all followers of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s) who have memorized it. They recite it on Fridays as a visit to the pure Imams (a.s). It has been published hundreds of times in different editions and we think there is no need to mention it here for it is very well-known and widespread among Muslims.
Ziyarah of Al-Ghadir
The Day of al-Ghadir is one of the most important occasions for the Twelver Shia who consider it as an Eid where the Prophet (a.s) had appointed Imam Ali (a.s) as the caliph over Muslims after him. The Shia visited and still visit the holy shrine of Imam Ali (a.s) on the Day of al-Ghadir every year to confirm their guardianship and allegiance to him.
Imam al-Hadi (a.s) visited the holy shrine of his grandfather Imam Ali (a.s) in the year when al-Mu'tasim, the Abbasid caliph, brought him from Medina to Sammarra'.[171][248] Imam al-Hadi (a.s) visited his grandfather Amir'ul- Mu'minin with this wonderful ziyarah in which he mentioned the virtues of Imam Ali (a.s) and the political and social problems he suffered at that age. We mention here some passages from the ziyarah: ".And you were the first one who believed in Allah and offered prayer to Him, fought in His way, and did well in the house of polytheism where the earth was full of deviation and Satan was worshipped openly.
You had the memorable situations, famous occasions, and great days; the Day (battle) of Badr and the Day of al-Ahzab (when the eyes turned dull, and the hearts rose up to the throats, and you began to think diverse thoughts of Allah. There the believers were tried and they were shaken with severe shaking, and when the hypocrites, and those in whose hearts was a disease, were saying: Allah and His messenger promised us naught but delusion, and when a party of them said: O people of Yathrib, there is no place to stand for you here, therefore go back, and a party of them asked permission of the prophet, saying: Surely our houses are exposed; and they were not exposed; they only desired to fly away)[172][249] and Allah said, ( And when the believers saw the allies, they said: This is what Allah and His Messenger promised us, and Allah and His Messenger spoke the truth; and it only increased them in faith and submission).[173][250]
Then you killed their Amr[174][251] and defeated their parties (and Allah turned back the unbelievers in their rage; they did not obtain any advantage, and Allah sufficed the believers in fighting; and Allah is Strong, Mighty).[175][252] And on the Day of Uhud (when you climbed (the hill) and paid no heed to anyone, while the messenger, in your rear, was calling you (to fight),[176][253] but you drove away the polytheists from the Prophet (a.s) on the right and on the left until Allah drove them from it (war) fearfully and gave victory by you to the (disappointers), and on the Day of Hunayn as Allah said, (when your great numbers made you vain, but they availed you nothing and the earth became strait to you notwithstanding its spaciousness, then you turned back retreating. Then Allah sent down His tranquility upon His Messenger and upon the believers).[177][254]
And the believers were you and your companions.And on the Day of Khaybar when Allah showed the weakness of the hypocrites and cut the roots of the unbelievers- praise be to Allah the Lord of the worlds- (And certainly they had made a covenant with Allah before, that they would not turn (their) backs; and Allah's covenant shall be inquired of).[178][255]
And you participated with the Prophet (a.s) in all his wars and battles holding the banner before him, and beating with the sword in front of him. Then for your well-known resolution and insight on affairs, he made you the emir in the battles and there was no emir over you.
In your sleeping in the bed (of the Prophet)[179][256] you were like the slaughtered (Prophet Ishmael) Peace be upon him, that you responded as he responded, and you obeyed as he obeyed patiently hoping for the reward when his father said to him, (O my son! surely I have seen in a dream that I should sacrifice you; consider then what you see. He said: O my father, do what you are commanded; if Allah please, you will find me of the patient ones),[180][257] and so were you when the Prophet (a.s) ordered you to sleep in his bed to save him by your self and you hurried to respond obediently and to expose your self to killing, and so Allah thanked your obedience and showed your good deed by saying, (And among men is he who sells himself to seek the pleasure of Allah).[181][258]
I witness that you contradicted desires, allied with piety, suppressed anger, pardoned people, became angry when Allah was disobeyed, became pleased when Allah is obeyed, carried out what you were entrusted with, kept what you were confided, achieved what you were charged with, and waited for what you were promised, and I witness that you did not avoid (some people) out of humbleness, nor refrained from your right (in the caliphate) with grief, nor abstained from confronting the extorters of your right out of subservience, nor you showed satisfaction unlike the satisfaction of Allah out of flattering, nor you became weak after what you faced for the sake of Allah, nor you weakened or gave up the demanding of your right and lay in wait. God forbid! You were not so, but if you were wronged, you were content with your Lord and entrusted your affairs to Him.
You did not mind misfortunes, and did not weaken at distresses, and did not abstain from fighting against falseness.It was you who said: neither do the masses of people around me increase my glory, nor does their separation from me cause me loneliness even if all people betray me.
Allah the Almighty responded to His prophet's call concerning you,[182][259] and then He ordered him to announce that he entrusted you with the affair (caliphate) of his nation as glorification to you, declaring your proof, and refuting the falsehood and fabricated excuses. When he feared a sedition from the dissolute and feared for you from the hypocrites, the Lord of the worlds revealed to him, (O Messenger, deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect you from the people).[183][260]
He burdened himself with journey, stopped at the hot desert, and made his speech. He called out and made everyone hear, and asked them, 'Have I informed?' They said, 'By Allah, yes!' He said, 'O Allah, bear witness!' Then he said, 'Am I not worthier of Muslims than themselves to them?' They said, 'Yes, you are.' Then, he took your hand and said, 'Whoever his guardian I am, here is Ali to be his guardian. O Allah, support whoever supports him, be enemy to whoever shows enmity towards him, help whoever helps him, and disappoint whoever disappoints him!' They did not believe in what Allah had revealed to His prophet concerning you except a few, and most of them did not add save perdition.!
Then was your ordeal on the Day of Siffin when the copies of the Qur'an were raised trickily and cunningly. Suspicion appeared, the truth was known, but supposition was followed. It was like the ordeal of Aaron when Moses made him the emir over his people but they separated from him and left him alone while Aaron calling out, (O my people! you are only tried by it, and surely your Lord is the Beneficent Allah, therefore follow me and obey my order. They said: We will by no means cease to keep to its worship until Musa returns to us).[184][261]
So were you when the copies of the Qur'an were raised and you said: 'O people, you are tried by it and deceived.' But they disobeyed and objected to you and called for the two judges. You, before Allah, exempted yourself from their doing and made Allah the judge over them. When the truth shone, and their abominable doing was refuted, they confessed their fault and deviation from the truth, and after that they disagreed.
Then, they forced you to accept the arbitration which you denied and prohibited but they liked. They permitted their guilt that they committed. You were on insight and guidance and they were in deviation and blindness. They still insisted on hypocrisy and were still in error until Allah made them taste the evil results of their doing and He killed from them by your sword who opposed you and became wretched and lost, and gave life by your argument to whoever followed the guidance and was happy. The blessings of Allah be on you everywhere and everywhen. Neither can a praiser cover your description, nor can a dispraiser encompass your virtues.'
From the prophets' stories
In some traditions Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) told his companions some stories of the prophets.
Noah And Iblis
Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) related a dialogue between Prophet Noah (a.s.) and Iblis. He said, 'One day, Iblis came to Noah and said to him, 'You have done me a great favor. Trust in me and I shall not betray you.' Noah became angry. Allah revealed to him to let Iblis speak out. Noah said to Iblis, 'Speak out!' Iblis said, 'If we find the son of Adam stingy, envious, arrogant, or rash, we (the Devils) snatch him as the snatching of a ball. If all these morals gather in him, we call him a mutinous devil.' Noah said, 'What is the great favor I have done to you?' Iblis said, 'You invoked Allah against the people of the earth and sent them to Hell, and so I was free. Without your invoking against them, I would be busy with them for a long time.'[185][262]
Moses And Allah
Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) related, "Moses said, O my Lord, what is the reward of one who avoids treason out of being shy of You?'
Allah the Almighty said, 'He shall be safe on the Day of Resurrection.'
Moses said, 'What is the reward of one who loves the people of Your obedience?'
Allah the Almighty said, 'I will save his body from My Fire.'
Moses said, 'What is the reward of one who kills a believer intentionally?'
Allah the Almighty said, 'I will not look at him on the Day of Resurrection and I will not pardon his sin.'
Moses said, 'My Lord, what is the reward of one who refrains from harming people and helps them instead?'
Allah the Almighty said, 'On the Day of Resurrection, Fire will say to him: I have no way over you.'[186][263] Imam al-Hadi (a.s.) told such stories to his companions to be examples for them on good morals and manners.