Part of the advice and recommendations of Imam Muhammad Baqir (peace be upon him) to Jabir al-Ju’fi (one of his companions):
“I advise you with five things: If you are wronged, do not wrong in return. If you are betrayed, do not betray. If you are called a liar and your words are not believed, do not become angry. If you are praised, do not become pleased, and if you are insulted, do not be upset. Think about what is said about you. If you know that what is said about you is true, know that the humiliation before Allah Almighty, when you are angry in the face of the truth, is a much greater disaster than being humiliated before the people. And if it is not true, then you have gained reward without any effort.”
“And know that you are not truly our friend unless, when the people of your land unanimously accuse you of being a wicked man, (their words) do not upset you. And when they say you are a good man, (their words) do not make you happy. On the contrary, place yourself in the path of the Book of Allah, and whenever you see that you are following its way and practicing the asceticism it calls for, and you desire what it encourages you toward and fear what it warns you against, then remain steadfast, content, and hopeful that whatever is said about you will not harm you. However, if you are not in line with the Qur’an, do not be proud of any of those (comments) made about you.”
“It is the duty of the believer to fight against the desires of the soul until he masters them. Sometimes he stands firm against them and opposes his desires for the sake of Allah. And whenever his soul defeats him and he follows it, Allah will help him, remove his mistakes, and remind him. He will then repent and cry, so that his awareness, insight, and knowledge increase, as Allah says: ‘Whenever a whisper from Satan incites them toward sin, they remember (the truth) and become enlightened.'”