Three Hadith on the Greeting of Peace (As Salaamu 'Alaykum) from Usul al-Kafi, Compiled by Shi'i Scholar al-Kulayni

Abu Ja'far Muhammad bin Ya'qub bin Ishaq al-Kulayni al-Razi (864-941 C.E.) was a ninth/tenth century Twelver Shi'i religious scholar and muhaddith, a scholar and specialist in hadith (plural: ahadith), reports of the Prophet Muhammad's sayings and actions as recorded by transmitters from Companions of the Prophet. For Twelver Shi'is, ahadith may also be sayings and actions of the 14 "Infallibles," individuals whom they believe to be inerrant. These 14 include the 12 Imams, descendants of the Prophet through his cousin and son-in-law, 'Ali bin Abi Talib, and, more specifically, 'Ali's son Husayn, the third Imam.

Al-Kulayni, as he is usually known, compiled one of the four collections of ahadith (al-kutub al-arb'ah) considered canonical by Twelver Shi'is, Kitab al-Kafi ("Sufficient Book"). The two hadith below come from the one part of the collection, Furu' al-Kafi (approximately, "Sufficient Branches"). Both address the issue of jihad ("struggle"), which has numerous varieties in Sunni and Shi'i jurisprudence, including the now well-known military jihads, offensive and defensive. Honorific formulas repeated after the name of scholars, Infallibles, and the Prophet are omitted.
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Hadith #3638, Book of Social Manners, Chapter 10, Hadith #1

'Ali ibn Ibrahim narrated from his father Hammad ibn 'Isa from Rib'i ibn 'Abdullah from Abu 'Abdullah (sixth Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq), who said: "The Messenger of God would offer greetings of peace to women and they would respond to him. The commander of the faithful (Amir al-Mu'mineen; first Imam, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib) would offer greetings of peace to women but he disliked offering it to young women. He would say: 'I fear their voice may attract me and a feeling may cause me more harm than the reward for offering the greeting of as salaamu 'alaykum.'"

Hadith #3640, Book of Social Manners, Chapter 11, Hadith #2
Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn 'Isa from Muhammad ibn Yahya from Ghiyath ibn Ibrahim from Abu 'Abdullah (sixth Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq), who said: "The commander of the faithful (first Imam, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib) has said, 'Do not initiate the offering of as salaamu 'alaykum to the People of the Book (Christians, Jews, Sabians), but if they offer it, just reply, 'wa 'alaykum' ("the same unto you")."

Hadith #3639, Book of Social Manners, Chapter 11, Hadith #1
'Ali ibn Ibrahim narrated from his father Ibn Abu 'Umayr from Ibn 'Udhaynah from Zurara from Abu Ja'far (fifth Imam, Muhammad al-Baqir) who said: "Once, a Jew [a Jewish person, yahudi) went into the presence of the Messenger of God while [his wife] 'A'isha* was with him. The Jew said, "Sam 'alaykum" (wrath, condemnation upon you) instead of "As salaamu 'alaykum" (upon you be peace). The Messenger of God replied, "'Alaykum" ("the same unto you"). Then another Jew came and said the same thing as the one before and the Messenger of God responded in the same manner as he had before. Then a third Jew came. He also said the same thing that the other two had said before and the Messenger of God responded just as he did the previous two times.

'A'isha became angry and said: "'Alaykum al-Sam (wrath, condemnation upon you), O' group of Jews, brethren of monkeys and swine.' The Messenger of God said to her, "O' 'A'isha, if hurling insults were to appear with a shape and form, it would have a very evil shape. Wherever gentleness is placed it beautifies this place and removing gentleness is only to make it a despised place."

'A'isha then asked, "O' Messenger of God, did you not hear their words, 'al-Sam 'alaykum'?" The Messenger of God said, "I heard them, but did you not note how I have replied to them? I said: ''Alaykum" (and unto you). Whenever a Muslim offers you the greeting of peace, say: 'As salaamu 'alaykum,' but when a non-Muslim says something to you in their way, just say ' 'Alayka' (and unto you).'

Iranian Ayatullah Muhammad Misbah-Yazdi: Defend Wilayat al-Faqih (Khumayni's Concept) to the "Last Drop of Our Blood"

Ayatullah Muhammad Taqi Misbah-Yazdi (Mesbah-Yazdi), born 1934, is a senior Iranian Twelver Shi'i religious scholar who supports the system of government instituted in the early 1980s by Grand Ayatullah al-Sayyid Ruhullah Khumayni (Ruhollah Khomeini) and his supporters after the 1978-1979 Iranian Revolution. He is often rumored to be the "spiritual adviser" to Iran's current president, the controversial Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as well as the head of the underground Hojjatiyyeh (Hujjatiyya; Hojjatieh) movement, which was banned by Khumayni. Misbah-Yazdi denies the latter claim and no substantial evidence has been offered to support it.

The ayatullah is a member of the Assembly of Experts, a powerful government body composed of Shi'i jurists (mujtahids) who are responsible for electing and monitoring the country's supreme leader (rahbar-e jumhuri-ye Islami). Misbah-Yazdi is a staunch supporter of Khumayni's conception of wilayat al-faqih (velayat-e faqih in Persian), approximately the "authority of the jurisconsult." Khumayni argued that in the absence of the twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, who Twelver Shi'is believe is in a mystical hiding from which he will return at an appointed time, the 'ulama (religious scholars) were to act in his stead. Of the 'ulama (or fuqaha), a single jurist (faqih) would be the leading guide. Although Twelver Shi'i scholars have long argued that they were acting as stewards, of sort, of Twelver Shi'is until the return of the Imam, Khumayni expanded his definition of wilayah significantly and his concept was and is not accepted or considered a requirement by many Twelver Shi'i 'ulama.

In the quote below, taken from Misbah-Yazdi's official web site, he succinctly discusses the importance, in his view, of Khumayni's wilayat al-faqih (the English translation is the official one from his web site; I have also included the Arabic and Persian versions of the statement):
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"The most important thing which we should defend to the last drop of our blood is vilayat faqih. This is what the arrogant powers hatch their plot and try their best to challenge. That is because, different authorities regardless of their status, position, and clothing are prone to be misled; and the only one they cannot mislead is the valy faqih. This is why the enemies of the Islamic system suffer enormous costs in order to weaken vilayat faqih."

مشکاة

إنّ أهمّ الامور التي يتعيّن علينا الدفاع عنها حتّى آخر قطرة دم في عروقنا هي مسألة ولاية الفقيه وإنّ كلّ مؤامرات ومساعي الاستكبار تصبّ في وادي مواجهة ولاية الفقيه. إذ من الممكن بطريق أو باُخرى حرف الشخصيّات المختلفة بأيّ زيّ تزيّت وفي أيّ منصب كانت، وإنّ الشخصيّة الوحيدة التي لا يمكن حرفها هي شخصيّة الوليّ الفقيه والقائد. ولهذا السبب نرى أنّ أعداء النظام الإسلاميّ قد بذلوا ويبذلون مبالغ طائلة في سبيل تضعيف ولاية الفقيه

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مشکات

مهم‌ترين امري كه بايد تا آخرين قطره خون از آن دفاع كنيم مسأله ولايت فقيه است و همه توطئه‌ها و تلاش‌هاي استكبار به خاطر مقابله با ولايت فقيه است. زيرا شخصيت‌هاي مختلف را در هر لباس و پست و مقامي‌ مي‌توان به گونه‌‌اي منحرف كرد؛ تنها كسي را كه نمي‌توان منحرف كرد، ولي فقيه و رهبري است. به همين دليل دشمنان نظام هزينه‌هاي هنگفتي را در جهت تضعيف ولايت فقيه صرف كرده‌ و مي كنند.

Iranian Ayatullah Muhammad 'Ali Taskhiri: Toward a Definition of Terrorism

Iranian Ayatullah Muhammad 'Ali Taskhiri, head of the Iranian government's Organization of Islamic Culture and Communications, writes an essay about a definition of "terrorism."
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Towards a Definition of Terrorism (Ayatullah Muhammad Taskhiri)
Ayatullah Muhammad 'Ali Taskhiri

Two Hadith on Racism from Usul al-Kafi, Compiled by Shi'i Scholar al-Kulayni

Abu Ja'far Muhammad bin Ya'qub bin Ishaq al-Kulayni al-Razi (864-941 C.E.) was a ninth/tenth century Twelver Shi'i religious scholar and muhaddith, a scholar and specialist in hadith (plural: ahadith), reports of the Prophet Muhammad's sayings and actions as recorded by transmitters from Companions of the Prophet. For Twelver Shi'is, ahadith may also be sayings and actions of the 14 "Infallibles," individuals whom they believe to be inerrant. These 14 include the 12 Imams, descendants of the Prophet through his cousin and son-in-law, 'Ali bin Abi Talib, and, more specifically, 'Ali's son Husayn, the third Imam.

Al-Kulayni, as he is usually known, compiled one of the four collections of ahadith (al-kutub al-arb'ah) considered canonical by Twelver Shi'is, Kitab al-Kafi ("Sufficient Book"). The two hadith below come from the one part of the collection, Furu' al-Kafi (approximately, "Sufficient Branches"). Both address the issue of jihad ("struggle"), which has numerous varieties in Sunni and Shi'i jurisprudence, including the now well-known military jihads, offensive and defensive. Honorific formulas repeated after the name of scholars, Infallibles, and the Prophet are omitted.

Update: Thanks to Alexander, for a key question (see Comments): The Arabic term being translated in the two hadith below (which are not my own) is عصبية or variants thereof, which can also be rendered as "bigotry" or "blind, absolute tribal loyalty" (right or wrong).
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Usul al-Kafi (Sufficient Foundations), Hadith #2542, Chapter 119 (Hadith #2)

" 'Ali bin Ibrahim narrated from his father from Ibn Abu 'Umayr from Hisham bin Salim, and Durust bin Abu Mansur from Abu 'Abdullah (sixth Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq): 'The Messenger of God has said, 'Whoever practices racial discrimination or it is practiced for him has removed the collar of belief from his neck.''"
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Usul al-Kafi (Sufficient Foundations), Hadith #2547, Chapter 119 (Hadith #7)

" 'Ali bin Ibrahim narrated from his father and 'Ali bin Muhammad al-Qasani from al-Qasim bin Muhammad from al-Minqari from 'Abd al-Razzaq from Mu'ammar from al-Zuhri who said: 'Once, 'Ali bin Husayn (fourth Imam) was asked about racist feelings. He said, 'The racist feeling that is a sin is the one that makes a person consider the evil-doers of his own people to be better than the virtuous individuals of another people. A man's loving his own people is not racism, but it is a sin to help one's own people to commit injustice."

Two Hadith on Jihad(s) from Furu' al-Kafi, Compiled by Shi'i Scholar al-Kulayni

Abu Ja'far Muhammad bin Ya'qub bin Ishaq al-Kulayni al-Razi (864-941 C.E.) was a ninth/tenth century Twelver Shi'i religious scholar and muhaddith, a scholar and specialist in hadith (plural: ahadith), reports of the Prophet Muhammad's sayings and actions as recorded by transmitters from Companions of the Prophet. For Twelver Shi'is, ahadith may also be sayings and actions of the 14 "Infallibles," individuals whom they believe to be inerrant. These 14 include the 12 Imams, descendants of the Prophet through his cousin and son-in-law, 'Ali bin Abi Talib, and, more specifically, 'Ali's son Husayn, the third Imam.

Al-Kulayni, as he is usually known, compiled one of the four collections of ahadith (al-kutub al-arb'ah) considered canonical by Twelver Shi'is, Kitab al-Kafi ("Sufficient Book"). The two hadith below come from the one part of the collection, Furu' al-Kafi (approximately, "Sufficient Branches"). Both address the issue of jihad ("struggle"), which has numerous varieties in Sunni and Shi'i jurisprudence, including the now well-known military jihads, offensive and defensive. Honorific formulas repeated after the name of scholars, Infallibles, and the Prophet are omitted.

The translations below are my own.
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Kitab al-Jihad (Book of Jihad), Furu' al-Kafi, hadith #8172

عدة من أصحابنا عن أحمد بن محمدعن علي بن الحكم عن أبان عن أبي عبد الله، قال قال رسول الله : الخير كله في السيف و تحت ظل السيف و لا يقيم الناس إلا بالسيف و السيوف مقاليد الجنة و النار .

"A number of our Companions (narrate) from Ahmad bin Muhammad from 'Ali bin al-Hakam from Aban from Abu 'Abdullah (sixth Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq), said that the Messenger of God said: 'All goodness is in the sword and being in the sword's shadow and not evaluating the people except (by) the sword, and the swords are keys (in the sense of being "integral") to Paradise and the Conflagration (Hell)."
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Kitab al-Jihad (Book of Jihad), Furu' al-Kafi, hadith #8180

علي بن ابراهيم عن أبيه عن النوفلي عن الشكوني عن ابي عبد الله، أن النبي بعث بسرية فلما رجعوا قال مرحباً بقوم قضوا الجهاد الأصغر و بقي الجهاد الأكبر قيل يا رسول الله و ما الجهاد الأكبر قال جهاد النفس.

" 'Ali bin Ibrahim (narrated) from his father from al-Nawfali from al-Shakuni from Abu 'Abdullah (sixth Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq), that the Prophet dispatched a raiding part/small military detachment and when they returned he said: "Greetings, people who have spent time/been engaged in the Lesser Jihad ("struggle"; military struggle), the Greater Jihad remained. They said, O' Messenger of God, what Jihad is the greatest? He said: 'Jihad of the self.'"

Struggle of the self" (jihad al-nafs) refers to the struggle against temptation and to better oneself with regard to living a moral and upright lifestyle, according to Islamic principles as expounded in the Qur'an and the Prophet's example. Similarly-worded ahadith also appear in Sunni ahadith collections.