Tuesday, May 31, 2022

THE COMMANDER OF THE FAITHFULL, IMAM ALI (A.S.)'S PRICELESS ADVICE TO HUMANITY - PART TEN

 

How good it is for the rich to show humanity before the poor to seek reward from Allah, but better than that is the haughtiness of the poor towards the rich with trust in Allah.

Whoever clashes with Truth would be knocked down by it.

The heart is the book of the eye.

Fear of Allah is the chief trait of human character.

It is enough for your own discipline that you abstain from what you dislike from others.

The world deceives, harms, and passes away. Allah, the Sublime, did not approve it as a reward for His lovers nor as a punishment for His enemies.

Addressing his son, Imam Hasan (a.s.), he said, “O my son, do not leave anything of this world behind you, because you will be leaving it for either  two sorts of persons: Either a person who uses it in obeying Allah, in this case he will acquire virtue through what was evil for you, or it will be person who uses it in disobeying Allah and in that case he will be earning evil with what you collected for him, and so you will be assisting him in his sinfulness; and neither of these two deserve to be preferred by you over yourself.”

Someone said “Astaghirullah” in the presence of Imam Ali (a.s.), he said, “Do you know what “Istighfar” (asking Allah’s forgiveness) is? Istighfar is meant for people of an elevated position. It is a word that stands on six supports. The first is to repent over the past; the second is to make a firm determination never to revert to it; the third is to discharge all the rights of people so that you may meet Allah quite clean with nothing to account for; the fourth is to fulfill every obligation which you ignored (in the past) so that you may do justice with it; the fifth is to aim at the flesh grown as a result of unlawful earning; so that you melt it  (by grief of repentance) till the skin touches the bone and a new flesh grows between them; and the sixth is to make the body taste the pain of obedience  as you (previously) made it taste the sweetness of disobedience. On such an occasion you may say “Astghfirullah.” “

How wretched the son of Adam is! His death is hidden, his ailments are concealed, his actions are preserved, the bite of a mosquito pains him, choking causes his death, and sweat gives him an unpleasant smell.

The eyes of these men are covetous (seize greedily), and this glancing is the cause of their becoming covetous. Whenever anyone of you sees a woman who attracts him, he should meet his wife because she is a woman like his wife.

Whoever sets right his inward self, Allah sets right his outward self. Whoever performs acts for his religion, Allah accomplishes his acts of this world, whoever’s dealings between himself and Allah are good, Allah turns the dealings between him and other people good.

Forbearance is a curtain for covering, and wisdom is a sharp sword. Therefore, conceal the weakness in your conduct with forbearance and kill your desires with your wisdom.

There are some creatures of Allah whom Allah particularizes with favors for the benefit of the people, therefore He places them in their hands so long as they give them to others; bur when they deny them to others, He takes away the favors from them and sends them to others.

It does not behove a man to have trust in two positions, health, and riches, because there is many a man whom you see healthy, but he soon falls sick and many a man whom you see rich but soon turns destitute.

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