Lessons from Nahjul Balagha [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Sermons
Sermon
156

SERMON 156

Urging people towards Piety
(taqwa)

Praise be to Allah who
made praise the Key for His remembrance, a means for increase of
His bounty and a guide for His Attributes and Dignity.

O' creatures of Allah!
Time will deal with the survivors just as it dealt with those gone
by. The time that has passed will not return and whatever there is
in it will not stay for ever. Its later deeds are the same as the
former ones. Its trouble try to excel one another. Its banners
follow each other. It is as though you are attached to the last
day which is driving you as rapidly as are driven the she camels
which are dry for seven months. He who busies himself with things
other than improvement of his own self becomes perplexed in
darkness and entangled in ruination. His evil spirits immerse him
deep in vices and make his bad actions appear handsome. Paradise
is the end of those who are forward (in good acts) and Hell is the
end of those who commit excesses.

Know O' creatures of
Allah! that piety is a strong house of protection while impiety is
a weak house which does not protect its people, and does not give
security to him who takes refuge therein. Know that the sting of
sins is cut by piety and the final aim is achieved by conviction
of belief.

O' creatures of Allah!
(fear) Allah, (fear) Allah, in the matter of your own selves,
which are the most beloved and dear to you, because Allah has
clarified to you the way of truthfulness and lighted its paths. So
(you may choose) either ever-present misfortune or eternal
happiness. You should therefore provide in these mortal days for
the eternal days. You have been informed of the provision, ordered
to march and told to make haste in setting off. You are like
staying riders who do not know when they would be ordered to march
on. Beware, what will he, who has been created for the next world,
do with this world? What will a person do with wealth which he
would shortly be deprived of while only its ill effects and
reckoning would be left behind for him?

O' creatures of Allah!
the good which Allah has promised should not be abandoned and the
evil from which He has refrained should not be coveted. O'
creatures of Allah! fear the day when actions will be reckoned;
there will be much quaking and even children will get old.

Know, O' creatures of
Allah! that your own self is a guard over you; limbs are watchmen
and truthful vigil-keepers who preserve (the record of) your
actions and the numbers of your breaths. The gloom of the dark
night cannot conceal you from them, nor can closed doors hide you
from them. Surely tomorrow is close to today.

Today will depart with
all that it has and tomorrow will come in its wake. It is as
though every one of you has reached that place on earth where he
would be alone, namely the location of his grave. So, what to say
of the lonely house, the solitary place of staying and the
solitary exile. It is as though the cry (of the Horn) has reached
you, the Hour has overtaken you and you have come out (of your
graves) for the passing of judgement. (The curtains of) falsehood
have been removed from you and your excuses have become weak. The
truth about you has been proved. All your matters have proceeded
to their consequences. Therefore. you should (now) take counsel
from examples, learn lessons from vicissitudes and take advantage
of the warners.