Lessons from Nahjul Balagha [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Sermons
Sermon
82

SERMON 82

This sermon is called the
al-Gharra' and it is one of the most wonderful sermons of
Amir al-mu'minin.

Praise be to Allah who
is High above all else, and is Near (the creation) through His
bounty. He is the Giver of all reward and distinction, and
Dispeller of all calamities and hardships. I praise Him for His
continuous mercy and His copious bounties.

I believe in Him as He
is the First of all and He is Manifest. I seek guidance from Him
as He is Near and is the Guide. I seek His succour as He is Mighty
and Subduer. I depend upon Him as He is Sufficer and Supporter.
And I stand witness that Muhammad (blessing of Allah be on him and
his progeny) is His slave and His Prophet. He sent him for
enforcement of His commands, for exhausting His pleas and for
presenting warnings (against eternal punishment).

Enjoining people to
Piety

O' creatures of Allah
I advise you to have fear of Allah Who has furnished illustrations
and Who has timed for you your lives. He has given you covering of
dress(1) and He has scattered for you
livelihood. He has surrounded you with His knowledge. He has
ordained rewards. He has bestowed upon you vast bounties and
extensive gifts. He has warned you through far reaching arguments,
and He has counted you by numbers. He has fixed for you ages (to
live) in this place of test and house of instruction.

You are on test in
this world and have to render account about it.

Caution against this
world

Certainly this world
is a dirty watering place and a muddy source of drinking.

Its appearance is
attractive and its inside is destructive. It is a deception, a
vanishing reflection and a bent pillar. When its despiser begins
to like it and he who is not acquainted with it feels satisfied
with it, then it raises and puts down its feet (in joy), entraps
him in its trap, makes him the target of its arrows and puts round
his neck the rope of death taking him to the narrow grave and
fearful abode in order to show him his place of stay and the
recompense of his acts. This goes on from generation to
generation. Neither death stops from cutting them asunder nor do
the survivors keep aloof from committing of sins.

Death and Resurrection

They are emulating
each other and proceeding in groups towards the final objective
and the rendezvous of death, till when matters come to a close,
the world dies and resurrection draws near. Allah(2)
would take them out from the corners of the graves, the nests of
birds. the dens of beasts and the centres of death. They hasten
towards Him command and run towards the place fixed for their
final return group by group, quiet, standing and arrayed in rows.
They will be within Allah's sight and will hear every one who
would call them.

They would be having
the dress of helplessness and covering of submission and
indignity. (At this time) contrivances would disappear, desires
would be cut, hearts would sink quietly, voices would be curbed
down, sweat would choke the throat, fear would increase and ears
would resound with the thundering voice of the announcer calling
towards the final judgement, award of recompense, striking of
punishment and paying of reward.

The limitations of
life

People have been
created as a proof of (His) power, have been brought up with
authority, they are made to die through pangs, and placed in
graves where they turn into crumbs. Then they would be resurrected
one by one, awarded their recompense and would have to account for
their actions, each one separately. They had been allowed time to
seek deliverance, had been shown the right path and had been
allowed to live and seek favours, the darkness of doubts had been
removed, and they had been let free in this period of life as a
training place in order to make preparation for the race on the
Day of Judgement, to search for the objective with thoughtfulness,
to get time necessary to secure benefits and provide for the next
place of stay.

No happiness without
Piety

How appropriate are
these illustrations and effective admonitions provided they are
received by pure hearts, open ears, firm views and sharp wits.
Fear Allah like him who listened (good advice) and bowed before
it, when he committed sin he admitted it, when he felt fear he
acted virtuously, when he apprehended he hastened (towards good
acts), when he believed he performed virtuous acts, when he was
asked to take lesson (from the happenings of this world) he did
take the lesson, when he was asked to desist he abstained (from
evil), when he responded to the call (of Allah) he leaned (towards
him), when he turned back (to evil) he repented, when he followed
he almost imitated and when he was shown (the right path) he saw
it.

Such a man was busy in
search of truth and got rid (of the worldly evils) by running
away. He collected provision (of good acts) for himself, purified
his inner self, built for the next world, and took with himself
provision for the day of his departure, keeping in view his
journey, his requirement and the position of his need. He sent
ahead of him for the abode of his stay (in the next world). O'
creatures of Allah, fear Allah keeping in view the reason why He
created you and be afraid of Him to the extent He has advised you
to do. Make yourself deserve what He has promised you, by having
confidence in the truth of His promise and entertaining fear for
the Day of Judgement.

A part of the same
sermon

Reminding people of
Allah's bounties

He has made for you
ears to preserve what is important, eyes to have sight in place of
blindness and limbs which consist of many (smaller) parts, whose
curves are in proportion with the moulding of their shapes and
lengths of their ages, and also bodies that are sustaining
themselves and hearts that are busy in search of their food,
besides other big bounties, obliging bestowings and fortresses of
safety. He has fixed for you ages that are not known to you. He
has retained for you remains of the past people for your
instruction. Those people enjoyed themselves fully and were
completely unhampered. Death overtook them before (satisfaction
of) their desires, from which the hands of death separated them.
They did not provide for themselves during health of their bodies,
and did not take lesson during their youth.

Are these people who
are in youth waiting for the backbending old age, and those
enjoying fresh health waiting for ailments, and these living
persons looking for the hour of death? When the hour of departure
would be close and the journey at hand, with pangs of grief and
trouble, suffering of sorrows and suffocation of saliva, and the
time would arrive for calling relations and friends for help and
changing sides on the bed. Could then the near ones stop death, or
the mourning women do any good? He would rather be left alone in
the graveyard confined to the narrow corner of his grave.

His skin has been
pierced all over by reptiles, and his freshness has been destroyed
by these tribulations. Storms have removed his traces and
calamities have obliterated even his signs. Fresh bodies have
turned thin and withered and bones have become rotten. The spirits
are burdened with the weight of sins and have become conscious of
the unknown things. But now neither the good acts can be added to
nor evil acts can be atoned for by repentance. Are you not sons,
fathers, brothers and relations of these dead and are not to
follow their footsteps and pass by their paths? But hearts are
still unmoved, heedless of guidance and moving on wrong lines, as
though the addressee is someone else, and as though the correct
way is to amass worldly gains.

Preparation for the
Day of Judgement

And know that you have
to pass over the pathway (of sirat) where steps waver, feet slip
away and there are fearful dangers at every step. O' creatures of
Allah, fear Allah, like the fearing of wise man whom the thought
(of next world) has turned away from other matters, fear (of
Allah) has afflicted his body with trouble and pain, his
engagement in the night prayer has turned even his short sleep
into awakening, hope (of eternal recompense) keeps him thirsty in
the day, abstention has curbed his desires, and remembrance of
Allah is ever moving his tongue. He entertains fear before
dangers. He avoids uneven ways in favour of clear ones. He follows
the shortest route to secure his purpose, wishfulness does not
twist his thinking and ambiguities do not blind his eyes. He
enjoys deep sleep and passes his day happily because of the
happiness of good tidings and pleasure of (eternal bounties).

He passes the pathway
of this world in praiseworthy manner. He reaches the next world
with virtues. He hastens (towards virtue) out of fear (for vice).
He moves briskly during the short time (of life in this world). He
devotes himself in seeking (eternal good), he runs away from evil.
During today he is mindful of tomorrow, and keeps the future in
his view. Certainly Paradise is the best reward and achievement,
which hell is appropriate punishment and suffering. Allah is the
best Avenger and Helper and the Qur'an is the best argument and
confronter.

Warning against Satan

I enjoin upon you fear
of Allah Who has left no excuse against what He has warned, has
exhausted argument (of guidance) about the (right) path He has
shown. He has warned you of the enemy that steals into hearts and
stealthily speaks into ears, and thereby misguides and brings
about destruction, makes (false) promises and keeps under wrong
impression, he represents evil sins in attractive shape, and shows
as light even serious crimes. When he has deceived his comrades
and exhausted the pledge he begins to find fault with what he
presented as good, and considers serious what he had shown as
light, and threatens from what he had shown as safe.

Part of the same
sermon dealing with creation of man

Or look at man whom
Allah has created in the dark wombs and layers of curtains from
what was overflowing semen, then shapeless clot, then embryo, then
suckling infant, then child and then fully grown up young man.
Then He gave him heart with memory, tongue to talk and eye to see
with, in order that he may take lesson (from whatever is around
him) and understand it and follow the admonition and abstain from
evil.

When he attained the
normal growth and his structure gained its average development he
fell in self-conceit and got perplexed. He drew bucketfuls of his
desires, got immersed in fulfilling his wishes for pleasures of
the world and his (sordid) aims. He did not fear any evil nor got
frightened of any apprehension. He died infatuated with his vices.
He spent his short life in rubbish pursuits. He earned no reward
nor did he fulfil any obligation. Fatal illness overtook him while
he was still in his enjoyments and perplexed him. He passed the
night in wakefulness in the hardships of grief and pricking of
pains and ailments in the presence of real brother, loving father,
wailing mother, crying sister, while he himself was under
maddening uneasiness, serious senselessness, fearful cries,
suffocating pains, anguish of suffocating sufferings and the pangs
of death.

Thereafter he was clad
in the shroud while he remained quiet and thoroughly submissive to
others. Then he was placed on planks in such a state that he had
been down-trodden by hardships and thinned by ailments. The crowd
of young men and helping brothers carried him to his house of
loneliness where all connections of visitors are severed.
Thereafter those who accompanied him went away and those who were
wailing for him returned and then he was made to sit in his grave
for terrifying questioning and slippery examination. The great
calamity of that place is the hot water and entry into Hell,
flames of eternal Fire and intensity of blazes. There is no
resting period, no gap for ease, no power to intervene, no death
to bring about solace and no sleep to make him forget pain. He
rather lies under several kinds of deaths and moment-to-moment
punishment. We seek refuge with Allah.

The lesson to be
learnt from those who have passed away

O' creatures of Allah!
where are those who were allowed (long) ages to live and they
enjoyed bounty. They were taught and they learnt; they were given
time and they passed it in vain; they were kept healthy and they
forgot (their duty). They were allowed long period (of life), were
handsomely provided, were warned of grievous punishment and were
promised big rewards. You should avoid sins that lead to
destruction and vices that attract wrath (of Allah).

O' people who possess
eyes and ears and health and wealth! Is there any place of
protection, any shelter of safety, or asylum or haven, or occasion
to run away or to come back (to this world)? If not, "how are
you then turned away" (Qur'an, 6:95; 10:34; 35:3; 40:62) and
wither are you averting? By what things have you been deceived?
Certainly, the share of every one of you from this earth is just a
piece of land equal to his own stature and size where he would lie
on his cheeks covered with dust. The present is an opportune
moment for acting.

O' creatures of Allah,
since the neck is free from the loop, and spirit is also
unfettered, now you have time for seeking guidance: you are in
ease of body; you can assemble in crowds, the rest of life is
before you; you have opportunity of acting by will; there is
opportunity for repentance, and peaceful circumstances. (But you
should act) before you are overtaken by narrow circumstances and
distress, or fear and weakness, before the approach of the awaited
death and before seizure by the Almighty, the Powerful.

as-Sayyid ar-Radi
says: It is related that when Amir al-mu'minin delivered this
sermon people began to tremble, tears flowed from their eyes and
their hearts were frightened. Some people call this sermon the
Brilliant Sermon (al-Khutbatu'l-Gharra')

(1).
Allah has furnished every creature with natural dress, which is
the means of protecting it from cold and heat. Thus, some animals
are covered in feathers and some carry apparels of wool on their
bodies. But the high degree of intelligence of man and the quality
of shame and modesty in him demands distinction from other
creatures. Consequently, to maintain this distinction he has been
taught the ways of covering his body. It was this natural impulse
that when Adam was made to give up his dress he began to cover his
body with leaves. The Qur'an says:

So when they tested
(of) the tree their shameful things got displayed unto them and
they began covering themselves with leaves of the garden ...
(Qu'ran, 7:22)

This was the
punishment awarded for his committing what was better for him to
omit. When removal of dress is punishment its putting on would be
a favour, and since this is peculiar to man it has been
particularly mentioned.

(2).
The intention is that Allah would resurrect all the dead, even
though they had been eaten by beasts and been merged in their
bodies. Its aim is to refute the view of the philosophers who hold
that the resurrection of the non-existent is impossible and who do
not therefore believe in the physical resurrection. Their argument
briefly is that a thing which has lost existence by death cannot
return to life. Consequently, after the destruction of this world
the return of any of its beings to life is out of question. But
this belief is not correct because dispersal of the parts does not
mean its non-existence, so as to say that putting these parts
together again would involve resurrection of the non-existent. On
the other hand separated and dispersed parts continue to exist in
some form or the other. Of course, in this connection this
objection has some force that when every person is to be
resurrected in his own form, then in case one person has eaten the
other, then in such a case it would be impossible to resurrect
either of them with his own constituent parts, since this would
involve creating deficiency of parts in that who had eaten the
other.

To this metaphysicians
have replied that in everybody there are some constituents which
are essential and others which are non-essential. The essential
constituents remain constant from the beginning till end of life
and suffer no change or alteration, and resurrection with regard
to such constituents would not create any deficiency in the man
who ate the other.