Lessons from Nahjul Balagha [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Sermons
Sermon
85

SERMON 85

About getting ready for the
next world and following Allah's commandments

Allah knows hidden
matters and is aware of inner feelings. He encompasses everything.
He has control over everything and power over everything. Everyone
of you should do whatever he has to do during his days of life
before the approach of death, in his leisure before his
occupation, and during the breathing of his breath before it is
overtaken by suffocation, should provide for himself and his
journey and should collect provision from his place of halt for
his place of stay.

So remember Allah, O'
people, about what He has asked you in His Book to take care of,
and about His rights that He has entrusted to you. Verily, Allah
has not created you in vain nor left you unbridled nor left you
alone in ignorance and gloom. He has defined what you should leave
behind. taught you your acts, ordained your death, sent down to
you. "the Book (Qur'an) explaining everything" (Qur'an,
16:89) and made His Prophet live among you for a long time till He
completed for him and for you the message sent through the Qur'an
namely the religion liked by Him, and clarified through him His
good acts and evil acts, His prohibitions and His commands.

He placed before you
His arguments and exhausted his excuses upon you. He put forth to
you His promises and warned you of severe retribution. You should
therefore make full atonement during your remaining days and let
yourselves practice endurance in these days. These days are fewer
as against the many days during which you have shown obliviousness
and heedlessness towards admonition. Do not allow time to
yourselves because it will put you on the path of wrong-doers and
do not be easy-going because this will push you towards
sinfulness.

O' creatures of Allah!
the best adviser for himself is he who is the most obedient to
Allah, and the most deceiving for himself is he who is the most
disobedient to Allah. Deceived is he who deceived his own self.
Enviable is he whose Faith is safe. Fortunate is he who takes
lesson from others, while unfortunate is he who fell victim to his
desires. You should know that even the smallest hypocrisy is like
believing in more than one God, and keeping company of people who
follow their desires is the key to obliviousness from religion,
and is the seat of Satan.

Be on your guard
against falsehood because it is contrary to Faith. A truthful
person is on the height of salvation and dignity, while the liar
is on the edge of ignominy and degradation. Do not be jealous
because jealousy eats away Faith just as fire eats away dried
wood. Do not bear malice because, it is a scraper (of virtues).
And know that desires make wit forgetful and make memory
oblivious. You should falsify desire because it is a deception,
and he who has desires is in deceit.