Seventh Session

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَىٰ أَشْرَفِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَالْمُرْسَلِينَ، حَبِيبِ قُلُوبِ الصَّادِقِينَ، أَبِی‌الْقَاسِمِ الْمُصْطَفَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ. اللهم صل على محمد وآل محمد وعلى أهل بيته الطيبين الطاهرين، واللعن الدائم على أعدائهم أجمعين من الآن إلى قیام یوم الدین.

Returning from the Scene of Resurrection to This World

We are in the seventh session on Sermon 83 of Nahj al-Balagha. In the previous session, we said that the Commander of the Faithful (a) portrayed the scene of resurrection and the Day of Resurrection. In this session, he returns to this world and examines the condition of human beings in this world.

In this return to this world and his description of the people's condition, the Imam presents thirteen points:

1. Five points concern the compulsory aspects of human existence; that is, matters in which all human beings acknowledge that they are compelled.
2. Three points concern the resurrection.
3. The remaining five points concern the scene of human free will.

We will first examine the five points related to human compulsion.

عِبَادٌ مَخْلُوقُونَ اقْتِدَارًا، وَمَرْبُوبُونَ اقْتِسَارًا، وَمَقْبُوضُونَ احْتِضَارًا، وَمُضَمَّنُونَ أَجْدَاثًا، وَكَائِنُونَ رُفَاتًا، وَمَبْعُوثُونَ أَفْرَادًا، وَمَدِينُونَ جَزَاءً، وَمُمَيَّزُونَ حِسَابًا.

1. The Creation of the Human Being

The Imam says: «عِبَادٌ مَخْلُوقُونَ اقْتِدَارًا».

«عباد» can be understood in two senses: one meaning servants, and the other meaning owned beings, in contrast to a master. Human beings are servants who have been created and are owned by God; that is, God is the owner of all things.

«مخلوقون» means those who have been created. The human being was created through the power of the Exalted God. Therefore, the human being is compelled in his creation, and his creation is not within his own control.

﴿

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَكُمْ مِنْ تُرَابٍ ثُمَّ إِذَا أَنْتُمْ بَشَرٌ تَنْتَشِرُونَ

﴾

And among His signs is that He created you from dust; then, behold, you became human beings spreading throughout the earth.

Some people say: “We did not want to create ourselves; we did not wish God to create us.” In response, one must ask: Did you even exist to have a heart and to wish or not wish? At the time of creation, you did not exist at all. Therefore, the creation of the human being is compulsory and is not in his own hands.

God did not consult the human being about whether he wished to come into this world. Human free will has no role in creation. This is the first compulsory matter concerning the human being.

2. The Growth and Development of the Human Being

The second compulsory matter is human growth. The Imam says: «وَمَرْبُوبُونَ اقْتِسَارًا».

«رَبّ» means the one who nurtures and develops. «مربوبون» means those who are nurtured and developed. Human beings grow compulsorily.

The fetus is born and thereafter passes through childhood, adolescence, youth, and old age. None of these stages is within the human being's control. Whether he wishes it or not, from the time of birth and infancy he reaches adolescence and youth, and then grows old.

Thus, the first compulsion of the human being is his creation, and the second is his growth and development. «اقتسار» means compulsion. In philosophical terminology, a movement that takes place compulsorily is called a “forced motion,” such as a stone thrown toward the sky that must return to the earth. The earth's gravity pulls it downward, and the stone cannot prevent this movement.

Therefore, «مربوبون اقتساراً» means that you are nurtured and developed, and this takes place compulsorily. Your creation is compulsory, and your growth is also compulsory.

3. The Taking of the Soul

The third compulsory matter is the taking of the soul. The Imam says: «وَمَقْبُوضُونَ احْتِضَارًا».

«قبض» means taking possession or receiving. In buying and selling, too, «قبض و اقباض» is used to mean handing over and receiving. «مقبوضون» means that your soul is received—the very thing referred to as the “taking of the soul.”

«احتضار» has two meanings: one is appearing in the Divine presence, and the other is the state in which, at the time of death, the Divine angels appear to take the human being's soul. The state of a human being at the time of death is called the state of «احتضار».

﴿

وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ بِاللَّيْلِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا جَرَحْتُمْ بِالنَّهَارِ ثُمَّ يَبْعَثُكُمْ فِيهِ لِيُقْضَىٰ أَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

﴾

The Exalted God receives the human soul on two occasions. One is every night, at the time of sleep. Every night, a human being sleeps and God receives his soul. This is a lesson in death for the human being. Then, during the day, He raises and revives him once again.

Thus, throughout his life, the human being experiences death and life many times: he dies every night and is revived again in the morning. At night, when he sleeps, God receives his soul and returns it in the morning.

﴿

وَهُوَ الْقَاهِرُ فَوْقَ عِبَادِهِ وَيُرْسِلُ عَلَيْكُمْ حَفَظَةً حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ تَوَفَّتْهُ رُسُلُنَا وَهُمْ لَا يُفَرِّطُونَ

﴾

God is Dominant and Powerful over His servants, and He has appointed guardians for the human being. Each of us has angels who protect us. From the beginning of his birth, a child has guardians who watch over him, and this guardianship continues through the various stages of life.

When a human being's death arrives, it is not only the Angel of Death, ʿAzra'il, who takes his soul; ʿAzra'il has assistants as well. The Qur'an says: «تَوَفَّتْهُ رُسُلُنَا»; “Our messengers receive his soul.” ʿAzra'il and his assistants take the human being's soul and receive it precisely as they should.

Thus, the third compulsory matter concerning the human being is the state of «احتضار» and the taking of the soul. The human being has no choice in the taking of his soul. Whether he wishes it or not, his soul will be taken.

4. Being Placed in the Grave

The fourth compulsory matter is that the human being is placed in the grave. The Imam says: «وَمُضَمَّنُونَ أَجْدَاثًا».

«مُضَمَّن» derives from the root «ضِمْن»; it means placing something within something else. «أجداث» means graves. The human being is placed in the grave without having any choice in the matter.

Thus, the human being is compelled in his creation, compelled in his growth, has no choice at the time of «احتضار» and the taking of his soul, and has no choice in being placed in the grave either.

A human being will be raised from whichever grave he is buried in. al-Mutawakkil had sent agents to summon Imam al-Hadi (a). The agents were taking the Imam along a desert route. Their scribe and leader told the agents: This man, meaning Imam al-Hadi (a), says that wherever a person dies—even if he dies in a desert or in the Valley of Barahut—he will be revived from that very place. They then began laughing at and mocking the Imam.

Imam al-Hadi (a) heard these words and said along the way: Severe cold will come during the return journey; take warm clothing with you, all of you. They paid no attention to the Imam's words. On the return journey, extremely severe cold came, and a number of them died in that very cold. They buried them in that same desert—the desert in which the scribe had mocked the Imam's words concerning the human being's being raised from the place where he died.

Afterward, the Imam said to the scribe: Bury these people right here. When they had buried them, the Imam said: From where will these people be revived? From this very place where they have been buried.

A human being will emerge from wherever he has been buried. If his body has ended up in the belly of a bird, he will be raised from that very place. It makes no difference where a person has been buried; this is a reality and one of the compulsory matters concerning the human being.

5. The Body's Becoming Decayed

The fifth compulsory matter is the decay of the body. The Imam says: «وَكَائِنُونَ رُفَاتًا».

«کائنون» means «صائرون»; that is, those who become or are transformed. A human being is placed in the grave, and his body decays there. «رُفات» means becoming decayed and worn away and perishing.

﴿

وَقَالُوا أَئِذَا كُنَّا عِظَامًا وَرُفَاتًا أَإِنَّا لَمَبْعُوثُونَ خَلْقًا جَدِيدًا

﴾

The deniers of the resurrection would say mockingly: When we have become bones and our bodies have decayed, will we be revived and created again? They said that there would be no further creation.

Thus, these five matters constitute the period of human compulsion. The human being does not have free choice in all matters of his life:

• He has no choice in his own creation.
• He has no choice in his growth and the stages of his life.
• He has no choice in the taking of his soul.
• He has no choice in the place where he will be buried.
• He has no choice in his body's becoming decayed and worn away.

The human being cannot say, “I did not want to be created.” At the time of creation, he did not exist and had no choice in the matter. His growth is not within his control either. Whether he wishes it or not, his soul is taken, he is placed in the grave, and his body becomes worn away and decayed.

Three Points Concerning the Resurrection

After the five points concerning human compulsion in this world, the Imam refers to three points concerning the resurrection.

6. Being Raised Individually

The Imam says: «وَمَبْعُوثُونَ أَفْرَادًا». Human beings will be raised, but at the time of being raised, they will be alone.

﴿

يَوْمَ يَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ سِرَاعًا كَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَىٰ نُصُبٍ يُوفِضُونَ

﴾

Human beings will emerge swiftly from their graves, but they will have no partner or companion. Just as a human being was placed alone in the grave, he will also be raised alone.

«افراد» means individually and one by one. Each human being will be gathered alone.

﴿

لَقَدْ جِئْتُمُونَا فُرَادَىٰ كَمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ

﴾

Just as the human being was created individually at the beginning, he will also be raised individually on the Day of Resurrection.

7. Being Repaid

The seventh point is: «وَمَدِينُونَ جَزَاءً».

The human being will be given the recompense for his deeds, both the recompense for good deeds and the recompense for evil deeds. Everyone will receive the result of his own actions.

8. Each Person's Account Being Separate

The eighth point is: «وَمُمَيَّزُونَ حِسَابًا». Each person's account is separate and distinct.

﴿

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ رَهِينَةٌ

﴾

Everyone is held in pledge for what he himself has earned.

﴿

وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ

﴾

No one bears the burden of another person's sin.

«مُمَیَّزون حساباً» means that each person's account is distinct and separate. It is possible that after the reckoning, people will be divided into groups and each group will be placed in a particular position. However, during the reckoning, each person is present himself and answers for his own account. There is no favoritism there; each person's account is his own.

Up to this point, five points concerning human compulsion in this world and three points concerning the resurrection have been presented. The Imam now addresses five points concerning human free will.

Human Free Will in This World

The basis of the Imams' (a) position in scholarly discussions is: «لا جبر ولا تفویض، بل الأمر بین الأمرین»; neither absolute compulsion nor absolute free will, but rather a matter between the two.

The Ashʿarites are determinists and say that the human being is powerless in this world and has no choice of his own. In contrast, a group known as the Mufawwida believe that the human being has complete free will and that all his affairs have been entrusted to him. The correct view expressed by the Imams (a) is «امر بین الامرین»: there is neither absolute compulsion nor absolute delegation.

We have explained five aspects of human compulsion: the human being has no choice in his creation, growth, reaching old age, state of «احتضار», or becoming decayed in the grave. The Imam now refers to five matters related to human free will:

قَدْ أُمْهِلُوا فِي طَلَبِ الْمَخْرَجِ، وَهُدُوا سَبِيلَ الْمَنْهَجِ، وَأُمِرُوا مَهَلَ الْمُسْتَعْتِبِ، وَكُشِفَتْ عَنْهُمْ سُدَفُ الرَّيْبِ، وَخُلُّوا لِمِضْمَارِ الْجِيَادِ، وَأَنَاةِ الْمُرْتَادِ، فِي مُدَّةِ الْأَجَلِ، وَمُضْطَرَبِ الْمَهَلِ.

Being Given Time to Find a Way Out

«قَدْ أُمْهِلُوا فِي طَلَبِ الْمَخْرَجِ»; the human being has been given time to find a way out.

«مخرج» means a way out. In this world, the human being finds himself on various paths, and choosing the path is his own responsibility. God has given him time to find ways out of difficulties and dead ends. This is the human being's free will in his actions. The human being is compelled in his creation and growth, but in his progress, movement, and perfection, he has time and choice.

Being Guided to the Clear Path

«وَهُدُوا سَبِيلَ الْمَنْهَجِ»; human beings have been guided to the clear path.

«سبیل» means a path, and «منهج» means a clear and evident path. God has both given the human being time to choose a way out and guided him to the correct path.

The prophets, the Imams (a), the friends of God, the scholars, the learned, and the heavenly Books have come to guide the human being to «سبیل المنهج», that is, the clear path. Thus, the human being has been given both time to escape difficulties and dead ends and the clear path has been shown to him.

The Opportunity to Make Amends

«وَأُمِرُوا مَهَلَ الْمُسْتَعْتِبِ»; the human being has been given the opportunity and lifespan to attain God's satisfaction and save himself from Divine reproach.

God has given the human being time, clarified the path for him, and placed a sufficient lifespan at his disposal. On the Day of Resurrection, the human being cannot say: “My Lord, I had no time; if I had had time, I would not have done these things.” God has given sufficient opportunity for the human being to make amends for the past and please his Lord.

The Removal of the Darknesses of Doubt

«وَكُشِفَتْ عَنْهُمْ سُدَفُ الرَّيْبِ»; the darknesses of doubt have been removed from them.

«ریب» means doubt, and «سدف» means darknesses. Doubt is darkness, but the means of discovering the truth have been made clear to the human being. The human being must not remain in doubt; rather, he must leave doubt behind and reach confidence and certainty. In life, the human being moves with belief and certainty, not with perpetual doubt.

Thus, «سُدَفُ الرَّيْب» means the darknesses and gloom of doubt, from which a way out has been made available to the human being.

Being Released into the Racecourse

The Imam's fifth expression is: «وَخُلُّوا لِمِضْمَارِ الْجِيَادِ».

After God had given the human being time, shown him the path, sent the prophets and Imams (a), placed a lifespan at his disposal, and explained the way out of doubt to him, He left him free in his actions.

«خُلو» means to release or leave free. The human being is not compelled in his actions; he has been left free to choose for himself.

«مضمار» means a racecourse or the time of a race, and «جیاد» is the plural of «جواد», meaning valuable horses prepared for racing. Among the Arabs, it was customary to prepare horses for races. This preparation was called «تضمیر». They would nourish the horse with food and then make it run so that both its body would become strong and its bones would become firm. Such a horse was prepared for racing.

This world is also a racecourse: a field of striving to attain goodness and благ. In this arena, the human being must find the correct path and strive to attain felicity.

Reflecting and Seeking the Path of Truth

The Imam continues: «وَأَنَاةِ الْمُرْتَادِ».

«أناة» means patience, forbearance, and moving with deliberation. «مرتاد» is someone who is searching for the truth and the correct path. Therefore, the human being has been released to compete, to think, and to choose the path of truth; he must find the correct path with patience and deliberation.

Moving with the Lamp of Guidance

«مقتبس» is someone who has taken a flame from a fire or a lamp to illuminate the way. The human being must take the torch of guidance in hand with patience and forbearance, and move slowly and consciously so that the path may be illuminated for himself and for others.

It is also narrated in the story of Moses (a) that he said to his family:

﴿

سَآتِيكُمْ مِنْهَا بِخَبَرٍ أَوْ آتِيكُمْ بِشِهَابٍ قَبَسٍ

﴾

That is, I will bring you some news from there, or I will bring you a flame of fire so that you may benefit from it.

Hafiz also alludes to this same expression:

Good tidings, O heart, for one with the breath of the Messiah is comingFrom whose sweet breaths comes the fragrance of someone

Do not lament or cry out over the sorrow of separation, for last nightI cast a lot, and one who will answer the cry for help is coming

I alone am not joyful at the fire of the Safe ValleyMoses is coming there in hope of a flame

There is no one who has no task in your quarterEveryone comes there according to some desire

Whoever moves along the path of felicity must take this torch in hand with deliberation and forbearance and move forward.

Within the Allotted Span of Life

At the end, the Imam says: «فِي مُدَّةِ الْأَجَلِ، وَمُضْطَرَبِ الْمَهَلِ»; this movement takes place within the span of life that God has appointed for the human being, and amid the coming and going of the opportunities and periods of respite placed at his disposal.

Therefore, the human being has five compelled aspects and five voluntary aspects. A person is free in his actions; God has given him respite and released him into the arena of competition.

This world is an opportunity; let us not waste our opportunities.

أَلَا وَإِنَّ الْيَوْمَ الْمِضْمَارُ، وَغَدًا السِّبَاقُ، وَالسَّبَقَةُ الْجَنَّةُ، وَالْغَايَةُ النَّارُ

Know that today is the day of preparation for the race, and tomorrow is the day of the race; the prize of this race is Paradise, and its final outcome is the Fire.

In this world, we have been given opportunity and respite. God has not compelled a person by immediately restraining his hand if he wishes to commit an evil act. He commits the sin, and the choice to sin belongs to him. Likewise, if he performs a good deed, its reward is not necessarily given to him at that very moment; he continues to be granted respite.

Thus, the human being is free in his actions, but compelled in his creation and growth. This is the meaning of «امر بین الأمرین»: neither compulsion nor delegation, but a matter between the two.

This is the human being’s condition in this world; in the previous session, his condition in the Gathering was also explained. It is hoped that these points and the beautiful words of the Commander of the Faithful (a) will take root in our hearts and always remain before our eyes, in our minds and memories, so that we may learn from them.

صلّى الله على محمد وآل محمد.