Ninth Session

أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

الحمد لله رب العالمين، والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء والمرسلين، حبيب قلوب الصادقين، أبي‌القاسم المصطفى محمد. اللهم صل على محمد وآل محمد وعجل فرجهم، وعلى أهل بيته الطيبين الطاهرين، واللعن الدائم على أعدائهم أجمعين.

The Call of Religion to a Blessed Life

Continuing the discussion of Sermon 83 of Nahj al-Balagha, I will offer an introduction before referring to the points in this section. Religion and the sayings of our Infallibles invite us to life, not merely to existence. The Almighty God, the Noble Messenger of Islam, and the Infallibles, peace be upon them all, invite human beings to life—to a blessed life, that is, a pure life.

The Noble Qur'an says:

﴿ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ ﴾

O you who believe, respond to God and the Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life.

What we read in the sayings of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, is a call to a blessed life. Piety, which is repeatedly emphasized in Nahj al-Balagha, is a call to a blessed and pure life. The pious lead pure lives.

In the preceding section, the Imam said:

فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ تَقِيَّةَ مَنْ سَمِعَ فَخَشِيَ، وَاقْتَرَفَ فَاعْتَرَفَ، وَوَجِلَ فَعَمِلَ، وَحَاذَرَ فَبَادَرَ، وَأَيْقَنَ فَأَحْسَنَ، وَعُظِّرَ فَاعْتَبَرَ، وَحُذِّرَ فَحَذِرَ، وَزُجِرَ فَانْزَجَرَ، وَأَجَابَ فَأَنَابَ، وَرَاجَعَ فَتَابَ، وَاقْتَدَى فَاهْتَدَى، وَأُرْشِدَ فَأَرْشَدَ، وَأَسْرَعَ فَأَسْرَعَ، وَنَجَا فَهَرَبَ، وَفَازَ فَغَنِمَ.

The Imam mentioned twelve examples of piety, and in the previous session we explained them. Tonight, we are concerned with the fruits of that piety. If someone is pious in the manner of those twelve groups and examples mentioned by the Imam, what is the result and fruit of that piety? In this section, the Imam mentions six fruits. These six expressions should be connected to the opening sentences of this section:

فَأَسْرَعَ طَالِبًا، وَنَجَا هَارِبًا، فَأَفَادَ ذَخِيرَةً، وَأَطَابَ سَرِيرَةً، وَعَمَّرَ مَعَادًا، وَاسْتَظْهَرَ زَادًا، لِيَوْمِ رَحِيلِهِ، وَوَجْهِ سَبِيلِهِ، وَحَالِ حَاجَتِهِ، وَمَوْطِنِ فَاقَتِهِ، وَقَدَّمَ أَمَامَهُ لِدَارِ مُقَامِهِ.

1. Hastening in the Pursuit of Truth

«فَأَسْرَعَ طَالِبًا»; if someone is pious in the manner described by the Imam, he hastens in pursuit of truth and moves swiftly toward it. Such a person is constantly pursuing and seeking the truth.

Thus, one of the results of piety is that a person is active and in motion, not stationary. He is not like water that remains still; rather, he is constantly moving. The pious person is constantly pursuing the truth and seeking Paradise.

2. Fleeing from Evil and Attaining Salvation

«وَنَجَا هَارِبًا»; harib means someone who flees. The pious person flees from evil and ugliness and saves himself from a world that is Hell. He swiftly pursues the truth and Paradise and flees from the unlawful world.

It is narrated that the best flight is flight from the unlawful toward the lawful:

«الفرار من الحرام إلى الحلال»

The most valuable flight is for a person to flee from the unlawful and turn toward the lawful. Therefore, the second fruit of becoming pious is that a person flees from Hell and attains salvation.

3. Acquiring Provision

«فَأَفَادَ ذَخِيرَةً»; the third fruit of piety is that a person acquires provision, benefits, and prepares reserves for himself. The pious person acquires reserves that are beneficial to him.

4. Purifying the Inner Self

«وَأَطَابَ سَرِيرَةً»; the fourth fruit is that a person purifies his inner self. «أطاب» derives from the root «طیب», meaning to make pure and wholesome, while «سریره» means the inner self. The pious person cleanses his inner self of rancor, envy, treachery, and pollution and adorns it.

Many people seek to purify their outward appearance. They make their appearance elegant, while their inner selves are extremely ugly. A person's outward appearance may be well-groomed, while his inner being is full of evil, oppression, and crime.

Mawlana says:

Your outward self is like a flawed infidel's graveWhile within you is the wrath of God, the Mighty and Majestic

Outwardly you taunt BayazidWhile inwardly Yazid is ashamed of you

Go, burn this impure cloakThis robe, shawl, and miswak of yours

If your outward self is one with your inner selfYou may find a little way to the Truth

But if your inner self opposes your outward selfYou will have fallen headlong into Hell

Your outward and inner selves must both be oneSo that you may find even a little of the path to the Truth

The enemies of Islam and the unbelievers also have an elegant outward appearance; they wear neat clothes and groom themselves, but their inner selves are polluted and filthy, and they have no share in the truths.

Some people also adorn their outward appearance like Abu Dharr and Salman in order to deceive people, while their inner selves are like Abu Sufyan:

Your outward self is like Abu Dharr and SalmanBut your inner self is like Abu Sufyan

Shaykh Baha'i also refers to this matter in his ode on bread and halva:

What are bread and halva? A cloak, wool, a robe, and your shawlThis station of pride and the sun of borrowed splendor

How can anyone attain it through clothingThrough this robe and cloak of yours, O crooked-minded one?

The pious person is one whose inner self is pure and wholesome, with no deceit, enmity, rancor, envy, or evil within. This is one of the most important fruits of piety.

5. Building the Hereafter

«وَعَمَّرَ مَعَادًا»; the fifth result is that a person builds his Hereafter. «عَمَّرَ» means to repair and develop. Through his deeds, the pious person builds his resurrection and Hereafter.

6. Preparing Provisions

«وَاسْتَظْهَرَ زَادًا»; istizhar al-zad means that he has prepared and packed his provisions. In the past, when someone wanted to travel, he would place his baggage and supplies on his mount. Once he had tied all his belongings to the mount, it became clear that he intended to travel.

«زاد» means provision. The pious person has taken up and packed his provisions; that is, he has prepared himself for his journey.

What is this provision for?

«لِيَوْمِ رَحِيلِهِ، وَوَجْهِ سَبِيلِهِ، وَحَالِ حَاجَتِهِ، وَمَوْطِنِ فَاقَتِهِ»

The pious person has prepared his provisions for the day of departure, the day of leaving and traveling; for the path he must traverse, the destination he must reach, the place where he must settle, and the station where he will need provisions. Thus, he has fully prepared his provisions and left nothing lacking.

Sending Provisions Ahead to the Eternal Home

Another attribute that the Imam mentions for the pious person is this:

«وَقَدَّمَ أَمَامَهُ لِدَارِ مُقَامِهِ»

The pious person has sent ahead everything he will need there. «دار مقام» means the everlasting and eternal home—the home in which a person must remain forever.

Sometimes a person takes his provisions with him, and sometimes he sends them ahead. Sending provisions ahead is extremely important. Whoever thinks about that place sends something there in advance.

How do you know that someone will send something for you or do something for you after your death? Your wealth will remain, and it is not known whose hands it will fall into; it will reach your children and heirs, but it is not known whether they will do anything for you. Therefore, send your provisions ahead yourselves.

Suppose you want to travel. If you send all your belongings ahead of time, then when you reach your destination, everything will be ready and you will be welcomed. But if you take your travel baggage with you, by the time you reach your destination, you will have gained little from the journey because of exhaustion. It is valuable for a person to send his belongings ahead so that everything will be ready when he arrives.

For this reason, our narrations strongly emphasize that a person should send provisions ahead and, with his own hands, do something for his Hereafter in this world.

It is narrated that a person had great wealth and that many dates had been left to him. He had instructed that after his death those dates should be given in charity. The Noble Messenger, peace be upon him, said that if he himself had given even one date from those dates in charity, it would have been worth more than all the dates that would be given in charity after him.

If a person himself, with his own hands, performs a good deed, it is better than all the good works that others may later perform for him, because his wealth may remain and his heirs may or may not perform good deeds for him.

The late Shaykh al-Saduq narrates one of the sayings of the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, in his book al-Amali, page 172. The Imam said in one of his sermons:

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ، إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا مَاتَ قَالَتِ الْمَلَائِكَةُ: مَا قَدَّمَ؟ وَقَالَ النَّاسُ: مَا أَخَّرَ؟ فَقَدِّمُوا فَضْلًا يَكُنْ لَكُمْ، وَلَا تُؤَخِّرُوا كَلًّا يَكُنْ عَلَيْكُمْ، فَإِنَّ الْمَحْرُومَ مَنْ حُرِمَ خَيْرَ مَالِهِ، وَالْمَغْبُوطَ مَنْ ثَقُلَتْ بِالصَّدَقَاتِ وَالْخَيْرَاتِ مَوَازِينُهُ.

The Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, says: When a servant dies, the angels say, «What has he sent ahead?» But the people say, «What has he left behind?»

Observe the difference between the perspective of the people and that of the angels. People ask what he has left behind, while the angels ask what he has sent ahead. Thus, the Imam says: Send your surplus and excess ahead so that it will belong to you, and do not postpone anything that may become a burden upon you.

This does not mean that you should abandon the necessities of life; rather, send ahead whatever you have beyond your needs—your wealth, possessions, and resources. Whatever you send ahead remains for you. What you leave behind is not necessarily yours, but what you have sent ahead truly belongs to you.

Many people instruct that after their death prayers, fasts, mourning ceremonies, or charitable acts be performed on their behalf; but who has guaranteed that their heirs will carry out their instructions? Many wills remain unfulfilled, and the children and heirs are unwilling to act upon them. The Imam says: Do not leave something for later, because what you leave behind may remain your responsibility and work against you.

Whoever accumulates wealth and leaves it behind for people who oppose religion and the Household of the Prophet, peace be upon them, to use must know that its sin and harm will also reach him, because he accumulated that wealth and left it for them.

«فَإِنَّ الْمَحْرُومَ مَنْ حُرِمَ خَيْرَ مَالِهِ»; the deprived person is one who has been deprived of the good of his own wealth. He possessed abundant wealth but was unable to benefit from it for his Hereafter, and his wealth remained behind after him.

«وَالْمَغْبُوطَ مَنْ ثَقُلَتْ بِالصَّدَقَاتِ وَالْخَيْرَاتِ مَوَازِينُهُ»; the envied in a positive sense is one whom others regard with admiration, saying, “Would that we were like him.” He is one who has made the scales of his deeds heavy through charity and good works.

The Almighty God says:

﴿ وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَازِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ فَلَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا ﴾

We shall set up the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, and no soul shall be wronged in the least.

Some people will have heavy scales of deeds on the Day of Resurrection and deserve to be admired. Admiration of this kind differs from envy. Envy is reprehensible, whereas this admiration means that a person says, “Would that I too were like that and performed such good deeds.”

This admiration is valuable when a person looks at others in matters of lofty concepts, values, and goodness and says, «ای کاش من نیز چنین بودم.» But in worldly matters, what exists is usually envy. For example, a person sees that others possess more wealth than he does and says, «ای کاش من هم چنین ماشینی داشتم.» This wish has little value and is not considered worthy admiration.

But if a person sees someone giving charity, being open-handed, and performing good deeds and says, «ای کاش من نیز چنین بودم», this is admiration, not envy. If a person looks at someone’s perfections and wishes to be like him, he has admired him in this sense, because that person benefits from his perfections and good deeds, whereas possessing a car or greater wealth has no spiritual value in itself.

Therefore, the Imam says: «وَالْمَغْبُوطَ»; that is, the one whom others admire; «مَنْ ثَقُلَتْ بِالصَّدَقَاتِ وَالْخَيْرَاتِ مَوَازِينُهُ»; the one who has made the scales of his deeds heavy through charity and good works. On the Day of Resurrection, this person has made the scale of his deeds heavy and is worthy of admiration.

Thus, another characteristic of the pious is that they have sent provisions ahead to their eternal home, namely, Paradise.

قَدَّمَ لِدَارِ الْمُقَامَةِ

The expression «دار المقامة» used by the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, is taken from the Noble Qur'an. Many of the expressions used by the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, are drawn from Qur'anic verses. In Surah Fatir, speaking about the people of Paradise, it says:

﴿ وَقَالُوا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَذْهَبَ عَنَّا الْحَزَنَ ۖ إِنَّ رَبَّنَا لَغَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ ﴾

And they will say, Praise belongs to God, who has removed grief from us. Indeed, our Lord is All-Forgiving, All-Appreciative.

As soon as the people of Paradise enter Paradise, they say, “Praise belongs to God, who has removed grief from us.” The world is filled entirely with sorrow and grief, but God has removed this sorrow and grief from them. Then they say, “Our Lord is All-Forgiving, All-Appreciative.”

«غفور» and «شکور» are both intensive forms. «غفور» means that God is greatly forgiving and accepts all requests for forgiveness. «شکور» means greatly appreciative. Is God appreciative? Yes; it means that however much you give thanks, God grants you even more blessings.

﴿ لَئِنْ شَكَرْتُمْ لَأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ ﴾

If you are grateful, I will surely increase you.

That God is «شکور» means that He responds to the gratitude of His servants by increasing their blessings. God is both «غفور» and «شکور».

﴿ الَّذِي أَحَلَّنَا دَارَ الْمُقَامَةِ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ ﴾

He who, out of His grace, has settled us in the everlasting abode.

God has settled us in «دار المقامة», a home where a person enjoys comfort and stability and where there is no disturbance of any kind. «دار المقامة» means the abode of comfort and permanence.

This is not solely the result of our deeds; rather, God treats us through His grace and favor. Therefore, the expression «دار المقامة» used by the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, is drawn from this noble verse.

We hope that these characteristics and results mentioned by the Commander of the Faithful, peace be upon him, in this valuable sermon will receive the attention of us all, and that we will send provisions ahead for our Hereafter.

If we wish to do something for ourselves, we must do it in this world and not leave it to others to do for us after our death. It is by no means certain that others will do such a thing; indeed, the opposite is more likely. Few people pass away whose heirs perform good deeds on their behalf. In many cases, they consume and squander his property, while insults and disparaging remarks remain for that poor deceased person.

God willing, the words of the Commander of the Faithful (a) will serve as a model for our thinking, and we will always remember them.

وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ. اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَجِّلْ فَرَجَهُمْ.