Session 14

I seek refuge in God from Satan, the accursed. In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds, and blessings and peace be upon the noblest of the prophets and messengers, the beloved of the hearts of the truthful, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad. O God, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad and his pure and immaculate Household, and send everlasting curses upon all their enemies.

The Qualities of the Exemplary Godwary in the Hereafter

In previous sessions, we spoke about the Khutbah al-Gharra, or the Luminous Sermon, from Nahj al-Balagha—a sermon delivered by the Commander of the Faithful (a) at the funeral of a believer, addressing those accompanying the funeral procession. In the previous session, the Imam spoke about exemplary Godwary people and ideal Godwariness, and listed eleven qualities of the Godwary in this world. He said:

«فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ عِبَادَ اللَّهِ تَقِيَّةَ ذِي لُبٍّ»

That is, O servants of God, practice the Godwariness of people of understanding. Our discussion concerns those who are «ذی‌لب»—exemplary Godwary people who can be held up as models. In the previous session, we described eleven of their qualities in this world. Tonight, we continue that discussion and speak about their qualities in the Hereafter.

Enjoying Glad Tidings and Blessings

ظَافِراً بِفَرْحَةِ الْبُشْرَى، وَرَاحَةِ النَّعْمَاءِ، فِي أَنْعَمِ نَوْمِهِ وَآمَنِ يَوْمِهِ. وَقَدْ عَبَرَ مَعْبَرَ الْعَاجِلَةِ حَمِيداً، وَقَدَّمَ زَادَ الْآجِلَةِ سَعِيداً، وَبَادَرَ مِنْ وَجَلٍ، وَأَكْمَشَ فِي مَهَلٍ، وَرَغِبَ فِي طَلَبٍ، وَذَهَبَ عَنْ هَرَبٍ.

«ظافراً» is derived from «ظَفَر» and means to triumph and attain. The first quality of the exemplary Godwary in the Hereafter is that they attain the joy of glad tidings. «بُشرى» means good news and refers to a verse from Surah al-Hadid:

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يَوْمَ تَرَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَسْعَىٰ نُورُهُمْ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِمْ بُشْرَاكُمُ الْيَوْمَ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ

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On the day when you see the believing men and women, their light proceeding before them and on their right, it will be said to them: Today, glad tidings to you of gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein you will abide forever. That is the great triumph.

This verse speaks of the Day of Resurrection—the day when believing men and women, with the Godwary foremost among them, are seen with their light proceeding before them and on their right. The angels give them glad tidings: «بُشْرَاكُمُ الْيَوْمَ»; today, glad tidings to you of gardens beneath which rivers flow. Another glad tiding is everlasting life in Paradise: «خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا». «ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ»; that is the great triumph.

Thus, in the Hereafter, the exemplary Godwary attain the joy of glad tidings: they are given glad tidings of Paradise and of remaining there forever. Another of their qualities is that they enjoy the peace and tranquillity of its blessings. They attain the finest visions and hopes they had cherished in their minds in this world, and dwell in the safest of days—a day when they are safe in Paradise from torment and every kind of insecurity.

Praiseworthy Passage through This World and Preparation for the Hereafter

«وَقَدْ عَبَرَ مَعْبَرَ الْعَاجِلَةِ حَمِيداً»; the exemplary Godwary person has passed through the passageway of this world and left it praiseworthily. The world is called «عاجله» because it passes swiftly.

«وَقَدَّمَ زَادَ الْآجِلَةِ سَعِيداً»; he has sent ahead his provisions for the Hereafter and is felicitous.

«وَبَادَرَ مِنْ وَجَلٍ»; fearing that he may lose the opportunity, he is constantly prepared and quick to act. Like runners ready to race and waiting only for the judge’s whistle, the Godwary person is always ready. Opportunities pass like clouds; therefore, he is vigilant not to let an opportunity slip away.

«وَأَكْمَشَ فِي مَهَلٍ»; he hastens to make use of the time he has been given and does not put things off until tomorrow. If God grants him a long life, he will make the most of these opportunities without delay.

«وَرَغِبَ فِي طَلَبٍ»; he is eager to seek and search, longing to attain the highest stations; he is always pursuing good deeds.

«وَذَهَبَ عَنْ هَرَبٍ»; he avoids evasion and flight; he does not shirk his responsibilities but accepts them.

Vigilance for Tomorrow

وَرَاقَبَ فِي يَوْمِهِ غَدَهُ

The Godwary person is mindful of tomorrow in all he does today. He is attentive to reaching tomorrow and to what he is preparing today for it.

وَنَظَرَ قُدُماً أَمَامَهُ

«نظر» does not merely mean looking; it means careful attention and consideration. The Godwary person carefully considers what lies ahead and is mindful of what he is preparing for the Hereafter and for standing in God’s presence.

The Fate of the Godwary and the Ungodly

After describing the qualities of the Godwary, the Imam refers to the ultimate fate of the Godwary and the ungodly:

فَكَفَى بِالْجَنَّةِ ثَوَاباً وَنَوَالاً

Paradise is sufficient for the Godwary as reward and gift. «ثواب» comes from the root «ثاب» and means return. «ثوب» also refers to a garment—the garment that a person washes and wears again. The reward for a person’s deeds means that those deeds return to him. Thus, Paradise is the return of the Godwary people’s deeds and their reward; in addition, it is a gift from God.

وَكَفَى بِالنَّارِ عِقَاباً وَوَبَالاً لِغَيْرِ الْمُتَّقِينَ

For the ungodly, however, the Fire is sufficient as punishment and burden. They will face retribution for their deeds, and the hardship and suffering of the Fire will be their burden.

وَكَفَى بِاللَّهِ مُنْتَقِماً وَنَصِيراً

God is sufficient for both groups: He is the Avenger against the ungodly and the Helper of the Godwary. In the previous statement, the Godwary were mentioned first, followed by the ungodly; here, however, the order is reversed. In rhetorical terminology, this is called «لف و نشر مشوش».

We usually take «منتقم» to mean one who takes revenge, but from a scholarly perspective, «نِقْم» is the opposite of «نِعْمَت». Bestowing blessings and withdrawing them are opposing meanings; therefore, God’s being the Avenger means that He withdraws blessings. God withdraws His blessings from the ungodly.

Abu Khalid al-Kabuli says that he heard Imam al-Sajjad (a) repeatedly say:

گناهانی که نعمت‌ها را تغییر می‌دهند پنج چیزند.

The Dua Kumayl also contains the following:

اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِيَ الذُّنُوبَ الَّتِي تُغَيِّرُ النِّعَمَ

O God, forgive me the sins that alter blessings.

That is, O God, forgive me the sins that cause blessings to change.

The first of these sins is oppressing and wronging people. God withdraws blessings from oppressors; for example, He takes away the power they possess. Health, too, is a blessing, and God may take away the blessing of health from them.

Second is abandoning a good habit. Sometimes a person has good habits but suddenly gives them up. For example, he may have been devoted to charity and used to perform good deeds...

Third is abandoning good works—that is, giving up the good and recommended deeds one used to perform and through which one helped others. This, too, leads to the withdrawal of blessings.

Fourth is ingratitude for blessings. Youth is one of God’s greatest blessings, and it should be used for growth and perfection. But if a person uses his youth in the pursuit of corruption and sin, he has shown ingratitude for this blessing. Wealth, too, is a blessing from God. A person should use it to do good, help the poor, build a mosque, and give charity. But if he spends it on extravagance, wrongful deeds, and oppressing people, he has shown ingratitude for the blessing. Ingratitude for a blessing means using it in a place or direction other than that prescribed by God.

Fifth is failing to give thanks for blessings. God has bestowed countless blessings upon people, from food and drink to life and all the other blessings we enjoy from morning until night. We do not give thanks for these blessings.

Abu al-Khayr al-Kabuli says that he heard these words many times from Imam al-Sajjad (a). Imam al-Sajjad (a) then cites this noble verse:

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إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ

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Indeed, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves.

God does not change a blessing He has bestowed upon a people unless they themselves bring about the circumstances for its change through their deeds, conduct, and thoughts.

This narration is found in Wasa'il al-Shia, volume 11, page 519. The Imam continues:

وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ مُنْتَقِمًا، وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ نَصِيرًا، وَكَفَىٰ بِالْكِتَابِ حَجِيجًا وَخَصِيمًا

God is sufficient to exact retribution from the ungodly, and He is the Helper of the Godwary. The Qur'an, too, is a proof in favour of the Godwary and an adversary of the ungodly. «خصیم» means an enemy and denotes one who engages in enmity.

On the Day of Resurrection, the Qur'an will be a proof in favour of the Godwary; that is, it will argue that they attained this station because they acted upon the Qur'anic verses. But it will be an adversary of the ungodly and will explain the grounds for its opposition to them. Thus, on the Day of Resurrection, the Qur'an will be a proof in favour of the Godwary and an adversary of the ungodly.

God willing, we will discuss the next topic in the coming session.

وَصَلَّى اللهُ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ.