Nahj al-Balāgha

٩٨. سَمِعَ (عليه ‏السلام) رَجُلًا مِنَ الْحَرُورِيَّةِ يَتَهَجَّدُ وَيَقْرَأُ فَقَالَ: نَوْمٌ عَلَى يَقِينٍ خَيْرٌ مِنْ صَلَاةٍ فِى شَكٍّ.

97. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, heard about a Kharijite who said the mid-night prayers and recited the Qur’ān, then he said: Sleeping in a state of firm belief is better than praying in a state of doubtfulness.

٩٩. وَسَمِعَ رَجُلًا يَقُولُ (إِنَّا لِلهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ). فَقَالَ: إِنَّ قَوْلَنَا إِنَّا لِلهِ إِقْرَارٌ عَلَى أَنْفُسِنَا بِالْمُلْكِ وَقَوْلَنَا وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ إِقْرَارٌ عَلَى أَنْفُسِنَا بِالْهُلْكِ.

99. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, heard a man recite: Verily we are Allāh’s and verily to Him shall we return (Qur’ān, 2:156). Then he said: Our saying “innā lillāh” (Verily we are Allāh’s) is an admission of His Majesty over us and our saying “wa innā ilayhī raji‘un” (and verily to Him shall we return) is an admission of our being mortal.

١٠٢. وَقَالَ (عليه السلام): يَأْتِى عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ لَا يُقَرَّبُ فِيهِ إِلَّا الْمَاحِلُ وَلَا يُظَرَّفُ فِيهِ إِلَّا الْفَاجِرُ وَلَا يُضَعَّفُ فِيهِ إِلَّا الْمُنْصِفُ يَعُدُّونَ الصَّدَقَةَ فِيهِ غُرْماً وَصِلَةَ الرَّحِمِ مَنّاً وَالْعِبَادَةَ اسْتِطَالَةً عَلَى النَّاسِ فَعِنْدَ ذَلِكَ يَكُونُ السُّلْطَانُ بِمَشُورَةِ النِّسَاءِ وَإِمَارَةِ الصِّبْيَانِ وَتَدْبِيرِ الْخِصْيَانِ.

102. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, said: Shortly a time will come for people when high positions will be given only to those who defame others, when vicious people will be regarded as witty and the just will be regarded as weak. People will regard charity as a loss, consideration for kinship as an obligation, and worship grounds for claiming greatness among others. At this time, authority will be exercised through the counsel of women, the posting of young boys in high positions and the running of the administration by eunuchs.

١٠٤. وَعَنْ نَوْفٍ الْبَكَالِيِّ قَالَ: رَأَيْتُ أَمِيرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ (عليه السلام) ذَاتَ لَيْلَةٍ وَقَدْ خَرَجَ مِنْ فِرَاشِهِ فَنَظَرَ فِي النُّجُومِ، فَقَالَ لِي: يَا نَوْفُ أَ رَاقِدٌ أَنْتَ أَمْ رَامِقٌ، فَقُلْتُ بَلْ رَامِقٌ، قَالَ:

104. It is related by Nawf al-Bikālī that: I saw that one night Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, came out from his bed and looked at the stars, then he said to me: “O Nawf, are you awake or sleeping?” I said: “I am awake, O Amīr al-mu’minīn.” Then he said:

يَا نَوْفُ طُوبَى لِلزَّاهِدِينَ فِى الدُّنْيَا الرَّاغِبِينَ فِى الْآخِرَةِ أُولَئِكَ قَوْمٌ اتَّخَذُوا الْأَرْضَ بِسَاطاً وَتُرَابَهَا فِرَاشاً وَمَاءَهَا طِيباً وَالْقُرْآنَ شِعَاراً وَالدُّعَاءَ دِثَاراً ثُمَّ قَرَضُوا الدُّنْيَا قَرْضاً عَلَى مِنْهَاجِ الْمَسِيحِ.

O Nawf! Blessed be those who abstain from this world and are eager for the next world. They are the people who regard this earth as a floor; its dust as their bed-cloth; and its water as their perfume; they recite the Qur’ān in low tones and supplicate in high tones and then they are cut off from the world like ‘Īsā (Jesus).

يَا نَوْفُ إِنَّ دَاوُدَ (عليه السلام) قَامَ فِى مِثْلِ هَذِهِ السَّاعَةِ مِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَقَالَ إِنَّهَا لَسَاعَةٌ لَا يَدْعُو فِيهَا عَبْدٌ إِلَّا اسْتُجِيبَ لَهُ إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ عَشَّاراً أَوْ عَرِيفاً أَوْ شُرْطِيّاً أَوْ صَاحِبَ عَرْطَبَةٍ ـ وَهِيَ الطُّنْبُورُ ـ أَوْ صَاحِبَ كَوْبَةٍ ـ وَهِيَ الطَّبْلُ،

O Nawf! The prophet Dāwūd (David), peace be upon him, rose up at a similar hour one night and said, “This is the hour when whatever a person prays for is granted to him unless he is a tax-collector, an intelligence man, a police officer, a lute player or a drummer.”

قال السيد الرضى: وَقَدْ قِيلَ أَيْضاً إِنَّ الْعَرْطَبَةَ الطَّبْلُ وَالْكَوْبَةَ الطُّنْبُورُ.

As-Sayyid ar-Raḍī says: It is also said that “‘arṭabah” means ‘ṭabl’ (drum) and “kūbah’’ means ‘lute’.

١٠٦. وَقَالَ (عليه ‏السلام): لَا يَتْرُكُ النَّاسُ شَيْئاً مِنْ أَمْرِ دِينِهِمْ لِاسْتِصْلَاحِ دُنْيَاهُمْ إِلَّا فَتَحَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مَا هُوَ أَضَرُّ مِنْهُ.

106. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, said: If people give up something relating to religion to set right their worldly affairs, Allah will inflict upon them something more harmful than that.

١٠٩. وَقَالَ (عليه ‏السلام): نَحْنُ النُّمْرُقَةُ الْوُسْطَى بِهَا يَلْحَقُ التَّالِى وَإِلَيْهَا يَرْجِعُ الْغَالِى.

109. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, said: We (the members of the Prophet’s family) are like the pillow in the middle. He who lags behind has to come forward to meet it while he who has exceeded the bounds has to return to it.

١١١. وَقَالَ (عليه ‏السلام) وَقَدْ تُوُفِّيَ سَهْلُ بْنُ حُنَيْفٍ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ بِالْكُوفَةِ بَعْدَ مَرْجِعِهِ مَعَهُ مِنْ صِفِّينَ، وَكَانَ أَحَبَّ النَّاسِ إِلَيْهِ: لَوْ أَحَبَّنِي جَبَلٌ لَتَهَافَتَ.

111. Sahl ibn Ḥunayf al-Anṣārī died at Kūfah after his return from the battle of Ṣiffīn and he was very much loved by Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him. On this occasion Amīr al-mu’minīn said: Even if a mountain had loved me, it would have crumbled down.