Sayings · True believers' inward devotion and detachment from worldly pursuits

al-Sharif al-Radi (d. 406 AH) · Thaqalayn library edition, reproduced verbatim

2

Arabic text

٤٣٢. وَقَالَ (عليه ‏السلام): إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللهِ هُمُ الَّذِينَ نَظَرُوا إِلَى بَاطِنِ الدُّنْيَا إِذَا نَظَرَ النَّاسُ إِلَى ظَاهِرِهَا، وَاشْتَغَلُوا بِآجِلِهَا إِذَا اشْتَغَلَ النَّاسُ بِعَاجِلِهَا، فَأَمَاتُوا مِنْهَا مَا خَشُوا أَنْ يُمِيتَهُمْ وَتَرَكُوا مِنْهَا مَا عَلِمُوا أَنَّهُ سَيَتْرُكُهُمْ، وَرَأَوُا اسْتِكْثَارَ غَيْرِهِمْ مِنْهَا اسْتِقْلَالًا، وَدَرَكَهُمْ لَهَا فَوْتاً، أَعْدَاءُ مَا سَالَمَ النَّاسُ، وَسِلْمُ مَا عَادَى النَّاسُ! بِهِمْ عُلِمَ الْكِتَابُ وَبِهِ عُلِمُوا وَبِهِمْ قَامَ الْكِتَابُ وَبِهِ قَامُوا، لَا يَرَوْنَ مَرْجُوّاً فَوْقَ مَا يَرْجُونَ، وَلَا مَخُوفاً فَوْقَ مَا يَخَافُونَ.

Original English translation

432. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, said: The lovers of Allāh are those who look at the inward side of the world while the other people look at its outward side, they busy themselves with its remoter benefits while the other people busy themselves in the immediate benefits. They kill those things which they feared would have killed them, and they leave here in this world what they think would leave them. They took the amassing of wealth by others as a small matter and regarded it like losing. They are enemies of those things which others love while they love things which others hate. Through them, the Qur’ān has been learnt and they have been given knowledge through the Qur’ān. With them the Qur’ān is staying while they stand by the Qur’ān. They do not see any object of hope above what they hope and no object of fear above what they fear.

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