In this part of the article titled “The Last Will of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib”, we shall continue with the last will of the Commander of the Faithful to his sons.
My dear son, do not be carried away and be allured by the infatuations of the worldly people in the vicious life and its pleasures, and do not be impressed by the sight of their acute struggle to possess and own this world. Allah has very mercifully explained to you everything about this world. Not only the Merciful Lord but also the world has also told you everything; it has disclosed to you that it is mortal; it has openly declared its weakness, its shortcomings and its vices.
Remember that these worldly-minded people are like barking dogs and hungry and ferocious beasts. Some of them are constantly barking at others. The mighty lords kill and massacre the poor and the weak.
Their powerful persons exploit and tyrannize the powerless. Their inordinate desires and their greed have such a complete hold over them that you will find some of them like animals tamed and tied with a rope around their feet and necks. (They have lost the freedom of thought and cannot come out of the enslavement of their desires and habits).
While they are others whose wealth and power have turned mad. They behave like unruly beasts, trampling, crushing and killing their fellow beings, and destroying things around them. The history of this world is merely a reward of such incidents, some big and some small, the difference is of might but the intensity is the same.
These people have lost the balance of their minds. They do not know what they are doing and where they are going, scan their activities and study their ways of thinking and you will find them confused and irrational, they appear like cattle wandering in a dreary desert where there is no water to drink and no fodder to eat, no shepherd to cater for them and no guardian to look after them. What has actually happened to them is that the vicious world has taken possession of them, it is dragging them wherever it likes, and is treating them as if they are blind because it has, in reality, blindfolded them against the Divine light of True Religion.
They are wandering without reasonable aims and sober purposes in the bewitching show that the world has staged for them, they are fully intoxicated with the pleasures amassed around them. They take this world to be their god and nourisher. The world is amusing them and they are amused with it and have forgotten and forsaken everything else.
But the nights of enjoyment and pleasures will not last long for anybody, the dawn of realities will break sooner or later. The caravan of life will surely reach its destination one day. One who has nights and days acting as piebald horses for him, carrying him onward and onward towards his journey’s end must remember that though he may feel as if he is stopping at one place yet actually he is moving on, he is proceeding to his destination. Every day is carrying him a step further in his journey towards death.
Be it known to you, my son, that you cannot have every wish of yours granted, you cannot expect to escape death, and you are passing through your days of life as others before you have passed. Therefore, control your expectations, desires and cravings. Be moderate in your demands. Earn your livelihood through scrupulously honest means.
Be contented with what you get honestly and honourably. Have patience and do not let your desires drive you madly because there are many desires which will lead you towards disappointments and loss. Remember that every beggar or everyone who prays for a thing will not always get what he begs or prays for and everyone who controls his desire, has self-respect and does not beg or pray for things, will not always remain unlucky or disappointed.
So, do not bring down your self-respect, do not be mean and submissive and do not subjugate yourself through these vile and base traits though they may appear to make it possible for you to secure your hearts desires because nothing in this world can compensate for the loss of self-respect, nobility and honour.
Take care, my son! Be warned that you do not make yourself a slave to anybody. Allah has created you a freeman. Do not sell away your freedom in return for anything. There is no actual gain and real value in benefits that you derive by selling your honour and self-respect or by subjugating yourself to disgrace and insults as there is no real good in wealth and power that you acquire by foul means.
Beware, my son, that avarice and greed may not drive you towards destruction and damnation. If you can succeed in having nobody as your benefactor but Allah, then try your best to achieve this nobility because He will grant you your share whether you try to taunt your donors, patrons and benefactors or not.
Remember that the little which is given to you by Allah is going to be more useful and serviceable to you and is more honourable and respectable than what is granted by man in abundance. And what can a man give you but part of that which Allah has granted him?
The losses that you suffer on account of your silence can be easily compensated but the losses which arise out of excessive and loose talk are difficult to requite. Do you not see that the best way of guarding water in a water bay is to close its mouth?
To guard what you already possess is better than to beg from others. The bitterness of disappointment and poverty is in reality sweeter than the disgrace of begging. Returns of hard but respectable labour of a craft or profession, though small in quantity, are better than the wealth which you amass through sin and wickedness. Nobody can guard your secrets better than you.
Often a man tries his best to acquire a thing which is most harmful to him. One who talks too much makes most mistakes. One who often reflects develops his foresight. By keeping company with good people, you will develop your character and by avoiding the society of wicked persons, you will abstain from wickedness. Livelihood acquired by foul means is the worst form of livelihood. To oppress a weak and helpless person is the worst form of ferocity.
If your kindness or indulgence is going to bring forth cruel results, then the severity of strictness is real kindness. Often medicating results in disease; sometimes diseases prove to be health preservers. Often you obtain warnings and advice from people who are not fit to warn and advise you and often you come across advisers who are not sincere. Do not rely on vain hopes because vain hopes are assets of fools and idiots.
Wisdom is the name of the trait of remembering experiences and making use of them. The best experience is the one which gives the best warning and advice. Take advantage of opportunities before they turn their backs on you. Everyone who tries cannot succeed. Everyone who departs this life will not return. The worst form of follies is to waste opportunities of this life as well as to lose salvation. For every action, there is a reaction.
Shortly you will get what has been destined for you. There is an element of risk and speculation in every trade as well as the danger of loss. Often small returns prove as beneficial as big profits. An accessory of an accomplice who insults you and a friend who has not formed a good opinion of you will not be of any help or use to you. Treat those with consideration and kindness over whom you have power and authority. Do not run the risk of endangering yourself through irrational, unreasonable and extravagant hopes. Take care so as not to be fooled by flattery.
Continued in the next article: http://The Last Will of Imam Ali Ibn Abi Talib (5)
Source: Nahj al-Balaghah
