The old man, tired from a long\njourney, in hope of visiting Amir al-Mu’minin (PBUH) had reached the army of\nthe Imam. The hardship of his journey was recognizable on his face. When he\nasked for visiting Imam, the companions of Imam guided him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After greeting, the old man said,\n“\u00adO Amir al-Mu\u2019minin! I am an old man from the land of Shaam (Damascus). I\nhave heard a lot about your virtues, and I feel you will be martyred soon.\nTherefore, please teach me from what God has taught you.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam said, “Yes, old man, the one\nwhose two days of life is equal (regarding the accomplishment of virtues),\nwould be in loss. Anyone, whose aspiration and aim is the world, will be in\ngreat lament and grieve at the death and the time of being separated from the\nworld. Anyone, whose tomorrow (regarding the approach to God) is worse than\ntoday, is deprived (from Allah\u2019s compassion)\u2026 And the one who does not\ninvestigate his shortcomings so that lust overcomes him, and the one who is in\nloss (losing his virtues), the death is better for him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
O old man! Truly the world is green\nand sweet, and has its people; and there is are people belonging to the\nafterworld which prevent themselves from boasting with the worldly people, do\nnot compete on the world (regarding worldly matters), do not become glad for\nthe prosperity of the world, and do not get discouraged for its poverty and\nhardship. O old man! The person who thinks about staying up all night will lose\ninterest at sleeping. What a fast cut the day and night make from the human\nlife. So keep your tongue, and control your words until when your speech\nreaches minimum, except for the good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
O, old man, only please for yourself\nwhat you please for others, and treat the people just as you like them to treat\nyou.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then he turned to his companions and\nsaid, “You crowd! Don\u2019t you see that the people have different moments\nduring the day and night? One is twisting in death bed while the other is left\nat his house with illness, and the third is a visitor to the ill, and the other\nis dying, and the other is hopeless. And, the other is in between the grave\ncloths (being taken to the grave). The other is seeking the world while death\nseeks him. The other is negligent while he is not being neglected (the angels\nwrite down his actions), and the remaining go after the passed ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then Imam Ali (PBUH) turned to the old\nman and said, “O, old man, truly God created people and because of His\nfavor upon them made the world harsh to them, then He made them uninterested in\nthis world, then they became interested in the infinite peace world (hereafter)\nthat they had been invited to. They have kept patience on low income and\nhardship, and have become eager for what God counts great, and bestow their\nlives for God\u2019s sake, and their fate is martyrdom. Therefore they meet God\nwhile He is pleased from them, and they have understood that death is the\npathway of the passed and the remaining, and they have saved for their\nafterworld other than silver and gold (rather real provisions for the journey)\u2026they\nhave been satisfied with little rations earning the provisions for the after.\nTheir friendliness and animosity have been for the sake of God. They are the\ncandlelight (of guidance) and the beneficiaries of the afterworld and Salam.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amir al-Mu\u2019minin (PBUH) ended his\nstatement. The care and love of Imam for guiding people is evident through each\nof his words. Obviously, Imam looked for every opportunity to share his eternal\nknowledge with the society. No doubt that Imam is addressing the entire\nhumanity. What beautiful practical clues has he provided for us for the better\ninteraction with the world in order to create a better afterworld! It is\nprudent to review, every once in a while, these lighting advices in our hearts,\nand try to put them into practice in our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do we truly examine and critically\nanalyze the days of our lives alongside other things? Where are we really\nheading in the path of life? How are we passing our days, and what do we gain\nfor the cost of our life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And maybe the words of that great\nImam, especially in the graceful days of Rajab month, which as associated with\nthe birthday of Amir al-Mu\u2019minin (PBUH), is the best time to once more look in\nthe mirror of our souls to discern our pathway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Selection taken\nfrom the book, \u201cBihar al-Anwar\u201d, vol. 74, p. 379)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On behalf of the Roshd Website, we\ncongratulate all Muslims and free-thinkers, especially you, dear friend, on the\n13th of Rajab, the birth anniversary of the leader of the pious, Amir\nal-Mu\u2019minin, Imam Ali ibn Abitalib (PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On this glorious occasion the Roshd\nwebsite is proud to present a new design from the “Occasion Letters”.\nYou may refer to the page in order find out the new features of this page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The old man, tired from a long journey, in hope of visiting Amir al-Mu’minin (PBUH) had reached the army of the Imam. The hardship of his journey was recognizable on his face. When he asked for visiting Imam, the companions of Imam guided him. After greeting, the old man said, “\u00adO Amir al-Mu\u2019minin! I am […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[63217,63197,63195],"class_list":["post-3984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-audit-to-life","tag-blaming-the-world","tag-the-words-of-amir-al-muminin"],"yoast_head":"\n