Taking a moment to think about the\nshortness of life and human destiny after death can awaken a person so involved\nand infatuated with life\u2019s glamor and shine to ponder and meditate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One day someone asked Imam Hassan\nAskari (PBUH) for a short sermon. In response, the Imam read a few awakening\npoems: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI see the world\nprepare to leave in all seriousness; it will not stay for any living thing, nor\nwill any living being remain on earth; it is as if death and unpleasant\nhappenings run like two contesting horses toward the young man1; so you, oh\ndeceived man, ponder a little bit and take an earning from the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then he gazed towards the skies,\nraised his arms as drops of tears ran from his eyes, and addressed Allah,\nsaying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh You whom\nthey seek in grief; Oh You whom they depend upon; Oh You who does not\ndisappoint any hopeful who puts his\/her hopes in Him\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The narrator continues:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When his prayer was finished, he\nfainted. I raised his head to my chest and wiped the dust from his face. To\nwhich he continued with the following poems:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I became neglectful, while the angel\nof death is after me; and even if I flee death today, there is ultimately no\nescape from the journey of death. I have ornamented my body with fine clothes,\nbut finally decay will take over my\nbody; it is as if I can see them putting my corpse in the grave, covering it\nwith dirt, placing the final stone on top. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is as if I see my beauties have\nvanished without a trace, and there no longer remains flesh or skin on my bones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I see my life approaching its end, I\nhave not reached my dreams, and have failed to prepare an earning for my\njourney\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although, I feared Allah, I trusted\nHis mercy and the fact that there is no merciful but He. Thus, all thanks\npertain to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(Even) if there\nwas nothing but death and decay in the grave, and no consequence (of the\nJudgment Day) from God, just the mere thought on death and decay is enough to\nseparate man from useless acts. \nNonetheless, our thinking has diverged from the right path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am alone when I die and in the\ngrave, and I will be resurrected alone on the Day of Judgment. So oh you, the\none God, have mercy on me, the lonely me.\u201d2<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Selection from Qadetana Keyfa\nNa\u2019refehum by Ayatullah Husseini Milaani3<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Website offers condolences\nto all Muslims, especially you dear friend, upon 8th of Rabee al-Awwal, the\nanniversary of the Martyrdom of the flag of guidance, the light of piety, the\nore of wisdom and knowledge, the 11th Imam of the Shiites, Imam Hassan ibn Ali\nal-Askari (PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Irony of\ndeath and time passing too fast for mankind<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Wasilat\nal-Maal, pg. 426 & summary of al-Sawaiq al-Muhariqa by Ibn Hajar, pg. 124 \u2013\nal-mashudi fi Jawahir al-Aqdein pg. 355<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Translation\nfrom original Arabic text titled \u2018How much Do we know Imam Hassan Askari?\u2019 By\nMuhammad Ali Jaberi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Taking a moment to think about the shortness of life and human destiny after death can awaken a person so involved and infatuated with life\u2019s glamor and shine to ponder and meditate. One day someone asked Imam Hassan Askari (PBUH) for a short sermon. In response, the Imam read a few awakening poems: \u201cI see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[23722,23721,17778,18757,18762,17940,23365,18418,19269,19335],"class_list":["post-4711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2016-12-08","tag-a-moment-of-pondering","tag-allah","tag-death","tag-hope","tag-human","tag-imam-hasan-askari","tag-occasion-letters","tag-think","tag-young"],"yoast_head":"\n