Peak of Eloquence Nahjul Balagha By Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib - English Translation - Sermon 86

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About Getting Ready for the next World and Following
Allah’s Commandments:
Allah knows hidden matters and is aware of inner feelings. He
encompasses everything. He has control over everything and power over
everything. Everyone of you should do whatever he has to do during his
days of life before the approach of death. In its leisure before his
occupation and during the breathing of his breath before it is overtaken by
suffocation, he should provide for himself and his journey and should
collect provisions from his place of halt for his place of stay.
So remember Allah, O people! about what He has asked you in
His Book to take care of and about His rights that He has entrusted to you.
Verily, Allah has not created you in vain nor left you unbridled nor let
you alone in ignorance and gloom. He has defined what you should leave
behind, taught you your acts, ordained your death and sent down the Book
(Holy Quran) explaining everything (Holy Quran, 16: 89). He has made
His Prophet (􀁨) live among you for a long time till He completed for him
440
and for you a message sent through the Holy Quran__namely the religion
liked and clarified through him His good and evil acts, His prohibitions
and His commands.
He placed before you His arguments and exhausted his excuses
upon you. He put forth to you His promises and warned you of severe
retribution. You should, therefore, make full atonement during your
remaining days and let yourselves practice endurance in these days. These
days are fewer as against the many days during which you have shown
obliviousness and heedlessness towards admonition. Do not allow time to
yourselves because it will put you on the path of wrong-doers and do not
be easy-going because this will push you towards sinfulness.
O servants of Allah! The best advise for himself is he who is the
most obedient to Allah and the most deceiving for himself is he who is the
most disobedient to Allah. Deceived is he who deceived his own self.
Enviable is he whose faith is safe. Fortunate is he who takes lessons from
others, while unfortunate is he who falls victim to his desires. You should
know that even the smallest hypocrisy is like believing in more than one
Allah and keeping company of people who follow their desires is the key
to obliviousness from religion and is the seat of Satan.
Be on your guard against falsehood because it is contrary to faith.
A truthful person is on the height of salvation and dignity, while the liar is
on the edge of ignominy and degradation. Do not be jealous because
jealousy eats away faith just as fire eats away dried wood. Do not bear
malice because it is a scraper (of virtues). And know that desires make
one forgetful and make memory oblivious. You should falsify desire
because it is a deception and he who has desires is in deceit.