Risalah fi al-Zuhd: Letter about Zuhd, attributed to Hasan Al Basri

رِسَالَةٌ فِي الزُّهْدِ إِلَى الْخَلِيفَةِ عُمَرَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ

The Letter about Zuhd to Caliph ʿUmar II

Traditionally attributed to al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī

Complete expanded recension in Abū Nuʿaym al-Iṣfahānī, Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ, 2:134–140

Source and editorial method

This is an aligned reading edition of the complete expanded recension of the Risalah fi al Zuhd addressed to Caliph ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz and traditionally attributed to al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī. The controlling text is the page-image Cairo printing of Abū Nuʿaym al-Iṣfahānī’s Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ wa-Ṭabaqāt al-Aṣfiyāʾ, volume 2, pages 134–140 (Maṭbaʿat al-Saʿāda, 1357 AH / 1938 CE). No authorial or governmental ‘official’ copy is known; the attribution is therefore presented as traditional, not proven.

The Arabic has been supplied with full lexical and grammatical vocalization. Case endings are retained, though a reader may naturally pause at the end of each sense unit. The transliteration follows a modified IJMES-style system: ā/ī/ū for long vowels; ʿ and ʾ for ʿayn and hamza; underdots for ḥ, ṣ, ḍ, ṭ, and ẓ; and th, dh, sh, kh, and gh for the corresponding consonants. The definite article is represented as al- without sun-letter assimilation. The English is a fresh, meaning-based translation that preserves the letter’s imagery while favoring natural modern prose.

Textual decisions

The expanded Cairo witness controls the wording. The transmission abbreviation ثنا is silently expanded as حَدَّثَنَا. Two evident printing corruptions are resolved with the printed editor’s own corrections: وَيُسَكِّنُ الْقَرَمَ (‘and stills hunger’) and فَغَرَبَتْ عَنْهُمْ (‘so it became alien to them’). In the sayings attributed to Jesus, the earlier parallel recension in Ibn Abī al-Dunyā, Kitāb al-Zuhd, report 50, supplies three coherent readings where the Cairo line is visibly damaged: إِدَامِيَ الْجُوعُ, وَدَابَّتِي رِجْلَايَ, and وَصِلَائِي فِي الشِّتَاءِ مَشَارِقُ الشَّمْسِ. The unchanged consonantal form منيته is read contextually as مُنْيَتُهُ (‘his cherished desire’). A few compressed or unstable clauses are translated for their most probable sense rather than imitating their obscurity.

Chains of transmission

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو حَامِدٍ بْنُ جَبَلَةَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْعَبَّاسِ السَّرَّاجُ.

Ḥaddathanā Abū Ḥāmidin ibnu Jabalata, qāla: ḥaddathanā Abū al-ʿAbbāsi al-Sarrāju.

Abū Ḥāmid ibn Jabala related to us, saying: Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Sarrāj related to us.

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ حَرْبِ بْنِ جَبَلَةَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا حَمْزَةُ بْنُ رَشِيدٍ أَبُو عَلِيٍّ.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā ʿUbaydu Allāhi ibnu Ḥarbin ibni Jabalata, qāla: ḥaddathanā Ḥamzatu ibnu Rashīdin Abū ʿAliyyin.

He said: ʿUbayd Allāh ibn Ḥarb ibn Jabala related to us, saying: Ḥamza ibn Rashīd, Abū ʿAlī, related to us.

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنِي عَمْرُو بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْقُرَشِيُّ، عَنْ أَبِي حُمَيْدٍ الشَّامِيِّ، قَالَ: كَتَبَ الْحَسَنُ إِلَى عُمَرَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ.

Qāla: ḥaddathanī ʿAmru ibnu ʿAbdi Allāhi al-Qurashiyyu, ʿan Abī Ḥumaydin al-Shāmiyyi, qāla: kataba al-Ḥasanu ilā ʿUmara ibni ʿAbdi al-ʿAzīzi.

He said: ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Qurashī told me, from Abū Ḥumayd al-Shāmī, who said: al-Ḥasan wrote to ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz.

وَحَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَدْرٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ مُدْرِكٍ.

Wa-ḥaddathanī Muḥammadu ibnu Badrin, qāla: ḥaddathanā Ḥammādu ibnu Mudrikin.

Muḥammad ibn Badr also related to me, saying: Ḥammād ibn Mudrik related to us.

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا يَعْقُوبُ بْنُ سُفْيَانَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ اللَّيْثِيُّ.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā Yaʿqūbu ibnu Sufyāna, qāla: ḥaddathanā Muḥammadu ibnu Yazīda al-Laythiyyu.

He said: Yaʿqūb ibn Sufyān related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Yazīd al-Laythī related to us.

قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مَعْنُ بْنُ عِيسَى، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي الْأَسْوَدِ، عَنِ الْحَسَنِ.

Qāla: ḥaddathanā Maʿnu ibnu ʿĪsā, qāla: ḥaddathanā Ibrāhīmu, ʿan ʿAbdi Allāhi ibni Abī al-Aswadi, ʿani al-Ḥasani.

He said: Maʿn ibn ʿĪsā related to us, saying: Ibrāhīm related to us, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī al-Aswad, from al-Ḥasan.

أَنَّهُ كَتَبَ إِلَى عُمَرَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ، وَالسِّيَاقُ لِأَبِي حُمَيْدٍ الشَّامِيِّ:

Annahu kataba ilā ʿUmara ibni ʿAbdi al-ʿAzīzi, wa-l-siyāqu li-Abī Ḥumaydin al-Shāmiyyi:

He reported that al-Ḥasan wrote to ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz. The wording that follows is that of Abū Ḥumayd al-Shāmī:

Reflection and the seduction of the world

اِعْلَمْ أَنَّ التَّفَكُّرَ يَدْعُو إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَالْعَمَلِ بِهِ، وَالنَّدَمَ عَلَى الشَّرِّ يَدْعُو إِلَى تَرْكِهِ.

Iʿlam ʾanna al-tafakkura yadʿū ʾilā al-khayri wa-l-ʿamali bihi, wa-l-nadama ʿalā al-sharri yadʿū ʾilā tarkihi.

Know that reflection summons one to goodness and to act upon it, while remorse for evil calls one to abandon it.

وَلَيْسَ مَا يَفْنَى، وَإِنْ كَانَ كَثِيرًا، يَعْدِلُ مَا يَبْقَى، وَإِنْ كَانَ طَلَبُهُ عَزِيزًا.

Walaysa mā yafnā, waʾin kāna kathīran, yaʿdilu mā yabqā, waʾin kāna ṭalabuhu ʿazīzan.

What passes away, however abundant, cannot equal what endures, even if the latter is hard to attain.

وَاحْتِمَالُ الْمَؤُونَةِ الْمُنْقَطِعَةِ الَّتِي تُعْقِبُ الرَّاحَةَ الطَّوِيلَةَ خَيْرٌ مِنْ تَعْجِيلِ رَاحَةٍ مُنْقَطِعَةٍ تُعْقِبُ مَؤُونَةً بَاقِيَةً.

Waḥtimālu al-maʾūnati al-munqaṭiʿati allatī tuʿqibu al-rāḥata al-ṭawīlata khayrun min taʿjīli rāḥatin munqaṭiʿatin tuʿqibu maʾūnatan bāqiyatan.

Enduring a temporary hardship that leads to lasting ease is better than hastening toward a passing comfort that leads to lasting hardship.

فَاحْذَرْ هَذِهِ الدَّارَ الصَّارِعَةَ الْخَادِعَةَ الْخَاتِلَةَ،

Faḥdhar hādhihi al-dāra al-ṣāriʿata al-khādiʿata al-khātilata,

So beware this abode that fells, deceives, and ensnares.

الَّتِي قَدْ تَزَيَّنَتْ بِخُدَعِهَا، وَغَرَّتْ بِغُرُورِهَا، وَقَتَلَتْ أَهْلَهَا بِأَمَلِهَا، وَتَشَوَّفَتْ لِخُطَّابِهَا.

Allatī qad tazayyanat bikhudaʿihā, wagharrat bighurūrihā, waqatalat ʾahlahā biʾamalihā, watashawwafat likhuṭṭābihā.

It has adorned itself with its deceptions, beguiled people with its false glitter, slain its inhabitants through hope, and displayed itself to its suitors.

فَأَصْبَحَتْ كَالْعَرُوسِ الْمَجْلُوَّةِ؛ الْعُيُونُ إِلَيْهَا نَاظِرَةٌ، وَالنُّفُوسُ لَهَا عَاشِقَةٌ، وَالْقُلُوبُ إِلَيْهَا وَالِهَةٌ.

Faʾaṣbaḥat ka-l-ʿarūsi al-majluwwati; al-ʿuyūnu ʾilayhā nāẓiratun, wa-l-nufūsu lahā ʿāshiqatun, wa-l-qulūbu ʾilayhā wālihatun.

It has become like a bride unveiled: eyes gaze upon it, souls fall in love with it, and hearts are enthralled by it.

وَلِأَلْبَابِهَا دَامِغَةٌ، وَهِيَ لِأَزْوَاجِهَا كُلِّهِمْ قَاتِلَةٌ.

Waliʾalbābihā dāmighatun, wahiya liʾazwājihā kullihim qātilatun.

It overwhelms the minds caught in its spell, and it kills every one of its spouses.

فَلَا الْبَاقِي بِالْمَاضِي مُعْتَبِرٌ، وَلَا الْآخَرُ بِمَا رَأَى مِنَ الْأَوَّلِ مُزْدَجِرٌ.

Falā al-bāqī bi-l-māḍī muʿtabirun, walā al-ʾākharu bimā raʾā mina al-ʾawwali muzdajirun.

Those who remain take no lesson from those who have passed, and the later one is not restrained by what he saw befall the first.

وَلَا اللَّبِيبُ بِكَثْرَةِ التَّجَارِبِ مُنْتَفِعٌ، وَلَا الْعَارِفُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْمُصَدِّقُ لَهُ حِينَ أَخْبَرَ عَنْهَا مُدَّكِرٌ.

Walā al-labību bikathrati al-tajāribi muntafiʿun, walā al-ʿārifu bi-llāhi wa-l-muṣaddiqu lahu ḥīna ʾakhbara ʿanhā muddakirun.

The intelligent person gains no benefit from repeated experience, nor does the one who knows God and affirms His warning take heed when God speaks of it.

فَأَبَتِ الْقُلُوبُ لَهَا إِلَّا حُبًّا، وَأَبَتِ النُّفُوسُ بِهَا إِلَّا ضَنًّا، وَمَا هَذَا مِنَّا لَهَا إِلَّا عِشْقًا.

Faʾabati al-qulūbu lahā ʾillā ḥubban, waʾabati al-nufūsu bihā ʾillā ḍannan, wamā hādhā minnā lahā ʾillā ʿishqan.

Yet hearts refuse to give it anything but love, souls refuse anything but jealous attachment to it, and this is nothing less than infatuation.

وَمَنْ عَشِقَ شَيْئًا لَمْ يَعْقِلْ غَيْرَهُ، وَمَاتَ فِي طَلَبِهِ أَوْ يَظْفَرُ بِهِ.

Waman ʿashiqa shayʾan lam yaʿqil ghayrahu, wamāta fī ṭalabihi ʾaw yaẓfaru bihi.

Whoever is consumed by love for something can think of nothing else, and will either die pursuing it or obtain it.

فَهُمَا عَاشِقَانِ طَالِبَانِ لَهَا:

Fahumā ʿāshiqāni ṭālibāni lahā:

Thus there are two lovers pursuing it.

فَعَاشِقٌ قَدْ ظَفِرَ بِهَا، وَاغْتَرَّ وَطَغَى، وَنَسِيَ بِهَا الْمَبْدَأَ وَالْمَعَادَ.

Faʿāshiqun qad ẓafira bihā, waghtarra waṭaghā, wanasiya bihā al-mabdaʾa wa-l-maʿāda.

One lover attains it, becomes deluded and overreaches, and through it forgets both his beginning and his return.

فَشُغِلَ بِهَا لُبُّهُ، وَذُهِلَ فِيهَا عَقْلُهُ، حَتَّى زَلَّتْ عَنْهَا قَدَمُهُ.

Fashughila bihā lubbuhu, wadhuhila fīhā ʿaqluhu, ḥattā zallat ʿanhā qadamuhu.

His innermost understanding becomes occupied by it and his reason loses itself in it, until at last his footing slips away.

وَجَاءَتْهُ أَسَرَّ مَا كَانَتْ لَهُ مُنْيَتُهُ.

Wajāʾathu ʾasarra mā kānat lahu munyatuhu.

Then death comes upon him just when his cherished desire gives him the greatest pleasure.

فَعَظُمَتْ نَدَامَتُهُ، وَكَثُرَتْ حَسْرَتُهُ، وَاشْتَدَّتْ كُرْبَتُهُ مَعَ مَا عَالَجَ مِنْ سَكْرَتِهِ.

Faʿaẓumat nadāmatuhu, wakathurat ḥasratuhu, washtaddat kurbatuhu maʿa mā ʿālaja min sakratihi.

His remorse becomes immense, his grief multiplies, and his anguish grows severe alongside the agony of death he must endure.

وَاجْتَمَعَتْ عَلَيْهِ سَكَرَاتُ الْمَوْتِ بِأَلَمِهِ، وَحَسْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِغُصَّتِهِ؛ غَيْرُ مَوْصُوفٍ مَا نَزَلَ بِهِ.

Wajtamaʿat ʿalayhi sakarātu al-mawti biʾalamihi, waḥasratu al-mawti bighuṣṣatihi; ghayru mawṣūfin mā nazala bihi.

The pangs and pain of death close in upon him, together with death’s choking regret; what befalls him is beyond description.

وَآخَرُ مَاتَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَظْفَرَ مِنْهَا بِحَاجَتِهِ.

Waʾākharu māta qabla ʾan yaẓfara minhā biḥājatihi.

The other lover dies before obtaining from it what he sought.

فَذَهَبَ بِكَرْبِهِ وَغَمِّهِ؛ لَمْ يُدْرِكْ مِنْهَا مَا طَلَبَ، وَلَمْ يُرِحْ نَفْسَهُ مِنَ التَّعَبِ وَالنَّصَبِ.

Fadhahaba bikarbihi waghammihi; lam yudrik minhā mā ṭalaba, walam yuriḥ nafsahu mina al-taʿabi wa-l-naṣabi.

He departs carrying his anguish and sorrow: he never gained what he pursued, yet never spared himself the weariness and toil.

خَرَجَا جَمِيعًا بِغَيْرِ زَادٍ، وَقَدِمَا عَلَى غَيْرِ مِهَادٍ.

Kharajā jamīʿan bighayri zādin, waqadimā ʿalā ghayri mihādin.

Both depart without provisions and arrive with no resting place prepared.

The world’s treachery

فَاحْذَرْهَا الْحَذَرَ كُلَّهُ؛ فَإِنَّهَا مِثْلُ الْحَيَّةِ: لَيِّنٌ مَسُّهَا، وَسُمُّهَا يَقْتُلُ.

Faḥdharhā al-ḥadhara kullahu; faʾinnahā mithlu al-ḥayyati: layyinun massuhā, wasummuhā yaqtulu.

Guard yourself against it completely, for it is like a snake: soft to the touch, but its venom kills.

فَأَعْرِضْ عَمَّا يُعْجِبُكَ فِيهَا لِقِلَّةِ مَا يَصْحَبُكَ مِنْهَا.

Faʾaʿriḍ ʿammā yuʿjibuka fīhā liqillati mā yaṣḥabuka minhā.

Turn away from whatever pleases you in it, for so little of it will accompany you.

وَضَعْ عَنْكَ هُمُومَهَا لِمَا عَايَنْتَ مِنْ فَجَائِعِهَا وَأَيْقَنْتَ بِهِ مِنْ فِرَاقِهَا.

Waḍaʿ ʿanka humūmahā limā ʿāyanta min fajāʾiʿihā waʾayqanta bihi min firāqihā.

Lay aside its cares because of the calamities you have witnessed and the separation from it you know to be certain.

وَشَدِّدْ مَا اشْتَدَّ مِنْهَا لِرَخَاءِ مَا يُصِيبُكَ.

Washaddid mā ishtadda minhā lirakhāʾi mā yuṣībuka.

Brace yourself against whatever becomes hard in it, for the ease that will come to you afterward.

وَكُنْ أَسَرَّ مَا تَكُونُ فِيهَا أَحْذَرَ مَا تَكُونُ لَهَا.

Wakun ʾasarra mā takūnu fīhā ʾaḥdhara mā takūnu lahā.

When you are happiest in it, be most wary of it.

فَإِنَّ صَاحِبَهَا كُلَّمَا اطْمَأَنَّ فِيهَا إِلَى سُرُورٍ لَهُ أَشْخَصَتْهُ عَنْهَا بِمَكْرُوهٍ.

Faʾinna ṣāḥibahā kullamā iṭmaʾanna fīhā ʾilā surūrin lahu ʾashkhaṣathu ʿanhā bimakrūhin.

Whenever its companion settles into some pleasure, it drives him away from it through something hateful.

وَكُلَّمَا ظَفِرَ بِشَيْءٍ مِنْهَا وَثَنَى رِجْلًا عَلَيْهِ انْقَلَبَتْ بِهِ.

Wakullamā ẓafira bishayʾin minhā wathanā rijlan ʿalayhi inqalabat bihi.

Whenever he secures something from it and begins to rest upon it, it overturns him.

فَالسَّارُّ فِيهَا غَارٌّ، وَالنَّافِعُ فِيهَا غَدًا ضَارٌّ.

Fa-l-sārru fīhā ghārrun, wa-l-nāfiʿu fīhā ghadan ḍārrun.

What delights in it is deceptive, and what benefits in it today will harm tomorrow.

وَوُصِلَ الرَّخَاءُ فِيهَا بِالْبَلَاءِ، وَجُعِلَ الْبَقَاءُ فِيهَا إِلَى فَنَاءٍ.

Wawuṣila al-rakhāʾu fīhā bi-l-balāʾi, wajuʿila al-baqāʾu fīhā ʾilā fanāʾin.

Its ease is joined to affliction, and every stay in it has been made to end in passing away.

سُرُورُهَا مَشُوبٌ بِالْحُزْنِ، وَآخِرُ الْحَيَاةِ فِيهَا الضَّعْفُ وَالْوَهْنُ.

Surūruhā mashūbun bi-l-ḥuzni, waʾākhiru al-ḥayāti fīhā al-ḍaʿfu wa-l-wahnu.

Its joy is mixed with sorrow, and the end of life in it is weakness and frailty.

فَانْظُرْ إِلَيْهَا نَظَرَ الزَّاهِدِ الْمُفَارِقِ، وَلَا تَنْظُرْ نَظَرَ الْعَاشِقِ الْوَامِقِ.

Fanẓur ʾilayhā naẓara al-zāhidi al-mufāriqi, walā tanẓur naẓara al-ʿāshiqi al-wāmiqi.

Look upon it with the gaze of one who renounces it and is departing, not with the gaze of a devoted lover.

وَاعْلَمْ أَنَّهَا تُزِيلُ الثَّاوِيَ السَّاكِنَ، وَتَفْجَعُ الْمَغْرُورَ الْآمِنَ.

Waʿlam ʾannahā tuzīlu al-thāwiya al-sākina, watafjaʿu al-maghrūra al-ʾāmina.

Know that it uproots the settled resident and strikes the deluded person who felt secure.

لَا يَرْجِعُ مَا تَوَلَّى مِنْهَا فَأَدْبَرَ، وَلَا يُدْرَى مَا هُوَ آتٍ فِيهَا فَيُنْتَظَرُ.

Lā yarjiʿu mā tawallā minhā faʾadbara, walā yudrā mā huwa ʾātin fīhā fayuntaẓaru.

What has turned away and passed will not return, while what is coming cannot be known and awaited with confidence.

The world in God’s sight

فَاحْذَرْهَا؛ فَإِنَّ أَمَانِيَهَا كَاذِبَةٌ، وَإِنَّ آمَالَهَا بَاطِلَةٌ، عَيْشُهَا نَكِدٌ، وَصَفْوُهَا كَدِرٌ، وَأَنْتَ مِنْهَا عَلَى خَطَرٍ.

Faḥdharhā; faʾinna ʾamāniyahā kādhibatun, waʾinna ʾāmālahā bāṭilatun, ʿayshuhā nakidun, waṣafwuhā kadirun, waʾanta minhā ʿalā khaṭarin.

Beware of it: its wishes lie, its hopes are false, its life is wretched, its clarity is turbid, and you are never safe from it.

إِمَّا نِعْمَةٌ زَائِلَةٌ، وَإِمَّا بَلِيَّةٌ نَازِلَةٌ، وَإِمَّا مُصِيبَةٌ مُوجِعَةٌ، وَإِمَّا مَنِيَّةٌ قَاضِيَةٌ.

ʾimmā niʿmatun zāʾilatun, waʾimmā baliyyatun nāzilatun, waʾimmā muṣībatun mūjiʿatun, waʾimmā maniyyatun qāḍiyatun.

It offers only a blessing that vanishes, a trial that descends, a calamity that wounds, or a death that settles all.

فَلَقَدْ كَدَّتْ عَلَيْهِ الْمَعِيشَةُ إِنْ عَقَلَ؛ وَهُوَ مِنَ النَّعْمَاءِ عَلَى خَطَرٍ، وَمِنَ الْبَلْوَى عَلَى حَذَرٍ، وَمِنَ الْمَنَايَا عَلَى يَقِينٍ.

Falaqad kaddat ʿalayhi al-maʿīshatu ʾin ʿaqala; wahuwa mina al-naʿmāʾi ʿalā khaṭarin, wamina al-balwā ʿalā ḥadharin, wamina al-manāyā ʿalā yaqīnin.

Life has surely worn a person down, if he understands: amid prosperity he remains at risk, against affliction he stays on guard, and of death he is certain.

فَلَوْ كَانَ الْخَالِقُ تَعَالَى لَمْ يُخْبِرْ عَنْهَا بِخَبَرٍ، وَلَمْ يَضْرِبْ لَهَا مَثَلًا، وَلَمْ يَأْمُرْ فِيهَا بِزُهْدٍ، لَكَانَتِ الدَّارُ قَدْ أَيْقَظَتِ النَّائِمَ وَنَبَّهَتِ الْغَافِلَ.

Falaw kāna al-khāliqu taʿālā lam yukhbir ʿanhā bikhabarin, walam yaḍrib lahā mathalan, walam yaʾmur fīhā bizuhdin, lakānati al-dāru qad ʾayqaẓati al-nāʾima wanabbahati al-ghāfila.

Even if the Creator, exalted is He, had given no report about it, coined no image for it, and commanded no renunciation within it, this abode itself should have awakened the sleeper and alerted the heedless.

فَكَيْفَ وَقَدْ جَاءَ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَنْهَا زَاجِرٌ، وَفِيهَا وَاعِظٌ؟

Fakayfa waqad jāʾa mina Allāhi taʿālā ʿanhā zājirun, wafīhā wāʿiẓun?

How much more so when a divine warning against it has come, together with an admonition concerning it?

فَمَا لَهَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَدْرٌ، وَلَا لَهَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَزْنٌ مِنَ الصِّغَرِ.

Famā lahā ʿinda Allāhi ʿazza wajalla qadrun, walā lahā ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā waznun mina al-ṣighari.

In God’s sight—mighty and majestic—this world has no worth; in its littleness, it carries no weight with Him.

وَلَا تَزِنُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِقْدَارَ حَصَاةٍ مِنَ الْحَصَا، وَلَا مِقْدَارَ ثَرَاةٍ فِي جَمِيعِ الثَّرَى.

Walā tazinu ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā miqdāra ḥaṣātin mina al-ḥaṣā, walā miqdāra tharātin fī jamīʿi al-tharā.

With God it does not weigh as much as a single pebble among all the stones, nor a speck of earth amid all the soil.

وَلَا خَلَقَ خَلْقًا — فِيمَا بَلَغْتَ — أَبْغَضَ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا.

Walā khalaqa khalqan — fīmā balaghta — ʾabghaḍa ʾilayhi mina al-dunyā.

So far as your knowledge has reached, He created nothing more hateful to Him than this world.

وَلَا نَظَرَ إِلَيْهَا مُنْذُ خَلَقَهَا مَقْتًا لَهَا.

Walā naẓara ʾilayhā mundhu khalaqahā maqtan lahā.

Since creating it, He has not looked upon it, out of contempt for it.

وَلَقَدْ عُرِضَتْ عَلَى نَبِيِّنَا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِمَفَاتِيحِهَا وَخَزَائِنِهَا، وَلَمْ يَنْقُصْهُ ذَلِكَ عِنْدَهُ جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ، فَأَبَى أَنْ يَقْبَلَهَا.

Walaqad ʿuriḍat ʿalā nabiyyinā ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bimafātīḥihā wakhazāʾinihā, walam yanquṣhu dhālika ʿindahu janāḥa baʿūḍatin, faʾabā ʾan yaqbalahā.

It was offered to our Prophet—God bless him and grant him peace—with all its keys and treasures; accepting it would not have diminished him before God by so much as a mosquito’s wing, yet he refused it.

وَمَا مَنَعَهُ مِنَ الْقَبُولِ لَهَا، وَلَا يَنْقُصُهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى شَيْءٌ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ عَلِمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَبْغَضَ شَيْئًا فَأَبْغَضَهُ، وَصَغَّرَ شَيْئًا فَصَغَّرَهُ، وَوَضَعَ شَيْئًا فَوَضَعَهُ.

Wamā manaʿahu mina al-qabūli lahā, walā yanquṣuhu ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā shayʾun, ʾillā ʾannahu ʿalima ʾanna Allāha taʿālā ʾabghaḍa shayʾan faʾabghaḍahu, waṣaghghara shayʾan faṣaghgharahu, wawaḍaʿa shayʾan fawaḍaʿahu.

Nothing inherent in it barred him from accepting it, nor would it have lowered his standing with God. Rather, he knew that when God hated a thing, he too should hate it; when God made a thing small, he should regard it as small; and when God brought a thing low, he should leave it low.

وَلَوْ قَبِلَهَا كَانَ الدَّلِيلُ عَلَى حُبِّهِ إِيَّاهَا قَبُولَهَا.

Walaw qabilahā kāna al-dalīlu ʿalā ḥubbihi ʾiyyāhā qabūlahā.

Had he accepted it, that acceptance would have been evidence of love for it.

وَلَكِنَّهُ كَرِهَ أَنْ يُحِبَّ مَا أَبْغَضَ خَالِقُهُ، وَأَنْ يَرْفَعَ مَا وَضَعَ مَلِيكُهُ.

Walakinnahu kariha ʾan yuḥibba mā ʾabghaḍa khāliquhu, waʾan yarfaʿa mā waḍaʿa malīkuhu.

But he refused to love what his Creator hated or to raise what his Sovereign had brought low.

وَلَوْ لَمْ يَدُلَّهُ عَلَى صِغَرِ هَذِهِ الدَّارِ إِلَّا أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى حَقَّرَهَا أَنْ يَجْعَلَ خَيْرَهَا ثَوَابًا لِلْمُطِيعِينَ، وَأَنْ يَجْعَلَ عُقُوبَتَهَا عَذَابًا لِلْعَاصِينَ.

Walaw lam yadullahu ʿalā ṣighari hādhihi al-dāri ʾillā ʾanna Allāha taʿālā ḥaqqarahā ʾan yajʿala khayrahā thawāban li-l-muṭīʿīna, waʾan yajʿala ʿuqūbatahā ʿadhāban li-l-ʿāṣīna.

To show him how small this abode is, it would have been enough that God deemed it too contemptible to make its pleasures the reward of the obedient or its punishments the torment of sinners.

فَأَخْرَجَ ثَوَابَ الطَّاعَةِ مِنْهَا، وَأَخْرَجَ عُقُوبَةَ الْمَعْصِيَةِ عَنْهَا.

Faʾakhraja thawāba al-ṭāʿati minhā, waʾakhraja ʿuqūbata al-maʿṣiyati ʿanhā.

He therefore placed the reward of obedience beyond it and placed the punishment of sin outside it.

The prophets as examples

وَقَدْ يَدُلُّكَ عَلَى شَرِّ هَذِهِ الدَّارِ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى زَوَاهَا عَنْ أَنْبِيَائِهِ وَأَحِبَّائِهِ اخْتِبَارًا، وَبَسَطَهَا لِغَيْرِهِمْ اعْتِبَارًا وَاغْتِرَارًا.

Waqad yadulluka ʿalā sharri hādhihi al-dāri ʾanna Allāha taʿālā zawāhā ʿan ʾanbiyāʾihi waʾaḥibbāʾihi ikhtibāran, wabasaṭahā lighayrihim iʿtibāran waghtirāran.

Another sign of this world’s evil is that God withheld it from His prophets and beloved ones as a trial, while spreading it out for others as a lesson—and as a means of delusion.

وَيَظُنُّ الْمَغْرُورُ بِهَا وَالْمَفْتُونُ عَلَيْهَا أَنَّهُ إِنَّمَا أَكْرَمَهُ بِهَا.

Wayaẓunnu al-maghrūru bihā wa-l-maftūnu ʿalayhā ʾannahu ʾinnamā ʾakramahu bihā.

The person whom it deceives and enthralls imagines that God has honored him through it.

وَنَسِيَ مَا صَنَعَ بِمُحَمَّدٍ الْمُصْطَفَى صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَمُوسَى الْمُخْتَارِ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ بِالْكَلَامِ لَهُ وَمُنَاجَاتِهِ.

Wanasiya mā ṣanaʿa bi-Muḥammadin al-muṣṭafā ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, wamūsā al-mukhtāri ʿalayhi al-salāmu bi-l-kalāmi lahu wamunājātihi.

He forgets how God dealt with Muḥammad, the Chosen—God bless him and grant him peace—and with Moses, selected for God’s speech and intimate converse—peace be upon him.

فَأَمَّا مُحَمَّدٌ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَشَدَّ الْحَجَرَ عَلَى بَطْنِهِ مِنَ الْجُوعِ.

Faʾammā Muḥammadun ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fashadda al-ḥajara ʿalā baṭnihi mina al-jūʿi.

As for Muḥammad—God bless him and grant him peace—he tied a stone against his stomach from hunger.

وَأَمَّا مُوسَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فَرُئِيَ خُضْرَةُ الْبَقْلِ مِنْ صِفَاقِ بَطْنِهِ مِنْ هُزَالِهِ.

Waʾammā Mūsā ʿalayhi al-salāmu faruʾiya khuḍratu al-baqli min ṣifāqi baṭnihi min huzālihi.

As for Moses—peace be upon him—the green of the herbs he had eaten could be seen through the skin of his stomach because he was so emaciated.

مَا سَأَلَ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى يَوْمَ أَوَى إِلَى الظِّلِّ إِلَّا طَعَامًا يَأْكُلُهُ مِنْ جُوعِهِ.

Mā saʾala Allāha taʿālā yawma ʾawā ʾilā al-ẓilli ʾillā ṭaʿāman yaʾkuluhu min jūʿihi.

On the day he withdrew into the shade, all he asked of God was food to relieve his hunger.

وَلَقَدْ جَاءَتِ الرِّوَايَاتُ عَنْهُ أَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَوْحَى إِلَيْهِ: أَنْ يَا مُوسَى، إِذَا رَأَيْتَ الْفَقْرَ مُقْبِلًا فَقُلْ: مَرْحَبًا بِشِعَارِ الصَّالِحِينَ.

Walaqad jāʾati al-riwāyātu ʿanhu ʾanna Allāha taʿālā ʾawḥā ʾilayhi: ʾan yā Mūsā, ʾidhā raʾayta al-faqra muqbilan faqul: marḥaban bishiʿāri al-ṣāliḥīna.

Reports about him relate that God revealed to him: ‘Moses, when you see poverty approaching, say: Welcome to the distinguishing mark of the righteous.’

وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَ الْغِنَى قَدْ أَقْبَلَ فَقُلْ: ذَنْبٌ عُجِّلَتْ عُقُوبَتُهُ.

Waʾidhā raʾayta al-ghinā qad ʾaqbala faqul: dhanbun ʿujjilat ʿuqūbatuhu.

‘And when you see wealth approaching, say: A sin whose punishment has been hastened.’

وَإِنْ شِئْتَ ثَلَّثْتُهُ بِصَاحِبِ الرُّوحِ وَالْكَلِمَةِ، فَفِي أَمْرِهِ عَجِيبَةٌ.

Waʾin shiʾta thallathtuhu biṣāḥibi al-rūḥi wa-l-kalimati, fafī ʾamrihi ʿajībatun.

If you wish, I can make a third example of the bearer of the Spirit and the Word, for his life contains a marvel.

كَانَ يَقُولُ: إِدَامِيَ الْجُوعُ، وَشِعَارِيَ الْخَوْفُ، وَلِبَاسِيَ الصُّوفُ، وَدَابَّتِي رِجْلَايَ.

Kāna yaqūlu: ʾidāmiya al-jūʿu, washiʿāriya al-khawfu, walibāsiya al-ṣūfu, wadābbatī rijlāya.

He used to say: ‘My condiment is hunger, my inner garment is fear, my clothing is wool, and my two feet are my mount.’

وَسِرَاجِي بِاللَّيْلِ الْقَمَرُ، وَصِلَائِي فِي الشِّتَاءِ مَشَارِقُ الشَّمْسِ.

Wasirājī bi-l-layli al-qamaru, waṣilāʾī fī al-shitāʾi mashāriqu al-shamsi.

‘The moon is my lamp by night, and the rays of the rising sun are my warmth in winter.’

وَفَاكِهَتِي وَرَيْحَانِي مَا أَنْبَتَتِ الْأَرْضُ لِلسِّبَاعِ وَالْأَنْعَامِ.

Wafākihatī warayḥānī mā ʾanbatati al-ʾarḍu li-l-sibāʿi wa-l-ʾanʿāmi.

‘My fruit and fragrant herb are whatever the earth brings forth for wild beasts and cattle.’

أَبِيتُ وَلَيْسَ لِي شَيْءٌ، وَلَيْسَ أَحَدٌ أَغْنَى مِنِّي.

ʾabītu walaysa lī shayʾun, walaysa ʾaḥadun ʾaghnā minnī.

‘I pass the night owning nothing, yet no one is richer than I.’

وَلَوْ شِئْتَ رَبَّعْتُ بِسُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ دَاوُدَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ، فَلَيْسَ دُونَهُمْ فِي الْعَجَبِ.

Walaw shiʾta rabbaʿtu bisulaymāna ibni Dāwūda ʿalayhimā al-salāmu, falaysa dūnahum fī al-ʿajabi.

If you wish, I can add Solomon son of David—peace be upon them—as a fourth, for his case is no less remarkable than theirs.

يَأْكُلُ خُبْزَ الشَّعِيرِ فِي خَاصَّتِهِ، وَيُطْعِمُ أَهْلَهُ الْخُشْكَارَ، وَالنَّاسَ الدَّرْمَكَ.

Yaʾkulu khubza al-shaʿīri fī khāṣṣatihi, wayuṭʿimu ʾahlahu al-khushkāra, wa-l-nāsa al-darmaka.

He ate barley bread in private, fed his household coarse bran bread, and gave the people fine white flour.

فَإِذَا جَنَّهُ اللَّيْلُ لَبِسَ الْمُسُوحَ، وَغَلَّ الْيَدَ إِلَى الْعُنُقِ، وَبَاتَ بَاكِيًا حَتَّى يُصْبِحَ.

Faʾidhā jannahu al-laylu labisa al-musūḥa, waghalla al-yada ʾilā al-ʿunuqi, wabāta bākiyan ḥattā yuṣbiḥa.

When night covered him, he put on sackcloth, bound his hand to his neck, and spent the night weeping until morning.

يَأْكُلُ الْخَشِنَ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ، وَيَلْبَسُ الشَّعَرَ مِنَ الثِّيَابِ.

Yaʾkulu al-khashina mina al-ṭaʿāmi, wayalbasu al-shaʿara mina al-thiyābi.

He ate coarse food and wore garments of hair.

كُلُّ هَذَا يُبْغِضُونَ مَا أَبْغَضَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَيُصَغِّرُونَ مَا صَغَّرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، وَيَزْهَدُونَ فِيمَا فِيهِ زُهْدٌ.

Kullu hādhā yubghiḍūna mā ʾabghaḍa Allāhu ʿazza wajalla, wayuṣaghghirūna mā ṣaghghara Allāhu taʿālā, wayazhadūna fīmā fīhi zuhdun.

All of them hated what God—mighty and majestic—hated, treated as small what God treated as small, and renounced whatever called for renunciation.

How the righteous treated the world

ثُمَّ اقْتَصَّ الصَّالِحُونَ بَعْدُ مِنْهَاجَهُمْ، وَأَخَذُوا بِآثَارِهِمْ.

Thumma iqtaṣṣa al-ṣāliḥūna baʿdu minhājahum, waʾakhadhū biʾāthārihim.

The righteous who came later then followed their path and traced their footsteps.

وَأَلْزَمُوا الْكِدَّ وَالْعِبَرَ، وَأَلْطَفُوا التَّفَكُّرَ.

Waʾalzamū al-kidda wa-l-ʿibara, waʾalṭafū al-tafakkura.

They bound themselves to exertion and to learning lessons, and they refined their reflection.

وَصَبَرُوا فِي مُدَّةِ الْأَجَلِ الْقَصِيرِ عَنْ مَتَاعِ الْغُرُورِ الَّذِي إِلَى الْفَنَاءِ يَصِيرُ.

Waṣabarū fī muddati al-ʾajali al-qaṣīri ʿan matāʿi al-ghurūri alladhī ʾilā al-fanāʾi yaṣīru.

During life’s brief term, they patiently abstained from deceptive enjoyments that must pass away.

وَنَظَرُوا إِلَى آخِرِ الدُّنْيَا وَلَمْ يَنْظُرُوا إِلَى أَوَّلِهَا، وَنَظَرُوا إِلَى عَاقِبَةِ مَرَارَتِهَا وَلَمْ يَنْظُرُوا إِلَى عَاجِلَةِ حَلَاوَتِهَا.

Wanaẓarū ʾilā ʾākhiri al-dunyā walam yanẓurū ʾilā ʾawwalihā, wanaẓarū ʾilā ʿāqibati marāratihā walam yanẓurū ʾilā ʿājilati ḥalāwatihā.

They looked to the world’s end, not its beginning, and to the final outcome of its bitterness, not the immediate taste of its sweetness.

ثُمَّ أَلْزَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمُ الصَّبْرَ.

Thumma ʾalzamū ʾanfusahumu al-ṣabra.

Then they compelled themselves to remain patient.

أَنْزَلُوهَا مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْمَيْتَةِ الَّتِي لَا يَحِلُّ الشِّبَعُ مِنْهَا إِلَّا فِي حَالِ الضَّرُورَةِ إِلَيْهَا.

ʾanzalūhā min ʾanfusihim bimanzilati al-maytati allatī lā yaḥillu al-shibaʿu minhā ʾillā fī ḥāli al-ḍarūrati ʾilayhā.

In their own estimation, they placed the world on the level of carrion, from which one may not eat one’s fill even when necessity makes some of it lawful.

فَأَكَلُوا مِنْهَا بِقَدْرِ مَا يَرُدُّ النَّفْسَ، وَيَقِي الرُّوحَ، وَيُسَكِّنُ الْقَرَمَ.

Faʾakalū minhā biqadri mā yaruddu al-nafsa, wayaqī al-rūḥa, wayusakkinu al-qarama.

They took from it only enough to sustain the self, preserve life, and still the pang of hunger.

وَجَعَلُوهَا بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْجِيفَةِ الَّتِي قَدِ اشْتَدَّ نَتْنُ رِيحِهَا، فَكُلُّ مَنْ مَرَّ بِهَا أَمْسَكَ عَلَى أَنْفِهِ مِنْهَا.

Wajaʿalūhā bimanzilati al-jīfati allatī qadi ishtadda natnu rīḥihā, fakullu man marra bihā ʾamsaka ʿalā ʾanfihi minhā.

They regarded it as a carcass whose stench had grown so strong that everyone passing it held his nose.

فَهُمْ يُصِيبُونَ مِنْهَا لِحَالِ الضُّرِّ، وَلَا يَنْتَهُونَ مِنْهَا إِلَى الشِّبَعِ مِنَ النَّتْنِ.

Fahum yuṣībūna minhā liḥāli al-ḍurri, walā yantahūna minhā ʾilā al-shibaʿi mina al-natni.

They took from it only under necessity and never went so far as to gorge themselves on its putridness.

فَغَرَبَتْ عَنْهُمْ، وَكَانَتْ هَذِهِ مَنْزِلَتَهَا مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ.

Fagharabat ʿanhum, wakānat hādhihi manzilatahā min ʾanfusihim.

Thus it became alien to them; this was the place it held in their estimation.

فَهُمْ يَعْجَبُونَ مِنَ الْآكِلِ مِنْهَا شِبَعًا، وَالْمُتَلَذِّذِ بِهَا أَشَرًا.

Fahum yaʿjabūna mina al-ʾākili minhā shibaʿan, wa-l-mutaladhdhidhi bihā ʾasharan.

They marvel at anyone who eats his fill of it and savors it with wanton delight.

وَيَقُولُونَ فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ: أَمَا تَرَى هَؤُلَاءِ لَا يَعَافُونَ مِنَ الْأَكْلِ؟ أَمَا يَجِدُونَ رِيحَ النَّتْنِ؟

Wayaqūlūna fī ʾanfusihim: ʾamā tarā hāʾulāʾi lā yaʿāfūna mina al-ʾakli? ʾamā yajidūna rīḥa al-natni?

They say to themselves: ‘Do you not see that these people never recoil from eating? Do they not smell the stench?’

وَهِيَ وَاللَّهِ يَا أَخِي فِي الْعَاقِبَةِ وَالْآجِلَةِ أَنْتَنُ مِنَ الْجِيفَةِ الْمَرْصُوفَةِ.

Wahiya wa-llāhi yā ʾakhī fī al-ʿāqibati wa-l-ʾājilati ʾantanu mina al-jīfati al-marṣūfati.

By God, my brother, in its outcome and in the world to come it stinks worse than a carcass laid out before you.

غَيْرَ أَنَّ أَقْوَامًا اسْتَحْمَلُوا الصَّبْرَ، فَلَا يَجِدُونَ رِيحَ النَّتْنِ.

Ghayra ʾanna ʾaqwāman istaḥmalū al-ṣabra, falā yajidūna rīḥa al-natni.

Yet some people have made themselves bear it for so long that they no longer smell the stench.

وَالَّذِي نَشَأَ فِي رِيحِ الْإِهَابِ النَّتِنِ لَا يَجِدُ نَتْنَهُ، وَلَا يَجِدُ مِنْ رِيحِهِ مَا يُؤْذِي الْمَارَّةَ وَالْجَالِسَ عِنْدَهُ.

Wa-alladhī nashaʾa fī rīḥi al-ʾihābi al-natini lā yajidu natnahu, walā yajidu min rīḥihi mā yuʾdhī al-mārrata wa-l-jālisa ʿindahu.

A person raised amid the smell of a putrid hide does not notice its stench or perceive in it what offends passersby and anyone sitting near him.

وَقَدْ يَكْفِي الْعَاقِلَ مِنْهَا أَنَّهُ مَنْ مَاتَ عَنْهَا وَتَرَكَ مَالًا كَثِيرًا سَرَّهُ أَنَّهُ كَانَ فِيهَا فَقِيرًا.

Waqad yakfī al-ʿāqila minhā ʾannahu man māta ʿanhā wataraka mālan kathīran sarrahu ʾannahu kāna fīhā faqīran.

For an intelligent person, it should be enough to know that anyone who dies and leaves great wealth behind would be glad to have been poor in this world.

أَوْ شَرِيفًا أَنَّهُ كَانَ فِيهَا وَضِيعًا، أَوْ كَانَ فِيهَا مُعَافًى سَرَّهُ أَنَّهُ كَانَ فِيهَا مُبْتَلًى.

ʾaw sharīfan ʾannahu kāna fīhā waḍīʿan, ʾaw kāna fīhā muʿāfan sarrahu ʾannahu kāna fīhā mubtalan.

If he had been noble, he would be glad to have been lowly; if he had enjoyed well-being, he would be glad to have been tried.

أَوْ كَانَ مُسَلْطَنًا سَرَّهُ أَنَّهُ كَانَ فِيهَا سُوقَةً.

ʾaw kāna musalṭanan sarrahu ʾannahu kāna fīhā sūqatan.

If he had wielded sovereign power, he would be glad to have been an ordinary subject.

وَإِنْ فَارَقْتَهَا سَرَّكَ أَنَّكَ كُنْتَ أَوْضَعَ أَهْلِهَا ضِعَةً، وَأَشَدَّهُمْ فِيهَا فَاقَةً.

Waʾin fāraqtahā sarraka ʾannaka kunta ʾawḍaʿa ʾahlihā ḍiʿatan, waʾashaddahum fīhā fāqatan.

When you leave it, you will be glad to have been the least regarded of its people and the one most deeply in need.

أَلَيْسَ ذَلِكَ الدَّلِيلَ عَلَى خِزْيِهَا لِمَنْ يَعْقِلُ أَمْرَهَا؟

ʾalaysa dhālika al-dalīla ʿalā khizyihā liman yaʿqilu ʾamrahā?

Is that not proof of its disgrace for anyone who understands its true condition?

The three days

وَاللَّهِ، لَوْ كَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا مَنْ أَرَادَ مِنْهَا شَيْئًا وَجَدَهُ إِلَى جَنْبِهِ مِنْ غَيْرِ طَلَبٍ وَلَا نَصَبٍ،

Wa-llāhi, law kānati al-dunyā man ʾarāda minhā shayʾan wajadahu ʾilā janbihi min ghayri ṭalabin walā naṣabin,

By God, even if the world were such that anyone who wanted something from it found it at his side without seeking or toil—

غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ إِذَا أَخَذَ مِنْهَا شَيْئًا لَزِمَتْهُ حُقُوقُ اللَّهِ فِيهِ، وَسَأَلَهُ عَنْهُ، وَوَقَفَهُ عَلَى حِسَابِهِ،

Ghayra ʾannahu ʾidhā ʾakhadha minhā shayʾan lazimathu ḥuqūqu Allāhi fīhi, wasaʾalahu ʿanhu, wawaqafahu ʿalā ḥisābihi,

if, once he took anything from it, God’s claims attached to it, God questioned him about it, and God made him stand for its reckoning—

لَكَانَ يَنْبَغِي لِلْعَاقِلِ أَنْ لَا يَأْخُذَ مِنْهَا إِلَّا قَدْرَ قُوتِهِ وَمَا يَكْفِي، حَذَرَ السُّؤَالِ وَكَرَاهِيَةً لِشِدَّةِ الْحِسَابِ.

Lakāna yanbaghī li-l-ʿāqili ʾan lā yaʾkhudha minhā ʾillā qadra qūtihi wamā yakfī, ḥadhara al-suʾāli wakarāhiyatan lishiddati al-ḥisābi.

an intelligent person should still take from it only his necessary sustenance and what suffices him, for fear of questioning and dread of the severity of the reckoning.

وَإِنَّمَا الدُّنْيَا، إِذَا فَكَّرْتَ فِيهَا، ثَلَاثَةُ أَيَّامٍ:

Waʾinnamā al-dunyā, ʾidhā fakkarta fīhā, thalāthatu ʾayyāmin:

When you reflect on it, the world is only three days.

يَوْمٌ مَضَى لَا تَرْجُوهُ،

Yawmun maḍā lā tarjūhu,

One day has passed and you cannot hope to recover it.

وَيَوْمٌ أَنْتَ فِيهِ يَنْبَغِي لَكَ أَنْ تَغْتَنِمَهُ،

Wayawmun ʾanta fīhi yanbaghī laka ʾan taghtanimahu,

One day is the present, and you should seize it.

وَيَوْمٌ يَأْتِي لَا تَدْرِي أَنْتَ مِنْ أَهْلِهِ أَمْ لَا، وَلَا تَدْرِي لَعَلَّكَ تَمُوتُ قَبْلَهُ.

Wayawmun yaʾtī lā tadrī ʾanta min ʾahlihi ʾam lā, walā tadrī laʿallaka tamūtu qablahu.

One day is still to come; you do not know whether you will be among its people, and perhaps you will die before it arrives.

فَأَمَّا أَمْسِ فَحَكِيمٌ مُؤَدِّبٌ، وَأَمَّا الْيَوْمُ فَصَدِيقٌ مُوَدِّعٌ.

Faʾammā ʾamsi faḥakīmun muʾaddibun, waʾammā al-yawmu faṣadīqun muwaddiʿun.

Yesterday is a wise tutor; today is a friend who is saying farewell.

غَيْرَ أَنَّ أَمْسِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ قَدْ فَجَعَكَ بِنَفْسِهِ، فَقَدْ أَبْقَى فِي يَدَيْكَ حِكْمَتَهُ.

Ghayra ʾanna ʾamsi, waʾin kāna qad fajaʿaka binafsihi, faqad ʾabqā fī yadayka ḥikmatahu.

Although yesterday has bereaved you of itself, it has left its wisdom in your hands.

وَإِنْ كُنْتَ قَدْ أَضَعْتَهُ فَقَدْ جَاءَكَ خَلَفٌ مِنْهُ.

Waʾin kunta qad ʾaḍaʿtahu faqad jāʾaka khalafun minhu.

If you squandered it, a replacement for it has now come to you.

وَقَدْ كَانَ عَنْكَ طَوِيلَ الْغَيْبَةِ، وَهُوَ الْآنَ عَنْكَ سَرِيعُ الرِّحْلَةِ، وَغَدًا أَيْضًا فِي يَدَيْكَ مِنْهُ أَمَلُهُ.

Waqad kāna ʿanka ṭawīla al-ghaybati, wahuwa al-ʾāna ʿanka sarīʿu al-riḥlati, waghadan ʾayḍan fī yadayka minhu ʾamaluhu.

Today was long absent from you, yet now it is quick to depart; as for tomorrow, all you hold of it is hope.

فَخُذِ الثِّقَةَ بِالْعَمَلِ، وَاتْرُكِ الْغُرُورَ بِالْأَمَلِ قَبْلَ حُلُولِ الْأَجَلِ.

Fakhudhi al-thiqata bi-l-ʿamali, watruki al-ghurūra bi-l-ʾamali qabla ḥulūli al-ʾajali.

Seek assurance through action, and abandon the delusion of hope before your appointed end arrives.

وَإِيَّاكَ أَنْ تُدْخِلَ عَلَى الْيَوْمِ هَمَّ غَدٍ أَوْ هَمَّ مَا بَعْدَهُ؛ زِدْتَ فِي حُزْنِكَ وَتَعَبِكَ.

Waʾiyyāka ʾan tudkhila ʿalā al-yawmi hamma ghadin ʾaw hamma mā baʿdahu; zidta fī ḥuznika wataʿabika.

Do not burden today with anxiety about tomorrow or what follows it; you would only add to your sorrow and exhaustion.

وَأَرَدْتَ أَنْ تَجْمَعَ فِي يَوْمِكَ مَا يَكْفِيكَ أَيَّامَكَ.

Waʾaradta ʾan tajmaʿa fī yawmika mā yakfīka ʾayyāmaka.

You would be trying to gather in a single day enough for all your days.

هَيْهَاتَ! كَثُرَ الشُّغُلُ، وَزَادَ الْحُزْنُ، وَعَظُمَ التَّعَبُ، وَأَضَاعَ الْعَبْدُ الْعَمَلَ بِالْأَمَلِ.

Hayhāta! kathura al-shughulu, wazāda al-ḥuznu, waʿaẓuma al-taʿabu, waʾaḍāʿa al-ʿabdu al-ʿamala bi-l-ʾamali.

Far from it! Distraction multiplies, sorrow increases, weariness grows, and the servant forfeits action because of hope.

وَلَوْ أَنَّ الْأَمَلَ فِي غَدِكَ خَرَجَ مِنْ قَلْبِكَ، أَحْسَنْتَ الْيَوْمَ فِي عَمَلِكَ، وَاقْتَصَرْتَ لِهَمِّ يَوْمِكَ.

Walaw ʾanna al-ʾamala fī ghadika kharaja min qalbika, ʾaḥsanta al-yawma fī ʿamalika, waqtaṣarta lihammi yawmika.

If hope in tomorrow left your heart, you would act well today and confine yourself to the concern of this day.

غَيْرَ أَنَّ الْأَمَلَ مِنْكَ فِي الْغَدِ دَعَاكَ إِلَى التَّفْرِيطِ، وَدَعَاكَ إِلَى الْمَزِيدِ فِي الطَّلَبِ.

Ghayra ʾanna al-ʾamala minka fī al-ghadi daʿāka ʾilā al-tafrīṭi, wadaʿāka ʾilā al-mazīdi fī al-ṭalabi.

But your hope in tomorrow calls you to neglect and drives you to seek still more.

وَلَئِنْ شِئْتَ وَاقْتَصَرْتَ، لَأَصِفَنَّ لَكَ الدُّنْيَا سَاعَةً بَيْنَ سَاعَتَيْنِ: سَاعَةٌ مَاضِيَةٌ، وَسَاعَةٌ آتِيَةٌ، وَسَاعَةٌ أَنْتَ فِيهَا.

Walaʾin shiʾta waqtaṣarta, laʾaṣifanna laka al-dunyā sāʿatan bayna sāʿatayni: sāʿatun māḍiyatun, wasāʿatun ʾātiyatun, wasāʿatun ʾanta fīhā.

If you wish—and to put it briefly—I will describe the world as one hour between two others: an hour past, an hour to come, and the hour in which you now live.

فَأَمَّا الْمَاضِيَةُ وَالْبَاقِيَةُ، فَلَيْسَ تَجِدُ لِرَاحَتِهِمَا لَذَّةً، وَلَا لِبَلَائِهِمَا أَلَمًا.

Faʾammā al-māḍiyatu wa-l-bāqiyatu, falaysa tajidu lirāḥatihimā ladhdhatan, walā libalāʾihimā ʾalaman.

As for the past hour and the remaining one, you can feel neither the pleasure of their ease nor the pain of their hardship.

وَإِنَّمَا الدُّنْيَا سَاعَةٌ أَنْتَ فِيهَا، فَخَدَعَتْكَ تِلْكَ السَّاعَةُ عَنِ الْجَنَّةِ وَصَيَّرَتْكَ إِلَى النَّارِ.

Waʾinnamā al-dunyā sāʿatun ʾanta fīhā, fakhadaʿatka tilka al-sāʿatu ʿani al-jannati waṣayyaratka ʾilā al-nāri.

The world is only the hour you inhabit; yet that hour can deceive you away from the Garden and deliver you to the Fire.

Today as a guest

وَإِنَّمَا الْيَوْمُ، إِنْ عَقَلْتَ، ضَيْفٌ نَزَلَ بِكَ وَهُوَ مُرْتَحِلٌ عَنْكَ.

Waʾinnamā al-yawmu, ʾin ʿaqalta, ḍayfun nazala bika wahuwa murtaḥilun ʿanka.

If you understand, today is only a guest who has lodged with you and is already preparing to leave.

فَإِنْ أَحْسَنْتَ نُزُلَهُ وَقِرَاهُ شَهِدَ لَكَ، وَأَثْنَى عَلَيْكَ بِذَلِكَ، وَصَدَقَ فِيكَ.

Faʾin ʾaḥsanta nuzulahu waqirāhu shahida laka, waʾathnā ʿalayka bidhalika, waṣadaqa fīka.

If you give it good lodging and hospitality, it will testify for you, praise you for it, and speak truthfully on your behalf.

وَإِنْ أَسَأْتَ ضِيَافَتَهُ وَلَمْ تُحْسِنْ قِرَاهُ جَالَ فِي عَيْنَيْكَ.

Waʾin ʾasaʾta ḍiyāfatahu walam tuḥsin qirāhu jāla fī ʿaynayka.

If you treat your guest badly and fail to receive it well, it will haunt your sight.

وَهُمَا يَوْمَانِ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْأَخَوَيْنِ:

Wahumā yawmāni bimanzilati al-ʾakhawayni:

The two days are like two brothers.

نَزَلَ بِكَ أَحَدُهُمَا فَأَسَأْتَ إِلَيْهِ، وَلَمْ تُحْسِنْ قِرَاهُ فِيمَا بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ.

Nazala bika ʾaḥaduhumā faʾasaʾta ʾilayhi, walam tuḥsin qirāhu fīmā baynaka wabaynahu.

The first lodged with you, but you wronged him and failed to honor him in your dealings together.

فَجَاءَكَ الْآخَرُ بَعْدَهُ، فَقَالَ: إِنِّي قَدْ جِئْتُكَ بَعْدَ أَخِي.

Fajāʾaka al-ʾākharu baʿdahu, faqāla: ʾinnī qad jiʾtuka baʿda ʾakhī.

Then the other came after him and said: ‘I have come to you after my brother.’

فَإِنَّ إِحْسَانَكَ إِلَيَّ يَمْحُو إِسَاءَتَكَ إِلَيْهِ، وَيَغْفِرُ لَكَ مَا صَنَعْتَ.

Faʾinna ʾiḥsānaka ʾilayya yamḥū ʾisāʾataka ʾilayhi, wayaghfiru laka mā ṣanaʿta.

‘Treating me well will erase your mistreatment of him and bring forgiveness for what you did.’

فَدُونَكَ إِذْ نَزَلْتُ بِكَ، وَجِئْتُكَ بَعْدَ أَخِي الْمُرْتَحِلِ عَنْكَ.

Fadūnaka ʾidh nazaltu bika, wajiʾtuka baʿda ʾakhī al-murtaḥili ʿanka.

‘Here I am, now that I have lodged with you and come after my brother who departed from you.’

فَقَدْ ظَفِرْتَ بِخَلَفٍ مِنْهُ إِنْ عَقَلْتَ؛ فَتَدَارَكْ مَا قَدْ أَضَعْتَ.

Faqad ẓafirta bikhalafin minhu ʾin ʿaqalta; fatadārak mā qad ʾaḍaʿta.

‘If you understand, you have gained a replacement for him, so make up for what you squandered.’

وَإِنْ أَلْحَقْتَ الْآخِرَ بِالْأَوَّلِ، فَمَا أَخْلَقَكَ أَنْ تَهْلِكَ بِشَهَادَتِهِمَا عَلَيْكَ.

Waʾin ʾalḥaqta al-ʾākhira bi-l-ʾawwali, famā ʾakhlaqaka ʾan tahlika bishahādatihimā ʿalayka.

But if you make the second day follow the first in failure, how likely you are to perish through the testimony of them both against you.

The priceless remainder of life

إِنَّ الَّذِي بَقِيَ مِنَ الْعُمُرِ لَا ثَمَنَ لَهُ وَلَا عَدْلَ.

ʾinna alladhī baqiya mina al-ʿumuri lā thamana lahu walā ʿadla.

The span of life that remains has no price and no equal.

فَلَوْ جُمِعَتِ الدُّنْيَا كُلُّهَا مَا عَدَلَتْ يَوْمًا بَقِيَ مِنْ عُمُرِ صَاحِبِهِ.

Falaw jumiʿati al-dunyā kulluhā mā ʿadalat yawman baqiya min ʿumuri ṣāḥibihi.

If the whole world were gathered together, it would not equal a single day remaining in a person’s life.

فَلَا تَبِعِ الْيَوْمَ وَتَعْدِلْهُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا بِغَيْرِ ثَمَنِهِ.

Falā tabiʿi al-yawma wataʿdilhu mina al-dunyā bighayri thamanihi.

Do not sell this day or exchange it for anything in the world at less than its true price.

وَلَا يَكُونَنَّ الْمَقْبُورُ أَعْظَمَ تَعْظِيمًا لِمَا فِي يَدَيْكَ مِنْكَ، وَهُوَ لَكَ.

Walā yakūnanna al-maqbūru ʾaʿẓama taʿẓīman limā fī yadayka minka, wahuwa laka.

Do not let someone already in the grave value what is in your hands—and still belongs to you—more highly than you do.

فَلَعَمْرِي، لَوْ أَنَّ مَدْفُونًا فِي قَبْرِهِ قِيلَ لَهُ: هَذِهِ الدُّنْيَا أَوَّلُهَا إِلَى آخِرِهَا، تَجْعَلُهَا لِوَلَدِكَ مِنْ بَعْدِكَ يَتَنَعَّمُونَ فِيهَا مِنْ وَرَائِكَ،

Falaʿamrī, law ʾanna madfūnan fī qabrihi qīla lahu: hādhihi al-dunyā ʾawwaluhā ʾilā ʾākhirihā, tajʿaluhā liwaladika min baʿdika yatanaʿʿamūna fīhā min warāʾika,

By my life, suppose someone buried in his grave were told: ‘Here is the whole world, from beginning to end. You may leave it to your children after you, to enjoy once you are gone—’

فَقَدْ كُنْتَ وَلَيْسَ لَكَ هَمٌّ غَيْرُهُمْ — أَحَبُّ إِلَيْكَ أَمْ يَوْمٌ تُتْرَكُ فِيهِ تَعْمَلُ لِنَفْسِكَ؟

Faqad kunta walaysa laka hammun ghayruhum — ʾaḥabbu ʾilayka ʾam yawmun tutraku fīhi taʿmalu linafsika?

‘—those children who once occupied all your concern. Would you prefer that, or one day in which you are left free to work for your own soul?’

لَاخْتَارَ ذَلِكَ.

Lakhtāra dhālika.

He would choose that single day.

وَمَا كَانَ لِيَجْمَعَ مَعَ الْيَوْمِ شَيْئًا إِلَّا اخْتَارَ الْيَوْمَ عَلَيْهِ، رَغْبَةً فِيهِ وَتَعْظِيمًا لَهُ.

Wamā kāna liyajmaʿa maʿa al-yawmi shayʾan ʾillā ikhtāra al-yawma ʿalayhi, raghbatan fīhi wataʿẓīman lahu.

No matter what might be set beside the day, he would choose the day instead, longing for it and recognizing its greatness.

بَلْ لَوِ اقْتُصِرَ عَلَى سَاعَةٍ، خُيِّرَهَا وَمَا بَيْنَ أَضْعَافِ مَا وَصَفْتُ لَكَ وَأَضْعَافِهِ يَكُونُ لِسِوَاهُ، إِلَّا اخْتَارَ السَّاعَةَ لِنَفْسِهِ عَلَى أَضْعَافِ ذَلِكَ لِيَكُونَ لِغَيْرِهِ.

Bal lawi iqtuṣira ʿalā sāʿatin, khuyyirahā wamā bayna ʾaḍʿāfi mā waṣaftu laka waʾaḍʿāfihi yakūnu lisiwāhu, ʾillā ikhtāra al-sāʿata linafsihi ʿalā ʾaḍʿāfi dhālika liyakūna lighayrihi.

Indeed, if the choice were reduced to one hour for himself or many times all that I have described going to someone else, he would choose the hour for himself over those multiplied riches for another.

بَلْ لَوِ اقْتُصِرَ عَلَى كَلِمَةٍ يَقُولُهَا تُكْتَبُ لَهُ، وَبَيْنَ مَا وَصَفْتُ لَكَ وَأَضْعَافِهِ، لَاخْتَارَ الْكَلِمَةَ الْوَاحِدَةَ عَلَيْهِ.

Bal lawi iqtuṣira ʿalā kalimatin yaqūluhā tuktabu lahu, wabayna mā waṣaftu laka waʾaḍʿāfihi, lakhtāra al-kalimata al-wāḥidata ʿalayhi.

Indeed, if the choice were reduced to one word he could utter and have recorded for him, or all that I have described many times over, he would choose that single word.

فَانْتَقِدِ الْيَوْمَ لِنَفْسِكَ، وَأَبْصِرِ السَّاعَةَ، وَأَعْظِمِ الْكَلِمَةَ.

Fantaqidi al-yawma linafsika, waʾabṣiri al-sāʿata, waʾaʿẓimi al-kalimata.

So secure today for yourself, recognize the worth of the hour, and prize the single word.

وَاحْذَرِ الْحَسْرَةَ عِنْدَ نُزُولِ السَّكْرَةِ، وَلَا تَأْمَنْ أَنْ تَكُونَ لِهَذَا الْكَلَامِ حُجَّةٌ.

Waḥdhari al-ḥasrata ʿinda nuzūli al-sakrati, walā taʾman ʾan takūna lihadhā al-kalāmi ḥujjatun.

Beware regret when the stupor of death descends, and do not assume that these words will not become evidence against you.

نَفَعَنَا اللَّهُ وَإِيَّاكَ بِالْمَوْعِظَةِ، وَرَزَقَنَا وَإِيَّاكَ خَيْرَ الْعَوَاقِبِ.

Nafaʿanā Allāhu waʾiyyāka bi-l-mawʿiẓati, warazaqanā waʾiyyāka khayra al-ʿawāqibi.

May God benefit us and you through this admonition, and grant us and you the best of final outcomes.

وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ وَرَحْمَةُ اللَّهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ.

Wa-l-salāmu ʿalayka waraḥmatu Allāhi wabarakātuhu.

Peace be upon you, and the mercy of God, and His blessings.

References and textual witnesses

Abū Nuʿaym al-Iṣfahānī. Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ wa-Ṭabaqāt al-Aṣfiyāʾ. Vol. 2. Cairo: Maṭbaʿat al-Saʿāda, 1357 AH / 1938 CE, pp. 134–140. Controlling witness for the expanded recension.

Ibn Abī al-Dunyā. Kitāb al-Zuhd. Report no. 50. Earlier, shorter parallel recension used only to resolve three damaged readings in the saying attributed to Jesus.

Mourad, Suleiman Ali. Early Islam between Myth and History: Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī (d. 110H/728CE) and the Formation of His Legacy in Classical Islamic Scholarship. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2006, especially pp. 121–139. Modern discussion of the attributed letters and their transmission.

Online reading witness: Islamweb, Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ, ‘His Letter to ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz’