ومن كلام له (عليه السلام) قاله عند تلاوته ﴿يُسَبِّحُ لَهُ فِيهَا بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ. رِجَالٌ لَا تُلْهِيهِمْ تِجَارَةٌ وَلَا بَيْعٌ عَنْ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ﴾‏

Delivered after reciting the verse: therein declare glory unto Him in the mornings and the evenings; Men whom neither merchandise nor any sale diverteth from the remembrance of Allah. (Qur’ān, 24:36-37)

إِنَّ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى جَعَلَ الذِّكْرَ جِلاءً لِلْقُلُوبِ تَسْمَعُ بِهِ بَعْدَ الْوَقْرَةِ وَتُبْصِرُ بِهِ بَعْدَ الْعَشْوَةِ وَتَنْقَادُ بِهِ بَعْدَ الْمُعَانَدَةِ وَمَا بَرِحَ لِلَّهِ عَزَّتْ آلَاؤُهُ فِي الْبُرْهَةِ بَعْدَ الْبُرْهَةِ وَفِي أَزْمَانِ الْفَتَرَاتِ عِبَادٌ نَاجَاهُمْ فِي فِكْرِهِمْ وَكَلَّمَهُمْ فِي ذَاتِ عُقُولِهِمْ فَاسْتَصْبَحُوا بِنُورِ يَقَظَةٍ فِي الْأَبْصَارِ وَالْأَسْمَاعِ وَالْأَفْئِدَةِ يُذَكِّرُونَ بِأَيَّامِ اللَّهِ وَيُخَوِّفُونَ مَقَامَهُ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْأَدِلَّةِ فِي الْفَلَوَاتِ مَنْ أَخَذَ الْقَصْدَ حَمِدُوا إِلَيْهِ طَرِيقَهُ وَبَشَّرُوهُ بِالنَّجَاةِ وَمَنْ أَخَذَ يَمِيناً وَشِمَالًا ذَمُّوا إِلَيْهِ الطَّرِيقَ وَحَذَّرُوهُ مِنَ الْهَلَكَةِ وَكَانُوا كَذَلِكَ مَصَابِيحَ تِلْكَ الظُّلُمَاتِ وَأَدِلَّةَ تِلْكَ الشُّبُهَاتِ

Certainly, Allāh, the Glorified, the Sublime, has made His remembrance the light for hearts which hear with its help despite deafness, see with its help despite blindness and become submissive with its help despite unruliness. In all the periods and times when there were no prophets, there have been persons with whom Allāh, precious are His bounties, whispered through their wits and spoke through their minds. With the help of the bright awakening of their ears, eyes and hearts they keep reminding others of the remembrance of the days of Allāh and making others feel fear for Him like guide-points in wildernesses. Whoever adopts the middle way, they praise his ways and give him the tidings of deliverance, but whoever goes right and left they vilify his ways and frighten him with ruin. In this way, they served as lamps in these darknesses and guides through these doubts.

وَإِنَّ لِلذِّكْرِ لاَهْلاً أَخَذُوهُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا بَدَلاً، فَلَمْ تَشْغَلْهُمْ تِجَارَةٌ وَلاَ بَيْعٌ عَنْهُ، يَقْطَعُونَ بِهِ أَيَّامَ الْحَيَاةِ، وَيَهْتِفُونَ بِالزَّوَاجِرِ عَنْ مَحَارِمِ اللهِ، في أَسْمَاعِ الْغَافِلِينَ، وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالقِسْطِ وَيَأْتَمِرُونَ بِهِ، وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ المُنكَرِ وَيَتَنَاهَوْنَ عَنْهُ، فَكَأَنَّمَا قَطَعُوا الدُّنْيَا إِلَى الاْخِرَةِ وَهُمْ فِيهَا، فَشَاهَدُوا مَاوَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ، فَكَأَنَّمَا اطَّلَعُوا غُيُوبَ أَهْلِ الْبَرْزَخِ فِي طولِ الاْقَامَةِ فِيهِ، وَحَقَّقَتِ الْقِيَامَةُ عَلَيْهِمْ عِدَاتِهَا، فَكَشَفُوا غِطَاءَ ذلِكَ لاِهْلِ الدُّنْيَا، حَتَّى كَأَنَّهُمْ يَرَوْنَ مَا لاَ يَرَى النَّاسُ، وَيَسمَعُونَ مَا لاَ يَسْمَعُونَ.

There are some people devoted to the remembrance (of Allāh) who have adopted it in place of worldly matters so that commerce or trade does not turn them away from it. They pass their life in it. They speak into the ears of neglectful persons warning against matters held unlawful by Allāh, they order them to practise justice and themselves keep practising it, and they refrain them from the unlawful and themselves refrain from it. It is as though they have finished the journey of this world towards the next world and have beheld what lies beyond it. Consequently, they have become acquainted with all that befell them in the interstice during their long stay therein, and the Day of Judgement fulfils its promises for them. Therefore, they removed the curtain from these things for the people of the world, till it was as though they were seeing what people did not see and were hearing what people did not hear.

فَلَوْ مَثَّلْتَهُمْ لِعَقْلِكَ فِي مَقَاوِمِهِمُ الْـمَحْمُودَةِ، وَمَجَالِسِهِمُ الْمَشْهُودَةِ، وَقَدْ نَشَرُوا دَوَاوِينَ أَعْمَالِهِمْ، وَفَرَغُوا لِـمُحَاسَبَةِ أَنْفُسِهِمْ، وَعَلَى كُلِّ صَغِيرَة وَكَبِيرَة أُمِرُوا بِهَا فَقَصَّرُوا عَنْهَا، أَوْ نُهوُا عَنْهَا فَفَرَّطُوا فِيهَا، وَحَمَّلُوا ثِقَلَ أَوْزَارِهِمْ ظُهُورَهُمْ، فَضَعُفُوا عَنِ الاْسْتِقلاَلِ بِهَا، فَنَشَجُوا نَشِيجاً، وَتَجَاوَبُوا نَحِيباً، يَعِجُّونَ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ مِنْ مَقَامِ نَدَم وَاعْتِرَاف، لَرَأَيْتَ أَعْلاَمَ هُدىً، وَمَصَابِيحَ دُجىً، قَدْ حَفَّتْ بِهِمُ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ، وَتَنَزَّلَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ السَّكِينَةُ، وَفُتِحَتْ لَهُمْ أَبْوَابُ السَّماءِ، وَأَعِدَّتْ لَهُمْ مَقَاعِدُ الْكَرَامَاتِ، فِي مَقْعَد اطَّلَعَ اللهُ عَلَيْهِمْ فِيهِ،

If you picture them in your mind in their admirable positions and well-known sittings, when they have opened the records of their actions and are prepared to render an account of themselves in respect of the small as well as the big things they were ordered to do but they failed to do, or were ordered to refrain from but they indulged therein, and they realised the weight of their burden (of bad acts) on their backs, and they felt too weak to bear them, then they wept bitterly and spoke to each other while still crying and bewailing to Allāh in repentance and acknowledgement (of their shortcomings), you would find them to be emblems of guidance and lamps in darkness, angels would be surrounding them, peace would be descending upon them, the doors of the sky would be opened for them and positions of honour would be assigned to them in the place of which Allāh had informed them.

فَرَضِيَ سَعْيَهُمْ، وَحَمِدَ مَقَامَهُمْ، يَتَنَسَّمُونَ بِدُعَائِهِ رَوْحَ ا لتَّجَاوُزِ، رَهَائِنُ فَاقَة إِلَى فَضْلِهِ، وَأُسَارَى ذِلَّة لِعَظَمَتِهِ، جَرَحَ طُولُ الاْسَى قُلُوبَهُمْ، وَطُولُ الْبُكَاءِ عُيُونَهُمْ. لِكُلِّ بَابِ رَغْبَة إِلَى اللهِ سُبحانَهُ مِنْهُمْ يَدٌ قَارِعةٌ، يَسْأَلُونَ مَنْ لاَ تَضِيقُ لَدَيْهِ الْمَنَادِحُ، وَلاَ يَخِيبُ عَلَيْهِ الرَّاغِبُونَ. فَحَاسِبْ نَفْسَكَ لِنَفْسِكَ، فَإِنَّ غَيْرَهَا مِنَ الاْنْفُسِ لَهَا حَسِيبٌ غَيْرُكَ.

Therefore, He has appreciated their actions and praised their position.They call Him and breathe in the air of forgiveness, they are ever needy of His bounty and remain humble before His greatness, The length of their grief has pained their hearts, and the length of weeping their eyes. They knock at every door of inclination towards Allāh. They ask Him Whom generosity does not make destitute and from Whom those who approach Him do not get disappointed. Therefore, take account of yourself for your own sake because the account of others will be taken by one other than you.

Extrait de ses paroles (Prononcé après avoir dit): «[Les croyants] exaltent Dieu le matin et le soir, sans être distraits par la vente et l’achat».

Dieu -que son nom soit loué- a fait du rappel de Ses attributs une clarté pour les cœurs, un remède contre la surdité, la cécité et le retus. Au temps où il n’y avait pas de prophètes sur terre. Dieu avait des adorateurs qu’il inspirait spirituellement et parlait à leurs intellects. Ceux-ci illuminèrent leurs lampes d’une lumière qui éveillait leurs vues, leurs ouïes et leurs cœurs. Ils rappelèrent les travaux de Dieu, répandirent Sa crainte dans les cœurs, comme autant de repères dans les régions arides. Ils louèrent ceux qui suivaient le juste milieu dans leur comportement et leur annoncèrent le salut; ils vilipendèrent ceux qui zigzaguaient sur leur chemin et les mirent en garde contre la perdition; ainsi, ils étaient des lanternes qui dissipaient les ténèbres et des jalons qui éloignaient les malentendus.

Le rappel de Dieu avait donc des tenants qui avaient banni le monde, délaissé les transactions et menaient une vie où ils clamaient les interdictions divines dans les oreilles des insouciants, ordonnaient la justice quais pratiquaient et interdisaient le blâmable qu’ils fuyaient. Ils paraissaient en train de traverser la vie terrestre tout en étant vivants, mais voyant ce qu’il y a au-delà d’elle, comme s’ils étaient au courant de l’Au-delà, derrière la barrière [Al Barzakh] qui sépare la vie terrestre de la vie future. La Résurrection leur révéla ses promesses qu’ils ont dévoilées aux hommes, comme s’ils voyaient et entendaient ce que ceux-ci ne voient ni n’entendent.

Imaginez-vous les hom- mes dans leurs lieux de séjour connus et dignes d’éloges, en train d’inscrire leurs oeuvres et de régler leurs comptes; leurs négligences dans l’accomplissement de tout acte, petit ou grand; leurs désobéissances aux interdictions; leurs péchés qui alourdissent leurs dos; leur repentir accompagné de gémissement..... Si tu imagines tout cela tu verras les bannières de la bonne guidance, les lanternes du soir, entourés des anges et jouissant de la tranquillité. Les portes du Ciel leur sont ouvertes et les sièges d’honneur leur sont préparés.

Dieu est content de leurs œuvres et loue leur position. Par leurs prières ils s’attendent à être impunis. Ils sont des otages dont la pauvreté aspire aux dons de Dieu et des prisonniers qui s’humilient devant Sa Grandeur. Leur longue tristesse a blessé leurs cœurs et leurs pleurs continus ont flétri leurs yeux. Leurs mains frappent à la porte de leur désir de voir Dieu, Ils implorent Celui qui s’étend au-delà de l’espace et qui ne déçoit pas ceux qui Le désirent. Fais donc tes propres comptes et ne sois pas celui qui demande des comptes à des âmes qui seront jugées par d’autres.

Nahj al-Balāgha

Chapter #222