١٥٠. وَقَالَ (عليه ‏السلام) لِرَجُلٍ سَأَلَهُ أَنْ يَعِظَهُ:

150. Amīr al-mu’minīn, peace be upon him, said to a man who had requested him to preach:

لَا تَكُنْ مِمَّنْ يَرْجُو الْآخِرَةَ بِغَيْرِ عَمَلٍ وَيُرَجِّي التَّوْبَةَ بِطُولِ الْأَمَلِ يَقُولُ فِي الدُّنْيَا بِقَوْلِ الزَّاهِدِينَ وَيَعْمَلُ فِيهَا بِعَمَلِ الرَّاغِبِينَ إِنْ أُعْطِيَ مِنْهَا لَمْ يَشْبَعْ وَإِنْ مُنِعَ مِنْهَا لَمْ يَقْنَعْ يَعْجِزُ عَنْ شُكْرِ مَا أُوتِيَ وَيَبْتَغِي الزِّيَادَةَ فِيمَا بَقِيَ يَنْهَى وَلَا يَنْتَهِي وَيَأْمُرُ بِمَا لَا يَأْتِي يُحِبُّ الصَّالِحِينَ وَلَا يَعْمَلُ عَمَلَهُمْ وَيُبْغِضُ الْمُذْنِبِينَ وَهُوَ أَحَدُهُمْ يَكْرَهُ الْمَوْتَ لِكَثْرَةِ ذُنُوبِهِ وَيُقِيمُ عَلَى مَا يَكْرَهُ الْمَوْتَ مِنْ أَجْلِهِ.

Do not be like him who hopes for (bliss in) the next life without action, and delays repentance by lengthening desires, who utters words like ascetics in this world but acts like those who are eager for it; if he is allowed something from it he does not feel satisfied; if he is denied he is not content; he is not grateful for what he gets and covets for increase in whatever remains with him; he refrains others but not himself; he commands others for what he himself does not do; he loves the virtuous but does not behave like them; he hates the vicious but himself is one of them; he dislikes death because of the excess of his sins but adheres to that for which he is afraid of death.

إِنْ سَقِمَ ظَلَّ نَادِماً وَإِنْ صَحَّ أَمِنَ، لَاهِياً يُعْجَبُ بِنَفْسِهِ إِذَا عُوفِيَ وَيَقْنَطُ إِذَا ابْتُلِيَ، إِنْ أَصَابَهُ بَلَاءٌ دَعَا مُضْطَرّاً وَإِنْ نَالَهُ رَخَاءٌ أَعْرَضَ مُغْتَرّاً، تَغْلِبُهُ نَفْسُهُ عَلَى مَا يَظُنُّ وَلَا يَغْلِبُهَا عَلَى مَا يَسْتَيْقِنُ، يَخَافُ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ بِأَدْنَى مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ وَيَرْجُو لِنَفْسِهِ بِأَكْثَرَ مِنْ عَمَلِهِ، إِنِ اسْتَغْنَى بَطِرَ وَفُتِنَ وَإِنِ افْتَقَرَ قَنِطَ وَوَهَنَ، يُقَصِّرُ إِذَا عَمِلَ وَيُبَالِغُ إِذَا سَأَلَ، إِنْ عَرَضَتْ لَهُ شَهْوَةٌ أَسْلَفَ الْمَعْصِيَةَ وَسَوَّفَ التَّوْبَةَ وَإِنْ عَرَتْهُ مِحْنَةٌ انْفَرَجَ عَنْ شَرَائِطِ الْمِلَّةِ، يَصِفُ الْعِبْرَةَ وَلَا يَعْتَبِرُ وَيُبَالِغُ فِى الْمَوْعِظَةِ وَلَا يَتَّعِظُ، فَهُوَ بِالْقَوْلِ مُدِلٌّ وَمِنَ الْعَمَلِ مُقِلٌّ يُنَافِسُ فِيمَا يَفْنَى وَيُسَامِحُ فِيمَا يَبْقَى يَرَى الْغُنْمَ مَغْرَماً وَالْغُرْمَ مَغْنَماً، يَخْشَى الْمَوْتَ وَلَا يُبَادِرُ الْفَوْتَ.

If he falls ill he is remorseful; if he is healthy he feels secure and indulges in amusements; when he recovers from illness he feels vain about himself; when he is afflicted he loses hope; if distress befalls him he prays like a bewildered man; when he finds ease of life he falls into deceit and turns his face away; his heart overpowers him by means of imaginary things while he cannot control his heart by his conviction; for others he is afraid of small sins, but for himself he expects more reward than his performance; if he becomes wealthy he becomes self-conceited and falls into vice; if he becomes poor he despairs and becomes weak; he falls short when doing a good thing but goes too far when he is begging; when passion overtakes him he is quick in committing sin but delays repentance; if hardship befalls him he goes beyond the cannons of the (Islamic) community; he describes instructive events but does not take instruction himself; he preaches at length but does not accept any preaching for himself; he is tall in speaking but short in action; he aspires for things that will perish and ignores things that will last for good; he regards profit as loss and loss as profit; he fears death but does nothing in its anticipation.

يَسْتَعْظِمُ مِنْ مَعْصِيَةِ غَيْرِهِ مَا يَسْتَقِلُّ أَكْثَرَ مِنْهُ مِنْ نَفْسِهِ، وَيَسْتَكْثِرُ مِنْ طَاعَتِهِ مَا يَحْقِرُهُ مِنْ طَاعَةِ غَيْرِهِ، فَهُوَ عَلَى النَّاسِ طَاعِنٌ وَلِنَفْسِهِ مُدَاهِنٌ، اللَّهْوُ مَعَ الْأَغْنِيَاءِ أَحَبُّ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الذِّكْرِ مَعَ الْفُقَرَاءِ، يَحْكُمُ عَلَى غَيْرِهِ لِنَفْسِهِ وَلَا يَحْكُمُ عَلَيْهَا لِغَيْرِهِ يُرْشِدُ غَيْرَهُ وَيُغْوِى نَفْسَهُ، فَهُوَ يُطَاعُ وَيَعْصِى وَيَسْتَوْفِى وَلَا يُوفِى، وَيَخْشَى الْخَلْقَ فِى غَيْرِ رَبِّهِ وَلَا يَخْشَى رَبَّه فِى خَلْقِهِ.

He regards the sins of others as big but considers the same things for himself as small; if he does something in obedience to Allāh he considers it much but if others do the same he considers it small; he therefore rebukes others but flatters himself; entertainment in the company of the wealthy is dearer to him than remembrance (of Allāh) with the poor; he passes verdicts against others for his own interests and does not do so against himself for others’ interests; he guides others but misguides himself; he is obeyed by others but he himself disobeys (Allāh); he seeks fulfilment (of obligations towards himself) but does not fulfil his obligations (towards others); he fears the people (and acts) for other than his Lord (Allāh) and does not fear his Lord in his dealings with the people.

قال السيد الرضى: و لو لم يكن فى هذا الكتاب إلا هذا الكلام لكفى به موعظة ناجعة و حكمة بالغة و بصيرة لمبصر و عبرة لناظر مفكر.

As-Sayyid ar-Raḍī says: If this book had contained nothing save this short utterance it would have sufficed as a successful piece of preaching, a specimen of high philosophy, an object of wisdom for the onlooker and a source of instruction for the meditative watcher.

150. Il dit à un homme qui lui demanda de le conseiller:

Ne sois pas comme celui qui espère la vie future sans agir et retarde le repentir dans I’espoir d’une longue vie. Dans le monde il parle le langage des ascètes, mais y travaille comme ceux qui désirent la vie terrestre, ne se rassasient pas de ses biens et, s’ils en sont privés, ne se contentent pas de ce qui leur est donné. Un tel homme est incapable de remercier pour ce qu’il a reçu et désirerait encore jouir davantage de ce qui reste. Il défend de faire ce que lui-même fait et ordonne de faire ce qu’il ne fait point lui-même. Il aime les gens de bien mais ne les imite pas dans leurs actions; hait les pécheurs alors qu’il en fait partie. Il abhorre la mort à cause de ses péchés nombreux et se complaît dans ce qui lui fait haïr la mort.

S’il tombe malade, il regrette de ne pas avoir ménagé sa santé, mais s’il se porte bien il se sent bien en sûreté. S’il guérit il devient infatué de lui-même, mais s’il est éprouvé il désespère. Quand il est frappé par un malheur il invoque Dieu bon gré mal gré, mais quand il se trouve dans un état de bien-être il devient inattentif envers Dieu. Il est certain que le bonheur réside dans l’ascèse et la vertu, mais il ne s’efforce pas de les pratiquer. Il se plaint chez les autres des fautes moindres que les siennes, et espère une situation supérieure à celle que méritent ses actions. S’il s’enrichit il devient pétulant et séduit, et s’il s’appauvrit il désespère et s’affaiblit. Son travail laisse à désirer. Lorsqu’il sollicite, il exagère. Il succombe devant les passions et renvoie le repentir du jour au lendemain. Il renonce à la patience et à la persévérance s’il lui arrive un malheur. Il décrit les événements qui servent d’avertissement mais n’en prend pas leçon, exagère en sermonnarst maïs m’en a cure. Il s’eleve très haut en paroles mais il est parcimonieux en actions. Il rivalise avec ses semblables pour ce qui est éphémère mais les traite avec indulgence en ce qui concerne les valeurs étemelles... Il a peur de la mort et ne profite pas de l’occasion pour s’y préparer.

Il s’étonne de la grandeur des péchés d’autrui, main minimise ses défauts plus grands encore, Il considère que son obéissance est beaucoup plus grande que celle méprisable des autres. Il diffame les autres et dissimule ses propres actions. Les amusements avec les riches prévalent chez lui plus que le rappel de Dieu avec les pauvres. Il juge mal les autres et tourne ce qui le concerne à son propre avantage. Il dirige les autres et se trompe lui-même. Il est obéi mais il est désobéissant à Dieu; il prend ses droits mais ne donne point aux autres leur dû. Il craint les créatures pour des raisons qui n’ont rien à voir avec Dieu, mais il ne craint pas Dieu dans son comportement envers les créatures.

Nahj al-Balāgha

Chapter #150