The responsibility for what I say is guaranteed and I am answerable for it. He to whom experiences have clearly shown the past exemplary punishments (given by Allah to peoples) is prevented by piety from falling into doubts. You should know that the same troubles have returned to you which existed when the Prophet was first sent.
By Allah who sent the Prophet with faith and truth you will be severely subverted, bitterly shaken as in sieving and fully mixed as by spooning in a cooking pot till your low persons become high and high ones become low, those who were behind would attain forward positions and those who were forward would become backward. By Allah, I have not concealed a single word or spoken any lie and I had been informed of this event and of this time.
Beware that sins are like unruly horses on whom their riders have
been placed and their reins have been let loose so that they would
jump with them in Hell. Beware that piety is like trained horses
on whom the riders have been placed with the reins in their hands,
so that they would take the riders to Heaven. There is right and
wrong and there are followers for each. If wrong dominates, it
has (always) in the past been so, and if truth goes down that
too has often occurred. It seldom happens that a thing that lags
behind comes forward.
ash-Sharif ar-Radi says: In this small speech there is more beauty than can be appreciated, and the quantity of amazement aroused by it is more than the appreciation accorded to it. Despite what we have stated it has so many aspects of eloquence that cannot be expressed nor can anyone reach its depth, and no one can understand what I am saying unless one has attained this art and known its details.
. . . No one appreciates it except those who know (Qur'an, 29:43)
He who has heaven and hell in his view has no other aim. He who attempts and acts quickly, succeeds, while the seeker who is slow may also entertain hope, and he who falls short of action faces destruction in Hell. On right and left there are misleading paths. Only the middle way is the (right) path which is the Everlasting Book and the traditions of the Prophet. From it the sunnah has spread out and towards it is the eventual return.
He who claims (otherwise) is ruined and he who concocts falsehood
is disappointed. He who opposes(1) right with
his face gets destruction.
It is enough ignorance for a man not to know himself. He who is
strong rooted(2) in piety does not get
destruction,
and the plantation of a people based on piety never remains without
water. Hide yourselves in your houses and reform yourselves. Repentance
is at your back. One should praise only Allah and condemn only
his own self.
(1). In some versions after the words "man
abda safhatahu lilhaqqi halaka:" the words "`inda
jahalati'n-nas" also occur. In that case the meaning
of this sentence would be that he who stands in face of right
dies in the estimation of the ignorant.
(2). Piety is the name of heart and mind being
affected
and impressed by the Divine Greatness and Glory, as an effect
of which the spirit of man becomes full of fear of Allah, and
its inevitable result is that engrossment in worship and prayer
increases. It is impossible that heart may be full of Divine fear
and there be no manifestation of it in actions and deeds. And
since worship and submission reform the heart and nurture the
spirit, purity of heart increases with the increase of worship.
That is why in the Qur'an "taqwa" (piety) has
been applied sometimes to fear, sometimes to worship and devotion
and sometimes to purity of heart and spirit. Thus in the verse
"wa iyyaya fattaqun" (and Me you fear [16:2])
taqwa implies fear, in the verse, "ittaqu'l-laha
haqqa tuqatihi" (worship Allah as He ought to be worshipped
[3:102]), taqwa implies worship and devotion and in the
verse "wa yakhsha'l-laha wa yattaqhi faulaika humu'l-faizun"
(24:52) taqwa implies purity of spirit and cleanliness
of heart.
In the traditions taqwa has been assigned three degrees.
The first degree is that a man should follow the injunctions and
keep aloof from prohibitions. The second degree is that recommended
matters should also be followed and disliked things should be
avoided. The third degree is that for fear of falling into doubts
one may abstain from the permissible as well. The first degree
is for the common men, the second for the nobles and the third
for high dignitaries. Allah has referred to these three degrees
in the following verse:
Amir al-mu'minin says that only action based on piety is lasting,
and only that action will blossom and bear fruit which is watered
by piety because worship is only that wherein the feeling of submission
exists. Thus, Allah says:
Consequently, every such belief as is not based on knowledge and
conviction is like the edifice, erected without foundation, wherein
there is no stability or firmness while every action that is without
piety is like the plantation which withers for lack of watering.
On those who believe and do good, is no blame for what they
ate, (before) when they did guard themselves and did believe,
and did good, still (furthermore) they guard themselves
and do good; and Allah loveth the doers of good. (Qur'an,
5:93)
Is he therefore better who hath laid his foundation on fear
of Allah and (His) goodwill or he who layeth his foundation
on the brink of a crumbling hollowed bank so it crumbled down
with him into the fire of Hell... (Qur'an, 9:109)