Bright Moon: A Collection of Poems of Imam Husayn (as)

1. Ethical Topics =================

1. مباحث الاخلاقية

The Special Book of God

A worldly person will very soon be placed in a house of grave, taken away from the castle he lives in

He will be left there alone, secluded and separated from everyone; while paleness, loneliness and exile will surround him from every side

The fright of judgement day is the hardest among all the fears where a person’s offspring will be summoned for judgement

Every good deed he has done and each bad deed he was ditched into will be found in that special book of God

If we are intelligent enough, we would know that the time for provision and making use of the rest of our lives has come near.[^1]

Piety as Immunity

O you! Who is deceived by this world; whom are you collecting these belongings and household goods for?

Soon you will pass from this world in an unpleasant way and alone (it will be)

While after you, your widow will be left alone with all your belongings

While your successors will abandon you without even being loyal to your advice; without even arranging the works which were left by you in disarray

You collected so many sins that in the long run it closed all the doors of awakening and deliverance upon you

And now, apart from Allah’s fear, you have no shelter and support. And you have no one who can listen to your cries![^2]

Cure of Sins

You can heal every pain with tolerance, while there is no cure for the sickness of your sins

Except for crying in Merciful God’s presence; accompanied by the fear (of God) and hope

And also nothing other than long dark nights with pitch black curtains; spent wide awake (while praying) in the hope of forgiveness

And also nothing other than showing remorse and regret, from the sins and the deviated path that you were in all the time

If you be like this, maybe tomorrow you will reach a position where you will be happy and free from the chains of worldly and polluted attachments

O you! Who is deceived by this world; whom are you collecting these belongings and household goods for?

Soon you will pass from this world in an unpleasant way and alone (it will be)

While after you, your widow will be left alone with all your belongings,

While your successors will abandon you without even being loyal to your advice; without even arranging the works which were left by you in disarray

You collected so many sins that in the long run it closed all the doors of awakening and deliverance upon you

And now, apart from Allah’s fear, you have no shelter and support. And you have no one who can listen to your cries![^3]

Safe Path

Perform only those tasks which will take you towards freedom and salvation

Those tasks that you anticipate will help you achieve salvation with great pace and that will help you and rescue you from the austerities of the Day of Judgment

Purifying your soul of sins; doing good deeds to believers and having good intentions for relatives and those around you

Only these things can help you receive God’s mercy

If you think of doing good deeds all the time, salvation is yours. Otherwise you will have no sanctuary.[^4]

Readiness for Salvation

Control your urges, because there is nothing more pleasurable than repenting (for your sins)

Every time you spend your nights and reach the morning, be prepared for death

As if you will not be alive by the end of the day (live everyday as if it is your last day in this world)

There are many healthy people in this world who would receive the message of death before morning

Hurry up! Repent for your sins before you die

Respectable is not the one who keeps away from good deeds but the one who endeavours for salvation (day of judgement).[^5]

Departure Alarm

My brother! You have stayed for long in this corrupted land. The luggage you have prepared for the journey towards judgment day is not at all good

Your heart caved in to your desires and you did not stop yourself and hence moved towards those desires.

Those sins took you wherever they wanted you to; as the sins found that you surrendered to them very easily

Truly, the final call before the caravan leaves has come. Don’t turn a deaf ear

With these white hairs, you have no need for any other warning.[^6]

World’s Deadly Trap

The world that has seduced you with its beauty is moving towards doom

Try to avoid and restrain yourself from the dangers of this world! For the ones who know that this world is just a journey, never listen to its call

Indeed the sweetness of this world is mixed with sourness and poison

And no other castle can protect the man from the harms of this world, other than abstinence from it

I am wondering about the ones who get deceived by the luxuries of this world and how they cheer up with these few days of happiness in it

I wonder how they prefer to stay in a desert, upon being in a green and rainy place!?[^7]

Passing Shadow

What is this world? Other than a moving shadow of the day that never stays at one place

Think about it; the ones who had large armies, military horses and camel loads of luggage; where are they now?

Those who were the bravest and used to boast and brag in front of others, where are they now?

Caliphs, kings and high ranking nobles who came and left centuries before; where are they now?

They have been forgotten in such a way as if they never existed! Is there someone who can claim to be immortal?[^8]

Hasty Passengers for Departure

How can a courageous man reach a position of honour just with the help of wealth? Whereas, it is this wealth only (that he has) which is the reason for his misfortune and inconvenience

How can a wealthy person be madly in love with this world? Whereas the real wealth is in being defiant to the self-desires and this world

We, the inhabitants of this world are like travellers (in this world) whose time to migrate is near

We are so much unaware of the ultimate fate of this world, as if we have never experienced the condolences that came after the congratulations!

We have still not become aware of the fact that this world is not a place to stay and settle and there is no other way but to migrate from here.[^9]

Do Not Make Your Home on Soft Land

Behold! You, who are beguiled, how are you building homes in sand? While the sand is not kind to the foundations of that building

Your sins are enormous and numerous and continuous, but the fountain of your tears has dried and you have become stone hearted

Remember the days when you disobeyed Allah’s commandments. You may have forgotten them but they have been registered against you

How do you plan to carry the weight of your sins that are like a mountain on your shoulders –on the resurrection day?

Your friends and relatives will be of no use to you on that day and no one will be there to help you.[^10]

Roots of Foresight

Foresight is when you finish your day and reach nightfall only when your God is satisfied from you

And at the place of chaos and distress, you choose the right path because the right path is the best choice

Keep yourself away from those words and deeds that may mislead and destroy you and prolong your sorrows and take you closer to the burning heat of hell

Put the sleep away from your eyes in the dark nights and take the spiritual fruit of your prayers from Allah. Oblivious (unmindful of hereafter) people are just like the animals of pasturage.[^11]

Disappointed

The most shameful thing for human being is when he leaves the heights of humanity and falls into the ditch of corruption and shows eagerness towards bad deeds and abstains from goodness

Doomed are the rulers who order their slaves with their fingers to carry out and stop deeds (according to their own wish) while sitting on the throne of power

Doomed are the men who think that these objects of enjoyment will help them pass from the bridge of siraat (on the judgment day)

These miserable human beings are lost and incapable and their hearts have got separated from the jugular vein of immortality.[^12]

Piety of Youth

Those who betray themselves will have no respect for human values

Such person does not have abstinence nor loyalty and nor the capability of taking advice

The meaning of piousness and chivalry is not just in shaving your head and wearing coarse clothes

But is in having a good character and good manner of speaking and having a heart that is not greedy for this world

It is a must, to be after deliverance and development with all the energy one has and in doing so escape from the fire of Allah’s wrath.[^13]

Rebel

Only the disobedient human beings are the ones who are after high ranks and positions, in this low-lying world; while these worldly high-ranks do not have a happy ending

The tradition of this world is like this only, that whenever someone is after the high-ranks and positions, this world shows its back to him and the high ranks tend to run away from him

These worldly high-ranks are impermanent and transient; just like the building that disintegrates and gets ruined after being constructed

I have seen the emperors of my times, hence listen to what I am saying and don’t be after ruling this world.[^14]

Enthusiasm for Virtue

Know this! The only good competition is a competition to escape from the miseries of this world

The world that has surrounded the lives of every human being, is moving towards doom, with every passing moment and the only thing that will survive is the good deeds

Very soon you will be remorseful and at the time of separation from this world (at the time of death), alas! All you could do is Yearn!

Do you know at all, how hard it is? Think for a while and be sure that the day of separation will soon reach

Death is an irreplaceable separation, because there is not even a single ray of hope of meeting again in it.[^15]

Well known! You, the world

Troubles and sorrows will also increase as much as the wealth increases

O world! We know you very well and we know that your love is the reason for the bitterness and the destruction of life

No pious and devout human being will be unadulterated and pure until he is constantly occupied with the worldly thoughts and the thoughts of his family.[^16]

Intention to Return

God is merciful and he accepts the repentance, even from the ones who have lost their way and got strayed and have been capricious

I wish that God delivers me to resurrection day and by doing so blinds the enemy, the stubborn devil

I hope God bestows benefit upon me for these poems of mine. Benefit to the one who gave the advice and also upon the one who listens to these advices

My sins have branded my sides. Sins are like the iron bars used for branding. For someone who gets branded through sins, there is no cure and remedy except Allah’s forgiveness and mercy.[^17]

Oh You! The Experienced

I am surprised to see the experienced people as to how can they be after their diligence indulge in negligence?

I wonder how some people can be so attached to misdeeds and vice

How can they not be after their salvation?

I am surprised that people take themselves closer to death out of ignorance and put themselves in danger by their misdeeds and vice

His death will approach him very soon and he will be made aware of the unseen; but by then it will be too late and mourning people will surround him.[^18]

Towards Dispersal

Everything that we are living in and which is connected closely to each other is eventually going to disperse

And everything -whether halaal or haraam- that we care about so much, is going to be distributed amongst our sons and daughters

And also amongst the ones whom we considered are of no use before we died and those who had no value for us

And all our friends and relatives will forget us completely after a decade while we have become just a bunch of decayed bones

As if we didn’t live in friendship and care with each other and they didn’t have the pact of friendship after death.[^19]

House of Performance

The outward appearances of these graves are decorated but the inside it is filled with hardships and difficulties

You! The worshippers of Allah; beware and do not be deceived by this world

You will be asked of your actions in the graves, hence always think of doing good deeds and don’t loose focus

O you! Who are entering in this world and are deceived by your desires; death approaches suddenly and grave is the chest for the examination of your deeds.[^20]

World Tempted

Someone who is deceived by this world does not know the difference of lawful and unlawful and grabs on to everything he can put his hands on

Don’t be deceived by this world and loose it free; because its friendship with you is not at all enduring

How can you not give a little amount from your wealth to the poor which will be the reason for your sufferings on the judgment day

I have always hurried towards every good deed and have the adopted the perfect characteristics and the noblest virtues.[^21]

The Uncovered Beautiful

O you who is yearning for the pleasures of youth in his old age! And someone who is unaware of the jewel of his soul

Know this! I am not unhappy with your lost youth-that has gone by-and your lost pleasures; but I see the pearl of your soul that has changed its clothes just like a handsome person (sometimes wearing the cloth of youth and sometimes the cloth of old age) and has gathered his clothing away from dust and haze in the open fields of life

He (the pearl of your soul) is extremely melodious and the cold heavenly winds are blowing on the patches of his clothes

Your body and soul are like a rainy cloud and the time has come near for that cloud to pour down

You are thirsty of reaching the maturity and the lightning that you feel inside yourself is a sign that the time of rainfall has come near

The time will approach when the flood of Allah’s mercy will descend upon the cottage of your body and will destroy it, eventually it will free the bird of your soul from the cage of your body.[^22]

Wise Choice

The people who attempt to acquire the worldly properties that seem to them precious must realize what will be presented in heaven by God shall be the more (even the most) noble and valuable

If the bodies are to be under sovereignty of death, then to be killed by sword for the sake of God is preferred

If livelihood is to be fixed by God, then little effort in seeking it, not in greed, is more beautiful

If belongings are to be left behind, then what would be the reason for man, not to be generous?[^23]

Be Magnanimous

Be magnanimous and have a good character and don’t be bad to someone who has his hopes on you.

Don’t be indifferent to ungraceful speeches and hideous actions and stay away from corruption

Help the widows and orphans and don’t be two faced among your relatives and outsiders

Try to have more relations with others, don’t get angry, don’t be proud and presumptuous, do good deeds and be loyal to the promises you make

Take my advice with the bottom of your heart; so that in hard times you may have serenity.[^24]

The Friend Killing World

Shame to you! O mortal world - how many you kill of your companions from morning till sunset - and no ransom you accept

Every living would come across such a concluded destination - in such a fast moving time

Yes the return would be to our Lord, the Almighty.[^25]

[^1]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 900-901; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 47.

[^2]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 905; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 48.

[^3]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 905-906; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 48.

[^4]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 906; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 48.

[^5]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 906; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 48.

[^6]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 907-908; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 49.

[^7]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 908; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 49.

[^8]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 909.

[^9]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 909-910; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 50.

[^10]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 910; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 50.

[^11]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 912-913; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 51.

[^12]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 913; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 51.

[^13]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 914; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 51.

[^14]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 915; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 52.

[^15]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 917; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 53.

[^16]: A’yaan al-Shia, vol. 1, p. 621; Al-Bidayah wal Nihayah, vol. 8, p. 228; Al-Imam al-Hussein wal Maqtalahu (Translation), p. 232.

[^17]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 934; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 55.

[^18]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 918-919; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 53.

[^19]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 904; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 47.

[^20]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 922; Ahqaq al-Haqqq, vol. 11, p. 628.

[^21]: Mausu’ah Kalimat al-Imam al-Husayn (as), p. 923; Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 55.

[^22]: Hayat al-Imam Husayn, vol. 1, p. 184; Matalib al-Sa’ool fi Manaqib Aal ar Rasool, p. 28-29.

[^23]: As cited by Seyyed Ibn Ta’oos from Zariyah al-Nijat, p. 124-125.

[^24]: Adab al-Husayn wal Hamasah, p. 55.

[^25]: A’yaan al-Shia, vol. 1, p. 601.