Ghurar Al-Hikam Wa Durar Al-Kalim, Exalted Aphorisms And Pearls Of Speech

The Miser And The Avaricious

The Miser and the Avaricious البخيل والشَّحيح

  1. A miser is stingy towards himself with little of his worldly possessions and leaves all the rest for his heirs.

1ـ البَخيلُ يَبْخَلُ على نَفْسِهِ بِاليَسيرِ مِنْ دُنياهُ، ويَسْمَحُ

لِوُرَّاثهِ بِكُلِّها.

  1. A miser gives up of more of his honour than what he holds of his possessions and loses multiple times more of his religion than what he saves of his property.

2ـ اَلبَخيلُ يَسْمَحُ مِنْ عِرْضِهِ بِأكثَرَ مِمّا أمْسَكَ مِنْ

عَرَضِهِ، ويُضَيِّعُ مِنْ دينِهِ أضعافَ ما حَفِظَ مِنْ نَشَبِهِ.

  1. The farthest of creatures from Allah, the Exalted, is the wealthy miser.

3ـ أبْعَدُ الخلائِقِ مِنَ اللّهِ تعالى اَلبَخيلُ الغَنِيُّ.

  1. The most miserly with his possessions is the most generous with his honour.

4ـ أبْخَلُ النَّاسِ بِعَرَضِهِ أسْخاهُمْ بِعِرْضِهِ.

  1. The most miserly of all people is the one who is stingy to himself with his wealth, and [eventually] leaves it behind for his heirs.

5ـ أبْخَلُ النَّاسِ مَنْ بَخِلَ على نَفْسِهِ بِمالِهِ، وخَلَّفَهُ

لِوُرّاثهِِ.

  1. The miser is dispraised, the envious is disheartened.

6ـ البَخيلُ مَذْمُومٌ، اَلْحَسُودُ مَغْمُومٌ.

  1. The miser is a treasurer for his heirs.

7ـ اَلبَخيلُ خازِنٌ لِوَرَثَتِهِ.

  1. A miser hastens poverty.

8ـ البَخيلُ مُتَعَجِّلُ الفَقْرِ.

  1. A miser is always disgraced.

9ـ اَلبَخيلُ أبَداً ذَليلٌ.

  1. A miser always comes up with excuses and pretexts.

10ـ اَلبَخيلُ مُتَحَجِّجٌ (مُتَبََجِّجٌ) بِالمعاذيرِ والتَّعالِيلِ.

  1. A miser is abased among those who are dear to him.

11ـ اَلبَخيلُ ذَليلٌ بَيْنَ أعِزَّتِهِ.

  1. I am amazed at the wretched miser who rushes towards the poverty that is fleeing him and loses the wealth that is seeking him; he lives a life of poverty in this world and is called to account with the reckoning of the wealthy in the Hereafter.

12ـ عَجِبْتُ لِلْشَّقِيِّ البَخيلِ يَتَعَجَّلُ الفَقْرَ الَّذي مِنْهُ

هَرَبَ ويَفُوتُهُ الغِنى الَّذي إيّاهُ طَلَبَ فَيَعيشُ فِي الدُّنيا عَيْشَ الفُقَراءِ ويُحاسَبُ فِي الآخِرَةِ حِسابَ الأغْنياءِ.

  1. The avaricious has no friend.

13ـ لَيْسَ لِشَحيح رَفيقٌ.

  1. The miser has no close friend.

14ـ لَيْسَ لِبَخيل حَبيبٌ.

  1. He who is stingy to himself with his wealth is not successful and leaves behind his possessions for others.

15ـ لَمْ يُوفَّقْ مَنْ بَخِلَ عَلى نَفْسِهِ بِخَيْرِهِ وخَلَّفَ مالَهُ

لِغَيْرِهِ.

  1. One who withholds his hand out of fear of poverty has [actually] hastened poverty.

16ـ مَنْ قَبَضَ يَدَهُ مَخافَةَ الفَقْرِ فَقَدْ تَعَجَّلَ الفَقْرَ.

  1. One who is stingy with his wealth is abased.

17ـ مَنْ بَخِلَ بِمالِهِ ذَلَّ.

  1. One who is miserly with that which he does not [even] possess, has exceeded in meanness.

18ـ مَنْ بَخِلَ بِما لا يَمْلِكُهُ فَقَدْ بالَغَ فيِ الرَّذيلَةِ

(بالرَّذيلة).

  1. One who withholds his hand from [spending on] his family has only held back one hand from them but caused many hands to be withheld by them [against him].

19ـ مَنْ يَقْبِضْ يَدَهُ عَنْ عَشيرَتِهِ، فَإنَّما يَقْبِضُ يَداً

واحِداً عَنْهُمْ، ويَقْبِضُ عَنْهُ أيْديَ كَثيرَةً مِنْهُمْ.

  1. One who is stingy with his wealth towards himself, is generous with it to his wife’s [next] husband.

20ـ مَنْ بَخِلَ بِمالِهِ على نَفْسِهِ جادَ بِهِ على بَعْلِ عِرْسِهِ.

  1. He who is stingy to the one who needs what he possesses, Allah’s wrath upon him increases.

21ـ مَنْ بَخِلَ علَى المُحْتاجِ بِما لَدَيْهِ كَثُرَ سَخَطُ اللّهِ

علَيْهِ.

  1. He who is stingy with his favours has not fastened his faith [and made it firm].

22ـ ما عَقَدَ إيمانَهُ مَنْ بَخِـلَ بإحْسانِهِ.

  1. He who is stingy with his favours is not intelligent.

23ـ ما عَقَلَ مَنْ بَخِلَ بِإحسانِهِ.

  1. While passing by some filth in a cesspit, he (‘a) said: This is what you were competing for yesterday. And in another narration, he said: This is what the misers were stingy with.

24ـ وقال ـ عليه السّلام ـ: وَقَدْ مَرَّ بِقَذِر عَلى مَزْبَلَة: هذا ما

كُنْتُمْ (عَلَيْهِ بالأمْسِ تَتَنافَسُونَ) تَتَنافَسُونَ فيهِ بِالأمْسِ وفي خبر آخر أنَّهُ قال: هذا ما بَخِلَ بِهِ الباخِلُونَ.

  1. Woe to the miser who hastens towards the poverty which has fled from him and abandons the wealth that has sought him.

25ـ وَيْحَ البَخيلِ المُتَعَجِّلِ الفَقْرَ الَّذي مِنهُ هَرَبَ،

والتَّارِكِ الغِنَى الَّذي إيَّاهُ طَلَبَ.

  1. Do not be stingy by acting tightfistedly; and do not waste by acting extravagantly.

26ـ لاتَبْخَلْ فَتُقَتِّـرَ ولا تُسْرِفْ فَتُفْرِطَ.

  1. There is no magnanimity in a miser.

27ـ لامُرُوَّةَ لِبَخيل.

  1. Nothing holds back wealth except stinginess, and a miser is blameworthy and liable for punishment.

28ـ لايُبْقِى المالَ إلاَّ البُخْلُ، والبَخيلُ مُعاقَبٌ مَلُومٌ.

  1. A miser is rebuked in this world, and punished and chastised in the Hereafter.

29ـ اَلباخِلُ فيِ الدُّنيا مَذْمُومٌ، وفيِ الآخِرَةِ مُعَذَّبٌ

مَلُومٌ.