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

Important Events

Important events-الملاحم

1. One who understands the times [in which he lives] does not neglect to prepare [for what is to come].

1ـ مَنْ عَرَفَ الأيّامَ لَمْ يَغْفُلْ عَنِ الاِسْتِعْدادِ.

2. One who is crippled by the hardship of the times is raised by the assistance of the noble-minded ones.

2ـ مَنْ أقْعَدَتْهُ نِكايَةُ الأيّامِ أقامَتْهُ مَعُونَةُ الكِرامِ.

3. How quick the hours pass in the day and how fast the days pass in the month and how quick the months pass in the year and how fast the years pass in the lifetime!

3ـ ما أسْرَعَ السّاعاتِ فيِ الأيّامِ وأسْرَعَ الأيّامَ فيِ الشُّهُورِ

4. Days are the pages of your lifetime so eternize [or bind] them with your best deeds.

4ـ اَلأيّامُ صَحائِفُ آجالِكُمْ فَخَلِّدُوها (فَجَلِّدُوها) أحْسَنَ

5. Hours are the lurking place of banes.

5ـ اَلسّاعاتُ مُكْمَنُ الآفاتِ.

6. Hours plunder lifetimes.

6ـ السّاعاتُ تَنْهَبُ الأعْمارَ (الآجالَ)،.

7. The passing of days brings the benefit of experiences.

7ـ اَلأيّامُ تُفيدُ التَّجارِبَ.

8. Hours diminish lifetimes.

8ـ اَلسّاعاتُ تُنَقِّصُ الأعْمارَ.

9. The passing of days reveals the hidden secrets.

9ـ اَلأيّامُ تُوضِحُ السَّرائِرَ الكامِنَةَ.

10. Verily you are only [the sum total of] a fixed number of days, and every day that passes you by takes a piece of you with it, so reduce your desires and be moderate in your earning.

10ـ إنَّما أنْتَ عَدَدُ أيّام فَكُلُّ يَوْم يَمْضي عَلَيْكَ يَمْضي

11. Verily the previous generations were only wiped out by the alternation of movements and stillness.

11ـ إنَّما أبادَ القُرُونَ تَعاقُبُ الحَرَكاتِ والسُّكُونِ.

12. The early morning hours of Saturdays and Thursdays are a blessing.

12ـ بَكْرُ السَّبْتِ والخَميسِ بَرَكَةٌ.

13. The era of the just [ruler] is the best of eras.

13ـ زَمانُ العادِلِ خَيْرُ الأزْمِنَةِ.

14. Verily your moments are portions of your life, so do not pass your time except in that which will save you [in the Hereafter].

14ـ إنَّ أوْقاتَكَ أجْزاءُ عُمْرِكَ، فَلا تُنفِدْ(فَلا تُنْفِذْ) لَكَ

15. In every instance there is an action [that should be performed].

15ـ في كُلِّ وَقْت عَمَلٌ.

16. There will come a time upon the people when nothing of the Qur’an will remain except its written text, and nothing of Islam [will remain] but its name; on that day their masjids will be marvellously constructed buildings, but will be empty of (or desolate with regards to) guidance.

16ـ يَأْتي عَلَى النّاسِ زَمانٌ لايَبْقى مِنَ القُرْآنِ إلاّ رَسْمُهُ،

17. A time will come upon the people when none will be given a high position except the slanderer, none will be deemed witty except the corrupt and none will be regarded as weak but the just. People will consider charity as a loss, keeping ties with near relatives as an obligation and worship as a means of gaining superiority over people. Vain desires will overcome them and guidance will disappear from among them.

17ـ يَأْتي عَلَى النّاسِ زَمانٌ لايُقَرَّبُ فيهِ إلاّ الماحِلُ،

18. The camel growls after its silence, and time pounces [attacking] like a rapacious beast of prey.

18ـ هَدَرَ فَنيقُ الباطِلِ بَعْدَ كَظُوم، وصالَ الدَّهْرُ صِيالَ

19. By the One who split the seed and created humankind, there will surely come forth amongst you a community that will strike the heads on the interpretation of the Qur’an just as Muhammad (s) began [conveying to you] its revelation, this is the decree from the Most Merciful upon you in the end of days.

19ـ وَالَّذي فَلَقَ الحَبَّةَ، وبَرِيَ النَّسَمَةَ، لَيَظْهَرَنَّ

20. Do not plunge into the surge (or fire) of sedition that comes your way, and move away from its path while opening up the middle of the road for it [to pass].

20ـ لاتَقْتَحِمُوا مَا اسْتَقْبَلْتُمْ مِنْ فَوْرِ(نارِ) الفِتْنَةِ

21. He will direct desires towards guidance when [people] will have turned guidance towards desires, and he will turn his opinion towards the Qur’an when they turn the Qur’an towards their opinions.

21ـ يَعْطِفُ الهَوى عََلَى الهُدى إذا عَطَفُوا الهُدى عَلَى الهَوى،

22. You have forgotten what you were reminded of and felt safe from that which you were warned about, so your opinion has gone astray and your affair has dispersed.

22ـ نَسِيتُمْ ما ذُكِّرْتُمْ، وأمِنْتُمْ ما حُذِّرْتُمْ فَتاهَ

23. Do you see (or observe) anyone other than a poor man suffering poverty, or a rich man who shows ingratitude in return for the blessings that Allah has bestowed on him, or a miser who denies the right of Allah in order to increase his wealth, or an unruly person who closes his ears [as if he is deaf] to all [wise] counsel.

23 ـ هَلْ تَنْظُرُ (تُبْصِرُ) إلاّ فَقيراً يُكابِدُ فَقْراً، أوْ

24. By the One who sent Muhammad (s) with the Truth, you will verily be mixed [and shaken] a complete mixing, and sifted a total sieving and fully mixed as by a ladle in a cooking pot, until those who are low from among you become high and the high ones become low, and those who have fallen behind will come forward and those who are in front will fall behind.

24ـ وَالَّذي بَعَثَ مُحَمَّداً صلَّى اللّه عليه وآله وسلَّم بِالحَقِّ

25. The masses are not reformed except by justice.

25ـ اَلرَّعِيَّةُ لايُصْلِحُها إلاّ العَدْلُ.

26. It was said to him (‘a): Verily nothing can reform the people of Kufa except the sword. To this he (‘a) replied: If nothing but my destruction reforms them then may Allah not reform them!

26ـ قيلَ لَهُ ـ عَلَيْهِ السّلامُ ـ: إنَّ أهْلَ الكُوفَةِ

27. The bane of the masses is disobedience [to the rightful ruler].

27ـ آفَةُ الرَّعِيَّةِ مُخالَفَةُ الطّاعَةِ.

28. How many an owner of great wealth has been turned into a lowly pauper by [the passage of] time.

28ـ كَمْ مِنْ ذي ثَرْوَة خَطير صَيَّرَهُ الدَّهْرُ فَقيراً حَقيراً.

29. How will you remain in your current state when time is [in the process of] transforming you?!

29ـ كَيْفَ تَبْقى عَلى حالَتِكَ والدَّهْرُ في إحالَتِكَ؟!

30. One who blames [the vicissitudes of] time, his blame will be lengthy.

30ـ مَنْ عَتَبَ عَلَى الدَّهْرِ طالَ مَعْتَبُهُ.

31. People do not say about anything, “[what a great] blessing!” except that time has hidden a bad day for it.

31ـ ما قالَ النّاسُ لِشَيْء طُوْبى إلاّ وَقَدْ خَبَأَ لَهُ الدَّهْرُ

32. Verily you are [living] in an age when those who speak about the truth are few, and tongues are weary of uttering the truth, and those who stick to the truth are humiliated. The people of this time are engaged in disobedience and make peace with each other upon treachery [and deceit]. Their youths are violent [and wicked] while their elders are sinful. Their scholars are hypocrites and their speakers are deviants. Their young do not respect the elderly and their rich do not support the poor.

32ـ إنَّكُمْ في زَمان اَلْقائِلُ فيهِ بِالحَقِّ قَليلٌ، واللِّسانُ

33. Verily you will be faced with my vilification and repudiation, so revile me [if you must], but beware of repudiating me.

33ـ إنَّكُمْ سَتُعْرَضُونَ عَلى سَبِّي والبَرائَةِ مِنّي، فَسُبُّوني،

34. We have come upon an age of intransigence and an era of ingratitude. In it the good-doer is counted as an evil-doer and the unjust increases in his insolence.

34ـ قَدْ أصْبَحْنا في زَمان عَنُود، ودَهْر كَنُود، يُعَدُّ فيهِ

35. The people may become brothers in wickedness and desert one another in religion, and [they may] love each other over falsehood and hate each other over the truth.

35ـ قَدْ تَواخَي النّاسُ عَلَى الفُجُورِ، وتَهاجَرُوا عَلَى الدّينِ،

36. So fear Allah with the fearing of one whose body has become fatigued by fright, and who has been kept awake from his little sleep by his night worship, and who has been made thirsty in the heat of his days by hope [of attaining nearness to Allah].

36 ـ فَاتَّقُوا اللّهَ تَقِيَّةَ مَنْ أنْصَبَ الخَوْفُ بَدَنَهُ،

37. How amazing it is; and why would I not be amazed by the mistake of this community (or these groups) with their different arguments with regards to their religion. They neither follow the footsteps of the Prophet nor do they emulate the actions of the vicegerent. They do not believe in the unseen and do not restrain themselves from [sins and] shortcomings. They act on uncertainties and tread in [the way of] their passions. For them good is whatever they [like and] consider good and evil is whatever they [dislike and] consider evil. Their reliance for resolving problems is on themselves and their confidence in regard to dubious matters is on their own opinions, as if each one of them is his own leader, even though he has formed his opinion without turning to reliable sources and strong proofs.

37ـ فَيا عَجَبا ومالِيَ لاأعْجَبُ مِنْ خَطاءِ هذِهِ الأُمَّةِ

38. Indeed, you have again reverted to the position of the Bedouin Arabs after migration [to Islam] and have become [divided into] different parties after once being closely united.

38ـ قَد ْ صِرْتُمْ بَعْدَ الهِجْرَةِ أعْراباً، وبَعْدَ المُوالاةِ

39. Indeed those who [would] remember and remind [the people about Allah] have left you and only those who forget [Allah and the Day of Resurrection] and cause others to forget have remained behind.

39ـ قَدْ ذَهَبَ مِنْكُمْ الذّاكِرُونَ، والمُتَذَكِّرُونَ، وَبَقيَ

40. Indeed the reins of destruction are dragging you and locks of darkness [and malice] lay fixed on your hearts.

40ـ قَدْ قادَتْكُمْ أزِمَّةُ الحَيْنِ، واسْتَغْلَقَتْ عَلى قُلُوبِكُمْ

41. Indeed you have become devoted to one another in the love of this transient world and the rejection of the Hereafter.

41ـ قَدْ تَصافَيْتُمْ عَلى حُبِّ العاجِلِ ورَفْضِ الآجِلِ.

42. Indeed the religion of one among you has become like the licking of his tongue, [or like] the hobby that is pursued by one who is free from his work and has gained the approval of his master.

42ـ قَدْ صارَ دينُ أحَدِكُمْ لُعْقَةً عَلى لِسانِهِ، صَنيعَ مَنْ

43. They have plunged into the seas of temptations and have taken to innovation rather than following the practices of the Prophet, and they have gone deep into ignorance while abandoning knowledge.

43ـ قَدْ خاضُوا بِحارَ الفِتَنِ، وأخَذُوا بِالبِدَعِ دُونَ السُّنَنِ،

44. Do not lose hope in time when it withholds, and do not rely upon it when it gives, and always be extremely cautious of it.

44ـ لاتَيْأَسْ مِنَ الزَّمانِ إذا مَنَعَ، ولاتَثِقْ بِهِ إذا أعْطى،

45. Verily time will pass for those who remain [in this world] just as it passed for those gone by. That which has gone shall not return and that which is in it will not remain forever. Its later deeds are the same as the former ones. Its affairs try to excel each another and its banners follow each other. Its companion is never separated from hardship, annihilation, pillage and war.

45ـ إنَّ الدَّهْرَ يَجْري بِالباقينَ، كَجَرْيِهِ بِالماضينَ، ما يعُودُ

46. Verily time has its bow stretched [and ready], and its arrow does not miss, and its wound does not heal. It afflicts the healthy with sickness and the [one who is] safe with destruction.

46ـ إنَّ الدَّهْرَ مُوتِرٌ قَوْسَهُ، لاتَخْطي سِهامُهُ ولاتُؤْسى

47. Time is responsible for the separation of loved ones.

47ـ الدَّهْرُ مُوَكَّلٌ بِتَشْتيتِ الأُلاّفِ.

48. An hour of humiliation is not compensated for by a lifetime of honour.

48ـ ساعَةُ ذُلّ لاتَفي بِعِزِّ الدَّهْرِ.

49. Be flexible with time when it submits itself to you and do not put anything in danger out of hope for gaining more [than it].

49ـ ساهِلِ الدَّهْرِ ما ذَلَّ لَكَ قُعُودُهُ ولاتُخاطِرْ بِشَيْء

50. Time has indeed made its gratitude incumbent on the one who attains what he seeks.

50ـ قَدْ أوْجَبَ الدَّهْرُ شُكْرَهُ عَلى مَنْ بَلَغَ سُؤْلَهُ.

51. Time wears out the bodies, renews hopes, brings death closer and takes aspirations further away.

51ـ اَلدَّهْرُ يُخْلِقُ الأبْدانَ، ويُجَدِّدُ الآمالَ، ويُدْنِى

52. Time consists of two days: a day for you and a day against you, so when it is for you then do not become vain and ungrateful, and when it is against you then have patience.

52ـ اَلدَّهْرُ يَوْمانِ: يَوْمٌ لَكَ، ويَومٌ عَلَيْكَ، فَإذاكانَ لَكَ

53. Time has two states: destruction and bestowal; that which it destroys does not return and that which it bestows does not last.

53ـ اَلدَّهْرُ ذُو حالَتَيْنِ: إبادَة وإفادَة، فَما أبادَهُ فَلا

54. Verily time is an enemy who is not shown enmity, a [chosen] judge who is not unjust and a fighter who has not [and cannot be] fought.

54ـ إنَّ الدَّهْرَ لَخَصْمٌ غَيْرُ مَخْصُوم، ومُحْتَكِمٌ غَيْرُ

55. One who resists time is compelled by it and one who submits to it is not safe [from it].

55ـ مَنْ عانَدَ الزَّمانَ أرْغَمَهُ،وَ مَنِ اسْتَسْلَمَ إلَيْهِ لَمْ

56. The age of the tyrant [ruler] is the worst of ages.

56ـ زَمانُ الجائِرِ شَرُّ الأزْمِنَةِ.

57. Every day is driving towards its morrow.

57ـ كُلُّ يَوْم يَسُوقُ إلى غَدِهِ.

58. Calamities are born from the passage of time.

58ـ مِنَ السّاعاتِ تَوَلُّدُ الآفاتِ.

59. There is no guarantee on time.

59ـ لا ضَمانَ عَلَى الزَّمانِ.

60. One is neither safe from the passage of time nor secure from the calamities of the days.

60 ـ لايَأمَنُ أحَدٌ صُرُوفَ الزَّمانِ، ولايَسْلَمُ مِنْ نَوائِبِ

61. It behoves the one who knows about time not to feel secure from its adversities and vicissitudes.

61ـ يَنْبَغي لِمَنْ عَرَفَ الزَّمانَ أنْ لايَأمَنَ الصُّرُوفَ

62. Obedience is the shield of the masses and justice is the shield of the [rulers of] nations.

62ـ اَلطّاعَةُ جُنَّةُ الرَعِّيَةِ والعَدْلُ جُنَّةُ الدُّوَلِ.

63. So the hearts are heedless of right guidance, too hard to accept their [good] fortune, traversing on the wrong paths as though the one being addressed is someone else, and as though the fortune lies in amassing worldly gains.

63ـ فَالقُلُوبُ لاهِيَةٌ مِنْ رُشْدِها، قاسِيَةٌ عَنْ حَظِّها،

64. How effective these admonitions [would be] if only they were received by pure hearts, attentive ears and unwavering minds.

64ـ فَيا لَها مَواعِظَ شافِيَةً لَوْ صادَفَتْ قُلُوباً زاكِيَةً

65. From them mischief will spring up and all wrong will turn towards them. They will fling anyone who isolates himself from it (i.e. the mischief) back into it and they will drive anyone who stays back from it towards it.

65ـ مِنْهُمْ تَخْرُجُ الفِتْنَةُ، وإلَيْهِمْ تَأْوِى الخَطيئَةُ،

66. If falsehood dominates, it has [always] been so in the past, and if truth diminishes, that too has often occurred and may [again] happen. It is seldom that a thing lags behind and remains behind.

66ـ فَلَئِنْ أمَرَ الباطِلُ لَقَديماً فَعَلَ، وَلَئِنْ قَلَّ الحَقُّ

67. Indeed the evil people have emerged and the righteous people have hidden; and falsehood has become abundant while truth has diminished.

67ـ قَدْ ظَهَرَ أهْلُ الشَّرِّ، وبَطَنَ أهْلُ الخَيْرِ، وَفاضَ

68. Time has indeed come full circle to its [initial] state, as it was when the heavens and earth were first created.

68ـ قَدِ اِسْتَدارَ الزَّمانُ كَهَيْئَتِه يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمواتِ

69. The abominable has become so rampant that the shame one feels from it has reduced.

69ـ قَدْ كَثُرَ القَبيحُ حَتّى قَلَّ الحَياءُ مِنْهُ.

70. Dishonesty has increased so much that there are only few who can [now] be trusted.

70ـ قَدْ كَثُرَ الكِذْبُ حَتّى قَلَّ مَنْ يُوثَقُ بِهِ.

71. Why is it that I see you as bodies without souls, and souls without prosperity, and devotees without righteousness, and traders without profits?!

71ـ مالي أراكُمْ أشْباحاً بِلا أرْواح، وأرْواحاً بِلا فَلاح، ونُسّاكاً

72. Time betrays its companion and does not please the one who blames it.

72ـ اَلزَّمانُ يَخُونُ صاحِبَهُ ولايَسْتَعْتِبُ لِمَنْ عاتَبَهُ.

73. When the epoch becomes corrupt, the wicked gain mastery [over the people].

73ـ إذا فَسَدَ الزَّمانُ سادَ اللِّئامُ.

74. In time there are vicissitudes (or lessons [to be learnt]).

74ـ فِي الزَّمانِ اَلْغِيَرُ (اَلْعِبَرُ).

75. One who busies himself with [the worldly activities of his] lifetime becomes occupied by it [and pays no heed to the Hereafter].

75ـ مَنْ تَشاغَلَ بِالزَّمانِ شَغَلَهُ.

76. Whoever feels safe from time is betrayed by it and whoever regards it as great is humiliated by it.

76ـ مَنْ أمِنَ الزَّمانَ خانَهُ، ومَنْ أعْظَمَهُ أهانَهُ.