One Hundred And Fifty Lessons For Life

Lesson One Hundred Twenty Three: Cooperation With Satan!

Imam ‘Ali (a.s.) said:

لا تَسُبَّنَّ إِبْلِيْسَ فِى الْعَلانِيَةِ وَ أنْتَ صَدِيقُهُ فِى السِّرِ

Translation

Do not curse Satan publicly, while you are his friend inwardly.[^1]

Brief Description

Some people proclaim their disdain and distance themselves verbally from things like poverty, hypocrisy, Satan and such like, while in practice they are drowned in them.

We know of rich men who live like the poor for the fear of becoming poor if they spent more. We know hypocrites who repeatedly curse the hypocrites, when their own life is full of hypocrisy.

We know devilish people who say publicly: ‘I take refuge in God from Satan, the outcast’. And yet , they are his friends inwardly and give much importance to their devilish activities. Their words are devoid of substance and contradict their inner reality.

[^1]: Turasol-Aemeh page 289. Sharh Nahjul Balaghah, vol 20, page 329.