One Hundred And Fifty Lessons For Life

Lesson Seventy One: Hastiness And Precipitance

Imam ‘Ali (a.s.) said:

اَلْحِدَّهُ نَوْعٌ مِنَ الْجُنُونِ لاِنَّ صاحِبَها يَنْدَمُ فَإنّ لَمْ يَنْدَمْ فَجُنُونُها مُسْتَحْكَمٌ

Translation

Hastiness and precipitance is a kind of insanity and those having this attribute repent of their actions very soon, or (if they continue on this path) it shows that their insanity is perpetual and firmly ingrained in them.[^1]

Brief Description

Intellect and wisdom dictate that one avoids undue haste and precipitance because in this condition one often fails to adequately study all the relevant aspects to make a correct decision. And soon one has to repent for the consequences of his naive and impulsive actions.

Sometimes, man dissipates the worth of all of his good speeches by one hasty inappropriate remark, and loses his old intimate friends and that jolts him into sincere repentance .

As for those who do not desist even after observing the bad consequences of their hasty actions, they can be said to suffer from insanity that is ongoing and well entrenched.

[^1]: Nahjul Balaghah