وَقَالَ (عليه السلام):
Amir al-mu'minin, peace be upon him, said:
إِنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ حَلِيماً
If you cannot forbear,
فَتَحَلَّمْ،
feign to do so
فَإِنَّهُ قَلَّ مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بَقَوْمٍ إِلاَّ أَوْشَكَ أَنْ يَكُونَ مِنْهُمْ.
because it is seldom that a man likens himself to a group and does not become as one of them.47
47. It means that if a person is not temperamentally forbearing he should try to be so in the sense that he should put up a show of forbearance against his temperament. Although he may feel some difficulty in curbing his temperament, the result will be that by and by forbearance will become his temperamental trait and then no need to feign will remain, because habit slowly develops into second nature.
