يَا لَهُ مَرَاماً مَا أَبْعَدَهُ!
How distant (from achievement) is their aim,
وَزَوْراً مَا أَغْفَلَهُ!
how neglectful are these visitors
وَخطراً مَا أَفْظَعَهُ!
and how difficult is the affair.
لَقَدِ اسْتَخْلَوْا مِنْهُمْ أَيَّ مُذّكر،
They have not taken lessons from things which are full of lessons,
وَتَنَاوَشُوهُمْ مِنْ مَكَان بَعِيد!
but they took them from far off places.
أَفَبِمَصَارِعِ آبَائِهِمْ يَفْخَرُونَ!
Do they boast on the dead bodies of their fore-fathers,
أَمْ بِعَدِيدِ الْهَلْكَى يَتَكَاثَرُونَ!
or do they regard the number of dead persons as a ground for feeling boastful of their number?
يَرْتَجِعُونَ مِنْهُمْ أَجْسَاداً خَوَتْ،
They want to revive the bodies that have become spiritless
وَحَرَكَات سَكَنَتْ،
and the movements that have ceased.
وَلاَنْ يَكُونُوا عِبَراً، أَحَقُّ مِنْ أَنْ يَكُونُوا مُفْتَخَراً،
They are more entitled to be a source of lesson than a source of pride.
وَلاَن يَهْبِطُوا بِهِمْ جَنَابَ ذِلَّة، أَحْجَى مِنْ أَنْ يَقُوموُا بِهِمْ مَقَامَ عِزَّة!
They are more suitable for being a source of humility than of honour.
لَقَدْ نَظَرُوا إِلَيْهِمْ بِأَبْصَارِ الْعَشْوَةِ،
They looked at them with weak-sighted eyes
وَضَرَبُوا مِنْهُمْ فِي غَمْرَةِ جَهَالَة،
and descended into the hollow of ignorance.
وَلَوِ اسْتَنْطَقُوا عَنْهُمْ عَرَصَاتِ تِلْكَ الدِّيَارِ الْخَاوِيَةِ،
If they had asked about them from the dilapidated houses
وَالْرُّبُوعِ الْخَالِيَةِ،
and empty courtyards,
لَقَالَتْ:
they would have said
ذَهَبُوا فِي الاْرْضِ ضُلاَّلاً،
that they went into the earth in the state of misguidance
وَذَهَبْتُمْ فِي أَعْقَابِهِمْ جُهَّالاً،
and you too are heading ignorantly towards them.
تَطَأُونَ فِي هَامِهِمْ،
You trample their skulls,
وَتَسْتَنْبِتُونَ فِي أَجْسَادِهِمْ،
want to raise constructions on their corpses,
وَتَرْتَعُونَ فِيَما لَفَظُوا،
you graze what they have left
وَتَسْكُنُونَ فِيَما خَرَّبُوا،
and live in houses which they have vacated.
وَإِنَّمَا الاْيَّامُ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُمْ بَوَاك وَنَوَائِحُ عَلَيْكُمْ.
The days (that lie) between them and you are also bemoaning you and reciting elegies over you.
أُولئِكُمْ سَلَفُ غَايَتِكُمْ،
They are your fore-runners in reaching the goal
وَفُرَّاطُ مَنَاهِلِكُمْ،
and have arrived at the watering places before you.
الَّذِينَ كَانتْ لَهُمْ مَقَاوِمُ الْعِزِّ،
They had positions of honour
وَحَلَبَاتُ الْفَخْرِ،
and plenty of pride.
مُلُوكاً وَسُوَقاً،
They were rulers and holders of positions.
سَلَكُوا فِي بُطُونِ الْبَرْزَخِ سَبِيلاً سُلِّطَتِ الاْرْضُ عَلَيْهِمْ فِيهِ،
Now they have gone into the interstice where earth covers them from above
فَأَكَلَتْ مِنْ لُحُومِهِمْ،
and is eating their flesh
وَشَرِبَتْ مِنْ دِمَائِهِمْ،
and drinking their blood.
فَأَصْبَحُوا فِي فَجَوَاتِ قُبُورِهِمْ جَمَاداً لاَ يَنْمُونَ،
They lie in the hollows of their graves lifeless, no more growing,
وَضِماراً لاَ يُوجَدُونَ،
and hidden, not to be found.
لاَ يُفْزِعُهُمْ وُروُدُ الاْهْوَالِ،
The approach of dangers does not frighten them,
وَلاَ يَحْزُنُهُمْ تَنَكُّرُ الاْحْوَالِ،
and the adversity of circumstances does not grieve them.
وَلاَ يَحْفِلُونَ بِالرَّوَاجِفِ،
They do not mind earthquakes,
وَلاَ يَأْذَنُونَ لِلْقَوَاصِفِ،
nor do they pay heed to thunders.
غُيَّباً لاَ يُنْتَظَرُونَ،
They are gone and not expected back.
وَشُهُوداً لاَ يَحْضُرونَ،
They are existent but unseen.
وَإِنَّمَا كَانُوا جَمِيعاً فَتَشَتَّتُوا،
They were united but are now dispersed.
وَآلاَفاً فافْتَرَقُوا،
They were friendly and are now separated.
وَمَا عَنْ طُولِ عَهْدِهِمْ،
not because of length of time
وَلاَ بُعْدِ مَحَلِّهِمْ،
or distance of place,
عَمِيَتْ أخْبَارُهُمْ،
Their accounts are unknown
وَصَمَّتْ دِيَارُهُمْ،
and their houses are silent,
وَلكِنَّهُمْ سُقُوا كَأْساً بَدَّلَتْهُمْ بِالنُّطْقِ خَرَساً،
but because they have been made to drink the cup (of death) which has changed their speech into dumbness,
وَبِالسَّمْعِ صَمَماً،
their hearing into deafness
وَبِالْحَرَكَاتِ سُكُوناً،
and their movements into stillness.
فَكَأَنَّهُمْ فِي ارْتِجَالِ الصِّفَةِ صَرْعَى سُبَات،
It seems as though they are fallen in slumber.
جِيرَانٌ لاَ يَتَأَنَّسُونَ،
They are neighbours not feeling affection for each other,
وَأَحِبَّاءُ لاَ يَتَزَاوَرُونَ،
or friends who do not meet each other.
بَلِيَتْ بَيْنَهُمْ عُرَا التَّعَارُفِ،
The bonds of their knowing each other have been worn out
وَانْقَطَعَتْ مِنْهُمْ أَسْبَابُ الاْخَاءِ،
and the connections of their friendship have been cut asunder.
فَكُلُّهُمْ وَحِيدٌ وَهُمْ جَمِيعٌ،
Everyone of them is therefore alone although they are a group,
وَبِجَانِبِ الْهَجْرِ وَهُمْ أَخِلاَّءُ،
and they are strangers, even though friends.
لاَ يَتَعَارَفُونَ لِلَيْل صَبَاحاً،
They are unaware of morning after a night
وَلاَ لِنَهَار مَسَاءً.
and of evening after a day.
أَيُّ الْجَدِيدَيْنِ ظَعَنُوا فِيهِ كَانَ عَلَيْهِمْ سَرْمَداً،
The night or the day when they departed has become ever existent for them. (2)
شَاهَدُوا مِنْ أَخْطَارِ دَارِهِمْ أَفْظَعَ مِمَّا خَافُوا،
They found the dangers of their placed of stay more serious than they had apprehended,
وَرَأَوْا مِنْ آيَاتِهَا أَعْظَمَ مِمَّا قَدَّرُوا،
and they witnessed that its signs were greater than they had guessed.
فَكِلتا الْغَايَتَيْنِ مُدَّتْ لَهُمْ إِلَى مَبَاءَة،
The two objectives (namely paradise and hell) have been stretched for them upto a point
فَاتَتْ مَبَالِغَ الْخَوْفِ وَالرَّجَاءِ.
beyond the reach of fear or hope.
فَلَوْ كَانُوا يَنْطِقُونَ بِهَا لَعَيُّوا بِصِفَةِ مَا شَاهَدُوا وَمَا عَايَنُوا،
Had they been able to speak they would have become dumb to describe what they witnessed or saw.
وَلَئِنْ عَمِيَتْ آثَارُهُمْ،
Even though their traces have been wiped out
وَانْقَطَعَتْ أَخْبَارُهُمْ،
and their news has stopped (circulating),
لَقَدْ رَجَعَتْ فِيهِمْ أَبْصَارُ الْعِبَرِ،
eyes are capable of drawing a lesson, as they looked at them,
وَسَمِعَتْ عَنْهُمْ آذَانُ الْعُقُولِ،
ears of intelligence heard them
وَتَكَلَّمُوا مِنْ غَيْرِ جِهَاتِ النُّطْقِ،
and they spoke without uttering words.
فَقَالُوا: كَلَحَتِ الْوُجُوهُ النَّوَاضِرُ،
So, they said that handsome faces have been destroyed
وَخَوَتِ الاَجْسَادُ النَّوَاعِمُ،
and delicate bodies have been smeared with earth.
وَلَبِسْنَا أَهْدَامَ الْبِلَى،
We have put on a worn-out shroud.
وَتَكَاءَدَنَا ضِيقُ الْمَضْجَعِ،
The narrowness of the grave has overwhelmed us
وَتَوَارَثْنَا الْوَحْشَةَ،
and strangeness has spread among us.
وَتَهَكَّمَتْ عَلَيْنَا الرُّبُوعُ الصُّمُوتُ،
Our silent abodes have been ruined.
فَانْمَحَتْ مَحَاسِنُ أَجْسَادِنَا،
The beauty of our bodies has disappeared.
وَتَنَكَّرَتْ مَعَارِفُ صُوَرِنَا،
Our known features have become hateful.
وَطَالَتْ فِي مَسَاكِنِ الْوَحْشَةِ إِقَامَتُنَا،
Our stay in the places of strangeness has become long.
وَلَمْ نَجِدْ مِنْ كَرْب فَرَجاً،
We do not get relief from pain,
وَلاَ مِنْ ضِيق مُتَّسعاً!
nor widening from narrowness.
فَلَوْ مَثَّلْتَهُمْ بِعَقْلِكَ،
Now. if you portray them in your mind,
أَوْ كُشِفَ عَنْهُمْ مَحْجُوبُ الْغِطَاءِ لَكَ،
or if the curtains concealing them are removed from them for you,
وَقَدِ ارْتَسَخَتْ أَسْمَاعُهُمْ بِالْهَوَامِّ فَاسْتَكَّتْ،
in this state when their ears have lost their power and turned deaf,
وَاكْتَحَلَتْ أَبْصَارُهُمْ بِالتُّرَابِ فَخَسَفَتْ،
their eyes have been filled with dust and sunk down,
وَتَقَطَّعَتِ الاْلْسِنَةُ فِي أَفْوَاهِهِمْ بَعْدَ ذَلاَقَتِهَا،
their tongues which were very active have been cut into pieces,
وَهَمَدَتِ الْقُلُوبُ فِي صُدُورِهِمْ بَعْدَ يَقَظَتِهَا،
their hearts which were ever wakeful have become motionless in their chests,
وعَاثَ فِي كُلِّ جَارِحَة مِنْهُمْ جدِيدُ بِلىً سَمَّجَهَا،
in every limb of theirs a peculiar decay has occurred which has deformed it,
وَسَهَّلَ طُرُقَ الاْفَةِ إِلَيْهَا،
and has paved the way for calamity towards it,
مُسْتَسْلِمَات فَلاَ أَيْد تَدْفَعُ،
all these lie powerless, with no hand to help them
وَلاَ قُلُوبٌ تَجْزَعُ،
and no heart to grieve over them,
لَرَأَيْتَ أَشْجَانَ قُلُوب،
(then) you would certainly notice the grief of (their) hearts
وَأَقْذَاءَ عُيُون،
and the dirt of (their) eyes.
لَهُمْ فِي كَلِّ فَظَاعَة صِفَةُ حَال لاَ تَنْتَقِلُ،
Every trouble of theirs is such that its position does not change
وَغَمْرَةٌ لاَ تَنْجَلِي.
and the distress does not clear away.
فَكَمْ أَكَلَتِ الاْرْضُ مِنْ عَزِيزِ جَسَد، وَأَنِيقِ لَوْن،
How many a prestigious body and amazing beauty the earth has swallowed,
كَانَ فِي الدُّنْيَا غَذِيَّ تَرَف، وَرَبِيبَ شَرَف!
although when in the world he enjoyed abundant pleasures and was nurtured in honour.
يَتَعَلَّلُ بالسُّرُورِ فِي سَاعَةِ حُزْنِهِ،
He clung to enjoyments (even) in the hour of grief.
وَيَفْزَعُ إِلَى السَّلْوَةِ إِنْ مُصِيبَةٌ نَزَلَتْ بِهِ،
If distress befell him
ضَنّاً بِغَضَارَةِ عَيْشِهِ،
he sought refuge in consolation (derived)
وَشَحَاحَةً بِلَهْوِهِ وَلَعِبِهِ!
through the pleasures of life and playing and games.
فَبَيْنَا هُوَ يَضْحَكُ إِلَى الدُّنْيَا
While he was laughing at the world
وَتَضْحَكُ إِلَيْهِ فِي ظِلِّ عَيْش غَفُول،
and the world was laughing at him in his life full of forgetfulness,
إِذْ وَطِىءَ الدَّهْرُ بِهِ حَسَكَهُ،
time trampled him like thorns,
وَنَقَضَتِ الاْيَّامُ قُوَاهُ،
the days weakened his energy
وَنَظَرَتْ إِلَيْهِ الْحُتُوفُ مِنْ كَثَب،
and death began to look at him from near.
فَخَالَطَهُ بَثٌّ لاَ يَعْرِفُهُ، وَنَجِيُّ هَمٍّ مَا كَانَ يَجِدُهُ،
Then he was overtaken by a grief which he had never felt,
وَتَوَلَّدَتْ فِيهِ فَتَرَاتُ عِلَل، آنَسَ مَا كَانَ بِصِحَّتِهِ،
and ailments appeared in place of the health he had previously possessed.
فَفَزِعَ إِلَى مَا كَانَ عَوَّدَهُ الاْطِبَّاءُ
He then turned to that with which the physician had made him familiar,
مِنْ تَسْكِينِ الْحَارِّ بِالْقَارِّ،
namely suppressing the hot (diseases) with cold (medicines)
وَتَحْرِيكِ الْبَارِدِ بالْحَارِّ،
and curing the cold with hot doses,
فَلَمْ يُطْفِىءْ بِبَارِد إِلاَّ ثَوَّرَ حَرَارَةً،
but the cold things did nothing save aggravate the hot ailments,
وَلاَ حَرَّكَ بِحَارٍّ إِلاَّ هَيَّجَ بُرُودَةً،
while the hot ones did nothing except increasing the coldness.
وَلاَ اعْتَدَلَ بِمُمَازِج لِتِلْكَ الطَّبَائِعِ إِلاَّ أَمَدَّ مِنْهَا كُلَّ ذَاتِ دَاء،
Nor did he acquire temperateness in his constitution but rather every ailment of his increased
حَتَّى فَتَرَ مُعَلِّلُهُ،
till his physicians became helpless,
وَذَهَلَ مُمَرِّضُهُ،
his attendants grew neglectful
وَتَعَايَا أَهْلُهُ بِصِفَةِ دَائِهِ،
and his own family lacked the ablility to describe his disease,
وَخَرِسُوا عَنْ جَوَابِ السَّائِلِينَ عَنْهُ،
and were unable to answer those who enquired about him.
وَتَنَازَعُوا دُونَهُ شَجِيَّ خَبَر يَكْتُمُونَهُ،
They disputed in front of him about the serious news which they were concealing from him.
فَقَائِلٌ [يَقُولُ] هُو لِمَا بِهِ،
Thus, someone would say "his condition is what it is"
وَمُمَنّ لَهُمْ إِيَابَ عَافِيَتِهِ،
and would console them with hopes of his recovery,
وَمُصَبِّرٌ لَهُمْ عَلَى فَقْدِهِ،
while another one would advocate patience on missing him,
يُذَكِّرُهُمْ أُسَى الْمَاضِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِ.
recalling to them the calamities that had befallen the earlier generations.
فَبَيْنَا هُوَ كَذلِكَ عَلَى جَنَاح مِنْ فِرَاقِ الدُّنْيَا،
In this state when he was getting ready to depart from the world
وَتَرْكِ الاْحِبَّةِ،
and leave his beloved ones,
إِذْ عَرَضَ لَهُ عَارِضٌ مِنْ غُصَصِهِ،
such a serious choking overtook him
فَتَحَيَّرَتْ نَوَافِذُ فِطْنَتِهِ،
that his senses became bewildered
وَيَبِسَتْ رُطُوبَةُ لِسَانِهِ،
and the dampness of his tongue dried up.
فَكَمْ مِنْ مُهِمّ مِنْ جَوَابِهِ عَرَفَهُ فَعَيَّ عَنْ رَدِّهِ،
Now, there was many an important question whose reply he knew about he could not utter it,
وَدُعَاء مُؤْلِم لِقَلْبِهِ سَمِعَهُ فَتَصَامَّ عنْهُ،
and many a voice that was painful for his heart that he heard but remained (unmoved) as though he was deaf to the voice of
مِنْ كَبِير كَانَ يُعَظِّمُهُ،
either an elder whom he used to respect
أَوْ صَغِير كَانَ يَرْحَمُهُ!
or of a younger whom he used to caress.
وَإِنَّ لِلْمَوْتِ لَغَمَرَات هِيَ أَفْظَعُ مِنْ أَنْ تُسْتَغْرَقَ بِصِفَة،
The pangs of death are too hideous to be covered by description
أَوْ تَعْتَدِلَ عَلَى عُقُولِ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا.
or to be appreciated by the hearts of the people in this world.
Alternative Sources for Sermon 220: Al-Wasiti, ‘Uyun al-hikam, see Bihar, vol. 77, 432; Ibn al-'Athir, al-Nihayah, II, 398; Abu Nu’aym, Hilyah, II, 132.
1. The genesis of the descending of this verse is that the tribes of Banu `Abd Manaf and Banu Sahm began to boast against each other over the abundance of their wealth and the number of their tribesmen, and in order to prove they had a greater number each one began to include their dead as well, whereupon this verse was revealed to the effect that abundance of riches and majority in numbers has made you so forgetful that you count the dead also with the living. This verse is also taken to mean that abundance of riches and progeny has made you forgetful till you reached the graves, but the utterance of Amir al-mu'minin supports the first meaning.
2. This means that for him he who dies in the day it is always day whereas for him who dies in the night the darkness of night never dispels, because they are at a place where there is no turning of the moon and the sun and no rotation of the nights and the days. The same meaning has been expressed by a poet like this: There is sure to be a day without a night, or a night that would come without a day.
