And do not despair—(1) even if, for a single day, you find yourself in hardship—for (2) through the long years you have enjoyed ease.

Never entertain an ill thought of your Lord (3), for Allah is worthier of every good expectation.

Indeed, (4) hardship is followed by relief, and the word of Allah is the truest of all speech.

If intellect alone could secure provision, then provision would be found exclusively in the hands of the intelligent.

How many a believer has gone hungry for a day, yet will drink (5) of the cool nectar of Salsabeel (a spring in Paradise)!

One sign of how insignificant this worldly life is in Allah’s sight is that He may leave the believer—despite his worth—to experience hunger, while He satisfies the dog despite its baseness. The unbeliever eats, drinks, dresses, and enjoys himself, whereas the believer may go hungry and unclothed. All of this unfolds according to a wisdom decreed by the Wisest of judges.

Among the verses that ʿAlī ibn Jaʿfar al-Warrāq recited on behalf of the Commander of the Believers, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (6), in the kāmil meter:

The clothes I wear, once donned, are an adornment for men;
through them they are honored and esteemed.
Yet abandon ostentation in your garments out of humility,
for Allah knows what you conceal and what you hide.
The rags upon your back will not draw you any nearer to the Lord,
while you remain a sinful slave;
Nor will the splendor of your dress harm you,
so long as you fear Allah and avoid what He has forbidden.

This agrees with the hadith: “Allah does not look at your forms or your clothes; rather, He looks at your hearts and your deeds.” (7)

Sufyān al-Thawrī said, “Renunciation (zuhd) in this world is not achieved by wearing a coarse cloak or eating rough food; true zuhd lies in shortening one’s hopes.”

Abū al-ʿAbbās Muḥammad ibn Yazīd ibn al-Akbar al-Mubarrad said: It was written upon the sword of ʿAlī (8) (may Allah be pleased with him):

People are avid for the world and consumed with contriving for it;
in the pursuit of desire their minds are sharp and their efforts tireless.
Yet when it comes to obeying Allah, their Lord,
their intellects are shackled, held back from acts of devotion.
Because of this and because of their greed,
the purity of their lives has been mixed with worry and trouble.