Al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah - Ibn Kathir - (10/394)

Al-Bidayah wa an-NihayahIbn Kathir

He said: “Whenever you gaze intently into the mirror of repentance, the repulsive blemish of sin becomes clear to you.”

He wrote to al-Thawri:
“Whoever knows what he is seeking will find whatever he must expend insignificant; whoever lets his eyes wander will prolong his regret; whoever sets his hopes loose will spoil his deeds; and whoever gives his tongue free rein will destroy himself.”

A certain governor (1) once asked him, “From what do you make your living?” He responded with verse:
“We patch our worldly life by tearing our religion—
so neither our religion remains intact, nor what we patch.”

He was often heard reciting these lines:
“Because of the evils with which this world threatens,
a child weeps the very moment he is born;
Otherwise, what would make him cry, when the world is for him
more spacious and restful than what he left behind?
As soon as he beholds the world he wails, as though
he already sees and hears the harm that awaits him.” (2)

He would also quote:
“I have seen sins slay the hearts,
and constant indulgence bequeaths them disgrace;
Abandoning sin is the life of hearts,
and better for your own soul is to resist them.
Nothing has ruined the religion but tyrant kings,
corrupt scholars, and false monks;
They sold their souls yet earned no profit,
nor did their prices rise by such a sale.
Indeed, the people have romped in a carcass
whose stench is evident to every man of sense.” (3)

He said: “True scrupulousness (waraʿ) is to hold all creatures equal in your heart, to busy yourself with your own sin instead of their faults, and to address others with gracious words springing from a humbled heart before a majestic Lord. Think over your sin and repent to your Lord—scrupulousness will then sprout in your heart. Cut off expectation from everyone save your Lord.”

He also said: “It is no sign of love to love what your Beloved hates. Our Master has censured this world and we have praised it; He has loathed it…”

(1) He is Abu Ja‘far al-Mansur, as recorded in Hilyat al-Awliya’ (vol. 8, p. 10). The couplet is attributed to ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak and appears in his Diwan (p. 86) as follows: Transliteration: Fa-fī kulli yawm yabtadīka bini‘ma minhu wa-anta li-shukri dhālika muḍya‘ Translation: “Each day He bestows upon you a grace from Him, yet you fail to give thanks for it.” (2) These lines are by Ibn al-Rūmī and appear with similar wording in his Diwan (p. 392); he also includes them in a d-rhyme on p. 373: Transliteration and translation: 1. Lammā tu’adh-dhinu al-dunyā bihi min ṣurūfihā … yakūnu bukāʾu al-ṭifli sā‘ata yūladu “When the world’s vicissitudes threaten him, the newborn child weeps at the very moment of birth.” 2. Wa-illā famā yubkīhi minhā wa-innahā … la-afsaḥu mimmā kāna fīhi wa-arghadu “Otherwise the world would not make him weep, for it is far more spacious than the womb and more indulgent.” 3. Idhā absara al-dunyā isthalla ka-annahu … bimā sawfa yulqā min adhāhā yuhaddadu “When he beholds the world, he is alarmed as if threatened by the harm he is about to encounter.” (3) These lines are also by ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak; see his Diwan (p. 66).

وقال: إنَّك كلَّما أمعنتَ النظرَ في مرآةِ التَّوبة بانَ لك قُبْحُ شَيْنِ المعْصِيَة. وكتب إلى الثَّوْريّ: منْ عرَف ما يطلُب هانَ عليه ما يَبْذُل؛ ومنْ أطلَقَ بصرَهُ طالَ أسَفُه، ومن أطلَقَ أمَلَه ساء عمَلُه، ومن أطلق لسانَه قتَلَ نفسَه. وسأله بعضُ الولاة (١) : من أين مَعِيشتُك؟ فأنشأ يقول: نُرَقِّعُ دنيانا بتَمْزيقِ ديننا … فلا دِينُنا يَبْقَى ولا مَا نُرَقِّعُ وكان كثيرًا ما يتمَثَّلُ بهذه الأبيات: لِمَا تُوعِدُ الدُّنيا به من شُرورِها … يكونُ بكاءُ الطفلِ ساعةَ يوضَعُ وإلَّا فما يبكيهِ منها وإنَّها … لأرْوَحُ ممَّا كان فيه وأوْسَعُ إذا أبصرَ الدُّنيا استهلَّ كأنما … يرى ما سَيَلْقى من أذاها ويَسْمعُ (٢) وكان يتمثَّل أيضًا: رأيتُ الذنوبَ تُميتُ القلوبَ … ويُورِثُها الذُّلَّ إدْمَانُها وتركُ الذنوبِ حياةُ القلوبِ … وخيرٌ لنفسِكَ عِصْيَانُها وما أفسدَ الدينَ إلا الملوكُ … وأحْبَارُ سَوْءٍ ورُهْبانُها وباعوا النفوسَ فلم يَرْبَحوا … ولم تَغْلُ بالبيعِ أثْمَانُها لقد رَتَعَ القومُ في جيفةٍ … يبينُ لِذِي اللُّبِّ إنتانُها (٣) وقال: إنما الورعُ بتَسْويةِ كُلِّ الخلقِ في قلبِك، والاشتغال عن عُيوبِهم بذنبِك، وعليك باللَّفْظِ الجميل من قلبٍ ذَليل، لِرَبٍّ جَليل؛ فكرْ في ذنبِك وتُبْ إلى ربِّك، يَنْبُتِ الورَعُ في قلبِك؛ واقْطَعِ الطمعَ إلَّا من ربِّك. وقال: ليس من أعلامِ الحُبِّ أنْ تُحبَّ ما يُبْغضُهُ حَبيبُك؛ ذمَّ مولانا الدُّنيا فمَدَحْناها، وأبغَضَها

(١) هو أبو جعفر المنصور كما في حلية الأولياء (٨/ ١٠). وينسب البيت لعبد اللَّه بن المبارك، وهو في ديوانه ص (٨٦) وبعده: ففي كلِّ يوم يَبْتَديك بنعمةٍ … منه وأنت لشُّكْرِ ذاك مُضَيِّعُ (٢) الأبيات لابن الرومي وهي في ديوانه بألفاظ مقاربة ص (٣٩٢)، وله أيضًا بقافية الدال ص (٣٧٣): لمَا تُؤذن الدنيا به من صروفها … يكون بكاءُ الطفل ساعةَ يُولدُ وإلا فما يبكيه منها وإنها … لأفْسَحُ ممَّا كان فيه وأرْغَدُ إذا أبصرَ الدنيا اسْتَهلَّ كأنه … بما سوف يلقى من أذاها يُهدَّدُ (٣) الأبيات لعبد اللَّه بن المبارك وهي في ديوانه ص (٦٦).