282 – Muhammad ibn ʿAlī narrated to us; he said: Ibrāhīm ibn al-Ashʿath narrated to us; he said: I heard al-Fuḍayl say:

Al-Hasan ibn Abī al-Hasan once wrote to ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz:

“To proceed, O Commander of the Faithful: know that this world is no place of permanence. Adam was sent down to it only as a punishment. It is enough for anyone who does not realize that Allah’s reward is a reward, and enough ⦗137⦘ for anyone who does not realize that Allah’s punishment is a punishment. Its blow is unlike other blows: it humiliates the one who honors it, dignifies the one who debases it, abases the one who exalts it, and impoverishes whoever hoards it. At every moment it claims a victim. Renunciation of it lies in abandoning it, and true wealth in it is to feel its poverty.

By Allah, O Commander of the Faithful, it is like poison: whoever does not recognize it swallows it, hoping it will cure him, yet it becomes his death. So be, O Commander of the Faithful, like a man treating his own wound—he abstains a little lest he suffer long, and he endures the bitterness of medicine for fear of calamity.

The people of insight, O Commander of the Faithful, walk in humility, dress with moderation, speak with precision, and partake only of the wholesome provision. Their sight pierces the life to come just as it penetrates the immediate life. Their fear on land equals their fear at sea, and their supplication in times of ease equals their supplication in times of hardship. Were it not for the appointed term written for them, their souls would hardly remain in their bodies—so intense is their fear of punishment and their longing for reward. The Creator is immense in their eyes, and creation small.

So be satisfied with bare sufficiency from this world, and let what carries you to your final station suffice you.”