72 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī narrated to us; he said: Ibrāhīm narrated to us; he said: I heard al-Fuḍayl say:

“It was said, ‘O son of Adam, treat the life of this world as a staging-place that carries you and the burdens you must transport. Make every halt you take in it nothing more than a brief rest. Do not let it detain you—like a man fleeing an enemy, racing toward his family along a frightening road, feeling none of the comfort that lies ahead. ⦗52⦘ On that journey he wears rough clothes so he can keep his good belongings for when he finally settles.

If you are unable to behave like that in practice, then at least let it be your aspiration. And beware of turning into a thief on that very road—one of those of whom God said, ‘They bar others from it and keep away from it themselves, yet they destroy no one but themselves, though they do not realize it’ (Qur’an 6:26).

For when the eye does not see with the heart, its vision is but an absent-minded glance that has seen nothing at all. The sign of true blindness—if you wish to recognize it in yourself or in anyone else—is that it neither pulls back from ruin nor advances with genuine desire. Such a person is blind of heart, even though his outward eyesight may be sound.”