Nahjul Balagha Document 3 |
It
is related Shuraih (Imam’s Qazi at Kufa) purchased a
house for eighty Dinars. When it became known to
Imam he sent for him and said . “I have come to know
you have purchased a house for eighty dinars, and
have written a document for it and put witnessing on
it.” Shuraih replied, “ Yes Ameerul Momineen, it is
so.” Imam cast an angry look and said, “Shuraih,
shortly a body (angel of death) will come who will
not look at the document, or question about evidence
but take you out of it far away and deposit you in
your grave quite alone. If you purchased this house
from money other than yours or paid the price from
unlawful sources, you have incurred loss of this
world as well as the next. If you had come to me at
the time of purchase, I would have written for you a
document on this paper and you would not have liked
to purchase the house even for one Dirham, not to
speak of more. The document is this: This is about a purchase
made by a humble creature from another creature
ready to depart (from this world.) He had
purchased a house out of houses of deceit in the
area of mortals and place of those liable to
perish. This house has four boundaries as
follows: The first boundary is contiguous to
sources of calamities, the second boundary
adjoins the sources of distresses, the third
boundary adjoins the deceitful Satan and in this
opens the door of this house. This house has
been purchased by one who has been waylaid by
desires from one who is being driven by death at
the price of getting out of the honour of
contentment and entering into the humility of
want and submissiveness. If the purchaser encounters
some (evil) consequence of this transaction, it
is for him who dismantles bodies of monarchs,
snatches lives of despots, destroys domains of
Pharaohs like Khusros, Caesers, Tubbas and
Himyars and all who amass wealth upon wealth, go
on increasing it, build high houses and decorate
them, collect treasures and preserve them for
children, to take to the place of accounting and
judgement and position of reward and punishment. “When the verdict would
be passed Those who stood on falsehood would
then be the losers. (Quran 40:78). This document is witnessed
by intelligence when it is free from the
shackles of desires and away from the adornments
of this world.
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