John Shaqi

يَا لَهُ مَرَاماً مَا أَبْعَدَهُ! وَزَوْراً مَا أَغْفَلَهُ! وَخطراً مَا أَفْظَعَهُ! لَقَدِ اسْتَخْلَوْا مِنْهُمْ أَيَّ مُذّكر، وَتَنَاوَشُوهُمْ مِنْ مَكَان بَعِيد! أَفَبِمَصَارِعِ آبَائِهِمْ يَفْخَرُونَ! أَمْ بِعَدِيدِ الْهَلْكَى يَتَكَاثَرُونَ! يَرْتَجِعُونَ مِنْهُمْ أَجْسَاداً خَوَتْ، وَحَرَكَات سَكَنَتْ، وَلاَنْ يَكُونُوا عِبَراً، أَحَقُّ مِنْ أَنْ يَكُونُوا مُفْتَخَراً، وَلاَن يَهْبِطُوا بِهِمْ جَنَابَ ذِلَّة، أَحْجَى مِنْ أَنْ يَقُوموُا بِهِمْ مَقَامَ عِزَّة!


Translation

How distant (from achievement) is their aim, how neglectful are these visitors and how difficult is the affair. They have not taken lessons from things which are full of lessons, but they took them from far off places. Do they boast on the dead bodies of their fore-fathers, or do they regard the number of dead persons as a ground for feeling boastful of their number? They want to revive the bodies that have become spiritless and the movements that have ceased. They are more entitled to be a source of lesson than a source of pride. They are more suitable for being a source of humility than of honour.


Chapter (Bab)Exegesis of verse 102:1-2 of the Quran
CollectionNahj al-Balagha

Compiled by al-Sharif al-Radi

Source

License: Free for educational and research use (Thaqalayn Data API)

Provided for research and educational purposes. Original source: Thaqalayn Project. Open License.