Enjoinment of True Hope

Imam Ali (AS) said, 'Every hopeful person continues seeking, and every fearful one runs away.

Imam Ali (AS) said to a man soliciting advice from him, 'Do not be of those who hope for [bliss in] the life of the Hereafter without action, and delay repentance by having high expectations [of being forgiven], and who utter words like the ascetics with regard to this world, though in practice they behave like those who covet it.

Someone came to Imam al-Sadiq (AS) and told him that there was a group of people who were disobeying Allah, but at the same time they were saying that they hoped [in His mercy], and remained thus until death overtook them. Imam (AS) said, ‘These are people who swing back and forth between their desires. They are lying and are not really hopeful, for the one who hopes for something seeks it, and the one who fears something flees from it.