Following the examples of Muhammad and the past prophets

[Greatness of Allāh :] Allāh’s verdict is judicious and full of wisdom. His pleasure implies protection and mercy. He decides with knowledge and forgives with forebearance.

[Praise of Allāh :] O my Allāh! praise be to Thee for what Thou takest and givest and for that from which Thou curest or with which Thou afflictest; praise which is the most acceptable to Thee, the most liked by Thee and the most dignified before Thee; praise which fills all Thy creation and reaches where Thou desirest; praise which is not veiled from Thee and does not end, and whose continuity does not cease.

We do not know the reality of Thy greatness except that we know that Thou art Ever-living and Self-subsisting by Whom all things subsist. Drowsiness or sleep do not overtake Thee, vision does not reach Thee and sight does not grasp Thee. Thou seest the eyes and countest the ages. Thou holdest (people as slaves) by foreheads and feet.

We see Thy creation and wonder over it because of Thy might, and describe it as (a result of) Thy great authority; whereas what is hidden from us, of which our sight has fallen short, which our intelligence has not attained, and between which and ourselves curtains of the unknown have been cast, is far greater.

He who frees his heart (from all other engagements) and exerts his thinking in order to know how Thou established Thy throne, how Thou created Thy creatures, how Thou suspended the air in Thy skies and how Thou spread Thy earth on the waves of water, his eyes would return tired, his intelligence defeated, his ears eager and his thinking awander.

[A part of the same sermon about hope and fear in Allāh :] He claims according to his own thinking that he hopes from Allāh. By Allāh, the Great, he speaks a lie. The position is that his hope (in Allāh) does not appear through his action although the hope of every one who hopes is known through his action. Every hope is so, except the hope in Allāh, the Sublime, if it is impure; and every fear is established except the fear for Allāh if it is unreal.

He hopes big things from Allāh and small things from men but he gives to man (such consideration as) he does not give to Allāh. What is the matter with Allāh, glorified be His praise? He is accorded less (consideration) than what is given to His creatures. Do you ever fear to be false in your hope in Allāh? Or do you not regard Him the centre of your hope?

Similarly, if a man fears man he gives him (such consideration) out of his fear which he does not give to Allāh. Thus, he has made his fear for men ready currency while his fear from the Creator is mere deferment or promise. This is the case of every one in whose eye this world appears big (and important) and in whose heart its position is great. He prefers it over Allāh, so he inclines towards it, and becomes its devotee.

[The example of the Holy Prophet :] Certainly, in the Prophet of Allāh — peace and blessing of Allāh be upon him and his progeny — was sufficient example for you and a proof concerning the vices of the world, its defects, the multitude of its disgraces and its evils, because its sides had been constringed for him, while its flanks had been spread for others; he was deprived of its milk and turned away from its adornments.

[The example of Mūsā (Moses) :] If you want, I will, as a second example, relate to you concerning Mūsā, the Interlocutor of Allāh (a.s.) when he said: “O Allāh! I need whatever good Thou mayest grant me.” (Qur’ān, 28:24) By Allāh, he asked Him only for bread to eat because he was used to eating the herbs of the earth, and the greenness of the herbs could be seen from the delicate skin of his belly due to his thinness and paucity of his flesh.

[The example of Dāwūd (David) :] If you desire I can give you a third example of Dāwūd (a.s.). He is the holder of the Psalms and the reciter among the people of Paradise. He used to prepare baskets of date palm leaves with his own hands and would say to his companions : “Which of you will help me by purchasing it?” He used to eat barley bread (bought) out of its price.

[The example of ‘Īsā (Jesus) :] If you desire I will tell you about ‘Īsā (a.s.) son of Maryam (Mary). He used a stone for his pillow, put on coarse clothes and ate rough food. His condiment was hunger. His lamp at night was the moon. His shade during the winter was just the expanse of earth eastward and westward. His fruits and flowers were only what grows from the earth for the cattle. He had no wife to allure him, nor any son to give him grief, nor wealth to deviate (his attention), nor greed to disgrace him. His two feet were his conveyance and his two hands his servant.

[Following the example of the Holy Prophet :] You should follow your Prophet, the pure, the chaste, may Allāh bless him and his descendants. In him is the example for the follower, and the consolation for the seeker of consolation. The most beloved person before Allāh is he who follows His Prophet and who treads in his footsteps. He took the least (share) from this world and did not take a full glance at it. Of all the people of the world he was the least satiated and the most empty of stomach. The world was offered to him but he refused to accept it. When he knew that Allāh, the Glorified, hated a thing, he too hated it; that Allāh held a thing low, he too held it low; that Allāh held a thing small, he too held it small. If we love what Allāh and His Prophet hate and hold great what Allāh and His prophet hold small that would be enough isolation from Allāh and transgression of His commands.

The Prophet used to eat on the ground, and sat like a slave. He repaired his shoe with his hand, and patched his clothes with his hand. He would ride an unsaddled ass and would seat someone behind him. If there was a curtain on his door with pictures on it he would say to one of his wives, “O such-and-such, take it away out of my sight because if I look at it I recall the world and its allurements.” Thus, he removed his heart from this world and destroyed its remembrance from his mind. He loved that its allurements should remain hidden from his eye so that he should not secure good dress from it, should not regard it a place of stay and should not hope to live in it. Consequently he removed it from his mind, let it go away from his heart and kept it hidden from his eyes. In the same way he who hates a thing should hate to look at it or to hear about it.

Certainly there was in the Prophet of Allāh all that would apprise you of the evils of this world and its defects, namely that he remained hungry along with his chief companions, and despite his great nearness the allurements of the world remained remote from him. Now, one should see with one’s intelligence whether Allāh honoured Muḥammad — the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him and his descendants — as a result of this or disgraced him. If he says that Allāh disgraced him, he certainly lies and perpetrates a great untruth. If he says Allāh honoured him, he should know that Allāh dishonoured the others when He extended the (benefits of the) world for him but held them away from him who was the nearest to Him of all men.

Therefore, one should follow His Prophet, tread in his footsteps and enter through his entrance. Otherwise he will not be safe from ruin. Certainly, Allāh made Muḥammad — the peace and blessing of Allāh be upon him and his descendants — a sign for the Day of Judgement, a conveyor of tidings for Paradise and a warner of retribution. He left this world hungry but entered upon the next world safe. He did not lay one stone upon another (to make a house) till he departed and responded to the call of Allāh. How great is Allāh’s blessing in that He blessed us with the Prophet as a predecessor whom we follow and a leader behind whom we tread.

[The example of himself :] By Allāh, I have been putting patches in my shirts so much that now I feel shy of the patcher. Someone asked me whether I would not put it off, but I said, “Get away from me.” Only in the morning do people (realize the advantage of and) speak highly of the night journey.