Pearl of Wisdom
'Verily when al-Husayn b. 'All's time of death came near, he called for his eldest daughter Fatima bint al-Husayn, and handed over to her a wrapped note. ?Ali b. al-Husayn was with them, but had a severe stomach ache, the reason for which was unknown. Fatima gave the note to ?Ali b. al- Husayn, Now, by Allah, that note has reached us... By Allah, it contains all that mankind would ever need from the time that Allah created Adam until the end of the world.'
Imam Muhammad ibn Ali al-Baqir [as] al-Kafi, v. 1, p. 303, no. 1
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A Description of this World |
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This world is like a body whose head is pride, whose eyes are avarice, whose ears are greed, whose tongue is dissimulation, whose hand is desire, whose legs are vanity, whose heart is heedlessness, whose being is annihilation, and whose product is extinction. It brings pride to whoever loves it, avarice to whoever prefers it, greed to whoever seeks it, and cloaks with hypocrisy whoever praises it. It gives vain power over whoever desires it; it leads to heedlessness in the person who relies on it. It seduces whoever admires its goods, but those goods do not last for him. It returns the person who gathers it and is miserly with it to its own abode, which is the Fire.
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