Reluctance to Act

Pearl of Wisdom

My brother Husayn b. Muhammad narrated, saying, 'I had a friend who used to teach the child of Bagha or Wasif. He said to me, 'The governor, on his return from the Caliph's palace said to me, 'Today the commander of the faithful has imprisoned this person known as Ibn al-Rida [i.e. the son of al-Ria] and has handed him over to 'Ali b. Karkar, and I heard him say, 'I am dearer to Allah than the she-camel of alih so Enjoy yourselves in your homes for three days that is a promise not untrue/ What he meant by that verse or by his speech is not clear. [He said]: I said, may Allah increase your honour, he has made a threat, now see what would happen after three days. The next day the caliph freed Ibn al-Rida and apologised. On the third day Yaghiz, Yaghlun, Tarnish and a group of people with them assaulted him and killed him, and instated al Muntasir his son as the Calliph.'

Imam Ali ibn Muhammad al-Hadi [as]

Ibid. v. 50, p. 189, no. 1

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Library » The Lantern of the Path » Reluctance to Act

Reluctance to Act

A person who feels reluctant to act falls short of what is correct, even if he does right; while a person who acts voluntarily is correct, even if he errs. The reluctant one obtains only contempt in the end, and weariness, toil and misery while he is carrying out the action. The outer being of a reluctant person is showing off, and his inner being is hypocrisy: they are the wings with which he flies. The reluctant person never has any of the qualities of the righteous nor any of the marks of the believers, wherever he is. As Allah said to His Prophet [s],

Say, I do not ask you for any reward for it; nor am I of those who affect [i.e. act with reluctance]. (38:86)

The Holy Prophet said, 'we, the company of prophets, the fearfully aware, the trusty, we disavow the reluctant.' So, fear Allah and do away with reluctance, and it will mark you with the sign of belief. Do not be occupied with something whose garment is affliction, with food which in the end is emptiness, with an abode whose end is ruin, with wealth whose end is to be inherited by others, with comrades whom in the end one must take leave of, with glory which in the end is abasement, with loyalty which in the end is abandonment, or with a life whose end is grief.

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