Pearl of Wisdom
in his letter to Malik al-Ashtar when he appointed him governor of Egypt, said, 'Surely the virtuous are known by the reputation that Allah circulates for them through the tongues of His creatures. Therefore, the best collection with you should be the collection of good deeds. So control your passions and deprive your heart from doing what is not lawful for you, because depriving the heart means detaining it just half way between what it likes and dislikes.'
Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib [as] Nahj al-Baldgha, Letter 53
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Contentment |
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Contentment is when a person is content with what he loves and what he hates; it is a ray of the light of gnosis. He who is content is annihilated to all his choices; he is really the one with whom Allah is content. Contentment is a name which contains the meanings of servitude, and maybe described as the joy of the heart. I heard my father, Muhammad al-Baqir, say, 'To attach the heart to what is present is association (shirk), and to what is not there is disbelief (kufr): these are the wings of heedlessness.' I am amazed at anyone who claims to be a slave to Allah and then contends with Him over His decrees. Content gnostics ('arifin) are far from being like that.'
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