غُيَّباً لَا يُنْتَظَرُونَ وَ شُهُوداً لَا يَحْضُرُونَ وَ...
غُيَّباً لَا يُنْتَظَرُونَ وَ شُهُوداً لَا يَحْضُرُونَ وَ إِنَّمَا كَانُوا جَمِيعاً فَتَشَتَّتُوا وَ [أُلَّافاً] آلَافاً فَافْتَرَقُوا وَ مَا عَنْ طُولِ عَهْدِهِمْ وَ لَا بُعْدِ مَحَلِّهِمْ عَمِيَتْ أَخْبَارُهُمْ وَ صَمَّتْ دِيَارُهُمْ وَ لَكِنَّهُمْ سُقُوا كَأْساً بَدَّلَتْهُمْ بِالنُّطْقِ خَرَساً وَ بِالسَّمْعِ صَمَماً وَ بِالْحَرَكَاتِ سُكُوناً They are hidden (gone), not being awaited, and witnesses not being present, and rather they were together, so they are (now) scattered, and were compiled (as battalions), now they are separated.
Neither it has not been long, their time (in the world), nor is their neighbourhood far. Their news is blinded (not known), and their houses are silent (from them), but they have been quenched a cup (of death) which has replaced their talking with muteness, and the hearing with the deafness, and the movement with the stillness.
فَكَأَنَّهُمْ فِي ارْتِجَالِ الصِّفَةِ صَرْعَى سُبَاتٍ جِيرَانٌ لَا يَتَأَنَّسُونَ وَ أَحِبَّاءُ لَا يَتَزَاوَرُونَ بَلِيَتْ بَيْنَهُمْ عُرَا التَّعَارُفِ وَ انْقَطَعَتْ مِنْهُمْ أَسْبَابُ الْإِخَاءِ فَكُلُّهُمْ وَحِيدٌ وَ هُمْ جَمِيعٌ وَ بِجَانِبِ الْهَجْرِ وَ هُمْ أَخِلَّاءُ It is as if they are in a hopeless state, lying down in a sleep, neighbours not comforting each other, and loved ones nor visiting each other.
The handhold of familiarity has decayed between them, and the means of brotherhood has been terminated from them. All of them are alone while they are a group, and they are strangers while they are friends.
لَا يَتَعَارَفُونَ لِلَيْلٍ صَبَاحاً وَ لَا لِنَهَارٍ مَسَاءً أَيُّ الْجَدِيدَيْنِ ظَعَنُوا فِيهِ كَانَ عَلَيْهِمْ سَرْمَداً شَاهَدُوا مِنْ أَخْطَارِ دَارِهِمْ أَفْظَعَ مِمَّا خَافُوا وَ رَأَوْا مِنْ آيَاتِهَا أَعْظَمَ مِمَّا قَدَّرُوا They are neither recognising a morning for a night, nor an evening for a day which of the two is newer. They are pretending in it. These are constantly upon them.
They are witnessing the dangers of their houses to be more terrible than what they had feared, and they are seeing from its signs to be mightier than what they have estimated.
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