Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Nahjul Balagha Part 1, The Sermons Sermon 220: How distant (from achievement) is their aim…. Amir al-mu'minin recited the verse: Engage (your) vying in exuberance, until ye come to the graves. [^1] (Qur'an, 102:1-2) ومن كلام له (عليه السلام) قال بعد تلاوته: (ألهاكُمُ التَّكاثُر \* حَتَّى زُرتُمُ المَقابِرَ) Then he said: How distant (from achievement) is their aim, how neglectful are these visitors and how difficult is the affair.
They have not taken lessons from things which are full of lessons, but they took them from far off places. Do they boast on the dead bodies of their fore-fathers, or do they regard the number of dead persons as a ground for feeling boastful of their number? They want to revive the bodies that have become spiritless and the movements that have ceased. They are more entitled to be a source of lesson than a source of pride. They are more suitable for being a source of humility than of honour.
They looked at them with weak-sighted eyes and descended into the hollow of ignorance. If they had asked about them from the dilapidated houses and empty courtyards, they would have said that they went into the earth in the state of misguidance and you too are heading ignorantly towards them. You trample their skulls, want to raise constructions on their corpses, you graze what they have left and live in houses which they have vacated.
The days (that lie) between them and you are also bemoaning you and reciting elegies over you. لَقَدْ نَظَرُوا إِلَيْهِمْ بِأَبْصَارِ الْعَشْوَةِ، وَضَرَبُوا مِنْهُمْ فِي غَمْرَةِ جَهَالَة، وَلَوِ اسْتَنْطَقُوا عَنْهُمْ عَرَصَاتِ تِلْكَ الدِّيَارِ الْخَاوِيَةِ، وَالْرُّبُوعِ الْخَالِيَةِ، لَقَالَتْ: ذَهَبُوا فِي الاْرْضِ ضُلاَّلاً، وَذَهَبْتُمْ فِي أَعْقَابِهِمْ جُهَّالاً، تَطَأُونَ فِي هَامِهِمْ، وَتَسْتَنْبِتُونَ فِي أَجْسَادِهِمْ، وَتَرْتَعُونَ فِيَما لَفَظُوا، وَتَسْكُنُونَ فِيَما خَرَّبُوا، وَإِنَّمَا الاْيَّامُ بَيْنَكُمْ وَبَيْنَهُمْ بَوَاك وَنَوَائِحُ عَلَيْكُمْ.