عَقَلُوا الدِّينَ عَقْلَ وِعَايَةٍ وَ رِعَايَةٍ لَا عَقْلَ...

عَقَلُوا الدِّينَ عَقْلَ وِعَايَةٍ وَ رِعَايَةٍ لَا عَقْلَ سَمَاعٍ وَ رِوَايَةٍ فَإِنَّ رُوَاةَ الْعِلْمِ كَثِيرٌ وَ رُعاتَهُ قَليل “They are life for knowledge and death for ignorance. Their forbearance tells you of their knowledge, their outward self of their inner self, and their silence of the wisdom of their speech. They do not oppose the truth nor do they differ (among themselves) about it. They are the pillars of Islam and the asylums for its protection.

With them, the truth has returned to its proper place and falsehood has departed from the place in which it settled, and its tongue has been severed from its root. They have understood the religion with comprehension, insight and adherence to its precepts, not through (mere) hearsay and narration.

Indeed the narrators of knowledge are many, but its guardians are few.” [^6] Aside from these aphorisms in Nahj al-Balaghah, an incident has been narrated where Kumayl ibn Ziyad Nakha’i says:- ‘Amir al-Mu’minin (A.S.) [during the period of Caliphate and his stay in Kufa] took hold of my hand and together we went towards the graveyard, which was on the outskirts of the city.” As soon as we reached a silent spot in the desert, ‘Ali (A.S.) sighed deeply and began to speak.

At the outset of his talk, he said:- “O Kumayl the hearts of the sons of Adam are in the rank of vessels. The best vessels are those which best preserve their contents. Thus, whatever I say, you record it.” In this talk which is quite lengthy, ‘Ali (A.S.) divides the people from the viewpoint of pursuance of the true path into three categories. Thereafter he expresses anguish for the reason that he does not find anyone worthy enough to be entrusted the numerous mysteries which are stored in him.

However, in the end of his speech, he says: Of course it is not such that the earth remains entirely devoid of any men of God.